hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Sportsmen's Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Enhancement Act

Bill: 114-hr-3173
Sponsor: Rep. Walz, Timothy J. [D-MN-1]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Birds
Budget deficits and national debt
Government information and archives
Hunting and fishing
Land transfers
Land use and conservation
Outdoor recreation
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Tax-exempt organizations
Wetlands
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 

Sportsmen's Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Enhancement Act

 
This bill reauthorizes several programs supporting the conservation of wildlife habitat.
 
The bill amends the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act by extending until July 25, 2022, the Department of the Interior's authority to sell certain public land and use the proceeds from those sales for acquiring land located within or adjacent to federal lands. When prioritizing the acquisition of inholdings (private land that is surrounded by public land) and nonfederal lands with exceptional resources, Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) must consider the extent to which an acquisition of land would increase the public availability of resources for, and the public's access to, hunting, fishing, and other recreational activities. The bill also removes from the scope of the Act land that is eligible for sale under specified public land laws.
 
The bill reauthorizes through FY2020 the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act.
 
The bill reauthorizes through FY2020 and revises the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act and the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act.
 
Interior and USDA must ensure that specified amounts from the Land and Water Conservation Fund are made available each year for securing public access to federal land for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes through land transactions. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-08-31
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
action_date: 2015-08-31
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
Fairness to Pet Owners Act of 2015

Bill: 114-hr-3174
Sponsor: Rep. Chaffetz, Jason [R-UT-3]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Civil actions and liability
Consumer affairs
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Medical ethics
Prescription drugs
Veterinary medicine and animal diseases

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 

Fairness to Pet Owners Act of 2015

 
Directs the Federal Trade Commission to require prescribers of animal drugs to verify prescriptions and provide copies of prescriptions to pet owners, pet owner designees, and pharmacies, without the prescriber demanding payment or establishing other conditions. Applies these requirements to medication for a domesticated household animal that consumers are not allowed to purchase without a prescription.
Treats a violation of this Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act. 



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-24
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
Assuring Contracting Equity Act of 2015

Bill: 114-hr-3175
Sponsor: Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Disability and paralysis
Minority and disadvantaged businesses
Public contracts and procurement
Small business
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Women in business

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 

Assuring Contracting Equity Act of 2015

 
This bill increases from: (1) 23% to 25% the government-wide small business procurement contract goal, (2) 5% to 10% the government-wide procurement goal for small disadvantaged businesses and women-owned businesses, and (3) 3% to 6% the government-wide procurement goal for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and HUBZONE (historically underutilized business zone) small businesses. The number of categories is limited for which a small business may qualify under such goals.
 
The Small Business Administration (SBA) must include in its annual report to the President and Congress on these goals the percentage of participation by small businesses for the total value of all prime contracts and subcontracts awards for a fiscal year, including the value of each contract awarded.
 
The SBA must consult with the heads of other federal agencies to develop and implement standards for procurement officers to take into consideration the past compliance of potential contractors with small business subcontracting goals when making contract awards.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1112)
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
Protecting our National Parks Act of 2015

Bill: 114-hr-3176
Sponsor: Rep. Cook, Paul [R-CA-8]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Crimes against property
Parks, recreation areas, trails

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 

Protecting our National Parks Act of 2015

 
This bill declares that whoever willfully injures or destroys, or attempts to injure or destroy, property under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service shall be fined, imprisoned for up to 10 years, or both fined and imprisoned.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-09-08
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
Simplifying the Application for Student Aid Act

Bill: 114-hr-3177
Sponsor: Rep. Heck, Joseph J. [R-NV-3]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Higher education
Student aid and college costs
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 

Simplifying the Application for Student Aid Act

 
This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education to provide for the use of tax information from the second preceding tax year (the "prior, prior year") to determine a student's financial aid eligibility. It requires data sharing between the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Education, pursuant to taxpayer consent. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-11-16
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
Flexible Pell Grant for 21st Century Students Act

Bill: 114-hr-3180
Sponsor: Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Government information and archives
Higher education
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 

Flexible Pell Grant for 21st Century Students Act

 
This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow an eligible student to receive more than one Federal Pell Grant award in a single award year. 
 
An eligible student is a student who: (1) has already received a Pell Grant during an award year and is enrolled in an eligible program for one or more additional payment periods (e.g., a summer term) during the same award year, (2) continues to meet Pell Grant program eligibility requirements, and (3) is accelerating progress toward a degree or certificate. 
 
An eligible student's total Pell Grant amount must not exceed 150% of the annual maximum Pell Grant for that award year. 
 
An institution must notify a student that any period of additional Pell Grant receipt counts toward that student's lifetime Pell Grant eligibility period (currently 12 full-time semesters). If an additional Pell Grant spans two award years, then an institution must determine the award year to which such Pell Grant applies. 
 
The Department of Education must provide to each Pell Grant recipient an annual status report that includes certain information related to such student's remaining lifetime Pell Grant eligibility period. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-11-16
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
To amend title 23, United States Code, to permit border States to designate certain funds for border infrastructure projects, and for other purposes.

Bill: 114-hr-3181
Sponsor: Rep. Hurd, Will [R-TX-23]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Canada
Latin America
Mexico
Motor carriers
Motor vehicles
Roads and highways
Transportation programs funding
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 
This bill authorizes the governor of a state that shares a border with Canada or Mexico to designate up to 5% of its apportionment of surface transportation program funds for each fiscal year for border infrastructure projects. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-24
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
PLUTO Act

Bill: 114-hr-3182
Sponsor: Rep. Johnson, Eddie Bernice [D-TX-30]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Astronomy
Elementary and secondary education
International scientific cooperation
Science and engineering education
Space flight and exploration
Spacecraft and satellites

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 

Planetary Leadership Utilizing Teaching and Observations Act or the PLUTO Act

 
This bill directs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to use observations, measurements, data, and discoveries derived from the New Horizons mission to: 
 
 
enhance public awareness and appreciation for space exploration and engage the public in the process of scientific discovery;
 
communicate the importance of planetary science to students and teachers;
 
advance domestic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education;
 
promote mutually beneficial international scientific partnerships; and 
 
facilitate future progress in planetary science. 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-08-18
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Space.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
Veterans Health Care Freedom Act

Bill: 114-hr-3183
Sponsor: Rep. Jolly, David W. [R-FL-13]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Department of Veterans Affairs
Health care coverage and access
Health facilities and institutions
Hospital care
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 

Veterans Health Care Freedom Act

 
This bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to make the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Choice Program permanent. 
 
Eligibility requirements under the Program are revised. 
 
The VA shall submit an annual report to Congress that includes the following: (1) any increase or decrease in the number of veterans seeking hospital care or medical services at each VA medical facility, and (2) facility budget recommendations based upon such increase or decrease.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
Youth Parity Act

Bill: 114-hr-3184
Sponsor: Rep. Lawrence, Brenda L. [D-MI-14]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Income tax deductions
Tax treatment of families

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 

Youth Parity Act

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the medical expenses of dependents who have not attained the age of 26 years before the close of the calendar year to be paid from a health savings account. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
Baseline Reform Act of 2015

Bill: 114-hr-3186
Sponsor: Rep. Woodall, Rob [R-GA-7]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Appropriations
Budget deficits and national debt
Budget process
Government trust funds
Medicare
Sales and excise taxes
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 

Baseline Reform Act of 2015 

 
This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to change the assumptions used in calculating the baseline for discretionary spending, which is the spending that is provided and controlled by appropriations bills. 
 
The baseline is a projection of federal spending and receipts during the fiscal year under current law. It is used by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to estimate the cost of legislation and produce other budget projections. 
 
The bill requires the baseline to cover a ten-year period and changes the assumptions the CBO and the OMB must use to project discretionary spending. It eliminates adjustments required under current law for inflation, expiring housing contracts, social insurance administrative expenses, and changes in federal pay and other benefits. By removing these adjustments, the bill requires the baseline to assume that discretionary spending will continue without an increase or a decrease to account for these factors. 
 
The bill also requires the CBO to annually submit to the congressional budget committees by July 1 the Long-Term Budget Outlook for the fiscal year beginning on October 1 and at least the next 40 fiscal years. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Budget.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
PRIME Act

Bill: 114-hr-3187
Sponsor: Rep. Massie, Thomas [R-KY-4]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Food industry and services
Food supply, safety, and labeling
Livestock
Meat
Retail and wholesale trades

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 

Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption Act or the PRIME Act 

 
This bill amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to expand the exemption of custom slaughtering of animals from federal inspection requirements.
 
Under current law, the exemption applies if the meat is slaughtered for personal, household, guest, and employee uses. The bill expands the exemption to include meat that is: 
 
 
 slaughtered and prepared at a custom slaughter facility in accordance with the laws of the state where the facility is located; and 
 
prepared exclusively for distribution to household consumers in the state and restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, grocery stores, or other establishments in the state that either prepare meals served directly to consumers or sell meat and food products directly to consumers in the state. 
 
 
The bill does not preempt any state law concerning the slaughter of animals or the preparation of carcasses, parts thereof, meat and meat food products at a custom slaughter facility, or the sale of meat or meat food products. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-08-25
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
COST Act

Bill: 114-hr-3188
Sponsor: Rep. Graves, Sam [R-MO-6]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Public contracts and procurement

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 

Cost of Services and Translations Act or the COST Act

 
Requires federal agency Chief Financial Officers to include multilingual services accounting information in their mandatory annual reports to the agency head and to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 
 
Defines multilingual services to include: (1) services provided by interpreters hired by an agency; (2) services resulting in additional expenses which an agency provides to assist its employees or contractors to learn a non-English language; (3) agency preparation, translation, printing, or recordation of materials in a language other than English; and (4) services provided or performed for the federal government by agency employees or contractors that require speaking a non-English language that result in wage differentials or benefits provided by the agency.
 
Requires the annual financial management status report of the OMB to certain congressional committees to contain a Multilingual Services Expenses Report that includes: (1) a summary and analysis of the multilingual services accounting information prepared by each agency Chief Financial Officer, and (2) a description of any changes to the existing financial management structure of the federal government needed to establish an integrated individual agency accounting of all multilingual services conducted by each agency.
 
Requires the OMB to issue guidance that an agency Chief Financial Officer must follow in compiling multilingual services accounting information.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
To amend the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 with respect to funding available for fiscal year 2015 for certain general business loans authorized under the Small Business Act, to amend the Small Business Act to modify loan limitations, and for other purposes.

Bill: 114-hr-3191
Sponsor: Rep. Chabot, Steve [R-OH-1]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Credit and credit markets
Government lending and loan guarantees
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 
This bill amends the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 to increase from $18.75 billion to $23.5 billion the FY2015 funding available to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for general business loans authorized under section 7(a) of the Small Business Act. 
 
 The bill prohibits the SBA from guaranteeing a loan on and after October 1, 2015, if: 
 
 
the lender determines that the borrower is unable to obtain credit elsewhere solely because the lender's liquidity depends upon the guaranteed portion of the loan being sold on the secondary market, or 
 
the sole purpose for requesting the guarantee is to allow the lender to exceed its legal lending limit. 
 
 
The bill also requires the SBA to submit quarterly reports to Congress regarding the loan programs carried out under this section. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
Animal Emergency Planning Act of 2015

Bill: 114-hr-3193
Sponsor: Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Animals
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Animal and plant health
Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Business records
Department of Agriculture
Emergency planning and evacuation
Medical research
Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
Natural disasters
Veterinary medicine and animal diseases

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 

Animal Emergency Planning Act of 2015

 
This bill amends the Animal Welfare Act to require research facilities, dealers, exhibitors, intermediate handlers, and carriers (covered persons) to develop, document, and follow a contingency plan to provide for the humane handling, treatment, transportation, housing, and care of their animals in the event of an emergency or disaster.
 
The plan must:
 
 
identify situations that the covered person might experience that would trigger the need to implement the measures identified in the plan; 
 
 outline tasks to be carried out in response to emergencies or disasters; 
 
 establish a chain of command and identify the individuals responsible for fulfilling the tasks; and 
 
 address how response and recovery will be handled in terms of materials, resources, and training needed.
 
 
Covered persons must review their plan at least annually, train personnel in their roles and responsibilities as outlined in the plan, and provide training when the plan changes.
 
The bill does not preempt state law that provides equal or greater protection for animals.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-08-06
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
Small Business Administration Franchise Loan Transparency Act of 2015

Bill: 114-hr-3195
Sponsor: Rep. Ellison, Keith [D-MN-5]
Introduced: 2015-07-23 in the House
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Business records
Contracts and agency
Credit and credit markets
Government information and archives
Government lending and loan guarantees
Retail and wholesale trades
Service industries
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: 

Small Business Administration Franchise Loan Transparency Act of 2015

 
This bill requires a franchisor, except one with a franchise in the lodging industry, to disclose in the required Federal Trade Commission disclosure document:
 
 
the average first-year revenue of each specific location of the franchise for each of the preceding five years of operation;
 
the number of franchise locations that went out of business or were sold by the franchisee during the first year of operation for each such period; and
 
the average revenues for all locations of the franchise for each such period, aggregated to show the top 25%, middle 50%, and the bottom 25% of revenue.
 
 
 Any financial information relating to the performance of any franchise's location provided by the franchisor, or its representatives, to the lender for the purpose of qualifying the loan, must be disclosed to the prospective franchisee borrower.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-24
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-07-23
text: Introduced in House