hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Voter Empowerment Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-954
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2021-03-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Aging
Civil actions and liability
Congressional elections
Congressional oversight
Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Disability and paralysis
Disaster relief and insurance
Election Assistance Commission
Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
Elementary and secondary education
Emergency planning and evacuation
Employee hiring
Family relationships
Foreign language and bilingual programs
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Higher education
Indian lands and resources rights
Indian social and development programs
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Law enforcement administration and funding
Military personnel and dependents
Natural disasters
Northern Ireland
Postal service
Public contracts and procurement
State and local government operations
U.S. territories and protectorates
Voting rights
Worker safety and health

Summary:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: 
 
Voter Empowerment Act of 2021 

 
This bill expands voter registration and voting access.
 
Specifically, the bill expands voter registration by requiring states to (1) make available online voter registration, (2) establish automatic voter registration systems, (3) permit same-day voter registration, and (4) accept voter registration applications from individuals under age 18.
 
Further, the bill limits removing voters from voter rolls and prohibits interference with voter registration or voting.
 
Next, the bill requires states to allow individuals with disabilities to use absentee registration procedures and to vote by absentee ballot in federal elections. 
 
The bill also prohibits voter caging (the practice of sending mail to addresses on voter rolls, compiling a list of the undeliverable mail, and using the list to remove registered voters from voter rolls).
 
Next, the bill expands voting access by requiring states to allow early voting and voting by mail without additional conditions. It also requires states to provide secured drop boxes at which individuals may drop off their completed absentee ballots.
 
In addition, the bill declares that the right of a U.S. citizen to vote in any federal election shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has been convicted of a criminal offense unless, at the time of the election, such individual is serving a felony sentence.
 
Finally, the bill permanently reauthorizes the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). It also directs the EAC to make grants to states for specified activities, including to implement automatic voter registration systems.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Introduced in Senate
Right Track Act

Bill: 117-s-955
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2021-03-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Accidents
Congressional oversight
Government information and archives
Railroads
Roads and highways
Rural conditions and development
Transportation programs funding
Transportation safety and security

Summary:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: 

Right Track Act 

 
This bill directs the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to jointly (1) provide recommendations for reducing the number of collisions at highway-rail grade crossings in counties with 10 or fewer residents per square mile; and (2) conduct a public outreach and educational initiative, in cooperation with Operation Lifesaver, to reduce collisions at public highway-rail grade crossings in such counties that includes multimedia resources.
 
The FRA and the FHWA must use the recommendations to provide technical assistance to states seeking to make rail safety infrastructure improvements.
 
Additionally, the Department of Transportation must use amounts set aside under the consolidated rail infrastructure and safety improvements grant program to improve grade crossing safety in counties with 10 or fewer residents per square mile. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Introduced in Senate
Supreme Court Transparency Act

Bill: 117-s-956
Sponsor: Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA]
Introduced: 2021-03-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Law
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government information and archives
Judges
Judicial procedure and administration
Supreme Court

Summary:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: 

Supreme Court Transparency Act 

 
This bill requires online publication of ethics reports, personal finance reports, and other disclosure reports regarding the Justices of the Supreme Court. 
 
The bill also requires the Justices of the Supreme Court to file periodic transaction reports regarding the purchase, sale, or exchange of stocks, bonds, commodities futures, and other forms of securities when the amount of the transaction exceeds $1,000. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Introduced in Senate
Secure and Protect Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-959
Sponsor: Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC]
Introduced: 2021-03-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Border security and unlawful immigration
Child health
Child safety and welfare
Congressional oversight
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Department of Homeland Security
Detention of persons
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Espionage and treason
Family relationships
Federal preemption
Government buildings, facilities, and property
Immigrant health and welfare
Immigration status and procedures
Judges
Judicial procedure and administration
Judicial review and appeals
Lawyers and legal services
Licensing and registrations
Mental health
Organ and tissue donation and transplantation
Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
Specialized courts
State and local government operations
Surgery and anesthesia
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: 

Secure and Protect Act of 2021 

 
This bill makes changes to the handling of unaccompanied alien children and asylum applications.
 
The 
Flores
 settlement (a court settlement imposing conditions on the treatment of detained alien minors) shall not restrict any activities. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall have sole discretion as to detention standards of alien minors.
 
Statutory provisions governing the handling of unaccompanied alien children from U.S.-bordering countries shall now govern all unaccompanied alien children. The bill provides for requirements relating to the handling of such alien children. Certain immigration officer determinations relating to unaccompanied alien children shall be unreviewable.
 
DHS may detain accompanied alien children pending the completion of removal proceedings (some courts have ruled that 
Flores
 limits the detention of certain alien children to 20 days). States may not impose licensing requirements for family detention facilities.
 
An unaccompanied alien child shall not be released from custody while immigration or removal proceedings are pending, with some exceptions.
 
The bill limits asylum eligibility to aliens entering the United States at a designated port of entry and provides for additional grounds for asylum ineligibility. A 
credible fear of persecution
 is redefined to mean that it is more likely than not that the alien would be able to establish eligibility for asylum.
 
The Department of State shall establish refugee application and processing centers in Mexico and Central America. The bill requires the hiring of additional immigration judges, support staff, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorneys.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Introduced in Senate
ROC Act

Bill: 117-s-960
Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX]
Introduced: 2021-03-24 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Appropriations
Asia
Department of State
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Executive agency funding and structure
National symbols
Sovereignty, recognition, national governance and status
Taiwan

Summary:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: 

Reassurance On Commitments Act of 2021 or the ROC Act

 
This bill prohibits using funds made available to the Department of State for FY2022 to implement or enforce any policy that restricts representatives of Taiwan (such as members of Taiwan's armed forces or representatives of its government) or the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office from displaying symbols of Taiwan's sovereignty for official purposes. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Introduced in Senate
American Innovation Act

Bill: 117-s-961
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2021-03-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Appropriations
Defense spending
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Energy
Executive agency funding and structure
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Science Foundation
Research administration and funding
Space flight and exploration

Summary:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: 

American Innovation Act

 
This bill provides permanent funding for 
 
 
the National Science Foundation, 
 
the Office of Science at the Department of Energy,
 
the Department of Defense science and technology programs,
 
the scientific and technical research and services of the National Institute of Standards and Technology at the Department of Commerce, and 
 
 the Science Mission Directorate at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
 
 
The bill exempts such funding from being sequestered under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text: CR S1770)
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Introduced in Senate
American Cures Act

Bill: 117-s-962
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2021-03-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Appropriations
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Defense spending
Department of Defense
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Veterans Affairs
Executive agency funding and structure
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Health technology, devices, supplies
Medical research
Military medicine
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Research administration and funding
Research and development

Summary:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: 

American Cures Act 

 
This bill permanently funds several federal agencies and programs that perform biomedical research.
 
The bill provides specified funding for 
 
 
the National Institutes of Health,
 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
 
 the Department of Defense health program, and 
 
the Department of Veterans Affairs medical and prosthetics research program. 
 
 
The bill exempts the funding from sequestration, which is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals. 
 
It also exempts the budgetary effects of the funding from the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO) and the Senate PAYGO rule. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations. (text: CR S1770-1771)
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Introduced in Senate
Domestic Terrorism and Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-963
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2021-03-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Community life and organization
Congressional oversight
Crime prevention
Crime victims
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal justice information and records
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Justice
Disability and health-based discrimination
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Employment and training programs
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Federal-Indian relations
Firearms and explosives
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Hate crimes
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Intergovernmental relations
Law enforcement administration and funding
Law enforcement officers
Racial and ethnic relations
State and local government operations
Terrorism
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: 

Domestic Terrorism and Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2021

 
This bill establishes new requirements to expand the availability of information on domestic terrorism, as well as the relationship between domestic terrorism and hate crimes. The bill also facilitates the expedited review of COVID-19 hate crimes and reports of COVID-19 hate crimes.
 
It authorizes domestic terrorism components within the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to monitor, analyze, investigate, and prosecute domestic terrorism. 
 
The bill creates an interagency task force to analyze and combat white supremacist and neo-Nazi infiltration of the uniformed services and federal law enforcement agencies.
 
It directs the FBI to assign a special agent or hate crimes liaison to each field office to investigate hate crimes incidents with a nexus to domestic terrorism.
 
Finally, the bill requires a designated officer or employee of DOJ to facilitate the expedited review of COVID-19 hate crimes and reports of COVID-19 hate crimes.
 
It defines
 COVID-19 hate crime
 as a violent crime that is motivated by two things: (1) the actual or perceived characteristic (e.g., race or ethnicity) of any person, and (2) the actual or perceived relationship to the spread of COVID-19 of any person because of that characteristic.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-03-25
text: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 30.
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under Read the First Time. (text: CR S1771-1773)
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Introduced in Senate
Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-964
Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
Introduced: 2021-03-24 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Community life and organization
Congressional oversight
Crime prevention
Crime victims
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal justice information and records
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Justice
Disability and health-based discrimination
Employment and training programs
Executive agency funding and structure
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Federal-Indian relations
Firearms and explosives
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Hate crimes
Intergovernmental relations
Law enforcement administration and funding
Law enforcement officers
Racial and ethnic relations
State and local government operations
Terrorism
Violent crime

Summary:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: 

Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2021

 
This bill establishes new requirements to expand the availability of information on domestic terrorism, as well as the relationship between domestic terrorism and hate crimes.
 
It authorizes domestic terrorism components within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to monitor, analyze, investigate, and prosecute domestic terrorism.
 
The domestic terrorism components of DHS, DOJ, and the FBI must jointly report on domestic terrorism, including white-supremacist-related incidents or attempted incidents.
 
DHS, DOJ, and the FBI must review the anti-terrorism training and resource programs of their agencies that are provided to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies.
 
It creates an interagency task force to analyze and combat white supremacist and neo-Nazi infiltration of the uniformed services and federal law enforcement agencies.
 
Finally, it directs the FBI to assign a special agent or hate crimes liaison to each field office to investigate hate crimes incidents with a nexus to domestic terrorism.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text: CR S1773-1774)
action_date: 2021-03-24
text: Introduced in Senate
Cyber Shield Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-965
Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2021-03-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Business expenses
Computer security and identity theft
Computers and information technology
Congressional oversight
Consumer affairs
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Marketing and advertising
Product safety and quality

Summary:
action_date: 2021-03-25
text: 

Cyber Shield Act of 2021

 
This bill requires the Department of Commerce to establish the Cyber Shield Program, a voluntary program to identify and certify covered products. These products are consumer-facing physical objects that meet industry-leading cybersecurity and data security benchmarks and that can (1) connect to the internet; and (2) collect, send, or receive data or control the actions of a physical object or system.
 
Commerce must also establish a Cyber Shield Advisory Committee to recommend (1) the format and content of Cyber Shield labels for covered products; and (2) the process to identify, establish, report on, adopt, maintain, and promote compliance with industry-leading cybersecurity and data security benchmarks to enhance cybersecurity and protect data.
 
On its website, Commerce must make publicly available (1) program information, (2) a database of covered products certified under the program, and (3) contact information for each manufacturer of a covered product certified under the program.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-03-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2021-03-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Climate Change Education Act

Bill: 117-s-966
Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2021-03-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Air quality
Atmospheric science and weather
Building construction
Civics education
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Community life and organization
Congressional oversight
Department of Commerce
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Employment and training programs
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Environmental education
Environmental health
Environmental technology
Higher education
Science and engineering education
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Vocational and technical education
Youth employment and child labor

Summary:
action_date: 2021-03-25
text: 

Climate Change Education Act 

 
 This bill declares that the evidence for human-induced climate change is overwhelming and undeniable.
 
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must establish a Climate Change Education Program to
 
 
 increase the climate literacy of the United States by broadening the understanding of human-induced climate change, including possible consequences, disproportionate impacts of such consequences, and potential solutions;
 
 apply the latest scientific and technological discoveries to provide learning opportunities to people of all ages; and
 
help people understand and promote implementation of new technologies, programs, and incentives related to climate change, climate adaptation and mitigation, climate resilience, climate justice, and environmental justice.
 
 
NOAA must also establish a grant program for climate change education. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-03-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2021-03-25
text: Introduced in Senate
Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-967
Sponsor: Sen. Blunt, Roy [R-MO]
Introduced: 2021-03-25 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Adoption and foster care
Citizenship and naturalization
Criminal justice information and records
Immigration status and procedures
Visas and passports

Summary:
action_date: 2021-03-25
text: 

Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021 

 
This bill provides for the automatic acquisition of citizenship for certain individuals adopted by a U.S. citizen. 
 
A child born outside the United States and adopted by a U.S. citizen shall automatically acquire citizenship upon meeting certain requirements, regardless of when the adoption was finalized. Currently, adoptees who were over the age of 18 on February 27, 2001, do not automatically acquire citizenship.
 
An individual born outside the United States and residing in the United States shall automatically acquire citizenship if the individual (1) was adopted by a citizen before becoming 18 years old, (2) was physically present in the United States in the citizen parent's custody pursuant to lawful admission before becoming 18 years old, (3) never acquired citizenship before this bill's enactment, and (4) was lawfully residing in the United States on this bill's enactment date. 
 
An individual born outside the United States and residing outside the United States but who otherwise meets all of the requirements shall automatically acquire citizenship upon being physically present in the United States pursuant to lawful admission. Such an individual shall be subject to a background check. If the background check reveals the individual has committed a crime that was not properly resolved, the individual may not receive a visa unless the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State have coordinated with law enforcement to ensure that action was taken to resolve the issue.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-03-25
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2021-03-25
text: Introduced in Senate