hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
MERIT Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1898
Sponsor: Sen. Perdue, David [R-GA]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Appropriations
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Employee benefits and pensions
Employee hiring
Employee performance
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government information and archives
Labor-management relations
Merit Systems Protection Board
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Personnel records
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 

Modern Employment Reform, Improvement, and Transformation Act of 2019 or the MERIT Act of 2019

 
This bill revises provisions related to federal employment, including the furlough and removal of federal employees, the calculation of federal employee retirement benefits, and the length of the probationary employment period.
 
Specifically, the bill repeals the process for taking action against a federal employee for unacceptable performance, accelerates the process for removal or suspension based on performance or actions, and prohibits grievances based on adverse personnel actions and reductions in force. The bill also authorizes an agency to remove a senior executive from the civil service for performance-related reasons, and it revises provisions covering performance- or conduct-related actions against senior executives.
 
The bill authorizes agencies to furlough employees for such cause as will promote the efficiency of the service, and it prohibits appeals to the Merit Systems Protection Board based on short-term furloughs or furloughs due to a lapse in appropriations (i.e., government shutdown).
 
Additionally, the bill limits the retirement benefits of a federal employee who is removed due to a felony conviction related to their official duties by prohibiting felonious service from being taken into account when calculating the employee's annuity.
 
The bill also authorizes an agency to order the repayment of a bonus or award when performance or conduct issues are discovered and such bonus or award would not have been paid had such issues been known when they were made.
 
Lastly, the bill extends from one year to two years the probationary period for competitive service appointments and members of the Senior Executive Service.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Refuge System Protection Act

Bill: 116-s-1899
Sponsor: Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Civil actions and liability
Crimes against animals and natural resources
Department of the Interior
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Judicial review and appeals
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Oil and gas
Pollution liability
Water quality
Wilderness and natural areas, wildlife refuges, wild rivers, habitats
Wildlife conservation and habitat protection

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 

Refuge System Protection Act

 
 This bill authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ), at the request of the Department of the Interior, to bring in a district court a civil action against any individual or entity that destroys, causes the loss of, causes Interior to make risk mitigation efforts with respect to, or injures any resource that is within the boundaries of any land or water that is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 
 
The bill also authorizes DOJ, at the request of Interior, to bring in a district court an in rem action against any instrumentality (e.g., a vessel, vehicle, or aircraft) that destroys, causes the loss of, causes Interior to make risk mitigation efforts with respect to, or injures any such system resource. 
 
Among others, it shall be an affirmative defense in either type of action that the destruction of, loss of, risk mitigation regarding, or injury to a system resource was caused by an otherwise legal act or omission that occurred outside the boundaries of the resource.
 
 In either type of action, the court may award response costs and damages.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
GEO Act

Bill: 116-s-1901
Sponsor: Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Alternative and renewable resources
Congressional oversight
Department of the Interior
Electric power generation and transmission
Energy efficiency and conservation
Energy research
Energy revenues and royalties
Government information and archives
Land use and conservation
Lighting, heating, cooling
Manufacturing
Oil and gas
Research and development
Technology transfer and commercialization

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 

Geothermal Energy Opportunities Act or the
 
GEO Act

 
This bill addresses the exploration, development, and production of geothermal resources and energy on federal land.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
STURDY Act

Bill: 116-s-1902
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Child safety and welfare
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Product safety and quality

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 

Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth Act or the STURDY Act

This bill requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to revise the safety standards for freestanding clothing storage units such as a dressers, bureaus, or chests of drawers. Such standards must include specified testing related to tip overs and new warning requirements for all such products entering the U.S. market. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1903
Sponsor: Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Congressional oversight
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Environmental health
Government studies and investigations
Health care coverage and access
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Intergovernmental relations
Medical research
State and local government operations
Veterinary medicine and animal diseases

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 

Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act of 2019

 
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, in coordination with other specified agencies and departments, to develop, publish, and submit to Congress a national One Health Framework for coordinated federal activities under the One Health Program, which encourages collaborative efforts to help better prevent, prepare for, and respond to zoonotic disease outbreaks.
 
The framework must (1) describe existing efforts and contain recommendations for building upon and complementing the activities of federal entities; and (2) establish specified goals, including advancing the scientific understanding of the connections among human, animal, and environmental health. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Keeping Families Together Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1904
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Housing and Community Development
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Housing and community development funding
Immigration status and procedures
Low- and moderate-income housing

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 

Keeping Families Together Act of 2019

 
This bill prohibits the Department of Housing and Urban Development from implementing or enforcing a specified proposed rule that would require the verification of eligible immigration status of all housing assistance recipients under the age of 62.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
ENROLL Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1905
Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Consumer affairs
Health care costs and insurance
Health care coverage and access
Health information and medical records
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
State and local finance
State and local government operations
Tax-exempt organizations
User charges and fees

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 

Expand Navigators' Resources for Outreach, Learning, and Longevity Act of 2019 or the ENROLL Act of 2019

 
This bill makes several changes to the navigator program for health insurance exchanges (a program through which entities receive funding to provide education and enrollment assistance). Specifically, the bill addresses certain funding decisions and regulatory actions taken by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). 
 
For example, the bill increases funding for navigators in federally facilitated exchanges (FFEs) beginning in FY2020. (The CMS decreased annual funding for FFE navigators for the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 program years.)
 
The bill also counters guidance issued by the CMS regarding navigator criteria by requiring FFE navigators to be chosen without regard to how the entity provides information on association health plans or short-term, limited-duration insurance. 
 
The bill also reinstates certain requirements that were removed by the CMS in 2018. Specifically, the bill requires (1) at least two navigators in each FFE, including at least one community and consumer-focused nonprofit group; and (2) that navigators be physically present in the state where the exchange is located. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Improve Well-Being for Veterans Act

Bill: 116-s-1906
Sponsor: Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Health programs administration and funding
Mental health
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 

Improve Well-Being for Veterans Act

 
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to award grants for a period of three years to eligible entities for the provision of suicide prevention services to veterans and their families. Under the bill, eligible entities include tribally designated housing entities, community-based organizations, and other private entities that meet certain requirements. 
 
Entities must submit an application to receive financial assistance that includes a description of the services they propose to provide, among other elements. 
 
The bill requires the VA to equitably distribute grants across geographic regions and areas with the most need. Additionally, the VA shall give preference to entities that are experienced in providing suicide prevention services. 
 
Entities receiving funding must notify service recipients that funding is wholly or partially from the VA.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
No Shame at School Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1907
Sponsor: Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Child health
Child safety and welfare
Elementary and secondary education
Food assistance and relief
Nutrition and diet
Poverty and welfare assistance
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 

No Shame at School Act of 2019

 
This bill establishes requirements for the treatment of a child who is participating in the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program and owes unpaid school meal fees. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Summer Meals Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1908
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Child health
Elementary and secondary education
Food assistance and relief
Nutrition and diet
Poverty and welfare assistance
Public-private cooperation

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 

Summer Meals Act of 201

9

 
This bill revises provisions related to the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) of the Department of Agriculture (USDA), which provides meals to children and teens in low-income areas during the summer months when school is not in session. 
 
The bill redefines 
areas in which poor economic conditions exist
, where the SFSP may operate, as areas in which at least 40% (currently, 50%) of the children have been determined to be eligible for free or reduced price school meals under the school lunch and breakfast programs.
 
The bill reimburses service institutions (other than school food authorities) for up to one meal and one snack per child each day during after-school hours, weekends, and school holidays during the regular school calendar. Currently, such institutions are reimbursed for meals and snacks served to children over the summer months or to children who are on vacation under a continuous school calendar.
 
USDA must award competitive grants to service institutions to increase participation in the summer food service program for children who lack the ability to access a congregate feeding site through (1) innovative approaches to limited transportation, (2) mobile meal trucks, and (3) any other method or approach that does not require children to access a congregate feeding site.
 
 Service institutions that are participating in the summer food service program for children may serve up to three meals, or two meals and one snack, during each day of operation. Currently, this option is reserved for camps and service institutions that serve meals primarily to migrant children.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Resilient Highways Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1909
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Air quality
Atmospheric science and weather
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Floods and storm protection
Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
Natural disasters
Performance measurement
Roads and highways
Transportation programs funding

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 

Resilient Highways Act of 2019

 
This bill addresses projects to improve the resiliency of federal-aid highways and bridges on and off the National Highway System.
 
Specifically, the bill
 
 
allows states to use up to 15% of funds apportioned under the national highway performance program for projects to mitigate the risk of recurring damage or the cost of future repairs from extreme weather, flooding, and other natural disasters on infrastructure that is part of the National Highway System; 
 
provides for a maximum federal cost-share of up to 100% for these projects; and
 
authorizes emergency relief funds to be used to pay for these projects, including raising roadway grades, deepening channels to prevent flooding, improving drainage, and stabilizing slopes.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to rename the Homestead National Monument of America near Beatrice, Nebraska, as the Homestead National Historical Park.

Bill: 116-s-1910
Sponsor: Sen. Sasse, Ben [R-NE]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Historic sites and heritage areas
Land transfers
Monuments and memorials
Nebraska
U.S. history

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 
This bill redesignates the Homestead National Monument of America in Nebraska as the &quot;Homestead National Historical Park.&quot;


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-03-04
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 116-367.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
21st Century SKILLS Act

Bill: 116-s-1911
Sponsor: Sen. Harris, Kamala D. [D-CA]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Educational guidance
Elementary and secondary education
Employment and training programs
Government information and archives
Higher education
Labor-management relations
Public-private cooperation
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 

21st Century Skills are Key to Individuals' Life-Long Success Act or the 21st Century SKILLS Act

 
This bill establishes certain workforce innovation and opportunity accounts to provide employed or unemployed individuals and dislocated workers access to upskill training and other educational opportunities in order to meet 21st century workforce demands.
 
Specifically, the bill (1) expands the use of certain workforce investment funds to provide workers with training and opportunities, and (2) replaces Technical Learning Accounts with Upskill Accounts to prepare employed or unemployed individuals for workforce demands.
 
The Department of Labor must award grants to states to provide for subgrants to certain sector partnerships or labor-management partnerships. Priority must be given to sector partnerships or labor-management partnerships that (1) demonstrate they will prepare the local workforce for employment in growing in-demand industry sectors or occupations, and (2) target low-income individuals.
 
In addition, Labor must also maintain a CareerOneStop website that contains, among other things (1) an Upskill Account Portal for eligible individuals to request such accounts, and (2) lists of approved training providers.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
National Adoption and Foster Care Home Study Act

Bill: 116-s-1912
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Families
Subjects: Adoption and foster care
Child safety and welfare
Domestic violence and child abuse
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 

National Adoption and Foster Care Home Study Act

This bill requires The Department of Health and Human Services to establish a methodology for researched-based home study and to award grants for demonstration projects for states to adopt such methodology in the evaluation of prospective foster and adoptive parents. Such methodology must incorporate specified data-collection tools including, among others, (1) uniform, closed-ended questions; (2) a rating system to report findings; (3) a guidance document for practitioners; and (4) ongoing training for home-study personnel.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
STOP Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1913
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Pedestrians and bicycling
Terrorism
Transportation programs funding
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 

Stopping Threats On Pedestrians Act of 2019 or the STOP Act of 201

9

 
This bill directs the Department of Transportation to establish a competitive grant program to provide assistance to local government entities for bollard installation projects designed to prevent pedestrian injuries and acts of terrorism in areas utilized by large numbers of pedestrians. Such a project is one that installs raised concrete or metal posts on a sidewalk adjacent to a roadway that are designed to slow or stop a motor vehicle.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate
Ending Support for Internet Censorship Act

Bill: 116-s-1914
Sponsor: Sen. Hawley, Josh [R-MO]
Introduced: 2019-06-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
Employee hiring
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Political movements and philosophies
Political parties and affiliation

Summary:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: 

Ending Support for Internet Censorship Act

 
This bill prohibits a large social media company from moderating information on its platform from a politically biased standpoint.
 
Under current law, a social media company is generally immune from liability with respect to content posted on its platform by users and other content providers. However, the bill removes this statutory immunity unless the social media company obtains certification from the Federal Trade Commission that it does not moderate information on its platform in a manner that is biased against a political party, candidate, or viewpoint. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2019-06-19
text: Introduced in Senate