hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act

Bill: 113-s-1241
Sponsor: Sen. Manchin, Joe, III [D-WV]
Introduced: 2013-06-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Consumer affairs
Government lending and loan guarantees
Higher education
Interest, dividends, interest rates
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: 
Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to set the annual interest rate on Direct Loans at the bond equivalent rate on 91-day Treasury bills plus: (1) 1.85% for Direct Stafford Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans for undergraduate students, (2) 3.4% for Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans for graduate students, and (3) 4.4% for Direct PLUS Loans. 
 
Fixes the interest rate on such loans for the period of the loan.
 
Sets the annual interest rate on the unpaid principle balance of Direct Consolidation Loans at the lesser of: (1) the weighted average of the interest rates on the loans consolidated, rounded to the nearest higher one-eighth of 1%; or (2) 8.25%. 
 
Makes these interest rate provisions applicable to loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2013.
 
Requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) to provide student borrowers of title IV loans, prior to or at the time of their departure from school, with information regarding: (1) their options for loan consolidation; (2) the income-based repayment plan, including information about capped monthly payments and loan forgiveness under the plan; and (3) Direct Consolidation Loans.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Introduced in the Senate. Read twice. Ordered Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 125.
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Introduced in Senate
American Jobs Matter Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1246
Sponsor: Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]
Introduced: 2013-06-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Military procurement, research, weapons development
Public contracts and procurement
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: 
American Jobs Matter Act of 2013 - Requires an executive agency to include the effects on employment within the United States (a jobs impact statement) in the evaluation factors that must be considered in each solicitation for competitive proposals for covered contracts. Defines a "covered contract" as a contract in excess of $1 million for the procurement of manufactured goods, goods or services listed in a required report of industrial base capabilities, or any item procured as part of a major defense acquisition program. 
 
Allows an offeror's jobs impact statement to include a guarantee that jobs created or retained in the United States will not be moved outside the United States after award of the contract unless doing so is required to provide the goods or services stipulated in the contract or is in the best interest of the federal government. 
 
Requires each agency to: (1) assess, annually, the accuracy of such a statement submitted by an offeror awarded a contract; and (2) track the number of jobs created or retained during the performance of such contract. Allows the agency, if the number of jobs created or retained falls short of agency estimates, to consider this as a factor that affects a contractor's past performance in the award of future contracts. 
 
Requires: (1) the Secretary of Defense to report annually on the frequency of use within the Department of Defense (DOD) of jobs impact statements in the evaluation of competitive proposals, and (2) revision of the Department of Defense Supplement to the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Introduced in Senate
Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer Survivorship Research and Quality of Life Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1247
Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced: 2013-06-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Cancer
Child health
Health facilities and institutions
Health information and medical records
Health programs administration and funding
Medical education
Medical research
Mental health
Research administration and funding
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: 
Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer Survivorship Research and Quality of Life Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to eligible entities to establish pilot programs to develop, study, or evaluate model systems for monitoring and caring for childhood cancer survivors. 
 
Authorizes the Secretary to convene a Workforce Development Collaborative on Medical and Psychosocial Care for Pediatric Cancer to establish a plan to meet specified objectives relating to medical and psychosocial care workforce development, including: (1) disseminating to health care educators information relevant to providing medical and psychosocial services to individuals with pediatric cancers, (2) adapting curricula for continuing education of the existing workforce, and (3) strengthening the emphasis on psychosocial health care in educational accreditation standards and professional licensing and certification.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Introduced in Senate
Flexibility for Working Families Act

Bill: 113-s-1248
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2013-06-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Civil actions and liability
Congressional agencies
Congressional officers and employees
Department of Labor
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Judicial review and appeals
Labor standards
Labor-management relations
Library of Congress
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: 
Flexibility for Working Families Act - Authorizes an employee to request from an employer a temporary or permanent change in the terms or conditions of the employee's employment if the request relates to: (1) the number of hours the employee is required to work, (2) the times when the employee is required to work or be on call for work, (3) where the employee is required to work, or (4) the amount of notification the employee receives of work schedule assignments. Sets forth certain employer duties with respect to such requests.
 
Makes it unlawful for an employer to interfere with any rights provided to an employee under this Act. Authorizes an employee to file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor for any violations of such rights. Provides for the investigation and assessment of civil penalties or the award of relief for alleged violations, including the review in federal courts of appeal of orders of the Secretary.
 
Requires the Secretary and certain federal agency administrative officers to provide information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public regarding compliance with this Act.
 
Requires the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor to issue guidance on compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act that provides a flexible work environment through changes in employee terms and conditions of employment provided in this Act.
 
Applies the requirements of this Act to certain classes of employees, including employees of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Library of Congress.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to rename the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking of the Department of State the Bureau to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and to provide for an Assistant Secretary to head such Bureau, and for other purposes.

Bill: 113-s-1249
Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2013-06-27 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Department of State
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal officials
Human trafficking

Summary:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: 
Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to: (1) redesignate the Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking as the Bureau to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and (2) provide for an Assistant Secretary to head the Bureau.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Introduced in Senate
TRIP Bonds Act

Bill: 113-s-1250
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2013-06-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Government trust funds
Income tax credits
Infrastructure development
Intergovernmental relations
Marine and inland water transportation
Navigation, waterways, harbors
Public transit
Railroads
Roads and highways
Securities
State and local finance
Transportation programs funding

Summary:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: 
Transportation and Regional Infrastructure Project Bonds Act of 2013 or TRIP Bonds Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax credit for any TRIP bond issued by or for the benefit of a state infrastructure bank as part of an issue, if 100% of the available project proceeds from such issue are to be used for expenditures incurred for one or more qualified projects. Requires proceeds from the sale of bonds issued under this Act to be held in a TRIP Bonds Trust Account (including one or more subaccounts). 
 
Defines &quot;qualified project&quot; as a capital transportation infrastructure project (including roads, bridges, rail and transit systems, ports, and inland waterways) proposed and approved by a state infrastructure bank, as well as any flood damage risk reduction project with a completed Report of the Chief of Engineers of the Army Corps of Engineers. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Introduced in Senate
Lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook Wild and Scenic River Act

Bill: 113-s-1253
Sponsor: Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]
Introduced: 2013-06-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Connecticut
Lakes and rivers
Wilderness and natural areas, wildlife refuges, wild rivers, habitats

Summary:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: 
Lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook Wild and Scenic River Act - Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate specified segments of the Lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook in Connecticut as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. 
 
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to manage: (1) the river segments in accordance with the Lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook Management Plan, dated June 2011; and (2) coordinate the management responsibilities of the Secretary under this Act relating to such segments with the Lower Farmington River and Salmon Brook Wild and Scenic Committee. 
 
Makes the provisions of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act prohibiting federal acquisition of lands by condemnation applicable to the designated segments. Limits the authority of the Secretary to acquire lands for the purposes of such segments to acquisition by donation or with the owner's consent and subject to additional management plan criteria. 
 
Prohibits the designation made by this Act from being construed as: (1) prohibiting, pre-empting, or abridging the potential future licensing or re-licensing of the Rainbow Dam and Reservoir (including any and all aspects of its facilities, operations, and transmission lines) by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as a federally licensed hydroelectric generation project; or (2) affecting the operation of, or imposing any flow or release requirements on, the unlicensed hydroelectric facility at the Dam and Reservoir. 
 
Bars the Lower Farmington River from being administered as part of the National Park System or being subject to System regulations.
 
Revises the description of a specified designated segment of the Farmington River in Connecticut.


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: 2013-06-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Travel Tax Relief Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1255
Sponsor: Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV]
Introduced: 2013-06-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Disability and paralysis
Income tax deductions
Transportation costs
Veterans' medical care
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: 
Veterans Travel Tax Relief Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow veterans a deduction from gross income, up to $400 a year, for their travel expenses, including those of a family member, to a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center for treatment related to a service-connected disability or for an examination related to a claim for disability compensation or a pension.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Introduced in Senate
Protect American Investments Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1257
Sponsor: Sen. Roberts, Pat [R-KS]
Introduced: 2013-06-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Europe
Foreign aid and international relief
France
International law and treaties
Sales and excise taxes
Securities
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
Taxation of foreign income
U.S. and foreign investments

Summary:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: 
Protect American Investments Act of 2013 - Prohibits a U.S.-based company, entity, or person from paying a financial transaction tax imposed by a foreign country on any covered financial transaction. Defines &quot;covered financial transaction&quot; as a financial transaction occurring on a U.S. exchange or over-the-counter within the United States, notwithstanding the nationality of the issuer of such security or the residence of any party to the transaction. 
 
Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) promulgate regulations or other guidance to carry out this Act; (2) not assist any foreign government in collecting any excise tax, related penalty, or related judgment on any covered financial transaction; and (3) apply provisions of the Convention Between the United States of America and the Government of the French Republic for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion With Respect to Taxes on Income and Capital to exempt covered financial transactions. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to authorize and request the President to award the Medal of Honor posthumously to First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing for acts of valor during the Civil War.

Bill: 113-s-1258
Sponsor: Sen. Johnson, Ron [R-WI]
Introduced: 2013-06-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Conflicts and wars
Congressional tributes
Military personnel and dependents
Pennsylvania
Veterans' organizations and recognition

Summary:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: 
Authorizes the President to award the Medal of Honor to First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing for acts of valor during the Civil War.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Introduced in Senate
Assistance in Gaining Experience, Independence, and Navigation Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1259
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2013-06-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Child health
Disability assistance
Employment and training programs
Health care coverage and access
Health programs administration and funding
Hereditary and development disorders
Medical research
Research administration and funding
Vocational and technical education
Youth employment and child labor

Summary:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: 
Assistance in Gaining Experience, Independence, and Navigation Act of 2013 or the AGE-IN Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make a grant to a research organization to: (1) conduct a comprehensive analysis of research on the topic of youth and young adults with an autism spectrum disorder or other developmental disability as such individuals age out of the school-based support system (transitioning youth), (2) conduct research on the existing infrastructure for transitioning youth, and (3) develop a comprehensive strategic plan for the establishment of a Transition Navigator grant program to provide transitioning youth with a comprehensive and interdisciplinary set of support services.
 
Directs the Secretary to establish a Transition Navigator Grant Program to award multiyear grants to establish and carry out a collaborative, interdisciplinary training and services initiative to train transition navigators to provide transitioning youth with the services and skills necessary to lead an independent, integrated life. Provides procedures for evaluation of grantee success in meeting the goal of the strategic plan submitted under this Act.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Introduced in Senate
HOME Act

Bill: 113-s-1260
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Tom [D-NM]
Introduced: 2013-06-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Business investment and capital
Housing finance and home ownership
Income tax deductions
Inflation and prices

Summary:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: 
Helping Our Middle-Class Entrepreneurs Act or the HOME Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a taxpayer who uses a residence to conduct a trade or business a standard tax deduction equal to the lesser of $1,500 or the taxpayer's gross trade or business income derived from the business use of such residence.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Introduced in Senate
Energy Efficient Government Technology Act

Bill: 113-s-1261
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Mark [D-CO]
Introduced: 2013-06-27 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Computers and information technology
Energy efficiency and conservation
Environmental technology
Executive agency funding and structure
Government buildings, facilities, and property
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Licensing and registrations
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Performance measurement
Public contracts and procurement
Public-private cooperation

Summary:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: 
Energy Efficient Government Technology Act - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, with respect to federal agency energy management, to require each agency to collaborate with the Director of the Office of the Management and Budget (OMB) to develop an implementation strategy for the maintenance, purchase, and use of energy-efficient and energy-saving information and communications technologies (ICT) and practices that is based on the agency's operating requirements and statutory mission. Includes as part of such a strategy consideration of ICT and related infrastructure and practices.
 
Requires the OMB Director to: (1) establish performance goals for evaluating the efforts of agencies in improving such technology systems and practices; and (2) maintain a data centers task force responsible for sharing progress toward individual agency goals and the overall target for increased energy efficiency, including through exchanges of best practices and energy efficiency information with the private sector.
 
Sets forth reporting requirements.
 
Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, with respect to data center energy efficiency, to require: 
 
 publication of the designation of the information technology industry organization that coordinates the voluntary national information program for such centers;
 
updating and publication of a report on server and data center efficiency, including an analysis of the impact of ICT asset and related infrastructure utilization solutions;
 
maintenance of a data center energy practitioner program that leads to the certification of practitioners qualified to evaluate energy usage and efficiency opportunities;
 
evaluation of agency data centers every four years by such certified energy practitioners employed by the agency;
 
establishment of an open data initiative for federal data center usage data;
 
consideration of the online Data Center Maturity Model in establishing the initiative;
 
active participation by the Secretary of Energy (DOE) in efforts to harmonize global specifications and metrics for data center energy efficiency; and
 
assistance by the Secretary in the development of an efficiency metric that measures the energy efficiency of the overall data center. 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2013-06-27
text: Introduced in Senate