hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Protect Student Borrowers Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1873
Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced: 2013-12-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Education programs funding
Higher education
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: 
Protect Student Borrowers Act of 2013 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education (IHEs) participating in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program to accept specified risk-sharing requirements.
 
Requires an IHE, for any fiscal year in which at least 25% of the IHE's student body is participating in the Direct Loan program, to remit, at such times as the Secretary of Education specifies, a risk-sharing payment set at: 
 
 
 20% of the total amount of its defaulted Direct loans if its cohort default rate is 30% or higher, 
 
 15% of the total amount of its defaulted Direct loans if its cohort default rate is lower than 30% but not lower than 25%, 
 
 10% of the total amount of its defaulted Direct loans if its cohort default rate is lower than 25% but not lower than 20%, and 
 
 5% of the total amount of its defaulted Direct loans if its cohort default rate is lower than 20% but not lower than 15%.
 
 
Directs the Secretary to make specified modifications to such risk-sharing requirements if an IHE develops and implements a student loan management plan that is approved by the Secretary. Requires that plan to include individualized financial aid counseling for students and strategies to minimize student loan default and delinquency.
 
Allows the Secretary to waive or reduce an IHE's risk-sharing payments in certain other instances.
 
Prohibits IHEs from denying admission or financial aid to a student based on a perception that the student may be at risk for defaulting on a Direct loan.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts or cooperative agreements for: (1) statewide or institutionally-based programs for the prevention of federal student loan delinquency and default at IHEs that have a high cohort default rate or serve large numbers or percentages of students who have a higher risk of defaulting on student loans under title IV, and (2) increasing the number of borrowers who successfully rehabilitate defaulted loans
 
Establishes a separate account in the Treasury for the deposit of the risk-sharing payments, of which: (1) up to 50% are to be used by the Secretary to enter into the contracts or cooperative agreements for delinquency and default prevention or rehabilitation, and (2) the remainder are to be used to offset any future shortfalls in funding under the Federal Pell Grant program.
 
Makes an IHE's ability to meet its obligation to make risk-sharing payments part of the determination of its eligibility to participate in title IV programs.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S9062-9063)
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Partnerships for Affordability and Student Success Act

Bill: 113-s-1874
Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced: 2013-12-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Consumer affairs
Education programs funding
Higher education
State and local government operations
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: 
Partnerships for Affordability and Student Success Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require states, for academic year 2013 and each of the succeeding four academic years, to maintain their support for: (1) institutions of higher education (IHEs) (excluding support for capital projects, research and development, or tuition and fees paid by students) at least at the level of such support for academic year 2012, and (2) student postsecondary financial aid at least at the level of such support for academic year 2012.
 
Directs the Secretary of Education to waive those requirements if such a waiver would be appropriate due to exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances.
 
Replaces the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership program with a program that allots matching incentive grants to states, based on each state's share of students eligible for Federal Pell Grants, to assist states in: 
 
 
 providing need-based grants to students attending IHEs or participating in study abroad programs approved for credit by the IHEs,
 
 providing subgrants to IHEs or consortia of IHEs to improve student outcomes and to develop and implement practices that reduce costs for students, and 
 
 providing public accountability and consumer information on the performance of IHEs in the state.
 
 
Requires each state grantee to have a comprehensive plan for public postsecondary education that: 
 
 
has measurable goals for student outcomes, including enrollment and completion;
 
has measurable college affordability goals;
 
is aligned with the state's workforce and economic development plan;
 
is aligned with the state's elementary and secondary education plan; and
 
addresses the postsecondary education needs of unserved and underserved individuals, including those who are beyond the traditional college age.
 
 
Requires each state grantee to report annually to the public on its progress in meeting its public postsecondary education goals and comprehensive plan for public higher education.
 
Allows private, nonprofit IHEs to participate on a voluntary basis in a state's comprehensive plan for postsecondary education.
 
Requires at least 70% of the funds allocated to a state to be reserved for need-based grants to students.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Wildfire Disaster Funding Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1875
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2013-12-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
Subjects: Appropriations
Budget deficits and national debt
Congressional oversight
Department of Agriculture
Department of the Interior
Disaster relief and insurance
Executive agency funding and structure
Fires
Forests, forestry, trees

Summary:
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: 
Wildfire Disaster Funding Act of 2013 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), with regard to sequestration adjustments, to require any adjustments in enacted appropriations for wildfire suppression operations in the Wildland Fire Management accounts at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the Department of the Interior for a fiscal year, to be the amount of additional new budget authority provided for wildfire suppression operations in the appropriations Act, but not to exceed $2.689 billion in such authority in each of FY2014-FY2021. 
 
Defines &quot;additional new budget authority&quot; as the amount specified in an appropriations Act for a fiscal year to pay for wildfire suppression operations, but only to the extent such authority exceeds 70% of the average costs for wildfire suppression operations over the previous 10 years. 
 
Prescribes requirements for any request by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture for supplemental appropriations necessary for wildfire suppression operations.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S9063-9064)
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Protecting Youth At-Risk for Sex Trafficking Act

Bill: 113-s-1878
Sponsor: Sen. Baucus, Max [D-MT]
Introduced: 2013-12-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Adoption and foster care
Advisory bodies
Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Child care and development
Child health
Child safety and welfare
Congressional oversight
Crime victims
Crimes against children
Government information and archives
Homelessness and emergency shelter
Housing and community development funding
Human trafficking
Intergovernmental relations
Licensing and registrations
Separation, divorce, custody, support
Sex offenses
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: 
Protecting Youth At-Risk for Sex Trafficking Act - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require the state agency under its foster care and adoption assistance program plan to demonstrate to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) that it has developed, and is implementing, policies and procedures for identifying and screening any child who the state has reasonable cause to believe is a victim of sex trafficking or is at risk of being a victim of trafficking.
 
Prescribes additional case plan and case review system requirements for placement of a child in another planned permanent living arrangement.
 
Requires a permanency plan for a child age 14 or older to be developed in consultation with the child, and allows the child to choose up to two members of his or her case planning team.
 
Requires foster youth to be discharged from care only if provided with an official birth certificate, a Social Security card, a driver's license or equivalent state-issued identification care, and a fee-free (or low-fee) bank account. Subjects any state to an administrative penalty for noncompliance.
 
Requires the state plan to require the state agency to: (1) identify and document each child who is a victim of sex trafficking or a victim of severe forms of trafficking in persons, and (2) report to law enforcement authorities within 24 hours after receiving any information on missing or abducted children for entry into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
 
Amends part A of SSA title XI to require the head of each federal agency to report to Congress recommendations for expanding safe housing for youth victims of trafficking.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish a National Advisory Committee on Domestic Sex Trafficking.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Cancer Treatment Parity Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1879
Sponsor: Sen. Franken, Al [D-MN]
Introduced: 2013-12-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Cancer
Congressional oversight
Drug therapy
Employee benefits and pensions
Government studies and investigations
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Medicare

Summary:
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: 
Cancer Treatment Parity Act of 2013 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group or individual health plan providing benefits with respect to anticancer medications administered by a health care provider to provide no less favorable coverage for prescribed, patient-administered anticancer medications used to kill, slow, or prevent the growth of cancerous cells and that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
 
Applies such requirement to medication that is prescribed based on a finding by the treating physician that the medication is: (1) medically necessary for the purpose of killing, slowing, or preventing the growth of cancerous cells in accordance with nationally accepted standards of medical practice; and (2) clinically appropriate in terms of type, frequency, extent site, and duration.
 
Permits such coverage to be subject to the same cost-sharing applicable to anticancer medications administered by a health care provider under the plan.
 
 Prohibits a health plan from imposing an increase in out-of-pocket costs, reclassifying benefits with respect to anticancer medications, or applying more restrictive limitations on prescribed orally- or intravenously-administered or injected anticancer medications.
 
Requires a plan to provide notice to each participant and beneficiary regarding the coverage required under this Act.
 
Requires the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to assess how closing the Medicare part D donut hole affects Medicare coverage for orally-administered anticancer medications, with a particular focus on cost and accessibility.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to provide that the annual adjustment of retired pay for members of the Armed Forces under the age of 62 under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 shall not apply to members retired for disability and to retired pay used to compute certain Survivor Benefit Plan annuities.

Bill: 113-s-1880
Sponsor: Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA]
Introduced: 2013-12-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Military personnel and dependents
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: 
Provides that the reduction in the annual adjustment to the retired pay of members of the Armed Forces under the age of 62 shall not apply to the retirement pay of members retired for a physical disability and to retirement pay used to compute benefit plan annuities of survivors of deceased members.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2013-12-19
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend parity for exclusion from income for employer-provided mass transit and parking benefits.

Bill: 113-s-1882
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2013-12-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Commuting
Employee benefits and pensions
Income tax exclusion
Public transit
Transportation costs

Summary:
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2014 the equalization of the exclusion from gross income for employer-provided mass transit and parking benefits. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Extending Incentives for Exporting American Textiles Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1883
Sponsor: Sen. Hagan, Kay R. [D-NC]
Introduced: 2013-12-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Latin America
Nicaragua
Tariffs

Summary:
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: 
Extending Incentives for Exporting American Textiles Act of 2013 - Extends duty-free treatment, subject to specified quantitative limitations, for certain imported Nicaraguan woven trousers, breeches, or shorts. 
 
Requires those articles to be accompanied by an earned import allowance certificate indicating the use of fabric and yarns wholly formed in the United States.
 
Extends such duty-free treatment for 10 years beginning on January 1, 2015.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Burma Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1885
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2013-12-20 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Asia
Burma
Child safety and welfare
Congressional oversight
Defense spending
Department of Defense
Executive agency funding and structure
Human rights
Human trafficking
Military assistance, sales, and agreements
Military command and structure
North Korea
Protest and dissent
Racial and ethnic relations
Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
Rule of law and government transparency
Sovereignty, recognition, national governance and status

Summary:
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: 
Burma Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2013 - Prohibits FY2014 Department of Defense (DOD) funds from being made available to the government of Burma unless the Secretary of State certifies to Congress that: (1) Burma has taken steps toward establishing civilian oversight of the armed forces, addressing human rights abuses by the military, and terminating military relations with North Korea; (2) Burma has taken steps to establish a fair and inclusive process to amend the Constitution of Burma, including the full participation of the political opposition and ethnic minority groups; (3) Burma has amended its constitution and laws to ensure civilian control of the military; (4) Burma is promoting peace agreements or political reconciliation and is addressing the resettlement and humanitarian situation of displaced persons; and (5) the Burmese military is improving its human rights record, taking steps to withdraw forces from conflict zones, and implementing a code of conduct. 
 
Directs the Secretary of Defense to report annually to Congress on the status of military-to-military engagement between the U.S. Armed Forces and the Burmese military.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Coverage Protection Act

Bill: 113-s-1886
Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced: 2013-12-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Comprehensive health care
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Income tax credits
Medicaid
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: 
Coverage Protection Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in the case of an individual who enrolls in a qualified health plan offered through a health care exchange established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) before February 1, 2014, to require the issuer of the plan to treat such individual as enrolled as of December 23, 2013, if the individual:
 
 
attests, not later than January 31, 2014, to making reasonable, good-faith attempts to successfully enroll in such a plan through an exchange before December 23, 2013, or was initially determined through healthcare.gov to be eligible to enroll in a Medicaid plan but is not eligible to so enroll in such a plan and, because of the incorrect eligibility determination, was subsequently unable to enroll in a qualified plan before December 23, 2013; and 
pays to the issuer of the plan in which the individual is enrolled any premiums owed for enrollment in the plan, taking into account the amount of any premium assistance made available under the Internal Revenue Code. 
 
 
Counts coverage provided under a qualified plan for January and February 2014 under this Act as coverage under such a plan by or through an exchange for such months for all purposes, including premium assistance, PPACA cost-sharing reductions, and the requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage. 
Amends PPACA to allow a state to make coverage under a qualified plan retroactive to January 1, 2014, with respect to an individual who enrolls through the state exchange (or the federal exchange in the case of a state that does not have one) during the period established by the state that begins on December 23, 2013, and ends on a date determined by the state, but not later than January 31, 2014. Allows a state that has an enrollment deadline that is prior to December 23, 2013, to modify the period to encompass such deadline. 
Applies retroactively to January 1, 2014, any premium assistance tax credit or cost-sharing assistance for which the individual is determined to be eligible, but where the determination has not been verified by the date on which the individual enrolls in the qualified plan. 
Directs the Secretary to require a health insurance issuer that offers a qualified plan through an exchange to: 
 
allow in-network providers in the plan to treat a receipt of payment of premiums by an individual enrolled for January or February 2014 who has not received a health insurance card from the issuer in the same manner as if such receipt were such a health insurance card issued for services furnished during such month; and 
notify such in-network providers of that policy. 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to clarify terms of cooperation between the Consumer Product Safety Commission and foreign government agencies in order to improve safety of imported products, and for other purposes.

Bill: 113-s-1887
Sponsor: Sen. McCaskill, Claire [D-MO]
Introduced: 2013-12-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Consumer affairs
Government information and archives
Intergovernmental relations
International organizations and cooperation
Law enforcement administration and funding
Product safety and quality

Summary:
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: 
Allows the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), when sharing information obtained under the federal-state cooperation program with a foreign government agency for official law enforcement or consumer protection purposes, to authorize a foreign government agency to make that information available to another agency of the same foreign government (including a political subdivision of that foreign government that is located within the same territory or administrative area as the agency disclosing the information) if an appropriate official of the foreign government agency disclosing the information certifies (by prior agreement, memorandum of understanding with the CPSC, or other written certification) that it will establish and apply specified confidentiality restrictions under the Consumer Product Safety Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Inyo National Forest Land Exchange Act

Bill: 113-s-1888
Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]
Introduced: 2013-12-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: California
Forests, forestry, trees
Land transfers

Summary:
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: 
Inyo National Forest Land Exchange Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), in any land exchange involving the conveyance of certain National Forest System (NFS) land within the boundaries of Inyo National Forest in California, to accept the conveyance of certain non-federal land in California outside the Forest boundaries in exchange for the conveyance of the federal land, if acquiring the non-federal land is desirable for NSF purposes. 
 
Authorizes the Secretary to accept a cash equalization payment exceeding 25% of the value of the federal land. Requires the deposit of any such payment into the fund established under the Sisk Act and made available for the acquisition of lands or interests for addition to the NFS. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-07-30
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 113-433.
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S9107)
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S9106-9107)
action_date: 2013-12-20
text: Introduced in Senate