hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Reducing Excessive Government Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3119
Sponsor: Sen. Gardner, Cory [R-CO]
Introduced: 2016-06-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Budget deficits and national debt
Congressional oversight
Economic performance and conditions
Legislative rules and procedure

Summary:
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: 

Reducing Excessive Government Act of 2016 or the REG Act

 
This bill requires Congress, within 60 days after the debt limit is increased or suspended, to enact legislation eliminating rules that results in a reduction of the direct cost of federal regulation during a specified 10-fiscal-year period by at least 15% of the amount of such increase.
 
If the debt limit is increased or suspended, each agency shall submit to the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) a report identifying each major rule of the agency. (A major rule is defined as a rule that has or is likely to result in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more.) GAO shall subsequently submit a report evaluating whether agencies appropriately identified major rules.
 
Each House and Senate committee shall submit to the Committee on the Budget of its chamber a list of the major rules within the committee's jurisdiction that it recommends should be repealed. Each committee shall consider:
 
 
 whether the rule has been ineffective in achieving its purpose, 
 
 adverse effects that could materialize if the rule is repealed,
 
 whether the costs of the rule outweigh its benefits, and 
 
 whether the rule has become obsolete or overlaps with another rule. 
 
 
The Budget Committees shall report a joint resolution carrying out all such recommendations without substantive revision. The bill provides for the expedited consideration of such a joint resolution. A repealed rule may not be reissued in substantially the same form.
 
If the Office of Management and Budget determines that legislation has not been enacted under this bill by the prescribed deadline, the public debt limit shall be equal to the sum of the face amount of obligations issued by the United States and the face amount of obligations whose principal and interest are guaranteed by the United States (except guaranteed obligations held by Treasury) outstanding on the date of the determination.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to apply the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to Congressional members and members of the executive branch.

Bill: 114-s-3120
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2016-06-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Income tax credits
Members of Congress
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents

Summary:
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: 
This bill requires Members of Congress, the President, and the Vice President to purchase health insurance through a health insurance exchange. These officials may receive a federal subsidy or contribution to the costs of coverage through congressional disbursing offices, the Office of Personnel Management, or tax credits only if the subsidy or contribution is otherwise available to individuals at a similar income level.
 
 

 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S4725-4729)
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to require the Secretary of the Army to carry out a comprehensive assessment and management plan to restore aquatic ecosystems in the North Atlantic coast region.

Bill: 114-s-3121
Sponsor: Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]
Introduced: 2016-06-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Aquatic ecology
Atlantic Coast (U.S.)
Atlantic Ocean
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Government studies and investigations
Lakes and rivers
Marine pollution
Water quality

Summary:
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: 
This bill amends the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 to direct the Army Corps of Engineers to develop a comprehensive assessment and management plan to restore aquatic ecosystems in the North Atlantic coast region. (Current law requires the Corps to determine the feasibility of carrying out projects to restore such ecosystems.)


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: Introduced in Senate
REAL Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3122
Sponsor: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI]
Introduced: 2016-06-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Education programs funding
Higher education
Sex offenses
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: 

Restoring Education And Learning Act of 2016 or the REAL Act of 2016

 
This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to eliminate the provision that prohibits Pell Grant eligibility for individuals incarcerated in a federal or state penal institution and for sex offenders subject to civil commitment following incarceration. 
 
This amendment takes effect in academic year 2016-2017. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: Introduced in Senate
United Kingdom Trade Continuity Act

Bill: 114-s-3123
Sponsor: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT]
Introduced: 2016-06-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Europe
European Union
Legislative rules and procedure
Trade agreements and negotiations
United Kingdom

Summary:
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: 

United Kingdom Trade Continuity Act

 
This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the United States supports the decision by the people of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union (EU).
 
The United States shall continue to comply with the terms of all existing commercial agreements between it and the EU governing commerce between the United States and the United Kingdom, unless specifically provided otherwise.
 
It is the sense of Congress that the President should initiate negotiations expeditiously with the United Kingdom to reach a final comprehensive bilateral trade agreement.
 
Trade authorities (fast track) procedures shall apply to a congressional bill implementing such a trade agreement.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Sarah's Law

Bill: 114-s-3124
Sponsor: Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA]
Introduced: 2016-06-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Border security and unlawful immigration
Crime victims
Criminal justice information and records
Detention of persons
Immigration status and procedures
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: 

Sarah's Law

 
This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the detention of an alien: (1) who was not inspected and admitted into the United States, who held a revoked nonimmigrant visa (or other nonimmigrant admission document), or who is deportable for failing to maintain nonimmigrant status; and (2) who has been charged in the United States with a crime that resulted in the death or serious bodily injury of another person.
 
 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shall make reasonable efforts to: 
 
 
obtain information about the identity of any victims of the crimes for which such alien was charged or convicted; and 
 
 provide the victim, or a parent, guardian, spouse, or closest living relative of a deceased victim, with information about such alien, including name, date of birth, nationality, immigration status, criminal history, and a description of any related removal efforts.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2016-06-29
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 respecting the scoring of preventive health savings.

Bill: 114-s-3126
Sponsor: Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME]
Introduced: 2016-07-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Budget deficits and national debt
Budget process
Congressional oversight
Health care costs and insurance
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: 
This bill amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office, upon receiving a request from Congress, to determine if legislation would reduce spending outside of the 10-year budget window through the use of preventive health and preventive health services. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3127
Sponsor: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]
Introduced: 2016-07-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Native Americans
Subjects: Alaska Natives and Hawaiians
Archaeology and anthropology
Cemeteries and funerals
Congressional oversight
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Federal-Indian relations
General Native American affairs matters
Government studies and investigations
Historical and cultural resources
Smuggling and trafficking
Trade restrictions

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: 

Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act of 2016

 
This bill increases the maximum term of imprisonment from 5 years to 10 years for individuals convicted more than once of illegal trafficking in Native American human remains or cultural items.
 
This bill bans the export of illegally obtained Native American cultural objects and sets penalties for violations of this ban.
 
A person is immune from criminal prosecution under laws regarding Native American cultural objects if the person voluntarily repatriates to the appropriate tribe all the Native American cultural objects in the person's possession not later than two years after enactment of this bill. This immunity does not apply to a person under active investigation or prosecution relating to Native American cultural objects.
 
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) must report on the number of Native American cultural objects illegally trafficked and the extent to which the Department of Justice has prosecuted cases of trafficking. The GAO must recommend actions to eliminate such trafficking and to secure the repatriation of Native American cultural objects.
 The Department of the Interior must facilitate the convention of a working group to contribute information to the GAO report and to advise on implementation of the GAO's recommendations.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Introduced in Senate
American Red Cross Transparency Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3128
Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
Introduced: 2016-07-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Business ethics
Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Emergency planning and evacuation
Federally chartered organizations
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government studies and investigations
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: 

American Red Cross Transparency Act of 2016

 
This bill authorizes the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review: (1) the internal governance of the American National Red Cross (the corporation), and (2) any program or activity carried out by the corporation that is connected to national preparedness.
 
The bill grants the GAO: (1) access to, and the right to examine and copy, all records of the corporation that the GAO determines are relevant to such review; and (2) access to, and the right to interview, any employee, volunteer, agent, or member of the board of governors of the corporation whom the GAO believes has knowledge relevant to such review. The GAO may issue a subpoena and bring a civil action in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to enforce such access. 
 
The bill establishes an Office of Investigations, Compliance, and Ethics as a subcommittee of the corporation's Audit and Risk Management Committee. The office shall: (1) conduct formal investigations regarding fraud, waste, abuse, corporation policy violations, illegal or unethical conduct, or other wrongdoing relating to the corporation; and (2) report annually on trends and systemic matters confronting the corporation and on pending and completed investigations.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2016.

Bill: 114-s-3129
Sponsor: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]
Introduced: 2016-07-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health personnel
Home and outpatient care
Hospital care
Medicare
Rural conditions and development

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: 
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to continue to instruct Medicare contractors not to enforce requirements for direct physician supervision of outpatient therapeutic services in critical access and small rural hospitals through 2016.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Independence at Home Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3130
Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2016-07-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health care quality
Home and outpatient care
Medicare

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: 

Independence at Home Act of 2016

 
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a permanent Independence at Home Medical Practice Program, under which a primary care practice shall be accountable for: (1) providing comprehensive, coordinated, continuous, and accessible care to applicable Medicare beneficiaries at home; and (2) coordinating health care across all treatment settings.
 
Subject to meeting specified quality performance standards, a participating practice is eligible to receive an incentive payment under the program if actual expenditures for applicable beneficiaries are less than the estimated spending target established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
 
CMS shall terminate a program agreement with a participating practice if the practice: (1) for the third of three consecutive years under the program, will not receive an incentive payment; or (2) fails to meet a minimum number of quality performance standards established by CMS.
 
The bill extends the existing Independence at Home Medical Practice Demonstration Program pending implementation of the permanent program. In addition, the bill removes the limit on the number of beneficiaries that may participate in the demonstration program.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Made in America Water Infrastructure Act

Bill: 114-s-3131
Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
Introduced: 2016-07-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Buy American requirements
Manufacturing
Metals
Water quality
Water use and supply

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: 

Made in America Water Infrastructure Act

 
This bill amends the Safe Drinking Water Act by requiring all of the steel used in projects funded by the drinking water state revolving fund program to be produced in the United States, unless: (1) it would be inconsistent with the public interest, (2) iron and steel products are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality, or (3) inclusion of iron and steel products produced in the United States will increase the cost of the overall product by more than 25%.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3132
Sponsor: Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE]
Introduced: 2016-07-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Health care costs and insurance
Mammals
Mental health
Neurological disorders
Service animals
Veterans' medical care
Veterinary medicine and animal diseases

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: 

Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act of 2016

 
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), through the Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation, to carry out a five-year pilot program under which the VA shall provide a service dog and veterinary health insurance to a veteran who: 
 
 
is diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder rated at a severity level of 3 or 4 on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5),
 
has completed an evidence-based treatment and remains significantly symptomatic, 
 
served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001,
 
 has not experienced satisfactory improvement in symptoms after being treated with evidence-based therapies. 
 
 
 The VA shall enter into contracts with appropriate providers that are certified by Assistance Dogs International or a similar organization for the procurement of service dogs and training of such dogs and their recipients.
 
The provision of a service dog shall be done in addition to other types of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and shall not replace established treatment modalities. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Juvenile Fee Transparency Act

Bill: 114-s-3133
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2016-07-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Crime victims
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Detention of persons
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Judicial procedure and administration
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Law enforcement administration and funding
Lawyers and legal services
Legal fees and court costs
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: 

Juvenile Fee Transparency Act

 
This bill amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to require a state that receives a formula grant under the juvenile justice and delinquency prevention program to provide certain information on juvenile justice fees.
 
Specifically, the bill requires a state's juvenile justice plan to provide information on:
 
 
state- or court-imposed fines and fees on a juvenile or guardian of a juvenile in the juvenile justice system;
 
the total amount of fines and fees that are imposed, paid, and outstanding; and
 
the use of hearings to determine ability to pay and the right to counsel during such hearings.
 
 
The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on juvenile justice fees, including the: (1) differences across jurisdictions, racial demographics, and income levels; (2) impact of such differences on juvenile involvement in the system and recidivism; and (3) consequences of failing to pay such fees.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Introduced in Senate
LGBT Data Inclusion Act

Bill: 114-s-3134
Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
Introduced: 2016-07-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Census and government statistics
Government information and archives
Right of privacy
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: 

LGBT Data Inclusion Act

 
This bill requires federal agencies that collect information through a survey that includes demographic data (where subjects self-report information or a proxy provides information about the subject or responds for all persons in a household) to establish data standards that require: 
 
 
a determination of which existing data sets exclude information about sexual orientation and gender identity; 
 
an identification, and a use, of appropriate methods to include questions on sexual orientation and gender identity in surveys that facilitate categorization and voluntary participation and that preserve privacy and confidentiality; and 
 
a routine assessment of needed changes in survey methods related to asking such questions. 

 
Agencies that publish reports relying on survey demographic data must include information on sexual orientation and gender identity.
 
Individuals shall not be: (1) required by this bill to disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity to an agency; or (2) subjected to fines or penalties for refusing to answer, or providing a false answer to, any survey question regarding gender identity or sexual orientation.
 
Nothing in this bill shall be construed to permit the use of such collected information in a manner that would adversely affect an individual. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Taking Responsibility Using Secured Technologies Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3135
Sponsor: Sen. Gardner, Cory [R-CO]
Introduced: 2016-07-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Department of State
Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
Federal officials
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: 

Taking Responsibility Using Secured Technologies Act of 2016

 
This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should have any security clearance she holds revoked and should be denied access to classified information unless she earns the legal right to such access, and (2) any of her colleagues who demonstrated extreme carelessness in their handling of classified information should no longer have access to that information. 
 
The bill prohibits granting a security clearance to, and requires revocation of the security clearance of, any federal officer or employee who has exercised extreme carelessness in the handling of classified information. 
 
The bill also amends a provision of the federal criminal code that subjects to criminal penalties anyone entrusted with, or having lawful possession or control of, national defense information who, through gross negligence, permits that information to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed. The bill explicitly states that &quot;gross negligence,&quot; for these purposes, includes extreme or reckless carelessness.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2016-07-06
text: Introduced in Senate