hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
STEM Education for the Global Economy Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-854
Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced: 2013-04-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Performance measurement
Science and engineering education
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2013-04-25
text: 
STEM Education for the Global Economy Act of 2013 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to replace the Mathematics and Science Partnerships program with a STEM Education program.
 
Directs the Secretary of Education to implement that program by allotting formula grants to states and, through them, awarding competitive subgrants to high-need local educational agencies (LEAs) or educational service agencies serving such LEAs to improve preschool and elementary and secondary school science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.
 
Allots such grants to states pursuant to a formula that takes into account each state's share of elementary and secondary school students and each state's share of such students who are impoverished. 
 
Directs the Secretary to use program appropriations that exceed a specified amount in a fiscal year to award STEM education grants to states on a competitive basis. Authorizes the Secretary to award capacity-building grants to states to help them qualify for competitive grants.
 
Requires subgrants to be used for activities that include: (1) recruiting, supporting, evaluating, and training STEM teachers; (2) developing and improving high-quality STEM curricula and instructional supports to improve student achievement in those subjects; and (3) integrating STEM instruction with instruction in reading, English language arts, or other academic subjects.
 
Authorizes states to require subgrantees to obtain a commitment from one or more outside partners to match, from nonfederal funds, a portion of the subgrant funds.
 
Directs the Secretary to award to partnerships between states or LEAs and outside entities experienced in improving the effectiveness or retention of STEM teachers competitive grants to establish and operate STEM master teacher corps programs. Requires the partnerships to: (1) select a group of highly-rated STEM teachers to serve as corps members in high-need schools; (2) provide corps members with instructional leadership responsibilities, research-based training, and a salary supplement; and (3) build a community of practice among corps members.
 
Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, to establish performance metrics and use those metrics to evaluate this Act's programs and identify best practices to improve STEM instruction.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-04-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-04-25
text: Introduced in Senate
CDBG Public Services Flexibility Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-855
Sponsor: Sen. Nelson, Bill [D-FL]
Introduced: 2013-04-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Housing and Community Development
Subjects: Housing and community development funding
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2013-04-25
text: 
CDBG Public Services Flexibility Act of 2013 - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to revise requirements for activities eligible for community development block grant (CDBG) assistance.
 
Increases from 15% to 25% the limitation on the amount of CDBG assistance that may be used to provide public services (e.g., those concerned with employment, crime prevention, child care, health, drug abuse, education, energy conservation, welfare or recreation needs).
 
(Currently, only the city and county of Los Angeles, California, and the city of Miami, Florida, are favored with the 25% limit on the amount of CDBG assistance that may be used to provide public services.)

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-04-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2013-04-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act

Bill: 113-s-857
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2013-05-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Employee leave
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Home and outpatient care
Marriage and family status
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: 
Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to provide for employee leave to care for a domestic partner (including a same-sex spouse) or his or her child, parent-in-law, adult child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, son-in-law, or daughter-in-law (as well as for a spouse, child, or parent), if such person has a serious health condition.
 
Amends federal civil service law to apply the same leave allowance to federal employees.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Introduced in Senate
State Leadership in Health Care Act

Bill: 113-s-858
Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]
Introduced: 2013-05-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: 
State Leadership in Health Care Act - Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to allow states to apply for a waiver of specified requirements under PPACA with respect to health insurance coverage within that state due to implementation of a state plan that provides comparable coverage for plan years beginning in 2015 (currently, 2017). Permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) or the Secretary of the Treasury to deny waivers only if: (1) the state plan does not meet requirements for granting a waiver, (2) the Secretary of HHS or the Treasury notifies the state in writing of the requirements that the state plan did not meet and provides the state with information used in making such a determination, and (3) the state is given an opportunity to appeal.
 
Requires the Secretary of HHS or the Treasury to reconsider the determination in the event of an appeal and issue a written decision within 60 days.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Animal and Public Health Protection Act

Bill: 113-s-859
Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]
Introduced: 2013-05-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Animal and plant health
Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Emergency planning and evacuation
Health promotion and preventive care
Higher education
Livestock
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Veterinary medicine and animal diseases

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: 
Animal and Public Health Protection Act - Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to offer to enter into contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements with eligible laboratories to: (1) detect emerging or existing threats to animal health and support the protection of public health, the environment, and the agricultural economy; (2) provide the capability for standardized test procedures, laboratory biosafety and biosecurity, interconnected electronic data reporting, and emergency preparedness evaluation; and (3) coordinate the development and implementation of national veterinary diagnostic laboratory capabilities. 
 
Directs the Secretary to give priority to eligible laboratories at existing federal and state facilities and those at institutions of higher education.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Rural Energy Investment Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-860
Sponsor: Sen. Franken, Al [D-MN]
Introduced: 2013-05-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Agricultural conservation and pollution
Agricultural education
Agricultural practices and innovations
Agricultural research
Alternative and renewable resources
Census and government statistics
Congressional oversight
Consumer affairs
Economic performance and conditions
Electric power generation and transmission
Employee hiring
Energy efficiency and conservation
Energy research
Forests, forestry, trees
Government information and archives
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government studies and investigations
Minority and disadvantaged businesses
Product development and innovation
Public contracts and procurement
Research administration and funding
Research and development
Rural conditions and development
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: 
Rural Energy Investment Act of 2013 - Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 regarding the biobased markets program to: (1) extend program funding through FY2018, (2) increase the number of categories of biobased products designated and individual biobased products eligible for preferred purchasing, and (3) provide for a program of biobased product education and promotion activities. 
 
Amends the Rural Energy for America Program to: (1) extend Program funding through FY2018; (2) make nonprofit organizations eligible for assistance; (3) provide loan guarantees and grants to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy system purchases, with a tiered loan and grant application process that reflects project cost; and (4) permit the combined amount of a grant and a loan guarantee to cover all eligible activity costs.
 
Extends funding through FY2018 for: (1) biorefinery assistance, (2) the biodiesel fuel education program, (3) biomass research and development, (4) the Rural Energy Self-Sufficiency Initiative, (5) the biomass crop assistance program, (6) the forest biomass for energy program, (7) the community wood energy program, and (8) the feedstock flexibility program for bioenergy producers.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Introduced in Senate
EACH Act

Bill: 113-s-862
Sponsor: Sen. Ayotte, Kelly [R-NH]
Introduced: 2013-05-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Comprehensive health care
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Religion
Sales and excise taxes

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: 
Equitable Access to Care and Health Act or the EACH Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to minimum essential health care coverage requirements added by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to allow an additional religious exemption from such requirements for individuals whose sincerely held religious beliefs would cause them to object to medical health care provided under such coverage. 
 
Defines &quot;medical health care&quot; to mean voluntary health treatment by or supervised by a medical doctor that would be covered under minimum essential coverage that: (1) includes voluntary acute care treatment at hospital emergency rooms, walk-in clinics, or similar facilities; and (2) excludes treatment not administered or supervised by a medical doctor, physical examinations or treatment required by law or third parties, and vaccinations. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Back to School Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-863
Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2013-05-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Education programs funding
Higher education
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: 
Veterans Back to School Act of 2013 - Provides that an individual's entitlement to educational assistance under the all-volunteer force veterans' educational assistance program shall not end until 10 years after the individual begins using such benefit. (Under current law, there are several more stringent time limits on the use of such assistance.)
 
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), under specified conditions, to fund offices of veterans affairs at eligible institutions of higher learning (institutions with at least 50 veteran-enrollees) for veterans' certification, outreach, recruitment, and special education programs. Limits payments to $15,000 per institution per fiscal year.
 
Directs the Secretary to annually collect information about exemplary veterans educational outreach programs, and to disseminate such information to other institutions offering such programs.


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

Bill: 113-s-865
Sponsor: Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]
Introduced: 2013-05-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Cancer
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Medical research
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: 
Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act of 2013 - Establishes the Commission to Accelerate the End of Breast Cancer to help end breast cancer by January 1, 2020.
 
Directs the Commission to identify, recommend, and promote initiatives, partnerships, and research within the public and private sectors, basic and applied sciences, and epidemiology that can be turned into strategies to prevent breast cancer and breast cancer metastasis while giving priority to those that are: (1) not prioritized within the public sector, and (2) unlikely to be achieved by the private sector due to technical and financial uncertainty.
 
Requires the Commission to: (1) submit within six months to the President and to the relevant congressional committees a description of the Commission's strategic plan; (2) submit an annual report to the President, Congress, and the public; and (3) ensure that its activities are coordinated with, and do not duplicate the efforts of, programs and laboratories of other government agencies.
 
Directs the President to enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine to evaluate the Commission's progress.
 
Terminates the Commission on June 1, 2020.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Patent Quality Improvement Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-866
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2013-05-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Financial services and investments
Intellectual property

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: 
Patent Quality Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act to remove the eight-year sunset provision with respect to the transitional post-grant review program available to review the validity of covered business method patents, thereby making the program permanent. 
 
Expands the term &quot;covered business method patent&quot; to include a patent that claims a method or corresponding apparatus for performing data processing or other operations used in the practice, administration, or management of any enterprise, product, or service, except technological inventions. (Current law limits the program to financial products or services.)


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Medicare Prescription Drug Program Integrity and Transparency Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-867
Sponsor: Sen. Pryor, Mark L. [D-AR]
Introduced: 2013-05-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Health information and medical records
Medicare
Prescription drugs
Public contracts and procurement

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: 
Medicare Prescription Drug Program Integrity and Transparency Act of 2013 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require each contract entered into with a prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsor with respect to a PDP the sponsor offers to prohibit the PDP from entering into a contract with any pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) to manage the prescription drug coverage provided under such plan, or to control the costs of the prescription drug coverage under it, unless the manager satisfies specified PBM audit and disclosure requirements.
 
Requires a PBM to provide: (1) a particular aggregate average reimbursement rate for generics or a maximum average discount off of an accepted pharmaceutical pricing benchmark for multi-source generics as a whole (&quot;generic effective rate&quot;), and (2) a process for the generic effective rate to be appealed. 
Revises requirements for contracts with PDP sponsors to require that the PDP sponsor or a subcontractor of the sponsor disclose to a pharmacy, at the time when a contract is offered and at least once every seven days, the methodology and actual per unit reimbursement amount for each covered drug for each contracted pharmacy.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-05-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Filipino Veterans Promise Act

Bill: 113-s-868
Sponsor: Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV]
Introduced: 2013-05-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Asia
Conflicts and wars
Life, casualty, property insurance
Military history
Military personnel and dependents
Philippines
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-07
text: 
Filipino Veterans Promise Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to establish a process for determining whether individuals who served in the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines or in the Philippine Scouts while in the service of the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II and who are not included in the Missouri List are eligible for certain benefits relating to their U.S. service.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-12
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-111.
action_date: 2013-05-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2013-05-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area Act

Bill: 113-s-869
Sponsor: Sen. Shelby, Richard C. [R-AL]
Introduced: 2013-05-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Alabama
Historic sites and heritage areas
Historical and cultural resources

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-07
text: 
Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area Act - Establishes the Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area in Alabama. 
 
Designates the Center for the Study of the Black Belt at the University of West Alabama as the local coordinating entity for the Heritage Area, requires the Center to submit a management plan for the Heritage Area, and sets forth procedures for the approval or disapproval of such plan.


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

Bill: 113-s-870
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Tom [D-NM]
Introduced: 2013-05-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Child care and development
Child health
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Food assistance and relief
Government information and archives
Health care costs and insurance
Health promotion and preventive care
Medicaid
Minority education
Performance measurement
Poverty and welfare assistance
Preschool education
School administration
State and local government operations
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Teenage pregnancy
Transportation costs
Women's education

Summary:
action_date: 2013-05-07
text: 
Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act of 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make formula grants to states and, through them, competitive subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish or enhance educational programs and related services that enable pregnant and parenting students to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school. 
 
Requires state grantees to: (1) designate a Coordinator for Education of Pregnant and Parenting Students who is to develop and implement a state plan for educating pregnant and parenting students, and (2) develop and implement high-quality professional development programs for LEAs and school personnel.
 
Requires subgrantees to: 
 
 
 provide academic support services to pregnant and parenting students; 
 
 assist such students in accessing quality, affordable child care, and early childhood education services; 
 
 provide transportation services or assistance to such students and their children; 
 
 educate students, parents, and community members regarding the educational rights of such students; 
 
 train school personnel regarding the challenges facing pregnant and parenting students and their educational rights; 
 
 revise school policies and practices that hinder or discourage such students from continuing their education; 
 
 provide student parents with training and support in parenting, healthy relationship skills, unplanned pregnancy prevention strategies, and other life skills; and 
 
 provide educational and career mentoring services and peer groups to pregnant and parenting students.
 
 
Gives subgrant priority to LEAs in geographic areas with teen birth rates that: (1) exceed the state average, or (2) are below the state average but higher than the state average for one or more racial or ethnic groups.
 
Directs the Secretary to conduct national activities that include: (1) providing technical assistance to states and reviewing their plans for educating pregnant and parenting students, (2) evaluating subgrantees' programs and education program service delivery models for such students, and (3) gathering and disseminating information regarding the education of such students and best practices in facilitating it.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-05-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-05-07
text: Introduced in Senate