hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Bringing Terrorists to Justice Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-555
Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2015-02-25 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal justice information and records
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Evidence and witnesses
Terrorism
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: 

Bringing Terrorists to Justice Act of 2015

 
Directs the Department of State, in accordance with the Rewards for Justice program authorized under the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, to offer a reward to any individual who furnishes information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual for committing, conspiring or attempting to commit, or aiding or abetting in the commission of the kidnapping and murder of James Foley, Peter Kassig, Steven Sotloff, or Kayla Mueller, or the kidnapping and murder of any other U.S. citizen by a foreign terrorist organization. Limits to $5 million the total amount of rewards offered in connection with the kidnapping and murder of any one such individual.
 
Prohibits such Department from offering a reward under this Act in connection with the kidnapping and murder of any U.S. citizen determined to have been affiliated with or supportive of a foreign terrorist organization.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Accelerated Learning Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-557
Sponsor: Sen. Franken, Al [D-MN]
Introduced: 2015-02-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Higher education
Performance measurement
Teaching, teachers, curricula
User charges and fees

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: 

Accelerated Learning Act of 2015

 
Directs the Secretary of Education to allot grants to states, based on their share of low-income elementary and secondary school students, to cover part or all of the Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) examination fee low-income students incur.
 
Directs the Secretary to award renewable competitive matching grants to states, local educational agencies (LEAs), or partnerships between a nonprofit organization and a state or LEA for activities that increase: (1) the number of qualified teachers at high-need schools who are teaching AP or IB courses, (2) the number of AP or IB courses offered at high-need schools, and (3) the number of students at high-need schools who enroll and succeed in such courses. 
 
 Gives priority, in awarding the competitive grants, to applicants that: (1) have a state-wide or district-wide strategy for increasing the availability of AP or IB courses, and pre-AP or pre-IB courses, in high-need schools; (2) focus on increasing AP or IB courses in the core academic subjects; and (3) target high-need schools.
 
Defines a &quot;high-need school&quot; as a secondary school that has a demonstrated need for Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses and that: (1) has a high concentration of low-income students; or (2) is designated with a school locale code of 41, 42, or 43. 
 
Directs the Secretary, through the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, to evaluate the implementation and impact of the activities supported by the competitive grant program.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Presidential Library Donation Reform Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-558
Sponsor: Sen. Carper, Thomas R. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2015-02-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government information and archives
Libraries and archives
Presidential administrations
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: 

Presidential Library Donation Reform Act of 2015

 
 Requires each presidential library fundraising organization to submit quarterly reports to the National Archives and Records Administration on all contributions of $200 or more whether monetary or in-kind for the quarterly period. 
 
Requires the Archivist of the United States to publish such information on the website of the National Archives within 30 days after each submission. 
 
Makes it unlawful for contributors or fundraising organizations to knowingly and willfully submit materially false information or omit material information. Prescribes criminal penalties for violation of such prohibitions. 

action_date: 2015-06-15
text: 
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
 

Presidential Library Donation Reform Act of 2015

 
 (Sec. 2) Requires each presidential library fundraising organization to submit quarterly reports to the National Archives and Records Administration on all contributions of $200 or more whether monetary or in-kind for the quarterly period. 
 
Requires the Archivist of the United States to publish such information on the website of the National Archives within 30 days after each submission. 
 
Makes it unlawful for contributors or fundraising organizations to knowingly and willfully submit materially false information or omit material information. Prescribes criminal penalties for violation of such prohibitions. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-06-15
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 119.
action_date: 2015-06-15
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Johnson without amendment. With written report No. 114-65.
action_date: 2015-06-15
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Johnson without amendment. With written report No. 114-65.
action_date: 2015-03-04
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Supporting Academic Freedom through Regulatory Relief Act

Bill: 114-s-559
Sponsor: Sen. Burr, Richard [R-NC]
Introduced: 2015-02-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Business ethics
Consumer affairs
Contracts and agency
Department of Education
Education programs funding
Government lending and loan guarantees
Higher education
Intergovernmental relations
Performance measurement
Right of privacy
School administration
State and local government operations
Student aid and college costs
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Vocational and technical education
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: 

Supporting Academic Freedom through Regulatory Relief Act

 
Repeals certain Department of Education (ED) regulations that for purposes of determining whether a school is eligible to participate in programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA): (1) require institutions of higher education (IHEs) and postsecondary vocational institutions (except religious schools) to be legally authorized by the state in which they are situated, (2) delineate what such legal authorization requires of states and schools, (3) impose standards and disclosure requirements on programs that prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation, and (4) define "credit hour." 
 
Prohibits ED from promulgating or enforcing any regulation or rule not in effect on the date of this Act's enactment regarding: (1) the state authorization for IHEs to operate within a state, (2) the definition or application of the term &quot;gainful employment,&quot; or (3) a teacher preparation program accountability system. Ends that prohibition when a law is enacted that extends by at least two fiscal years the authorization or duration of one or more programs under the HEA.
 
Prohibits ED from promulgating or enforcing any regulation or rule that defines "credit hour" for any purpose under the HEA.
 
Prohibits ED from carrying out, developing, refining, promulgating, publishing, implementing, administering, or enforcing a postsecondary institution ratings system or any other performance system to rate IHEs.
 
Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the HEA to authorize nonprofit IHEs to make payments to third-party entities for services that include student recruitment and are based on the amount of tuition that the IHE generates from student enrollment if the third-party entity: (1) is not affiliated with the IHE, (2) does not provide incentive payments to its employees for their success in enrolling students or securing financial aid for them, (3) is not paid by the IHE solely or separately for student recruitment services, and (4) will not make student recruitment information available to any other person or entity.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Promoting Automotive Repair, Trade, and Sales Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-560
Sponsor: Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT]
Introduced: 2015-02-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Intellectual property
Manufacturing
Marketing and advertising
Motor vehicles
Trade restrictions

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: 

Promoting Automotive Repair, Trade, and Sales Act of 2015 or the PARTS Act 

 
Declares that it is not an act of infringement, with respect to a design patent that claims a component part of a motor vehicle as originally manufactured, to: (1) make, test, or offer to sell within, or import into, the United States any article of manufacture that is similar or the same in appearance to the component part claimed in such design patent if the purpose of such article is for the repair of a motor vehicle to restore its appearance as originally manufactured; or (2) use or sell within the United States any such same or similar articles for such restorations more than 30 months after the claimed component part is first offered for public sale as part of a motor vehicle in any country. 
 
Defines: (1) "component part" as a component part of the exterior of a motor vehicle only (such as a hood, fender, tail light, side mirror, or quarter panel), excluding an inflatable restraint system or other component part located in the interior of a motor vehicle; and (2) "offer to sell" to include marketing or pre-sale distribution.
 
Applies this Act to any patent issued, or application filed, before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-561
Sponsor: Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID]
Introduced: 2015-02-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Animals
Subjects: Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Canada
Endangered and threatened species
Hunting and fishing
Licensing and registrations
Mammals
Trade restrictions

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: 

Polar Bear Conservation and Fairness Act of 2015

 
This bill amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to direct Department of the Interior to issue a permit for the importation of a polar bear part (other than an internal organ) from a bear taken in a sport hunt in Canada to any permit applicant who has submitted proof that the polar bear was: (1) legally harvested by the applicant before the May 15, 2008, listing of the polar bear as threatened, and (2) harvested from an approved polar bear population. Interior must issue these permits without regard to limits on importing marine mammals with depleted populations. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Geothermal Exploration Opportunities Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-562
Sponsor: Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV]
Introduced: 2015-02-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Alternative and renewable resources
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Forests, forestry, trees
Land use and conservation

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: 

Geothermal Exploration Opportunities Act of 2015 

 
This bill amends the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to categorically exclude from the requirements for an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) a geothermal exploration test project on National Forest System land or land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) if the project is either:
 
 
 a geophysical exploration activity that does not require drilling;
 
test drilling causing soil or vegetation disruption of fewer than 10 acres, including access, that is completed in fewer than 90 days and meets other requirements, such as for restoration of the site;
 
test drilling causing an individual surface disturbance of fewer than 5 acres with a total surface disturbance of fewer than 150 acres when a site specific analysis has been prepared; 
 
test drilling on a site at which drilling has occurred within 5 years; or
 
test drilling on the site of a developed field that has been approved for drilling in the last 10 years pursuant to an approved land use plan or any NEPA environmental documents.
 
 
A leaseholder of a geothermal lease on federal land intending to carry out a geothermal exploration test project must provide notice to the Department of the Interior, with respect to BLM land, or to the Department of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to National Forest System land . BLM and USDA must: review those projects, notify the leaseholder of project deficiencies that preclude the NEPA exemption, and allow leaseholders an opportunity to remedy those deficiencies prior to the date that the leaseholder intended to start drilling.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-19
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Physician Ambassadors Helping Veterans Act

Bill: 114-s-563
Sponsor: Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]
Introduced: 2015-02-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Veterans Affairs
Executive agency funding and structure
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Health care coverage and access
Health personnel
Licensing and registrations
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: 

Physician Ambassadors Helping Veterans Act

 
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to use the Secretary's authority to employ certain personnel without regard to civil service or classification laws, rules, or regulations to employ physicians on a without compensation basis in any practice area or specialty for which: (1) the average waiting time for veterans seeking an appointment with a physician exceeds the VA's waiting time goals, or (2) the VA medical facility where the physician will be employed has demonstrated staffing shortages.
 
Requires each VA medical facility to have a volunteer coordinator who: (1) seeks to establish relationships with medical associations serving the area, (2) recruits physicians for uncompensated employment at the facility, and (3) serves as the initial point of contact for physicians seeking uncompensated employment at the facility.
 
Conditions an uncompensated physician's receipt of a credential or privilege to practice medicine in a VA facility on the physician's commitment to serve at least 40 hours in the facility during the ensuing one-year period.
 
Requires the Secretary to decide whether to grant an uncompensated physician's request for a credential or privilege to practice medicine in the VA facility within 60 days.
 
Requires the director of a VA medical facility to approve, and accept the uncompensated services of, any physician who has made the requisite service commitment and receives a credential or privilege to practice medicine in such facility.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-16
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-212.
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Hearing Aid Access and Assistance Act

Bill: 114-s-564
Sponsor: Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]
Introduced: 2015-02-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Department of Veterans Affairs
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Health care coverage and access
Health personnel
Hearing, speech, and vision care
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: 

Veterans Hearing Aid Access and Assistance Act

 
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to appoint licensed hearing aid specialists in the Veterans Health Administration. 
 
Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report on: (1) the timely access of veterans to VA hearing health services, and (2) VA contracting policies regarding the provision of hearing health services to veterans in non-VA facilities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-16
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-212.
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Tropical Forest Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-566
Sponsor: Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH]
Introduced: 2015-02-25 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Aquatic ecology
Foreign aid and international relief
Foreign loans and debt
Forests, forestry, trees
International law and treaties
International organizations and cooperation
Land transfers
Land use and conservation
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: 

Tropical Forest Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2015

 
This bill renames the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 as the Tropical Forest Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2015.
 
Non-tropical forests and coral reef ecosystems are included within the scope of, and made eligible for benefits under, the Tropical Forest Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2015.
 
The Tropical Forest Facility is renamed the Conservation Facility.
 
One or more individuals appointed by the U.S. government may serve on oversight bodies for grants from a debt-for-nature swap or debt buyback regardless of whether the United States is a party to any agreement between the eligible purchaser and the government of the beneficiary country.
 
The Tropical Forest Fund is renamed the Conservation Fund.
 
A grant of more than $250,000 from a Fund must be approved by the U.S. government and the government of the beneficiary country.
 
Certain reporting due dates are revised.
 
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended to revise International Monetary Fund criteria for country eligibility.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Knife Owners' Protection Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-567
Sponsor: Sen. Enzi, Michael B. [R-WY]
Introduced: 2015-02-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Detention of persons
Federal preemption
State and local government operations
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: 

Knife Owners' Protection Act of 2015

 
 Allows any individual who is not otherwise prohibited by federal law from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a knife to transport a knife from any state or place where such individual may lawfully possess, carry, or transport such a knife to any other state or place where such individual may lawfully do so: (1) by motor vehicle if the knife is not directly accessible from the passenger compartment or is in a closed container, glove compartment, or console; or (2) by other means over land or through water or the air if the knife is in a closed container. Excludes the transport of a knife with the intent to commit an offense punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year involving the use or threatened use of force against another person or with knowledge, or reasonable cause to believe, that such an offense is to be committed in the course of, or arising from, the journey.
 
Allows an individual to carry a knife or tool that is designed for enabling escape in an emergency and that incorporates a blunt tipped safety blade or a guarded blade or both for cutting safety belts in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle without being secured in a closed container, glove compartment, or console, except in the passenger cabin of aircraft whose passengers are subject to airport screening procedures of the Transportation Security Administration.
 
Establishes a cause of action by individuals subjected to deprivation of rights provided under this Act. Requires the court to award reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing party if an individual asserts this Act as a claim or defense.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2015-02-25
text: Introduced in Senate