hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
American Opportunity Carbon Fee Act of 2018

Bill: 115-s-2368
Sponsor: Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]
Introduced: 2018-02-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Air quality
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Coal
Corporate finance and management
Disability assistance
Employment and training programs
Government information and archives
Income tax credits
Income tax rates
Manufacturing
Oil and gas
Rural conditions and development
Sales and excise taxes
Social security and elderly assistance
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: 

American Opportunity Carbon Fee Act of 201

8

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose fees on: (1) fossil fuel products producing carbon dioxide emissions, including coal, petroleum products, and natural gas; (2) fluorinated greenhouse gases; (3) emissions of any greenhouse gas from any greenhouse gas emissions source; and (4) associated emissions (attributable to venting, flaring, and leakage across the supply chain). 
 
The bill directs the Department of the Treasury to: 
 
 
 establish, implement, and report on a program to identify all major source categories of associated emissions and collect data on associated emissions from the coal, petroleum products, and natural gas supply chains; 
 
 make specified adjustments to the new fees for importers and exporters of energy-intensive manufactured goods; 
 
 make a specified payment each calendar year to certain Social Security beneficiaries, veterans, and disabled individuals; 
 
 make cost mitigation grants to states to assist low-income and rural households and provide job training and worker transition assistance; and 
 
establish a website to make regular disclosures concerning revenue, tax savings, and benefits attributable to this bill.
 
 
The bill also allows a new carbon fee offset tax credit for the lesser of: 6.2% of earned income, or $800.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Introduced in Senate
Whaling Convention Amendments Act of 2018

Bill: 115-s-2369
Sponsor: Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK]
Introduced: 2018-02-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Animals
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Alaska
Alaska Natives and Hawaiians
Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Department of Commerce
Hunting and fishing
Indian lands and resources rights
Mammals
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries

Summary:
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: 

Whaling Convention Amendments Act of 2018

 
This bill amends the Whaling Convention Act of 1949 to require the Department of Commerce to authorize aboriginal subsistence whaling if the whaling: (1) is for subsistence purposes, including the sale of authentic native articles of handicrafts and clothing; (2) does not include the striking, taking, or killing of calves or a whale accompanied by a calf; and (3) is not accomplished in a wasteful manner. 
 
Commerce must establish catch limits for subsistence whaling by Alaska Natives if: (1) the International Whaling Commission (IWC) fails to establish the limits, and (2) Commerce determines that subsistence whaling is sustainable based on IWC's most recent review of the status of the affected whale.

action_date: 2018-12-11
text: 

Whaling Convention Amendments Act of 2018

 
This bill amends the Whaling Convention Act of 1949 to require the Department of Commerce to authorize aboriginal subsistence whaling if the whaling: (1) is for subsistence purposes, including the sale of authentic native articles of handicrafts and clothing; (2) does not include the striking, taking, or killing of calves or a whale accompanied by a calf; and (3) is not accomplished in a wasteful manner. 
 
Commerce must establish catch limits for subsistence whaling by Alaska Natives if: (1) the International Whaling Commission (IWC) fails to establish the limits, and (2) Commerce determines that subsistence whaling is sustainable based on IWC's most recent review of the status of the affected whale.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-12-11
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 728.
action_date: 2018-12-11
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Thune without amendment. With written report No. 115-425.
action_date: 2018-12-11
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Thune without amendment. With written report No. 115-425.
action_date: 2018-04-25
text: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Introduced in Senate
STRIVE Act

Bill: 115-s-2370
Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2018-02-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Appropriations
Education of the disadvantaged
Elementary and secondary education
Government information and archives
Government lending and loan guarantees
Higher education
Income tax deductions
Licensing and registrations
Minority employment
Preschool education
School administration
Science and engineering education
Student aid and college costs
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Vocational and technical education

Summary:
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: 

Supporting the Teaching Profession through Revitalizing Investments in Valuable Educators Act or the STRIVE Act

 
This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide qualifying teachers with a new, incremental loan-cancellation program. Specifically, with respect to a 12-month period, the Department of Education (ED) must cancel a specified portion of a borrower's qualifying Federal Direct Loan Program loans if the borrower: (1) has made 12 consecutive on-time monthly payments, (2) is employed in a qualifying teaching position at the time of such cancellation, and (3) was employed in a qualifying teaching position during the period in which the borrower made the 12 payments. After a borrower has received such partial loan cancellation for a specified number of years, ED must cancel the borrower's eligible loans in full. 
 
The bill also:
 
 
increases and extends funding for teacher training; 
 
makes changes to the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education grant program, including by increasing annual award amounts and making early childhood teachers eligible for such grants; 
 
requires ED to award grants to states to subsidize teacher certification and licensing fees for low-income individuals who have entered the teaching profession; 
 
expands the teacher quality partnership grant program to include early childhood educators; and 
 
increases the tax deduction for school expenses and extends the deduction to early childhood educators. 



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the definition of municipal solid waste.

Bill: 115-s-2371
Sponsor: Sen. Stabenow, Debbie [D-MI]
Introduced: 2018-02-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Alternative and renewable resources
Electric power generation and transmission
Income tax credits
Solid waste and recycling

Summary:
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable resources, to modify the definition of &quot;municipal solid waste.&quot; 
 
The bill specifies that municipal solid waste does not include solid waste collected as part of a system which commingles commonly recycled paper with other solid waste which is not commonly recycled at any point from the time of collection through any materials recovery. The bill includes exceptions for incidental and residual waste.
 
In the case of a facility that produces electricity both from municipal solid waste and other solid waste that is not a qualified energy resource: (1) the facility is a qualified facility if it otherwise meets the requirements for qualified facilities, and (2) the credit only applies to the portion of the electricity produced from municipal solid waste.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the credit for production of refined coal.

Bill: 115-s-2373
Sponsor: Sen. Hoeven, John [R-ND]
Introduced: 2018-02-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Air quality
Coal
Electric power generation and transmission
Income tax credits

Summary:
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax credit for the production of refined coal. With respect to refined coal production facilities that do not produce steel industry fuel, the bill: (1) allows facilities that were placed in service before January 1, 2012, to claim the credit for an additional 10 years, and (2) establishes an additional 3-year period (after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2021), during which facilities may qualify for the credit by being placed in service. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Introduced in Senate
Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act

Bill: 115-s-2374
Sponsor: Sen. Carper, Thomas R. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2018-02-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Social Welfare
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Congressional oversight
Debt collection
Government information and archives
Health information and medical records
Intergovernmental relations
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Social security and elderly assistance
State and local government operations
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers

Summary:
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: 

Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act 

 
This bill requires the Social Security Administration (SSA) to pay to states their reasonable costs for compiling and sharing records of deaths with the SSA. Under current law, the SSA is not required to pay the states but may choose to do so.
 
The SSA may share the death data with federal and state agencies for various purposes. Such purposes include ensuring proper payments of benefits and tax administration duties.
 
The Office of Management and Budget shall develop a plan to help federal and state agencies and Indian tribes use the death data. 

action_date: 2018-11-13
text: 

Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act 

 
This bill requires the Social Security Administration (SSA) to pay to states their reasonable costs for compiling and sharing records of deaths with the SSA. Under current law, the SSA is not required to pay the states but may choose to do so.
 
The SSA may share the death data with federal and state agencies for various purposes. Such purposes include ensuring proper payments of benefits and tax administration duties.
 
The Office of Management and Budget, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of the Treasury shall develop plans to help federal and state agencies and Indian tribes use the death data. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-11-13
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 639.
action_date: 2018-11-13
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. 115-352.
action_date: 2018-11-13
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. 115-352.
action_date: 2018-06-13
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Introduced in Senate
Equifax Consumer Protection and Data Empowerment Act of 2018

Bill: 115-s-2375
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2018-02-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consumer affairs
Consumer credit
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government information and archives
Military personnel and dependents

Summary:
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: 

Equifax Consumer Protection and Data Empowerment Act of 2018

 
This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to revise the consumer protection duties of consumer reporting agencies.
 
Credit reporting agencies must provide a cost-free method for consumers to control the release of their information for certain purposes. 
 
The bill limits the purposes for which a consumer reporting agencies may provide a consumer's information to a third party. For example, consumer reporting agencies may not provide consumer information to a third party for a credit or insurance transaction not initiated by the consumer.
 
The bill revises the requirements for fraud alerts provided by consumer reporting agencies, including by extending the length of all alerts to 10 years and expanding access to free reports. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 515 Hope Street in Bristol, Rhode Island, as the "First Sergeant P. Andrew McKenna Jr. Post Office".

Bill: 115-s-2376
Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced: 2018-02-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Congressional tributes
Government buildings, facilities, and property
Military personnel and dependents
Postal service
Rhode Island

Summary:
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 515 Hope Street in Bristol, Rhode Island, as the "First Sergeant P. Andrew McKenna Jr. Post Office."

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2018-02-05
text: Introduced in Senate
Access Business Credit Act of 2018

Bill: 115-s-2378
Sponsor: Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD]
Introduced: 2018-02-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Agricultural prices, subsidies, credit
Business investment and capital
Income tax exclusion
Interest, dividends, interest rates
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2018-02-06
text: 

Access Business Credit Act of 2018

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of certain banks interest received on small business loans of up to $5 million. 
 
The bill applies to loans that are: (1) secured by land situated in the United States that is used or held by the small business in connection with the active conduct of a farming business, or (2) incurred in the ordinary course of the trade or business of the small business. 
 
To be eligible for the exclusion, the bank must have less than $50 billion in assets at the closing of the preceding taxable year. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-02-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2018-02-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Military Spouse Employment Act of 2018

Bill: 115-s-2379
Sponsor: Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA]
Introduced: 2018-02-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
action_date: 2018-02-06
text: 

Military Spouse Employment Act of 2018

 
 This bill expands authorities, programs, services, and benefits for military spouses and their families. Specifically, the bill: 
 
 
expands the authority for noncompetitive appointments of military spouses by federal agencies to include spouses of active duty military personnel or disabled or deceased personnel,
 
 requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to ensure that military spouses are aware of the My Career Advancement Account program and their eligibility to participate in it, 
 
facilitates child care services for military families, 
 
expands the period of availability of the Military OneSource Program for retired and discharged members of the Armed Forces and their immediate families, and 
 
provides transition assistance for military spouses.
 
 
 DOD must report to Congress on: 
 
 
methods to increase its participation in defense contracts that provide employment for military spouses; 
 
public-private partnerships to support and enhance the health, safety, welfare, and morale of military families; 
 
small businesses activities of military spouses on military installations; and 
 
an assessment of the effects of frequent changes of duty stations on employment stability of military spouses.



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-02-14
text: Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel. Hearings held.
action_date: 2018-02-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1247-1248)
action_date: 2018-02-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act

Bill: 115-s-2380
Sponsor: Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV]
Introduced: 2018-02-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Detention of persons
Drug trafficking and controlled substances
Evidence and witnesses
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Human trafficking
Immigration status and procedures
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Organized crime
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2018-02-06
text: 

Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act

 
This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make an alien: (1) inadmissible if a consular officer, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), or the Department of Justice (DOJ) knows or has reason to believe that such person is or has been a member of a criminal gang or has participated in criminal gang activities; and (2) deportable if such person is or has been a member of a criminal gang or has participated in criminal gang activities. 
 
A &quot;criminal gang&quot; is defined as an ongoing group, club, organization, or association of five or more persons (group): (1) one of the primary purposes of which is the commission of one or more specified criminal offenses and the members of which engage, or have engaged within the past five years, in a continuing series of such offenses; or (2) that has been designated as a criminal gang by DHS.
 
DHS may: (1) designate a group as a criminal gang based upon its conduct, and (2) revoke a designation for national security interests or if the group no longer conducts such criminal activities. Such designation shall be effective until revoked or judicially set aside. Congress may block or revoke a designation. 
 
A group may file a petition for revocation: (1) prior to designation, with DHS, and (2) after designation, with the U.S. Court of Appeals, DC Circuit. 
 
The bill: (1) provides for mandatory detention of alien gang members; and (2) makes alien gang members ineligible for asylum, temporary protected status, special immigrant juvenile status, and parole (unless such an alien is assisting the United States in a law enforcement matter).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-02-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2018-02-06
text: Introduced in Senate
Streamlining and Investing in Broadband Infrastructure Act

Bill: 115-s-2381
Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
Introduced: 2018-02-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
action_date: 2018-02-06
text: 

Streamlining and Investing in Broadband Infrastructure Act

 
This bill requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to issue best practices relating to broadband infrastructure and installation for state broadband coordination offices, with an emphasis on rural areas. 
 
The Department of Transportation (DOT) must require states to install broadband conduits, which support broadband or wireless facilities for broadband service, in certain highway construction projects. DOT must ensure that: (1) standards are established that apply to all areas, including rural and remote areas with low population density; and (2) any requesting broadband provider has access to such installed conduits on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis, for a charge not to exceed a cost-based rate.
 
The bill amends the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 to require federal agencies and other entities to grant real property interests necessary for the installation, construction, or modification of a communications facility installation, as defined by this bill.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-02-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2018-02-06
text: Introduced in Senate
SEA Act

Bill: 115-s-2382
Sponsor: Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC]
Introduced: 2018-02-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
action_date: 2018-02-06
text: 

Department of Veterans Affairs Senior Executive Accountability Act of 2018 or the SEA Act

 
This bill prohibits an individual employed in a senior executive position at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from being reassigned to another such position unless such reassignment is approved in writing and signed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 
 
The VA shall report to Congress on such reassignments biannually. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-02-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2018-02-06
text: Introduced in Senate