hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Patent Fee Integrity Act

Bill: 113-s-2146
Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]
Introduced: 2014-03-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Appropriations
Congressional oversight
Department of Commerce
Government trust funds
Intellectual property
User charges and fees

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 
Patent Fee Integrity Act - Establishes in the Treasury the United States Patent and Trademark Office Innovation Promotion Fund (Innovation Promotion Fund) to be used as a revolving fund by the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) without fiscal year limitation. 
 
Requires to be credited to or deposited in the Innovation Promotion Fund: (1) appropriations for defraying the costs of USPTO activities; (2) fees collected under federal patent and trademark laws; and (3) any available unobligated balances remaining in the Patent and Trademark Office Appropriation Account and in the Patent and Trademark Fee Reserve Fund. (Replaces the Patent and Trademark Office Appropriation Account, eliminates the Patent and Trademark Fee Reserve Fund, and provides a source of permanent funding for the USPTO.)
 
Requires fees collected by the Director to remain available to the Director until expended. 
 
Makes the Public Enterprise Fund available to cover: (1) ordinary and reasonable administrative, operating, and other expenses incurred by the Director for the continued operation of USPTO services, programs, activities, and duties relating to patents and trademarks; and (2) expenses incurred pursuant to obligations, representations, or other commitments of the USPTO. 
 
Requires the Director, on an annual basis, to: (1) report to Congress with operation and spending plans for the current and next fiscal year, including financial details and staff levels broken down by each major activity; (2) provide for an independent audit of USPTO financial statements; and (3) submit a budget to the President. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S1658-1661)
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend Public Law 112-59 to provide for the display of the congressional gold medal awarded to the Montford Point Marines, United States Marine Corps, by the Smithsonian Institution and at other appropriate locations.

Bill: 113-s-2147
Sponsor: Sen. Hagan, Kay R. [D-NC]
Introduced: 2014-03-13 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional tributes
Military history
Military personnel and dependents
North Carolina
Racial and ethnic relations
Smithsonian Institution

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 
Requires the congressional gold medal awarded in honor of the Montford Point Marines, U. S. Marine Corps, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II, to be given to the Smithsonian Institution where it will be displayed and made available for research. 
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should make the medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at other appropriate locations associated with the Montford Point Marines. 

action_date: 2014-03-13
text: 

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

 
Requires the congressional gold medal awarded in honor of the Montford Point Marines, U. S. Marine Corps, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II, to be given to the Smithsonian Institution where it will be displayed and made available for research. 
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should make the medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at other appropriate locations associated with the Montford Point Marines. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-14
text: Held at the desk.
action_date: 2014-03-14
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2014-03-14
text: Received in the House.
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S1667; text as passed Senate: CR S1667)
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Introduced in the Senate, read twice, considered, read the third time, and passed without amendment by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S1667; text as passed Senate: CR S1667)
action_date: 2014-03-13
text: Introduced in Senate
Independent Innovator and Repurposing Act

Bill: 113-s-2150
Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2014-03-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Health technology, devices, supplies
Intellectual property
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-24
text: 
Independent Innovator and Repurposing Act - Establishes procedures under which the term of an unexpired patent claiming a method of using a biological product shall be extended for five years from its original expiration date.
 
 Requires an application for such an extension to demonstrate that: (1) the patent was issued to an independent innovator, and (2) the owner of record is the independent innovator or a small business (with fewer than 500 employees and which is not affiliated with the holder of the marketing application approved under licensing requirements of the Public Health Service Act for the commercial marketing of such biological product) in which the independent innovator has an ownership interest.
 
Defines &quot;independent innovator&quot; as a person or entity that obtains a method of use patent for a biological product and is not, at the time of invention or patent filing, affiliated with the holder of an approved application for the commercial marketing of the product.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2014-03-24
text: Introduced in Senate
Early Warning Reporting System Improvement Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2151
Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2014-03-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Business records
Consumer affairs
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Motor vehicles
Product safety and quality
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-25
text: 
Early Warning Reporting System Improvement Act of 2014 - Revises early warning reporting requirements for manufacturers of motor vehicles regarding possible defects of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment.
 
Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to require a manufacturer in cases where the defect has caused a fatality to provide certain additional information as part of its report to the Secretary. Requires that information to be publicly disclosed and entered into the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) early warning reporting database.
 
Directs the Secretary to: (1) take specified actions to improve public accessibility to information on NHTSA's public vehicle safety databases; and (2) give public notice via the internet of all inspections or investigations conducted by the Secretary to enforce a motor vehicle safety requirement or order, or that are related to a motor vehicle accident due to a possible defect.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2014-03-25
text: Introduced in Senate
ACCTION Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2152
Sponsor: Sen. Heitkamp, Heidi [D-ND]
Introduced: 2014-03-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Advanced technology and technological innovations
Advisory bodies
Air quality
Business investment and capital
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Coal
Congressional oversight
Electric power generation and transmission
Energy research
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Environmental technology
Government lending and loan guarantees
Income tax credits
Income tax deductions
Oil and gas
Public-private cooperation
Research and development
Securities
Technology transfer and commercialization
Water quality
Water use and supply

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-25
text: 
Advanced Clean Coal Technology Investment in Our Nation Act of 2014 or the ACCTION Act of 2014 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require the Department of Energy (DOE) to implement a program to demonstrate the integration of systems for the capture, transportation, and injection of carbon dioxide from industrial sources for long-term geological storage or enhanced oil recovery at a commercial scale. 
 
Expands the types of activities that must be undertaken under the existing coal and related technologies program. Permits DOE to carry out a Transformational Coal Technology Program. 
 
Requires DOE to establish an advisory committee to report on the carbon capture and sequestration program and the coal and related technologies program.
 
Makes projects under the Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program eligible to receive other forms of federal assistance. Directs DOE, within two years, to give final approval to applications for loan guarantees and make loans for advanced fossil energy technology projects under the Program. 
 
Sets forth provisions to streamline and expedite review of federal authorizations for clean coal generating projects.
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow accelerated amortization of any mechanical or electronic system which is installed on a coal-fired electric generation unit and which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by specified means; (2) allow a new credit for investment in carbon dioxide capture, transport, and storage property; and (3) create a clean energy coal bond. 
 
Establishes the Enhanced Recovery Program, a variable price support program, to accelerate the construction and operation of advanced coal-fueled projects that capture carbon dioxide emissions and sell or use the carbon dioxide for enhanced recovery.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2014-03-25
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S1732)
action_date: 2014-03-25
text: Introduced in Senate
National Regulatory Budget Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2153
Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2014-03-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Appropriations
Budget process
Congressional oversight
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal officials
Government information and archives
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-25
text: 
National Regulatory Budget Act of 2014

 - Establishes the Office of Regulatory Analysis in the executive branch as an independent establishment. Requires the Director of such Office to submit by January 30 of each year to the House Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Small Business and the Senate Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Small Business and Entrepreneurship a Report on National Regulatory Costs, which shall include: (1) regulatory costs imposed on regulated entities; (2) an analysis of any major changes in estimation methodology used by the Office since its last annual report; (3) an analysis of any major estimate changes caused by improved or inadequate data; and (4) recommendations on how regulations may be streamlined, simplified, and modernized, what regulations should be repealed, and how the federal government may reduce the cost of regulations without diminishing their effectiveness.
 
Requires the Director to publish in the Federal Register and on the website of the Office a regulatory analysis of each proposed covered federal rule (i.e., a rule, an information collection requirement, guidance, or a directive that imposes not less than $25 million in annual costs on regulated entities) and each proposed withdrawal or modification of a covered federal rule by an executive agency that imposes or reduces costs on a regulated entity.
 
Requires Congress, not later than July 31 of each year, to pass a bill establishing a National Regulatory Budget that sets an annual overall regulatory cost cap and an annual agency regulatory cost cap for each executive agency for the fiscal year beginning on October 1. Provides that the initial National Regulatory Budget shall take effect in FY2016.
 
Makes cooperation with the requests of the Director for information mandatory upon executive agencies. Imposes sanctions on such agencies for failure to provide timely information to the Director.
 
Prohibits an executive agency that exceeds the annual agency regulatory cost cap imposed by the National Regulatory Budget for a fiscal year from promulgating a new covered federal rule that increases regulatory costs.
 
Requires the Director to report to Congress on positions in the federal government that are duplicative of the work performed by the Office and on the effectiveness of regulatory analysis. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2014-03-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Regulatory Fairness Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2156
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2014-03-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental regulatory procedures
Licensing and registrations
Solid waste and recycling
Water quality

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-25
text: 
Regulatory Fairness Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to define the period of time in which the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is authorized to restrict or deny a permit for the discharge of dredged or fill materials into navigable waters as the period that:
 
 
begins on the date that the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, provides notice to the Administrator that the Secretary has completed all procedures for processing an application for a permit for dredged or fill material and is ready to determine whether the permit should be issued; and 
 
ends on the date that the Secretary issues the permit. 
 
 
Requires the Administrator to consult with the Secretary before restricting or denying a permit.
 
Directs the Administrator to make publicly available the basis of and reasons for making a determination to restrict or deny such a permit and information reviewed in making the determination.
 
Prohibits previous action by the Administrator that occurred outside of this period to deny or restrict a permit or to prohibit the specification of any defined area as a disposal site for dredged or fill materials from being valid or otherwise enforceable.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2014-03-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Restoration of America's Wire Act

Bill: 113-s-2159
Sponsor: Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC]
Introduced: 2014-03-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Gambling
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: 
Restoration of America's Wire Act - Amends provisions of the federal criminal code, commonly known as the Wire Act, to provide that the prohibition against transmission of wagering information shall apply to any bet or wager, or information assisting in the placing of any bet or wager (thus making such prohibition applicable to all types of gambling activities, including Internet gambling). States that nothing in this Act shall be construed to: (1) preempt any state law prohibiting gambling; or (2) alter, limit, or extend the relationship between the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 and other federal laws currently in effect, the ability of a state licensed lottery retailer to make in-person, computer-generated retail lottery sales, or the relationship between federal laws and state charitable gaming laws. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: Introduced in Senate
Native American Children's Safety Act

Bill: 113-s-2160
Sponsor: Sen. Hoeven, John [R-ND]
Introduced: 2014-03-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Native Americans
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Adoption and foster care
Child safety and welfare
Criminal justice information and records
Department of the Interior
Domestic violence and child abuse
Indian social and development programs

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: 
Native American Children's Safety Act - Amends the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act (Act) to prohibit any foster care placement over which an Indian tribe has exclusive jurisdiction from being ordered until the tribal social services agency: (1) completes an investigation of the character of each covered individual who resides in the household or is employed at the institution in which the foster care placement will be made, and (2) concludes that each of those individuals meets the standards of character the tribe is required to establish. 
 
Defines a &quot;covered individual&quot; as an adult and any other individual the tribe determines is subject to such character investigation.
 
Requires the tribal social services agency, as part of those investigations, to: (1) perform criminal records checks, including fingerprint-based checks of national crime information databases; (2) check any child abuse and neglect registry maintained by the state in which the individual resides; and (3) request any other state in which the individual resided during the preceding five years to allow the agency to check its registry.
 
Prohibits a foster care placement from being ordered if the investigation reveals that the covered individual: (1) has been found guilty by a federal, state, or tribal court of a felony involving child abuse or neglect, spousal abuse, a crime against a child, violence, or drugs; or (2) is listed on a child abuse and neglect registry in the state where the individual resides or resided within the preceding five years.
 
Excepts emergency foster care placements from such requirements.
 
Requires each Indian tribe to establish procedures to recertify homes or institutions in which foster care placements are made.
 
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to promulgate a regulation establishing: (1) procedures for investigating the character of any covered individual who resides in the home or is employed at the institution in which the child is placed after the investigations that preceded that placement occurred, (2) self-reporting requirements for foster care homes or institutions that have knowledge that a covered individual residing on their premises would fail the character investigation, (3) procedures and guidelines for emergency foster care placements, and (4) procedures for certifying compliance with the Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-04-02
text: Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-324.
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: Introduced in Senate
EPA Employment Impact Analysis Act

Bill: 113-s-2161
Sponsor: Sen. Inhofe, James M. [R-OK]
Introduced: 2014-03-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Air quality
Economic performance and conditions
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental regulatory procedures
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: 
EPA Employment Impact Analysis Act - Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from proposing or finalizing any major rule under the Clean Air Act (CAA) until after the Administrator: (1) completes an economy-wide analysis capturing the costs and effects across industry sectors and markets in the United States of the implementation of major rules promulgated under the CAA; and (2) establishes a process to update such analysis at least semiannually, in order to provide for the currently required continuing evaluation of potential loss or shifts in employment.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: Introduced in Senate
21st Century Worker Tax Cut Act

Bill: 113-s-2162
Sponsor: Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA]
Introduced: 2014-03-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Corporate finance and management
Department of the Treasury
Foreign and international corporations
Income tax credits
Income tax deductions
Inflation and prices
Poverty and welfare assistance
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
Tax treatment of families
Taxation of foreign income
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: 
21st Century Worker Tax Cut Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow married taxpayers with at least one qualifying child under the age of 12 an income-based tax deduction equal to 20% of the lesser of $60,000 or the earned income of the spouse with the lower amount of earned income; (2) increase the amount of the earned income tax credit for taxpayers with no qualifying children; (3) increase the penalty for tax return preparers who fail to comply with due diligence requirements for determining eligibility for the earned income tax credit; (4) extend the limitation on the tax deduction for employee remuneration to current or former officers, directors, or employees of a publicly-held corporation; and (5) include in subpart F income (income of controlled foreign corporations the tax on which may not be deferred) low-taxed cross-border income (gross income of a controlled foreign corporation except income that was derived in the home country of such corporation or was subject to an effective rate of income tax imposed by a foreign country in excess of 15%). 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S1776-1777)
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to establish an emergency watershed protection disaster assistance fund to be available to the Secretary of Agriculture to provide assistance for any natural disaster.

Bill: 113-s-2163
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Mark [D-CO]
Introduced: 2014-03-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Appropriations
Disaster relief and insurance
Farmland
Fires
Floods and storm protection
Government trust funds
Land use and conservation
Natural disasters
Watersheds

Summary:
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: 
 Establishes in the Treasury the Emergency Watershed Protection Disaster Assistance Fund to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to carry out emergency watershed protection activities in natural disaster-affected areas.
 
Sets forth limitations on per disaster obligations.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2014-03-26
text: Introduced in Senate