hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Alzheimer's Beneficiary and Caregiver Support Act

Bill: 114-s-3137
Sponsor: Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV]
Introduced: 2016-07-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Aging
Medicaid
Medicare
Mental health
Neurological disorders
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: 

Alzheimer's Beneficiary and Caregiver Support Act

 
This bill amends title XI (General Provisions) of the Social Security Act to require the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to test the efficacy of coverage and payment for Alzheimer's Disease caregiver support services in delaying or reducing the use of institutionalized care for Medicare beneficiaries. 
 
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services shall establish payment amounts for such services.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Introduced in Senate
No Ex-Im Financing for Iran Act

Bill: 114-s-3138
Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2016-07-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Competitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficits
Government lending and loan guarantees
Iran
Middle East

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: 

No Ex-Im Financing for Iran Act

 
This bill amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to prohibit the Export-Import Bank from guaranteeing, insuring, extending credit, or participating in the extension of credit in connection with the export of U.S. goods or services to any entity that does business with or provides credit or a guarantee to any other entity in connection with exports involving:
 
 
the Government of Iran, or an entity in which the Government of Iran participates,
 
an entity created under Iranian law, or
 
an operation in Iran.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Energy Tax Fairness Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3139
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2016-07-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Business investment and capital
Electric power generation and transmission
Energy efficiency and conservation
Income tax credits

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: 

Energy Tax Fairness Act of 2016 

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the tax credit for investment in energy property to include qualified high-efficiency linear generator property. 
 
A stationary linear generator power plant is an integrated system consisting of translators, cylinders, electricity generating equipment, and associated balance of plant components which converts a fuel or waste heat into electricity for stationary applications. Qualified high-efficiency linear generator property is a stationary linear generator power plant which has: (1) a nameplate capacity of less than 2,000 kilowatts, and (2) an electricity-only generation efficiency of greater than 30%. 
 
For high-efficiency linear generator property that is placed in service during the taxable year, the credit for the year may not exceed $1,500 for each 0.5 kilowatt of capacity of the property. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Introduced in Senate
One Percent Spending Reduction Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3140
Sponsor: Sen. Enzi, Michael B. [R-WY]
Introduced: 2016-07-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
Subjects: Budget deficits and national debt
Budget process
House of Representatives
Legislative rules and procedure
Senate

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: 

One Percent Spending Reduction Act of 2016 

 
This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to establish and enforce new spending caps. 
 
The bill establishes an outlay cap (less net interest payments) for FY2017 of $3.645 trillion, less 1%. For each year from FY2018-FY2021, the bill reduces the outlay cap by 1% of the previous year's outlay cap. 
 
For FY2022 and subsequent years, total outlays may not exceed 18% of the gross domestic product (GDP) for that year as estimated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Beginning in FY2023, total projected outlays may not be less than the total projected outlays for the preceding year. 
 
The OMB must enforce the spending caps using a sequestration to eliminate any excess spending through automatic cuts. The bill eliminates most of the existing exemptions from sequestration, with the exception of interest payments on the debt. 
 
If the OMB projects a sequestration, the congressional budget committees may report a resolution directing congressional committees to change existing law to achieve the spending reductions necessary to meet the outlay limits. 
 
The bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish procedures for Congress to enforce the outlay caps established by this bill.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Protection and Advocacy for Veterans Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3141
Sponsor: Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD]
Introduced: 2016-07-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Disability and paralysis
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Health care quality
Health information and medical records
Health programs administration and funding
Mental health
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: 

Protection and Advocacy for Veterans Act
 
of 2016

 
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a five-year grant program to improve the monitoring of VA mental health and substance abuse treatment programs. 
 
The VA shall award grants to four protection and advocacy systems under which each recipient shall investigate and monitor VA facilities care and treatment of veterans with mental illness or substance abuse issues. Criteria for selecting recipients shall include whether the state in which the protection and advocacy system operates has low mental health, performance, and access scores. 
 
During each year in which a protection and advocacy system carries out a demonstration project, the VA shall award a joint grant to a national organization with extensive knowledge of the protection and advocacy system and a veterans service organization to: (1) coordinate training and technical assistance, and (2) provide for related data collection, reporting, and analysis.
 
 &quot;Protection and advocacy system&quot; means the state-established system to protect and advocate the rights of persons with developmental disabilities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3142
Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
Introduced: 2016-07-07 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Art, artists, authorship
Congressional oversight
Crime victims
Crimes against property
Europe
Germany
Historical and cultural resources
Human rights
Religion
War crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: 

Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act of 2016

 
This bill directs the Department of State, with respect to covered countries, to annually include within either the relevant Annual Country Report on Human Rights, the International Religious Freedom Report, or other appropriate report an assessment of the nature and extent of national laws or enforceable policies regarding the identification, return, or restitution of wrongfully seized or transferred Holocaust era assets and compliance with the goals of the Terezin Declaration on Holocaust Era Assets and Related Issues, including: 
 
 
the return to the rightful owner of wrongfully seized or transferred property, including religious or communal property, or the provision of comparable substitute property or the payment of equitable compensation to the rightful owner; 
 
the use of the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art and the Terezin Declaration in settling claims involving publicly and privately held movable property;
 
the restitution of heirless property to assist needy Holocaust survivors; and 
 
 progress on the resolution of claims for U.S. citizen Holocaust survivors and family members.
 
 
&quot;Covered countries&quot; means signatories to the Terezin Declaration that are determined by the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues to be countries of particular concern with respect to such restitution.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Introduced in Senate
WAGE Act

Bill: 114-s-3143
Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced: 2016-07-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Civil actions and liability
Consumer credit
Debt collection
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Small business
State and local government operations
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: 

Wage and Garnishment Equity Act of 2016 or the WAGE Act

 
This bill amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to define &quot;assignment&quot; (of wages and earnings) to exclude payroll deductions or preauthorized payment plans and any assignment applicable only to earnings already earned.
 
 The bill adjusts the maximum part of a person's aggregate disposable earnings for any workweek that is subject to garnishment or assignment. Such amount shall not exceed the lesser of: (1) 10% of earnings for an individual earning $1200 or less weekly (15% for an individual earning more than $1200), or (2) the amount by which the earnings exceed 80 (currently, 30) times the federal minimum hourly wage in effect.
 
No employer may take any adverse employment action against an employee because the employee's earnings have been subject to garnishment or assignment.
 
The Department of Labor may provide the same exemption from maximum allowable garnishment requirements for state-regulated assignments as it does for state-regulated garnishments.
 
The bill requires specified delays of garnishment pursuant to an order directed at an employer with fewer than 50 employees.
 
Of the aggregate amount of an individual's funds in deposit accounts, $10,000 (as adjusted for inflation every three years) shall be exempt and immune from attachment or seizure for any judgment related to a debt.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3144
Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2016-07-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Constitution and constitutional amendments
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Law enforcement administration and funding
Lawyers and legal services
Legal fees and court costs
State and local courts

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: 

Equal Justice Under Law Act of 2016

 
This bill states that an indigent individual facing criminal prosecution or juvenile delinquency in a state court is entitled to the effective assistance of counsel, as guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, at the state's expense.
 
It authorizes a federal class action lawsuit against a state for its systemic failure to guarantee the right to effective assistance of counsel. The assistance of counsel is ineffective when a class of individuals demonstrates that counsel's performance was not reasonable under prevailing professional norms.
 
Additionally, the bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to modify the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. Specifically, it requires a state or local government to consult with public defenders before distributing JAG funds to community organizations and local governments. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S4917-4918)
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Gideon Act

Bill: 114-s-3145
Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2016-07-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Law
Subjects: Judicial review and appeals
Lawyers and legal services
Supreme Court

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: 

Clarence Gideon Full Access to Justice Act or the Gideon Act

 
This bill amends the federal criminal code by establishing the Defender Office for Supreme Court Advocacy as a private, nonmembership, nonprofit corporation. It must advocate on behalf of individuals in noncapital cases involving an issue of federal criminal statutory law or constitutional law before: (1) the Supreme Court of the United States, and (2) the highest courts in the states when resources permit. The office may also provide assistance to attorneys advocating on behalf of those individuals.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S4917-4918)
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Preventing Abandoned Foreclosures and Preserving Communities Act of 2016

Bill: 114-s-3146
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2016-07-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Congressional oversight
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Government studies and investigations
Housing finance and home ownership

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: 

Preventing Abandoned Foreclosures and Preserving Communities Act of 2016

 
This bill amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to require a servicer of a federally related or federally backed mortgage loan to provide, with respect to foreclosure proceedings, specified notice to the borrower and applicable taxing district.
 
Unless specified requirements are met, a servicer of a loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration and backed by either the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) may not abandon an initiated foreclosure.
 
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must establish a database of abandoned foreclosures.
 
The Government Accountability Office shall conduct a study on abandoned foreclosures.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Introduced in Senate
John F. Kennedy Centennial Commission Act

Bill: 114-s-3148
Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2016-07-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Commemorative events and holidays
Executive agency funding and structure
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
U.S. history

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: 

John F. Kennedy Centennial Commission Act

 
This bill establishes the John F. Kennedy Centennial Commission, which shall:
 
 
plan, develop, and carry out activities to honor John F. Kennedy on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth; and 
 
 provide advice and assistance to federal, state, and local governmental agencies and civic groups to carry out activities to honor Kennedy on such occasion.
 
 
The commission shall submit to the President and Congress annual reports on its revenue and expenditures, such interim reports as appropriate, and a final report by August 31, 2017. 
 
The commission shall terminate by September 30, 2017.
 
The Inspector General of the Department of the Interior may perform an audit of the commission.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby in recognition of his achievements and contributions to American major league athletics, civil rights, and the Armed Forces during World War II.

Bill: 114-s-3149
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2016-07-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Sports and Recreation
Subjects: Athletes
Conflicts and wars
Congressional tributes
Military history
Professional sports
Racial and ethnic relations

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: 
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Larry Doby in recognition of his achievements and contributions to American major league athletics, civil rights, and the Armed Forces during World War II.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Oil and Gas Payments Taxpayer Protection and Deficit Reduction Act

Bill: 114-s-3150
Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2016-07-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Budget deficits and national debt
Energy revenues and royalties
Government trust funds
Gulf of Mexico
Land use and conservation
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Oil and gas
Outdoor recreation

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: 

Oil and Gas Payments Taxpayer Protection and Deficit Reduction Act

 
This bill amends the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to direct the Department of the Treasury to deposit: (1)50% of qualified Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)revenues into the general fund of the Treasury, and (2) 50% of qualified OCS revenues into a special account. Furthermore, 75% of available revenues in the special account must be used to reduce the federal budget deficit and 25% must be deposited into the Land and Water Conservation Fund.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Introduced in Senate
CAREER Act

Bill: 114-s-3151
Sponsor: Sen. Toomey, Patrick [R-PA]
Introduced: 2016-07-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Adult education and literacy
Advisory bodies
Census and government statistics
Child care and development
Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Disability and paralysis
Disaster relief and insurance
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Education of the disadvantaged
Educational guidance
Elementary and secondary education
Employee hiring
Employment and training programs
Food assistance and relief
Government information and archives
Higher education
Homelessness and emergency shelter
Indian social and development programs
Judicial review and appeals
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Minority employment
Performance measurement
State and local government operations
Trade adjustment assistance
Transportation costs
Unemployment
Vocational and technical education
Wages and earnings
Youth employment and child labor

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: 

Cutting Administrative Red-tape for Education and Employment Reinvestment Act or the
 
CAREER Act

 
This bill addresses educational and employment training programs for certain individuals including:
 
 
 training for adults, 
 
training for disadvantaged youth, 
 
vocational rehabilitation and referral services for individuals with disabilities, 
 
training for Native Americans, and 
 
training to reintegrate criminal offenders.
 
 The Department of Labor must assist in the development of a nationwide system of public labor exchange services that are provided through state and local workforce investment boards. 
Labor must provide funding to the boards to assist with training adults and disadvantaged youths, including providing services to promote literacy, attain education, and assist with job search and placement.Additionally, Labor must provide funding to states to carry out vocational rehabilitation and referral services for individuals with disabilities so that those individuals may prepare for and engage in employment.
 
The bill also provides training for Native Americans to develop skills, be competitive in the workforce, and promote economic and social development.
 
The bill amends the Second Chance Act of 2007 to make youth offenders eligible to receive grants from Labor for certain transitional services, including being reintegrated into society and obtaining and retaining employment.
 
The bill replaces several provisions related to educational and employment programs for adults, youths, disabled individuals, and Native Americans. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2016-07-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Empowering Employees through Stock Ownership Act

Bill: 114-s-3152
Sponsor: Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA]
Introduced: 2016-07-11 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Corporate finance and management
Employee benefits and pensions
Income tax deferral
Income tax exclusion
Securities
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2016-07-11
text: 

Empowering Employees through Stock Ownership Act 

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an employee to elect to defer, for income tax purposes, income attributable to certain stock transferred to the employee by an employer. 
 
The employee may defer the inclusion of income from the stock until the year that includes the earliest of the dates on which: 
 
 
 the stock is sold, exchanged, or otherwise transferred; 
 
 the employee becomes an excluded employee; 
 
 stock of the corporation becomes readily tradable on an established securities market; 
 
 seven years has passed after the rights of the employee in the stock are transferrable or are not subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture, whichever occurs earlier; or 
 
the employee elects to include the amount in income. 
 
 
The stock must meet specified requirements and be transferred to the employee from an eligible corporation in connection with the performance of services as an employee. 
 
A corporation is eligible if: (1) no stock of the corporation is readily tradable on an established securities market during the year or any preceding year, and (2) it has a written plan under which at least 80% of all employees have the same rights and privileges to receive stock for the year. 
 
Employees are excluded if they are or have been: (1) a 1% owner, the chief executive officer, or the chief financial officer of the corporation; (2) a family member of the specified individuals; (3) or one of the four highest compensated officers of the corporation. 
 
The corporation transferring stock must notify employees regarding the option of deferring income and meet specified withholding and reporting requirements. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-07-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2016-07-11
text: Introduced in Senate