hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
ATTAIN Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2129
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Tom [D-NM]
Introduced: 2014-03-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Advanced technology and technological innovations
Business investment and capital
Department of Energy
Energy research
Executive agency funding and structure
Intellectual property
Public contracts and procurement
Public-private cooperation
Research administration and funding
Research and development
Small business
Technology transfer and commercialization

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 
Accelerating Technology Transfer to Advance Innovation for the Nation Act of 2014 or ATTAIN Act of 2014 - Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to establish the Office of Advanced Research, Technology Transfer, and Innovation in Energy (OARTTIE), under the direction of a Technology Transfer Coordinator, to improve Department of Energy (DOE) consolidation, coordination, and use of technology transfer resources. 
 
Tasks the Office with improvement of procurement, contracting, and partnership procedures for technology transfer.
 
Enumerates the types of information collected by DOE or the National Laboratories from recipients of financial assistance awards or technology transfer partners that shall be considered privileged and confidential and therefore, not subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
 
Instructs DOE to establish a T2-Corps, modeled after the I-Corps of the National Science Foundation (NSF), to: (1) support investments in entrepreneurs, mentors, and principal investigators; and (2) invest in technology maturation, market assessment, and increasing industry and small business access to intellectual property and core DOE and National Laboratories capabilities.
 
Requires the OARTTIE to establish: (1) teams of entrepreneurs and mentors, selected competitively and each headed by a technology transfer office; and (2) technology commercialization challenges.
 
Directs DOE and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish jointly a Technology Transfer Investment Initiative to coordinate a partnership program carried out by the OARTTIE and the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program of the SBA in order to leverage the strengths of the SBIC program to benefit the T2-Corps teams completing the DOE program.
 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S1656-1657)
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Winter Roads Safety Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2130
Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
Introduced: 2014-03-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Department of Transportation
Forests, forestry, trees
Minnesota
Motor carriers
Roads and highways
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 
Winter Roads Safety Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT), for a specified period, to waive certain federal vehicle weight limitations for covered logging vehicles to operate on the Interstate Highway System. Specifies the period beginning upon enactment of this Act and ending on the date the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation terminates the seasonal vehicle weight limit increase in the North Zone pursuant to the Minnesota Statutes.
 
Defines the term &quot;covered logging vehicle&quot; to mean a vehicle that: (1) is transporting raw or unfinished forest products, including logs, pulpwood, biomass, or wood chips; (2) has a gross vehicle weight of no more than 99,000 pounds; (3) has at least six axles; (4) is operating on specified segments of Interstate Route 35 and Interstate Route 535 in Minnesota; and (5) has obtained the appropriate overweight vehicle permit from the Department.
 
Prohibits this waiver, however, until the bridges along the road segments have been inspected and certified by the Minnesota Department to be structurally capable of supporting such covered logging vehicles.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Fair Employment Protection Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2133
Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
Introduced: 2014-03-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Age discrimination
Assault and harassment offenses
Civil actions and liability
Congressional officers and employees
Disability and health-based discrimination
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Genetics
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
Smithsonian Institution

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 
Fair Employment Protection Act of 2014 - Sets forth employer liability standards to be applied in employee harassment claims under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Revised Statutes, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, employment discrimination laws relating to certain executive branch employees, and the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995. 
 
Declares employers under such Acts liable for the acts of any individual whose harassment of an employee has created or continued an unlawful hostile work environment if, at the time of the harassment: (1) such individual was authorized by that employer to undertake or recommend tangible employment actions affecting the employee or to direct the employee's daily work activities, or (2) the negligence of the employer led to the creation or continuation of that hostile work environment (thus modifies the liability standards provided by the Supreme Court in 
Vance v. Ball State University
, which limited the category of supervisors for whom an employer may be held vicariously liable to those individuals who have authority to take tangible employment actions).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Act to Ban Zohydro

Bill: 113-s-2134
Sponsor: Sen. Manchin, Joe, III [D-WV]
Introduced: 2014-03-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 
Act to Ban Zohydro - Ends the sale and distribution of pure hydrocodone bitartrate extended-release capsules (marketed as Zohydro ER) within 45 days by withdrawing approval for its new drug application. Prohibits the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (FDA) from approving any new drug application for the capsules unless they are formulated to prevent abuse.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Tar Sands Tax Loophole Elimination Act

Bill: 113-s-2135
Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2014-03-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of the Treasury
Motor fuels
Oil and gas
Pipelines
Sales and excise taxes

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 
Tar Sands Tax Loophole Elimination Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the definition of "crude oil" for purposes of the excise tax on petroleum to include any bitumen or bituminous mixture, any oil derived from a bitumen or bituminous mixture (including oil derived from tar sands), and any oil derived from kerogen-bearing sources (including oil derived from oil shale). 
 
Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to include as crude oil or as a petroleum product for excise tax purposes any fuel feedstock or finished fuel product customarily transported by pipeline, vessel, railcar, or tanker truck if: (1) the Secretary determines that the classification of such feedstock or fuel is consistent with the definition of oil under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, and (2) such feedstock or fuel is produced in sufficient commercial quantities as to pose a significant risk of hazard in the event of a discharge.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to ensure that oil transported through the Keystone XL pipeline into the United States is used to reduce United States dependence on Middle Eastern oil.

Bill: 113-s-2136
Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2014-03-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Canada
Energy prices
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Motor fuels
Oil and gas
Pipelines
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
Trade restrictions

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 
Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to ensure that any crude oil and bitumen transported into the United States by the Keystone XL pipeline, and all refined petroleum fuel products originating from that crude oil or bitumen, will be entered into domestic commerce in the United States for use as fuel or the manufacture of another product.
 
Authorizes the President to waive such requirement in the national interest under specified conditions, including where: (1) an exchange of crude oil or refined product provides for no net loss of crude oil or refined product consumed domestically; or (2) a waiver is necessary under the Constitution, a law, or an international agreement.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to ensure that holders of flood insurance policies under the National Flood Insurance Program do not receive premium refunds for coverage of second homes.

Bill: 113-s-2137
Sponsor: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT]
Introduced: 2014-03-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Emergency Management
Subjects: Disaster relief and insurance
Floods and storm protection
Housing finance and home ownership

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 
Prohibits the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from refunding any flood insurance premium collected in excess of the rates required by the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 if the residential property covered is not an individual's primary residence.

action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

 
Prohibits the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from refunding any flood insurance premium collected in excess of mandatory rates cited in the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014, if the premium refund is for flood insurance coverage for a residential property that is not the primary residence of an individual. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Received in the House.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Voice Vote. (consideration: S1632; text as passed Senate: CR S1632)
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Voice Vote.(consideration: S1632; text as passed Senate: CR S1632)
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Hiring Act

Bill: 113-s-2138
Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Introduced: 2014-03-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Employee hiring
Employment taxes
Tax-exempt organizations
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 
Veterans Hiring Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an employer a 50% reduction in the rate of the employment tax for wages paid to a veteran who served on active duty in the Armed Forces and was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. Makes such reduced rate effective during the period of four consecutive calendar quarters beginning with the first day of the first such calendar quarter beginning after the enactment of this Act. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the exclusion for small business stock, to provide incentives for small business high technology research investment, and for other purposes.

Bill: 113-s-2139
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2014-03-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Advanced technology and technological innovations
Business investment and capital
Capital gains tax
Income tax credits
Income tax deductions
Income tax exclusion
Inflation and prices
Research and development
Securities
Small business
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the tax exclusion of gain from the sale or exchange of small business stock; and (2) exempt from the definition of "passive activity," for purposes of the passive loss tax rules, any qualified research activity carried on by a high technology research small business pass-thru entity.
 
Defines "high technology research small business pass-thru entity" as any domestic pass-thru entity if: (1) more than 75% of the entity's expenditures are paid or incurred in connection with qualified research, or (2) more than 50% of the entity's expenditures constitute qualified research expenses. Designates a high technology research entity as a small business if such entity has 250 or fewer full-time employees and does not have aggregate gross assets in excess of $150 million. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to improve the transition between experimental permits and commercial licenses for commercial reusable launch vehicles.

Bill: 113-s-2140
Sponsor: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]
Introduced: 2014-03-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Licensing and registrations
Spacecraft and satellites

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 
 Amends commercial space launch licensing requirements.
 
Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to issue an experimental permit for a particular reusable suborbital rocket (as under current law) or rocket design after a license has been issued for the launch or reentry of a rocket of that design. Declares that any permits already issued shall remain valid for research and development (R&D) and other specified purposes.

action_date: 2014-12-04
text: 
 Revises requirements for experimental permits related to commercial space launch activities.
 
Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to issue an experimental permit for a particular reusable suborbital vehicle (RSV) for research and development to test design concepts, equipment, or operating techniques, regardless of whether they are new (as under current law) or already existing.
 
Strikes the requirement that crew training for which the permit may be used must occur before a commercial license for launch or reentry is obtained.
 
Allows a permit to authorize an unlimited number of launches and reentries for a particular RSV rocket design (as well as for a particular RSV, as under current law).
 
Repeals the prohibition against issuance of a permit, and the automatic invalidation of an existing permit, after a license has been issued for the launch or reentry of an RSV of a particular design.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to issue a permit regardless of whether a license has already been issued. Declares that the issuance of a license may not invalidate a permit.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-12-12
text: By Senator Rockefeller from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 113-318.
action_date: 2014-12-12
text: By Senator Rockefeller from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 113-318.
action_date: 2014-12-04
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 612.
action_date: 2014-12-04
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Rockefeller with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
action_date: 2014-12-04
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Rockefeller with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
action_date: 2014-04-09
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Entrepreneurship Act

Bill: 113-s-2143
Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Introduced: 2014-03-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Disaster relief and insurance
Financial services and investments
Government lending and loan guarantees
National Guard and reserves
Small business
User charges and fees
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Women in business

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 
Veterans Entrepreneurship Act - Amends the Small Business Act to prohibit the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) from assessing a guarantee fee in connection with a loan made under the SBA Express Program to a veteran or spouse of a veteran on or after October 1, 2014. 
 
Directs the Administrator to report to Congress on: (1) the feasibility of providing financial planning and counseling to owners of small business concerns who are members of a reserve component prior to deployment; (2) the level of outreach to and consultation with female veterans by women's business centers and veterans business outreach centers; and (3) the Military Reservists Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, which shall include a discussion of SBA outreach efforts to increase participation, the number of loans made, and an analysis of the effectiveness of, and recommendations for improving, the Program.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Preventing Unnecessary Medicare Payments (PUMP) Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2144
Sponsor: Sen. McCaskill, Claire [D-MO]
Introduced: 2014-03-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health technology, devices, supplies
Medicare
Public contracts and procurement
Sex and reproductive health

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 
Preventing Unnecessary Medicare Payments (PUMP) Act of 2014 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) apply Medicare competitive bidding to vacuum erection systems, and (2) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to phase-in a national mail order program for such devices.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Veteran Voting Support Act

Bill: 113-s-2145
Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]
Introduced: 2014-03-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
Health facilities and institutions
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 
Veteran Voting Support Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide mail voter registration application forms to each veteran who: (1) seeks to enroll in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system at the time of such enrollment, and (2) is already enrolled in such system when there is a change in the veteran's enrollment status or when there is a change in the veteran's address. 
 
Requires the Secretary to accept completed application forms for transmittal to appropriate state election officials. Instructs that forms accepted at VA medical centers, community living centers, community-based outpatient centers, and domiciliaries be transmitted within ten days of acceptance, unless a completed form is accepted within five days before the last day for registration to vote in an election, in which case the application shall be transmitted to the appropriate state election official within five days of acceptance.
 
Prohibits any information relating to registering to vote, or to a declination to register to vote, under this Act from being used for any purpose other than voter registration. 
 
Requires each Director of a VA community living center, domiciliary, or medical center to provide assistance in voting by absentee ballot to resident veterans. Requires such assistance to include: (1) providing information relating to the opportunity to request an absentee ballot; (2) making available absentee ballot applications upon request, as well as assisting in completing such applications and ballots; and (3) working with local election administration officials to ensure the proper transmission of the applications and ballots. 
 
Directs the Secretary to permit nonpartisan organizations to provide voter registration information and assistance at facilities of the VA health care system. 
 
Prohibits the Secretary from banning any election administration official, whether state or local, party-affiliated or non-party affiliated, or elected or appointed, from providing voting information to veterans at any VA facility. 
 
Directs the Secretary to provide reasonable access to facilities of the VA health care system to state and local election officials for the purpose of providing nonpartisan voter registration services to individuals.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S1658)
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in Senate