hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act

Bill: 114-s-1110
Sponsor: Sen. Enzi, Michael B. [R-WY]
Introduced: 2015-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Forests, forestry, trees
Licensing and registrations
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
User charges and fees

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: 

National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act

 
 Directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to publish a national strategy to significantly increase the role of volunteers and partners in trail maintenance. 
 
Requires the strategy to: (1) augment and support the capabilities of federal employees to carry out or contribute to trail maintenance; (2) provide opportunities for volunteers and partners to carry out trail maintenance in each region of the Forest Service; (3) address the barriers to increased volunteerism and partnerships; (4) prioritize increased volunteerism and partnerships in those regions with the most severe trail maintenance needs, and where backlogs are jeopardizing access to national forest lands; and (5) aim to increase trail maintenance by volunteers and partners by 100% within 5 years. 
 
Directs USDA to study opportunities to improve trail maintenance by addressing opportunities to use fire crews in trail maintenance activities. 
 
Deems a volunteer with a partner organization to be considered a federal employee for the purposes of civil claims relating to damage to, or loss of, personal property of a volunteer incident to volunteer services. 
 
Sets forth provisions for the selection of priority areas for increased trail maintenance accomplishments. 
 
Directs USDA to establish a pilot program to offset all or part of the land use fee for outfitting and guiding permits. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-07-16
text: Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Hearings held.
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Public Power Risk Management Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1111
Sponsor: Sen. Donnelly, Joe [D-IN]
Introduced: 2015-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Business records
Commodities markets
Electric power generation and transmission
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Oil and gas
Public contracts and procurement
Securities

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: 

Public Power Risk Management Act of 2015

 
 Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), when it determines whether to provide an exemption to designation as a swap dealer, to treat a utility operations-related swap entered into with a utility special entity as if such swap were entered into with an entity that is not a special entity. (Thus exempts an entity entering into a utility operations-related swap with a utility special entity from mandatory registration as a swap dealer.)
 
Requires transactions in utility operations-related swaps to be reported according to requirements for the reporting of uncleared swaps.
 
Defines &quot;utility special entity&quot; as a special entity, or any instrumentality, department, or corporation of or established by a state or local government, that: (1) owns or operates, or anticipates owning or operating, an electric or natural gas facility or an electric or natural gas operation; (2) supplies or anticipates supplying natural gas or electric energy to another utility special entity; (3) has or anticipates having public service obligations under federal, state, or local law or regulation to deliver electric energy or natural gas service to customers; or (4) is a federal power marketing agency.
 
Redefines swap to include a utility operations-related swap.
 
Defines &quot;utility operations-related swap&quot; as one that: (1) is entered into to hedge or mitigate commercial risk; (2) is associated with specified transactions in electric energy or natural gas; and (3) is not a contract, agreement, or transaction based on, derived on, or referencing:
 
 
an interest rate, credit, equity, or currency asset class; 
 
a metal, agricultural commodity, or crude oil or gasoline commodity of any grade, except as used as fuel for electric energy generation; and 
 
any other commodity or category of commodities identified for this purpose in a CFTC rule or order adopted in consultation with federal and state regulatory commissions.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend title 28, United States Code, to remand certain civil actions transferred by the judicial panel on multidistrict litigation.

Bill: 114-s-1113
Sponsor: Sen. Vitter, David [R-LA]
Introduced: 2015-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Law
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Federal district courts
Judicial procedure and administration

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: 
Amends the federal judicial code to revise the process for remanding civil actions involving common questions of fact pending in different districts that the judicial panel on multidistrict litigation transfers to a single district for consolidated pretrial proceedings. 
 
Requires each action, upon a motion of a plaintiff, to be remanded back to the district court from which it was transferred if the panel does not remand the action at or before the conclusion of such pretrial proceedings within five years after the action is transferred.
 
Directs the district court receiving a remanded action to then schedule the completion of discovery and a trial date in accordance with the civil justice expense and delay reduction plan implemented by the court.
 
Makes this Act applicable to any civil action pending in a transferee district court on or after August 1, 2010.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Freedom from Government Competition Act

Bill: 114-s-1116
Sponsor: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]
Introduced: 2015-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Alaska Natives and Hawaiians
Congressional oversight
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government studies and investigations
Indian social and development programs
Military procurement, research, weapons development
Minority and disadvantaged businesses
Public contracts and procurement

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: 

Freedom from Government Competition Act

 
 Requires each executive or military department or independent establishment to obtain all goods and services necessary for or beneficial to the accomplishment of its authorized functions by procurement from private sources, except if: (1) such goods or services are required by law to be produced or performed by such agency; or (2) the head of the agency determines and certifies that federal production, manufacture, or provision of a good or service is necessary for the national defense or homeland security, that a good or service is so inherently governmental in nature that it is in the public interest to require production or performance by government employees, or that there is no private source capable of providing the good or service.
 
Requires such private sector provision of goods and services to be performed through: (1) the divestiture of federal involvement, (2) the award of a contract using competitive procedures, (3) converting an activity to performance by a qualified firm under at least 51% ownership by an Indian tribe or a Native Hawaiian Organization, or (4) conducting a public-private competitive sourcing analysis in accordance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures and determining that using the private sector is in the best interest of the United States and provides the best value to the taxpayer.
 
Authorizes an agency head to utilize federal employees to provide goods or services previously provided by a private sector entity upon completion of a public-private competitive sourcing analysis and after determining that provision by federal employees provides the best value.
 
Requires OMB to carry out a study, in conjunction with the Comptroller General, to evaluate the activities carried out in each agency.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Ensuring Veteran Safety Through Accountability Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1117
Sponsor: Sen. Johnson, Ron [R-WI]
Introduced: 2015-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Department of Veterans Affairs
Employee performance
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Health personnel
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: 

Ensuring Veteran Safety Through Accountability Act of 2015

 
This bill expands the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to remove senior VA executives for performance or misconduct to include removal of VA health care professionals.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-06-24
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-186.
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1119
Sponsor: Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI]
Introduced: 2015-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Crime prevention
Government studies and investigations
Judicial procedure and administration
Law enforcement administration and funding
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: 

National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2015

 
 Establishes the National Criminal Justice Commission.
 
Directs the Commission to: (1) undertake a comprehensive review of all areas of the criminal justice system, including federal, state, local, and tribal governments' criminal justice costs, practices, and policies; (2) submit to the President and Congress recommendations for changes in federal oversight, policies, practices, and laws designed to prevent, deter, and reduce crime and violence, reduce recidivism, improve cost-effectiveness, and ensure the interests of justice at every step of the criminal justice system; and (3) disseminate to the federal government and to state, local, and tribal governments a report that details its findings and supplemental guidance regarding the criminal justice system at all levels of government.
 
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Commission should work toward unanimously supported findings and supplemental guidance. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to make aliens associated with a criminal gang inadmissible, deportable, and ineligible for various forms of relief.

Bill: 114-s-1120
Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
Introduced: 2015-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Assault and harassment offenses
Border security and unlawful immigration
Congressional oversight
Detention of persons
Domestic violence and child abuse
Drug trafficking and controlled substances
Immigration status and procedures
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Organized crime
Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
Terrorism
Violent crime
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: 
This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to define &quot;criminal gang.&quot;
 
An alien who is or was a member of a criminal gang, or who participated in gang activity knowing that such participation will promote the gang's illegal activity, shall be inadmissible and deportable.
 
The Department of Homeland Security may designate a group or association as a criminal gang. 
 
Detention shall be mandatory for anyone found inadmissible or deportable for criminal street gang membership. 
 
Individuals found inadmissible or deportable for criminal gang membership shall be barred from: 
 
 
asylum; 
 
withholding of removal; 
 
temporary protected status;
 
special immigrant juvenile status;
 
deferred action; and 
 
parole, unless assisting the United States in a law enforcement matter and required by the government to be present with respect to such assistance. 
 
 
An alien found at a U.S. land border or port of entry who is determined to be inadmissible and a threat to public safety (certain criminals, terrorists, street gang members) shall be subject to expedited removal.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure:CR S2478-2479))
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
PAST Act

Bill: 114-s-1121
Sponsor: Sen. Ayotte, Kelly [R-NH]
Introduced: 2015-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Animals
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Crimes against animals and natural resources
Department of Agriculture
Government information and archives
Licensing and registrations
Mammals
Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
Veterinary medicine and animal diseases

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: 
 
Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2015 or the PAST Act 

 
This bill amends the Horse Protection Act to establish a new system for inspecting horses for soring, revise penalties for violations of the Act, and modify enforcement procedures. The soring of horses is any of various actions taken on a horse's limb to produce a higher gait that may cause pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness.
 
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must establish requirements to license, train, assign, and oversee persons hired by the management of horse shows, exhibitions, sales, or auctions to detect and diagnose sore horses. A license may not be issued to a person with conflicts of interest, and USDA must give preference to veterinarians. USDA may revoke a license for unsatisfactory performance. USDA must assign licensed inspectors after receiving notice that management intends to hire the inspectors. An inspector must issue a citation for violations and notify USDA of violations. USDA must publish information on violations of this bill and disqualify a horse that is sore. 
 
The bill prohibits a person in any horse show, exhibition, sale, or auction from causing or directing a horse to become sore for the purpose of showing, exhibiting, selling, or auctioning the horse.
 
The bill prohibits the use of specified devices on a Tennessee Walking, a Racking, or a Spotted Saddle horse at a show, exhibition, sale, or auction. 
 
The bill increases the maximum criminal and civil liability penalties for certain violations. USDA may disqualify violators from specified activities related to horse shows, exhibitions, sales, and auctions. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
Court Legal Access and Student Support (CLASS) Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1122
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2015-04-28 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration
Civil actions and liability
Higher education
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: 

Court Legal Access and Student Support (CLASS) Act of 2015

 
This bill makes procedures for the enforcement of arbitration agreements inapplicable to an enrollment agreement between a student and an institution of higher education (IHE). 
The bill also amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to forbid an IHE that participates in federal student aid programs, including work-study programs, from requiring a student to agree to any restriction on the student's ability to pursue a claim, individually or with others, against it in court.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2479)
action_date: 2015-04-28
text: Introduced in Senate
State Partnership Program Enhancement Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1126
Sponsor: Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2015-04-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Defense spending
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Intergovernmental relations
International exchange and broadcasting
Military command and structure
National Guard and reserves
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-29
text: 

State Partnership Program Enhancement Act of 2015

 
Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 to revise and extend indefinitely the authority of the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish exchange programs for members of the National Guard under the National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP). (Currently, the authority is scheduled to terminate on September 30, 2016.) 
 
Requires the National Guard Bureau to: (1) maintain a list of core competencies of the National Guard to support SPP activities, and (2) designate a director for each state and territory.
 
Requires DOD to coordinate SPP regulations with combatant commanders to ensure that program activities meet theater security cooperation objectives. Requires the Department of State to coordinate such regulations with relevant chiefs of mission to meet diplomatic objectives.
 
Establishes the National Guard State Partnership Program Fund in the Treasury, into which appropriated amounts shall be credited and transferred for program activity uses, including payment of costs for personnel, training, operations, and equipment.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-04-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2015-04-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Stop Subsidizing Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act

Bill: 114-s-1127
Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced: 2015-04-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Corporate finance and management
Department of the Treasury
Income tax deductions
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-29
text: 

Stop Subsidizing Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act 

 
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the $1 million limitation on the deductibility of employee compensation, to: (1) extend such limitation to any individual who is a current or former officer, director, or employee of a publicly-held corporation; (2) eliminate the exemption from such limitation for compensation payable on a commission basis or upon the attainment of a performance goal; and (3) make such limitation applicable to all publicly-held corporations that are required by the Securities and Exchange Commission to register securities and provide periodic reports to their investors. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-04-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure:CR S2532)
action_date: 2015-04-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Early Pell Promise Act

Bill: 114-s-1128
Sponsor: Sen. Stabenow, Debbie [D-MI]
Introduced: 2015-04-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Food assistance and relief
Government information and archives
Higher education
Military personnel and dependents
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-29
text: 

Early Pell Promise Act

 
This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Department of Education to carry out a program of grants to state educational agencies (SEAs) under which a student who is in eighth grade and is eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act may be provided a commitment to receive a Federal Pell Grant early in the student's academic career.
 
Pursuant to such a commitment, the student receives a Pell Grant during the first two years of attendance at an institution of higher education (IHE) as an undergraduate if the student:
 
 
files the FAFSA form during the senior year of secondary school and the succeeding year, and
 
enrolls at the IHE not later than three years after receiving a secondary school diploma or after release from the Armed Forces.
 
 
A student may not receive the early Pell Grant for a succeeding year if the expected family contribution for either year is more than twice the threshold amount for Pell Grant eligibility for that year.
 
Funds are reserved for an independent evaluation of the program's impact.
 
In order to participate in the program, an SEA must develop a targeted information campaign and include in the plan for that campaign cost data disaggregated by institution type and information on both state and federal financial aid. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-04-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2015-04-29
text: Introduced in Senate
Legal Justice for Servicemembers Act of 2015

Bill: 114-s-1130
Sponsor: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA]
Introduced: 2015-04-29 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Evidence and witnesses
Government studies and investigations
Military personnel and dependents
Personnel records

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-29
text: 

Legal Justice for Servicemembers Act of 2015

 
This bill revises whistle blower protections for members of the Armed Forces.
 
Prohibited personnel actions shall include: 
 
 
a superior's failure to respond to retaliatory action or harassment taken against a subordinate; and 
 
action that could be understood as an attempt to dissuade a service member from making or preparing a communication, or participating in any other activity.
 
 
A service member may opt out of a military branch investigation in favor of an investigation by the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General (DODIG).
 
An investigating Inspector General (IG) may impose a 90-day stay of a personnel action, which may be extended by the military department concerned to complete an investigation, in order to prevent undue hardship to a service member if reasonable grounds exist to believe that a prohibited personnel action has occurred.
 
Periodic notice must be given to service members on the progress of IG investigations.
 
IG recommendations for disposition of complaints must include recommendations for disciplinary actions against the person who committed the prohibited personnel action, against a superior who knew or should have known but failed to address the action, or both.
 
An investigating IG shall submit a substantiated investigation to the appropriate military corrections board unless the service member requests otherwise.
 
Service members may request a corrections board hearing under specified circumstances.
 
DODIG shall prescribe uniform standards for: (1) investigation of allegations of prohibited personnel actions, and (2) staff training.
 
The investigative evidentiary burden of proof shall be &quot;clear and convincing evidence.&quot;
 
Provisions are revised for improvements to authorities and procedures for correction of military records, including permitting a claimant to seek judicial review of a board's determination in an appropriate U.S. court.
 
The Inspector General Act of 1978 is amended to include the Inspectors General of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, the National Guard Bureau, and the Coast Guard in the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-04-29
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2015-04-29
text: Introduced in Senate