hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
FACT Act

Bill: 114-s-357
Sponsor: Sen. Flake, Jeff [R-AZ]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Bankruptcy
Civil actions and liability
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 
 
Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act of 2015 or FACT Act

 
Amends federal bankruptcy law concerning a trust formed under a reorganization plan following the discharge in bankruptcy of a debtor corporation in order to assume the debtor's liability with respect to claims seeking recovery for personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage allegedly caused by the presence of, or exposure to, asbestos or asbestos-containing products. 
 
Requires such a trust to file with the bankruptcy court quarterly reports, available on the public docket, which describe each demand the trust has received from a claimant and the basis for any payment made to that claimant (excluding any confidential medical record or the claimant's full Social Security number).
 
Requires such reports, upon written request, and subject to payment (demanded at the option of the trust) for any reasonable cost incurred by it, to provide any information related to payment from, and demands for payment from, the trust to any party to any action in law or equity concerning liability for asbestos exposure.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-02-03
text: Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Access to Contraception for Women Servicemembers and Dependents Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-358
Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Assault and harassment offenses
Crime victims
Crimes against women
Family planning and birth control
HIV/AIDS
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Health promotion and preventive care
Military medicine
Military personnel and dependents
Sex offenses
Sexually transmitted diseases
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 

Access to Contraception for Women Servicemembers and Dependents Act of 2015

 
Expands the TRICARE health care program managed by the Department of Defense (DOD) to entitle additional female beneficiaries and dependents to care related to the prevention of pregnancy. (Currently, such care is limited to certain female members of the uniformed service or a reserve component performing active duty or certain servicewomen performing inactive-duty training.) Prohibits cost-sharing from being imposed or collected for such pregnancy prevention care, including for any method of contraception provided through a facility of the uniformed services, the TRICARE retail pharmacy program, or the national mail-order pharmacy program.
 
Provides for such pregnancy prevention care to include all methods of contraception approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling.
 
Directs the DOD Secretary to: (1) ensure that every military treatment facility has a sufficient stock of a broad range of FDA-approved methods of contraception to dispense to any women members of the Armed Forces and female covered beneficiaries who receive care through such facility, (2) disseminate clinical practice guidelines and decision support tools to DOD-employed health care providers, (3) ensure that women members of the Armed Forces have access to comprehensive counseling on contraception during health care visits, and (4) establish uniform curriculum to be used in family planning education programs for all men and women members of the Armed Forces.
 
Requires questions regarding family planning services and counseling to be incorporated into DOD health surveys.
 
Requires every military treatment facility, upon request, to provide emergency contraception, or information about FDA-approved methods of emergency contraception, to any woman who: (1) states to personnel that she is a victim of sexual assault or is accompanied by another individual who states that the woman is a victim of sexual assault, or (2) is reasonably believed to be a survivor of sexual assault.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Taxpayer Bailout Protection Act

Bill: 114-s-359
Sponsor: Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Comprehensive health care
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Insurance industry and regulation

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 

Taxpayer Bailout Protection Act

 
This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure that payments to plans do not exceed payments to HHS under the risk corridors program (under which a qualified health plan is required to participate in a payment adjustment system based on the ratio of the allowable costs of the plan to the plan's aggregate premiums) for a plan year.
 
HHS must proportionately decrease payments to plans in order to ensure that this requirement is satisfied each year.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to authorize an additional district judgeship for the district of Idaho.

Bill: 114-s-360
Sponsor: Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Law
Subjects: Federal district courts
Idaho
Judges

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 
Requires the President to appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, one additional district judge for the district of Idaho.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Disposal of Excess Federal Lands Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-361
Sponsor: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Arizona
Colorado
Idaho
Land transfers
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
Utah
Wyoming

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 

Disposal of Excess Federal Lands Act of 2015

 
 Directs the Secretary of the Interior to offer for disposal by competitive sale certain federal lands in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming, previously identified as suitable for disposal in the report submitted to Congress on May 27, 1997, pursuant to the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Government Employee Accountability Act

Bill: 114-s-362
Sponsor: Sen. Blunt, Roy [R-MO]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Congressional oversight
Employee leave
Federal officials
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government studies and investigations
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 

Government Employee Accountability Act

 
Sets forth guidelines for placing career employees of the Senior Executive Service (SES) on investigative leave. Defines "investigative leave" as a temporary absence without duty for disciplinary reasons, for not more than 90 days.
 
Authorizes a federal agency to: (1) place an SES employee on investigative leave, without loss of pay and without charge to annual or sick leave, only for alleged misconduct, neglect of duty, malfeasance, or misappropriation of funds; (2) place such employee on leave without pay if such employee's alleged conduct is determined to be serious or flagrant; or (3) remove such employee if such employee acted in a manner that endangers the interest of the agency mission. 
 
Requires an agency to periodically review the investigation into the conduct of an SES employee placed on investigative leave and take certain actions with respect to such employee at the end of a period of investigative leave, including removal, suspension without pay, or reinstatement to duty. Grants an employee placed on investigative leave certain rights, including: (1) advance written notice of, and a reasonable time (not less than seven days) to answer, charges; (2) the right to be represented by an attorney; and (3) the right to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board. 
 
Includes misappropriation of funds as a ground in suspending or reinstating an SES employee or placing such employee in another civil service position.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
STAGE Act

Bill: 114-s-364
Sponsor: Sen. Blunt, Roy [R-MO]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Business expenses
Income tax deductions
Intellectual property
Performing arts

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 

Support Theaters in America Growth and Expansion Act or the STAGE Act
 
 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the expensing of the costs of qualified film and television productions, to: (1) extend through 2016 provisions allowing such expensing, (2) allow such expensing for the costs of certain live theatrical productions, and (3) provide for the tax treatment of dispositions of an interest in a live theatrical production as a passive activity. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to improve rangeland conditions and restore grazing levels within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah.

Bill: 114-s-365
Sponsor: Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Land use and conservation
Licensing and registrations
Livestock
Monuments and memorials
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Utah

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 
Directs the Department of the Interior to implement a management program within the areas of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah that are administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to: (1) improve rangeland conditions for wildlife and livestock carrying capacity in those areas, and (2) restore livestock grazing to the level of usage in those areas that existed as of September 17, 1996. 
 
Requires Interior, in issuing or renewing grazing permits and in issuing or modifying allotment management plans for livestock grazing in those areas, to incorporate standards and guidelines that are consistent with: (1) the &quot;Utah Standards for Rangeland Health and Guidelines for Grazing Management for BLM Lands in Utah&quot;, approved by the Secretary on May 20, 1997; and (2) the applicable BLM regulations contained in regulations relating to livestock grazing on public land. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-21
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 114-380.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act

Bill: 114-s-366
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Congressional elections
Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
Government information and archives
Senate

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 

Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act

 
 Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require all election-related designations, statements, and reports required to be filed under the Act to be filed directly with the Federal Election Commission. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Sunlight for Unaccountable Non-profits (SUN) Act

Bill: 114-s-367
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
Government information and archives
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
Tax-exempt organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 

Sunlight for Unaccountable Non-profits (SUN) Act 

 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require: (1) the annual tax return information for tax-exempt organizations and deferred compensation plans to be made available to the public at no charge and in an open structured data format that is processable by computers, with the information easy to find, access, reuse, and download in bulk; and (2) the disclosure of the names and addresses of contributors of $5,000 or more to tax-exempt organizations that participate or intervene in political campaigns on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-368
Sponsor: Sen. Toomey, Patrick [R-PA]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Firearms and explosives
Law enforcement officers

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 

Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati 

Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act of 2015

 
 Amends the federal criminal code to require the Bureau of Prisons to ensure that each chief executive officer of a federal penal or correctional institution: (1) provides a secure storage area located outside of the secure perimeter of the institution for qualified law enforcement officers employed by the Bureau to store firearms, or allows such officers to store firearms in a vehicle lockbox approved by the Bureau; and (2) allows such officers to carry concealed firearms on the premises outside of the secure perimeter of the institution.
 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Supporting Adoptive Families Act

Bill: 114-s-369
Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Families
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Adoption and foster care
Advisory bodies
Child health
Department of Health and Human Services
Government information and archives
Health programs administration and funding
Mental health
Poverty and welfare assistance
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 

Supporting Adoptive Families Act

 
 Amends part B (Child and Family Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to make it a purpose of the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program to promote efforts to prevent children from entering the foster care system through the provision of pre- and post-adoptive support services.
 
Extends adoption promotion and support services to those designed to support adoptions from other countries as well as domestic adoptions. Specifies related pre- and post-adoptive support services. 
 
Amends SSAct title IV part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) to revise requirements for state expenditures for adoption support services.
 
Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award grants or cooperative agreements to eligible entities to develop and implement state-sponsored statewide or tribal post-adoption mental health service programs for all adopted children. 
 
Amends SSAct title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to direct the Secretary, as part of the child support and paternity data collection system, to promulgate final regulations requiring the states to collect and report information regarding children adopted within the United States or from other countries who enter into state custody as a result of the disruption of a placement for adoption or the dissolution of an adoption. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Breast Density and Mammography Reporting Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-370
Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Cancer
Health information and medical records
Medical research
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Research administration and funding
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 

Breast Density and Mammography Reporting Act of 2015

 
Amends the Public Health Service Act to require mammography facilities to include up-to-date information about breast density in both the written report of the results of a mammography examination provided to a patient's physician and the summary of that written report given to the patient. Requires the summary to convey: (1) the effect of breast density in masking the presence of breast cancer on a mammogram, and (2) that individuals with dense breasts should talk with their physicians about any questions or concerns regarding the summary and whether they would benefit from additional tests.
 
Requires the Department of Health and Human Services to expand and intensify research on breast density, the cost-effectiveness and feasibility of supplemental imaging relating to breast density, and best practices concerning mammograms and supplemental screening for those with dense breasts.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S775)
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to remove a limitation on a prohibition relating to permits for discharges incidental to normal operation of vessels.

Bill: 114-s-371
Sponsor: Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Licensing and registrations
Marine and inland water transportation
Marine pollution
Water quality

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 
This bill makes permanent a temporary exemption from permit requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act). The exemption applies to a vessel that is less than 79 feet in length or a fishing vessel for any discharge: (1) of effluent from properly functioning marine engines; (2) of laundry, shower, and galley sink wastes; or (3) that is incidental to the normal operation of those vessels. Under current law, the exemption is scheduled to end on December 18, 2017. This exemption does not apply to garbage discharged overboard, other discharges when the vessel is operating in a capacity other than as a means of transportation, discharges of ballast water held in ships to increase stability, or any discharge that contributes to a violation of a water quality standard or poses an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
SAFE Act Confidentiality and Privilege Enhancement Act

Bill: 114-s-372
Sponsor: Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Banking and financial institutions regulation
Financial services and investments
Right of privacy

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 

SAFE Act Confidentiality and Privilege Enhancement Act

 
 Amends the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 to extend to state and federal regulatory officials having financial services oversight authority (currently only those having mortgage oversight authority) access to any information provided to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (or any system established by the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau), without the loss of privilege or confidentiality protections provided by federal and state laws.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to extend the requirement of the Secretary to furnish hospital care and medical services through non-Department of Veterans Affairs entities to veterans residing in certain locations.

Bill: 114-s-374
Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Health care coverage and access
Hospital care
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 
Amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to extend indefinitely the requirement that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) furnish hospital care and medical services through non-VA facilities to veterans who reside: (1) in a state without a VA medical facility that provides hospital care, emergency medical services, and surgical care; and (2) more than 20 miles from such a facility.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Small BREW Act

Bill: 114-s-375
Sponsor: Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Alcoholic beverages
Food industry and services
Sales and excise taxes
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 

Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce Act or the Small BREW Act

 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the rate of the excise tax on beer produced within or imported into the United States for brewers who produce not more than 6 million barrels of beer a year. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S775-776; text of measure as introduced: CR S776-777)
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude payments received under the Work Colleges Program from gross income, including payments made from institutional funds.

Bill: 114-s-376
Sponsor: Sen. Kirk, Mark Steven [R-IL]
Introduced: 2015-02-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Higher education
Income tax exclusion
Student aid and college costs
Wages and earnings
Youth employment and child labor

Summary:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income payments received by a student under a comprehensive student work-learning-service program operated by a work college. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-02-04
text: Introduced in Senate