hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Rebuild America Now Act

Bill: 115-s-1756
Sponsor: Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK]
Introduced: 2017-08-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Air quality
Alaska Natives and Hawaiians
Alternative and renewable resources
Civil actions and liability
Coal
Economic performance and conditions
Electric power generation and transmission
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Environmental regulatory procedures
Executive Office of the President
Floods and storm protection
Government studies and investigations
Indian lands and resources rights
Intergovernmental relations
Judicial review and appeals
Land transfers
Land use and conservation
Licensing and registrations
Oil and gas
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Pedestrians and bicycling
Pipelines
Public transit
Public utilities and utility rates
Roads and highways
State and local government operations
Transportation programs funding
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2017-08-03
text: 

Rebuild America Now Act

 
This bill amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to expedite the environmental review and permitting process for projects undertaken or funded by the federal government that could have significant environmental consequences.
 
The bill states as policy that when implementing a permitting law, including specified environmental laws, agencies should seek to issue permit decisions favorably to the maximum extent practicable.
 
The bill includes provisions regarding:
 
 
lawsuits involving challenges to agency actions concerning energy production,
 
approval of gas pipeline projects,
 
rights-of-way through national parks,
 
assistance to areas where air pollution levels have not met national ambient air quality standards, and
 
state authority to review certain transportation projects and agreements.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-05-15
text: Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 115-322.
action_date: 2017-08-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2017-08-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Tenant Protection Act

Bill: 115-s-1758
Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2017-08-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Consumer credit
Judicial procedure and administration
Specialized courts

Summary:
action_date: 2017-08-03
text: 

Tenant Protection Act

 
This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit a consumer reporting agency from creating a report containing a landlord-tenant court or other housing court record unless: 
 
 
the case resulted in a judgment of possession, 
 
the decision is not being appealed, and
 
the record is not more than three years old.
 
 
If a person takes an adverse action against a consumer based upon a housing court record, the person must provide the consumer a free copy of the report.
 
A person who willfully creates a housing court report that contains an inaccuracy is civilly liable to the consumer. 
 
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must: (1) issue regulations that direct tenant rating agencies to create a central source for consumers to obtain reports and submit disputes, and (2) report on tenant rating agency compliance.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-08-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2017-08-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Keeping Our Commitment to Ending Veteran Homelessness Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1759
Sponsor: Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]
Introduced: 2017-08-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Low- and moderate-income housing
Veterans' loans, housing, homeless programs

Summary:
action_date: 2017-08-03
text: 

Keeping Our Commitment to Ending Veteran Homelessness Act of 2017

 
This bill extends through FY2018 authority for the following Department of Veterans Affairs programs: 
 
 
homeless veterans reintegration programs,
 
the homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children reintegration program,
 
referral and counseling services for certain veterans at risk of homelessness,
 
treatment and rehabilitation services for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans,
 
housing assistance for homeless veterans,
 
financial assistance for supportive services for very low-income veteran families in permanent housing, and 
 
the grant program for homeless veterans with special needs.
 
 
 The bill extends through December 31, 2018, authority for the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-08-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2017-08-03
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill for the relief of Marco Antonio Reyes.

Bill: 115-s-1760
Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2017-08-03 in the Senate
Subjects: Private Legislation

Summary:
action_date: 2017-08-03
text: Provides for the relief of Marco Antonio Reyes.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-08-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2017-08-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Student Testing Improvement and Accountability Act

Bill: 115-s-1762
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2017-09-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Elementary and secondary education
Language arts
Science and engineering education

Summary:
action_date: 2017-09-05
text: 

Student Testing Improvement and Accountability Act

 
This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to reduce the required frequency of student achievement tests in mathematics and reading or language arts. Currently, students must be tested in those areas against state academic content and achievement standards in each of grades three through eight. This bill instead requires that those tests be administered at least once during: (1) grades 3 through 5, (2) grades 6 through 8, and (3) grades 9 through 12. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-09-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2017-09-05
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill for the relief of Maria Guadalupe Mendoza Sanchez, Eusebio Sanchez Mejia, and Vianney Esbeydi Sanchez Mendoza.

Bill: 115-s-1763
Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]
Introduced: 2017-09-05 in the Senate
Subjects: Private Legislation

Summary:
action_date: 2017-09-05
text: Provides for the relief of Maria Guadalupe Mendoza Sanchez, Eusebio Sanchez Mejia, and Vianney Esbeydi Sanchez Mendoza.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-09-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2017-09-05
text: Introduced in Senate
CARERS Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1764
Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2017-09-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Alternative treatments
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Veterans Affairs
Drug trafficking and controlled substances
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Health information and medical records
Health personnel
Licensing and registrations
Medical research
Research administration and funding
State and local government operations
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2017-09-05
text: 

Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States Act of 2017 or the CARERS Act of 2017

 
This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide that the Act's regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties do not apply to a person who produces, possesses, distributes, dispenses, administers, tests, recommends, or delivers medical marijuana in compliance with state law.
 
The bill also: 

 
excludes &quot;cannabidiol&quot; (CBD) from the definition of &quot;marijuana&quot;; 
 
limits the concentration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in CBD to 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis; and 
 
deems marijuana grown or processed to make CBD, in accordance with state law, to comply with the THC concentration limit unless the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) determines state law to be unreasonable. 
 
 
The bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to terminate the Public Health Service's interdisciplinary review process that is used to evaluate applications for medical marijuana research. The DEA must license manufacturers and distributors of marijuana for medical research; HHS must register practitioners to conduct research; and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must authorize VA health care providers to provide recommendations and opinions to veterans regarding participation in their states' marijuana programs.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-09-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2017-09-05
text: Introduced in Senate
Department of Defense Depot Maintenance Best Practices Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1765
Sponsor: Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD]
Introduced: 2017-09-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Manufacturing
Military facilities and property
Military procurement, research, weapons development
Performance measurement

Summary:
action_date: 2017-09-06
text: 

Department of Defense Depot Maintenance Best Practices Act of 2017

 
This bill directs the Department of Defense to submit to the congressional defense committees a comprehensive plan for the sharing of best practices for depot-level maintenance among the military services.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-09-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2017-09-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Farm to School Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1767
Sponsor: Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT]
Introduced: 2017-09-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Aquaculture
Congressional oversight
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Food assistance and relief
Higher education
Indian social and development programs
Public contracts and procurement
Seafood

Summary:
action_date: 2017-09-06
text: 

Farm to School Act of 201

7

 
This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to reauthorize the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Farm to School Program through FY2023 and modify the program. The program currently provides grants and technical assistance to schools, state and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, agricultural producers, and nonprofit entities to improve access to local foods in schools. 
 
The bill makes schools participating in the Summer Food Service Program for children, the early care and afterschool portions of the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the School Breakfast Program eligible to participate in the program. It also permits USDA to provide land-grant colleges and universities with grants, research, and technical assistance under the program. 
 
The purposes for grants awarded under the program are expanded to include agricultural literacy and nutrition education. The bill requires USDA to provide technical assistance, research, and information to increase awareness of and participation in farm to school programs among agricultural producers.
 
In awarding grants, USDA must seek to improve local food procurement and distribution options for agricultural producers and eligible schools. USDA is permitted to fund projects that include innovative approaches to aggregation, processing, transportation, and distribution. 
 
The bill establishes new limitations on the amount and duration of grants.
 
The bill also establishes reporting requirements and limits funds that may be used for administrative costs. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-09-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2017-09-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Connected Government Act

Bill: 115-s-1769
Sponsor: Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]
Introduced: 2017-09-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Government information and archives
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Telephone and wireless communication

Summary:
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: 

Connected Government Act

 
This bill requires a federal agency that creates or updates a website intended for use by the public to ensure that the website is mobile friendly.
 
 &quot;Mobile friendly&quot; means that the website is configured in such a way that it may be navigated and viewed on a smartphone, tablet computer, or similar mobile device.

action_date: 2017-12-14
text: 

Connected Government Act

 
(Sec. 2) This bill requires a federal agency that creates or conducts a redesign of a website that is intended for use by the public, to ensure that the website is mobile friendly.
 
 &quot;Mobile friendly&quot; means that the website is configured in such a way that it may be navigated, viewed, and accessed on a smartphone, tablet computer, or similar mobile device.
 
The Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration must report to Congress describing the implementation of, and assessing the compliance of each agency with, such requirement.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-12-14
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 285.
action_date: 2017-12-14
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Johnson with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 115-195.
action_date: 2017-12-14
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Johnson with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 115-195.
action_date: 2017-10-04
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1770
Sponsor: Sen. Flake, Jeff [R-AZ]
Introduced: 2017-09-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Native Americans
Subjects: Arizona
Federal-Indian relations
Government trust funds
Indian claims
Indian lands and resources rights
Infrastructure development
Lakes and rivers
Land transfers
Water use and supply

Summary:
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: 

Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2017

 
This bill modifies and ratifies the Hualapai Tribe water rights settlement agreement negotiated between the tribe, the United States, Arizona, and others, thus satisfying the tribe's claims for groundwater and surface water rights to water in Arizona, including the Verde River, the Bill Williams River, and the Colorado River. 
 
The bill outlines the tribe's water rights, including the right to divert, use, and store 4,000 acre-feet of agricultural priority water of the Central Arizona Project that was previously allocated to non-tribal agricultural entities, but retained by the Department of the Interior for reallocation to tribes in Arizona pursuant to the Central Arizona Project Settlement Act of 2004.
 
The Bureau of Reclamation must construct the Hualapai Water Project. The project must be designed to divert, treat, and convey at least 3,414 acre-feet of water per year from the Colorado River for municipal, commercial, and industrial uses on the Hualapai Reservation. 
 
The bill establishes the: (1) Hualapai Water Project Account for constructing the project; and (2) Hualapai OM&R Trust Account for the operation, maintenance, and replacement charges associated with the project.
 
The bill provides for land to be added to the reservation and taken into trust for the benefit of the tribe. In the future, land located outside the reservation may only be taken into trust by the United States for the benefit of the tribe through an act of Congress.
 
The bill outlines: (1) waivers, releases, and retentions of claims by the tribe and the United States under the settlement agreement; and (2) a limited waiver of sovereign immunity by the United States and the tribe with respect to certain claims.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-12-06
text: Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 115-179.
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Confederate Monument Removal Act

Bill: 115-s-1772
Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2017-09-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Congress
Subjects: Art, artists, authorship
Conflicts and wars
Congressional tributes
Military history
Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
Racial and ethnic relations
Smithsonian Institution
U.S. Capitol
U.S. history

Summary:
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: 

Confederate Monument Removal Act

 
This bill amends the Revised Statutes of the United States to prohibit statues of certain persons who served voluntarily with the Confederate States of America from being displayed in National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol.
 
The Architect of the Capitol shall identify all such statues and, subject to the approval of the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress, arrange for their removal from the Capitol within 120 days.
 
States may substitute statues in accordance with the requirements and procedures of the Revised Statutes and the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2001.
 
The bill makes appropriations for the activities in the bill.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S5058-5059)
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to limit the overall rate of return for crop insurance providers and remove the requirement of budget neutrality in the Standard Reinsurance Agreement.

Bill: 115-s-1773
Sponsor: Sen. Flake, Jeff [R-AZ]
Introduced: 2017-09-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Agricultural insurance
Insurance industry and regulation

Summary:
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: 
This bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to modify the requirements for the federal crop insurance program. The bill: (1) limits the average rate of return for reinsured companies for the 2018 reinsurance year and each subsequent reinsurance year to 9.6% of retained premiums, and (2) eliminates the requirement that any renegotiated Standard Insurance Agreement (SRA) be budget-neutral. 
 
(The SRA is an agreement between the Department of Agriculture [USDA] and the private companies that administer the federal crop insurance program that specifies details such as administrative and operating expense reimbursements and risk sharing. Eliminating the budget neutrality requirement permits USDA to use the renegotiation of the SRA to achieve savings.) 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Employee Rights Act

Bill: 115-s-1774
Sponsor: Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT]
Introduced: 2017-09-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Business records
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Labor-management relations
Organized crime
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: 

Employee Rights Act 

 
This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to: (1) make it an unlawful labor practice for a labor organization to interfere (currently, restrain or coerce) with the rights of employees to organize and collectively bargain; (2) require union recertification after a turnover in the workforce exceeding 50% of the bargaining unit; (3) require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to give 14 days advance notice before a hearing investigating an election petition; and (4) require an employer to provide the NLRB with a list consisting only of employee names and addresses of all eligible voters within seven days after an NLRB determination of the appropriate bargaining unit or an agreement on eligible voters.
 
The bill: (1) grants union and nonunion employees the right to vote by secret ballot on whether to ratify a collective bargaining agreement or engage in a strike, (2) prohibits the use of union dues for any purpose not directly related to collective bargaining, (3) prohibits a strike without the consent of a majority of all represented employees determined by secret ballot, and (4) prohibits the use or threat of force or violence to obtain the right to represent employees.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: Introduced in Senate
Rural Veterans Travel Enhancement Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1775
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2017-09-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Department of Veterans Affairs
Health care coverage and access
Health facilities and institutions
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Mental health
Rural conditions and development
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Transportation costs
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: 

Rural Veterans Travel Enhancement Act of 2017

 
This bill requires Vet Centers (centers for readjustment counseling and related mental health services for veterans) to be treated as Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities for purposes of payment of medical-related expenses or allowances for travel to or from a VA facility.
 
 The bill makes permanent VA authority to transport individuals to and from VA facilities in connection with vocational rehabilitation or counseling or for examination, treatment, or care.
 
The Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010 is amended to reauthorize through FY2020 grants to state veterans service organizations to assist veterans in highly rural areas to travel to VA medical centers.
 
The VA shall: (1) establish a national protocol to administer medical examinations for volunteer drivers to participate in the veterans transportation program, and (2) implement the protocol by first conducting a one-year pilot program. The Government Accountability Office shall report to Congress on such program.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2017-09-07
text: Introduced in Senate