hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act

Bill: 114-s-774
Sponsor: Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]
Introduced: 2015-03-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Banking and financial institutions regulation
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Department of the Treasury
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Federal Reserve System
Judicial review and appeals
National Credit Union Administration

Summary:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: 

Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act 

 
Amends the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 1978 to require a federal financial institutions regulatory agency to make a final examination report to a financial institution within 60 days of the later of: (1) the exit interview for an examination of the institution, or (2) the provision of additional information by the institution relating to the examination.
 
Sets a deadline for the exit interview if a financial institution is not subject to a resident examiner program.
 
Sets forth examination standards for financial institutions.
 
 Establishes in the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council the Office of Independent Examination Review, headed by a Director appointed by the Council.
 
Grants a financial institution the right to appeal a material supervisory determination contained in a final report of examination.
 
Requires the Director to determine the merits of the appeal on the record, or, at the election of the financial institution, refer the appeal to an administrative law judge. 
 
Declares the decision by the Director on an appeal to: (1) be the final agency action, and (2) bind the agency whose supervisory determination was the subject of the appeal and the financial institution making the appeal.
 
Grants a financial institution the right to petition for judicial review of the Director's decision. 
 
Amends the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 to require: (1) the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to establish an independent intra-agency appellate process in connection with the regulatory appeals process; and (2) appropriate safeguards to protect an insured depository institution or insured credit union from retaliation by either the CFPB, the National Credit Union Administration Board, or any other federal banking agency for exercising its rights. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Self-Insurance Protection Act

Bill: 114-s-775
Sponsor: Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA]
Introduced: 2015-03-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Employee benefits and pensions
Health care costs and insurance
Insurance industry and regulation

Summary:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: 

Self-Insurance Protection Act

 
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the definition of &quot;health insurance coverage&quot; a stop-loss policy obtained by a self-insured health plan or a sponsor of a self-insured group health plan to reimburse the plan or sponsor for losses incurred in providing health benefits to plan participants in excess of a level set forth in the stop-loss policy.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Medication Therapy Management Empowerment Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-776
Sponsor: Sen. Roberts, Pat [R-KS]
Introduced: 2015-03-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Blood and blood diseases
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Digestive and metabolic diseases
Drug therapy
Medicare
Prescription drugs

Summary:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: 
 
Medication Therapy Management Empowerment Act of 2015

 
This bill amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to make a targeted beneficiary under the medication therapy management program of a part D eligible individual who has a single chronic disease of cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hyperlipidemia, or diabetes.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Flexibility for Working Families Act

Bill: 114-s-777
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2015-03-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Civil actions and liability
Congressional agencies
Congressional officers and employees
Department of Labor
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Judicial review and appeals
Labor standards
Labor-management relations
Library of Congress
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: 

Flexibility for Working Families Act

 
Authorizes an employee to request from an employer a temporary or permanent change in the terms or conditions of the employee's employment if the request relates to: (1) the number of hours the employee is required to work, (2) the times when the employee is required to work or be on call for work, (3) where the employee is required to work, or (4) the amount of notification the employee receives of work schedule assignments. Sets forth certain employer duties with respect to such requests.
 
Makes it unlawful for an employer to interfere with any rights provided to an employee under this Act. Authorizes an employee to file a complaint with the Secretary of Labor for any violations of such rights. Provides for the investigation and assessment of civil penalties or the award of relief for alleged violations, including the review in federal courts of appeal of orders of the Secretary.
 
Requires the Secretary and certain federal agency administrative officers to provide information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public regarding compliance with this Act.
 
Requires the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor to issue guidance on compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act that provides a flexible work environment through changes in employee terms and conditions of employment provided in this Act.
 
Applies the requirements of this Act to certain classes of employees, including employees of the Government Accountability Office and the Library of Congress.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Guantanamo Bay Recidivism Prevention Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-778
Sponsor: Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR]
Introduced: 2015-03-18 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Caribbean area
Cuba
Detention of persons
Foreign aid and international relief
Latin America
Military assistance, sales, and agreements
Military facilities and property
Terrorism

Summary:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: 

Guantanamo Bay Recidivism Prevention Act of 2015

 
This bill prohibits assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act for five years to a foreign country if: (1) the country received an individual who was released or transferred from United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on or after February 1, 2015; and (2) after the date of such release or transfer, the individual is included in a report of individuals confirmed or suspected of returning to terrorist activities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Cameras in the Courtroom Act

Bill: 114-s-780
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2015-03-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Law
Subjects: Broadcasting, cable, digital technologies
Due process and equal protection
Supreme Court
Television and film

Summary:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: 

Cameras in the Courtroom Act

 
Requires the Supreme Court to permit television coverage of all open sessions of the Court unless it decides by majority vote that allowing such coverage in a particular case would violate the due process rights of any of the parties involved.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S1631)
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Empowering Student Borrowers Act

Bill: 114-s-781
Sponsor: Sen. Donnelly, Joe [D-IN]
Introduced: 2015-03-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Financial literacy
Government information and archives
Higher education
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: 

Empowering Student Borrowers Act

 
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to establish, maintain, and periodically update best practices for institutions of higher education in: (1) teaching financial literacy skills, and (2) providing students with useful and necessary information to assist them in making financial decisions related to student borrowing.
 
Requires those practices to include:
 
 
methods to ensure that students have a clear sense of their total borrowing obligations;
 
the most effective ways to engage students in financial literacy education;
 
information on how to target different student populations, including part-time students, first-time students, and other nontraditional students; and
 
ways to clearly communicate the importance of graduating on a student's ability to repay student loans.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-783
Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
Introduced: 2015-03-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Law
Subjects: Broadcasting, cable, digital technologies
Evidence and witnesses
Federal appellate courts
Federal district courts
Judicial procedure and administration
Photography and imaging
Sound recording
Supreme Court
Television and film

Summary:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: 

Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2015

 
Authorizes the presiding judge of a U.S. appellate court or U.S. district court to permit the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising to the public of court proceedings over which that judge presides, except when such action would constitute a violation of the due process rights of any party.
 
Directs: (1) a district court, upon the request of any witness in a trial proceeding other than a party, to order the face and voice of the witness to be disguised or otherwise obscured to render the witness unrecognizable to the broadcast audience of the trial proceeding; and (2) the presiding judge in a trial proceeding to inform each witness who is not a party of the right to make such request. Allows a presiding judge to obscure the face and voice of an individual if good cause is shown that photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising such features would threaten the individual's safety, the court's security, the integrity of future or ongoing law enforcement operations, or the interest of justice.
 
Prohibits a presiding judge from permitting the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising of any juror in a trial proceeding, or of the jury selection process. 
 
Terminates a district court's authority under this Act three years after enactment of this Act.
 
Requires the Judicial Conference of the United States to promulgate mandatory guidelines which a presiding judge must follow for obscuring certain vulnerable witnesses. 
 
Prohibits any audio pickup or broadcast of conferences which occur in a court proceeding between attorneys and their clients, co-counsel of a client, adverse counsel, or counsel and the presiding judge, if the conferences are not part of the official record of the proceedings.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1631; text of measure as introduced: CR S1631-1632)
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Microlab Technology Commercialization Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-784
Sponsor: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]
Introduced: 2015-03-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Energy research
Research administration and funding
Science and engineering education
Technology transfer and commercialization

Summary:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: 

Microlab Technology Commercialization Act of 2015

 
 Authorizes the Secretary of Energy (DOE), in collaboration with the directors of national laboratories, to establish a program meeting specified criteria under which DOE sets up microlabs located in close proximity to national laboratories and accessible to the public in order to: (1) enhance collaboration with regional research groups, such as institutions of higher education and industry groups; (2) accelerate technology transfer from national laboratories to the marketplace; and (3) promote regional workforce development through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instruction and training.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-06-09
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act

Bill: 114-s-785
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2015-03-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Business records
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental regulatory procedures
Government information and archives
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Health information and medical records
Oil and gas
State and local government operations
Water quality
Water use and supply

Summary:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: 

Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act or the FRAC Act 

 
This bill repeals the exemption for hydraulic fracturing operations relating to oil and natural gas production activities under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the geological formation.
 
The bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to allow the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prescribe regulations that authorize a state to seek primary enforcement responsibility for hydraulic fracturing operations for oil and natural gas without seeking to assume primary enforcement responsibility for other types of underground injection control wells.
 
The chemicals intended for use in underground injections must be disclosed before the hydraulic fracturing operations commence. The chemicals actually used must also be disclosed at the end of the operations. The disclosure must be made to the state or, if the EPA has primary enforcement responsibility, to the EPA. The state or the EPA must ensure the accuracy and completeness of the disclosed information and make it available to the public.
 
When a medical emergency exists and the proprietary chemical formula of a chemical used in such hydraulic fracturing is necessary for medical diagnosis, treatment, or emergency response, hydraulic fracturing operations must disclose the formula or the specific chemical identity of a trade secret chemical to the state, the EPA, a first responder, or a health care practitioner upon request, regardless of the existence of a written statement of need or a confidentiality agreement. Hydraulic fracturing operations may require the execution of the statement and agreement as soon as practicable. First responders or health care practitioners may share any information disclosed with other persons if the information is medically necessary, but such personnel may not make the information publicly available.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Introduced in Senate
NTIS Elimination Act

Bill: 114-s-787
Sponsor: Sen. McCaskill, Claire [D-MO]
Introduced: 2015-03-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Department of Commerce
Economic performance and conditions
Executive agency funding and structure
General science and technology matters
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Scientific communication

Summary:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: 

NTIS Elimination Act

 
Repeals the National Technical Information Act of 1988, which provided for establishment of the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), effective one year after the enactment of this Act. 
 
Directs the Secretary of Commerce, the Archivist of the United States, and the Comptroller General to consult with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to determine if any NTIS activity or function is critical to the national economy and is not being carried out by any other federal government agency, instrumentality, or contractor. Authorizes the the Secretary to transfer responsibility for any such activity or function to another office within Commerce. Directs the Secretary, before one year after enactment of this Act, to certify that all other NTIS operations have been terminated. 
 
Defines as &quot;critical to the national economy&quot; an activity or function that promotes U.S. economic growth by providing access to information that stimulates innovation and discovery.
 
Authorizes Commerce to continue to maintain a permanent repository of nonclassified scientific, technical, and engineering information, which shall be publicly available and searchable in a format useful to American industry, business, libraries, and research institutions. Requires all federal entities to send electronic copies of all nonclassified scientific, technical, and engineering reports and information to Commerce for inclusion in the repository. 
 
Directs the Department of the Treasury to transfer all unexpended balances in the NTIS Revolving Fund to Commerce to be expended solely for the maintenance of the repository and to dissolve the Fund.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to require the termination of any employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs who is found to have retaliated against a whistleblower.

Bill: 114-s-788
Sponsor: Sen. McCaskill, Claire [D-MO]
Introduced: 2015-03-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Department of Veterans Affairs
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government studies and investigations
Judicial review and appeals

Summary:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: 
Requires the termination of any employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs who is found to have: 
 
 
 retaliated or threatened to retaliate against any employee or applicant for employment for disclosing what the employee or applicant reasonably believes to be a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety (provided the disclosure is not specifically prohibited by law); 
 
 retaliated or threatened to retaliate against any employee or applicant for exercising, or assisting another individual in exercising, any appeal, complaint, or grievance right granted by any law, rule, or regulation; or 
 
 implemented or enforced certain nondisclosure policies, forms, or agreements that conflict with whistleblower protections and employee rights.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr., Social Work Reinvestment Act

Bill: 114-s-789
Sponsor: Sen. Mikulski, Barbara A. [D-MD]
Introduced: 2015-03-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Congressional oversight
Department of Health and Human Services
Education programs funding
Executive agency funding and structure
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Higher education
Licensing and registrations
Policy sciences
Public contracts and procurement
Research administration and funding
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Student aid and college costs
Wages and earnings
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: 

Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young Jr., Social Work Reinvestment Act

 
 This bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Social Work Reinvestment Commission to provide independent counsel to Congress and the Secretary on policy issues related to recruitment, retention, research, and reinvestment in the profession of social work.
 
The Commission shall study issues facing the social work profession, including: (1) fair market compensation, high educational debt, social work workforce trends, translating social work research to practice, and social work safety; and (2) state-level social work licensure policies and reciprocity agreements for providing services across state lines. 
The Secretary is directed to award grants to four eligible entities, including at least two agencies of state or local governments, to assist them in carrying out a workplace improvement program to address concerns for the social work profession.
 
The Secretary shall also award grants to: (1) 25 social workers who hold a doctoral degree in social work for postdoctoral research in social work, (2) 20 eligible institutions of higher education to support the recruitment and education of social work students in advanced degree programs and the professional development of social work faculty, and (3) six eligible covered entities to test and replicate effective social work interventions.
 
The Secretary shall contract with a national social work entity that serves as a coordinating center to: (1) engage in activities to build on the efforts of the National Association of Social Workers National Center for Workforce Studies; (2) collect, coordinate, monitor, and distribute data and information on best practices and findings regarding grant-funded activities; (3) report to the Secretary recommendations on the need to recruit new social workers, retain current social worker, conduct social worker research, and reinvest in the profession of social work; and (4) select research topics to further the goals of this Act.
 
The Secretary must develop and issue public service announcements that advertise and promote the social work profession.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-03-18
text: Introduced in Senate