hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Department of Veterans Affairs Purchased Health Care Streamlining and Modernization Act

Bill: 114-hr-4591
Sponsor: Rep. Miller, Jeff [R-FL-1]
Introduced: 2016-02-23 in the House
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Aging
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Health care quality
Health information and medical records
Medicaid
Medicare
Public contracts and procurement
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: 

Department of Veterans Affairs Purchased Health Care Streamlining and Modernization Act

 
This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in addition to furnishing hospital care, medical services, or extended care at VA facilities or under contracts or sharing agreements, to furnish such care and services to eligible veterans through the use of Veterans Care Agreements with eligible providers. 
 
An eligible provider is:
 
 
a provider whose income in the year preceding the year of entering into an agreement did not exceed $11 million;
 
a provider who does not otherwise provide such care or services pursuant to a federal contract; and 
 
a physician or provider of Medicaid or Medicare services, an Aging and Disability Resource Center, an area agency on aging, or a center for independent living.
 
 
The VA shall: (1) establish a certifying process for providers, (2) review agreements at least once every two years, and (3) use the quality of care standards set forth or used by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
 
The VA may enter into an agreement using non-competitive procedures.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-02-25
text: Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
action_date: 2016-02-25
text: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2016-02-25
text: Subcommittee on Health Discharged.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Introduced in House
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act

Bill: 114-hr-4592
Sponsor: Rep. Neal, Richard E. [D-MA-1]
Introduced: 2016-02-23 in the House
Policy area: Sports and Recreation
Subjects: Athletes
Commemorative events and holidays
Currency
Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
Professional sports

Summary:
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: 

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act

 
This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 50,000 $5 coins, 400,000 $1 coins, and 750,000 half-dollar coins in recognition and celebration of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
 
The coins shall be in the shape of a dome, and the design on the common reverse of the coins shall depict a basketball. Treasury shall hold a competition to determine the design of the common obverse of the coins, which shall be emblematic of the game of basketball.
 
The bill requires all sales of such coins to include specified surcharges, which shall be paid by Treasury to the Hall to fund an endowment for its operations. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E193)
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Introduced in House
Reducing Long-Term Unemployment Act

Bill: 114-hr-4593
Sponsor: Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
Introduced: 2016-02-23 in the House
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Employee hiring
Employment taxes
Income tax exclusion
Railroads
Transportation employees
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: 

Reducing Long-Term Unemployment Act 

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend until December 31, 2017, the suspension of employment and railroad retirement taxes for employers who hire unemployed individuals. The aggregate reduction in taxes from such suspension is limited to $5,000 per employee. 
 
The bill modifies the unemployment requirement to require a signed affidavit from the unemployed individual that, during the entire 27-week period ending on the hiring date, such individual: (1) was receiving federal or state unemployment compensation, or (2) was unemployed and would have received unemployment compensation except for having exhausted the right to receive such compensation during such period. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E192)
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Introduced in House
Making College Affordable and Accessible Act of 2016

Bill: 114-hr-4594
Sponsor: Rep. Polis, Jared [D-CO-2]
Introduced: 2016-02-23 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Higher education
Rural conditions and development
Student aid and college costs
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: 

Making College Affordable and Accessible Act of 2016

 
This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to: (1) extend the authorization of appropriations for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education through FY2022, and (2) authorize the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to institutions of higher education to carry out credit-based academic transition programs established through partnerships between high schools and such institutions that utilize dual or concurrent enrollment programs or early college high school programs that enable students to earn college credits while in high school.
 
ED shall give priority in awarding grants to institutions that serve students from low-income families, students from rural communities, or students who are the first in their family to receive postsecondary education.
 
Institutions shall use grant funds to: 
 
 
provide teachers, principals, and other school leaders with professional development activities that enhance or enable the provision of the appropriate coursework through such programs; and 
 
support activities including curriculum design, establishment of a course articulation process, outreach programs to provide elementary school and secondary school students information about and academic preparation for the transition programs, helping students meet eligibility criteria for the postsecondary courses, and coordinating secondary and postsecondary support services and academic calendars. 

 
Institutions may use grant funds for costs associated with carrying out such transition programs, including the costs of: (1) tuition and fees, books, and required instructional materials; and (2) transportation to and from such programs.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-19
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Introduced in House
Great Lakes Fishery Research Authorization Act of 2016

Bill: 114-hr-4595
Sponsor: Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5]
Introduced: 2016-02-23 in the House
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Aquatic ecology
Canada
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Fishes
Government studies and investigations
Great Lakes
International organizations and cooperation
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: 

Great Lakes Fishery Research Authorization Act of 2016

 
This bill authorizes the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct critical monitoring, scientific assessments, and research in support of fisheries within the Great Lakes Basin between the United States and Canada. 
 
In support of the fisheries within the Great Lakes Basin, the USGS Great Lakes Science Center shall: (1) execute a comprehensive, multi-lake, freshwater fisheries science program; (2) work cooperatively with regional, state, tribal, and local governments; and (3) consult with interested groups, including academia and Canadian agencies.
 
 To protect and improve the Great Lakes, the USGS Great Lakes Science Center may provide:
 
 
deep-water ecosystem research,
 
fish behavior and habitat reports,
 
fish population assessments,
 
invasive species research,
 
use of biological equipment and laboratory capabilities necessary to support fishery management decisions, and
 
studies that assess impacts on Great Lakes Fishery resources.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-02-25
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans.
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-02-23
text: Introduced in House
ICE Agent Support Act of 2016

Bill: 114-hr-4597
Sponsor: Rep. Brooks, Mo [R-AL-5]
Introduced: 2016-02-24 in the House
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Appropriations
Border security and unlawful immigration
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal justice information and records
Department of Homeland Security
Detention of persons
Executive agency funding and structure
Firearms and explosives
Government buildings, facilities, and property
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Immigration status and procedures
Law enforcement officers
Motor vehicles

Summary:
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: 

ICE Agent Support Act of 2016

 
This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to refund out of the Immigration Enforcement Account the amount paid out of any appropriation for expenses incurred by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for: 
 
 
identification, investigation, apprehension, detention, and removal of criminal aliens, including providing staffing levels within the Enforcement and Removal Operations division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; 
 
maintenance and updating of systems used by the division to identify and track criminal aliens, deportable aliens, inadmissible aliens, and aliens illegally entering the United States; and 
 
purchase of firearms, vehicles, and other safety or apprehension equipment for the division. 
 
 
DHS shall establish the percentage of positions within the division that shall be classified as a criminal investigator position.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-02-29
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House
Support and Defend Our Military Personnel and Their Families Act

Bill: 114-hr-4600
Sponsor: Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-5]
Introduced: 2016-02-24 in the House
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Citizenship and naturalization
Immigration status and procedures
Military operations and strategy
Military personnel and dependents
User charges and fees
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: 

Support and Defend Our Military Personnel and Their Families Act

 
This bill states that any person who serves or has served under honorable conditions as a member of the Armed Forces in support of contingency operations shall be eligible for naturalization as if the person had served during a period of presidentially-designated military hostilities. 
 
 The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is amended to extend the period for filing a naturalization application to one year after completion of eligible military service.
 
 An alien who is eligible for a family-sponsored immigrant visa and is either the spouse or child of a permanent resident alien who is serving in the Armed Forces shall be exempt from worldwide immigrant visa numerical limitations. 
 
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may adjust to permanent resident status an alien who is a parent, spouse, child, son or daughter, or minor sibling of a person who is serving or has served in the Armed Forces under honorable conditions. The bill permits posthumous benefits under specified circumstances. 
 
 With respect to a removal proceeding under INA: 
 
 
a notice to appear shall not be issued against an alien who serves or has served under honorable conditions in the Armed Forces without prior DHS approval; 
 
 DHS, in determining whether to issue a notice, shall consider the alien's eligibility for naturalization, military service record, grounds of deportability, and any hardship to the Armed Forces, the alien, and his or her family if the alien were to be placed in removal proceedings; and 
 
an alien who serves or has served under honorable conditions in the Armed Forces shall not be removed from the United States on specified grounds.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-02-29
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House
To transfer the reversionary interest of the United States between certain land in Flagstaff, Arizona, and for other purposes.

Bill: 114-hr-4601
Sponsor: Rep. Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-4]
Introduced: 2016-02-24 in the House
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Arizona
Land transfers

Summary:
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: 
This bill transfers, upon the request of the city of Flagstaff, Arizona, and the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company, to a specified parcel of land conveyed to the company any reversionary interest of the United States in and to a specified parcel of land conveyed to the city. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-02-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House
Hate Crimes Prevention Act

Bill: 114-hr-4603
Sponsor: Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1]
Introduced: 2016-02-24 in the House
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Criminal procedure and sentencing
Firearms and explosives
Hate crimes

Summary:
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: 

Hate Crimes Prevention Act

 
This bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit firearm sale or transfer to and receipt or possession by an individual who has: (1) been convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime, or (2) received an enhanced hate crime misdemeanor sentence.
 
It defines "misdemeanor hate crime" as a misdemeanor offense that has, as an element, that the conduct was motivated by hate or bias because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person.
 
An "enhanced hate crime misdemeanor sentence" is an enhanced sentence imposed for a misdemeanor that is based, in whole or in part, on conduct motivated by hate or bias because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-02-29
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H864)
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House
Status of the Sixth Amendment Act of 2016

Bill: 114-hr-4606
Sponsor: Rep. Deutch, Theodore E. [D-FL-21]
Introduced: 2016-02-24 in the House
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Government information and archives
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Law enforcement administration and funding
Lawyers and legal services
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: 

Status of the Sixth Amendment Act of 2016 

 
This bill requires a state that receives a Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs grant to report annually certain information with respect to the following categories: (1) criminal offenses punishable by a prison term of more than one year; (2) criminal offenses punishable by a prison term of one year or less, including misdemeanors, traffic, and municipal violations; and (3) acts of juvenile delinquency punishable by a term of detention. 
 
A state must report, for each offense category, the number of charges for which: (1) an individual was prosecuted, (2) a defendant waived the right to counsel, (3) a defendant was represented by publicly appointed counsel, and (4) a defendant was represented by counsel who was not publicly appointed. 
 
DOJ must publish such reports on its website. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-02-29
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
action_date: 2016-02-29
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House
Savings Accounts for a Variable Economy for Small Businesses Act

Bill: 114-hr-4608
Sponsor: Rep. Israel, Steve [D-NY-3]
Introduced: 2016-02-24 in the House
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Business investment and capital
Disaster relief and insurance
Employee hiring
Financial crises and stabilization
Income tax deductions
Income tax exclusion
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: 

SAVE for Small Businesses Act or the Savings Accounts for a Variable Economy for Small Businesses Act 

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) provide for tax-exempt small business savings accounts, and (2) allow tax deductible contributions to such accounts of not more than 10% of the gross profits of an eligible small business (a business employing an average of 50 or fewer full-time employees) for the preceding taxable year. 
 
The bill excludes qualified distributions from such accounts from gross income for income tax purposes. A &quot;qualified distribution&quot; is: (1) any amount that is distributed from a small business savings account during a specified period of economic hardship, and (2) the distribution of which is certified as being part of a plan that provides for the reinvestment of such distribution for the funding of worker hiring or financial stabilization for the purposes of job retention or creation. 
 
The Secretary of the Treasury shall: (1) establish minimum standards for small business savings accounts that seek to minimize fees and risk of loss of principal, and (2) ensure a range of investment risk options available to account beneficiaries. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House
Keeping American Jobs Act

Bill: 114-hr-4609
Sponsor: Rep. Kilmer, Derek [D-WA-6]
Introduced: 2016-02-24 in the House
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Foreign labor
Unemployment
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: 

Keeping American Jobs Act

 
This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit the admission of an H-1B visa (specialty occupation) nonimmigrant worker if the Department of Labor determines that the H-1B application was filed by the prospective employer for the primary purpose of using one or more U.S. workers to train the H-1B worker in the job duties and responsibilities of the U.S. workers in order to lay off the U.S. workers and move their job or jobs abroad, unless the application states that the employer did not and will not displace a U.S. worker within the period beginning 90 days before and ending 90 days after the date of filing of any visa petition supported by the application.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-02-29
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House
To amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in a series of water reclamation projects to provide a new water supply to communities previously impacted by perchlorate contamination plumes.

Bill: 114-hr-4610
Sponsor: Rep. Knight, Stephen [R-CA-25]
Introduced: 2016-02-24 in the House
Policy area: Water Resources Development
Subjects: Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Land use and conservation
Solid waste and recycling
Water quality
Water resources funding
Water use and supply

Summary:
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: 
This bill amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to participate in projects to benefit eligible communities through projects to:
 
 
capture and treat wastewater and to distribute recycled water from a new mixed-use development that cannot otherwise be economically provided recycled water from one or more existing water reclamation plants and recycled water distribution systems;
 
adjust or forego a portion of facility capacity or connection fees otherwise paid by the property owner to a regional water agency that imports out-of-basin water supplies; and/or 
 
extend local recycled water distribution systems to properties adjacent to new mixed-use development. 

 
The bill defines "eligible communities" as communities:
 
 
in a state under a drought emergency declared by the governor, 
 
where water retailers have been directed by a state water resources control board to reduce consumption or use of potable water usage by 24% to 32%, and 
 
whose sanitation district has been directed by a regional water quality control board to reduce the discharge of chloride to comply with basin water quality standards. 

 
The Department of the Interior shall give priority to projects that:
 
 
will serve a region that has received federal authorization for projects associated with perchlorate remediation programs under the Bureau of Reclamation or the Army Corps of Engineers, 
 
will serve or are located in a region that has completed feasibility studies for perchlorate remediation efforts, and/or
 
will serve a region where the regional water agency that imports out-of-basin water supplies has a wholesale area that includes a population of between 200,000 and 350,000. 

 
The federal share of the cost of such a project shall not exceed 25% of the total cost.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-02-25
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-02-24
text: Introduced in House