hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Construction Reform, Authorization, and Choice Improvement Act of 2015

Bill: 114-hr-2365
Sponsor: Rep. Miller, Jeff [R-FL-1]
Introduced: 2015-05-15 in the House
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Building construction
California
Congressional oversight
Department of Veterans Affairs
Health facilities and institutions
Hospital care
Mental health
Natural disasters
Neurological disorders
New York State
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: 

Construction Reform, Authorization, and Choice Improvement Act of 2015

 
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) enter into an agreement with an appropriate non-VA entity to provide full project management services for a super construction project; and (2) use industry standards, standard designs, and best practices in carrying out medical facility construction.
 
A super construction project is one for the construction, alteration, or acquisition of a medical facility involving a total expenditure of more than $100 million (but does not include an acquisition by exchange).
 
The VA is prohibited from: 
 
 
obligating or expending funds for advance planning or design for any super construction project until 60 days after congressional notification,
 
 obligating funds for a major medical facility project or a super construction project by more than 10% of the amount approved by law unless certain congressional committees each approve the obligation, and 
 
 using bid savings amounts or funds for other than their original purpose before 30 days after notifying such committees unless each committee approves the obligation.
 
 
The VA must complete a master plan for each VA medical facility meeting specified requirements to inform investment decisions and funding requests over a 10-year period for construction projects at the facility. 
 
The 40-mile distance requirement for a veteran to use a non-VA medical facility under the veterans choice program of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 means 40 miles calculated on the basis of distance traveled. 
 
The VA may carry out the following major medical facility projects in FY2015 (with each project not to exceed specified amounts): 
 
 
construction of a community living center, outpatient clinic, renovated domiciliary, and renovation of existing buildings in Canandaigua, New York; 
 
seismic corrections to the mental health and community living center in Long Beach, California; 
 
seismic correction of 12 buildings in West Los Angeles, California; and 
 
construction of a spinal cord injury building and seismic corrections in San Diego, California.
 
 
VA authority to make medical services and hospital care available for eligible veterans through agreements with non-VA entities shall now be permanent.
 
The sense of Congress regarding the Veterans Choice Fund is revised.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
Opportunity for Military Academies and Readiness Act

Bill: 114-hr-2367
Sponsor: Rep. Castro, Joaquin [D-TX-20]
Introduced: 2015-05-15 in the House
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Border security and unlawful immigration
Foreign labor
Immigration status and procedures
Military education and training
Military personnel and dependents

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: 

Opportunity for Military Academies and Readiness Act 

 
Authorizes an alien who possesses an employment authorization document issued by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy of the Department of Homeland Security and who otherwise satisfies the requirements for admission to a military service academy, other than U.S. citizenship, to be appointed to and to attend such academy and, upon graduation, to be appointed as a commissioned officer in the Armed Forces.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-08-13
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
Global Respect Act

Bill: 114-hr-2368
Sponsor: Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1]
Introduced: 2015-05-15 in the House
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Human rights
Immigration status and procedures
Sanctions
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
Violent crime
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: 

Global Respect Act

 
Directs the President to submit to Congress a list of each foreign person that the President determines is responsible, or acted as an agent, for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against an individual in a foreign country based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
 
Makes a listed foreign person ineligible to enter or be admitted to the United States. Requires revocation of any visa issued for such person. 
 
Authorizes the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive such prohibition if in U.S. national security interests or if necessary for compliance with the Agreement between the United Nations (U.N.) and the United States regarding the U.N. Headquarters. Requires congressional notification prior to any such waiver.
 
Directs the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor to designate a senior officer or officers to track violence, criminalization, and restrictions on fundamental freedoms in foreign countries based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
 
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include information on sexual orientation or gender identity violence or restrictions in the annual country reports on human rights practices.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-08-20
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations.
action_date: 2015-06-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
End Anonymous Patents Act

Bill: 114-hr-2370
Sponsor: Rep. Deutch, Theodore E. [D-FL-21]
Introduced: 2015-05-15 in the House
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Business records
Department of Commerce
Government information and archives
Intellectual property

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: 

End Anonymous Patents Act

 
Requires entities issued a patent to file with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) a disclosure of the identity of the patent owner and any real parties in interest. Directs patent owners to also make such disclosures to the USPTO upon the payment of maintenance fees.
 
Requires an entity to which a patent, patent application, or interest is sold, granted, or conveyed to file with the USPTO a disclosure of the sale, grant, or conveyance, and any real party in interest in the patent, application, or interest. 
 
Specifies that "real parties in interest" include: (1) any entity that has the legal right to enforce the patent through an infringement action, (2) any ultimate parent entity (not controlled by any other entity) of such an entity, and (3) any entity that has a controlling interest in the enforcement of the patent. 
 
Limits the damages available in a patent infringement action by an entity that fails to comply with the requirements of this Act to only those damages occurring from the date on which the requirements are met. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-06-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
action_date: 2015-05-16
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
Broadening Opportunities Through Education Act

Bill: 114-hr-2371
Sponsor: Rep. Edwards, Donna F. [D-MD-4]
Introduced: 2015-05-15 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Educational guidance
Elementary and secondary education
School administration
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Vocational and technical education

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: 

Broadening Opportunities Through Education Act

 
This bill directs the Department of Education to award competitive grants to states that make school attendance compulsory through age 17.
 
States must use their grant to improve their secondary school programs, such as by: 
 
 
 establishing or expanding work-based programs that integrate academic and career-based skills; 
 
 implementing an early warning system that helps high schools and their feeder middle schools identify and assist struggling students; 
 
 establishing grade and school transition programs and supports; 
 
personalizing the school experience and increasing student engagement through service-learning and experiential, work-based, and other learning opportunities; 
 
 providing extended-learning opportunities by the school day, week, or year; and 
 
 increasing student supports through activities such as student advisories, counseling, and one-to-one mentoring.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-11-16
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E723)
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
Closing the Digital Divide for Students Act of 2015

Bill: 114-hr-2372
Sponsor: Rep. Foster, Bill [D-IL-11]
Introduced: 2015-05-15 in the House
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Pornography
Poverty and welfare assistance
Public housing
Public utilities and utility rates

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: 

Closing the Digital Divide for Students Act of 2015

 
Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to require high-speed Internet service costs to be included in public housing utility allowances for households with children who qualify for free and reduced price school lunches. 
 
Prohibits a dwelling unit's Internet cost allowance from: (1) exceeding the lowest cost available in the area, and (2) including costs for cable or satellite television or for joint packages for Internet service together with cable or satellite television. 
 
Conditions Internet cost allowances on the service including technology to block visual depictions that are obscene or harmful to minors. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
LUMMA

Bill: 114-hr-2373
Sponsor: Rep. Griffith, H. Morgan [R-VA-9]
Introduced: 2015-05-15 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Alternative treatments
Drug trafficking and controlled substances
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Intergovernmental relations
Prescription drugs
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: 

Legitimate Use of Medical Marijuana Act or the LUMMA

 
Transfers marijuana from schedule I to schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
 
Provides that in a state in which marijuana may be prescribed for medical use under state law, no provision of the CSA or of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act shall prohibit or otherwise restrict: (1) the prescription of marijuana for medical use; (2) an authorized patient from obtaining, possessing, transporting, or using marijuana for that individual's medical use; (3) an individual from obtaining, possessing, transporting, or manufacturing marijuana pursuant to an authorization under state law; (4) a pharmacy or other entity authorized under state law to distribute medical marijuana to an authorized patient for medical use from obtaining, possessing, or distributing marijuana for that purpose; or (5) an entity authorized by such state from producing, processing, or distributing marijuana for prescribed medical use.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-22
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
Detectives Nemorin, Andrews and Moore Anti-Gun Trafficking Act of 2015

Bill: 114-hr-2374
Sponsor: Rep. King, Peter T. [R-NY-2]
Introduced: 2015-05-15 in the House
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Business records
Congressional oversight
Crimes against property
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal justice information and records
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Drug trafficking and controlled substances
Firearms and explosives
Government information and archives
Licensing and registrations
Retail and wholesale trades
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: 

Detectives Nemorin, Andrews and Moore Anti-Gun Trafficking Act of 2015

 
 Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) impose a fine and/or prison term of up to 20 years for the sale, transfer, or barter of a stolen firearm or a firearm with an altered serial number or for the sale of such firearms to persons prohibited from possessing them; (2) impose an additional five-year prison term for possession of a stolen or altered firearm during the commission of a felony; (3) require licensed firearms importers, manufacturers, or dealers to contact the national instant stolen gun check system before receiving firearms from any unlicensed person; and (4) increase criminal penalties for the use of a stolen or altered firearm during the commission of a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime.
 
Amends the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act to: (1) include illegal gun trafficking in Department of Justice programs to combat violations of federal firearms laws, and (2) authorize appropriations for FY2015 to hire additional assistant U.S. attorneys.
 
Directs the Federal Bureau of Investigation to make the National Crime Information Center Gun File available to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to complete crime gun traces. Requires the ATF to: (1) notify law enforcement agencies of information relating to stolen firearms, and (2) return stolen firearms to persons who reported them as stolen. 

Requires the Attorney General to establish a national instant stolen gun check system.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-06-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
Student Support Act

Bill: 114-hr-2375
Sponsor: Rep. Lee, Barbara [D-CA-13]
Introduced: 2015-05-15 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Child health
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Educational guidance
Elementary and secondary education
Health personnel
Mental health
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: 

Student Support Act

 
This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education to make matching grants of at least $1 million to states for allocation to local educational agencies (LEAs) so that additional school-based mental health and student service providers may be hired, thereby reducing the student-to-provider ratios in elementary and secondary schools to specified minimum levels recommended by the leading counseling, guidance, and mental health organizations.
 
These minimum ratios are: (1) 1 school counselor for every 250 students, (2) 1 school psychologist for every 1,000 students, and (3) 1 school social worker for every 250 students.
 
Grants to states and state allocations to LEAs must be made pursuant to specified formulas that take into account a state's and school district's share of children in poverty. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-11-16
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
Cost of War Act of 2015

Bill: 114-hr-2376
Sponsor: Rep. Lewis, John [D-GA-5]
Introduced: 2015-05-15 in the House
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Afghanistan
Asia
Defense spending
Government information and archives
Iraq
Middle East
Military operations and strategy
Syria

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: 

Cost of War Act of 2015 

 
This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD), in consultation with the Internal Revenue Service, to post on the DOD public website, the cost to each U.S. taxpayer of each of the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Act of 2015

Bill: 114-hr-2377
Sponsor: Rep. Lewis, John [D-GA-5]
Introduced: 2015-05-15 in the House
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Appropriations
Conflicts and wars
Congressional oversight
Defense spending
Government trust funds
Religion
Right of privacy
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: 

Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Act of 2015 
 
 Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish in the Treasury the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund for the deposit of income, gift, and estate taxes paid by or on behalf of taxpayers: (1) who are designated conscientious objectors opposed to participation in war in any form based upon their sincerely held moral, ethical, or religious beliefs or training (within the meaning of the Military Selective Service Act); and (2) who have certified their beliefs in writing to the Secretary. 
Requires that: (1) amounts deposited in the Fund be allocated annually to any appropriation not for a military purpose, (2) the Secretary report to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on the total amount transferred into the Fund during the preceding fiscal year and the purposes for which such amount was allocated, and (3) the privacy of individuals using the Fund be protected. 
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that any revenue increase resulting from the creation of the Fund be allocated in a manner consistent with its purposes.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
Reducing Barriers to Learning Act of 2015

Bill: 114-hr-2378
Sponsor: Rep. Loebsack, David [D-IA-2]
Introduced: 2015-05-15 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Child health
Department of Education
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Educational guidance
Elementary and secondary education
Executive agency funding and structure
Mental health
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: 

Reducing Barriers to Learning Act of 2015

 
This bill amends the Department of Education Organization Act to create an Office of Specialized Instructional Support within the Department of Education (ED) to improve specialized instructional support services in schools. &quot;Specialized instructional support services&quot; are assessment, diagnosis, counseling, educational, therapeutic, and other services provided by qualified professionals as part of a comprehensive program to meet student needs.
 
The bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize ED to award competitive matching grants to states to: (1) establish or expand specialized instructional support services and programs at the state level that are designed to provide technical assistance, coordination, and support to specialized instructional support services and programs addressing barriers to learning within local educational agencies and individual schools; and (2) hire and support specialized instructional support services coordinators to provide such assistance, coordination, and support.
 
References to pupil services and pupil services personnel are replaced with references to specialized instructional support services and specialized instructional support personnel. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-11-16
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
To prohibit the transportation of certain volatile crude oil by rail.

Bill: 114-hr-2379
Sponsor: Rep. Lowey, Nita M. [D-NY-17]
Introduced: 2015-05-15 in the House
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Transportation
Oil and gas
Railroads
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: 
This bill prohibits any transportation by rail of crude oil with a Reid vapor pressure level greater than 8.5 psi until the Department of Transportation (DOT) establishes an appropriate national standard for the maximum volatility of crude oil to be permitted to be shipped by rail.
 
DOT shall establish such a national standard, after which the 8.5 psi standard required by this Act shall expire.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-18
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Introduced in House