hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-2182
Sponsor: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]
Introduced: 2015-10-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
Subjects: Appropriations
Budget deficits and national debt
Budget process
Defense spending
Income tax rates
Legislative rules and procedure
Military operations and strategy
Terrorism

Summary:
action_date: 2015-10-19
text: 

Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2015 

 
This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish FY2016 spending limits of $2.832 trillion for new budget authority and $2.884 trillion for outlays. Spending for Social Security, Medicare, Veterans Benefits and Services, Net Interest, and Military Personnel is exempt from the limits. 
 
The chairs of the congressional budget committees may make specified adjustments to the limits for legislation that designates amounts for Overseas Contingency Operations/ Global War on Terrorism. 
 
The bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to limit total annual spending for FY2016-FY2025 to a specified percentage of projected annual gross domestic product (GDP), which begins at 19.9% for FY2016 and decreases each year until it reaches 18% for FY2021-FY2025. 
 
The bill enforces the spending limits using automatic spending cuts known as sequestration and specifies exemptions. 
 
The Department of the Treasury may not exercise additional borrowing authority in subsequent legislation until a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution is submitted to the states that: (1) requires that total outlays not exceed total receipts, (2) contains a spending limitation as a percentage of GDP, and (3) requires tax increases be approved by a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-10-20
text: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 274.
action_date: 2015-10-19
text: Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
action_date: 2015-10-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Breast Cancer Awareness Commemorative Coin Act

Bill: 114-s-2185
Sponsor: Sen. Heitkamp, Heidi [D-ND]
Introduced: 2015-10-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Cancer
Currency
Health programs administration and funding
Medical research
Research administration and funding
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2015-10-20
text: 

Breast Cancer Awareness Commemorative Coin Act
 
 
 This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 gold coins (to be made of &quot;pink gold&quot; containing at least 75% gold), 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the fight against breast cancer.
 
Treasury shall:
 
 
select the design for the coins based upon the winning design from a juried, compensated design competition following certain specifications; and
 
issue the coins only during the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2018. 
 
 
 All such coin sales must include the following surcharges: $35 per $5 gold coin, $10 per $1 dollar silver coin, and $5 per half-dollar coin. 
 
The Treasury shall pay received surcharges promptly to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation according to a specified distribution formula.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-10-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2015-10-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Investing in Student Success Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-2186
Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2015-10-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Contracts and agency
Federal preemption
Financial services and investments
Higher education
Income tax exclusion
Student aid and college costs
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2015-10-20
text: 

Investing in Student Success Act of 2015

 
This bill authorizes an individual (i.e., a student) and another person (i.e., an investor) to enter an income-share agreement (ISA) in which the student agrees to pay a percentage of future income, for a specified period of time, in exchange for funds to pay for postsecondary education, workforce development, or other purposes. 
 
An ISA that complies with specified terms and conditions and meets certain disclosure requirements is a valid, binding, and enforceable contract and is not subject to state laws that limit interest rates or regulate assignments of future income. 
 
The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to include an ISA as a qualified education loan (a qualified education loan is not dischargeable in bankruptcy), but it prohibits a tax deduction for interest paid on an ISA (interest paid on a qualified education loan is tax deductible). 
 
Payments to a student under an ISA are not includible as: (1) gross income for tax purposes, or (2) income or assets for federal financial aid eligibility purposes under the Higher Education Act of 1965. 
 
The bill amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to exclude as an investment company any person whose business substantially consists of making ISAs.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-10-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-10-20
text: Introduced in Senate
FDA Regulatory Efficiency Act

Bill: 114-s-2187
Sponsor: Sen. Donnelly, Joe [D-IN]
Introduced: 2015-10-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Health and Human Services
Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
Health technology, devices, supplies
Product safety and quality

Summary:
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: 

FDA Regulatory Efficiency Act

 
This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to establish a third-party quality system assessment program to accredit persons to assess whether a medical device manufacturer's quality system can ensure the safety and effectiveness or substantial equivalence of an approved medical device after certain changes, including changes in manufacturing or changes to enhance device safety.
 
Device manufacturers with quality systems that have been certified by an accredited person are allowed to make changes to a device without submitting to the FDA the premarket notification, 30-day notice, or premarket approval supplement that would otherwise be required.
 
An accredited person who assesses a device manufacturer's quality system must submit a summary of their assessment and, as appropriate, a certification of the quality system to the FDA within 30 days of the assessment. An assessment summary and certification is deemed accepted by the FDA 30 days after submission unless the FDA determines that additional information is needed to support certification, the assessment or certification is unwarranted, or an action other than acceptance of the certification is otherwise justified.
 
Device manufacturers who make changes to devices without submitting a premarket notification must describe the changes in an annual summary submitted to the FDA. Changes made without submitting a 30-day notice or a premarket approval supplement must be described in a periodic report.
 
Certifications accepted by the FDA remain in effect for two years.
 The FDA must report on this quality system assessment program no later than January 31, 2022. The program is terminated at the end of FY2022.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: Introduced in Senate
Rare Disease Innovation Act

Bill: 114-s-2188
Sponsor: Sen. Gardner, Cory [R-CO]
Introduced: 2015-10-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Congressional oversight
Department of Health and Human Services
Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
Health technology, devices, supplies

Summary:
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: 

Rare Disease Innovation Act

 
This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to expand the humanitarian device exemption to authorize the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to exempt from effectiveness requirements certain medical devices intended to benefit fewer than 8,000 individuals. Currently, the FDA may exempt devices intended to benefit fewer than 4,000 individuals.
 
Within 18 months of enactment of this Act, the FDA must define &ldquo;probable benefit&rdquo; for these devices.
 
The FDA must report every five years on the effect of this expansion of the humanitarian device exception.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: Introduced in Senate
Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act Reauthorization of 2015

Bill: 114-s-2189
Sponsor: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]
Introduced: 2015-10-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Land transfers
Land use and conservation

Summary:
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: 

Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act Reauthorization of 2015

 
Amends the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA) to reauthorize and make permanent the program for the completion of appraisals and satisfaction of other legal requirements for the sale or exchange of public land identified for disposal in approved land use plans under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. 
 
Makes the FLTFA inapplicable to land eligible for sale under specified public land laws.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: Introduced in Senate
REST Act

Bill: 114-s-2190
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2015-10-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Higher education
Indian social and development programs
Licensing and registrations
Minority education
Rural conditions and development
School administration
Student aid and college costs
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: 

Rural Educator Support and Training Act or the REST Act

 
This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 and the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 to: (1) establish several new grant programs for students training to become educators in rural schools, and (2) enhance federal student loan forgiveness for rural educators.
 
The Department of Education (ED) shall award undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships to students who are studying to become educators in rural schools. To be eligible, a recipient must maintain acceptable academic standing and shall agree to fulfill a service obligation of three or more years, depending on the number of years for which funding is provided. 
 
ED may also award grants to eligible educational agencies for the purpose of: (1) reimbursing eligible rural educators for out-of-pocket costs associated with obtaining national board certification, and (2) increasing annual compensation for eligible rural educators who have become certified.
 
Rural educators shall also be eligible for additional student loan forgiveness. Specifically, a teacher who is employed for five consecutive years in a rural school shall be eligible for up to $17,500 in federal student loan forgiveness. (Under current law, a highly qualified teacher who is employed for five consecutive years in a high-poverty school is eligible for up to $5,000 in federal student loan forgiveness; such a teacher who teaches mathematics, science, or special education is eligible for up to $17,500.)


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: Introduced in Senate
PARTNERSHIPS Act

Bill: 114-s-2191
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2015-10-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Higher education
Income tax credits
Income tax exclusion
Student aid and college costs
Tax-exempt organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: 

Promoting Access and Retention Through New Efforts to Require Shared Higher Investments in Postsecondary Success Act or the PARTNERSHIPS Act

 
This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a state-federal partnership to promote state investment in public higher education. The bill directs the Department of Education to award annual block grants to states that increase public higher education operating support on a per student basis, using a specified formula. As a condition of receiving grants, states must use grant funds to reduce tuition costs and support the enrollment of low-income students in state public educational institutions. 
 
The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) expand and make permanent the American Opportunity Tax Credit; (2) increase the amount of the tax exclusion for employer-provided educational assistance programs and make such exclusion available to the spouses and dependents of employees; (3) allow tax exclusions for the discharge of certain public interest student loans, repayments of student loans by tax-exempt organizations, and student loans subject to an income-based or income contingent repayment plan; (4) allow a full exclusion from gross income of Federal Pell Grants; and (5) repeal the requirement that distributions from a qualified tuition plan (529 plan) be aggregated for purposes of determining the amount includible in taxpayer income.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: Introduced in Senate
NICS Reporting Improvement Act

Bill: 114-s-2192
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2015-10-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Criminal justice information and records
Firearms and explosives
Law enforcement administration and funding
Performance measurement

Summary:
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: 

NICS Reporting Improvement Act

 
This bill amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to revise the requirement for states to provide to the Department of Justice (DOJ), as an eligibility condition to receive a grant under the NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP) and a waiver of the grant match requirement under the National Criminal History Improvement Program, estimates of firearms-related disqualifying records.
 
 It directs DOJ to establish a four-year state implementation plan, including benchmarks, to maximize the automation and submission of mental health and criminal history records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). DOJ must reduce a state's allocation of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program for failing to comply with benchmarks.
 
The bill reauthorizes through FY2020 the NARIP grant program and revises it, among other things, to: add state court systems to the list of eligible grant recipients; require a grant applicant to certify, as an eligibility condition, that no state law or court order prohibits the submission of mental health records to NICS; and create a preference for grant applicants that meet the benchmarks included in the state implementation plan. 
 
The bill repeals the grant program for state and tribal court systems to improve the automation and submission of mental health and criminal history records. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: Introduced in Senate
Kate's Law

Bill: 114-s-2193
Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX]
Introduced: 2015-10-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Border security and unlawful immigration
Immigration status and procedures

Summary:
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: 

Stop Illegal Reentry Act or Kate's Law

 
This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase from two years to five years the maximum prison term for an alien who reenters after being denied admission, excluded, deported, or removed. 
 
It establishes: 
 
 
a 10-year maximum prison term for an alien who reenters after being denied admission, excluded, deported, or removed on 3 or more prior occasions; and 
 
a 5-year mandatory minimum prison term for an alien who reenters after being removed following a conviction for an aggravated felony or following 2 or more prior convictions for illegal reentry.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 55 - 42. Record Vote Number: 120. (consideration: CR S4799; text: CR S4799)
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: Motion to proceed to consideration of measure withdrawn in Senate. (consideration: CR S4703)
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: Cloture motion on the motion to proceed to the consideration of the measure presented in Senate. (consideration: CR S4703; text: CR S4703)
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: Motion to proceed to consideration of measure made in Senate. (consideration: CR S4702-4703; text: CR S4703)
action_date: 2015-10-22
text: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 276.
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
action_date: 2015-10-21
text: Introduced in Senate
Clean Cookstoves and Fuels Support Act

Bill: 114-s-2194
Sponsor: Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME]
Introduced: 2015-10-22 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Air quality
Alternative and renewable resources
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Child health
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Health and Human Services
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Disaster relief and insurance
Energy efficiency and conservation
Energy research
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Environmental health
Environmental technology
Executive agency funding and structure
Foreign aid and international relief
International organizations and cooperation
Lighting and heating
Lighting, heating, cooling
Manufacturing
Materials
Medical research
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Science Foundation
Peace Corps
Public-private cooperation
Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
Research administration and funding
Research and development
Small business
Women in business
Women's health
World health

Summary:
action_date: 2015-10-22
text: 

Clean Cookstoves and Fuels Support Act 

 
This bill directs the Department of State to work to advance the goals of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves.
 
 For working with the Alliance appropriations are authorized for the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Peace Corps.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-10-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S7472-7473)
action_date: 2015-10-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Sixth Amendment Preservation Act

Bill: 114-s-2195
Sponsor: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]
Introduced: 2015-10-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Conflicts and wars
Constitution and constitutional amendments
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Detention of persons
Due process and equal protection
Military operations and strategy
War and emergency powers

Summary:
action_date: 2015-10-22
text: 

Sixth Amendment Preservation Act

 
This bill amends the federal criminal code to limit the detention authority of the United States. 
 
Current law prohibits the indefinite detention of a U.S. citizen by the United States unless it is authorized by an act of Congress. This bill prohibits the indefinite detention of any person by the United States unless it is consistent with the Constitution. 
 
Additionally, it specifies that a general authorization to use military force or similar measure, on its own, does not authorize the indefinite detention of a person who is arrested in the United States.
 
Finally, the bill amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 to repeal a provision that affirms the authority of the Armed Forces to detain individuals captured in connection with hostilities pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force pending the end of hostilities. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-10-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-10-22
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for the non-application of Medicare competitive acquisition rates to complex rehabilitative wheelchairs and accessories.

Bill: 114-s-2196
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2015-10-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health technology, devices, supplies
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Medicare

Summary:
action_date: 2015-10-22
text: 
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the application of Medicare competitive acquisition rates to complex rehabilitative wheelchairs and accessories. (A competitive bidding program has replaced the use of established fee schedule amounts to determine payments under Medicare for certain durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs.)


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-10-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-10-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Securing Care for Seniors Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-2197
Sponsor: Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID]
Introduced: 2015-10-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Digestive and metabolic diseases
Government studies and investigations
Health care costs and insurance
Health information and medical records
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Medicare

Summary:
action_date: 2015-10-22
text: 

Securing Care for Seniors Act of 2015

 
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to periodically revise the Medicare Advantage (MA) risk adjustment system, such that an individual's risk score takes into account the number of chronic conditions with which the individual has been diagnosed.
 
In addition, CMS must evaluate the impacts to the system of: (1) using two years of data, (2) removing diagnostic codes related to chronic kidney disease, and (3) modifying the use of encounter data (information on services furnished to MA enrollees). If CMS subsequently determines that any of these revisions would better reflect the population served, CMS shall make such revisions. Before doing so, however, CMS must: (1) ensure that the changes do not prevent an MA organization from performing activities that are consistent with national health policy goals, and (2) provide an opportunity for review and public comment.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-10-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-10-22
text: Introduced in Senate