hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Welfare Abuse Prevention Act

Bill: 114-s-1288
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2015-05-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Poverty and welfare assistance
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: 

Welfare Abuse Prevention Act

 
This bill amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require any state receiving a TANF block grant to maintain policies and practices to ensure that cash assistance disbursed through an electronic benefit transfer card or an electronic payment card shall not be used to withdraw more than $25 per day from an automated teller machine or through a cash-back procedure at a point of sale terminal.
 
The Department of Health and Human Services shall reduce to $0 the state family assistance grant payable to any state which, within two years after enactment of this Act, has not reported on its implementation of this cash withdrawal limit or has not implemented such a limit.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Defense Acquisition Contractor Workforce Improvement Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1289
Sponsor: Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD]
Introduced: 2015-05-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Department of Defense
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Military procurement, research, weapons development
Public contracts and procurement

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: 

Defense Acquisition Contractor Workforce Improvement Act of 2015 

 
This bill includes certain contractor personnel in the defense acquisition workforce for purposes of the Department of Defense annual strategic workforce plan. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Introduced in Senate
TRICARE Portability Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1290
Sponsor: Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD]
Introduced: 2015-05-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Health care costs and insurance
Health information and medical records
Military medicine
Military personnel and dependents

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: 

TRICARE Portability Act of 2015

 
This bill directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure that beneficiaries covered under a TRICARE health plan are able to access health care under such health plan in each TRICARE program region. 
 
The Secretary shall: 
 
 
provide for the automatic electronic transfer of demographic, enrollment, and claims information between the contractors responsible for administering the TRICARE program in each TRICARE region when covered beneficiaries relocate between such regions, 
 
ensure these covered beneficiaries are able to obtain a new primary health care provider within ten days of undergoing such relocation, and 
 
develop a process for such covered beneficiaries to receive urgent care without preauthorization while undergoing such relocation.



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to authorize early repayment of obligations to the Bureau of Reclamation within the Northport Irrigation District in the State of Nebraska.

Bill: 114-s-1291
Sponsor: Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE]
Introduced: 2015-05-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Water Resources Development
Subjects: Government lending and loan guarantees
Nebraska
Water resources funding
Water use and supply

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: 
Authorizes any landowner within the Northport Irrigation District in Nebraska to repay, at any time, the construction costs of project facilities allocated to the landowner's land within the District. Provides that upon discharge in full of the obligation for repayment of all such costs, the parcels of land shall not be subject to the ownership and full-cost pricing limitations under federal reclamation law. Directs the Department of the Interior, upon request, to provide to the landowner who has repaid such costs in full a certificate acknowledging that the landholding is free of such limitations.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-06-18
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on Water and Power. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 114-399.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to establish the Department of Energy as the lead agency for coordinating all requirements under Federal law with respect to eligible clean coal and advanced coal technology generating projects, and for other purposes.

Bill: 114-s-1293
Sponsor: Sen. Heitkamp, Heidi [D-ND]
Introduced: 2015-05-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Air quality
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Coal
Department of Energy
Endangered and threatened species
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Environmental technology
Licensing and registrations
Water quality

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: 
This bill designates the Department of Energy (DOE) as the lead agency to coordinate all federal requirements under the Clean Air Act, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and the Safe Drinking Water Act regarding clean coal and advanced coal technology generating projects which:
 
 
 install and operate an advanced carbon capture and storage technology or carbon capture utilization and storage technology at a new or existing steam generating unit; or 
 
 increase the efficiency of converting coal to either a useful energy, or to a feedstock for the manufacture of other products.
 
 
DOE is also required to establish a schedule for all federal authorizations with respect to such projects, including: 
 
 
 setting binding intermediate milestones and deadlines to ensure expeditious completion of all proceedings and final action on all pertinent federal authorizations, 
 
 requiring all permit decisions and related environmental reviews to be completed within one year after the date on which a complete application for each environmental review is submitted, and 
 
 coordinating state permitting and environmental requirements.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-06-09
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Bioenergy Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1294
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2015-05-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Alternative and renewable resources
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Coal
Electric power generation and transmission
Energy efficiency and conservation
Energy research
Environmental technology
Forests, forestry, trees
Government lending and loan guarantees
Lighting and heating
Lighting, heating, cooling
Research administration and funding
Research and development

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: 

Bioenergy Act of 2015

 
This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a working group known as the Bioheat and Biopower Initiative to: coordinate research and development relating to biopower and bioheat projects, provide recommendations to USDA and DOE regarding the implementation of this bill, and ensure that grants are awarded using an open and competitive process. 
 
Bioheat is the use of woody biomass to generate heat, and biopower is the use of woody biomass to generate electricity. 
 
DOE must establish: (1) a grant program for projects to support innovation and market development in bioheat and biopower, and (2) working groups to share best practices and collaborate in project implementation. 
 
The Forest Service must establish a grant program to support commercially demonstrated thermally led wood energy technologies. Priority is given to projects proposed by State Wood Energy Teams, which are groups of stakeholders that identify sustainable energy applications for woody biomass. 
 
The bill requires USDA to establish a loan program to support construction of thermally led residential, commercial or institutional, and industrial wood energy systems. The bill also makes these projects eligible for loans under USDA's energy efficiency and conservation loan program. 
 
DOE and the Forest Service must establish a bioheat and biopower research program to advance research on the costs and benefits, recommend policies and investments, assess the feasibility of thermally led district wood energy opportunities, and assist communities pursuing thermally led wood energy opportunities. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-19
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2796; text of measure as introduced: CR S2796-2797)
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Arapaho National Forest Boundary Adjustment Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1295
Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]
Introduced: 2015-05-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Colorado
Forests, forestry, trees
Land transfers
Motor vehicles

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: 

Arapaho National Forest Boundary Adjustment Act of 2015

 
 Adjusts the boundary of the Arapaho National Forest in Colorado to incorporate approximately 92.95 acres of land generally depicted as 'The Wedge&quot; on the map entitled &quot;Arapaho National Forest Boundary Adjustment&quot; and identified as lots 3,4, 8, and 9 of section 13. 
 
Permits such a lot to be included in the boundary adjustment only after the Department of Agriculture (USDA) obtains written permission from the lot owner or owners. 
 
Requires the USDA to include all federal land within the boundary in the Bowen Gulch Protection Area established under the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-10-08
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 114-490.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Build USA Act

Bill: 114-s-1296
Sponsor: Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE]
Introduced: 2015-05-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Executive agency funding and structure
Foreign and international corporations
Government corporations and government-sponsored enterprises
Government lending and loan guarantees
Income tax deductions
Infrastructure development
Interest, dividends, interest rates
Roads and highways
Securities
State and local finance
Taxation of foreign income
Transportation programs funding

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: 

Build USA Act 

 
This bill establishes the American Infrastructure Bank as a wholly owned government corporation. 
 
The Bank's Board of Directors has authority, among other operations, to issue public benefit bonds and provide financing to core infrastructure projects from bond proceeds. 
 
State governments may enter into minimum three-year remittance agreements with the Bank under which:
 
 
a state agrees to remit to the Bank at least 60% of the total amount of federal-aid highway activities funds it receives from the federal government in each of the three years,
 
 the Board will issue to the state funds from the Bank equal to 90% of the amount the state remitted to the Bank, and
 
the state will use those funds to carry out core infrastructure projects.
 
 
The Bank may grant a loan to a state or a unit of local government to implement core transportation infrastructure projects. 
 
The deduction from gross income under the Internal Revenue Code for temporary dividends received from a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) decreases from 85% to 81.4% of the cash dividends received by a U.S. corporate shareholder from a CFC during the taxable year. Allowance of the deduction applies, if the taxpayer elects it, to the three-taxable year period beginning with:
 
 
the taxpayer's last taxable year which begins before the enactment of this Act, or
 
the taxpayer's first taxable year which begins during the one-year period beginning on that date of enactment.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act Reauthorization of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1299
Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced: 2015-05-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Child health
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Elementary and secondary education
Health care coverage and access
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Higher education
Mental health
Public-private cooperation

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: 

Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act Reauthorization of 2015

 
Amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize and revise a research, training, and technical assistance resource center to prevent suicides (the Suicide Prevention Resource Center). Expands the program's focus from youth suicides to suicides among all ages, particularly among groups that are at high risk for suicide. Repeals authority for grants to establish research, training, and technical assistance centers related to mental health, substance abuse and the justice system. 
 
Reauthorizes a program of grants for the development of state or tribal youth suicide early intervention and prevention strategies.
 
Reauthorizes and revises a grant program to enhance services for students with mental health or substance use disorders at institutions of higher education. Requires the Center for Mental Health Services to award grants to enhance such services and to develop best practices for the delivery of such services. Permits grant funds to be used for the provision of such services to students and to employ appropriately trained staff. Requires special consideration be given to applications for grants that describe programs that demonstrate the greatest need for new or additional mental and substance use disorder services and the greatest potential for replication.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2797)
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Restoring Medicaid for Compact of Free Association Migrants Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1301
Sponsor: Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]
Introduced: 2015-05-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: American Samoa
Caribbean area
Foreign aid and international relief
Guam
Marshall Islands
Medicaid
Micronesia
Northern Mariana Islands
Oceania
Palau
Puerto Rico
Virgin Islands

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: 

Restoring Medicaid for Compact of Free Association Migrants Act of 2015

 
 Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 to permit coverage under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act for citizens of the Freely Associated States lawfully residing in the United States under the Compacts of Free Association between the United States Government and the Governments of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.
 
Permits Medicaid coverage also to lawful residents, in accordance with such Compacts, but only at the option of the governor, of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa.
 
Exempts such citizens from the five-year limited eligibility of qualified aliens for federal means-tested public benefits with respect to Medicaid benefits.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Sarah Grace-Farley-Kluger Act

Bill: 114-s-1302
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2015-05-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Elementary and secondary education
Employee leave
Family relationships
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text:  
 

Parental Bereavement Act of 2015 or the Sarah Grace-Farley-Kluger Act

 
Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to entitle an eligible employee to up to 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period because of the death of a son or daughter.
 
Allows such an employee to substitute any available paid leave for any leave without pay.
 
Applies the same leave entitlement to federal employees.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Education Priority Enrollment Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1303
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2015-05-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Higher education
National Guard and reserves
Student aid and college costs
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: 

Veterans Education Priority Enrollment Act of 2015

 
Prohibits the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or a state approving agency from approving a program of education offered by an educational institution for purposes of an educational assistance program for veterans or members of the Selected Reserve or the Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces unless any such institution that administers a priority enrollment system allows an eligible veteran, member, or dependent to enroll in courses at the earliest possible time.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Introduced in Senate
21st Century Energy Workforce Act

Bill: 114-s-1304
Sponsor: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA]
Introduced: 2015-05-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Alternative and renewable resources
Education programs funding
Employment and training programs
Higher education
Oil and gas
Science and engineering education
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Vocational and technical education

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: 

21st Century Energy Workforce Act

 
This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a National Center of Excellence for the 21st Century Workforce Advisory Board to: (1) support and develop training and science education programs, (2) align apprenticeship programs and industry certifications to further develop succession planning in the energy sector, (3) integrate educational standards to develop foundational skills for elementary and secondary education and postsecondary education to create a pipeline between education and career, and (4) support the replication of existing model energy curricula. 
 
DOE shall also establish a pilot program to award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities for job training to obtain an industry-recognized credential.
 
Grant amounts are limited to $1 million for any one year. The federal share of the cost of a job training and education program using a grant shall be up to 65%, while the non-federal share may not be less than 50% cash. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-19
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Energy Independence Investment Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1306
Sponsor: Sen. Manchin, Joe, III [D-WV]
Introduced: 2015-05-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Climate change and greenhouse gases
Coal
Congressional oversight
Environmental technology
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government studies and investigations
Oil and gas

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: 

Energy Independence Investment Act of 2015

 
This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to study and report on the effectiveness of the advanced fossil loan guarantee incentive program and other DOE incentive programs for advanced fossil energy. In carrying out the study, DOE must:
 
 
solicit industry and stakeholder input; 
 
evaluate the effectiveness of the advanced fossil loan guarantee incentive program in advancing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology;
 
review each incentive provided by federal agencies for CCS demonstration projects to determine the adequacy and effectiveness of the combined federal incentives in advancing CCS and advanced fossil energy technologies; 
 
assess whether combinations of existing incentive programs could be effective to advance CCS and advanced fossil energy technologies; and
 
 evaluate the impact of implementing the recommendations described in the January 2015 National Coal Council report entitled, &quot;Fossil Forward: Revitalizing CCS, Bringing Scale and Speed to CCS Deployment,&quot; on the effectiveness of the advanced fossil loan guarantee program.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-06-09
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Introduced in Senate
Intelligence Budget Transparency Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1307
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2015-05-12 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Appropriations
Budget process
Congressional oversight
Executive agency funding and structure
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information

Summary:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: 

Intelligence Budget Transparency Act of 2015 

 
This bill requires the President's annual budget to include the total amount proposed for intelligence or intelligence related activities of each element of the government engaged in these activities in the fiscal year for which the budget is submitted. The budget must also include the estimated appropriation required for these activities for each of the next four fiscal years. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
action_date: 2015-05-12
text: Introduced in Senate