hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Code Like a Girl Act

Bill: 115-s-1968
Sponsor: Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]
Introduced: 2017-10-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Computers and information technology
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Government information and archives
Higher education
Research administration and funding
Science and engineering education
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Women's education

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: 

Code Like a Girl Act

 
This bill directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to award competitive grants to institutions of higher education, local educational agencies, or nonprofit organizations to accelerate research efforts to increase understanding of the factors that contribute to the willingness or unwillingness of girls under the age of 11 to participate in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including computer science) activities. 
 
The NSF shall also award competitive grants to such institutions and organizations to enter into partnerships with local educational agencies to develop and evaluate interventions in pre-K and elementary school classrooms that seek to increase participation by such girls in computer science activities. The NSF must: (1) ensure that the materials developed under a program that are demonstrated as being effective in achieving grant goals are made available free of charge to the public on an Internet website, (2) convene an annual meeting of participating partnerships to foster greater national collaboration, and (3) furnish such partnerships with technical assistance in meeting grant program requirements. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Introduced in Senate
SOAR Act

Bill: 115-s-1969
Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2017-10-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Business education
Business investment and capital
Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Disability and paralysis
Government information and archives
Indian social and development programs
Minority and disadvantaged businesses
Small business
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Women in business

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: 

Startup Opportunity Accelerator Act of 2017 or the SOAR Act

 
This bill amends the Small Business Act to require the Small Business Administration to develop and begin implementing a program to award cash prizes or grants of up to $50,000 to an organization to support new small businesses operating for five years or less. These awards may be used for construction costs, space acquisition, and programmatic purposes, but may not be used to provide capital or professional services to such businesses directly or through the subaward of funds.
 
 The organization must be located in the United States, with a primary purpose to support new small businesses and be often classified as an accelerator. The term &quot;accelerator&quot; means an organization that (1) frequently provides, but is not exclusively designed to provide, seed investment in exchange for a small amount of equity; (2) works with a startup for a predetermined amount of time; (3) provides mentorship and instruction to scale businesses; or (4) offers startup capital or the opportunity to raise capital from outside investors.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Medicare-X Choice Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1970
Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO]
Introduced: 2017-10-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Inflation and prices
Medicaid
Medicare
Prescription drugs
Public contracts and procurement

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: 

Medicare-X Choice Act of 2017

 
This bill amends the Social Security Act to create the Medicare Exchange health plan, which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must offer in certain individual health insurance exchanges in 2020 and offer in all individual health insurance exchanges by 2023. Any individual who is a resident of a state where the plan is offered and who is not eligible for Medicare benefits may enroll in the plan. CMS must offer the plan in the small group market in all areas for 2024.
 
The plan must meet the same requirements, including essential health benefits, as health insurance exchange plans under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
 
Health care providers enrolled under Medicare or under a state Medicaid plan shall also be participating providers for the plan and shall be reimbursed at Medicare rates. 
 
The bill eliminates the restriction on the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate prescription drug prices for Medicare. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Pilot Records Improvement Enhancement Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1971
Sponsor: Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL]
Introduced: 2017-10-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: 

Pilot Records Improvement Enhancement Act of 2017

 
This bill allows an air carrier that is the prospective employer of a pilot to request and receive information about such an individual from the National Driver Register through an organization approved by the Department of Transportation for purposes of obtaining and transmitting the information directly to the prospective employer or an authorized agent.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to improve the monitoring and reporting of propane stocks and days of supply by the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration with regard to propane export volumes, and for other purposes.

Bill: 115-s-1972
Sponsor: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]
Introduced: 2017-10-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Energy storage, supplies, demand
Government information and archives
Oil and gas

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: 
This bill requires the Energy Information Administration to include propane export information in certain data published relating to propane inventories.



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Introduced in Senate
BASIC Research Act

Bill: 115-s-1973
Sponsor: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]
Introduced: 2017-10-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: 

BASIC Research Act

 
This bill requires each review panel for a federal research grant to include: (1) at least one individual who is not professionally affiliated with any academic or research institution, has not been professionally affiliated in the preceding 10 years, and is an expert in a field unrelated to that under which the grant proposal was submitted; and (2) at least one individual who shall serve primarily as a taxpayer advocate. Each agency that awards such a grant shall not accept recommendations from an applicant as to who should be on the panel or disclose the identity of any panel member to an applicant.
 
The bill: (1) establishes an Office of the Special Inspector General and Taxpayer Advocate for Research (OSIGTA), which shall randomly select grants for review to determine if the research will deliver value to the taxpayers; and (2) transfers to the OSIGTA all functions which the Office of Inspector General of the National Science Foundation previously exercised. A grant must have OSIGTA's support to receive funds.
 
Each agency with annual extramural research expenditures of over $100 million must develop a federal research public access policy that is consistent with and advances the purposes of the agency and that meets specified requirements. 
 
Any person or institution awarded a grant shall submit a statement to the agency that awarded the grant certifying that: (1) no funds derived from the grant will be made available through a subgrant or subsequent grant unless the recipient's name, its organization of affiliation, the intended uses and purposes of funds, and specific amounts subgranted or subsequently granted funds are disclosed to the agency for publication on a publicly accessible website; and (2) each subgrant or subsequent grant award funded is within the scope of the grant award.
 
Each grant application shall be made publicly available. Each agency, in awarding grants for scientific research, shall be impartial and shall not seek to advance any political position or fund a grant to reach a predetermined conclusion.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Tax Expenditures Accountability Act

Bill: 115-s-1974
Sponsor: Sen. Flake, Jeff [R-AZ]
Introduced: 2017-10-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: 

Tax Expenditures Accountability Act 

 
This bill requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to disclose information regarding tax credits for inclusion on the website established under the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006. With respect to tax credits allowed for taxpayers (other than individuals) after the enactment of this bill, the IRS must disclose to the administrator of the website: (1) the name of the taxpayer, (2) the type of the tax credit allowed, and (3) the amount of the credit. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S6464-6465)
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Virginia Wilderness Additions Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1975
Sponsor: Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA]
Introduced: 2017-10-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Forests, forestry, trees
Virginia
Water quality
Wilderness and natural areas, wildlife refuges, wild rivers, habitats

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: 

Virginia Wilderness Additions Act of 2017

 
This bill adds specified additional lands in the George Washington National Forest (a part of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky) to the Rough Mountain Wilderness and the Rich Hole Wilderness. 
 
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) may use motorized equipment and mechanized transport in the Rich Hole addition until it is incorporated into the Rich Hole Wilderness in order to enhance natural ecosystems by implementing certain activities to improve water quality and aquatic passage, as set forth in the Forest Service document titled &quot;Decision Notice for the Lower Cowpasture Restoration and Management Project&quot; and dated December 2015.
 
In carrying out such water quality and aquatic passage improvement activities, USDA must use the minimum tool or administrative practice necessary when using such equipment and transport with the least amount of adverse impact on wilderness character and resources. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S6465)
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Increasing Access to Care Act

Bill: 115-s-1976
Sponsor: Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC]
Introduced: 2017-10-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Insurance industry and regulation

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: 

Increasing Access to Care Act

 
This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to eliminate restrictions on who may purchase catastrophic health plans.
 
 Catastrophic health plans do not cover any benefits, other than three primary care visits per year, before the deductible is met; such plans are generally characterized by lower premiums and higher deductibles. Currently, only individuals who are younger than 30 years of age or who have a hardship exemption may purchase such plans. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2017-10-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1977
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2017-10-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Aging
Health care costs and insurance
Income tax deductions

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: 

Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2017

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to extend, through 2019, the rule that permits individuals who are 65 and older to deduct certain medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income. (A provision that reduced the 10% threshold for the medical expense deduction to 7.5% if a taxpayer or a taxpayer's spouse is 65 or older expired at the end of 2016.) 
 
The bill also expresses the sense of the Senate that the reduction in revenues resulting from this bill should be offset by an appropriate amendment to the IRC. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Small Business and Family Health Tax Relief Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1978
Sponsor: Sen. Heitkamp, Heidi [D-ND]
Introduced: 2017-10-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Health

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: 

Small Business and Family Health Tax Relief Act of 2017

This bill suspends the annual fee imposed on health-insurance providers under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act for 2019 and makes the fee tax-deductible beginning in 2020.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to block the implementation of certain presidential actions that restrict individuals from certain countries from entering the United States.

Bill: 115-s-1979
Sponsor: Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]
Introduced: 2017-10-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Africa
Asia
Chad
Department of Homeland Security
Executive agency funding and structure
Immigration status and procedures
Iran
Latin America
Libya
Middle East
North Korea
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
Somalia
Sudan
Syria
Travel and tourism
Venezuela
Visas and passports
Yemen

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: 
This bill prohibits any federal agency funds, resources, or fees from being used to implement or enforce Executive Order 13780 and the presidential proclamation of September 24, 2017. Among the order's major provisions are restrictions on the entry of nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen and additional limitations on refugee admissions to the United States. The proclamation revised such order to include entry restrictions on nationals from Chad, North Korea, and Venezuela, and remove such restrictions on nationals of Sudan. The proclamation additionally provides for enhanced U.S. vetting capacities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Renewable Chemicals Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1980
Sponsor: Sen. Stabenow, Debbie [D-MI]
Introduced: 2017-10-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Alternative and renewable resources
Business investment and capital
Chemistry
Income tax credits
Industrial facilities
Manufacturing
Materials

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: 

Renewable Chemicals Act of 2017

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) a business-related tax credit for the production of renewable chemicals, and (2) a tax credit for investment in renewable chemical production facilities.
 
The bill defines "renewable chemical" as any chemical that: (1) is produced in the United States from renewable biomass; (2) is sold or used for the production of chemical products, polymers, plastics, or formulated products or as chemicals, polymers, plastics, or formulated products; (3) has a biobased content of not less than 95%; (4) is the product of, or reliant upon, biological or thermal conversion of renewable biomass; (5) is not sold or used for the production of any food, feed, or fuel; and (6) is not a chemical for which either of the tax credits established by this bill have been claimed by the taxpayer in any taxable year. 
 
The bill requires the Department of the Treasury to establish a program to allocate renewable chemical tax credit amounts to eligible taxpayers and imposes an aggregate limit on the amount of credits that may be allocated to not more than $500 million during the 5-year period after enactment of this bill. The amount of the credits that may be allocated to any taxpayer for any taxable year may not exceed $25 million. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Small Scale LNG Access Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1981
Sponsor: Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA]
Introduced: 2017-10-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Free trade and trade barriers
Oil and gas
Trade agreements and negotiations

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: 

Small Scale LNG Access Act of 2017

 
This bill amends the Natural Gas Act to state that an application under the Natural Gas Act for the exportation of natural gas that does not exceed 51.1 billion cubic feet per year shall be deemed to be consistent with the public interest and granted without modification or delay.

action_date: 2018-05-10
text: 

Small Scale LNG Access Act of 2017

 
This bill amends the Natural Gas Act to state that an application under the Act for the exportation of natural gas that does not exceed 51.1 billion cubic feet per year shall be deemed to be consistent with the public interest and granted without modification or delay.
 
The bill does not apply to exportation to any nation subject to sanctions imposed by the United States.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-05-10
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 412.
action_date: 2018-05-10
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Murkowski without amendment. With written report No. 115-248.
action_date: 2018-05-10
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Murkowski without amendment. With written report No. 115-248.
action_date: 2018-03-08
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
action_date: 2017-12-05
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on Energy. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 115-493.
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: Introduced in Senate
PROTECT Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1982
Sponsor: Sen. Perdue, David [R-GA]
Introduced: 2017-10-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Consumer credit
Crime victims
Right of privacy

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: 

Promoting Responsible Oversight of Transactions and Examinations of Credit Technology Act of 2017 or the PROTECT Act of 2017

 
This bill amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to allow consumers to request a consumer reporting agency to place a security freeze on their reports. The bill includes provisions for fees and exceptions from such fees.
 
Consumer reporting agencies may not use a consumer's Social Security number in a consumer report or as a method to identify the consumer.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: Introduced in Senate
United States Foreign Investment Review Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1983
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2017-10-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Corporate finance and management
Economic performance and conditions
Foreign and international corporations
Government information and archives
U.S. and foreign investments

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: 

United States Foreign Investment Review Act of 2017

 
This bill amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require each party to a covered transaction to submit a written notification to the Department of Commerce of such transaction. &quot;Covered transaction&quot; is defined as any merger, acquisition, takeover, or investment, or the establishment of a new entity, by or with any person, that is proposed or pending after this bill's enactment that could result in foreign control of any individual or entity engaged in interstate commerce in the United States valued at: (1) $50 million or more, in the case of a transaction involving a state-owned enterprise; and (2) $1 billion or more, in the case of any other transaction.
 
Upon receiving such notification, Commerce must: (1) review the transaction to determine its economic effect on the United States, considering specified economic factors; and (2) based on the results of the review, take appropriate action.
 
The bill prohibits the expenditure of funds to encourage investment in the United States by any foreign state-owned enterprise that does not operate according to market considerations. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-01-25
text: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 115-160.
action_date: 2018-01-18
text: Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Hearings held.
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2998-2999)
action_date: 2017-10-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Support Our Start-Ups Act

Bill: 115-s-1984
Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
Introduced: 2017-10-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Business expenses
Business investment and capital
Income tax deductions
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2017-10-19
text: 

Support Our Start-Ups Act 

 
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax deduction for new business expenditures to organizational expenditures, generally defined as expenditures incident to the creation of a corporation or a partnership.
 
The bill also increases the maximum deduction amount for start-up and organizational expenditures from $5,000 to $20,000 and increases from $50,000 to $120,000 the threshold amount after which the maximum deduction amount for such expenditures is reduced. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-10-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2017-10-19
text: Introduced in Senate