hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Petroleum Coke Transparency and Public Health Protection Act

Bill: 114-s-1763
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2015-07-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Air quality
Congressional oversight
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Environmental health
Environmental regulatory procedures
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Medical research
Oil and gas
Solid waste and recycling

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-14
text: 

Petroleum Coke Transparency and Public Health Protection Act

 
This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit to Congress and publish on the HHS website a report containing the results of a study concerning petroleum coke that includes: (1) an analysis of the public health and environmental impacts of the production, transportation, storage, and use of petroleum coke; (2) an assessment of potential approaches and best practices for storing, transporting, and managing petroleum coke; and (3) a quantitative analysis of current and projected domestic petroleum coke production and utilization locations. 
 
The Environmental Protection Agency is required to promulgate rules concerning the storage and transportation of petroleum coke that ensure the protection of public and ecological health based upon the findings of such study.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5063)
action_date: 2015-07-14
text: Introduced in Senate
PACT Act

Bill: 114-s-1764
Sponsor: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]
Introduced: 2015-07-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Border security and unlawful immigration
Detention of persons
Homeland security
Intergovernmental relations
Law enforcement administration and funding
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-14
text: 

Protecting American Citizens Together Act or the PACT Act

 
This bill amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to make a sanctuary city ineligible to receive, for at least one year, any funds pursuant to: 
 
 
the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, 
 
 the Cops' Program, 
 
the Urban Area Security Initiative, 
 
the State Homeland Security Grant Program,
 
the Port Security Grant Program, 
 
the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, or 
 
any other non-disaster preparedness grant program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 
 
 
A sanctuary city shall be eligible to receive such funds after the Attorney General certifies that it is no longer a sanctuary city.
 
The Attorney General shall prioritize a request from the Secretary of Homeland Security to transfer an alien who is without lawful status in the United States and in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody before a request from a state or state subdivision to transfer the covered alien to its custody.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-07-14
text: Introduced in Senate
LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1765
Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]
Introduced: 2015-07-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Aging
Department of Health and Human Services
Executive agency funding and structure
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health care coverage and access
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Mental health
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-14
text: 

LGBT Elder Americans Act of 2015

 
Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to include LGBT individuals (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals) within the purview of such Act, particularly their status as LGBT individuals among those with the greatest social need. 
 
Authorizes the Administration of Aging to: (1) designate within it a person with responsibility for addressing issues affecting LGBT older individuals; (2) conduct studies and collect data to determine the services needed by LGBT older individuals; and (3) establish and operate the National Resource Center on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Aging.
 
Revises the list of activities of national significance for families and other caregivers, for which the Administration's grants may be used, to specify those provided to individuals with greatest social need which: (1) address physical and mental health, disabilities, and health disparities; (2) provide long-term care, including in-home and community-based care; (3) provide informal care and formal care in a facility setting; (4) provide access to culturally responsive health and human services; and (5) address other gaps in assistance and issues of particular importance to older individuals with the greatest social need.
 
Requires a State Long-Term Care Ombudsman to collect and analyze discrimination data with respect to LGBT older individuals in the admission to, transfer or discharge from, or lack of adequate care provided in long-term care settings.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-07-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Restore Honor to Service Members Act

Bill: 114-s-1766
Sponsor: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI]
Introduced: 2015-07-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Department of Defense
Evidence and witnesses
Government information and archives
Military history
Military personnel and dependents
Personnel records
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: 

Restore Honor to Service Members Act

 
Requires appropriate military record correction boards or discharge review boards to review the discharge characterization of any former members of the Armed Forces requesting a review who were discharged because of their sexual orientation. Permits such boards to change a characterization to honorable if such characterization is any characterization except honorable.
 
Directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to ensure that any such changes are carried out consistently and uniformly across the military departments using specified criteria, including that: (1) the original discharge was based on the policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell (as in effect before it was repealed pursuant to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010) or a similar earlier policy; and (2) the discharge characterization will be changed if, with respect to the original discharge, there were no aggravating circumstances, such as misconduct, that would have independently led to any discharge characterization except honorable.
 
Prohibits "aggravating circumstances" from including: (1) an offense of sodomy committed by the member against a consenting person of the same sex; or (2) statements, consensual sexual conduct, or consensual acts relating to sexual orientation or identity, or the disclosure of such statements, conduct, or acts, that were prohibited at the time of discharge but that became permitted after such discharge.
 
Directs the Secretary of each military department to ensure that oral historians of the department: (1) review discharges between World War II and September 2011 based on sexual orientation, and (2) receive oral testimony of individuals who personally experienced discrimination and discharge because of actual or perceived sexual orientation so that such testimony may serve as an official record of such discriminatory policies and their impact on American lives.
 
Requires the reissuance of specified military personnel records and discharge forms in a manner that shall not reflect the sexual orientation of the member. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Underground Gas Storage Facility Safety Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1768
Sponsor: Sen. Roberts, Pat [R-KS]
Introduced: 2015-07-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Energy storage, supplies, demand
Federal preemption
Oil and gas
Pipelines
State and local government operations
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: 

Underground Gas Storage Facility Safety Act of 2015

 
This bill revises federal pipeline safety requirements to authorize states to enforce a state requirement for the safe construction and operation of underground natural gas storage wellbores if:
 
 
the state authority has consulted with the Department of Transportation (DOT) about the requirement, 
 and 
DOT does not object to the requirement within 30 days after consultation is initiated.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Introduced in Senate
African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1769
Sponsor: Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT]
Introduced: 2015-07-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Animals
Subjects: Africa
Art, artists, authorship
Crimes against animals and natural resources
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Department of the Interior
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Endangered and threatened species
Foreign aid and international relief
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Hunting and fishing
International law and treaties
Law enforcement officers
Mammals
Materials
Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
Trade restrictions
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: 

African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015

 
This bill revises and reauthorizes the African Elephant Conservation Act through FY2020. 
 
Raw or worked ivory may be imported or exported under that Act and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 if: (1) the ivory is for a museum; (2) the ivory was lawfully importable into the United States on February 24, 2014, regardless of when it was acquired; or (3) the worked ivory was previously lawfully possessed in the United States.
 
This bill authorizes: (1) commerce in African elephant ivory or in products containing African elephant ivory that have been lawfully imported or crafted in the United States; and (2) the importation of a sport-hunted African elephant trophy if the trophy was taken from certain elephants populations that at the time were not necessarily threatened with extinction, but may have become so unless trade was closely controlled. 
Interior may station one U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement officer in each African country that has a significant population of African elephants to assist local wildlife rangers in protecting the elephants and facilitating the apprehension of individuals who illegally kill them or assist in killing them.
 
The President may embargo any products from a country if it is a significant transit or destination point for illegal ivory trade.
 
In providing financial assistance under the African Elephant Conservation Act, Interior must prioritize projects for facilitating the acquisition of equipment and training to wildlife officials in ivory-producing countries to be used in anti-poaching efforts.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Youth PROMISE Act

Bill: 114-s-1770
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2015-07-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Advisory bodies
Child care and development
Child health
Child safety and welfare
Crime prevention
Criminal justice information and records
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Employment and training programs
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Higher education
Homelessness and emergency shelter
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Law enforcement administration and funding
Mental health
Performance measurement
Preschool education
Public-private cooperation
Research administration and funding
Teenage pregnancy
Youth employment and child labor

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: 

Youth Prison Reduction through Opportunities, Mentoring, Intervention, Support, and Education Act or the Youth PROMISE Act

 
This bill authorizes grants to local and tribal governments to assess, develop, and implement evidence-based practices to prevent juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity. 
 
Specifically, it authorizes the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to award: 
 
 
PROMISE Planning and Assessment grants to help PROMISE Coordinating Councils conduct community strengths and needs assessments and develop PROMISE Plans to coordinate the delivery of prevention and intervention programs and activities, and
 
PROMISE Implementation grants to implement PROMISE Plans. 
 
 
OJJDP must also award grants for: (1) data collection and analysis to assess, designate, and rank high-need geographic areas; and (2) regional partnerships to support PROMISE Coordinating Councils. 
 
The bill establishes requirements for PROMISE Coordinating Council eligibility and membership composition, PROMISE Plan components, grant application contents, and regional research partner support.
 
It amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to create a PROMISE Advisory Panel to: (1) assess successful evidenced-based prevention and intervention practices, (2) establish with the OJJDP a system to evaluate grant applications, and (3) develop performance standards to evaluate grantees' programs and activities. 
 
It establishes the National Research Center for Proven Juvenile Justice Practices to collaborate, collect, and disseminate information about successful evidenced-based prevention and intervention practices. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Tribal Employment and Jobs Protection Act

Bill: 114-s-1771
Sponsor: Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT]
Introduced: 2015-07-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Employee benefits and pensions
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Indian social and development programs
Minority employment
Sales and excise taxes

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: 

Tribal Employment and Jobs Protection Act 

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the definition of "applicable large employer" for purposes of the employer health care mandate under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA): (1) any Indian tribal government or subdivision, (2) any tribal organization, or (3) any corporation or partnership if more than 50% of the equity interest of such an entity is owned by an Indian tribal government or tribal organization. An applicable large employer is defined by PPACA as an employer who employs 50 or more full-time employees who provide services on average at least 30 hours per week. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Consumer Reporting Fairness Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1773
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2015-07-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Bankruptcy
Civil actions and liability
Consumer credit

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: 

Consumer Reporting Fairness Act of 2015

 
This bill requires a creditor that has provided or furnished to a consumer reporting agency any item of information pertaining to an account based on a debt discharged in a case under the federal bankruptcy code to inform such agency that the debt has been discharged in bankruptcy and has a zero balance.
 
An individual injured by any willful violation of this provision shall recover actual damages, including costs and attorneys' fees, and may recover punitive damages in appropriate circumstances.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Puerto Rico Chapter 9 Uniformity Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1774
Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2015-07-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Bankruptcy
Caribbean area
Puerto Rico
State and local finance
U.S. territories and protectorates

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: 
 
Puerto Rico Chapter 9 Uniformity Act of 2015

 
Amends the federal bankruptcy code to treat Puerto Rico as a state under chapter 9 (Adjustment of the Debts of a Municipality).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Introduced in Senate
World War II Merchant Mariner Service Act

Bill: 114-s-1775
Sponsor: Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]
Introduced: 2015-07-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Cemeteries and funerals
Conflicts and wars
Government information and archives
Marine and inland water transportation
Military personnel and dependents
National Guard and reserves
Personnel records
Transportation employees
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Veterans' loans, housing, homeless programs
Veterans' medical care
Veterans' organizations and recognition
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: 

World War II Merchant Mariner Service Act

 
Requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to accept additional documentation for verifying that an individual performed honorable service as a coastwise merchant seaman during the period beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending on December 31, 1946, for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits under the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977. Requires such documentation to include Social Security Administration records and validated testimony in the case of the absence of Coast Guard shipping or discharge forms, ship logbooks, documents, or other official employment records. 
 
Requires DHS, when determining whether to recognize service allegedly performed during such period, to recognize masters of seagoing vessels or other command officers who were authorized to document an individual for purposes of hiring for or discharging from the merchant marine. 
 
Considers any service so recognized as active-duty service for purposes of veterans' burial benefits. Makes such veterans eligible for any appropriate military medals, ribbons, and decorations. Requires DHS to verify that an individual performed such service under honorable conditions without regard to their sex, age, or disability during the service period.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain or replace certain facilities and structures for commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch in Idaho, and for other purposes.

Bill: 114-s-1777
Sponsor: Sen. Risch, James E. [R-ID]
Introduced: 2015-07-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Alternative and renewable resources
Electric power generation and transmission
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Government buildings, facilities, and property
Idaho
Lighting and heating
Lighting, heating, cooling
Outdoor recreation
Wilderness and natural areas, wildlife refuges, wild rivers, habitats

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: 
Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to direct the Department of the Interior, with respect to the Salmon River in Idaho, to authorize or continue to authorize maintenance or replacement of the facilities and structures listed in this Act for commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch. 

action_date: 2016-09-06
text: 
This bill amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to state that the authorization of the Department of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to the Salmon River in Idaho, to maintain or replace facilities or structures for commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch may include improvements or replacements that: 
 
 
are consistent with the management of a specified river segment of the main Salmon River pursuant to the Central Idaho Wilderness Act of 1980; and 
 
would reduce the impact of commercial recreation facilities or services on wilderness or wild and scenic river resources and values.
 
 
The USDA may also consider including as appropriate:
 
 
hydroelectric generators and associated electrical transmission facilities,
 
water pumps for fire suppression,
 
transitions from propane to electrical lighting,
 
solar energy systems,
 
6-volt or 12-volt battery banks for power storage, and 
 
other appropriate improvements or replacements which are consistent with this bill. 



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-06
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 592.
action_date: 2016-09-06
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Murkowski with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and an amendment to the title. With written report No. 114-319.
action_date: 2016-09-06
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Murkowski with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and an amendment to the title. With written report No. 114-319.
action_date: 2016-07-13
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2016-04-21
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 114-500.
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Introduced in Senate
TELE-MED Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1778
Sponsor: Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]
Introduced: 2015-07-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Computers and information technology
Health information and medical records
Health personnel
Health technology, devices, supplies
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Medicare

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: 

TELEmedicine for MEDicare Act of 2015 or the TELE-MED Act of 2015

 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow a Medicare provider to provide telemedicine services to a Medicare beneficiary who is in a different state from the one in which the provider is licensed or authorized to provide health care services. The licensing or authorizing state has jurisdiction to enforce its licensure or other legal authorization requirements with regard to such a provision of service.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-07-15
text: Introduced in Senate