hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Workforce Training Enhancement Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-687
Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
Introduced: 2017-03-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Employment and training programs
State and local finance
State and local government operations
Trade adjustment assistance

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-21
text: 

Workforce Training Enhancement Act of 2017

 
This bill amends the Trade Act of 1974, with respect to trade adjustment assistance (TAA) for training to adversely affected workers, to authorize a state to use certain funds distributed by the Department of Labor to reimburse the costs of providing training to an adversely affected worker before the worker is approved for training under the Act if those costs have been paid by:
 
 
the state from state funds,
 
the state or local workforce development areas within the state from funds available for workforce investment activities and providers under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, or
 
another entity eligible in the state under the national dislocated worker grants program from funds available for that program.
 
 
The use of funds under this Act shall be conditioned, however, on the worker's coverage by a certification for TAA eligibility for training meeting approval requirements which commenced after the date on which the total or partial separations of the group of workers covered by the certification for eligibility began or threatened to begin.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2017-03-21
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to suspend the importation of beef and poultry from Brazil.

Bill: 115-s-688
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2017-03-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Agricultural trade
Brazil
Latin America
Meat
Trade restrictions

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-21
text: 
This bill suspends the importation of Brazilian beef and poultry products into the United States for 120 days.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2017-03-21
text: Introduced in Senate
Invest in Women's Health Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-689
Sponsor: Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA]
Introduced: 2017-03-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Cancer
Congressional oversight
Government studies and investigations
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Health personnel
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Immunology and vaccination
Medicaid
Medical education
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Minority health
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-21
text: 

Invest in Women's Health Act of 2017

 
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide support to public or nonprofit entities to expand certain preventive health services, with an emphasis on increasing access to cancer screening, particularly for women of color.
 
The bill reauthorizes through FY2020: (1) programs related to breast and gynecologic cancers under Medicaid and family planning programs, and (2) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.
 
HHS must establish a demonstration grant program to train health care providers regarding breast and gynecologic cancer screening.
 HHS must study and report on access to women's preventive cancer screening, including cancer rates by state, cancer screening by state, and estimated federal savings achieved through early detection of breast and gynecologic cancer.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2017-03-21
text: Introduced in Senate
HUBZone Investment Protection Act

Bill: 115-s-690
Sponsor: Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD]
Introduced: 2017-03-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Census and government statistics
Economic development
Public contracts and procurement
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-21
text: 

HUBZone Investment Protection Act

 
This bill amends the Small Business Act with respect to Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones) located in qualified census tracts, qualified nonmetropolitan counties, or redesignated areas, which are census tracts or nonmetropolitan counties that cease to meet the ordinary criteria for the HUBZone program but are &quot;redesignated&quot; to qualify for it.
 
The bill increases the length of time a census tract or nonmetropolitan county may be redesignated to qualify for HUBZone status from three years to seven years after the date on which the area ceased to meet the ordinary criteria.

action_date: 2017-08-02
text: 
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
 

HUBZone Investment Protection Act

 
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Small Business Act with respect to Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones) located in qualified census tracts, qualified nonmetropolitan counties, or redesignated areas, which are census tracts or nonmetropolitan counties that cease to meet the ordinary criteria for the HUBZone program but are &quot;redesignated&quot; to qualify for it.
 
The bill increases the length of time a census tract or nonmetropolitan county may be redesignated to qualify for HUBZone status from three years to seven years after the date on which the area ceased to meet the ordinary criteria.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-08-02
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 196.
action_date: 2017-08-02
text: Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Reported by Senator Risch without amendment. Without written report.
action_date: 2017-08-02
text: Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Reported by Senator Risch without amendment. Without written report.
action_date: 2017-08-02
text: Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
action_date: 2017-03-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
action_date: 2017-03-21
text: Introduced in Senate
Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act

Bill: 115-s-693
Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
Introduced: 2017-03-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Cancer
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Department of Health and Human Services
Digestive and metabolic diseases
Education programs funding
Executive agency funding and structure
Government information and archives
Health care quality
Health facilities and institutions
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Home and outpatient care
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Medical education
Medical research
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Neurological disorders
Nursing
Research administration and funding
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: 

Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act

 
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide support for Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers. These centers must improve the training of health professionals in palliative care and establish traineeships for individuals preparing for advanced education nursing degrees, social work degrees, or advanced degrees in physician assistant studies in palliative care.
 
HHS may provide support to schools of medicine, schools of osteopathic medicine, teaching hospitals, and graduate medical education programs for training physicians who plan to teach palliative medicine.
 
HHS must: (1) provide Palliative Medicine and Hospice Academic Career Awards to individuals to promote their career development; (2) support entities that operate a Palliative Care and Hospice Education Center; (3) support advanced practice nurses, social workers, physician assistants, pharmacists, chaplains, or students of psychology pursuing an advanced degree in palliative care or related fields; and (4) award grants to schools of nursing, health care facilities, or programs leading to certification as a nurse assistant to train individuals in providing palliative care.
 
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality must provide for a national education and awareness campaign to inform patients, families, and health professionals about the benefits of palliative care.
 
The National Institutes of Health must expand national research programs in palliative care.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Introduced in Senate
DELIVER Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-694
Sponsor: Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME]
Introduced: 2017-03-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Aging
Charitable contributions
Disability assistance
Food assistance and relief
Income tax deductions
Motor vehicles
Transportation costs

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: 

Delivering Elderly Lunches and Increasing Volunteer Engagement and Reimbursements Act of 2017 or the DELIVER Act of 2017

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the standard mileage rate for the tax deduction for the charitable use of a passenger automobile to deliver meals to homebound individuals who are elderly, disabled, frail, or at risk. The bill increases the rate from the standard charitable rate of 14 cents per mile to the standard business mileage rate, which is 53.5 cents per mile for 2017. 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to avoid duplicative annual reporting under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and for other purposes.

Bill: 115-s-695
Sponsor: Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA]
Introduced: 2017-03-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Employee benefits and pensions
Income tax deferral
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: 
This bill requires the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Labor to cooperate to modify specified returns required for deferred compensation plans and other employee benefit plans to permit all members of a group of plans to file a single aggregated annual return or report satisfying the requirements of both the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). 
 
The requirement applies to a group in which all of the plans: 
 
 
 are individual account plans or defined contribution plans; 
 
 have the same trustee, the same one or more named fiduciaries, the same administrator, and plan years beginning on the same date; and 
 
 provide the same investments or investment options to participants and beneficiaries. 
 
 
The bill also specifies that, for the purposes of applying the numerical limitations related to the electronic filing of returns for deferred compensation plans, each plan for which information is provided on the return must be treated as a separate return. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Stop Improper Federal Bonuses Act

Bill: 115-s-696
Sponsor: Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE]
Introduced: 2017-03-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Congressional oversight
Employee performance
Executive agency funding and structure
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government studies and investigations
Merit Systems Protection Board

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: 

Stop Improper Federal Bonuses Act 

 
This bill prohibits a federal agency from awarding a bonus to any employee for five years after the end of a fiscal year in which the agency makes an adverse finding relating to the employee. An "adverse finding" is a determination that an employee's conduct violated: (1) a policy of the agency for which the employee may be removed or suspended for at least 14 days, or (2) a law for which the employee may be imprisoned for more than one year.
 
The bill requires an agency to issue an order directing an employee to repay a bonus awarded in any year in which an adverse finding is made. As a condition of receiving a bonus awarded after this bill's enactment, an employee must certify that he or she will repay the bonus in accordance with such an order. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-07-11
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 167.
action_date: 2017-07-11
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Johnson with amendments. With written report No. 115-127.
action_date: 2017-07-11
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Johnson with amendments. With written report No. 115-127.
action_date: 2017-05-17
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment favorably.
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Tax Relief for Guard and Reserve Training Act

Bill: 115-s-697
Sponsor: Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT]
Introduced: 2017-03-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Income tax deductions
National Guard and reserves
Transportation costs

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: 

Tax Relief for Guard and Reserve Training Act 

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax deductions for expenses in connection with the performance of services as a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces, to: (1) reduce from 100 miles to 50 miles (without regard to whether such period includes an overnight stay) the distance from home requirement for the above-the-line deduction; and (2) exempt from the 2% floor on miscellaneous itemized deductions the deductions allowed that consist of expenses paid or incurred in connection with the performance of such services for any period (without regard to whether such period includes an overnight stay) during which the individual is more than 50 miles away from home in connection with the services. 
 
(Above-the-line deductions are subtracted from gross income to arrive at adjusted gross income. Under current law, miscellaneous itemized deductions are only allowed if the aggregate of the deductions exceeds 2% of the taxpayer's adjusted gross income.)


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks: CR S1933-1934; text of measure as introduced: CR S1934)
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Introduced in Senate
National Landslide Preparedness Act

Bill: 115-s-698
Sponsor: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA]
Introduced: 2017-03-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Emergency Management
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Congressional oversight
Department of the Interior
Disaster relief and insurance
Earth sciences
Emergency planning and evacuation
Executive agency funding and structure
Fires
Floods and storm protection
Forests, forestry, trees
Geography and mapping
Government information and archives

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: 

National Landslide Preparedness Act

 
This bill: (1) directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to establish a National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program to identify and understand landslide hazards and risks, reduce losses from landslides, protect communities at risk of landslide hazards, and help improve communication and emergency preparedness; and (2) establishes the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Landslide Hazards to oversee the program. 
 
The USGS shall:
 
 
 develop and publish a national strategy for landslide hazards and risk reduction in the United States;
 
 develop and maintain a publicly accessible national landslide hazard and risk inventory database;
 
disseminate landslide planning and risk reduction materials; 
 
 expand the early warning system for flash floods and debris flow;
 
 establish emergency response procedures for the rapid deployment of federal scientists, equipment, and services to areas impacted by a significant landslide event;
 
support emergency response efforts and improve the safety of emergency responders
 
establish the Advisory Committee on Landslides; and
 
advance the identification, mapping, research, and monitoring of subsidence and groundwater resource accounting.
 
 
The USGS may provide competitive grants to state, local, and tribal governments to research, map, assess, and collect data on landslide hazards. 
 
The National Science Foundation shall ensure that landslide research grants are provided on a competitive basis to advance the goals and priorities of the national strategy. 
 
The USGS shall establish the 3D Elevation Program and the 3D Elevation Federal Interagency Coordinating Committee. The program shall:
 
 
provide 3D elevation data coverage for the United States; 
 
 coordinate and facilitate the collection, dissemination, and use of 3D elevation data among federal agencies and non-federal entities; 
 
 produce standard, publicly accessible 3D elevation data products for the United States; and 
 
 promote the collection, dissemination, and use of 3D elevation data among federal, state, local, and tribal governments, communities, institutions of higher education, and the private sector. 
 
 
The USGS may make grants and enter into cooperative agreements to facilitate the improvement of nationwide coverage of 3D elevation data.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Honor Our Commitment Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-699
Sponsor: Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]
Introduced: 2017-03-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Mental health
Military operations and strategy
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: 

Honor Our Commitment Act of 2017

 
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to furnish mental and behavioral health care to individuals who:
 
 
 served in the active military, naval, or air service for more than 180 days and were deployed in a theater of combat operations, in support of a contingency operation, or or in an area at a time during which hostilities occurred in that area for more than 30 days; 
 
 were discharged or released from such service, by reason of committing a covered offense, under conditions other than honorable but not dishonorable or by court-martial; and either
 
 were diagnosed by a qualified mental health care provider with a mental or behavioral health condition before committing such offense; or 
 
are diagnosed with such a condition after committing such offense but before the expiration of five years after the later of the date of enactment of this bill or the date the individual is discharged or released from service, if a provider certifies such condition may have led to such offense and if the VA determines such individual had such condition at the time of the offense. 
 
 
 The VA: (1) may furnish initial mental health screenings within five years after this bill's enactment or five years after the date of discharge or release from service, at no cost to the individual; and (2) shall notify each eligible individual about eligibility for covered mental and behavioral health care within 180 days of discharge or release from active service.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Introduced in Senate
Women Veterans and Families Health Services Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-700
Sponsor: Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA]
Introduced: 2017-03-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Adoption and foster care
Child care and development
Congressional oversight
Department of Veterans Affairs
Medical research
Mental health
Military medicine
Military personnel and dependents
Sex and reproductive health
Veterans' medical care
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: 

Women Veterans and Families Health Services Act of 2017

 
 This bill directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to furnish fertility treatment and counseling, including through the use of assisted reproductive technology, to a severely wounded, ill, or injured member of the Armed Forces who has an infertility condition incurred or aggravated while serving on active duty (covered member) or to the spouse, partner, or gestational surrogate of such member. 
 
 DOD shall: 
 
 
establish procedures for gamete retrieval from a member of the Armed Forces in cases in which the fertility of such member is potentially jeopardized as a result of an injury or illness incurred or aggravated while serving on active duty; and 
 
give members of the Armed Forces on active duty the opportunity to cryopreserve and store their gametes prior to a combat zone deployment at no cost to the member. 
 
 
 Fertility counseling and treatment are included within authorized Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical services. 
 
 The VA shall furnish such treatment and services to a jointly applying covered veteran and his or her spouse, partner, or gestational surrogate. 
 
The VA may pay the adoption expenses (for up to three adoptions) for a covered member who is enrolled in the VA health care system.
 
 The VA shall facilitate research conducted collaboratively by DOD and the Department of Health and Human Services to improve the VA's ability to meet the reproductive health care needs of veterans who have a service-connected genitourinary disability or a condition that was incurred or aggravated in the line of duty that affects the veterans' reproductive ability. 
 
 The VA shall enhance the capabilities of the VA women veterans contact center to: (1) respond to assistance requests, and (2) refer such veterans to federal or community resources. 
 
 The pilot program of group retreat reintegration and readjustment counseling for women veterans recently separated from service is enlarged and extended.
 
 The bill provides child care assistance to qualified veterans for: (1) mental health care services, and (2) readjustment counseling and related mental health services.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2017-03-22
text: Introduced in Senate