hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Armed Forces Digital Advantage Act

Bill: 116-s-1471
Sponsor: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Computers and information technology
Congressional oversight
Digital media
Military education and training
Military personnel and dependents
Military readiness
Performance measurement

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 

Armed Forces Digital Advantage Act

 
This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to promote and maintain digital engineering as a core competency of the Armed Forces.
 
In addition, DOD must (1) create the position of Chief Digital Engineering Recruitment and Management Officer, which shall expire on September 30, 2029; (2) develop and enhance recruitment and training programs for digital engineering talent; and (3) annually report on the readiness of digital forces and progress toward achieving digital engineering policies. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Protecting American Votes and Elections Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1472
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Census and government statistics
Civil actions and liability
Computer security and identity theft
Computers and information technology
Congressional elections
Congressional oversight
Disability and paralysis
Disability assistance
Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Government information and archives
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Northern Mariana Islands
Public contracts and procurement
Research administration and funding
State and local finance
State and local government operations
Subversive activities
Telephone and wireless communication
U.S. territories and protectorates
Voting rights

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 

Protecting American Votes and Elections Act of 2019 

 
This bill addresses the security of federal elections, including by requiring paper ballots, requiring audits of election results, and establishing requirements for election cybersecurity. 
 
The bill provides requirements for ballots. Voting systems must use a paper ballot that is verifiable by a voter before being cast and these ballots must be retained for recounts or audits. During a recount, ballots must be counted by hand. 
 
States and jurisdictions must perform an audit of an election that must include a manual adjudication of voter intent from some or all of the ballots cast. The audit results must meet specified statistical requirements and must be published before such election is certified. 
 
The bill provides a private right of action for any person aggrieved by a violation of voting system or audit requirements. 
 
The Election Assistance Commission must provide funds to states 
 
 
to replace paperless voting systems to comply with requirements of the bill, 
 
for the acquisition of accessible ballot marking devices for voters with disabilities, 
 
for certain ballot design and printing costs, and 
 
for certain election audit costs. 
 
 
The bill also directs the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within in the Department of Homeland Security to set mandatory election cybersecurity standards, including those regarding optical scanning devices, ballot marking devices, election management systems, voter registration websites, and election results systems. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Protect Drinking Water from PFAS Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1473
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Environmental regulatory procedures
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Water quality
Water use and supply

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 

Protect Drinking Water from PFAS Act of 2019

 
This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to issue a maximum contaminant level goal as well as a national primary drinking water regulation for certain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS. The substances are man-made and may have adverse human health effects. A variety of products contain PFAS, such as nonstick cookware or weatherproof clothing. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1474
Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Afghanistan
Asia
Congressional oversight
Foreign aid and international relief
Foreign labor
Government information and archives
Immigration status and procedures
Iraq
Middle East
Military operations and strategy
Visas and passports
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 

Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2019

 
This bill provides for 4,000 additional special immigrant visas to qualified nationals of Afghanistan who were employed by or on behalf of the United States since October 7, 2001. The visa allotment, in addition to any unused allocations of such special immigrant visas from FY2015 through FY2017, shall be available beginning FY2019, and unused visas shall carry over to subsequent fiscal years until exhausted. 
 
The Department of State Inspector General shall report to Congress on obstacles to protecting Afghan and Iraqi allies through special immigrant visa programs and recommendations for improving future programs.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Charities Helping Americans Regularly Throughout the Year Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1475
Sponsor: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Charitable contributions
Employee benefits and pensions
Financial services and investments
Income tax deductions
Income tax exclusion
Motor vehicles
Sales and excise taxes
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
Tax-exempt organizations
Transportation costs

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 

Charities Helping Americans Regularly Throughout the Year Act of 2019

 
This bill modifies several tax provisions in the Internal Revenue Code affecting charitable contributions and tax-exempt organizations. 
 
The Internal Revenue Service may determine the standard mileage rate for deducting the cost of using a passenger automobile for charitable purposes (currently set by statute at 14 cents per mile), and that rate may not be less than the rate for medical purposes (20 cents per mile in 2019). 
 
The bill requires tax-exempt organizations to file their returns in electronic form.
 
The bill excludes from the gross income of an individual who is at least 70-1/2 years of age up to $100,000 in distributions from an individual retirement plan to a donor advised fund (DAF). The bill also modifies disclosure requires for DAFs. (A DAF is a fund or account that is separately identified by reference to contributions of a donor or donors. The account is owned and controlled by a sponsoring charitable organization, while the donor retains advisory privileges with respect to the distribution and investment of funds in the account.)
 
The bill reduces from 2% to 1% the excise tax on the investment income of private foundations and eliminates a provision that reduces the rate to 1% if a foundation meets certain distribution requirements. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text: CR S2887-2888)
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Huntington’s Disease Parity Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1476
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Disability assistance
Hereditary and development disorders
Medicare
Neurological disorders

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 

Huntington's Disease Parity Act of 

2019

 
This bill waives, for individuals diagnosed with Huntington's Disease, the 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage. Current law generally applies this waiting period to individuals deemed eligible for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Public Engagement at FERC Act

Bill: 116-s-1477
Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Advisory bodies
Consumer affairs
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Legal fees and court costs
Oil and gas
Public participation and lobbying
Public utilities and utility rates

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 

Public Engagement at FERC Act

 
This bill revises and expands the Office of Public Participation in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and renames it as the Office of Public Participation and Consumer Advocacy.
 
The office may participate in FERC proceedings on rates, service, and infrastructure siting to represent the interests of the public and issue guidance for potential improvements to industry and FERC practices.
 
Additionally, the office must establish a Public and Consumer Advocacy Advisory Committee to review rates, services, and disputes and make recommendations to the office.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to repeal the Office of Financial Research, and for other purposes.

Bill: 116-s-1478
Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Banking and financial institutions regulation
Department of the Treasury
Executive agency funding and structure
Insurance industry and regulation

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 
This bill eliminates the Office of Financial Research. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Next Generation 9–1–1 Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1479
Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Computer security and identity theft
Congressional oversight
Emergency communications systems
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
State and local government operations
Telephone and wireless communication

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 

Next Generation 9&#8211;1&#8211;1 Act of 2019

 
This bill establishes a federal grant program to help state and local governments deploy next generation (interoperable, secure, Internet Protocol-based) 9&#8211;1&#8211;1 systems across the United States, enabling emergency call centers to receive, process, and analyze all types of 9&#8211;1&#8211;1 requests for emergency aid.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Back the Blue Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1480
Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Assault and harassment offenses
Civil actions and liability
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Detention of persons
Firearms and explosives
Fires
First responders and emergency personnel
Judges
Law enforcement administration and funding
Law enforcement officers
Legal fees and court costs
Violent crime
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 

Back the Blue Act of 2019

 
This bill establishes new criminal offenses for killing, assaulting, and fleeing to avoid prosecution for killing a judge, law enforcement officer, or public safety officer.
 
Additionally, the bill
 
 
expands the list of statutory aggravating factors in death penalty determinations to also include the killing or attempted killing of a law enforcement officer, judge, prosecutor, or firefighter or other first responder; 
 
broadens the authority of federal law enforcement officers to carry firearms; 
 
limits federal court review of challenges to state court convictions for killing a public safety officer or judge; and
 
limits the recovery of compensatory damages and prohibits the recovery of attorney's fees by an individual for a violation of rights that occurred as a result of (or in the course of) conduct that constitutes a felony or crime of violence.
 
 
Finally, it directs the Department of Justice to make grants to law enforcement agencies and nongovernmental organizations to promote trust and improve relations between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2888-2889)
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Healthy MOM Act

Bill: 116-s-1481
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Employee benefits and pensions
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Medicaid
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 

Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act or the Healthy MOM Act

 
This bill expands health insurance coverage availability for pregnant individuals. It requires health insurers, health insurance exchanges, and group health plans to offer a special enrollment period to pregnant individuals. The special enrollment period offered by an insurer or exchange must begin when the pregnancy is reported to the insurer or exchange. The special enrollment period offered by a group health plan must begin when the pregnancy is reported to the plan or is confirmed by a health care provider. The bill also makes pregnancy a qualifying life event for the purpose of enrolling in a federal employee health benefit plan.
 
Additionally, a group health plan or health insurer that covers dependents must provide coverage for maternity care to all covered individuals.
 
Any individual who is eligible for Medicaid and is, or becomes, pregnant maintains such eligibility for one year after the end of the pregnancy. The bill revises the range in which a state must establish a maximum level of family income for pregnant women and infants to be eligible for Medicaid. The upper limit of the range is eliminated and the lower limit is set to the level in place on January 1, 2014.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate
SAFE Act

Bill: 116-s-1482
Sponsor: Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Air quality
Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Aquatic ecology
Atmospheric science and weather
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Department of the Interior
Ecology
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Executive agency funding and structure
Fishes
Indian lands and resources rights
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Scientific communication
State and local government operations
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 

Safeguarding America's Future and Environment Act or the SAFE Act 

 
The bill requires the development of strategies to help fish, wildlife, and plants adapt to extreme weather changes and climate change. 
 
Specifically, the bill requires the President to establish an interagency National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy Joint Implementation Working Group. The working group must adopt the 2013 National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy, which addresses the effects of extreme weather and climate change on fish, wildlife, and plants.
 
After the Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences releases a periodic scientific assessment required under the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the working group must use sound science to review and revise the strategy to incorporate new information and advances in the development of strategies to help fish, wildlife, and plants adapt.
 
Each federal agency must integrate the strategy into agency plans, environmental reviews, and programs.
 
The Department of the Interior must establish a National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center to assess and develop scientific information, tools, strategies, and techniques to support the working group and other interested parties in addressing the effects of extreme weather and climate change. 
 
Interior must establish an Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Sciences to advise the working group. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate
SOS Campus Act

Bill: 116-s-1483
Sponsor: Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Assault and harassment offenses
Crime prevention
Crime victims
Crimes against women
Education programs funding
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Evidence and witnesses
Higher education
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Right of privacy
School administration
Sex offenses

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 

Survivor Outreach and Support Campus Act or the SOS Campus Act

 
This bill provides support for students of institutions of higher education (IHEs) who are victims of sexual assault.
 
 IHEs that receive federal funding must designate independent advocates for campus sexual assault prevention and response. The advocates must provide services to the victims.
 
In addition, the bill prohibits IHEs from retaliating against advocates for representing the interests of victims or against victims for reporting sexual assaults to advocates.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2889)
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate
DEBRIS Act

Bill: 116-s-1484
Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Emergency Management
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Homeland Security
Disaster relief and insurance
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Residential rehabilitation and home repair
Solid waste and recycling

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 

Diversifying Emergency Benchmarks for the Recovery of Individuals after Storms Act or the DEBRIS Act

 
This bill authorizes disaster relief assistance to individuals for the removal of debris from owner-occupied private residences and property. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) must consider the estimated cost of such debris removal in evaluating a request for a major disaster declaration.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Map Improvement Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1485
Sponsor: Sen. Manchin, Joe, III [D-WV]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Computers and information technology
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Geography and mapping
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Regional and metropolitan planning
Telephone and wireless communication

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 

Map Improvement Act of 2019

 
This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a standardized methodology for collecting and mapping accurate fixed and mobile broadband internet service coverage data.
 
The FCC must form an Office of Broadband Data Collection and Mapping to serve as the central point for data collection, aggregation, and validation. In addition, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration must establish a technical assistance program for providing grants to assist with mapping and development and to assess both broadband adoption rates and advertised pricing.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate
Prioritizing Our Workers Act

Bill: 116-s-1486
Sponsor: Sen. Manchin, Joe, III [D-WV]
Introduced: 2019-05-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Bankruptcy
Employee benefits and pensions

Summary:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: 

Prioritizing Our Workers Act

 
This bill includes as allowable administrative expenses in bankruptcy the unfunded vested benefits in a defined pension plan and certain pension withdrawal liabilities. Claims for administrative expenses are entitled to priority in bankruptcy proceedings.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2889)
action_date: 2019-05-15
text: Introduced in Senate