hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
National Veterans Memorial and Museum Act

Bill: 114-s-3342
Sponsor: Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH]
Introduced: 2016-09-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Monuments and memorials
Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
Ohio
Veterans' organizations and recognition

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: 

National Veterans Memorial and Museum Act

 
This bill designates the Veterans Memorial and Museum currently being constructed in Columbus, Ohio, as the National Veterans Memorial and Museum.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Child and Elderly Missing Alert Program Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3343
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2016-09-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: 

Child and Elderly Missing Alert Program of 

2016

 
 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Department of Justice (DOJ) to award public safety and community policing grants to eligible nonprofit organizations to assist federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies in the rapid recovery of missing children and elderly and disabled individuals through the use of a rapid telephone and cellular alert call system. The term "elderly individual" means an individual 60 years of age or older.
 
It permits the use of grant funds to: (1) maintain and expand technologies and techniques to ensure the highest level of performance of services; (2) provide both centralized and on-site training, and distribute information to law enforcement agency officials about missing individuals and use of a rapid telephone and cellular alert call system; (3) provide services to Child Abduction Response Teams; (4) assist law enforcement agencies to combat human trafficking through the use of rapid telephone and cellular alert calls; (5) share appropriate information on cases with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the AMBER Alert, Silver Alert, and Blue Alert programs, and law enforcement; and (6) assist appropriate organizations with education and prevention programs related to missing individuals.
 
DOJ must annually: (1) require each grantee to submit the results of monitoring and evaluations of grant recipients, and (2) publish a report regarding such results and the effectiveness of activities carried out under each grant. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Innovation for Tomorrow's Workforce Act

Bill: 114-s-3344
Sponsor: Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT]
Introduced: 2016-09-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Education programs funding
Educational technology and distance education
Employment and training programs
Vocational and technical education

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: 

Innovation for Tomorrow's Workforce Act

 
This bill amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to authorize the Department of Education to award early-phase, mid-phase, or expansion grants to eligible entities, including local educational agencies and area career and technical education (CTE) schools, to: 
 
 
create, develop, implement, or take to scale evidence-based, field initiated innovations, including through a pay for success initiative to improve CTE student outcomes; and 
 
evaluate such innovations rigorously. 
 
 
Funding under the Act may be used by eligible agencies for state leadership activities and by eligible recipients for local uses to support CTE programs to:
 
 
 make all forms of instructional content widely available, which may include the use of open educational resources; and
 
support pay for success initiatives. 
 
 
Funding under the Act may also be used by eligible agencies for state leadership activities to provide or support work-based learning opportunities for students, which may include employer-led training resulting in recognized credential and apprenticeship programs for such students. Funds received for local use shall be used for such activities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1101 Davis Street in Evanston, Illinois, as the "Abner J. Mikva Post Office Building".

Bill: 114-s-3345
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2016-09-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Congressional tributes
Government buildings, facilities, and property
House of Representatives
Illinois
Judges
Members of Congress
Postal service

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1101 Davis Street in Evanston, Illinois, as the "Abner J. Mikva Post Office Building."

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S5845; text of measure as introduced: CR S5845)
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Know Before You Owe Private Education Loan Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3347
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2016-09-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Education

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: 

Know Before You Owe Private Student Loan Act of 2016

 
This bill amends the Truth in Lending Act to revise requirements for disclosures in private education loan applications. Before issuing a private education loan for a student attending an institution of higher education (IHE), lenders must obtain the IHE's certification of the student's enrollment status, the student's cost of attendance, and the difference between that cost and the student's estimated financial assistance. 
 
Lenders must: (1) send loan statements to borrowers at least once every three months a student is enrolled at an IHE, (2) notify the relevant IHE of the loan amount and the student to whom it applies no later than the date funds are issued, and (3) submit an annual report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) containing information the CFPB requires concerning private student loans.
 
This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 by requiring IHEs, before providing lenders with certifications, to determine whether students have exhausted their options for title IV assistance and notify borrowers of: (1) the availability of federal financial aid assistance, (2) their ability to choose their own private educational lender, (3) the impact of the proposed private education loan on their eligibility for other financial assistance, and (4) their right to accept or reject a private education loan within 30 days of the lender's approval of their application and to cancel the loan within 3 business days of its consummation.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S5845-5846; text of measure as introduced: CR S5846-5847)
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Presidential Tax Transparency Act

Bill: 114-s-3348
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2016-09-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government information and archives
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: 

Presidential Tax Transparency Act

 
This bill amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require each candidate of a major party for the office of President to file with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) a copy of the candidate's income tax returns for the three most recent taxable years for which such a return has been filed with the Internal Revenue Service as of the date of the nomination.
 
If a candidate has not filed with the FEC such income tax returns within 30 days after the nomination date, the FEC shall request the Department of the Treasury to furnish the returns.
 
A tax return furnished to the FEC by a candidate or by Treasury shall be treated in the same manner as a report filed by the candidate and, except for the appropriate redaction of certain information, shall be made publicly available at the same time and in the same manner as other reports and statements.
 
The bill sets forth a special rule for disclosure of tax returns in 2016 by a presidential candidate who is nominated for the general election in November 2016 and was so nominated before the enactment of this bill. 
 
The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the FEC to disclose to the public the applicable tax returns of any person who has been nominated as a candidate of a major party. Treasury shall furnish the FEC with copies of any requested returns.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-19
text: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 633.
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Career and Technical Education for Adult Learners Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3349
Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced: 2016-09-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: 

Career and Technical Education for Adult Learners Act of 2016 

 
This bill amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to modify the requirements for career and technical education programs to align the programs with adult education programs. 
 
The bill revises the purposes of the Act to include promoting adult education and supporting partnerships among adult education programs. 
 
States may develop core indicators of performance for career and technical education students at the adult education level. At a minimum, the indicators must measure: (1) student attainment of challenging career and technical skill proficiency, including student achievement on technical assessments that are aligned with industry-recognized standards; and (2) the eligibly entity's performance on the indicators of performance described in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. 
 
The bill also: (1) includes the state director of adult education in the development of the state plan for career and technical education, and (2) specifies that adult education providers that also offer certain career and technical education courses leading to technical skill proficiency and an industry-recognized credential or certificate are eligible to receive funds under the Act. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S5847)
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Clarification of Treatment of Electronic Sales of Livestock Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3350
Sponsor: Sen. Cochran, Thad [R-MS]
Introduced: 2016-09-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: 

Clarification of Treatment of Electronic Sales of Livestock Act of 2016

 
 This bill amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to expand the definition of &quot;marketing agency&quot; to include any person who engages in the business of buying or selling livestock, on a commission or other fee basis, through the use of online, video, or other electronic methods. The term &quot;marketing agency&quot; does not include a person whose annual average of online, video, or electronic sales of livestock, on a commission or other fee basis, is less than $250,000.
 
 The bill also permits electronic funds transfers and other expeditious payment methods that the Department of Agriculture determines to be appropriate to be used as options for meeting prompt payment requirements for livestock purchases. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2016-09-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Keep Terrorists Off the Battlefield Act

Bill: 114-s-3351
Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2016-09-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-19
text: 

Keep Terrorists Off the Battlefield Act

 
This bill prohibits U.S. agency funds from being used to transfer an individual detained at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: (1) from Department of Defense (DOD) custody or control to the custody or control of another U.S. agency, (2) to the custody or control of any Western Hemisphere country or entity within such country, or (3) to any country or entity that does not have laws prohibiting acts of terrorism or material support for such acts. 
 
&quot;Individual detained at Guantanamo Bay&quot; means any individual located at Guantanamo naval station as of October 1, 2009, who is: (1) not a U.S. national or a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, and (2) in DOD custody or control or otherwise under detention at Guantanamo.
 
No U.S. agency funds may be used to fund activities, envoys, or offices to carry out activities to close Guantanamo naval station.
 
The bill expresses the sense of Congress that any individual who was detained at Guantanamo and is suspected of or confirmed by U.S. intelligence as having re-engaged in terrorist activity after being released should be arrested and returned to detention at Guantanamo.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2016-09-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Terrorism Survivors Student Loan Deferment Act

Bill: 114-s-3352
Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2016-09-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Crime victims
Government lending and loan guarantees
Higher education
Student aid and college costs
Terrorism

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-19
text: 

Terrorism Survivors Student Loan Deferment Act

 
This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow a borrower who is a victim of a terrorist attack to defer (i.e., suspend repayments on) student loans made under the Federal Family Education Loan, Federal Direct Loan, and Federal Perkins Loan programs. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2016-09-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Restraining Excessive Seizure of Property through the Exploitation of Civil Asset Forfeiture Tools Act

Bill: 114-s-3353
Sponsor: Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC]
Introduced: 2016-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Business records
Civil actions and liability
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Income tax exclusion
Interest, dividends, interest rates
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: 

Restraining Excessive Seizure of Property through the Exploitation of Civil Asset Forfeiture Tools Act or the RESPECT Act

 
This bill revises the authority and procedures that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses to seize property that has been structured to avoid Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reporting requirements. 
 
 The IRS may only seize property it suspects has been structured to avoid BSA reporting requirements if the property was derived from an illegal source or the funds were structured for the purpose of concealing the violation of a criminal law or regulation other than structuring transactions to evade BSA reporting requirements. 
 
Within 30 days of seizing property, the IRS must: (1) make a good faith effort to find all owners of the property, and (2) notify the owners of the post-seizure hearing rights established by this bill. The IRS may apply to a court for one 30-day extension of the notice requirement if it can establish probable cause of an imminent threat to national security or personal safety. 
 
If the owner of the property requests a court hearing within 30 days after the date on which notice is provided, the property must be returned unless the court holds a hearing within 30 days after notice is provided and finds that there is probable cause to believe that the property was derived from an illegal source or the funds were structured to conceal the violation of a criminal law or regulation other than a structuring violation. 
 
 The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income any interest received from the federal government in connection with an action to recover property seized by the IRS pursuant to a claimed violation of the structuring provisions of the BSA. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Bringing Business Back Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3354
Sponsor: Sen. Kirk, Mark Steven [R-IL]
Introduced: 2016-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: 

Bringing Business Back Act of 2016 

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow income or gain attributable to certain real property to be excluded from gross income for a one-year period in which the income attributable to the real property exceeds the pre-depreciation expenses attributable to the property. 
 
The exclusion applies to real property that has been certified by the state or local zoning authority and any economic development board as: (1) zoned for commercial use, (2) undeveloped and vacant during the two-year period ending on the date of certification, and (3) located within a qualified census tract. 
 
A &quot;qualified census tract&quot; is any census tract that: (1) has an average poverty rate exceeding the national average poverty rate or an unemployment rate above the national unemployment rate; and (2) exhibits another condition of distress, such as deteriorating infrastructure or population decline. 
 
A census tract is also qualified if it is located in a rural community that: (1) has an unemployment rate of at least 6%, and (2) in which at least 50% of the houses were constructed before 1980. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to prohibit funding for the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization in the event the United Nations Security Council adopts a resolution that obligates the United States or affirms a purported obligation of the United States to refrain from actions that would run counter to the object and purpose of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

Bill: 114-s-3355
Sponsor: Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR]
Introduced: 2016-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: 
This bill prohibits U.S. funds from being made available to the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization if, on or after September 16, 2016, the U.N. Security Council adopts a resolution that obligates the United States or affirms a purported obligation of the United States to refrain from actions that would run counter to the treaty.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Native American Health Savings Improvement Act

Bill: 114-s-3356
Sponsor: Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV]
Introduced: 2016-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Hospital care
Income tax deductions
Indian social and development programs
Minority health

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: 

Native American Health Savings Improvement Act

 
 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to specify that receiving hospital care or medical services under a medical care program of the Indian Health Service or a tribal organization does not disqualify an individual from being eligible for a health savings account. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3357
Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2016-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Military personnel and dependents
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: 

Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act of 2016

 
This bill amends the federal criminal code to declare that any person who knowingly engages in any scheme or artifice to defraud an individual of veterans' benefits, or in connection with obtaining veteran's benefits for that individual, shall be fined, imprisoned not more than five years, or both.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
Flood Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2016 (FLETRA)

Bill: 114-s-3358
Sponsor: Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA]
Introduced: 2016-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: 

Flood Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2016 (FLETRA) 

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit individuals impacted by flooding in the Mississippi Delta to make penalty-free withdrawals from retirement accounts. 
 
The bill waives the 10% additional tax on early distributions from retirement plans for up to $100,000 in distributions made on or after August 11, 2016, and before January 1, 2018. The distributions must be made to an individual: (1) whose principal place of abode on August 11, 2016, is located in the Mississippi River Delta disaster area, and (2) who has sustained an economic loss by reason of the severe storms and flooding giving rise to the Presidential declaration of a major disaster area in Louisiana on or after August 11, 2016, and before September 1, 2016. 
 
A taxpayer who has received such a distribution may: (1) repay the distribution by making additional contributions to a retirement account within three years, and (2) include the distribution in gross income by dividing the amount over a three-year period.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize grants for heroin and methamphetamine task forces.

Bill: 114-s-3359
Sponsor: Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT]
Introduced: 2016-09-20 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: 
This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Department of Justice to make grants to state law enforcement agencies to investigate illicit activities, including activities related to: (1) heroin, fentanyl, or carfentanil distribution or unlawful prescription opioid distribution; and (2) methamphetamine manufacture or distribution.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S5908-5909)
action_date: 2016-09-20
text: Introduced in Senate