hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Restore Honor to Service Members Act

Bill: 115-s-1366
Sponsor: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI]
Introduced: 2017-06-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Department of Defense
Evidence and witnesses
Government information and archives
Military history
Military personnel and dependents
Personnel records
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination

Summary:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: 

Restore Honor to Service Members Act

 
This bill requires appropriate military record correction boards or discharge review boards to review the discharge characterization of any former members of the Armed Forces requesting a review who were discharged because of their sexual orientation. Such boards to change a characterization to honorable if such characterization is any characterization except honorable.
 
The Department of Defense (DOD) shall ensure that any such changes are carried out consistently and uniformly across the military departments using specified criteria, including that: (1) the original discharge was based on the policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell (as in effect before it was repealed pursuant to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010) or a similar earlier policy; and (2) the discharge characterization will be changed if, with respect to the original discharge, there were no aggravating circumstances that would have independently led to any discharge characterization except honorable.
 
The bill prohibits "aggravating circumstances" from including: (1) an offense of sodomy committed by the member against a consenting person of the same sex; or (2) statements, consensual sexual conduct, or consensual acts relating to sexual orientation or identity, or the disclosure of such statements, conduct, or acts, that were prohibited at the time of discharge but that became permitted after such discharge.
 
Each military department shall ensure that oral historians of the department: (1) review discharges between World War II and September 2011 based on sexual orientation, and (2) receive oral testimony of individuals who personally experienced discrimination and discharge because of actual or perceived sexual orientation so that such testimony may serve as an official record of such discriminatory policies and their impact on American lives.
 
Specified military personnel records and discharge forms must be reissued in a manner that shall not reflect the sexual orientation of the member. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to conduct a study and issue a report that quantifies the energy savings benefits of operational efficiency programs and services for commercial, institutional, industrial, and governmental entities.

Bill: 115-s-1367
Sponsor: Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA]
Introduced: 2017-06-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Computers and information technology
Energy efficiency and conservation
Government buildings, facilities, and property
Government studies and investigations
Industrial facilities

Summary:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: 
This bill requires the Department of Energy to study and issue a report that quantifies the energy savings benefits of operational efficiency programs and services for commercial, institutional, industrial, and governmental entities, including federal agencies. Those programs and services use information and communications technologies to operate buildings and equipment in the optimum manner at the optimum times.
 
The report must recommend methodologies or protocols for utilities, utility regulators, and federal agencies to evaluate, measure, and verify energy savings from operational efficiency programs and services.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Sustainable, Affordable, Fair, and Efficient (SAFE) National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1368
Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2017-06-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Advisory bodies
Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Department of Homeland Security
Disaster relief and insurance
Emergency planning and evacuation
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Floods and storm protection
Geography and mapping
Government information and archives
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government studies and investigations
Government trust funds
Insurance industry and regulation
Interest, dividends, interest rates
Intergovernmental relations
Judicial review and appeals
Land use and conservation
Legal fees and court costs
Public contracts and procurement
Real estate business
Residential rehabilitation and home repair
Roads and highways
Rural conditions and development
Small towns
State and local government operations
Urban and suburban affairs and development
User charges and fees

Summary:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: 

Sustainable, Affordable, Fair, and Efficient (SAFE) National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2017 

 
This bill amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to extend through FY2023 the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). 
 
NFIP policy coverage limits for residential and nonresidential buildings are increased.
 
NFIP premiums, surcharges, and fees may not be increased by more than 10% each year.
 
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must provide: (1) loans for mitigation projects, and (2) other financial assistance to qualified households for NFIP premium payments and mitigation projects.
 
The limitation on Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) coverage (offered by NFIP to cover the cost of flood mitigation measures on certain structures) is increased to $100,000 and ICC eligibility is expanded.
 
This bill prevents the Department of the Treasury from charging interest to FEMA on amounts borrowed for NFIP through FY2023.
 
This bill directs FEMA to revise: (1) directives related to the Write Your Own program, (2) specified elements of the claims process, (3) the appeals process for claims and flood map determinations, and (4) certain flood risk zones.
 
FEMA must study business interruption coverage and participation rates in specified flood zones.
 
This bill also makes changes to: (1) FEMA's mitigation assistance programs, (2) the usage and collection of specified surcharges and fees, (3) the scope of coverage available under NFIP, (4) requirements of NFIP engineers and adjusters, and (5) regulations relating to the disclosure of flood risks on rental property.
 This bill amends the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 to reauthorize through FY2023 the National Flood Mapping Program.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Stop Price Gouging Act

Bill: 115-s-1369
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2017-06-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Business records
Congressional oversight
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health care costs and insurance
Inflation and prices
Prescription drugs
Sales and excise taxes

Summary:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: 

Stop Price Gouging Act 

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on pharmaceutical companies that sell prescription drugs that are subject to price spikes that exceed the annual percentage increase in the medical care consumer price index detailed expenditure category for all urban consumers (U.S. city average). 
 
For each taxable prescription drug, the excise tax ranges from 50% to 100% of price spike revenue received by the company, depending on the size of the price spike and including an adjustment for revenue that is due solely to an increase in the cost of the inputs necessary to manufacture the drug. 
 
Pharmaceutical companies must submit specified data regarding drug prices and revenue to the Inspector General (IG) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the IG must submit an assessment of the data to the Internal Revenue Service.
 
HHS, upon the recommendation of the IG, may exempt certain drugs from the excise tax if: (1) a for-cause price increase exemption should apply, or (2) the drug has an average manufacturer price of not greater than $10 for a 30-day supply and is marketed by at least 3 other holders of applications approved under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. 
 
The Government Accountability Office must examine: (1) how drug manufacturers and health plans establish initial launch prices for newly approved drugs, and (2) alternative methods that have been proposed for setting the price of new drugs. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Mental Health in Schools Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1370
Sponsor: Sen. Franken, Al [D-MN]
Introduced: 2017-06-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Child health
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Mental health
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: 

Mental Health in Schools Act of 2017

 
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to revise a community children and violence program to assist local communities and schools in applying a public health approach to mental health services, including by: (1) revising eligibility requirements for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement; and (2) providing for comprehensive school mental health programs that are culturally and linguistically appropriate, trauma-informed, and age appropriate. A comprehensive school mental health program funded under this bill must assist children in dealing with trauma and violence. The bill makes only certain partnerships that include a state educational agency and one or more educational agencies, with a local agency serving as lead partner, eligible for funding. They include public or private entities that use evidence-based intervention.
 
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shall develop a fiscally appropriate process for evaluating grant program activities, including the development of: (1) guidelines for the submission of program data by recipients; and (2) outcome measures to be applied by recipients in evaluating programs, including student and family measures and local educational measures.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1371
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2017-06-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Family relationships
Financial services and investments
Income tax credits
Inflation and prices
Marriage and family status
Poverty and welfare assistance
Tax treatment of families
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: 

Working Families Tax Relief Act of 201

7
 
 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the earned income tax credit, to: (1) increase the credit and reduce the phaseout percentage for taxpayers with no qualifying children, (2) reduce from 25 to 21 the qualifying age for individuals with no children, (3) revise eligibility rules relating to married individuals living apart and qualifying children claimed by another family member, and (4) repeal the denial of such credit for taxpayers with excess investment income.
 
This bill modifies the child tax credit to: (1) increase the amount of the credit and the portion of the credit that is refundable for taxpayers with children under the age of six, and (2) require the dollar amounts of the credit to be adjusted for inflation after 2017.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Limiting LEAD in Children's Foods Act

Bill: 115-s-1372
Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2017-06-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Child health
Congressional oversight
Department of Health and Human Services
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Food supply, safety, and labeling
Fruit and vegetables
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: 

Limiting Lead Exposure & Advancing Detection in Children's Foods Act or the Limiting LEAD in Children's Foods Act

 
This bill requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to establish: (1) a maximum level of lead permitted in fruit juices that is not greater than the maximum level of lead permitted in bottled water, and (2) a recommended maximum daily level of lead exposure from food. These levels must be based on the cumulative health risks of lead exposure.
 The FDA must report on lead in foods frequently consumed by infants and children, including levels of lead in different foods, sources of lead in food, and the FDA's actions and plans regarding reducing lead in foods and detecting lead. The FDA must make recommendations on reducing the amount of lead in foods.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Gulf States Protection and Restoration Coordination Act

Bill: 115-s-1373
Sponsor: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS]
Introduced: 2017-06-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Alabama
Aquatic ecology
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Florida
Gulf of Mexico
Intergovernmental relations
International organizations and cooperation
Latin America
Louisiana
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Marine pollution
Mexico
Mississippi
Solid waste and recycling
State and local government operations
Texas
Water quality
Watersheds

Summary:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: 

Gulf States Protection and Restoration Coordination Act

 
This bill designates the Gulf of Mexico Alliance as a regional coordination partnership of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The regional coordination will strengthen collaboration efforts among federal, state, local, and private participants in the five Gulf states (Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) to restore and protect the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem.
 
The alliance may provide grants to carry out this bill, including to research the effects of natural and human-induced environmental changes on the water quality and living resources of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Introduced in Senate
CARERS Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1374
Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2017-06-15 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: 2017-06-15
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: 2017-06-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S3556-3557)
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Save Oak Flat Act

Bill: 115-s-1375
Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]
Introduced: 2017-06-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Arizona
Land transfers
Mining

Summary:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: 

Save Oak Flat Act

 
This bill repeals the provisions under the Carl Levin and Howard P. &quot;Buck&quot; McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 providing for a land exchange between the Department of Agriculture and Resolution Copper Mining, LLC. Under the provisions of that Act, 2,422 acres of Forest Service land located in Pinal County, Arizona, are to be exchanged for various parcels of land owned by Resolution Copper. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Introduced in Senate
No Hearing, No Vote Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1376
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2017-06-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Economics and Public Finance
Subjects: Budget process
Legislative rules and procedure
Senate

Summary:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: 

No Hearing, No Vote Act of 2017 

 
This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to prohibit the Senate from considering any reconciliation bill or reconciliation resolution, unless:
 
 
 the legislation is either ordered reported to the Senate by the committee receiving reconciliation instructions or reported by the Senate Budget Committee after receiving recommendations from multiple committees receiving instructions, and 
 
each committee that ordered the legislation to be reported or ordered recommendations to be reported to the Senate Budget Committee held at least one hearing regarding any major provision of the legislation that is within the jurisdiction of the committee
 
 
An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Senators, duly chosen and sworn, is required to either: (1) waive or suspend the requirements of this bill, or (2) sustain an appeal of the ruling of the chair on a point of order raised, with respect to the requirements. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Budget.
action_date: 2017-06-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Reaching Underserved Rural Areas to Lead on Telehealth Act

Bill: 115-s-1377
Sponsor: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS]
Introduced: 2017-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Health care coverage and access
Health facilities and institutions
Health technology, devices, supplies
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Rural conditions and development
Telecommunication rates and fees

Summary:
action_date: 2017-06-19
text: 

Reaching Underserved Rural Areas to Lead on Telehealth Act

 
This bill directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to remove regulatory limitations on the reimbursement amounts that certain large non-rural hospitals may receive for universal service support from the Healthcare Connect Fund, which provides support for high-capacity broadband connectivity to eligible health care providers.
 
The FCC must allow an eligible non-rural health care provider to receive universal service support if: (1) the majority of locations it serves are in rural areas, and (2) the provider serves as a consortium leader of a group of health care provider sites that request support through a single application. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2017-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Caregiver Program Information Improvement Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1378
Sponsor: Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD]
Introduced: 2017-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Government information and archives
Military personnel and dependents
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2017-06-19
text: 

Caregiver Program Information Improvement Act of 2017

 
This bill requires pre-separation counseling for members of the Armed Forces to include a description of Department of Veterans Affairs family caregiver assistance and support services, including information about covered veterans, eligible caregivers, and program assistance and support.
 
 Each military department shall take actions: (1) to determine whether each member of the Armed Forces who is undergoing pre-separation counseling and may require caregiver services has identified a caregiver; and (2) at the member's election, to permit such caregiver to participate in pre-separation counseling sessions in order to be informed of assistance and support services available to caregivers and the manner in which the member's transition to civilian life may affect the caregiver. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2017-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Graduate Student Savings Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1379
Sponsor: Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA]
Introduced: 2017-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Employee benefits and pensions
Higher education
Income tax deductions
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2017-06-19
text: 

Graduate Student Savings Act of 201

7

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow funds paid to an individual to aid in the pursuit of graduate or postdoctoral study or research to be saved in an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). The bill permits the funds to be considered compensation for purposes of current law provisions that limit annual deductible IRA contributions to the lesser of: (1) the deductible amount permitted under current law, or (2) the compensation includible in the individual's gross income for the year. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2017-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate