hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Environmental Justice Legacy Pollution Cleanup Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4617
Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2020-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Air quality
Appropriations
Cancer
Coal
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Department of the Interior
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Environmental health
Environmental regulatory procedures
Executive agency funding and structure
Government information and archives
Government lending and loan guarantees
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Housing and community development funding
Indian lands and resources rights
Land use and conservation
Licensing and registrations
Low- and moderate-income housing
Military facilities and property
Mining
Pollution liability
Residential rehabilitation and home repair
State and local finance
Water quality
Water use and supply

Summary:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: 

Environmental Justice Legacy Pollution Cleanup Act of 2020

 
This bill provides for funding and permitting restrictions in relation to environmental cleanup and remediation of areas with public health threats.
 
Specifically, the bill provides supplemental appropriations for FY2020 to the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Agriculture, and the Indian Health Service for various environmental cleanup and remediation projects, including those that affect low-income and tribal communities. For example, the bill appropriates $30 billion to HUD to provide grants to local governments to evaluate and reduce lead-based paint hazards and other housing-related health and safety hazards in low-income housing.
 
The bill immediately prohibits the granting of a Title V permit for a major proposed source (relating to air pollution control requirements) for an overburdened census tract, which is an area that has been identified as having a specified amount of particulate matter and an identified heightened risk of cancer due to air pollution. The EPA must publish a list of overburdened census tracts and update the list annually based on the most recently available modeling and monitoring data.
 
After January 1, 2025, the bill also prohibits the renewal of Title V permits for major sources in an overburdened census tract.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill making emergency supplemental appropriations for disaster relief for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.

Bill: 116-s-4618
Sponsor: Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH]
Introduced: 2020-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Emergency Management

Summary:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: 

Ensuring Relief for Americans Impacted by Economic and Natural Disasters Act, 2020

 
This bill provides $86.6 billion in FY2020 supplemental appropriations to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the Disaster Relief Fund. The bill designates the funding as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-09-21
text: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 549.
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time.
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
NEPA Accountability and Enforcement Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4619
Sponsor: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT]
Introduced: 2020-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Environmental health
Environmental regulatory procedures
Executive agency funding and structure
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Licensing and registrations
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: 

NEPA Accountability and Enforcement Act
 

of 2020

 
This bills establishes (1) deadlines for federal agencies to complete reviews of the environmental effects of proposed major federal actions, and (2) penalties for agencies that do not comply with these deadlines.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
NEPA Accountability and Oversight Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4620
Sponsor: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT]
Introduced: 2020-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Government information and archives
Licensing and registrations

Summary:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: 

NEPA Accountability and Oversight Act of 2020

 
This bills establishes deadlines for federal agencies to complete reviews of the environmental effects of proposed major federal actions.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
2020 Disasters Tax Relief Act

Bill: 116-s-4621
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2020-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Business expenses
Disaster relief and insurance
Employee benefits and pensions
Housing finance and home ownership
Income tax credits
Income tax deductions
Income tax exclusion
Low- and moderate-income housing
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
U.S. territories and protectorates
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: 

2020 Disasters Tax Relief Act 

 
This bill sets forth tax relief provisions for individual and business taxpayers residing in a disaster zone during the period beginning on January 1, 2020, and ending 60 days after the enactment of this bill. Specifically, the bill 
 
 
allows penalty-free disaster-relief withdrawals from tax-exempt retirement plans up to $100,000, 
 
permits recontributions of such withdrawals for home purchases cancelled due to disasters, 
 
increases to $100,000 the limit on loans for disaster assistance from retirement plans, 
 
allows employers affected by a disaster a 40% tax credit for the purpose of retaining employees, 
 
enhances the tax deduction for disaster-related personal casualty losses, 
 
permits the calculation of the earned income tax credit based upon income earned prior to 2020, 
 
increases low-income housing tax credit allocations,
 
reimburses U.S. possessions for losses sustained due to the application of the provisions of this bill. 



Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site Expansion Act

Bill: 116-s-4622
Sponsor: Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2020-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Delaware
District of Columbia
Elementary and secondary education
Historic sites and heritage areas
Kansas
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Racial and ethnic relations
South Carolina
Virginia

Summary:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: 

Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site Expansion Act

 
This bill expands the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site currently located in Topeka, Kansas, to include additional sites in Clarendon County, South Carolina, and establishes as affiliated areas specified sites in Farmville, Virginia; Wilmington and Hockessin, Delaware; and the District of Columbia.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Fly Safe and Healthy Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4623
Sponsor: Sen. Cantwell, Maria [D-WA]
Introduced: 2020-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Aviation and airports
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Department of Transportation
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Health information and medical records
Health promotion and preventive care
Health technology, devices, supplies
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Public-private cooperation
Right of privacy
Transportation costs
Transportation employees
Transportation safety and security
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: 

Fly Safe and Healthy Act of 2020 

 
This bill directs the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to establish a 120-day pilot program to conduct temperature checks for domestic and international passengers, individuals accompanying those passengers, crew members, and other individuals who pass through airports and airport security screening locations.
 
In developing the pilot program, the TSA must address certain policies and procedures, including (1) accommodating individuals with disabilities or observing certain religious practices, and (2) exempting individuals who may have a fever unrelated to COVID-19 (i.e. coronavirus disease 2019).
 
The pilot program must ensure airlines allow passengers who are prohibited from flying due to a fever or a secondary medical screening to reschedule or cancel a flight at no cost.
 
The TSA must, within 90 days after the completion of the pilot program, create a policy for deploying a temperature check program at airports and airport security screening locations through the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
 
The Department of Transportation must revise its regulations to require the inclusion of certain information about traveling in the passenger notification system during the COVID-19 public health emergency, including (1) a message discouraging any individual who has a fever from traveling in air transportation, and (2) a notification that each passenger and any individual accompanying a passenger into the sterile area of the airport will undergo a temperature check if the pilot program established under this bill is in effect in that airport.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Innovation Centers Acceleration Act

Bill: 116-s-4624
Sponsor: Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2020-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Advanced technology and technological innovations
Agricultural practices and innovations
Aviation and airports
Business investment and capital
Competitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficits
Computers and information technology
Education programs funding
Employment and training programs
Government lending and loan guarantees
Health programs administration and funding
Health technology, devices, supplies
Higher education
Housing and community development funding
Income tax credits
Infrastructure development
Labor and Employment
Manufacturing
Medical research
Minority and disadvantaged businesses
Minority education
Minority employment
Public-private cooperation
Research administration and funding
Research and development
Roads and highways
Securities
Small business
Spacecraft and satellites
Student aid and college costs
Transportation programs funding
Unemployment
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: 

Innovation Centers Acceleration Act

 
This bill provides a program to advance economic development by designating nine cities as innovation centers&#8212;increasing funding for research and development&#8212;and providing and modifying certain related grants. It also establishes the Innovation Center Selection Committee to designate these cities.
 
The innovation center designation entitles participating cities&#8212;and the businesses, research institutions, and other organizations that operate within them&#8212;to various federal funding and benefits for research activities, business and workforce development, and transportation infrastructure projects. 
 
These benefits include expanding various tax credits and incentives for businesses and enabling those businesses to access loans and other financial instruments to raise capital. 
 
In addition, the bill establishes a grant program for local and tribal governments that partner with innovation centers to develop and preserve affordable housing. It also modifies existing grants, loans, and other programs that support transportation infrastructure to specifically target initiatives in innovation centers.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
National Prescribed Fire Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4625
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2020-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Air quality
Department of Agriculture
Department of the Interior
Employee hiring
Employment and training programs
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Fires
Forests, forestry, trees
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Government liability
Government trust funds
Indian lands and resources rights
Intergovernmental relations
Marketing and advertising
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Public contracts and procurement
State and local government operations
Temporary and part-time employment
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Wages and earnings
Wilderness and natural areas, wildlife refuges, wild rivers, habitats

Summary:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: 

National Prescribed Fire Act of 2020

This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior to significantly increase the number and size of prescribed fires conducted on federal lands.
 
Before the end of FY2022, Interior and USDA shall each have carried out a minimum of one prescribed fire on each unit of the National Forest System (with exceptions), unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System, unit of the National Park System, and Bureau of Land Management district (1) that includes an area that has a historical low-severity fire regime, has a historical fire-return interval of not more than 35 years, and is larger than 100 acres; and (2) less than half of which was burned by a wildland fire during the previous 10-year period. 
 
Interior shall establish a collaborative prescribed fire program to provide financial assistance to eligible entities to conduct prescribed fires in priority landscapes.
 
Interior shall establish an incentive program to encourage the implementation of large, cross-boundary prescribed fires.
 
Interior and USDA shall hire additional employees and provide training to increase the number of skilled and qualified prescribed fire practitioners in the departments and other organizations.
 
To address the public health and safety risk of the expanded use of prescribed fire, USDA and Interior shall conduct research to improve or develop, among other things, cost-effective, and consistent mitigation strategies for communities impacted adversely by smoke from prescribed fire.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-11-18
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 116-382.
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
SAFE DATA Act

Bill: 116-s-4626
Sponsor: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS]
Introduced: 2020-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Business ethics
Child health
Civil actions and liability
Computers and information technology
Congressional oversight
Consumer affairs
Corporate finance and management
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Government studies and investigations
Government trust funds
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Licensing and registrations
Mental health
Right of privacy
State and local government operations
Technology assessment

Summary:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: 

Setting an American Framework to Ensure Data Access, Transparency, and Accountability Act or the SAFE DATA Act

 
This bill establishes various requirements relating to the collection of consumer data, data transparency and security, and corporate accountability, including limiting the amount of data a covered entity may collect and prohibiting manipulation of data intended to increase the usage of online services (e.g., incorporating auto-play functions without the consent of a user).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
FEMA Assistance Relief Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4627
Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced: 2020-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Emergency Management
Subjects: Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Disaster relief and insurance
Emergency medical services and trauma care
First responders and emergency personnel
Government information and archives
Health facilities and institutions
Health programs administration and funding
Health technology, devices, supplies
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
State and local finance
State and local government operations
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: 

FEMA Assistance Relief Act of 2020

 
This bill modifies the federal cost share of certain emergency assistance relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
 
Specifically, the bill provides for (1) a 100% federal cost share of assistance provided under the emergency declaration issued by the President on March 13, 2020, relating to COVID-19 and any subsequent major disaster declaration that supersedes it; and (2) at least a 90% federal cost share of assistance provided for any emergency or major disaster declared by the President from January 1-December 31, 2020.
 
With respect to the emergency declaration issued on March 13, 2020, the President may provide assistance for activities, costs, and purchases of states or local governments or the owners or operators of eligible private nonprofits, including, among other things
 
 
backfill costs for first responders and other essential employees who are ill or quarantined;
 
increased operating costs for essential government services due to such emergency;
 
costs associated with maintaining alternate care facilities or related facilities currently inactive but related to future needs tied to the ongoing pandemic event;
 
personal protective equipment and other critical supplies and services for first responders and other essential employees; and
 
costs of procuring and distributing food to individuals affected by the pandemic through networks established by state, local, or tribal governments or other organizations.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Human Trafficking Council Extension Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4628
Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
Introduced: 2020-09-17 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Crime prevention
Crime victims
Human trafficking
Public-private cooperation

Summary:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: 

Human Trafficking Council Extension Act of 2020

 
This bill delays the termination of the Public-Private Partnership Advisory Council to End Human Trafficking until September 30, 2021.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2020-09-17
text: Introduced in Senate
Defend Our Defenders Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-4630
Sponsor: Sen. Loeffler, Kelly [R-GA]
Introduced: 2020-09-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Assault and harassment offenses
Crime victims
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Law enforcement officers
Political movements and philosophies
Terrorism
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2020-09-21
text: 

Defend Our Defenders Act of 2020

 
This bill establishes federal criminal offenses involving the murder of federal, state, or local law enforcement officers. Violators are subject to life in prison or death. 
 
The bill sets forth aggravating factors (e.g., intent to ambush or prior history of promoting violence against a law enforcement officer) to be considered in determining whether to impose the death penalty.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-09-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2020-09-21
text: Introduced in Senate
Hong Kong Refugee Protection Act

Bill: 116-s-4631
Sponsor: Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR]
Introduced: 2020-09-21 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Administrative remedies
Alliances
Asia
Athletes
China
Citizenship and naturalization
Congressional oversight
Department of Homeland Security
Detention of persons
Elementary and secondary education
Family relationships
Financial services and investments
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Government information and archives
Higher education
Hong Kong
Human rights
Immigration status and procedures
Inflation and prices
International organizations and cooperation
Language arts
News media and reporting
Olympic games
Protest and dissent
Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
Science and engineering education
U.S. and foreign investments
User charges and fees
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2020-09-21
text: 

Hong Kong Refugee Protection Act 

 
This bill removes statutory authority for the President to allow the admission of more than 50,000 refugees in a fiscal year for humanitarian concerns or national interest considerations and suspends the diversity visa program through FY2025. (The program makes immigrant visas available to aliens from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States.) The bill also provides certain Hong Kong residents with priority refugee status or special visas. 
 
An individual and certain family members shall have priority refugee status if the individual (1) is a Hong Kong resident who suffered persecution or has a well-founded fear of persecution as a result of peaceful political activity; or (2) has been formally charged, detained, or convicted for certain peaceful actions. 
 
The general presumption that an alien is seeking immigrant status shall not apply to certain Hong Kong residents (generally, those who participated in pro-democracy protests in 2019 and 2020) seeking asylum. (Typically, an alien seeking admission as a nonimmigrant must establish that the alien does not intend to immigrate to the United States.) 
 
The Department of Homeland Security shall admit up to 30,000 eligible Hong Kong residents as immigrants using a points system each year through FY2025. Points shall be awarded to an individual based on various characteristics including age, educational attainment, commitment to invest certain amounts in the United States, and salary. Every six months, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall invite the individuals with the highest point totals to apply for admission.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2020-09-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2020-09-21
text: Introduced in Senate