hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Protect Veterans' Education and Taxpayer Spending Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-2857
Sponsor: Sen. Carper, Thomas R. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Congressional oversight
Consumer affairs
Department of Education
Education programs funding
Government information and archives
Higher education
Medical education
Military personnel and dependents
National Guard and reserves
School administration
Student aid and college costs
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 

Protect Veterans' Education and Taxpayer Spending Act of 2019

 
This bill designates certain educational assistance funds as federal educational assistance for the purpose of determining a for-profit institution's revenue sources.
 
Under current law, a for-profit institution must receive at least 10% of its revenue from non-federal sources (known as the 90/10 Rule). Certain federal educational assistance funds provided to students who are servicemembers or veterans are not currently counted as federal sources, which enables a for-profit institution to count those funds towards its 10% requirement.
 
This bill designates such educational assistance funds as federal educational assistance, prohibiting a for-profit institution from counting such funds towards its 10% requirement. In addition, the bill establishes a tiered system of penalties for a school that violates the 90/10 Rule, but it also provides an appeal process that allows a for-profit institution to seek temporary relief from such penalties upon a showing that it meets certain conditions (e.g., offering high-quality academic or job-training programs and placing veterans and servicemembers in jobs after graduation).
 
The bill also requires disclosure&#8212;on the Department of Education's College Navigator website and the Department of Veterans Affairs' GI Bill Comparison Tool website&#8212;of any for-profit institution that is not in compliance, as well as the applicable sanction on such institution.
 
Lastly, any for-profit institution that converts to nonprofit status shall be subject to the 90/10 Rule for the two-year period after the date of conversion.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Promoting Women in Trucking Workforce Act

Bill: 116-s-2858
Sponsor: Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Congressional oversight
Employee hiring
Employment and training programs
Government information and archives
Minority employment
Motor carriers
Transportation employees
Transportation safety and security
Women in business
Women's employment

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 

Promoting Women in Trucking Workforce Act

 
This bill directs the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to establish and facilitate a Women of Trucking Advisory Board to promote organizations and programs that (1) provide education, training, mentorship, or outreach to women in the trucking industry; and (2) recruit women into the trucking industry.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-2859
Sponsor: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health care coverage and access
Health information and medical records
Health personnel
Hospital care
Surgery and anesthesia

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 

Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2019

 
This bill requires the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to study access by underserved populations to general surgeons, including (1) whether the health professional shortage area designation under the National Health Service Corps program accurately assesses adequacy of access, (2) whether another measure would be more accurate, and (3) potential methodologies for designating general surgery shortage areas.
 
HRSA must publish data comparing the availability and need of general surgery services in urban, suburban, and rural areas. 
 
HRSA may establish a methodology for designating general surgery shortage areas and make such designations. HRSA must publish a list of general surgery shortage areas.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-2860
Sponsor: Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health facilities and institutions
Health personnel
Medical ethics
Medicare

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 

Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 

2019

 
This bill repeals specified limitations, for purposes of Medicare participation, on self-referrals by newly constructed or expanded physician-owned hospitals.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 to clarify the prohibition on the use of certain Federal funds for lobbying, and for other purposes.

Bill: 116-s-2861
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Agriculture
Department of the Interior
Forests, forestry, trees
Government information and archives
Intergovernmental relations
Public participation and lobbying
State and local finance
State and local government operations
State and local taxation

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 
This bill prohibits the use of county funds distributed under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 for (1) any expenses related to lobbying, or (2) any activity that is to influence a state or federal lawmaker. Currently, the funds are authorized to be used for activities such as emergency services on federal land or wildfire protection.
 
The Forest Service, in coordination with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), must promulgate regulations that provide guidance to participating counties on the appropriate use of county funds. The Forest Service and the BLM each must publish such guidance on a public website.
 
Each participating county shall submit to the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior an annual report that includes a description of how the county used its county funds.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
DRIP Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-2862
Sponsor: Sen. Sinema, Kyrsten [D-AZ]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Ecology
Emergency planning and evacuation
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Fires
Fishes
Floods and storm protection
Horticulture and plants
Lakes and rivers
Natural disasters
Water storage
Water use and supply
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 

Drought Relief through Innovative Projects Act of 2019 or the DRIP Act of 2019

 
This bill directs the Department of Agriculture to establish a competitive grant program to (1) remove nonnative plant species in riparian areas that contribute to drought conditions, (2) replace those nonnative plant species with native plant species, and (3) maintain and monitor riparian areas in which nonnative plant species have been removed and replaced.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
E Visa Integrity Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-2863
Sponsor: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Economic performance and conditions
Financial services and investments
U.S. and foreign investments
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 

E Visa Integrity Act of 2019

 
This bill imposes additional requirements to acquire an E visa (for an investor or trader who is a national of a foreign country with a treaty of commerce and navigation with the United States, or an Australian specialty worker). 
 
Specifically, if an alien became the national of a foreign country with a treaty of commerce and navigation with the United States through a financial investment in that foreign country, the alien must have been domiciled in that foreign country for a continuous period of at least three years at any point before applying for an E visa.
 
The bill also requires an alien seeking an E-2 visa (investor) to invest a substantial and economically impactful amount of capital in the United States, where currently the statute only requires an investment of a substantial amount. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit smoking on the premises of any facility of the Veterans Health Administration, and for other purposes.

Bill: 116-s-2865
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Department of Veterans Affairs
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Government buildings, facilities, and property
Health facilities and institutions
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 
This bill prohibits smoking on the premises of any Veterans Health Administration facility. The bill defines smoking as the use of cigarettes, cigars, and pipes (i.e., the heating or combustion of tobacco), as well as the use of any electronic nicotine delivery system.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. (text: CR S6607)
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Rural Broadband Financial Flexibility Act

Bill: 116-s-2866
Sponsor: Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Income tax exclusion
Interest, dividends, interest rates
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Rural conditions and development
Securities

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 

Rural Broadband Financial Flexibility Act

 
This bill allows the use of tax-exempt private activity bonds to finance qualified broadband projects. A 
qualified broadband project
 is any project that is designed solely to provide broadband service to one or more rural areas in which more than 50% of residential households do not have access to adequate broadband service. The bill also allows direct payments to issuers of broadband infrastructure bonds for 35% of the interest payable under such bonds.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Rural Broadband Investment Tax Credit Act

Bill: 116-s-2867
Sponsor: Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Business investment and capital
Income tax credits
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Rural conditions and development

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 

Rural Broadband Investment Tax Credit Act

 
This bill allows a new tax credit for up to 10% of investment in qualifying broadband projects, subject to specified limitations. The bill includes in the definition of 
qualifying broadband project
 any project that is designed solely to provide broadband service to one or more rural areas in which more than 50% of households lack access to adequate broadband service. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans’ Entry to Apprenticeship Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-2868
Sponsor: Sen. McSally, Martha [R-AZ]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Employment and training programs
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 

Veterans' Entry to Apprenticeship Act
 
of 2019

 
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide the same amount and type of educational assistance to pre-apprenticeship programs as apprenticeship programs in certain circumstances. A pre-apprenticeship program is designed to prepare individuals to enter an apprenticeship program via education and training.
 
Under the bill, a pre-apprenticeship program may be treated like an apprenticeship program for purposes of educational assistance if the program complies with state standards or meets other accepted criteria if state standards do not apply. If an individual is not paid as part of a pre-apprenticeship program, they are eligible for a specified amount of housing assistance.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Keep Our Communities Safe Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-2869
Sponsor: Sen. Inhofe, James M. [R-OK]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Border security and unlawful immigration
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Justice
Detention of persons
Due process and equal protection
Homeland security
Immigration status and procedures
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Mental health
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 

Keep Our Communities Safe Act of 2019

 
This bill revises provisions related to the authority of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain aliens.
 
DHS may detain an alien pending a removal decision for any length of time until the alien is subject to a final removal order. DHS must detain certain aliens, such as those convicted of an aggravated felony, beyond certain time limits for detaining an alien. 
 
The authority of the Department of Justice to review DHS custody decisions concerning an alien awaiting a removal decision shall be limited to whether the alien may be detained, released on bond, or released with no bond. DHS may release such an alien on bond only if the alien is not a flight risk or risk to the community.
 
For an alien subject to a removal order, DHS may extend the 90-day removal period (generally the window in which DHS has to remove an alien after a final order of removal) in certain instances, such as when the alien's removal is stayed during an appeal. 
 
DHS may continue to detain an alien beyond the removal period and any removal period extensions. DHS shall periodically certify a justification for detaining an alien beyond the removal period. 
 
DHS shall establish a detention review process for aliens who (1) have made all reasonable efforts to comply with a removal order, and (2) are not subject to mandatory detention. DHS shall use the review process to determine whether an alien should be detained or released with conditions.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Restricting Solitary Confinement in Immigration Detention Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-2870
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Border security and unlawful immigration
Child safety and welfare
Department of Homeland Security
Detention of persons
Disability and paralysis
Disability assistance
Employment and training programs
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
HIV/AIDS
Health personnel
Immigrant health and welfare
Immigration status and procedures
Lawyers and legal services
Mental health
Racial and ethnic relations
Religion
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 

Restricting Solitary Confinement in Immigration Detention Act of 2019

 
This bill places limits on solitary confinement in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.
 
Solitary confinement shall be (1) limited to the shortest duration and least restrictive conditions necessary, and (2) consistent with the rationale for placing the alien in solitary confinement.
 
Administrative segregation (a type of solitary confinement) shall (1) be limited to where a substantial and immediate threat makes such segregation necessary; (2) be limited in duration, with certain exceptions; and (3) not be used to discipline.
 
An alien who requires protection (1) may be placed in solitary confinement upon the alien's request, and (2) shall be transferred to a safer alternative upon the alien's request.
 
The bill places additional restrictions on placing a vulnerable individual in solitary confinement, such as an individual who (1) is a minor; (2) has a serious disability or mental illness or; or (3) is pregnant or had just given birth. Generally, such individuals may not be placed in solitary confinement absent a substantial and immediate threat. 
 
An alien may not be placed in solitary confinement based on (1) identification as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender; (2) HIV status; (3) race, religion, or nationality; or (4) the alien's report of misconduct. 
 
An alien in solitary confinement shall receive a weekly mental health evaluation. The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties within the Department of Homeland Security shall have unrestricted access to ICE facilities, records, and personnel.
 
The bill imposes various training, reporting, and data collection requirements related to solitary confinement.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text: CR S6607-6610)
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Indian Health Service Health Professions Tax Fairness Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-2871
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Tom [D-NM]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Income tax exclusion
Indian social and development programs
Medical education
Minority health
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 

Indian Health Service Health Professions Tax Fairness Act of 2019

 
 This bill excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, payments under the Indian Health Service Loan Repayment Program and certain amounts received under the Indian Health Professions Scholarships Program.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
BRIDGE for Workers Act

Bill: 116-s-2872
Sponsor: Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Employment and training programs
Unemployment

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 

Building on Reemployment Improvements to Deliver Good Employment for Workers Act or the BRIDGE for Workers Act

 
This bill extends eligibility for reemployment services to all individuals claiming unemployment compensation. Currently, only unemployment claimants that are identified as likely to exhaust their regular unemployment compensation are eligible for such reemployment services.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
GREENER Fuels Act

Bill: 116-s-2873
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Tom [D-NM]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Agricultural conservation and pollution
Air quality
Alternative and renewable resources
Business records
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Ecology
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Environmental regulatory procedures
Farmland
Forests, forestry, trees
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Government trust funds
Horticulture and plants
Land transfers
Land use and conservation
Motor fuels
Oil and gas
Research and development
User charges and fees
Wetlands
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 

Growing Renewable Energy through Existing and New Environmentally Responsible Fuels Act or the GREENER Fuels Act

 
This bill revises the renewable fuel program, including to eliminate the volume standards applicable to corn-starch ethanol and extend the volume standards applicable to cellulosic biofuel.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to terminate certain waivers of sanctions with respect to Iran issued in connection with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and for other purposes.

Bill: 116-s-2874
Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX]
Introduced: 2019-11-14 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Arms control and nonproliferation
Energy research
International law and treaties
Iran
Middle East
Nuclear power
Nuclear weapons
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
Sanctions
Trade restrictions

Summary:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: 
This bill revokes certain waivers of sanctions for nuclear activity in or with Iran, including for (1) the Arak reactor redesign, (2) the transfer into Iran of enriched uranium for the Tehran Research Reactor, and (3) the modification of centrifuge cascades at the Fordow facility.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2019-11-14
text: Introduced in Senate