hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Consortia-Led Energy and Advanced Manufacturing Networks Act

Bill: 113-s-1698
Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2013-11-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Advanced technology and technological innovations
Advisory bodies
Alternative and renewable resources
Energy efficiency and conservation
Energy research
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Environmental technology
Higher education
Hybrid, electric, and advanced technology vehicles
Lighting, heating, cooling
Manufacturing
Materials
Public-private cooperation
Research administration and funding
Research and development
Technology transfer and commercialization
Water use and supply

Summary:
action_date: 2013-11-13
text: 
Consortia-Led Energy and Advanced Manufacturing Networks Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a program of clean technology consortia by leveraging the expertise and resources of private research communities, higher education institutions, industry, venture capital, National Laboratories, and other participants in technology innovation. Describes such technology as a technology, production process, or methodology that, among other things, produces energy from renewable sources, produces an advanced or sustainable material with energy or energy efficiency applications, improves energy efficiency or water conservation and management, or addresses challenges in advanced manufacturing and supply chain integration.
 
Sets forth eligibility criteria for support under this Act, including regarding technology expertise, membership agreement policies, funding sources, and operation as a nonprofit organization or a public-private partnership under the leadership of a nonprofit organization.
 
Requires a consortium, in order to receive a grant, to establish an external advisory committee to review plans, programs, and projects and ensure that projects comply with the consortium's conflict of interest policy.
 
Provides the terms of grants, which shall not exceed five years initially. Limits grant amounts to $30 million per fiscal year or the collective contributions of non-federal entities. Requires grants to be used for support of translational research, technology development, manufacturing innovation, and commercialization activities relating to clean technology.
 Sets forth audit and reporting requirements.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-11-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2013-11-13
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8006)
action_date: 2013-11-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Continuous Coverage Act

Bill: 113-s-1699
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Mark [D-CO]
Introduced: 2013-11-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Comprehensive health care
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Sales and excise taxes
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2013-11-13
text: 
Continuous Coverage Act - Provides that, notwithstanding any provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) or the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010:
 
 
a health insurance issuer shall offer an individual the opportunity to renew enrollment in coverage offered in the individual market if the individual was enrolled in such coverage on September 30, 2013, and continues to meet the requirements of eligibility for such coverage;
 
an individual may renew enrollment in such coverage for plan years through December 31, 2015;
 
the coverage shall not be required to meet PPACA essential health benefits requirements; and
 
the coverage shall be deemed to meet the Internal Revenue Code minimum essential coverage requirement (thus not subjecting the taxpayer to a penalty).
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-11-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-11-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Freedoms and Privacy Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1701
Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
Introduced: 2013-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Business records
Congressional oversight
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal justice information and records
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
Law enforcement administration and funding

Summary:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: 
Freedoms and Privacy Act of 2013 - Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA), with respect to provisions governing the use and disclosure of information obtained under such Act, to require: 
 
 
the application of rules for the use in court proceedings of classified information underthe Classified Information Procedures Act to information acquired from electronic surveillance, physical searches, and pen registers and trap and trace devices under FISA; 
 
 notification to an aggrieved person under FISA of all information that has been collected and used in an investigation relevant to a FISA criminal proceeding, including information not intended to be entered into evidence; 
 
a FISA court to provide a defendant with information that was used to obtain an order (and a copy of such order) authorizing: (1) surveillance of such defendant or another aggrieved person, (2) physical searches, or (3) the use of pen registers and trap and trace devices; 
 
the Attorney General, or a designee of the Attorney General who was appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to certify in writing the basis for authorizing disclosure of FISA-related information, including information from targets outside the United States, for law enforcement purposes (other than for international terrorism or clandestine intelligence investigations);
 
 the collection of foreign intelligence information to be the primary purpose (currently, a significant purpose) of a FISA court warrant application; 
 
 the Attorney General to make available to all Members of Congress every six months a report on FISA information shared between the intelligence community and law enforcement and summaries of investigations and criminal proceedings using such shared information; and 
 
 the Attorney General to make available to all Members of Congress: (1) standard minimization procedures (i.e., specific procedures to minimize the retention, and prohibit the dissemination, of information concerning unconsenting U.S. persons consistent with the need to obtain, produce, and disseminate foreign intelligence information) applied to the acquisition, retention, use, and dissemination of information; and (2) annual reports setting forth a review and justification of all standard minimization procedures. 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to require the provision of information to members of the Armed Forces on availability of mental health services and related privacy rights.

Bill: 113-s-1703
Sponsor: Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK]
Introduced: 2013-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Government information and archives
Health information and medical records
Mental health
Military medicine
Military personnel and dependents
Right of privacy

Summary:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: 
Directs the Secretaries of the military departments to ensure that information concerning the availability of mental health services to members of the Armed Forces (members), as well as privacy rights related to the receipt of such services, is provided to: (1) each officer candidate during initial training, (2) each recruit during basic training, and (3) each other member at such time as the Secretary of Defense (DOD) considers appropriate.
 
Requires each department Secretary to: (1) seek to eliminate perceived stigma associated with seeking and receiving mental health services, and (2) promote the use of such services on a basis comparable to the use of other medical and health services.
 
Directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure that such information is also provided to current members, including members of the reserve components.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Affordable College Textbook Act

Bill: 113-s-1704
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2013-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Books and print media
Education programs funding
Educational technology and distance education
Higher education
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
School administration
Student aid and college costs
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: 
Affordable College Textbook Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make competitive grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) to support pilot programs that expand the use of open textbooks in order to achieve savings for students.
 
Requires the grants to be used for: 
 
 
 professional development for IHE faculty and staff, including the search for and review of open textbooks; 
 
 the creation or adaptation of open educational resources, especially open textbooks; 
 
 the development or improvement of tools and informational resources that support the use of open textbooks; 
 
 research evaluating the efficacy of using open textbooks to achieve savings for students; and 
 
 partnerships with other entities to carry out the preceding activities.
 
 
Requires the full and complete digital content of the educational resources created or adopted using such grant funds to be made available free of charge to the public: (1) on an easily accessible and interoperable website; and (2) in a machine readable, digital format that anyone can directly download, edit, and redistribute.
 
Directs the Secretary to give special consideration to grant applicants that demonstrate the greatest potential to: 
 
 
 achieve the highest level of savings for students;
 
 expand the use of open textbooks at other IHEs; and 
 
 produce open textbooks that are of the highest quality, that can be most easily utilized and adapted by faculty members, that correspond to the highest enrollment courses, and that are created or adopted in partnership with entities that will assist in their marketing and distribution.
 
 
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include any educational material developed to accompany a college textbook as supplemental material that is subject to college textbook information disclosure requirements.
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that IHEs should encourage the consideration of open textbooks by faculty within the generally accepted principles of academic freedom that establish the right and responsibility of faculty members to select the most appropriate course materials for their classes.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8051-8052)
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
National Fab Lab Network Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1705
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2013-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Digital media
Federally chartered organizations
Manufacturing
Product development and innovation
Science and engineering education

Summary:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: 
National Fab Lab Network Act of 2013 - Grants a federal charter to the National Fab Lab Network.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S8052)
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Fair Playing Field Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1706
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2013-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Census and government statistics
Contracts and agency
Department of the Treasury
Employment taxes
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: 
Fair Playing Field Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the classification of workers for employment tax purposes, to: (1) repeal the prohibition against issuance of regulations and guidance by the Secretary of the Treasury on workers' employment tax status (i.e., as an employee or as an independent contractor) enacted by the Revenue Act of 1978; (2) direct the Secretary to issue regulations and other guidance to clarify the proper employment status of workers for employment tax purposes; (3) prohibit a retroactive assessment of employment tax, except with respect to certain skilled workers, for tax periods after December 31, 1978, and before a specified reclassification date for worker misclassifications, unless the taxpayer had no reasonable basis for not treating a worker as an employee; (4) require taxpayers who hire independent contractors on a regular and ongoing basis to provide such contractors with notice of their federal tax obligations, the labor and employment law protections that do not apply to them, and their right to seek a status determination from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); and (5) eliminate reduced penalty provisions for failure to withhold income taxes for taxpayers who lack a reasonable basis for treating a worker as other than an employee (i.e., as an independent contractor). 
 
Provides that for purposes of determining whether a registered representative of a securities broker-dealer is an employee for employment tax purposes, no weight shall be given to instructions from a service recipient which are imposed only in compliance with investor protection standards. Makes this rule applicable to services performed by a broker-dealer after December 31, 1997.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act

Bill: 113-s-1707
Sponsor: Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV]
Introduced: 2013-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Housing and Community Development
Subjects: Disability assistance
Government information and archives
Housing for the elderly and disabled
Low- and moderate-income housing
Public housing
Public utilities and utility rates
Veterans' loans, housing, homeless programs
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: 
Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to exclude as family income for Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) housing assistance purposes any Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) payments made to veterans in need of regular aid and attendance for expenses related to such aid and attendance.
 
Prohibits, in determining the monthly rental assistance payment for low-income families, the amount for tenant-paid utilities from exceeding the appropriate utility allowance for that family unit size as determined by the public housing agency (PHA), regardless of the size of the unit leased by the family. Requires the PHA, upon request by a family that includes a person with disabilities, an elderly family, or a family that includes a person less than 18 years old, to approve a higher utility allowance, except that in the case of a family with a disabled person the PHA shall approve the higher amount only when needed as a reasonable accommodation to make the unit accessible to and usable by that person.
 
Directs the HUD Secretary to regularly publish data regarding local utility consumption and costs in order to establish appropriate allowances for tenant-paid utilities for assisted families.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, with respect to the establishment of performance measures for the highway safety improvement program, and for other purposes.

Bill: 113-s-1708
Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced: 2013-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Transportation
Performance measurement
Roads and highways
Transportation programs funding
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: 
Revises the highway safety improvement program.
 
Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT), under the highway safety improvement program, to establish performance measures for states to use to assess significant reductions in the number of serious injuries and fatalities (as under current law) specifically for both motorized and nonmotorized transportation.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1709
Sponsor: Sen. Kirk, Mark Steven [R-IL]
Introduced: 2013-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Advanced technology and technological innovations
Advisory bodies
Competitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficits
Employment and training programs
Government studies and investigations
Industrial policy and productivity
Manufacturing
Research and development
Technology transfer and commercialization

Summary:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: 
American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2013 - Directs the Committee on Technology under the National Science and Technology Council to develop, in coordination with the National Economic Council, in lieu of the currently required strategic plan to guide federal programs and activities in support of advanced manufacturing research and development, a national manufacturing competitiveness strategic plan to improve government coordination and provide long-term guidance for federal programs and activities in support of U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, including advanced manufacturing research and development. 
 
Requires the Secretary of Commerce, in developing and updating the plan quadrennially, to serve as the chairperson of the Committee. 
 
Specifies the goals of the plan to be to: (1) promote growth, job creation, sustainability, and competitiveness in the U.S. manufacturing sector; (2) support the development of a skilled manufacturing workforce; (3) enable innovation and investment in domestic manufacturing; and (4) support national security. 
 
Requires the Committee, as part of the development of the plan, to conduct an analysis of specified factors that impact the competitiveness and growth of the U.S. manufacturing sector. 
 
Permits the chairperson of the Committee to appoint an advisory panel of private sector and nonprofit leaders to provide input, perspective, and recommendations to assist in the development of the plan. 
 
Requires the President to submit the plan to Congress and publish it on an Internet website accessible to the public.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Pets on Trains Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1710
Sponsor: Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]
Introduced: 2013-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Government corporations and government-sponsored enterprises
Mammals
National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)
Railroads
User charges and fees

Summary:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: 
Pets on Trains Act of 2013 - Directs the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) to propose a pet policy that allows passengers to transport domesticated cats or dogs on certain Amtrak trains.
 
Requires Amtrak to collect a fee for each cat or dog transported by a ticketed passenger to cover administrative costs.
 
Declares that the proposed policy shall be separate from and in addition to the policy governing Amtrak passengers traveling with service animals.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
State Health Care Choice Act

Bill: 113-s-1711
Sponsor: Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY]
Introduced: 2013-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Comprehensive health care
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: 
State Health Care Choice Act - Authorizes a state to limit the application of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) with respect to health insurance coverage within that state by enacting a law that: (1) expresses the intent of the state to opt out of one or more of the provisions of PPACA, (2) contains a list of the provisions that will not apply to the state, and (3) either expresses the state's intent to continue to administer health coverage-related laws as in effect in the state on March 23, 2010, or provides for the implementation of related state laws enacted after such date.
 
Sets forth provisions that may be made inapplicable within a state, including provisions related to health coverage, essential health benefits, health insurance exchanges, alternative health plans established by states, individual and employer health coverage requirements, interoperable protocols for enrollment in federal and state health and human service programs, and expansion of Medicaid coverage.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Child Care Flex Spending Act of 2013

Bill: 113-s-1713
Sponsor: Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]
Introduced: 2013-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Adult day care
Child care and development
Employee benefits and pensions
Income tax exclusion
Inflation and prices

Summary:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: 
Child Care Flex Spending Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from $5,000 to $10,000 the limitation on the tax exclusion for employer-provided dependent care assistance for taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income is less than $100,000. Provides for an annual inflation adjustment beginning after 2014 for the increased limitation amount and the modified adjusted gross income amount. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2013-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate