hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
A bill to amend the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003 to include California in the program, and for other purposes.

Bill: 116-s-4403
Sponsor: Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA]
Introduced: 2020-08-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: California
Farmland
Land use and conservation
Mammals
Pest management
Wetlands

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-03
text: 
This bill reauthorizes through FY2025 and revises the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003, which provided grants to Maryland and Louisiana for a program to eradicate or control nutria (a type of rodent). The program also provided grants to restore marshland damaged by nutria.
 
This bill revises the grant program, including by expanding the program to include grants for eradicating nutria in any state that has demonstrated a need for the program as well as grants for restoring wetlands or agricultural lands damaged by nutria. 

action_date: 2020-09-30
text: 
This bill reauthorizes through FY2025 and revises the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003, which provided grants to Maryland and Louisiana for a program to eradicate or control nutria (a type of rodent). The program also provided grants to restore marshland damaged by nutria.
 
This bill revises the grant program, including by expanding the program to include grants for eradicating nutria in any state that has demonstrated a need for the program as well as grants for restoring wetlands or agricultural lands damaged by nutria. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-10-01
text: Held at the desk.
action_date: 2020-10-01
text: Received in the House.
action_date: 2020-10-01
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2020-09-30
text: Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote. (text: CR S6001)
action_date: 2020-09-30
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.
action_date: 2020-09-30
text: Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works discharged by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S6001)
action_date: 2020-09-30
text: Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works discharged by Unanimous Consent.
action_date: 2020-08-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2020-08-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail Designation Act

Bill: 116-s-4404
Sponsor: Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR]
Introduced: 2020-08-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Arizona
Arkansas
California
Historic sites and heritage areas
Missouri
New Mexico
Oklahoma
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Tennessee
Texas

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-03
text: 

Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail Designation Act

 
This bill designates the trail extending approximately 3,292 miles and following the route operated by the Butterfield Overland Mail Company, known as the Ox-Bow Route, to transport mail and passengers between the eastern end points of St. Louis, Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee, and extending westward through the states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, to the western end point of San Francisco, California, as the Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail. 
 
The United States shall not acquire for the trail any land or interest in land outside of the exterior boundary of any federally administered area without the consent of the owner of such land or interest in land.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2020-08-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Neighborhood Economic Development and Opportunity Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4405
Sponsor: Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD]
Introduced: 2020-08-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-03
text: 

Neighborhood Economic Development and Opportunity Act of 2020

 
This bill establishes, and provides emergency funding for, grants to support the revitalization of opportunity zones and areas with long-term poverty, including in Baltimore, Maryland.
 
The bill designates the funding as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits.
 
The Department of Commerce shall provide grants to qualifying nongovernmental, nonprofit, faith-based, or charitable organizations to carry out in these areas programs that help individuals acquire or improve skills. Such a program may include a development project that revitalizes physical infrastructure.
 
For qualifying projects in Baltimore, Maryland, Commerce may also provide grants to the city or to the state.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2020-08-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act

Bill: 116-s-4406
Sponsor: Sen. Udall, Tom [D-NM]
Introduced: 2020-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Business records
Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Environmental education
Environmental regulatory procedures
Executive agency funding and structure
Food supply, safety, and labeling
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Government information and archives
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Health information and medical records
Licensing and registrations
Manufacturing
Marketing and advertising
Migrant, seasonal, agricultural labor
Personnel records
Pest management
Product safety and quality
Right of privacy
State and local government operations
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: 

Protect America's Children from Toxic Pesticides Act

 
This bill modifies provisions related to the distribution, sale, and use of pesticides, including by cancelling the registration of organophosphates, neonicotinoids, and paraquat and by creating a process for interested individuals to submit a petition to designate an active ingredient or pesticide as a dangerous pesticide.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Mentoring to Succeed Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4407
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2020-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Child care and development
Congressional oversight
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Educational guidance
Elementary and secondary education
Government studies and investigations
Higher education
Labor and Employment
Special education
Vocational and technical education
Youth employment and child labor

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: 

Mentoring to Succeed Act of 2020

 
This bill requires the Department of Education to award grants to entities such as educational agencies, schools, and local governments to establish, expand, or support school-based mentoring programs that assist at-risk students in developing cognitive skills and promoting social-emotional learning to prepare them for success in high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text: CR S4731-4733)
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Upskilling and Retraining Assistance Act

Bill: 116-s-4408
Sponsor: Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]
Introduced: 2020-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: 

Upskilling and Retraining Assistance Act

 
This bill increases to $12,000 in 2020-2021, the exclusion from employee gross income, for income tax purposes, of employer-paid educational assistance programs. 
 
The bill also expands the definition of 
educational equipment 
provided to an employee to include education-related tools and technology and other equipment (e.g., hand tools, computers, software, licensure fees). 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 303 East Mississippi Avenue in Elwood, Illinois, as the "Lawrence M. 'Larry' Walsh Sr. Post Office".

Bill: 116-s-4409
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2020-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Congressional tributes
Government buildings, facilities, and property
Illinois
Postal service

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 303 East Mississippi Avenue in Elwood, Illinois, as the "Lawrence M. 'Larry' Walsh Sr. Post Office."

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-12-07
text: Held at the desk.
action_date: 2020-12-07
text: Received in the House.
action_date: 2020-12-07
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2020-12-03
text: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (text: CR S7221)
action_date: 2020-12-03
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.(text: CR S7221)
action_date: 2020-12-03
text: Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S7220-7221)
action_date: 2020-12-03
text: Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S7220-7221)
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
REACH Act

Bill: 116-s-4410
Sponsor: Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC]
Introduced: 2020-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Community life and organization
Congressional oversight
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Health personnel
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Minority employment
Minority health
Nutrition and diet
Physical fitness and lifestyle
Racial and ethnic relations

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: 

REACH Act

 
This bill establishes a grant program within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to improve health, prevent and manage chronic health conditions, and reduce health disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations.
 
Specifically, HHS, in consultation with the Office of Minority Health, must award grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements with, entities that demonstrate relevant experience in, and capacity for, working with such populations. Recipients must use funds for increasing diversity in the public health and health care workforce, enhancing capacity to respond to infectious disease outbreaks, and implementing health improvement efforts.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Governors' Broadband Development Fund Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4411
Sponsor: Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC]
Introduced: 2020-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: 

Governors' Broadband Development Fund Act of 2020

 
This bill establishes the Broadband Development Grant Program, under which the Federal Communications Commission shall make grants of at least $75 million to states for broadband development. A state that receives such a grant must give priority to opportunity zones and unserved areas or locations and must expend at least 5% of the grant funds in a technologically neutral manner to support broadband adoption by populations that face barriers to digital equity. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Benefits Fairness and Transparency Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4412
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2020-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Disability assistance
Government information and archives
Health care coverage and access
Health information and medical records
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: 

Veterans Benefits Fairness and Transparency Act of 2020

 
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to publish on its website the disability benefit questionnaire forms for non-VA medical providers submitting evidence regarding a disability of a claimant for purposes of VA benefits.
 
If the VA updates the questionnaire form, previous versions of the form filed by claimants must be accepted for up to one year after the form was updated.
 
The VA may waive interagency approval processes required to approve a modification to a form if such requirement applies by reason of the form being made public on the website as required by the bill.
 
The Inspector General of the VA must, through 2026, annually report on the use of such forms.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to improve the response of the Department of Defense to threats to United States forces worldwide from small unmanned aircraft systems.

Bill: 116-s-4413
Sponsor: Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]
Introduced: 2020-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Aviation and airports
Congressional oversight
Military operations and strategy
Military procurement, research, weapons development
Performance measurement
Public contracts and procurement
Research and development
Technology assessment

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: 
This bill directs the Department of the Army, as executive agent for the Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program, to submit to Congress a strategy for the Armed Forces to counter threats from small unmanned aircraft systems worldwide. The bill requires reports on activities of the Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program and on threats from small unmanned aircraft systems, and an assessment by a research and development center of the efficacy of the program.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
American Dream Down Payment Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4414
Sponsor: Sen. Jones, Doug [D-AL]
Introduced: 2020-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Financial services and investments
Government information and archives
Housing finance and home ownership
Income tax exclusion
Inflation and prices
State and local government operations
Transfer and inheritance taxes

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: 

American Dream Down Payment Act of 2020

 
This bill establishes qualified down payment savings programs that allow taxpayers to establish tax-free accounts to save for down payments, including closing costs, on a principal residence. The Department of the Treasury, in coordination with the Securities and Exchange Commission, must report on matters relating to such accounts, including the number of states that have established down payment savings programs and information about beneficiaries of such programs. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
K2 Veterans Care Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4415
Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]
Introduced: 2020-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Asia
Disability assistance
Environmental health
Fires
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Health information and medical records
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Military facilities and property
Nursing
Solid waste and recycling
Uzbekistan
Veterans' medical care
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: 

K2 Veterans Care Act of 2020

 
This bill establishes a presumption of service-connection for certain diseases becoming manifest in a veteran who served on active duty at Karshi-Khanabad (K2) Air Base in Uzbekistan between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2005. Specifically, there must be a presumption of service-connection for veterans who manifest illnesses that have a positive association with exposure to jet fuel, volatile organic compounds, high levels of particulate matter, depleted uranium, asbestos, or lead-based paint, as determined by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). Under a presumption of service-connection, specific conditions diagnosed in certain veterans are presumed to have been caused by the circumstances of their military service. Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded.
 
Veterans who served at K2 Air Base during the specified period are eligible for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for an illness that has been determined by NASEM to have a positive association with exposure to jet fuel, volatile organic compounds, high levels of particulate matter, depleted uranium, asbestos, or lead-based paint.
 
The bill also expands the definition of an open burn pit, for purposes of the VA's open burn pit registry, to include burn pits located on land in Uzbekistan. A burn pit is an area used for burning solid waste in open air without equipment.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Virtual Peer Support Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4416
Sponsor: Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]
Introduced: 2020-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Appropriations
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Community life and organization
Congressional oversight
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Health care coverage and access
Health personnel
Health programs administration and funding
Health technology, devices, supplies
Indian social and development programs
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Mental health
Minority health

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: 

Virtual Peer Support Act of 2020

 
This bill appropriates funding for grants to transition behavioral health peer support services that are provided at no cost to participants from in-person to virtual platforms or to otherwise expand these kinds of virtual services.
 
Specifically, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration must award competitive grants to certain consumer-controlled or consumer-run organizations and tribal communities. Among other eligibility requirements for these grants, entities must have offered certain behavioral health services at no cost to participants before the declaration of the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Impact Aid Infrastructure Act

Bill: 116-s-4417
Sponsor: Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]
Introduced: 2020-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Building construction
Education programs funding
Educational facilities and institutions
Elementary and secondary education

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: 

Impact Aid Infrastructure Act

 
This bill authorizes additional Impact Aid construction grants for FY2022. These grants provide infrastructure assistance to local educational agencies that have lost property tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt federal property or to those that have experienced increased expenditures due to enrollment of federally connected children (e.g., children living on Indian lands or military bases).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
21st Century Buy American Act

Bill: 116-s-4418
Sponsor: Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]
Introduced: 2020-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Buy American requirements
Congressional oversight
Digital media
Government information and archives
Government lending and loan guarantees
Government studies and investigations
Infrastructure development
Manufacturing
Military procurement, research, weapons development
Public contracts and procurement
Public participation and lobbying
Transportation costs
Water quality
Water use and supply

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: 

21st Century Buy American Act

 
This bill establishes additional criteria that must be met before federal agencies may grant exceptions or waivers to Buy American requirements. The bill also (1) requires the General Services Administration to establish a public website with details regarding waivers and exceptions that have been requested, are under consideration, or have been granted by agencies; (2) increases the domestic content percentage requirement to 60%; and (3) authorizes the Department of Defense to establish a program to make or guarantee loans to certain domestic manufacturers.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Burial Benefit Correction Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4419
Sponsor: Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD]
Introduced: 2020-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Cemeteries and funerals
Veterans' organizations and recognition

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: 

Veterans Burial Benefit Correction Act of 2020

 
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide an outer burial receptacle (i.e., a container for a casket) for new graves in cemeteries funded by a grant to a state or a tribal organization under the Veterans Cemetery Grants Program.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate
Unclaimed Veterans Burial Benefit Correction Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4420
Sponsor: Sen. Rounds, Mike [R-SD]
Introduced: 2020-08-04 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Cemeteries and funerals
Transportation costs
Veterans' organizations and recognition

Summary:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: 

Unclaimed Veterans Burial Benefit Correction Act of 2020

 
This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to pay costs related to the transportation of certain deceased veterans to veterans' cemeteries owned by a state or tribal organization.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2020-08-04
text: Introduced in Senate