hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
NEST Act

Bill: 114-s-1928
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2015-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Higher education
Indian social and development programs
Language arts
Licensing and registrations
Minority education
School administration
Student aid and college costs
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: 

Native Educator Support and Training Act or the NEST Act 

 
This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish scholarships, loan forgiveness plans, and training programs for educators who commit to teaching in Native American or Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools. 
 
This bill establishes three scholarship programs for students who are seeking degrees in education or school administration at institutions of higher education and commit to teaching in Native American or BIE schools: 
 
 
 the Indian Student Educator Scholarship Program for students seeking degrees, 
 
 the Indian Educator Scholarship Program for Indian students seeking degrees, and 
 
 the Indian Educator Graduate Fellowship Program for Indian students seeking graduate degrees. 
 
 
Recipients of the scholarships must commit to working for a BIE school, a school serving Native Americans, or other specified schools and agencies for the greater of three years or the number of school years that the scholarship funded. 
 
The bill establishes loan forgiveness programs for educators and Native Americans who have taught for at least five consecutive years at BIE schools or local educational agencies with high percentages of Native American students.
 
The bill extends the federal Perkins Loan Cancellation Program to educators teaching in BIE schools or in Native American language immersion programs. 
 
The bill authorizes professional development grants for native-serving elementary and secondary schools. It also establishes the Native American Language Teacher Training Program to provide grants for institutions of higher education to develop training programs for Native American immersion and language teachers. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-04-27
text: Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2015-11-18
text: Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-192.
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Disability Fraud Reduction and Unethical Deception (FRAUD) Prevention Act

Bill: 114-s-1929
Sponsor: Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT]
Introduced: 2015-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Civil actions and liability
Crime victims
Disability assistance
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government studies and investigations
Lawyers and legal services
Poverty and welfare assistance
Social Security Administration
Social security and elderly assistance
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: 

Disability Fraud Reduction and Unethical Deception (FRAUD) Prevention Act 

 
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to authorize the Social Security Administration (SSA) to disqualify or suspend immediately from appearing as a claimant representative before it any individual who has been convicted of a felony in a federal or state court, or, in the case of an attorney, upon the individual's disbarment from any court or bar to which he or she was previously admitted to practice.
 
Amends SSAct titles II, VIII (Special Benefits for Certain World War II Veterans), and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) to subject to criminal penalties for fraud any conspiracy to commit specified offenses, and increase criminal as well as civil monetary penalties for certain individuals in positions of trust who commit fraud.
 
Amends SSAct title II to direct the SSA to establish rules under which fines and other appropriate sanctions may be imposed on claimant representatives for failure to comply with the SSA rules and regulations.
 
Amends SSAct title XI to: (1) establish a civil monetary penalty for any claimant representative who knowingly charges for services rendered in excess of the maximum fee prescribed by the SSA or allowed by a court, and (2) direct the SSA periodically to adjust civil monetary penalty maximum amounts for inflation.
 
Requires federal courts (which currently are merely authorized) to order defendants convicted of Social Security fraud to provide restitution to victims in certain cases.
 
Amends SSAct title II to ban any payment of benefits to individuals on whom a civil monetary penalty is imposed for fraudulently concealing work activity.
 
Directs the Inspector General of the SSA to conduct biennial reviews of the practices of a sample of the highest earning claimant representatives to ensure compliance with SSA policies.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S6297-6299)
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park Boundary Adjustment Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1930
Sponsor: Sen. Isakson, Johnny [R-GA]
Introduced: 2015-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Conflicts and wars
Georgia
Land transfers
Military history
Parks, recreation areas, trails

Summary:
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: 

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park Boundary Adjustment Act of 2015 

 
 Modifies the boundary of the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in Georgia to include approximately eight acres identified as Wallis House and Harriston Hill. 
 
Authorizes the Department of the Interior to acquire land or interests, by donation or exchange, from willing sellers only.
 

action_date: 2016-09-06
text: 
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
 

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park Boundary Adjustment Act of 2015 

 
 (Sec. 3) This bill modifies the boundary of the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park in Georgia to include approximately eight acres identified as Wallis House and Harriston Hill. 
 
 The Department of the Interior may acquire land or interests, by donation or exchange, from willing sellers only. 
 
Interior shall administer acquired lands and interests as part of the park.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-06
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 593.
action_date: 2016-09-06
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Murkowski without amendment. With written report No. 114-320.
action_date: 2016-09-06
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Murkowski without amendment. With written report No. 114-320.
action_date: 2016-07-13
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
action_date: 2016-03-17
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 114-496.
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to reaffirm that certain land has been taken into trust for the benefit of certain Indian tribes.

Bill: 114-s-1931
Sponsor: Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]
Introduced: 2015-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Native Americans
Subjects: Federal-Indian relations
Indian claims
Indian lands and resources rights
Land transfers

Summary:
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: 
This bill: (1) reaffirms the trust status of land taken into trust by the United States under the Indian Reorganization Act before enactment of this Act for an Indian tribe that was federally recognized on the date the land was taken into trust, and (2) ratifies and confirms any action of the Department of the Interior in acquiring and taking land into trust under such Act as if the action had been specifically authorized and directed by prior Act of Congress.
 
Any land taken into trust that has been ratified and confirmed by this Act shall remain Indian country.
 
This bill shall apply to all claims (including claims challenging the validity of title or the effectiveness of any action of Interior acquiring and taking land into trust) pending on, or filed on or after, the date of the enactment of this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
All Kids Matter Act

Bill: 114-s-1932
Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]
Introduced: 2015-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Adoption and foster care
Child safety and welfare
Family relationships
Family services
Housing and community development funding
Medicaid
Performance measurement
Poverty and welfare assistance
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: 

All Kids Matter Act

 
This bill amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to revise state plan requirements to require:
 
 
the state to identify and provide appropriate prevention, intervention, and support services before placing a child in foster care as part of its reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify families;
 
that all at-risk children, children in foster care, and children who have left foster care to return home through reunification or reinstatement of parental rights, or for kinship guardianship or adoption, be provided with a standard array of child welfare services;
 
the state to submit, update, and revise as necessary a description of its activities and delivery mechanisms for achieving increased permanency for all infants, children, and youth.
 
 
Payments to states shall incorporate: (1) an amount equal to the federal medical assistance percentage for the state under SSAct title XIX (Medicaid), and (2) a performance achievement payment.
 
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall establish criteria for assessing state performance in order to award performance achievement payments to the states.
 
States may elect an alternative allotment for specified administrative costs.
 
Aid to Families with Dependent Children eligibility under SSAct title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) is removed from eligibility requirements under the Foster Care Maintenance Program.
 
States may provide services to an individual age 18-21 who is pursing legal permanency through family reunification, permanent placement with a planned permanent living arrangement, or such other pathways to permanency as the state, in consultation with HHS, may specify. 
 
Eligibility for John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program services and education and training vouchers shall extend to youth who return home after attaining age 16.
 
HHS, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Education shall jointly develop and disseminate to states permanency-supportive housing options.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Scale-up Manufacturing Investment Company Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1934
Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2015-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Business investment and capital
Disability and paralysis
Government lending and loan guarantees
Industrial policy and productivity
Manufacturing
Minority and disadvantaged businesses
Securities
Small business
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Women in business

Summary:
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: 

Scale-Up Manufacturing Investment Company Act of 2015

 
This bill amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to require the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish a scale-up manufacturing investment company (SUMIC) program under which it shall provide leverage to participating investment funds (PIFs) to support debt and equity investments in qualifying manufacturing projects of specified small and emerging manufacturers.
 
Within 60 days after SBA approves and issues a license to operate as a PIF under SUMIC, it may provide up to $1 of leverage for every $1 of private capital raised by the PIF.
 
The maximum amount of outstanding leverage made available in any given fiscal year: 
 
 
to any PIF may not exceed $500 million, and
 
 to all PIFs in aggregate may not exceed $1 billion. 
 
 
The private capital of a PIF must be at least $250 million.
 
Any national bank, or any member bank of the Federal Reserve System or nonmember insured bank, to the extent permitted under state law, may invest in any one or more PIFs, or in any entity established to invest solely in PIFs. In no event must the total amount of such investments exceed 5% of the bank's capital and surplus.
 
The SBA must charge a leverage fee of between 3% and 5.5% of the face amount of the leverage issued.
 
Each PIF shall have authority to borrow money and issue debentures and preferred securities, subject to SBA limitations and regulations. Of the SBA leverage provided to a PIF: (1) at least 70% must be issued as debentures, and (2) up to 30% may be issued as preferred securities. The Federal Financing Bank may acquire such a debenture.
 
A PIF must use its SBA leverage to make debt and equity investments in small and emerging manufacturers to carry out qualifying manufacturing projects.
 
The SBA shall issue policy directives to provide for enhanced outreach efforts to increase investments by PIFs in small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and by women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.
 
The SBA may establish a SUMIC Credit Council.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Tribal Nutrition Improvement Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1937
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Tom [D-NM]
Introduced: 2015-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Adult day care
Child care and development
Elementary and secondary education
Federal-Indian relations
Food assistance and relief
Indian social and development programs
Intergovernmental relations
Nutrition and diet
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: 

Tribal Nutrition Improvement Act of 2015

 
This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Act to allow an Indian tribe to assume, from a nearby local educational agency (LEA) and in lieu of a state, responsibility for administration of the school breakfast program, the school lunch program, the child and adult care food program, or the summer food service program for children. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must identify, for optional use in LEAs on or near Indian reservations, alternatives to current program requirements related to the daily counting of meals by category, the use of annual applications to determine program eligibility, and the use of universal meal service. USDA may implement such alternatives, as limited by the bill, as well as further test them in demonstration projects.
 
The bill also amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to require USDA to increase the amount of administrative funds paid to an Indian tribe that agrees to assume responsibility for the administration of one of the aforementioned food programs.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2015-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Career-Ready Student Veterans Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1938
Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2015-08-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Higher education
Licensing and registrations
Student aid and college costs
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation

Summary:
action_date: 2015-08-05
text: 

Career-Ready Student Veterans Act
 
of 2015

 
This bill adds the following new criteria for state approval, for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) educational assistance, of applications of educational institutions providing veterans with non-accredited courses: 
 
 
any program designed to prepare an individual for state licensure or certification must meet state instructional curriculum licensure or certification requirements, and 
 
any program designed to prepare an individual for employment pursuant to standards developed by a state board or agency in an occupation requiring approval or licensure must be approved or licensed by that state board or agency.
 
 
The VA may waive either of these two requirements if: 
 
 
the educational institution is accredited by an agency or association recognized by the Secretary of Education; 
 
the program did not meet the requirements at any time during the two-year period preceding the waiver date; 
 
the waiver furthers the purposes of the educational assistance programs or would further the education interests of individuals eligible for assistance under such programs; and 
 
the educational institution does not provide any incentive payment based on securing enrollments or financial aid to any persons or entities engaged in student recruiting or admission activities or in making decisions regarding the award of student financial assistance, except for recruitment of foreign students residing in foreign countries who are ineligible for federal student assistance.
 
 
The criteria added by this Act also apply to approval of accredited courses at for-profit educational institutions.
 
 The VA shall disapprove a course of education added by this Act unless the educational institution providing the course publicly discloses any conditions or additional requirements, including training, experience, or exams, required to obtain the license, certification, or approval for which the course of education is designed to provide preparation.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-16
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-212.
action_date: 2015-08-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2015-08-05
text: Introduced in Senate
Student Protection and Success Act

Bill: 114-s-1939
Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Introduced: 2015-08-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Government information and archives
Higher education
Student aid and college costs
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2015-08-05
text: 

Student Protection and Success Act 

 
This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to make institutions of higher education with low cohort repayment rates ineligible to participate in the federal student loan program and to establish a risk-sharing program to support institutions serving low- and moderate-income students. 
 
The cohort repayment rate is the percentage of borrowers who pay at least one dollar toward the principal of their federal loans over a three-year period. It excludes borrowers who are in default, deferments, mandatory forbearance on repayment of a loan, or the Peace Corps. 
 
Institutions with rates equal to or less than the cut-off rate are ineligible to participate in the federal student loan program under title IV of the HEA for three years. During the first year the bill is in effect, the cut-off rate is 45%. In subsequent years, the rate is the higher of the previous year's rate or 10% below the national average for the same type of institution, but must be below 70%. Institutions may appeal the loss of eligibility within 30 days of being notified by the Department of Education (ED). 
 
The bill requires ED to award grants to institutions with a strong record of supporting low- and moderate-income students and funds the grants by requiring institutions with certain nonrepayment loan balances to make risk-sharing payments. 
 
The institutions may use the grants to increase college access and success for the students using investments and practices such as: awarding additional need-based financial aid, enhancing academic and student support services, and accelerated learning opportunities. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-08-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-08-05
text: Introduced in Senate
Safeguarding American Families and Expanding Social Security Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1940
Sponsor: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI]
Introduced: 2015-08-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Aging
Employment taxes
Inflation and prices
Self-employed
Social security and elderly assistance
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2015-08-05
text: 

Safeguarding American Families and Expanding Social Security Act of 2015

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe special rules for the determination of taxable wages and self-employment income above the contribution and benefit base after 2015.
 
Title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) is amended to include surplus average indexed monthly earnings in the determination of primary OASDI amounts.
 
The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor shall prepare and publish the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-EC) that indicates changes over time in expenditures for consumption which are typical for individuals in the United States who have attained early retirement age for purposes of an old-age, wife's, or husband's insurance benefit.
 
SSAct title II is also amended to make the CPI-EC the applicable Consumer Price Index for computation of cost-of-living increases in OASDI benefits for such individuals.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-08-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-08-05
text: Introduced in Senate