hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to include contracts and grants for residential care for veterans in the exception to the requirement that the Federal Government recover a portion of the value of certain projects.

Bill: 113-s-1540
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2013-09-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Health facilities and institutions
Health programs administration and funding
Public contracts and procurement
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-24
text: 
Includes among the circumstances under which the federal government shall not be entitled to recover a portion of the value of state home facilities that received a grant for, but that the state has ceased to operate for, furnishing domiciliary or nursing home care to veterans the provision by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) of a contract or grant for veterans' residential care in such facilities. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-10-30
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-280.
action_date: 2013-09-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2013-09-24
text: Introduced in Senate
Military Pay Protection Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1541
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Mark [D-CO]
Introduced: 2013-09-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Appropriations
Coast guard
Defense spending
Department of Defense
Department of Homeland Security
Disaster relief and insurance
Executive agency funding and structure
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Military personnel and dependents
Military procurement, research, weapons development
National Guard and reserves
Public contracts and procurement

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-24
text: 
Military Pay Protection Act of 2013 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, during a government-wide shutdown, to make available to the Secretary of Defense (DOD), and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) in the case of the Coast Guard, out of any amounts in the general fund of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such amounts as necessary to continue to provide pay and allowances to members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, including reserve components, who perform active service during the funding gap. Allows for the provision of such pay and allowances, at the discretion of the DOD Secretary, to: (1) DOD civilian personnel providing support to such members, and (2) DOD contractor personnel providing direct support to such members.
 
Makes additional funding available as necessary to prevent interruptions or delays in the performance of domestic disaster relief and recovery operations.
 
Defines &quot;government-wide shutdown&quot; as any portion of a fiscal year during which none of the appropriation bills for the fiscal year have become law and an Act or joint resolution making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year is not in effect.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-09-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
action_date: 2013-09-24
text: Introduced in Senate
RAISE Act

Bill: 113-s-1542
Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2013-09-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Employment discrimination and employee rights
Labor-management relations
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-24
text: 
Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees Act or RAISE Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to declare that neither its prohibition against interference by an employer with employees' right to bargain collectively, nor the terms of a collective bargaining agreement entered into between employees and an employer after enactment of this Act, shall prohibit an employer from paying an employee higher wages, pay, or other compensation than the agreement provides for.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-09-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-09-24
text: Introduced in Senate
Ensuring Pay for Our Military Act

Bill: 113-s-1543
Sponsor: Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV]
Introduced: 2013-09-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Appropriations
Coast guard
Defense spending
Department of Defense
Department of Homeland Security
Executive agency funding and structure
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Military personnel and dependents
Military procurement, research, weapons development
National Guard and reserves
Public contracts and procurement

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-24
text: 
Ensuring Pay for Our Military Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, during a funding gap impacting the Armed Forces, to make available to the Secretary of Defense (DOD), and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) in the case of the Coast Guard, out of any amounts in the general fund of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such amounts as necessary to continue to provide pay and allowances to members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, including reserve components, who perform active service during the funding gap. Allows for the provision of such pay and allowances, at the discretion of the DOD Secretary, to: (1) DOD civilian personnel providing support to such members, and (2) DOD contractor personnel providing direct support to such members.
 
 Defines &quot;funding gap&quot; as any period after the beginning of a fiscal year for which interim or full-year appropriations for the personnel accounts of the Armed Forces for that fiscal year have not been enacted.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-09-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
action_date: 2013-09-24
text: Introduced in Senate
Timber Revitalization and Economic Enhancement Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1544
Sponsor: Sen. Pryor, Mark L. [D-AR]
Introduced: 2013-09-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Capital gains tax
Forests, forestry, trees
Income tax rates

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-24
text: 
Timber Revitalization and Economic Enhancement Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the reduced tax rate on the net timber gains of corporations, to: (1) adjust the formula for calculating such rate, and (2) make such reduced rate permanent. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-09-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-09-24
text: Introduced in Senate
Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1546
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2013-09-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Child health
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Government information and archives
Health information and medical records
Health promotion and preventive care
Neurological disorders
School administration
School athletics
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: 
Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act of 2013 - Requires each state that receives funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) and that does not meet the requirements for the prevention and treatment of concussions set forth in this Act as of the date of enactment of this Act to enact legislation or issue regulations establishing such requirements by the last day of the fifth full fiscal year after such date.
 
Requires each local educational agency in the state to develop and implement a standard plan for concussion safety and management that: (1) educates students, parents, and school personnel about concussions through specified activities; (2) encourages specified supports for a student recovering from a concussion; and (3) encourages the use of specified best practices designed to ensure the uniformity of safety standards, treatment, and management. 
 
Requires each public elementary and secondary school to post on school grounds and make publicly available on the school website specified information on concussions. 
 
Requires that if an individual designated from among school personnel for purposes of this Act suspects that a student has sustained a concussion: (1) the student shall be immediately removed from participation in a school-sponsored athletic activity and prohibited from returning to such activity until the student submits a written release from a health care professional; and (2) such designated individual shall report to the student's parent or guardian information regarding the date, time, and type of the injury suffered by the student and any actions taken to treat the student. 
 
Directs the Secretary of Education to: (1) reduce by specified percentages the amount a state receives under ESEA if it fails to comply with this Act within a specified time frame, and (2) provide prior written notification of such intended reduction to the state and to the appropriate congressional committees.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR 9/24/2013 S6887-6888)
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S6882-6883)
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Dialysis Pilot Program Review Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1547
Sponsor: Sen. Burr, Richard [R-NC]
Introduced: 2013-09-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Digestive and metabolic diseases
Government studies and investigations
Health facilities and institutions
Home and outpatient care
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: 
Veterans Dialysis Pilot Program Review Act of 2013 - Prohibits the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) from expanding the dialysis pilot program (established by the Secretary in 2009 to provide dialysis care to patients at certain VA outpatient facilities) to any facility other than an initial facility (one of four outpatient facilities the Secretary identified to participate in the program) until after: (1) the Secretary has implemented the program at each initial facility for at least two years, (2) an independent analysis of the program has been conducted at each initial facility, and (3) a report from the Secretary to Congress (required under this Act) on such analysis has been submitted.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-10-30
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-280.
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Haiti and Armenia Reforestation Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1548
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2013-09-25 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Armenia
Caribbean area
Congressional oversight
Ecology
Europe
Foreign aid and international relief
Foreign loans and debt
Forests, forestry, trees
Haiti
Latin America
Performance measurement
Technology transfer and commercialization
Watersheds
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: 
Haiti and Armenia Reforestation Act of 2013 - Authorizes the President to: (1) provide Haiti and Armenia with financial assistance, technology transfers, or capacity building assistance to reduce deforestation and increase afforestation and reforestation; (2) establish a grant program to reverse deforestation and improve reforestation and afforestation in Haiti and Armenia; (3) make grants to nongovernmental organizations for the open-market purchase of discounted government of Haiti debt in exchange for forest restoration commitments by the government; and (4) forgive debt owed to the United States by the government of Armenia in exchange for forest restoration commitments by the government.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-10-31
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S7717-7718)
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text of measure as introduced: CR 9/24/2013 S6888-6891)
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Stop the Sale of Murderabilia Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1549
Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX]
Introduced: 2013-09-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Crime victims
Postal service
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: 
Stop the Sale of Murderabilia Act of 2013 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit a federal or state prison inmate convicted of a crime of violence from knowingly placing in the mail or causing to be delivered in interstate or foreign commerce any property, article, or object. Sets forth exceptions for a mailing or delivery of title to real property, title to motor vehicles, or a security to satisfy debt that is: (1) imposed by law or a court order; or (2) incurred through a contract for legal services, a mortgage on the primary residence of the immediate family of the inmate, the education or medical care of the inmate or a member of the immediate family of the inmate, or life, health, home, or car insurance. 
 
Provides for civil and criminal forfeiture of real or personal property used to commit such a crime or obtained as a result of such crime.
 
Provides civil remedies, including injunctions, damages, and attorney fees, for persons aggrieved by prisoners using the mail in violation of this Act. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR 9/24/2013 S6891-6892)
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: Introduced in Senate
BEST Practices Act

Bill: 113-s-1550
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2013-09-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Congressional oversight
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Medical education
Military education and training
Military medicine

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: 
Battlefield Excellence through Superior Training Practices Act or the BEST Practices Act - Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD), no later than: (1) October 1, 2016, to develop, test, and validate human-based training methods for training members of the Armed Forces in the treatment of combat trauma injuries, with the goal of replacing live animal-based training methods; and (2) October 1, 2018, to use only use human-based training methods for such purposes. Prohibits the use of animals in such training after the latter date. Provides an exception when the Secretary determines that human-based training methods will not provide an educationally equivalent or superior substitute for live animal-based training methods.
 
Requires an annual report from the Secretary to the congressional defense committees on the development and implementation of the human-based training methods, as well as any exceptions implemented.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2013-09-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Next Generation Research Act

Bill: 113-s-1552
Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
Introduced: 2013-09-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Department of Health and Human Services
Executive agency funding and structure
Government studies and investigations
Health personnel
Medical research
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Research administration and funding

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-26
text: 
Next Generation Research Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the Next Generation of Research Initiative in the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for coordination of all NIH policies and programs aimed at promoting and providing opportunities for new researchers.
 
Requires the Director to: (1) promote existing policies and programs to improve opportunities for new researchers; (2) develop or modify policies, including to strengthen mentorship programs and enhance diversity efforts; and (3) request the National Academy of Sciences, as part of the required studies concerning biomedical and behavioral research personnel, to conduct a comprehensive study and report on policies affecting the next generation of researchers.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-09-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-09-26
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to reauthorize the State infrastructure bank program.

Bill: 113-s-1553
Sponsor: Sen. Ayotte, Kelly [R-NH]
Introduced: 2013-09-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Public transit
Railroads
Roads and highways
State and local finance
Transportation programs funding
Urban and suburban affairs and development

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-26
text: 
Revises and reauthorizes the state infrastructure bank program for FY2013 and FY2014.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-09-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2013-09-26
text: Introduced in Senate
Hunt Unrestricted on National Treasures Act

Bill: 113-s-1554
Sponsor: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]
Introduced: 2013-09-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Forests, forestry, trees
Government information and archives
Hunting and fishing
Land transfers
Land use and conservation
Outdoor recreation
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Water quality
Wilderness and natural areas, wildlife refuges, wild rivers, habitats
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-26
text: 
Hunt Unrestricted on National Treasures Act or HUNT Act - Requires each head of a federal public land management agency (the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management [BLM]), to annually make available to the public on its website a report that includes: (1) a list of the land more than 640 acres in size under its jurisdiction on which the public is allowed to hunt, fish, or use such land for other recreational purposes and to which there is no public access or egress or to which such access or egress to the land's legal boundaries is significantly restricted; (2) a list of locations and acreage on such land that the agency head determines have significant potential for use for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes; and (3) a plan to provide such access and egress that is consistent with the travel management plan in effect. 
 
Requires each agency head to make available to the public on the agency's website, and thereafter revise, a list of roads or trails that provide the primary public access and egress to the legal boundaries of contiguous parcels of land equal to more than 640 acres in size under the agency's jurisdiction on which the public is allowed to hunt, fish, or use such lands for other recreational purposes. 
 
Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to require allotment from the Land and Water Conservation Fund of an amount not less than 1.5% of the moneys appropriated for projects that secure public access to federal land for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes through easements, rights-of-way, or fee title acquisitions from willing sellers.


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: 2013-09-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2013-09-26
text: Introduced in Senate
DSH Reduction Relief Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1555
Sponsor: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS]
Introduced: 2013-09-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health facilities and institutions
Hospital care
Medicaid
Medicare

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-26
text: 
DSH Reduction Relief Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to delay from FY2014 to FY2016 commencement of the period during which the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) is required to pay to any &quot;subsection (d) hospital&quot;: (1) 25% of the amount of the disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payment that would otherwise be made to it for the fiscal year, plus (2) an additional payment amount according to a specified formula. 
 
(Generally, a subsection [d] hospital is an acute care hospital, particularly one that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system [IPPS] when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.)
 
Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to delay from the beginning of FY2014 until the beginning of FY2016 (and so eliminate for FY2014 and FY2015) aggregate reductions in DSH allotments for all states. 
 
Maintains the FY2022 DSH allotment to states under Medicaid for FY2023, with an adjustment for inflation.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-09-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-09-26
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to modify authorities relating to the collective bargaining of employees in the Veterans Health Administration.

Bill: 113-s-1556
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2013-09-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Veterans Affairs
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Health personnel
Labor-management relations
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-27
text: 
Repeals federal provisions that prohibit collective bargaining and related grievance procedures provided under a collective bargaining agreement for certain employees of the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from covering any matter or question concerning or arising out of: (1) professional conduct or competence; (2) peer review; or (3) the establishment, determination, or adjustment of employee compensation.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-11-19
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
action_date: 2013-10-30
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-280.
action_date: 2013-09-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2013-09-27
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Outreach Enhancement Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1558
Sponsor: Sen. Begich, Mark [D-AK]
Introduced: 2013-09-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Government information and archives
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Veterans' organizations and recognition
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2013-09-27
text: 
Veterans Outreach Enhancement Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a five-year program of outreach to veterans to increase: (1) their access and use of federal, state, and local programs providing compensation and other benefits for service in the Armed Forces; and (2) their awareness of and eligibility for such programs. Allows the Secretary, under the program, to enter into agreements with other federal and state agencies and specified authorities and commissions to carry out projects to further such purposes.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-10-30
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-280.
action_date: 2013-09-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2013-09-27
text: Introduced in Senate