hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Maritime and Energy Workforce Technical Training Enhancement Act

Bill: 114-s-2053
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2015-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Education programs funding
Employment and training programs
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Higher education
Marine and inland water transportation
Navigation, waterways, harbors
Transportation employees
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Vocational and technical education

Summary:
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: 

Maritime and Energy Workforce Technical Training Enhancement Act

 
This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to award grants to enable eligible community colleges and other public postsecondary institutions of higher education that are located near marine or port facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, or Great Lakes to expand upon existing programs in maritime and energy workforce technical training, including by admitting more students, training faculty, expanding facilities, creating new maritime career pathways from an associate degree to a baccalaureate degree, awarding credit for prior learning experience, and increasing cooperation with an appropriate federal agency or the National Science Foundation. 
 
DOE shall give priority to institutions that have entered into a partnership with an appropriate federal agency.
 
Recipients shall use grant amounts for:
 
 
training related to maritime or energy transportation, logistics, and supply chain management or to shipbuilding and ship repair;
 
enhancement of academic and workforce training programs for maritime and energy employment;
 
salary supplementation for faculty in maritime or energy training and education;
 
operation and maintenance of maritime or energy related equipment and technology for use in instructional programs;
 
acquisition of marine vessels and other assets and equipment for use in maritime or energy related training and education;
 
renovation or construction of buildings to house maritime or energy training and education programs; or
 
tuition reimbursement for successful completion of a maritime or energy course, program, or certification.
 
 
 
DOE may also award a grant to an eligible nonprofit organization (one with at least 10 years of expertise in working with community colleges on developing workforce development programs) to provide assistance in carrying out this Act. 
 
DOE shall award a grant to to enable up to 10 eligible institutions that offer accredited programs in academic areas relevant to maritime or energy-related workforce training to: (1) establish Centers of Excellence in Maritime and Energy Workforce Technical Training; and (2) improve and expand maritime and energy workforce training opportunities through such Centers for veterans, members of the Armed Forces, federal employees, and civilians by implementing new training programs and providing job placement services in maritime and energy employment fields. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Justice is Not For Sale Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-2054
Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]
Introduced: 2015-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Border security and unlawful immigration
Congressional oversight
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consumer credit
Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Crime victims
Criminal justice information and records
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Detention of persons
Disability and paralysis
Family relationships
Human trafficking
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Mental health
Public contracts and procurement
Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
State and local government operations
Telephone and wireless communication
User charges and fees
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: 

Justice is Not For Sale Act of 2015

 
This bill requires federal, state, and local governments and their employees to directly operate and perform core services at adult prisons and detention centers. 
 
The bill reestablishes parole for eligible federal prisoners sentenced on or after January 1, 2017. (The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 eliminated parole for offenders convicted of federal crimes committed after November 1, 1987.) 
 
It authorizes the United States Parole Commission to: (1) grant or deny a parole application or recommendation; (2) impose conditions on, modify, or revoke parole; and (3) maintain supervision of paroled offenders. 
 
Financial service providers at prisons and detention centers must impose reasonable and proportional fees and charges for money transfer services. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must establish standards to assess such fees or charges.
 
The bill directs the Federal Communications Commission to cap prison phone call rates and connection charges, require telecommunications providers to offer collect and debit account call services, restrict commission payments and ancillary service charges, and require correctional facility administrators to allow more than one telecommunications provider. 
 
It eliminates the provision that requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to maintain at least 34,000 detention beds. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must establish nationwide alternatives to detention programs and determine detention bed capacity based solely on detention needs. 
 
DHS must conduct annual inspections and routine oversight of detention facilities.
 
The bill prohibits family detention and requires DHS to establish alternatives to detention programs for detained family units. Also, it prohibits separation of a family to detain a family member, except DHS may detain an alien parent who is dangerous to the community and inadmissible on terrorism-related grounds.
 

 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System Act

Bill: 114-s-2056
Sponsor: Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK]
Introduced: 2015-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Emergency Management
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Department of the Interior
Earth sciences
Executive agency funding and structure
Government information and archives
Natural disasters
Research administration and funding

Summary:
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: 

National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System Act

 
This bill directs the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to establish the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System to monitor, issue warnings of, and protect U.S. citizens from undue and avoidable harm from, volcanic activity. 
 
The purposes of the System are to: (1) organize, modernize, standardize, and stabilize the monitoring systems of U.S. volcano observatories; and (2) unify such systems into a single interoperative system. The objective of the System is to monitor all U.S. volcanoes at a level commensurate with the threat posed by the volcanoes by: (1) upgrading existing networks on monitored volcanoes, and (2) installing new networks on unmonitored volcanoes.
 
The System shall include: (1) a national volcano watch office that is operational 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, (2) a national volcano data center, (3) an external grants program to support research in volcano monitoring science and technology, and (4) modernization activities including the comprehensive application of emerging technologies.
 
The USGS must: (1) submit to Congress a five-year management plan for establishing and operating the System, and (2) establish an advisory committee to assist in implementing the System.
 
 The USGS may enter into cooperative agreements designating institutions of higher education and state agencies as volcano observatory partners for the System.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-22
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-509.
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill providing for additional space for the protection and preservation of national collections held by the Smithsonian Institution.

Bill: 114-s-2057
Sponsor: Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR]
Introduced: 2015-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Arts, Culture, Religion
Subjects: Aviation and airports
Maryland
Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
Smithsonian Institution
Virginia

Summary:
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: 
This bill authorizes the Smithsonian Institution to plan, design, and construct additional storage facilities for collections storage modules and hangar additions to the National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, and additional storage and laboratory space at the Museum Support Center at the Suitland Collections Center in Suitland, Maryland, to accommodate the care, preservation, conservation, deposit, and study of national collections held in trust. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Civil Justice Tax Fairness Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-2059
Sponsor: Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME]
Introduced: 2015-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Income tax exclusion
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: 

Civil Justice Tax Fairness Act of 2015 

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) an exclusion from gross income for amounts received (whether by judgment or settlement, as lump sums or periodic payments) on account of a claim of unlawful discrimination; (2) income averaging for backpay or frontpay amounts received from such claims; and (3) an exemption from the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for any tax benefit resulting from the income averaging of amounts received from an unlawful discrimination claim. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S6815)
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Advancing FASD Research, Prevention, and Services Act

Bill: 114-s-2060
Sponsor: Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK]
Introduced: 2015-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Child health
Child safety and welfare
Congressional oversight
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Elementary and secondary education
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health facilities and institutions
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Hereditary and development disorders
Indian social and development programs
Judicial procedure and administration
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Lawyers and legal services
Medical research
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Minority health
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: 

Advancing FASD Research, Prevention, and Services Act

 
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) programs (as renamed under this Act, previously the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effect programs). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must: (1) carry out research on FASD; (2) facilitate surveillance, public health research, and prevention of FASD; and (3) continue the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
 
HHS must provide financial assistance to: (1) establish or expand state FASD programs; (2) implement best practices to educate children with FASD and educate members of the criminal justice system and adoption or foster care agency officials on FASD; (3) provide transitional services for those affected by prenatal alcohol exposure; (4) develop public service announcements on the risks associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy; (5) increase awareness of FASD in federally qualified health centers; and (6) provide respite care for caretakers, recruit mentors, and provide educational and supportive services to families of individuals with FASD.
 
The Government Accountability Office must make recommendations regarding the responsibilities of federal entities regarding FASD.
 
The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the Department of Education must conduct training on FASD surveillance and disseminate best practices in the education and support of children with FASD.
 
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice must: (1) implement FASD screening procedures, (2) conduct training on surveillance and on identification and support of individuals with FASD, and (3) study the inadequacies of the current system.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
National Memorial to Fallen Educators Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-2061
Sponsor: Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]
Introduced: 2015-09-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Crime victims
Kansas
Monuments and memorials
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2015-09-21
text: 

National Memorial to Fallen Educators Act of 2015

 
This bill designates as the "National Memorial to Fallen Educators" an existing memorial located at the National Teachers Hall of Fame in Emporia, Kansas. The memorial is not a unit of the National Park System, and its designation shall not require or allow federal funds to be expended for any purpose related to it.


Legislative actions:
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: 2015-09-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-09-21
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to extend authority for operation of the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Manila, the Republic of the Philippines.

Bill: 114-s-2062
Sponsor: Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]
Introduced: 2015-09-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Asia
Department of Veterans Affairs
Executive agency funding and structure
Philippines

Summary:
action_date: 2015-09-21
text: 
This bill extends authority through September 30, 2016, for operation of the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Manila, the Republic of the Philippines.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2015-09-21
text: Introduced in Senate
Gold King Mine Spill Recovery Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-2063
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Tom [D-NM]
Introduced: 2015-09-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Colorado
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal-Indian relations
Government liability
Government studies and investigations
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Intergovernmental relations
Lakes and rivers
Metals
Mining
New Mexico
Pollution liability
Public contracts and procurement
State and local government operations
Utah
Water quality
Watersheds

Summary:
action_date: 2015-09-22
text: 

Gold King Mine Spill Recovery Act of 2015

 
This bill entitles persons to compensation for allowable damages (i.e., property, business, or financial losses) under the Federal Tort Claims Act if they were injured by the spill into Cement Creek from the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado. The spill occurred on August 5, 2015.
 
The bill establishes an Office of Gold King Mine Spill Claims within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to process and pay compensation claims.
 
The EPA must work with affected states and Indian tribes to develop, fund, and implement a long-term monitoring program for water quality of the Animas and San Juan Rivers in response to the spill.
 
The bill amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 by requiring certain agencies to work with affected states as well as research universities to: (1) identify the most dangerous abandoned and inactive mines, (2) establish a priority plan for cleaning up those mines, (3) update the plan as new information becomes available, and (4) develop a long-term research initiative. That initiative must evaluate the physical, chemical, and geological attributes of closed, abandoned, and inactive mines and pursue technological developments to aid in the cleanup of those mines.
 
Prior to carrying out mine remediation activities, agencies must: (1) provide affected tribal, state, and local governments notice of such activities; and (2) develop a spill prevention, control, and countermeasures plan for avoiding and mitigating the impacts of a spill.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-09-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Career and Technical Education Opportunity Act

Bill: 114-s-2064
Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
Introduced: 2015-09-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Education programs funding
Employee hiring
Employment and training programs
Higher education
Licensing and registrations
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Vocational and technical education

Summary:
action_date: 2015-09-22
text: 

Career and Technical Education Opportunity Act

 
This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to expand the programs eligible to participate in federal student aid.
 
Specifically, it makes eligible for Direct Loan program and Federal Perkins Loan program participation an educational program that provides at least 250 hours of instruction over a minimum of 5 weeks that leads to an industry-recognized credential.
 
An industry-recognized credential: (1) is high quality, as demonstrated by the institution offering the program; (2) meets local or regional workforce needs; and (3) is endorsed by a national industry trade association. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-09-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Working Student Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-2065
Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
Introduced: 2015-09-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Higher education
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2015-09-22
text: 

Working Student Act of 2015 

 
This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify the income protection allowance levels used to calculate a student's expected family contribution and need for financial assistance. (An income protection allowance is an amount for basic living expenses that is protected from being considered income available for postsecondary educational expenses.)
 
 Specifically, the bill increases, in academic year 2016-2017, income protection allowance levels for students who are dependent, independent without non-spouse dependents (e.g., children), and independent with non-spouse dependents to reduce such students' income available (and increase need for financial assistance) to cover postsecondary educational expenses.
 
 The Department of Education must, in subsequent years, adjust the income protection allowance levels for inflation.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-09-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

Bill: 114-s-2066
Sponsor: Sen. Sasse, Ben [R-NE]
Introduced: 2015-09-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Abortion
Civil actions and liability
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Health personnel
Legal fees and court costs
Medical ethics
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2015-09-22
text: 

Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

 
This bill amends the federal criminal code to require any health care practitioner who is present when a child is born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion to: (1) exercise the same degree of care as reasonably provided to any other child born alive at the same gestational age, and (2) ensure that such child is immediately admitted to a hospital. The term &quot;born alive&quot; means the complete expulsion or extraction from his or her mother, at any stage of development, who after such expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut.
 
Also, a health care practitioner or other employee who has knowledge of a failure to comply with these requirements must immediately report such failure to an appropriate law enforcement agency. 
 
An individual who violates the provisions of this Act is subject to a criminal fine, up to five years in prison, or both. 
 
An individual who commits an overt act that kills a child born alive is subject to criminal prosecution for murder.
 
The legislation bars the criminal prosecution of a mother of a child born alive for conspiracy to violate the provisions of this Act, for being an accessory after the fact, or for concealment of felony. 
 
A woman who undergoes an abortion or attempted abortion may file a civil action for damages against an individual who violates this Act. 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-09-22
text: Introduced in Senate
EUREKA Act

Bill: 114-s-2067
Sponsor: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS]
Introduced: 2015-09-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Aging
Department of Health and Human Services
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Health technology, devices, supplies
Medical research
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Neurological disorders
Research administration and funding

Summary:
action_date: 2015-09-22
text: 

Ensuring Useful Research Expenditures is Key for Alzheimer's Act or the EUREKA Act

 
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish EUREKA prize competitions to achieve high-priority breakthroughs in Alzheimer's disease and dementia prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care.
 
The NIH must: (1) convene an advisory council of nongovernmental experts in Alzheimer's disease and dementia to develop the EUREKA prize competitions, and (2) appoint a panel of judges to evaluate submissions. The council and panel are not subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
 Support for EUREKA prize competitions may be provided by private organizations and individuals.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S6895-6896)
action_date: 2015-09-22
text: Introduced in Senate