hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Armed Forces Self-Defense Act

Bill: 114-s-1821
Sponsor: Sen. Johnson, Ron [R-WI]
Introduced: 2015-07-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Defense
Firearms and explosives
Military command and structure
Military facilities and property
Military personnel and dependents
National Guard and reserves

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-21
text: 

Armed Forces Self-Defense Act

 
 This bill states U.S. policy that Department of Defense (DOD) personnel shall be appropriately armed and have the inherent right to self-defense.
 
 Current regulations and directives, or any provision in any other rule, regulation, or executive order prohibiting military personnel trained in firearms from carrying personal firearms on U.S. military installations shall have no further force or effect with regard to such military personnel, and they shall not be prohibited from carrying personal firearms on U.S. military installations. 
 
The bill directs DOD to establish a process by which the commander of a military installation in the United States may authorize a qualifying member of the Armed Forces assigned to duty at the installation to carry a concealed personal firearm on the installation if the commander determines it to be necessary as a personal-protection or force-protection measure.
 
The commander of the installation shall consult with appropriate state and local elected officials and take into consideration state and local laws law regarding carrying a concealed personal firearm.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2015-07-21
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to take certain Federal land located in Tuolumne County, California, into trust for the benefit of the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians, and for other purposes.

Bill: 114-s-1822
Sponsor: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA]
Introduced: 2015-07-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Native Americans
Subjects: California
Forests, forestry, trees
Indian lands and resources rights
Land transfers

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-21
text: 
Requires that all U.S. interests in approximately 80 acres of specified U.S. Forest Service land located in Tuolumne County, California, be held in trust for the benefit of the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians for nongaming purposes.
 

action_date: 2016-01-12
text: 
(Sec. 1) All U.S. interests in approximately 80 acres of specified U.S. Forest Service land located in Tuolumne County, California, must be held in trust for the benefit of the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians. Gaming is not permitted on this land.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-01-12
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 347.
action_date: 2016-01-12
text: Committee on Indian Affairs. Reported by Senator Barrasso with an amendment. With written report No. 114-203.
action_date: 2016-01-12
text: Committee on Indian Affairs. Reported by Senator Barrasso with an amendment. With written report No. 114-203.
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.
action_date: 2015-10-07
text: Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-260.
action_date: 2015-07-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
action_date: 2015-07-21
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to safeguard military personnel on Armed Forces military installations by repealing bans on military personnel carrying firearms, and for other purposes.

Bill: 114-s-1823
Sponsor: Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]
Introduced: 2015-07-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Defense
Firearms and explosives
Military command and structure
Military facilities and property
Military personnel and dependents
National Guard and reserves

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-21
text: 
This bill repeals (1) Army Regulation 190-14, entitled "Carrying of Firearms and Use of Force for Law Enforcement and Security Duties"; and (2) Department of Defense Directive Number 5210.56, entitled "Use of Deadly Force and the Carrying of Firearms by DOD Personnel Engaged in Law Enforcement and Security Duties." 
 
Any provision in any other law, rule, regulation, or executive order that prohibits military personnel trained in firearms use from carrying a firearm on a military installation or Department of Defense (DOD) site within the United States shall have no further force or effect and may not be enforced.
 
 Military personnel shall not be prohibited from carrying firearms on military installations or DOD sites. 
 
DOD or the commander of a military installation may prohibit a member of the Armed Forces, on a case-by-case basis, from carrying firearms on the military installation or DOD site if necessary to prevent the member from committing bodily harm to the member or others. 
 
DOD and the Secretaries of the military departments shall not reinstate the firearm bans repealed in this Act or enact similar firearms restrictions.
 
 The President shall not take any executive action or promulgate any rule, or issue any executive order or regulation, to prohibit military personnel from carrying firearms.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2015-07-21
text: Introduced in Senate
Finger Lakes National Heritage Area Study Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1824
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2015-07-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Government studies and investigations
Historic sites and heritage areas
Lakes and rivers
New York State

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-21
text: 

Finger Lakes National Heritage Area Study Act of 2015

 
This bill directs the Department of the Interior to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating specified counties and other areas in the state of New York as the Finger Lakes National Heritage Area. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-06-15
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 114-502.
action_date: 2015-07-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-07-21
text: Introduced in Senate
Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act

Bill: 114-s-1825
Sponsor: Sen. Reid, Harry [D-NV]
Introduced: 2015-07-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Federal-Indian relations
Intergovernmental relations
Nuclear power
Radioactive wastes and releases
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: 

Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act

 
This bill prohibits the Department of Energy (DOE) from making an expenditure from the Nuclear Waste Fund for the costs incurred by DOE in connection with the transportation, treating, or packaging of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste to be disposed of in a repository site, to be stored in a monitored, retrievable storage site, or to be used in a test and evaluation facility, or for the costs associated with acquisition, design, modification, replacement, operation, and construction of facilities at such a site, unless DOE has entered into an agreement to host a repository with:
 
 
the governor of the state in which the repository is proposed to be located,
 
each affected local government and any contiguous local government through which spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste will be transported for disposal at the repository, and
 
each affected Indian tribe. 
 
 
Any such agreement must be written and signed by all parties, shall be binding on the parties, and shall not be amended or revoked except by mutual agreement of the parties.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5456)
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Small Business Tax Compliance Relief Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1827
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2015-07-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Business expenses
Business investment and capital
Business records
Capital gains tax
Charitable contributions
Computers and information technology
Congressional oversight
Department of the Treasury
Employee benefits and pensions
Foreign and international banking
Health care costs and insurance
Income tax deductions
Income tax exclusion
Inflation and prices
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Life, casualty, property insurance
Sales and excise taxes
Securities
Self-employed
Small business
Student aid and college costs
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
Tax-exempt organizations
Taxation of foreign income

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: 

Small Business Tax Compliance Relief Act of 2015 

 
This bill amends provisions of the the Internal Revenue Code relating to the taxation of small businesses to: 
 
 
allow small business entities with gross receipts not exceeding $10 million (currently, $5 million) to use the cash method of accounting and an exemption from the requirement to use inventories; 
 
eliminate restrictions on the depreciation of computers or peripheral equipment; 
 
extend the tax deduction for the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals; 
 
allow small business entities to maintain pension plans designated as flexible retirement accounts; 
 
repeal provisions for simple pension plans and simple individual retirement accounts and special rules for top-heavy pension plans;
 
require inflation adjustments after 2015 to the dollar amounts of specified tax exclusions and deductions; 
 
allow a reasonable cause exception to noncompliance penalties; 
 
modify return due dates for partnerships, C corporations, S corporations, and other entities; 
 
modifiy the application of tax rules for nonqualified deferred compensation plans; and 
 
reduce from 5 years to 3 years the required holding period for qualified small business stock and extend the rollover period for such stock.
 
 
The bill directs: (1) the Department of the Treasury to modify Treasury regulations for the expensing of tangible property to increase from $500 to $2,500 the de minimis safe harbor amount for taxpayers without applicable financial statements; and (2) the Internal Revenue Service to implement procedures for the review of regulations affecting small business and report on uniform statutory definitions relating to small business and on improvements in customer service to small business. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held.
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Efficient Space Exploration Act

Bill: 114-s-1829
Sponsor: Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH]
Introduced: 2015-07-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Government studies and investigations
Nuclear power
Space flight and exploration
Spacecraft and satellites
Technology assessment

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: 

Efficient Space Exploration Act

 
 The Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shall analyze NASA's requirements for radioisotope power system material necessary for planned, high priority robotic missions in the solar system and other surface exploration activities beyond low-Earth orbit, as well as the risk to missions because of a lack of adequate material.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1830
Sponsor: Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY]
Introduced: 2015-07-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health care coverage and access
Health facilities and institutions
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Medicare
Mental health
Rural conditions and development

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: 

Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2015

 
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) cover marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under Medicare, (2) exclude such services from the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system, and (3) authorize marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors to develop discharge plans for post-hospital services.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Introduced in Senate
PACT Act

Bill: 114-s-1831
Sponsor: Sen. Toomey, Patrick [R-PA]
Introduced: 2015-07-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Crimes against animals and natural resources
Digital media
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Photography and imaging
Television and film

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: 

Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act
 
or the PACT Act

 
Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit intentionally engaging in animal crushing in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. (Current law prohibits knowingly creating or distributing an animal crush video.) Adds exceptions for conduct that is for predator or pest control, medical or scientific research, or necessary to protect the life or property of a person from a serious threat caused by an animal.

action_date: 2016-12-10
text: 

Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act
 
or the PACT Act

 
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the federal criminal code to revise and expand provisions with respect to animal crushing.
 
It retains existing criminal offenses that prohibit knowingly creating or distributing an animal crush video using interstate commerce. The bill also adds a new provision to criminalize an intentional act of animal crushing. A violator is subject to criminal penalties&#8212;a fine, a prison term of up to seven years, or both.
 
It provides additional exceptions for conduct, or a video of conduct, including conduct that is: (1) medical or scientific research, (2) necessary to protect the life or property of a person, (3) performed as part of euthanizing an animal, or (4) unintentional.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-12-12
text: Held at the desk.
action_date: 2016-12-12
text: Received in the House.
action_date: 2016-12-12
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2016-12-10
text: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2016-12-10
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2016-12-10
text: Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S7104)
action_date: 2016-12-10
text: Senate Committee on the Judiciary discharged by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2016-12-10
text: Senate Committee on the Judiciary discharged by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Pay Workers a Living Wage Act

Bill: 114-s-1832
Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]
Introduced: 2015-07-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Government information and archives
Labor standards
Wages and earnings
Youth employment and child labor

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: 

Pay Workers a Living Wage Act

 This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to: (1) $9.00 an hour on January 1, 2016, or, if later, on the first day of the third month after enactment of this Act; (2) $10.50 an hour after one year; (3) $12.00 an hour after two years; (4) $13.50 an hour after three years; (5) $15.00 an hour after four years; and (6) the amount the Secretary of Labor determines (based on increases in the median hourly wage of all employees) after five years, and annually thereafter. 
The federal minimum wage for tipped employees shall increase to $3.15 an hour for one year on January 1, 2016, or the first day of the third month after enactment of this Act, whichever is later. Subsequent annual adjustments of the wage increase, according to a specified formula, shall ensure that it remains equal to the wage in effect under FLSA for other employees.
 
Employers must notify their employees of the right to retain any received tips.
 
The separate minimum wage requirements for tipped employees shall end, effective one day after the hourly wage established for them under this Act takes effect. 
 
Any employer may pay any newly hired employee who is less than 20 years old, during the first 90 consecutive days after that employee's initial employment, a wage at a rate that is not less than the rate prescribed for employees who are engaged in commerce, reduced by $3.00 per hour. 
 
The Secretary must publish the amount of any adjusted required wage in the Federal Register and on the Department of Labor's website 60 days before it takes effect.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Access to Healthy Food for Young Children Act

Bill: 114-s-1833
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2015-07-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Adult day care
Child care and development
Child health
Congressional oversight
Education of the disadvantaged
Food assistance and relief
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Nutrition and diet
Physical fitness and lifestyle

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: 

Access to Healthy Food for Young Children Act

 
This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to modify the food program for child and adult care institutions and family or group day care homes.
 
The bill increases the payment rate for program meals relative to the national average payment rate for meals served in schools. However, an eligible child care center operating a free-of-charge program in a high-poverty area may elect to instead receive special payments calculated using a blended per-meal rate.
 
Additionally, the bill: (1) increases the reimbursement factor for meals and supplements served by a family or group day care home; (2) raises the per-child limit on the number of meals and supplements for which such a home may receive reimbursement; and (3) reduces the percentage of area children who must come from low-income households in order for a day care home in that area to be excused from specified documentation requirements.
 
With respect to administrative expenses, the bill increases the reimbursement factor for each day care home and prohibits negative adjustments to reimbursement levels. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must develop procedures under which up a specified percentage of funds reserved by the sponsoring organization of a day care home for administrative expenses may remain available in the succeeding fiscal year.
 
USDA must also: (1) provide state agencies with funding to implement the revised food program, as specified by the bill; and (2) complete a study on reducing paperwork and improving program administration. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Lori Jackson Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act

Bill: 114-s-1834
Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2015-07-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Assault and harassment offenses
Domestic violence and child abuse
Evidence and witnesses
Firearms and explosives

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: 

Lori Jackson Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act

 
 This bill amends federal firearms provisions to expand the definition of: (1) &quot;intimate partner&quot; to include a dating partner or former dating partner; and (2) &quot;misdemeanor crime of domestic violence&quot; to include a misdemeanor offense that has, as an element, the use or attempted use of force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, by a dating partner or former dating partner against the victim.
 
The bill prohibits the sale or other disposition of a firearm or ammunition to, or the possession or receipt of a firearm by, a person subject to a court order, or an ex parte order, that restrains such person from: (1) harassing, stalking, threatening, or engaging in other conduct that would put an individual in reasonable fear of bodily injury, including an order issued at the request of an employer on behalf of its employee or at the request of an institution of higher education on behalf of its student; or (2) intimidating or dissuading a witness from testifying in court.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Military Facilities Force Protection Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1835
Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
Introduced: 2015-07-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Firearms and explosives
Law enforcement officers
Military facilities and property
Military personnel and dependents
National Guard and reserves

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: 

Military Facilities Force Protection Act of 2015

 
This bill directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to station military police or other military personnel armed with firearms at military recruiting and reserve component facilities for the exclusive purpose of force protection. 
 
 DOD is authorized to enter into memoranda of understanding with state or local law enforcement agencies or National Guards to provide such protection if military personnel are not available.
 
DOD shall: 
 
 
 implement a training program for all force protection personnel stationed under this Act;
 
implement measures to improve the security of existing military recruitment and reserve component facilities, including installation of bullet-proof glass and enhanced video surveillance equipment; and 
 
relocate a facility for which adequate security improvements cannot be made to a location consistent with required security improvements.



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2015-07-22
text: Introduced in Senate