hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Close the Revolving Door Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2417
Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]
Introduced: 2014-06-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Congressional officers and employees
Congressional oversight
Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government information and archives
House of Representatives
Members of Congress
Public participation and lobbying
Senate

Summary:
action_date: 2014-06-03
text: 
Close the Revolving Door Act of 2014 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a lifetime ban on any former Senator, Member of the House of Representatives, or elected officer of the Senate or House of Representatives lobbying any current Member, officer, or employee of Congress or any employee of any other legislative office (currently, the ban is for two years after a Senator leaves office and one year after a Member of the House of Representatives leaves office). Extends such ban from one to six years for officers and employees of the Senate, personal staff of Members, committee staff, leadership staff, and other legislative offices.
 
Prohibits for a six-year period the hiring of a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal by a Member of Congress or a congressional committee with whom the lobbyist or agent has had a substantial lobbying contact. 
 
Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to: (1) direct the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives to maintain a joint lobbyist disclosure Internet database for information required to be publicly disclosed by such Act, (2) require a substantial lobbying entity to file with Congress a list of any employees who provide paid consulting services and who are former Members of Congress or highly-paid congressional staffers, and (3) increase the civil penalty for violations of the disclosure or reporting provisions of such Act. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-06-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2014-06-03
text: Introduced in Senate
VA Accountability Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2419
Sponsor: Sen. Toomey, Patrick [R-PA]
Introduced: 2014-06-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Department of Veterans Affairs
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Health information and medical records
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2014-06-03
text: 
VA Accountability Act of 2014 - Prohibits any officer, employee, or agent of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from: 
 
 
knowingly falsifying an individual's VA health records;
 
knowingly destroying or excluding information from such records with the intent to defraud the individual, a federal officer or employee, or a Member of Congress;
 
directing another individual to engage in such prohibited conduct; or
 
knowing of such prohibited conduct by an individual under his or her supervision and failing to stop, if possible, or report to a superior the commission of such conduct.
 
 
Allows an individual aggrieved by such conduct to bring a civil action against the officer, employee, or agent in an appropriate U.S. district court for damages or other legal or equitable relief.
 
Authorizes the VA Secretary to terminate, without prior notice or cause, the employment and benefits of a VA officer, employee, or agent found by such court to have violated this Act.
 
Provides that this Act shall apply to conduct committed before, on, or after its enactment. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-06-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2014-06-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Budget and Accounting Transparency Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2420
Sponsor: Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE]
Introduced: 2014-06-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Appropriations
Budget deficits and national debt
Budget process
Congressional oversight
Executive agency funding and structure
Government corporations and government-sponsored enterprises
Government information and archives
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government studies and investigations
Housing finance and home ownership

Summary:
action_date: 2014-06-03
text: 
 Budget and Accounting Transparency Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA) (title V of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974) to revise the budgetary treatment of federal direct loans and loan guarantees to account for them on a fair value basis. 
 
 
 
 Requires the President's budget to reflect the costs of direct loan and loan guarantee programs by including the planned level of new direct loan obligations or loan guarantee commitments associated with each appropriations request. Requires agency estimates with and without a risk component that reflects the impact of using a fair value estimate to account for market risk. 
 
Requires new budget authority and funding limitations for the cost of new direct loan obligations or loan guarantee commitments to be provided in advance. Prohibits modifications that increase costs unless budget authority has been provided in advance. Defines "cost" to include the risk component. Includes exemptions. 
 

 

 

 
Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to permit adjustment of discretionary spending limits for this Act. 
 

 
Changes the budgetary treatment of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-06-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
action_date: 2014-06-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Food for Peace Reform Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2421
Sponsor: Sen. Corker, Bob [R-TN]
Introduced: 2014-06-03 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Executive agency funding and structure
Food assistance and relief
Foreign aid and international relief
Marine and inland water transportation
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

Summary:
action_date: 2014-06-03
text: 
Food for Peace Reform Act of 2014 - Establishes the Food for Peace program in the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. (Repeals authority for the current program under title II of the Food for Peace Act, including certain U.S. commodity purchase, U.S. cargo, and monetization requirements.)
 
Authorizes USAID to provide emergency and nonemergency foreign assistance, including through the provision of U.S. commodities or local or regional procurement.
 
Authorizes nonemergency assistance to combat malnutrition and hunger, mitigate food crises, and promote resilient food security.
 
Sets forth minimum funding levels for nonemergency assistance.
 
Establishes the Food Aid Consultative Group, which shall: 
 
 
test options for improved product packaging and storage; 
 
 reform commodity acquisition and supply chain management; 
 
increase private sector development in food aid products, packaging, and delivery; 
 
provide guidance on how best to use food aid commodities, including guidance on ensuring that the products reach their intended recipients; and 
 
 strengthen commodity quality monitoring.
 
 
Requires USAID to: 
 
 
assess the types and quality of agricultural commodities and products donated for food aid; 
 
adjust products to cost-effectively meet nutrient needs of target populations; 
 
 test prototypes; 
 
 adopt new, or improve existing, specifications for micronutrient fortified food aid products;
 
 develop program guidance for matching products to nutrient purposes; and 
 
 evaluate performance and cost-effectiveness of food products and programs for vulnerable groups, such as pregnant mothers and young children. 
 
 
Authorizes ocean transportation of agricultural commodities to be procured through full and open competitive procedures.
 
Requires USAID to avoid displacing sales of U.S. agricultural commodities. 
 
Prohibits Program assistance from being made available unless USAID determines that the provision of the agricultural commodity in the recipient country would not: (1) result in substantial interference with the domestic production or marketing of agricultural commodities in the country, or (2) have a disruptive impact on the agricultural producers or the local economy of the country.
 
 Expresses the sense of Congress that the U.S. Merchant Marine: (1) is a critical component of the nation's military and economic security; and (2) consists of a fleet of private, U.S.-registered merchant ships that provides domestic and international transportation for passengers and cargo.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-06-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2014-06-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Access to Care Accountability Act

Bill: 113-s-2423
Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Introduced: 2014-06-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Department of Veterans Affairs
Federal officials
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government studies and investigations
Health care coverage and access
Health facilities and institutions
Health information and medical records
Hospital care
Performance measurement
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2014-06-03
text: 
Veterans Access to Care Accountability Act - Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to conduct random, periodic audits of the medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Veterans Integrated Service Networks to determine if they are in compliance with legal and administrative standards requiring that veterans be provided timely access to health care from the VA.
 
Requires the VA Secretary, upon the receipt of a specified report finding that a veteran has been subjected to a wait time of more than 30 days for health care from the VA, to: (1) notify the veteran, within 48 hours of receiving such report, of the status of the veteran's appointment; and (2) make every possible effort to schedule the veteran's appointment at a VA facility or through a non-VA health care provider on a date not later than 7 days after receiving such report.
 
Requires the VA Inspector General to provide the Secretary with a list of the names of each director or other VA official responsible for activities at a VA medical facility who is found to have purposefully misrepresented patient records or other data in order to: (1) conceal a failure of the facility to comply with VA patient access or care standards, or (2) qualify for a performance award or any other compensation that is in addition to basic pay. Prohibits the Secretary from paying a bonus or award to any director or official on such list until the Secretary determines that all issues relating to the reasons why such director or official was included on such list have been resolved.
 
Directs the Secretary to ensure that any performance review or consideration for promotion of a director or other VA official responsible for activities at a VA medical facility where such misrepresentation has occurred includes an evaluation of whether the director or other official knew or should have known about such misrepresentation.
 
Prohibits the Inspector General from making the names of the individuals on the list public.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-06-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2014-06-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Ensuring Veterans' Resiliency Act

Bill: 113-s-2425
Sponsor: Sen. Begich, Mark [D-AK]
Introduced: 2014-06-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Department of Veterans Affairs
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government studies and investigations
Health care coverage and access
Home and outpatient care
Medical education
Mental health
Rural conditions and development
Student aid and college costs
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: 
Ensuring Veterans' Resiliency Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a three-year pilot program to repay the loans used to finance the education expenses related to psychiatric medicine of certain individuals who demonstrate a commitment to long-term careers as psychiatrists in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).
 
Requires those individuals to be: (1) licensed or eligible for licensure to practice psychiatric medicine in the VHA, or (2) enrolled in the final year of a residency program leading to a specialty qualification in psychiatric medicine that is approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. 
 
Directs the Secretary to select at least 10 individuals each year to participate in the program.
 
Requires program participants to agree to a period of obligated service with the VHA in the field of psychiatric medicine. Prohibits the Secretary from paying more than $60,000 on behalf of an individual for each year of obligated service the individual agrees to serve.
 
Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to conduct a study of pay disparities among VHA psychiatrists.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a pilot program providing a monthly housing allowance to individuals who: (1) are health care providers, (2) are or agree to become VHA employees on a full-time basis in a health care position designated by the Secretary, and (3) accept an assignment in such position for at least 36 months at a rural or highly rural community-based outpatient clinic selected by the Secretary.
 
Provides bonus housing allowances to participants who complete the 36 months of service and to those who complete additional one-year or two-year terms of service.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3394-3396)
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2426
Sponsor: Sen. Toomey, Patrick [R-PA]
Introduced: 2014-06-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Firearms and explosives
Law enforcement officers

Summary:
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: 
Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act of 2014 - Amends the federal criminal code to require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to ensure that each chief executive officer of a federal penal or correctional institution: (1) provides a secure storage area located outside of the secure perimeter of the institution for qualified law enforcement officers employed by the Bureau to store firearms, or allows such officers to store firearms in a vehicle lockbox approved by the Director; and (2) allows such officers to carry concealed firearms on the premises outside of the secure perimeter of the institution.
 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Transparency in Cost of Veterans Care Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2428
Sponsor: Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT]
Introduced: 2014-06-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Health facilities and institutions
Hospital care
Public contracts and procurement
Transportation costs
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: 
Transparency in Cost of Veterans Care Act of 2014 - Requires the estimate included in the prospectus accompanying a request to Congress by the President or the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) for funding for a major medical facility project or lease to identify the additional costs of providing hospital care or medical services resulting from the temporary displacement of clinical space required for the project, including the costs of: (1) contracting with a non-VA facility to furnish hospital care or medical services, (2) beneficiary travel, and (3) the lease or purchase of a temporary or mobile medical facility.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3426)
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Employer Participation in Refinancing Act

Bill: 113-s-2429
Sponsor: Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA]
Introduced: 2014-06-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Employee benefits and pensions
Income tax exclusion
Interest, dividends, interest rates
Student aid and college costs
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: 
Employer Participation in Refinancing Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an exclusion from gross income for the payment of an employer, either to an employee or a lender, of any indebtedness of an employee under a qualified education refinance loan or any interest relating to such a loan. Defines "qualified education refinance loan" as any indebtedness used solely to refinance a qualified education loan with respect to which the lender offers the borrower protection in the event of unemployment or financial hardship.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Introduced in Senate
SIGMA Act of 2014

Bill: 113-s-2430
Sponsor: Sen. Roberts, Pat [R-KS]
Introduced: 2014-06-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Abortion
Accounting and auditing
Comprehensive health care
Congressional oversight
Department of Health and Human Services
Executive agency funding and structure
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Health personnel
Health programs administration and funding
Income tax credits
Medicaid
Performance measurement
Religion
Sales and excise taxes
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: 
Special Inspector General for Monitoring the ACA Act of 2014 or the SIGMA Act of 2014 - Establishes the Office of the Special Inspector General for Monitoring the Affordable Care Act to conduct, supervise, and coordinate audits and investigations of the implementation and administration of programs and activities established under, and payment system changes made by, the Affordable Care Act (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010). Requires the Special Inspector General to be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
 
Requires the Special Inspector General to appoint an Assistant Inspector General for Auditing and an Assistant Inspector General for Investigations.
 
Places the Special Inspector General under the supervision of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), but prohibits federal agencies involved in implementing or administering the Affordable Care Act from preventing or prohibiting the Special Inspector General from initiating, carrying out, or completing any audit or investigation.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3426-3428)
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Introduced in Senate
West Hunter Street Baptist Church Study Act

Bill: 113-s-2431
Sponsor: Sen. Isakson, Johnny [R-GA]
Introduced: 2014-06-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Georgia
Government studies and investigations
Historic sites and heritage areas
Racial and ethnic relations
Religion

Summary:
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: 
West Hunter Street Baptist Church Study Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the historic West Hunter Street Baptist Church located at 775 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia, to evaluate the national significance of the Church and to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating such area as a unit of the National Park System. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2014-06-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Ukrainian Independence from Russian Energy Act

Bill: 113-s-2433
Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2014-06-05 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Alternative and renewable resources
Competitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficits
Congressional oversight
Electric power generation and transmission
Energy efficiency and conservation
Energy prices
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Europe
Foreign aid and international relief
Foreign loans and debt
Government lending and loan guarantees
Industrial facilities
Lighting, heating, cooling
Multilateral development programs
Oil and gas
Pipelines
Russia
U.S. and foreign investments
Ukraine

Summary:
action_date: 2014-06-05
text: 
Ukrainian Independence from Russian Energy Act - Directs the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to: (1) prioritize direct assistance to Ukraine to improve energy efficiency, increase energy supplies produced in Ukraine, and reduce reliance on energy imports from the Russian Federation; and (2) make loan, lease, and bond guarantees to financial institutions and other eligible borrowers to facilitate their involvement in such efforts.
 
Directs the Secretary of State to coordinate the activities of U.S. agencies related to the energy sector of Ukraine and prioritize support and technical assistance to increase responsible production in and transparency of Ukraine's natural gas sector.
 
Requires the Director of the Trade and Development Agency to promote U.S. private sector efforts to improve energy efficiency, develop domestic oil and natural gas reserves, and develop renewable energy sources in Ukraine.
 
Directs the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to: (1) prioritize support for investments to increase energy efficiency, develop domestic oil and natural gas reserves, and develop renewable energy sources in Ukraine; and (2) implement expedited application review and approval procedures for loans, loan guarantees, and insurance for such investments.
 
Directs the U.S. Executive Directors of the World Bank Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to encourage those organizations and other international financial institutions to invest in and promote projects to improve energy efficiency, develop domestic oil and natural gas reserves, and develop renewable energy sources in Ukraine.
 
Directs the Secretary to brief Congress on: (1) the economic and political viability of transporting natural gas supplies into Ukraine from countries other than the Russian Federation through the reversal of existing pipeline flows or through new or expanded pipelines, and (2) the potential to reduce natural gas consumption in Ukraine through efficiency measures or through the use of alternative energy sources.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-06-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2014-06-05
text: Introduced in Senate