hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-283
Sponsor: Sen. Flake, Jeff [R-AZ]
Introduced: 2015-01-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Tax-exempt organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: 

Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act of 2015

 
Requires the Internal Revenue Service standards and definitions in effect on January 1, 2010, for determining whether an organization qualifies for tax-exempt status as an organization operated exclusively for social welfare to apply to such determinations after enactment of this Act. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury, or any delegate of the Secretary, from issuing, revising, or finalizing any regulation (including proposed regulations), revenue ruling, or other guidance not limited to a particular taxpayer relating to such standards and definitions. Terminates this Act after February 28, 2017.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Aurora Veterans Affairs Hospital Financing and Construction Reform Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-285
Sponsor: Sen. Gardner, Cory [R-CO]
Introduced: 2015-01-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Colorado
Department of Veterans Affairs
Health facilities and institutions
Public contracts and procurement
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: 

Aurora Veterans Affairs Hospital Financing and Construction Reform Act of 2015

 
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out the Aurora medical facility project to replace the VA Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado.
 
Requires VA to enter into an agreement with the Chief of Engineers giving the Chief the authority to perform the project, design, contract, and construction management necessary to complete such project.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Safe Food Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-287
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2015-01-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Advanced technology and technological innovations
Agricultural trade
Animal and plant health
Business records
Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Consumer affairs
Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Health and Human Services
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Executive agency funding and structure
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Food industry and services
Food supply, safety, and labeling
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health promotion and preventive care
Intergovernmental relations
Licensing and registrations
Livestock
Meat
Medical research
Research administration and funding
Seafood
State and local government operations
Trade restrictions
Veterinary medicine and animal diseases

Summary:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: 

Safe Food Act of 2015

 
This bill establishes the Food Safety Administration (FSA) as an independent agency to administer and enforce food safety laws.
 
The functions of specified federal agencies that relate to the administration or enforcement of food safety laws are transferred to the FSA.
 
The FSA is directed to:
 
 
promulgate regulations to protect the food supply from contamination;
 
implement federal food safety inspection, labeling, enforcement, and research efforts to protect the public health;
 
develop consistent and science-based standards for safe food;
 
prioritize federal food safety efforts and deployment of resources to achieve the greatest benefit in reducing foodborne illness;
 
administer a national food safety program based on an analysis of the hazards associated with different foods and the processing of different foods;
 
require that all food and feed facilities register before operation or importation of food, feed, or ingredients;
 
establish an accreditation system for foreign governments seeking to certify food for importation to the United States;
 
establish requirements for tracing food and animals from point of origin to retail sale;
 
establish and administer a food safety technology program to foster innovations with the potential to improve food safety;
 
maintain or access an active surveillance system of food and epidemiological evidence;
 
establish a sampling system to monitor contaminants in food;
 
rank categories of food based on their health hazard;
 
establish a national public education campaign on food safety; and
 
conduct research relating to food safety.
 
 This bill includes provisions regarding prohibited acts, recall authority, penalties for violations of food safety laws, whistle-blower protection, and civil actions.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (text of measure as introduced: CR S591-600)
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Introduced in Senate
National Labor Relations Board Reform Act

Bill: 114-s-288
Sponsor: Sen. Alexander, Lamar [R-TN]
Introduced: 2015-01-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Evidence and witnesses
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal officials
Judicial review and appeals
Labor-management relations
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

Summary:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: 

National Labor Relations Board Reform Act

 
 Amends the National Labor Relations Act to revise requirements with respect to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Office of the General Counsel (OGC), and the process for appellate review.
 
Increases NLRB membership from five to six. Requires three members to represent each of the two major political parties and, beginning January 1, 2020, each of the two members whose terms expire on the same date to represent a different major political party.
 
 Requires: (1) four NLRB members to constitute a quorum at all times, and (2) any NLRB determination to be approved by a majority of the members present.
 
Specifies tenure, including staggered terms, of NLRB members.
 
Sets forth judicial review procedures for any person subject to a complaint issued or authorized by the OGC.
 
Sets the compensation rate for each NLRB member, in addition to the OGC, at level IV of the Executive Schedule and the Chairman of the NLRB, as under current law, at level III.
 
Requires the NLRB to issue a final order reviewing an appeal of a report of an administrative law judge or decision of a regional director within one year after the report or decision; but if the NLRB does not issue a final order within that time, allows any party to the case to move to discharge it. Deems, upon such a motion, the report or the decision to be a final agency action. Prohibits the NLRB from taking further action on the matter.
 
Reduces authorized appropriations to carry out the Act for each of the succeeding two fiscal years to 80% of the average amount authorized for the prior two fiscal years if, two years after enactment of this Act, the NLRB has failed to issue a final order on more than 90% of the cases pending on (or filed on or after) the date of enactment.
 
Extends such reduced authorization of appropriations if after four years the NLRB has failed to issue a final order on more than 90% of the cases pending on (or filed on or after) the date that is two years after the date of enactment of this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S600)
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Introduced in Senate
American Cures Act

Bill: 114-s-289
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2015-01-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Appropriations
Budget process
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Defense spending
Department of Defense
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Veterans Affairs
Disability and paralysis
Executive agency funding and structure
Medical research
Military medicine
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Research administration and funding
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: 

American Cures Act 

 
This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to require certain adjustments to discretionary spending limits in FY2016-FY2021 to accommodate increases in appropriations for agencies that perform biomedical research. Adjustments are required for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense health program, and the Department of Veterans Affairs medical and prosthetics research program. 
 
The bill also requires annual appropriations for each of the programs and agencies referenced in this bill to be at least the amount appropriated in FY2015. 
 
The bill exempts appropriations provided pursuant to this bill from sequestration. Sequestration is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S744-745; text of measure as introduced: CR S600-601)
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Introduced in Senate
21st Century Endangered Species Transparency Act

Bill: 114-s-292
Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX]
Introduced: 2015-01-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of the Interior
Endangered and threatened species
Government information and archives
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: 

21st Century Endangered Species Transparency Act 

 
This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Department of the Interior or the Department of Commerce, as appropriate, to make publicly available on the Internet the best scientific and commercial data available that are the basis for the determination of whether a species is an endangered species or a threatened species, including each proposed regulation for the listing of a species.
 
The departments are prohibited from making the information publicly available when: (1) the public disclosure of the information is prohibited by state law relating to the protection of personal information, and (2) the state makes a request to a department to withhold the information. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-06
text: Committee on Environment and Public Works. Hearings held.
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text of measure as introduced: CR S601)
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to establish a procedure for approval of certain settlements.

Bill: 114-s-293
Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX]
Introduced: 2015-01-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration
Civil actions and liability
Endangered and threatened species
Government information and archives
Intergovernmental relations
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: 
This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to revise provisions governing citizen suits against the Department of the Interior or the Department of Commerce, as appropriate, that allege a failure of the relevant department to perform an act or duty related to an endangered species or threatened species. Interior must publish the complaint in a citizen suit within 30 days of being served. Affected parties shall be given a reasonable opportunity to intervene in the suit. If affected parties intervene, the court must refer the action to a mediation program or magistrate judge to facilitate settlement discussions.
 
The court is prohibited from: (1) awarding litigation costs in a citizen suit that is settled by a consent decree, or (2) awarding litigation costs to a plaintiff in a citizen suit that is settled. 
 
Interior must provide notice of a proposed settlement to each state or county in which an affected species occurs. A settlement can only be approved if states or counties approve the settlement or fail to respond. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-05-06
text: Committee on Environment and Public Works. Hearings held.
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text of measure as introduced: CR S602)
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Pro Football Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act

Bill: 114-s-294
Sponsor: Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH]
Introduced: 2015-01-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Currency
Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
Professional sports

Summary:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: 

Pro Football Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act

 
 Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 50,000 $5-gold coins, 400,000 $1-silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar coins emblematic of the game of professional football. 
 
 Requires all sales of such coins to include specified surcharges, which shall be paid by the Secretary to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to help finance the expansion and renovation of Pro Football Hall of Fame facilities. 
 Directs the Secretary to ensure that: (1) minting and issuing such coins will not result in any net cost to the government, and (2) no proceeds are disbursed until the total cost of designing and issuing such coins is recovered by the Treasury.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Small Business Opportunity and Protection Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-296
Sponsor: Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV]
Introduced: 2015-01-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Disability and paralysis
Military personnel and dependents
Public contracts and procurement
Small business
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation

Summary:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: 

Veterans Small Business Opportunity and Protection Act of 2015

 
Treats the surviving spouse of a service-disabled veteran who acquires the ownership interest in a small business of the deceased veteran as such veteran, for purposes of eligibility for the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA's) service-disabled small business contracting goals and preferences, for a period of: (1) 10 years after the veteran's death, if such veteran was either 100% disabled or died from a service-connected disability; or (2) 3 years after such death, if the veteran was less than 100% disabled and did not die from a service-connected disability.
 
Treats a small business acquired by the surviving spouse or dependent from a member killed during active duty as a small business owned and controlled by a service-disabled veteran, for purposes of VA small business contracting goals and preferences. Continues such treatment for the period beginning on the date of the member's death and ending on the earlier of: (1) the date on which the surviving spouse remarries or relinquishes, or the date on which the surviving dependent relinquishes, such ownership interest; or (2) ten years after the member's death.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Frontlines to Lifelines Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-297
Sponsor: Sen. Kirk, Mark Steven [R-IL]
Introduced: 2015-01-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Department of Veterans Affairs
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Health personnel
Hospital care
Licensing and registrations
Nursing
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: 

Frontlines to Lifelines Act of 2015

 
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to revive, for a three-year period, VA's Intermediate Care Technician Pilot Program that was carried out between January 2013 and February 2014. Requires VA to: (1) expand the pilot program to include at least 250 intermediate care technicians, and (2) give priority in assigning those technicians to VA facilities at which veterans have the longest wait times.
 
Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to transfer credentialing data regarding DOD health care providers that are hired by VA to VA.
 
Authorizes VA to allow a covered nurse to practice independently, without the supervision or direction of others, under a set of VA-approved privileges, regardless of the state in which VA employs the covered nurse. Defines a &quot;covered nurse&quot; as an advanced practice registered nurse who is employed by VA as: (1) a nurse midwife; (2) a clinical nurse specialist, with respect to the provision of mental health care; or (3) a nurse practitioner.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-06-03
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-201.
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Introduced in Senate
ACE Kids Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-298
Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
Introduced: 2015-01-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Child health
Federal preemption
Health care quality
Health information and medical records
Health programs administration and funding
Hospital care
Medicaid
Poverty and welfare assistance

Summary:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: 

Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act of 2015 
or the
 ACE Kids Act of 2015

 
Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act to allow a state, at its option, to elect to provide medical assistance for items and services furnished to eligible children with medically complex conditions enrolled in a Medicaid Children's Care Coordination (MCCC) program.
 
Requires an MCCC program, among other things, to coordinate, integrate, and provide for the furnishing of the full range of MCCC program services to enrolled children, as well as designate pediatric care management services and pediatric focused care coordination and health promotion.
 
Requires a state to enroll eligible children prospectively in an MCCC program through an initial 90-day assignment to a nationally designated children's hospital network, unless the child opts not to participate in any MCCC program.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2015-01-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-299
Sponsor: Sen. Flake, Jeff [R-AZ]
Introduced: 2015-01-29 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Caribbean area
Cuba
Latin America
Travel and tourism

Summary:
action_date: 2015-01-29
text: 

Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2015

 
This bill states that: 
 
 
the President may not prohibit or otherwise regulate travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of the transactions incident to such travel, including banking transactions; 
 
any regulation in effect on the date of enactment of this Act prohibiting or otherwise regulating such travel or transactions incident to such travel shall cease to have any force or effective; but 
 
the prohibitions and requirements of this Act shall not apply if the United States is at war with Cuba, armed hostilities between the two countries are in progress, or there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers.



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-01-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2015-01-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Audit the Pentagon Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-300
Sponsor: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]
Introduced: 2015-01-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Appropriations
Computers and information technology
Congressional oversight
Defense spending
Department of Defense
Department of the Treasury
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal officials
Military procurement, research, weapons development

Summary:
action_date: 2015-01-29
text: 

Audit the Pentagon Act of 2015 

 
This bill establishes consequences if the Department of Defense (DOD) fails to obtain an audit with an unqualified opinion of its financial statements. The bill provides additional authorities and flexibility if DOD obtains an audit. 
 
If DOD obtains the audit, the bill provides that the financial statements are no longer covered by specified reporting requirements. The bill also authorizes DOD to transfer and reprogram specified funds. 
 
If DOD fails to obtains an audit for FY2016, the bill establishes additional qualifications for the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and other specified DOD financial management officials. The bill also permits the Deputy Secretary of Defense to prescribe additional duties and powers for the officials. 
 
If DOD does not obtain an audit for FY2018, the bill: (1) cancels the transfer authority provided by this Act, (2) establishes a Chief Management Officer to be responsible for the management and administration of DOD, and (3) transfers jurisdiction of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service from DOD to the Department of the Treasury. 
 
For failing to obtain an audit for fiscal years after FY2017, the bill cancels the reprogramming authority provided by this Act and prohibits DOD from using funds for certain weapons, weapons systems, or platforms being acquired as a major defense acquisition program. 
 
The bill requires DOD to amend acquisition guidance to place specified restrictions and limitations on the procurement of certain Enterprise Resource Planning business systems. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-01-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2015-01-29
text: Introduced in Senate