hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Small Business Start-up Savings Accounts Act of 2016

Bill: 114-hr-5783
Sponsor: Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7]
Introduced: 2016-07-14 in the House
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Business investment and capital
Employee benefits and pensions
Income tax exclusion
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: 

Small Business Start-up Savings Accounts Act of 2016

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for tax-preferred Small Business Start-up Savings Accounts to pay for trade or business expenses, including the purchase of equipment or facilities, marketing, training, incorporation, and accounting fees. The bill allows annual nondeductible contributions to such accounts of up to $10,000, subject to a $150,000 limit on total contributions to the account and adjustments for inflation after 2017. The bill sets forth rules for the tax treatment of contributions to and rollovers or distributions from the accounts, similar to rules governing individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Qualified distributions from the accounts are excluded from gross income. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
File Once FAFSA Act of 2016

Bill: 114-hr-5784
Sponsor: Rep. Scott, Robert C. "Bobby" [D-VA-3]
Introduced: 2016-07-14 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Government information and archives
Higher education
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: 

File Once FAFSA Act of 2016

 
This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise the Free Application for Federal Student Aid process for low-income students applying for Federal Pell Grants. Specifically, the bill allows dependent students to apply for aid once. Thus, students who receive Pell Grants need not apply again in subsequent years, unless they become independent of their family.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-19
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
Community Protection and Preparedness Act of 2016

Bill: 114-hr-5786
Sponsor: Rep. DeFazio, Peter A. [D-OR-4]
Introduced: 2016-07-14 in the House
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Accidents
Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Transportation
Emergency planning and evacuation
Fires
First responders and emergency personnel
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government studies and investigations
Government trust funds
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Navigation, waterways, harbors
Oil and gas
Pollution liability
Railroads
State and local government operations
Transportation employees
Transportation programs funding
Transportation safety and security
User charges and fees
Water quality

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: 

Community Protection and Preparedness Act of 2016

 
This bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT), annually, to impose a $1,500 fee for each DOT-111 specification railroad tank car used to transport Class 3 flammable liquids during the previous fiscal year that did not meet DOT-117, DOT-117P, or DOT-117R specifications at the time it was used. Such fee shall be paid by each person who causes such liquids to be transported by such car in commerce and not by the railroad carrier that transports such liquids.
 
Collected fees shall be deposited into a Rail Account established within the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and shall be available only for: (1) the payment of removal and remediation costs and other costs, expenses, claims, and damages related to an accident or incident involving the transportation of Class 3 flammable liquids by rail; and (2) DOT grants to states and Indian tribes to develop emergency plans and to train regional hazardous material emergency response teams and public employees responding to such an accident or incident. 
 
DOT shall issue such regulations as necessary to require each Class I railroad carrier to inspect all track where an accident or incident involving the transportation by rail of flammable liquids or material poisonous or toxic by inhalation could affect a &quot;high consequence area&quot; (a commercially navigable waterway, an area with a high or concentrated population, or an area that is unusually sensitive to environmental damage). The inspections shall be carried out on foot and by a gage restraint measurement system. An inspector who finds a deviation from requirements regarding track safety standards shall immediately initiate remedial action.
 
Necessary amounts are authorized for the Federal Railroad Administration to hire at least two additional track safety specialists per region.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-15
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
action_date: 2016-07-15
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
Securing Our Schools Act of 2016

Bill: 114-hr-5787
Sponsor: Rep. Graham, Gwen [D-FL-2]
Introduced: 2016-07-14 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Assault and harassment offenses
Child safety and welfare
Education programs funding
Educational facilities and institutions
Elementary and secondary education
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Emergency planning and evacuation
Firearms and explosives
First responders and emergency personnel
Law enforcement administration and funding
Natural disasters
Terrorism

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: 

Securing Our Schools Act of 2016

 
This bill establishes a pilot program under which the Department of Justice may award one-year grants to local education agencies for the purpose of purchasing and installing devices that allow for the immediate notification of appropriate officials in case of emergency. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-19
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
action_date: 2016-08-11
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2016

Bill: 114-hr-5788
Sponsor: Rep. McKinley, David B. [R-WV-1]
Introduced: 2016-07-14 in the House
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Air quality
Building construction
Coal
Electric power generation and transmission
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Environmental regulatory procedures
Government information and archives
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Hydrology and hydrography
Intergovernmental relations
Judicial review and appeals
Licensing and registrations
Public participation and lobbying
Soil pollution
Solid waste and recycling
State and local government operations
Water quality

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: 

Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2016

 
This bill amends subtitle D (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act to establish a permit program for coal combustion residuals (coal ash) that states may elect to administer. The program outlines the criteria that a state must use if it chooses to adopt and enforce a permit program regulating the management and disposal of coal ash generated by electric utilities and independent power producers. The program applies to the disposal of coal ash into landfills or surface impoundments, sand or gravel pits, quarries, or lateral expansions of the structures. The structural criteria concern: (1) design, location, and integrity; (2) financial assurance; (3) groundwater and surface water protections; (4) closure procedures; and (5) air quality with respect to fugitive dust. 
 
A state that chooses to adopt a coal ash program is given sole enforcement authority. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must implement a program for a state if: (1) a state's program fails to meet those criteria, or (2) a state does not implement a program. 
 
The bill revises implementation of the EPA rule governing the disposal of coal ash, entitled &quot;Hazardous and Solid Waste Management System; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals from Electric Utilities.&quot; The rule may be implemented only through the permit program established by the bill. 
 
The agency implementing the permit program must ensure that certain information concerning the program is publicly available.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
Camp Nelson Heritage Park Study Act

Bill: 114-hr-5789
Sponsor: Rep. Barr, Andy [R-KY-6]
Introduced: 2016-07-14 in the House
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Conflicts and wars
Congressional oversight
Government studies and investigations
Historic sites and heritage areas
Kentucky
Military history
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Racial and ethnic relations
U.S. history

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: 

Camp Nelson Heritage Park Study Act

 
This bill directs the Department of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park and adjacent property in Jessamine County, Kentucky. 
 
Interior shall: (1) evaluate the site's national significance, and (2) determine the suitability and feasibility of designating it as a unit of the National Park System. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-08-04
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
SCORE Act

Bill: 114-hr-5791
Sponsor: Rep. Price, David E. [D-NC-4]
Introduced: 2016-07-14 in the House
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Advisory bodies
Athletes
Education programs funding
Government information and archives
Government lending and loan guarantees
Higher education
School athletics
Sports and recreation facilities
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: 

Standardization of Collegiate Oversight of Revenues and Expenditures Act or the SCORE Act

 
 This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require each coeducational institution of higher education (IHE) that is participating in a title IV program and has an intercollegiate athletic program to include in its annual report on its intercollegiate athletic program: (1) the amount of revenue generated by each item on a list of categorized sources, disaggregated by each sports team; and (2) the expenses attributable to each item on a list of categorized activities or obligations, disaggregated by each sports team.
 
The bill prohibits an IHE from being a member of any intercollegiate athletic association or participating in any national intercollegiate athletics competition organized by any person, unless the association or person annually reports and disaggregates by sport, athletic event, or contract, as applicable: (1) the total generated revenue and amount of revenue generated by each item on a list of categorized sources, (2) the amount of expenses attributable to each item on a list of categorized activities or obligations, and (3) executive compensation schedules.
 
The Department of Education (ED) must: (1) define the categories of information that must be reported; and (2) biannually review and, as necessary, update each definition in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles or significant changes in the national system of intercollegiate athletics. 
 
ED must: (1) appoint a task force made up of representatives from division I, II, and III schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and (2) consult with the task force when reviewing or updating the definitions.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-09-19
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
Citizenship Empowerment Act

Bill: 114-hr-5793
Sponsor: Rep. Boyle, Brendan F. [D-PA-13]
Introduced: 2016-07-14 in the House
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Citizenship and naturalization
Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
Government information and archives
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: 

Citizenship Empowerment Act

 
This bill amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to direct the chief election official of a state to distribute mail voter registration application forms to each person who becomes a U.S. citizen at a naturalization ceremony in that state at the ceremony's conclusion.
 
The Department of Homeland Security shall implement procedures necessary to enable state chief election officers to carry out this requirement.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
Securing America's Facilities, Equipment and Rail: Taking Responsibility for American National Security in Transit Act

Bill: 114-hr-5794
Sponsor: Rep. Lipinski, Daniel [D-IL-3]
Introduced: 2016-07-14 in the House
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Aviation and airports
Government studies and investigations
Law enforcement administration and funding
Law enforcement officers
Motor carriers
Performance measurement
Public transit
Railroads
Research administration and funding
Research and development
Transportation programs funding
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: 

Securing America's Facilities, Equipment and Rail: Taking Responsibility for American National Security in Transit Act or the SAFER TRANSIT Act

 
This bill amends the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 to reauthorize through FY2020 the Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) program and other specified activities related to public transportation security. (Authorization for the VIPR program expired after FY2011.)
 
The Department of Homeland Security must: (1) develop a Local Transit Security Instructor Training Program, and (2) take steps necessary to ensure that the Federal Air Marshal Service uses its resources to cover the highest-risk flights.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-08-02
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Transportation Security.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
Fair Debt Collections Practices Clarification Act of 2016

Bill: 114-hr-5796
Sponsor: Rep. Cartwright, Matt [D-PA-17]
Introduced: 2016-07-14 in the House
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Consumer credit
Debt collection
Legal fees and court costs

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: 

Fair Debt Collections Practices Clarification Act of 2016

 
This bill amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to permit the award of court costs and attorney fees to the defendant in an action to enforce liability for violating such Act only after finding that the action was brought in bad faith and for the purpose of harassment.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-08-11
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
California Seamounts and Ridges National Marine Conservation Area Designation and Management Act

Bill: 114-hr-5797
Sponsor: Rep. Farr, Sam [D-CA-20]
Introduced: 2016-07-14 in the House
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: California
Firearms and explosives
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Marine and inland water transportation
Mining
Oil and gas
Pacific Ocean
Wilderness and natural areas, wildlife refuges, wild rivers, habitats
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: 

California Seamounts and Ridges National Marine Conservation Area Designation and Management Act

 
This bill establishes the California Seamounts and Ridges National Marine Conservation Area to protect certain seamounts, ridges, and banks locatedin federal waters off the coast of California.
 
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)and the Department of the Interior shall have joint responsibility for managing the conservation area.Development of a management plan must include a public consultation process with tribes, fisherman, and other stakeholders to better understand the activities occurring in the conservation area.
 
Additionally, any management plan developed by NOAA and Interior must prohibit oil and gas development, deep sea-mining, aquaculture, and damaging fishing practices in the area.Certain activities including recreational fishing and exercises by the Armed Forces are allowed to be conducted in the area.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-08-04
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
action_date: 2016-08-04
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
Rural Access to Hospice Act of 2016

Bill: 114-hr-5799
Sponsor: Rep. Jenkins, Lynn [R-KS-2]
Introduced: 2016-07-14 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health facilities and institutions
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Medicare
Rural conditions and development

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: 

Rural Access to Hospice Act of 2016

 
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow payment under Medicare for certain services furnished to hospice patients by rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs).
 
With respect to a patient who elects to receive hospice care under Medicare, current law generally limits payment for services that are either duplicative of such care or related to the treatment of the individual's terminal illness. However, current law exempts from this limitation: (1) physicians' services furnished by the individual's attending physician, if not an employee of the hospice program; and (2) services provided or arranged by the hospice program.
 
The bill expands this exemption with regard to rural health clinic and FQHC services. Specifically, the Medicare payment limitation shall not apply to such services that: (1) would otherwise be physicians' services if furnished by an individual unaffiliated with a rural health clinic or FQHC; and (2) are either arranged by the hospice program or furnished by the individual's attending physician, if not an employee of the hospice program.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-29
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
Hold Top Officials Accountable Act

Bill: 114-hr-5800
Sponsor: Rep. Poliquin, Bruce [R-ME-2]
Introduced: 2016-07-14 in the House
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Computers and information technology
Federal officials
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
Members of Congress
Telephone and wireless communication

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: 

Hold Top Officials Accountable Act

 
This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for a highly placed official to: (1) knowingly disclose classified information to an unauthorized person, or (2) through gross negligence, place classified information on unsecured server, mobile device, laptop, computer, or other electronic device, or otherwise make classified information potentially more available to an unauthorized person.
 
The term &ldquo;highly placed official&rdquo; means a Member of Congress or an official who is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
 
A violator is subject to a fine and a two-year mandatory minimum prison term.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-08-11
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2016-07-14
text: Introduced in House