hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Maritime Washington National Heritage Area Act

Bill: 115-s-627
Sponsor: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA]
Introduced: 2017-03-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Historic sites and heritage areas
Historical and cultural resources
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Washington State

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-14
text: 

Maritime Washington National Heritage Area Act

 
This bill establishes the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area in the state of Washington. 
 
The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation shall be the local coordinating entity for the area and shall prepare and submit a management plan for it. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2017-03-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Educating Tomorrow's Workforce Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-628
Sponsor: Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA]
Introduced: 2017-03-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Employment and training programs
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Vocational and technical education

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-14
text: 

Educating Tomorrow's Workforce Act of 2017

 
 This bill amends the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 to revise the requirements for the plan of a state seeking federal assistance for career and technical education programs. The state plan must describe how the eligible state agency will ensure the quality of any program of study culminating in an industry-recognized certificate, credential, or license.
 
State agency leadership activities must support career academies which:
 
 
implement a college and career ready curriculum at the secondary education level integrating rigorous academic, technical, and employability contents;
 
include experiential or work-based learning for secondary school students, in collaboration with local and regional employers;
 
include opportunities for secondary school students to earn postsecondary credit while in secondary school; and
 
establish and maintain ongoing partnerships between the local educational agency, business and industry, and institutions of higher education, or postsecondary vocational institutions, including local government.
 
 
Local plans for career and technical education programs must describe: (1) how the eligible recipient of assistance will assess local needs related to career and technical education as part of the local plan development process, and (2) how this needs assessment will be updated annually, especially on progress toward specific elements leading to high-quality implementation of career and technical education programs of study. 
 
The bill authorizes the local use of funds for improving such programs to support career academies.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1806-1807)
action_date: 2017-03-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Preventing Antibiotic Resistance Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-629
Sponsor: Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA]
Introduced: 2017-03-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
Food supply, safety, and labeling
Health information and medical records
Health personnel
Health promotion and preventive care
Livestock
Meat
Veterinary medicine and animal diseases

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-14
text: 

Preventing Antibiotic Resistance Act of 2017

 
This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to refuse a new animal drug application if the drug is a medically important antimicrobial used to treat humans and the applicant fails to demonstrate that the drug meets specified criteria for use in animals, including that: (1) the drug is effective, (2) the drug is targeted to animals at risk of developing a specific bacterial disease, (3) the drug has a defined duration of therapy, and (4) there is not a reasonable probability of risk to public health from microbial resistance to the drug.
 
The FDA must review the approvals of certain medically important antimicrobials approved for use in food-producing animals. Sponsors of these drugs must submit evidence to the FDA that demonstrates that their drug meets the criteria described above for approved indications. The FDA must withdraw approval for any indication for which there is insufficient evidence that the drug meets the criteria.
 This bill declares that a veterinarian-client-patient relationship should ensure that medically important antimicrobials are used in food-producing animals in a manner consistent with best practices.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2017-03-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Keeping Our Promise to Our Afghan Allies Act

Bill: 115-s-630
Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Introduced: 2017-03-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Afghanistan
Asia
Conflicts and wars
Foreign labor
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: 

Keeping Our Promise to Our Afghan Allies Act

 
This bill amends the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 to increase from 8,500 to 11,000 the total number of visas available for the Afghan special immigrant visa program. 
 
Such program is for Afghan translators who worked with the U.S. government or Armed Forces.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1842-1843)
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-632
Sponsor: Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2017-03-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Law
Subjects: Bankruptcy
Caribbean area
Delaware
Federal district courts
Florida
Judges
Maryland
Michigan
Nevada
North Carolina
Puerto Rico
Specialized courts
Tennessee
U.S. territories and protectorates
Virginia

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: 

Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of
 
2017

 
This bill amends the federal judicial code to:
 
 
convert certain temporary bankruptcy judges to permanent bankruptcy judges and authorize the appointment of additional bankruptcy judges in Delaware and Michigan; 
 
convert temporary bankruptcy judges to permanent bankruptcy judges in specified judicial districts in Florida, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, and Virginia; and 
 
authorize the appointment of additional bankruptcy judges in the middle district of Florida. 



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-633
Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
Introduced: 2017-03-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Congress
Subjects: Architect of the Capitol
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Congressional agencies
Congressional officers and employees
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Library of Congress

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: 

Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017

 
This bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to extend specified whistle-blower protections to employees of congressional offices and committees, the Office of Congressional Accessibility Services, the Capitol Police, the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, the Office of the Attending Physician, the Office of Compliance, the Government Accountability Office, and the Library of Congress.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Introduced in Senate
REG Act

Bill: 115-s-634
Sponsor: Sen. Gardner, Cory [R-CO]
Introduced: 2017-03-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Advanced technology and technological innovations
Budget deficits and national debt
Business investment and capital
Competition and antitrust
Competitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficits
Congressional oversight
Economic performance and conditions
Industrial policy and productivity
Inflation and prices
Legislative rules and procedure
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: 

Reducing Excessive Government Act of 2017 or the REG Act

 
This bill requires Congress, within 60 days after the debt limit is increased or suspended, to enact legislation eliminating rules that results in a reduction of the direct cost of federal regulation during a specified 10-fiscal-year period by at least 15% of the amount of such increase.
 
If the debt limit is increased or suspended, each agency shall submit to the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) a report identifying each major rule of the agency. The GAO shall subsequently submit a report evaluating whether agencies appropriately identified major rules.
 
A &quot;major rule&quot; is defined as a rule that has or is likely to result in: (1) an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, government agencies, or geographic regions; or (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, or innovation or on the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises in domestic and export markets.
 
Each House and Senate committee shall submit to the budget committee of its chamber a list of the major rules within the committee's jurisdiction that it recommends should be repealed. Each committee shall consider:
 
 
 whether the rule has been ineffective in achieving its purpose, 
 
 adverse effects that could materialize if the rule is repealed,
 
 whether the costs of the rule outweigh its benefits, and 
 
 whether the rule has become obsolete or overlaps with another rule. 
 
 
The budget committees shall report a joint resolution carrying out all such recommendations without substantive revision. The bill provides for the expedited consideration of such a joint resolution. A repealed rule may not be reissued in substantially the same form.
 
If the Office of Management and Budget determines that legislation has not been enacted under this bill by the prescribed deadline, the public debt limit shall be equal to the sum of the face amount of obligations issued by the United States and the face amount of obligations whose principal and interest are guaranteed by the United States (except guaranteed obligations held by Treasury) outstanding on the date of the determination.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Jury ACCESS Act

Bill: 115-s-635
Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Introduced: 2017-03-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Law
Subjects: Federal district courts
Judicial procedure and administration
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
Specialized courts

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: 

Jury Access for Capable Citizens and Equality in Service Selection Act of 2017 or the Jury ACCESS Act

 
This bill amends the federal judicial code to prohibit the exclusion of citizens from service as a grand or petit juror in U.S. district courts or the Court of International Trade on account of sexual orientation or gender identity (thereby expanding the current prohibition against exclusion on account of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or economic status).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Healthy Families Act

Bill: 115-s-636
Sponsor: Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA]
Introduced: 2017-03-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Assault and harassment offenses
Civil actions and liability
Congressional agencies
Congressional officers and employees
Congressional oversight
Domestic violence and child abuse
Employee leave
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Government liability
Government studies and investigations
Library of Congress
Marriage and family status
Merit Systems Protection Board
Sex offenses
Small business
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: 

Healthy Families Act

 
 This bill requires certain employers, who employ 15 or more employees for each working day during 20 or more workweeks a year, to permit each employee to earn at least 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. 
 
 The bill authorizes small employers with fewer than 15 employees to provide the same paid sick time, but allows them to opt out. Any small employer that opts out shall provide at least 56 hours of unpaid sick time to each employee per calendar year.
 
The bill declares that an employer shall not be required to permit an employee to earn more than 56 hours of paid sick time in a calendar year, unless the employer chooses to set a higher limit.
 
 Employees may use such time to: (1) meet their own medical needs; (2) care for the medical needs of certain family members (including a domestic partner or the domestic partner's parent or child); or (3) seek medical attention, assist a related person, take legal action, or engage in other specified activities relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
 
The bill prohibits an employer from interfering with an employee's exercise of such rights.
 
 The Commissioner of Labor Statistics must compile information annually on paid sick time and the Comptroller General shall study related matters.
 
The bill declares that nothing in this bill shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies.
 
The Department of Labor shall exercise certain investigative and enforcement authority for employees covered by this bill, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, or the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. The same authority is granted to the Library of Congress, the Government Accountability Office, the Office of Compliance, and the Merit Systems Protection Board for employees under their jurisdictions.
 
The bill authorizes civil actions by employees, individuals, or their representatives for damages or equitable relief against employers who violate this bill. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Creating Transparency to Have Drug Rebates Unlocked (C-THRU) Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-637
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2017-03-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Government information and archives
Health care costs and insurance
Inflation and prices
Medicare
Prescription drugs

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: 

Creating Transparency to Have Drug Rebates Unlocked (C-THRU) Act of 2017 

 
This bill amends title XI (General Provisions) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to require the public disclosure of certain information provided to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) that contracts with: (1) a prescription drug plan (PDP) under Medicare or Medicare Advantage (MA), or (2) a qualified health benefits plan offered through an exchange established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Specifically, HHS must publish on its website, with respect to each PBM, information regarding: (1) the amount and type of rebates and discounts negotiated by the PBM and the extent to which these rebates and discounts are passed on to the plan sponsor, and (2) the difference between the amount paid by the plan sponsor to the PBM and the amount paid by the PBM to pharmacies.
 
As a condition of participation as a contractor under Medicare or MA, a PBM must pass on to a PDP sponsor a minimum percentage, as established by HHS, of the amount of rebates and discounts negotiated by the PBM that are attributable to patient utilization under the plan.
 
The bill also amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the SSAct to modify requirements regarding enrollees' access to negotiated drug prices. Current law requires a PDP sponsor to provide enrollees in Medicare or MA with access to negotiated drug prices that account for rebates and discounts. The bill requires that, with respect to a covered drug, a negotiated price (or, if necessary, an approximate negotiated price) be provided at the point of sale.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Promoting More American Manufacturing Jobs Act

Bill: 115-s-638
Sponsor: Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH]
Introduced: 2017-03-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Computers and information technology
Contracts and agency
Department of the Treasury
Income tax deductions
Manufacturing
Sound recording
Television and film

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: 

Promoting More American Manufacturing Jobs Act

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to specify rules for applying the deduction for income from domestic production activities to contract manufacturing or production arrangements. 
 
In a contract manufacturing or production arrangement, a person contracts with one or more unrelated persons for the manufacture, production, growth, or extraction of an item of qualifying production property (tangible personal property, computer software, and sound recordings) or film. The qualifying production property must be manufactured, produced, grown, or extracted in whole or significant part within the United States.
 
In an arrangement in which any person makes a substantial contribution through the activities of its employees within the United States to the manufacture, production, growth, or extraction of qualifying production property: (1) the person shall be treated as engaging in the activity, and (2) the domestic production gross receipts of the person shall include the gross receipts received under the arrangement for the activities.
 
The Internal Revenue Service must prescribe regulations that include specified factors for determining a substantial contribution. 
 
A person with an economic risk of loss of more than 50% of the direct material costs necessary to the manufacture, production, growth, or extraction of the qualifying production is deemed to make a substantial contribution. 
 
The parties to an arrangement may agree in writing to: (1) make only one person eligible for the deduction, or (2) apply the rules retroactively to tax years in which only one person claimed the deduction.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Introduced in Senate
HOME Act

Bill: 115-s-639
Sponsor: Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH]
Introduced: 2017-03-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Housing and Community Development
Subjects: Charitable contributions
Housing finance and home ownership
Real estate business
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: 

Housing Opportunities Made Easier Act or the HOME Act

 
This bill amends the Truth in Lending Act to deem mortgage appraisal services donated by a fee appraiser to an organization that is eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions to be customary and reasonable. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Introduced in Senate
American Cures Act

Bill: 115-s-640
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2017-03-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Appropriations
Budget process
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Defense spending
Department of Defense
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Veterans Affairs
Disability and paralysis
Executive agency funding and structure
Medical research
Military medicine
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Research administration and funding
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: 

American Cures Act 

 
This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to require certain adjustments to discretionary spending limits in FY2017-FY2021 to accommodate increases in appropriations for agencies that perform biomedical research. Adjustments are required for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense health program, and the Department of Veterans Affairs medical and prosthetics research program. 
 
The bill also requires annual appropriations for each of the programs and agencies referenced in this bill to be at least the amount appropriated for FY2016. 
 
The bill exempts appropriations provided pursuant to this bill from sequestration. Sequestration is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget. (text of measure as introduced: CR S1843-1844)
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Introduced in Senate
American Innovation Act

Bill: 115-s-641
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2017-03-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Appropriations
Budget deficits and national debt
Defense spending
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Energy
Energy research
Executive agency funding and structure
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Science Foundation
Research administration and funding

Summary:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: 

American Innovation Act 

 
This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to require certain adjustments to discretionary spending limits in FY2017-FY2021 to accommodate increases in appropriations for agencies that perform basic science research. 
 
Adjustments are required for the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy Office of Science, Department of Defense science and technology programs, National Institute of Standards and Technology Scientific and Technical Research and Services, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate. 
 
The bill also requires annual appropriations for each of the programs and agencies referenced in this bill to be at least the amount appropriated in FY2016. 
 
The bill exempts appropriations provided pursuant to this bill from sequestration. Sequestration is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget. (text of measure as introduced: CR S1844-1845)
action_date: 2017-03-15
text: Introduced in Senate