hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act

Bill: 117-s-203
Sponsor: Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA]
Introduced: 2021-02-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Agricultural marketing and promotion
Food assistance and relief
Food industry and services
Government information and archives
Income tax credits
Nutrition and diet
Retail and wholesale trades

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: 

Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act 

 
This bill allows tax credits and grants for activities that provide access to healthy food in food deserts, which are communities that have limited or no access to grocery stores and meet income requirements. 
 
For entities that are certified by the Department of the Treasury as special access food providers using specified criteria, the bill allows tax credits for operating a new grocery store or renovating an existing grocery store in a food desert. The bill also authorizes grants for a portion of (1) the construction costs of building a permanent food bank in a food desert, and (2) the annual operating costs of temporary access merchants (mobile markets, farmers markets, and food banks). 
 
Treasury, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture (USDA), must annually allocate the tax credits and grants to special access food providers. Grants authorized by this bill are not considered gross income for tax purposes. 
 
The bill also requires USDA to update the Food Access Research Atlas at least annually to account for food retailers that are placed in service during that year. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Global Press Freedom Act

Bill: 117-s-204
Sponsor: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI]
Introduced: 2021-02-03 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Department of State
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal officials
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government studies and investigations
Human rights
International organizations and cooperation
News media and reporting
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: 

Global Press Freedom Act

 
This bill establishes the Office of Press Freedom to advance the protection and well-being of members of the press abroad and to engage with foreign governments and global press freedom organizations concerning freedom of the press and of expression. 
 
Led by the Ambassador-at-Large for Press Freedom, who shall be appointed by the President, the office must (1) coordinate efforts between relevant U.S. embassy personnel and press organizations or threatened individuals in situations in which press freedom is threatened abroad, (2) publicly and privately denounce oppression of the press abroad, and (3) recommend appropriate responses by the U.S. government when press freedoms are infringed upon. The office must also develop a press freedom curriculum for the National Foreign Affairs Training Center to help Foreign Service officers better understand issues of press freedom and tools that are available to help protect journalists and promote freedom of the press norms.
 
The Government Accountability Office must assess and report on effects and changes resulting from certain requirements related to press freedom.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Paycheck Fairness Act

Bill: 117-s-205
Sponsor: Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA]
Introduced: 2021-02-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Business records
Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Contracts and agency
Department of Education
Department of Labor
Employee hiring
Employment and training programs
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Labor standards
Minority employment
Public contracts and procurement
Racial and ethnic relations
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
Small business
Temporary and part-time employment
Wages and earnings
Women's employment
Youth employment and child labor

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: 

Paycheck Fairness Act

 
This bill addresses wage discrimination on the basis of sex. Specifically, it (1) limits an employer's defense that a pay differential is based on a factor other than sex to only bona fide job-related factors in wage discrimination claims, (2) enhances nonretaliation prohibitions, (3) makes it unlawful to require an employee to sign a contract or waiver prohibiting the employee from disclosing information about the employee's wages, and (4) increases civil penalties for violations of equal pay provisions. 
 
Additionally, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs must train EEOC employees and other affected parties on wage discrimination. 
The bill directs the Department of Labor to (1) establish and carry out a grant program for negotiation skills training for girls and women, (2) conduct studies to eliminate pay disparities between men and women, and (3) make available information on wage discrimination to assist the public in understanding and addressing such discrimination. 
The bill also establishes the Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace for an employer who has made a substantial effort to eliminate pay disparities between men and women. 
Finally, the bill requires the EEOC to issue regulations for collecting from employers compensation and other employment data according to the sex, race, and national origin of employees for use in enforcing laws prohibiting pay discrimination. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Parental Accessibility Rights for Emergency and Negligent Treatment Act

Bill: 117-s-206
Sponsor: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT]
Introduced: 2021-02-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Child health
Family relationships
Health care coverage and access
Health information and medical records
Health programs administration and funding
Home and outpatient care
Hospital care
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Medicaid
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: 

Parental Accessibility Rights for Emergency and Negligent Treatment Act

 
This bill expands the scope of advance directive policies and related disclosures for providers under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
 
Specifically, providers (e.g., hospitals, hospice programs, and home health care providers) must have advance directive policies for minors (rather than only adults) and must disclose such policies on the provider's website and upon request. Providers must also disclose information regarding (1) an individual's rights with respect to life-sustaining procedures, including hydration and sustenance; and (2) whether parental consent is required to provide, withdraw, or deny life-sustaining procedures, or to institute a do-not-resuscitate order, for a minor.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Parental Right to Know Act

Bill: 117-s-207
Sponsor: Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT]
Introduced: 2021-02-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Child health
Family relationships
Health care costs and insurance
Health facilities and institutions
Health information and medical records
Home and outpatient care
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Medicaid
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: 

Parental Right to Know Act

 
This bill expands the scope of advance directive policies and related disclosures for providers under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
 
Specifically, providers (e.g., hospitals, hospice programs, and home health care providers) must have advance directive policies for minors (rather than only adults). Providers must also disclose policies regarding parental access to a minor's medical records. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Holding Russia Accountable for Malign Activities Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-208
Sponsor: Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE]
Introduced: 2021-02-03 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Arms control and nonproliferation
Assault and harassment offenses
Chemical and biological weapons
Congressional oversight
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Detention of persons
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Europe
Foreign property
Germany
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Human rights
International law and treaties
Oil and gas
Pipelines
Protest and dissent
Russia
Sanctions
Violent crime
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: 

Holding Russia Accountable for Malign Activities Act of 2021 

 
This bill directs the President to impose visa- and asset-blocking sanctions on any current or former official of Russia's government involved in the August 20, 2020, poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny or the subsequent cover-up of the poisoning. An individual or entity that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of such sanctions shall be subject to civil and criminal penalties.
 
In addition, the President shall report to Congress on the personal wealth of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his family members. The Department of State shall report to Congress on the circumstances of the February 27, 2015, assassination of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Emergency Assistance for Rural Water Systems Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-209
Sponsor: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Introduced: 2021-02-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Water Resources Development
Subjects: Agricultural prices, subsidies, credit
Appropriations
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Government lending and loan guarantees
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Rural conditions and development
Solid waste and recycling
User charges and fees
Water resources funding
Water use and supply

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: 

Emergency Assistance for Rural Water Systems Act
 
of 2021

 
This bill allows, and provides funds for, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide grants and loans, as well as loan forgiveness, modification, and refinancing, to rural water, wastewater, or waste disposal facilities. Specifically, USDA may provide such assistance for purposes of ensuring public health, safety, and order and to address financial hardships, in particular those due to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Protecting JOBs Act

Bill: 117-s-210
Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2021-02-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Civil actions and liability
Education programs funding
Health personnel
Higher education
Licensing and registrations
Medical education
Motor vehicles
State and local government operations
Student aid and college costs
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: 

Protecting Job Opportunities for Borrowers Act or the Protecting JOBs Act

 
This bill prohibits a state from suspending, revoking, or denying a state-issued driver's license, teaching license, or professional license based solely on an individual's default or delinquency on a federal student loan or health education loan. Further, an aggrieved individual may bring a civil action against a state for violations.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Put Students First Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-211
Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2021-02-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Appropriations
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Education programs funding
Educational facilities and institutions
Elementary and secondary education
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: 

Put Students First Act of 2021

 
This bill prohibits the Department of Education (ED) from providing certain FY2021 education funds or COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) relief funds to an elementary or secondary school that does not offer in-person instruction by April 30, 2021. A school must forfeit or return these funds if it does not offer in-person instruction by that date.
 
Additionally, the bill outlines the use of forfeited and returned funds. A state may regain eligibility for these funds if it submits an implementation plan to ED that provides students with school choice options. If a state does not submit an implementation plan, then the funds must be provided as grants to states with the highest percentage of schools offering in-person instruction.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Access Technology Affordability Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-212
Sponsor: Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD]
Introduced: 2021-02-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Disability and paralysis
Health care costs and insurance
Health technology, devices, supplies
Hearing, speech, and vision care
Income tax credits
Inflation and prices

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: 

Access Technology Affordability Act of 2021

 
This bill allows a refundable tax credit equal to the amounts paid for qualified access technology for use by a blind individual who is the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or a dependent of the taxpayer. 
Qualified access technology
 is hardware, software, or other information technology with the primary function of converting or adapting information that is visually represented into forms or formats useable by blind individuals. 
 
The credit is limited to (1) costs that are not compensated by insurance or otherwise, and (2) an aggregate amount of $2,000 per blind individual in any period of three consecutive taxable years. The credit must be adjusted for inflation after 2022 and terminates after 2026. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Introduced in Senate
TRUE EQUITY Act

Bill: 117-s-213
Sponsor: Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. [D-MD]
Introduced: 2021-02-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Academic performance and assessments
Disability and paralysis
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Educational guidance
Elementary and secondary education
Employment and training programs
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Higher education
Licensing and registrations
Minority education
Preschool education
School administration
Special education
State and local government operations
Student aid and college costs
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Vocational and technical education

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: 

Transformational Reforms and Updates to Ensure Educational Quality and Urgent Investments in Today's Youth Act of 2021 or the TRUE EQUITY Act

 
This bill establishes various grant programs to address educational inequities in elementary and secondary schools.
 
Specifically, the bill creates grant programs related to (1) early childhood education, (2) high-quality and diverse teachers and leaders, (3) college and career readiness pathways, and (4) additional resources for at-risk students. For each grant program, the Department of Education (ED) must award a single grant to an eligible state.
 
 To be eligible for a grant, a state must establish an independent state oversight board. The oversight board must, among other duties (1) determine whether the state and its local educational agencies (LEAs) have met state educational equity goals, and (2) hold them accountable for failing to meet those goals. ED may renew a grant if the oversight board determines the state has met its goals.
 
In addition, for each grant program, the bill outlines the activities authorized under the program, maintenance-of-effort requirements, and matching fund requirements.
 
Finally, the bill permits ED to enter into a local flexibility demonstration agreement, through which a state educational agency may use funds to develop and implement a school funding system based on weighted per-pupil allocations for low-income and disadvantaged students. (Currently, ED may enter into these agreements with LEAs.)


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Medical Debt Relief Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-214
Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced: 2021-02-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Consumer credit
Debt collection
Health care costs and insurance

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: 

Medical Debt Relief Act of 2021 

 
This bill modifies requirements related to the reporting of medical debt. Specifically, a consumer reporting agency is prohibited from adding medical debt information to a consumer credit report if the debt 
 
 
was fully paid or settled, or 
 
is less than a year old. 
 
 
Additionally, a debt collector must notify the consumer prior to reporting medical debt to a consumer reporting agency. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Spotlight Act

Bill: 117-s-215
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2021-02-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Department of the Treasury
Government information and archives
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Labor-management relations
Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
Tax-exempt organizations

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: 

Spotlight Act 

 
This bill renders null and void final Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations published on May 28, 2020, relating to the reporting requirements of tax-exempt organizations.
 
The bill requires tax-exempt organizations that fall under sections 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5), and 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code (e.g., social welfare organizations, labor organizations, business leagues) to disclose the names and addresses of all substantial contributors (persons who contribute more than $5,000 per year to such organizations) on their information returns.
 
The bill also eliminates the authority of the IRS to provide exceptions to the disclosure requirements for tax-exempt organizations. This provision does not apply to determinations made by the IRS before July 16, 2018. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Climate Smart Ports Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-216
Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced: 2021-02-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Adoption and foster care
Air quality
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Congressional oversight
Disability and paralysis
Electric power generation and transmission
Energy storage, supplies, demand
Environmental health
Environmental technology
Hazardous wastes and toxic substances
Homelessness and emergency shelter
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Labor standards
Lighting, heating, cooling
Marine and inland water transportation
Military personnel and dependents
Navigation, waterways, harbors
Poverty and welfare assistance
Public contracts and procurement
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: 

Climate Smart Ports Act
 
of 2021

 
This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a grant program for purchasing or installing equipment and technology to reduce pollution at ports. Specifically, the grants must be used for equipment or technology that produces zero exhaust emissions of certain pollutants and greenhouse gases or captures 100% of the exhaust emissions produced by an ocean-going vessel at berth.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Patient Matching Improvement Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-217
Sponsor: Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]
Introduced: 2021-02-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Congressional oversight
Department of Health and Human Services
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Health facilities and institutions
Health information and medical records
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Postal service

Summary:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: 

Patient Matching Improvement Act of 2021

 
This bill requires the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to standardize the format of postal addresses in health information technology to improve patient matching. Patient matching is the identification and linking of one patient's data within and across health care organizations using multiple demographic fields, such as name and address.
 
The ONC must collaborate with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to make existing tools that automatically format addresses into a specific standard available to health care organizations. In particular, the ONC must focus on making the tools available to laboratories that test for COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) to improve data collection related to that disease. If the USPS determines the tools cannot be made available to health care organizations, the Department of Health and Human Services must report to Congress on the barriers that prevent such use.
 
In addition, the ONC must update regulations to require the use of a standard address format as a condition of certification for health information technology.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2021-02-03
text: Introduced in Senate