hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Small Packer Overtime and Holiday Fee Relief for COVID–19 Act of 2020

Bill: 116-hr-6977
Sponsor: Rep. Johnson, Dusty [R-SD-At Large]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Appropriations
Department of Agriculture
Executive agency funding and structure
Food supply, safety, and labeling
Meat
Small business
User charges and fees

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 

Small Packer Overtime and Holiday Fee Relief for COVID-19 Act of 2020

 
This bill requires the Department of Agriculture to reduce the fees charged to small meat, poultry, and egg processing plants for inspections that occur during overtime hours or on holidays. The bill also provides funding to implement the requirements. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
Endless Frontier Act

Bill: 116-hr-6978
Sponsor: Rep. Khanna, Ro [D-CA-17]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Advanced technology and technological innovations
Advisory bodies
Business investment and capital
Competitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficits
Computers and information technology
Congressional oversight
Education programs funding
Energy research
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal officials
Government lending and loan guarantees
Higher education
Infrastructure development
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Manufacturing
Materials
Military procurement, research, weapons development
National Science Foundation
Performance measurement
Public contracts and procurement
Public-private cooperation
Research administration and funding
Research and development
Science and engineering education
Small business
Student aid and college costs
Technology assessment
Technology transfer and commercialization

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 

Endless Frontier Act

 
This bill redesignates the National Science Foundation as the National Science and Technology Foundation and establishes a Directorate for Technology within the foundation.
 
The goals of the directorate shall be to (1) strengthen U.S. leadership in critical technologies through fundamental research in key technology focus areas, such as artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and advanced manufacturing; (2) enhance U.S. competitiveness in the focus areas by improving education in such areas and attracting more students to such areas; and (3) foster the impact of federally funded research and development through accelerated translation of advances in the focus areas into processes and products that help achieve national goals.
 
The Department of Commerce shall carry out a program to designate and support eligible consortia as regional technology hubs that facilitate activities that (1) enable U.S. leadership in a key technology focus area, and (2) support regional economic development that diffuses innovation capacity around the United States.
 
The Office of Science and Technology Policy, Commerce, the National Security Council, and other relevant federal agencies shall (1) review the national security strategy and programs and resources pertaining to U.S. national competitiveness in science, research, and innovation to support such strategy; and (2) develop a strategy for the federal government to improve such competitiveness to support the national security strategy.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
Veterans Access to Care Act

Bill: 116-hr-6979
Sponsor: Rep. Kind, Ron [D-WI-3]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Department of Veterans Affairs
Health care coverage and access
Health facilities and institutions
Health personnel
Medical education
Student aid and college costs
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 

Veterans Access to Care Act

 This bill automatically designates medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as health professional shortage areas for purposes of the National Health Service Corps Program. 
 Individuals may not participate in both the VA's Health Professionals Education Assistance Program and the National Health Service Corps scholarship or loan repayment programs.
 
The Department of Health and Human Services, in carrying out the National Health Service Corps Program, must consult with the VA regarding health professional shortage areas that are VA medical facilities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
National Guard COVID–19 Response Stability Act

Bill: 116-hr-6980
Sponsor: Rep. Kuster, Ann M. [D-NH-2]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Intergovernmental relations
Military civil functions
National Guard and reserves
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 

National Guard COVID-19 Response Stability Act

 
This bill extends the authority of a governor of a state to maintain the National Guard on active duty in connection with the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency through the date that is 30 days after the termination of the emergency. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
PPP DEAL Act

Bill: 116-hr-6981
Sponsor: Rep. Lamb, Conor [D-PA-17]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Business expenses
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Government lending and loan guarantees
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Small business
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 

PPP Deadline Extension Adjustment for Loans Act or the PPP DEAL Act

 
This bill modifies the Paycheck Protection Program established to support small businesses in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) by (1) extending from 8 weeks to 16 weeks the period during which a loan recipient must use their paycheck protection loan to be eligible for forgiveness; and (2) allowing a recipient 16 weeks from the date of the loan to eliminate a reduction in workforce, salary, or wages that would otherwise reduce their forgivable amount. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
Landowners’ Right to Due Process in Rehearings at FERC Act of 2020

Bill: 116-hr-6982
Sponsor: Rep. Malinowski, Tom [D-NJ-7]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Judicial review and appeals
Land use and conservation
Oil and gas
Property rights
Public participation and lobbying
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 

Landowners' Right to Due Process in Rehearings at FERC Act of 2020

 
This bill revises the rehearing process for petitioners aggrieved by an order issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) with respect to natural gas pipeline projects.
 
Specifically, the bill sets forth a 60-day deadline for FERC to respond to a rehearing request from a petitioner. During this time, FERC is prohibited from authorizing construction-related activity that is related to the order, and the holder of a certificate of public convenience and necessity that is the subject of the order may not exercise the right of eminent domain to acquire land or other property to carry out the pipeline project.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
Pandemic Risk Insurance Act of 2020

Bill: 116-hr-6983
Sponsor: Rep. Maloney, Carolyn B. [D-NY-12]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Congressional oversight
Corporate finance and management
Department of the Treasury
Economic performance and conditions
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Federal preemption
Government studies and investigations
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Insurance industry and regulation
Life, casualty, property insurance
Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
Small business
State and local government operations
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 

Pandemic Risk Insurance Act of 2020

 
This bill establishes the Pandemic Risk Reinsurance Program within the Department of the Treasury. The program generally provides compensation to insurers if they incur losses as a result of coverage related to pandemics and outbreaks of disease. Insurers may elect to participate in the program if they meet certain criteria. Specifically, insurers participating in the program must offer, in all business interruption insurance policies, coverage for public health emergencies related to an outbreak of infectious disease or a pandemic declared on or after January 1, 2021, and certified by the Department of Health and Human Services. 
 
The program is triggered when aggregate industry insured losses for participating insurers resulting from a covered public health emergency exceed $250 million. The bill establishes the share of insured losses the program would cover, conditions for payment to insurers, caps on annual liability, and the amount insurers must annually pay in deductibles. The bill also provides for the treatment of existing business interruption insurance policies and state residual market insurance entities. 
 
The Government Accountability Office must report on the availability and affordability of business interruption insurance. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
Inspector General Independence Act

Bill: 116-hr-6984
Sponsor: Rep. Maloney, Carolyn B. [D-NY-12]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Executive agency funding and structure
Federal officials
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government studies and investigations
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 

Inspector General Independence Act

 
This bill enumerates the grounds for removal of an inpector general by the President, including documented neglect of duty or malfeasance. The President must include the documentation of any grounds for removal in a communication to Congress.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
Dam Safety Improvement Act

Bill: 116-hr-6985
Sponsor: Rep. Maloney, Sean Patrick [D-NY-18]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Water Resources Development
Subjects: Dams and canals
Emergency planning and evacuation
State and local government operations
Water resources funding

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 

Dam Safety Improvement Act

 
This bill expands eligibility for funding under the High Hazard Dam Rehabilitation Program and otherwise modifies the program.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
To include payments for waste and recycling collection services as covered utility payments for purposes of calculating the eligible amount for forgiveness of indebtedness on a paycheck protection program loan.

Bill: 116-hr-6987
Sponsor: Rep. McKinley, David B. [R-WV-1]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Business expenses
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Government lending and loan guarantees
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Public utilities and utility rates
Small business
Solid waste and recycling
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 
This bill expands loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program, established to support small businesses in response to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019), to include amounts from a paycheck protection loan that a recipient expends for waste and recycling collection.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
Helping Gig Economy Workers Act of 2020

Bill: 116-hr-6988
Sponsor: Rep. Miller, Carol D. [R-WV-3]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Digital media
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Employee benefits and pensions
Health technology, devices, supplies
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Labor-management relations
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Self-employed
Service industries
Telephone and wireless communication
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 

Helping Gig Economy Workers Act of 2020

 
 This bill temporarily permits digital marketplace companies (e.g., Lyft, DoorDash, Airbnb, etc.) to provide benefits to workers during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic without such actions establishing those workers as employees or independent contractors or establishing the company as a joint employer under federal, state, or local laws.
 
 This bill applies to digital marketplace companies that provide, among other things, financial assistance, health benefits, training, health checks and personal protective equipment to individuals working through such marketplaces during the period beginning on March 15, 2020, and ending on the later of June 30, 2021, or the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
Pandemic Anti-Monopoly Act of 2020

Bill: 116-hr-6989
Sponsor: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Banking and financial institutions regulation
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Civil actions and liability
Competition and antitrust
Corporate finance and management
Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Financial services and investments
Health technology, devices, supplies
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Intellectual property
Manufacturing
Product development and innovation
Public contracts and procurement
Research and development
Strategic materials and reserves

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 

Pandemic Anti-Monopoly Act of 2020

 
This bill places a moratorium on certain mergers and acquisitions during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.
 
Specifically, the bill prohibits certain transactions such as acquisitions (1) by firms with over $100 million in revenue; (2) by financial institutions or equity funds with over $100 million in capitalization; and (3) involving firms with exclusive patents pertaining to COVID-19 pandemic-related production, manufacturing, distribution, or infrastructure. However, a waiver may be granted if the participating firms demonstrate that the transaction will advance critical national security, economic, or public health interests during the emergency.
 
Further, the bill establishes a legal presumption against a transaction that may pose a risk to the government's ability to respond to the national emergency declared due to COVID-19. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
Homeless Veterans CREDIT Act

Bill: 116-hr-6990
Sponsor: Rep. Pallone, Frank, Jr. [D-NJ-6]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Child care and development
Congressional oversight
Consumer credit
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Family services
Government studies and investigations
Homelessness and emergency shelter
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Transportation costs
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Veterans' loans, housing, homeless programs

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 

Homeless Veterans Credit Repair, Enhancement, and Debt Improvement for Tomorrow Act or the Homeless Veterans CREDIT Act

 
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct a comprehensive study on access to, and the use and effects of, financial and credit counseling for veterans who do not have stable housing.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-07-13
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
PAUSE Act

Bill: 116-hr-6991
Sponsor: Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-20]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Arms control and nonproliferation
Congressional oversight
Congressional-executive branch relations
International law and treaties
Nuclear weapons
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
Russia

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 

Preventing Actions Undermining Security without Endorsement Act or the PAUSE Act

 
This bill prohibits any action to terminate or withdraw the United States from an international treaty to which the Senate has given advice and consent to ratification unless specified conditions are met.
 
Specifically, such withdrawal may not occur unless the Department of Defense and the Department of State submit specific information to Congress and Congress enacts a joint resolution approving such action. The required submissions must include (1) a detailed justification for withdrawal from or termination of the treaty, (2) a certification that all other state parties to the treaty have been consulted with respect to such justification, and (3) a comprehensive strategy to mitigate against lost capacity of benefits from such treaty. 
 
A decision by the President to not renew the treaty between the United States and Russia on measures for the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms (the New START Treaty) shall be subject to such requirements for up to an additional five years.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
Bring Jobs Home Act

Bill: 116-hr-6992
Sponsor: Rep. Pascrell, Bill, Jr. [D-NJ-9]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: American Samoa
Business investment and capital
Employee hiring
Foreign and international corporations
Guam
Income tax credits
Income tax deductions
Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico
Taxation of foreign income
U.S. territories and protectorates
Virgin Islands

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 

Bring Jobs Home Act 

 
This bill (1) grants business taxpayers a tax credit for up to 20% of insourcing expenses incurred for eliminating a business located outside the United States and relocating it within the United States, and (2) denies a tax deduction for outsourcing expenses incurred in relocating a U.S. business outside the United States. The bill requires an increase in the taxpayer's employment of full-time employees in the United States in order to claim the tax credit for insourcing expenses.
 
The bill eliminates the temporary suspension (for taxable years 2018 through 2025) of the tax deduction for moving expenses. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
H–1B and L–1 Visa Reform Act of 2020

Bill: 116-hr-6993
Sponsor: Rep. Pascrell, Bill, Jr. [D-NJ-9]
Introduced: 2020-05-22 in the House
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Department of Labor
Foreign labor
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government studies and investigations
Immigration status and procedures
Science and engineering education
User charges and fees
Visas and passports
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: 

H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2020

 
This bill modifies requirements related to H-1B (specialty occupation) and L-1 (intracompany transfers) nonimmigrant visas and contains related provisions. 
 
Provisions relating to H-1B visas include
 
 
requiring the Department of Labor to review petitions for indicators of fraud or misrepresentation of material fact; 
 
requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to prioritize certain petitions, with top priority for workers with advanced degrees in science, technology, or engineering; 
 
requiring an H-1B worker to possess at minimum a bachelor's degree to meet specialty occupation requirements (currently, relevant experience may be used instead); and
 
 prohibiting an alien classifiable in certain H-1B categories from obtaining a B-1 (temporary business visitor) visa. 
 
 
Provisions relating to L-1 visas include
 
 
requiring a waiver from Labor for an L-1 worker to be primarily stationed with an employer other than the petitioning employer; 
 
prohibiting an alien from receiving an L-1 visa to open or be employed in a new office if the alien has received two or more such visas in the last two years; and 
 
increasing the L-1 worker minimum wage to the highest of certain amounts, such as the median wage for the worker's occupational classification in the area of employment (currently, an L-1 worker must be paid at least the higher of the federal or state minimum wage). 
 
 
In regards to both visas, the bill (1) expands the authority of DHS and Labor to take various enforcement actions, and (2) directs DHS to conduct annual audits of a certain percentage of employers. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2020-05-22
text: Introduced in House