hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Prohibiting TSP Investment in China Act

Bill: 117-s-1665
Sponsor: Sen. Tuberville, Tommy [R-AL]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Asia
China
Employee benefits and pensions
Financial services and investments
Foreign and international corporations
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government trust funds
Securities
U.S. and foreign investments

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

Prohibiting TSP Investment in China Act

 
This bill limits the investments of funds under the Thrift Savings Plan. Specifically, it prohibits funds, including funds that are accessible through a mutual fund window, from investing in any entity that is based in China or any subsidiary of such an entity.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
VITAL Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-1666
Sponsor: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Chemical and biological weapons
Congressional oversight
Department of Health and Human Services
Drug safety, medical device, and laboratory regulation
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Health facilities and institutions
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Licensing and registrations
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Nuclear weapons
Public participation and lobbying
Terrorism

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

Verified Innovative Testing in American Laboratories Act of 2021 or the VITAL Act of 2021

 
This bill expressly shifts the regulation of laboratory-developed testing procedures from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Under current law, the FDA regulates the safety and effectiveness, as well as quality of design and manufacture, of laboratory-developed tests, while the CMS regulates clinical laboratories and testing processes. Historically, the FDA has exercised enforcement discretion and not enforced certain statutory and regulatory requirements with respect to these tests.
 
The CMS must hold a public meeting to solicit recommendations to update existing regulations related to clinical laboratories, and the Department of Health and Human Services must report specified information to Congress, including an assessment of the availability and use of laboratory-developed testing procedures during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) response.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Social Media Privacy Protection and Consumer Rights Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-1667
Sponsor: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Civil actions and liability
Consumer affairs
Contracts and agency
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Right of privacy

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

Social Media Privacy Protection and Consumer Rights Act of 2021

 
This bill requires online platform operators to inform a user, prior to a user creating an account or otherwise using the platform, that the user's personal data produced during online behavior will be collected and used by the operator and third parties. The operator must provide a user the option to specify privacy preferences, and an operator may deny certain services or complete access to a user if the user's privacy elections create inoperability in the platform.
 
The operator must (1) offer a user a copy of the personal data of the user that the operator has processed, free of charge, and in an electronic format; and (2) notify a user within 72 hours of becoming aware that the user's data has been transmitted in violation of the security platform.
 
A violation of the bill's privacy requirements shall be considered an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may enforce this bill against common carriers regulated by the Federal Communications Commission under the Communications Act of 1934 and nonprofit organizations. Currently, common carriers regulated under that Act are exempt from the FTC's enforcement authority, and nonprofit organizations are subject to FTC enforcement only if they provide substantial economic benefit to their for-profit members.
 
A state may bring a civil action in federal court regarding such violations.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
SELF Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-1668
Sponsor: Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Child health
Congressional oversight
Drug trafficking and controlled substances
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Educational facilities and institutions
Educational guidance
Elementary and secondary education
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Employment and training programs
Family relationships
Indian social and development programs
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Mental health
Minority education
Natural disasters
Public-private cooperation
Rural conditions and development
School administration
Teaching, teachers, curricula

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

Social-Emotional Learning for Families Act of 2021 or the SELF Act of 

2021

 
This bill directs the Department of Education to award grants to local educational agencies to develop, implement, and evaluate educator and school leader professional development programs on social-emotional learning and family engagement.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act

Bill: 117-s-1669
Sponsor: Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Bank accounts, deposits, capital
Employee benefits and pensions
Military personnel and dependents
Wages and earnings

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act

 
This bill addresses the overpayment of retired or retainer pay to a joint account (bearing the name of the decedent and the decedent's designated beneficiary) during the month of the death of a retired member of the armed forces.
 
Specifically, the bill authorizes the Department of Defense (DOD) to forgive or offset the overpayment if the decedent was enrolled in the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). In the case of an offset, each of the first 12 SBP annuity payments after the death of the retired service member must be reduced by one-twelfth of the overpayment. If the decedent was not enrolled in the SBP, DOD is authorized to forgive the overpayment.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Credit for Caring Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-1670
Sponsor: Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Health care costs and insurance
Income tax credits
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

Credit for Caring Act of 2021

 
This bill allows an eligible caregiver a tax credit of up to $5,000 for 30% of the cost of long-term care expenses that exceed $2,000 in a taxable year. The bill defines 
eligible caregiver
 as an individual who has earned income for the taxable year in excess of $7,500 and pays or incurs expenses for providing care to a spouse or other dependent relative with long-term care needs.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Rural Jobs Act

Bill: 117-s-1671
Sponsor: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Business investment and capital
Department of the Treasury
Economic development
Income tax credits
Rural conditions and development

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

Rural Jobs Act 

 
This bill allocates an additional $500 million in 2022 and 2023 for new markets tax credit investments in the Rural Jobs Zone (an area comprised of low-income communities with populations not greater than 50,000 that are not adjacent to an urbanized area). The bill also requires that at least 25% of such investments be made in areas that are persistent poverty counties, high migration rural counties, or both.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
ROCKS Act

Bill: 117-s-1672
Sponsor: Sen. Kelly, Mark [D-AZ]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Congressional oversight
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Government studies and investigations
Infrastructure development
Materials
Regional and metropolitan planning
Transportation costs

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

Rebuilding Our Communities by Keeping aggregates Sustainable Act of 2021 or the
 
ROCKS Act 

 
This bill directs the Department of Transportation to establish a working group of stakeholders (e.g., state, tribal, and local transportation and planning agencies) with knowledge and expertise in the production and transportation of materials used in the construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure projects to conduct a study on access to such materials, including access to stone, sand, and gravel.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
30 × 30 Termination Act

Bill: 117-s-1673
Sponsor: Sen. Marshall, Roger [R-KS]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Air quality
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Forests, forestry, trees
Historic sites and heritage areas
Intergovernmental relations
Land transfers
Land use and conservation
Monuments and memorials
Parks, recreation areas, trails
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
State and local government operations
Wilderness and natural areas, wildlife refuges, wild rivers, habitats

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

30 x 30 Termination Act

 
This bill prohibits federal acquisition of land or declaration of a national monument in certain areas and nullifies a provision of an executive order related to conservation.
 
In a state or county where 15% or more of the land is managed by a federal agency (1) federal funds may not be used to acquire nonfederal land unless the agency proposing the acquisition disposes of an equal amount of federal land within the state or county, and (2) a declaration of a national monument shall not apply.
 
The bill prohibits from having the force and effect of law a provision of Executive Order 14008 (86 Fed. Reg. 7619), titled
 Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad
, that requires the Department of the Interior to recommend steps to achieve the goal of conserving at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. No federal funds may be used to implement, administer, enforce, or carry out any report or program substantially similar to the report or program of such provision.
 
No federal funds may be used to implement, administer, enforce, or carry out any action on federal land that results in a net-loss of multiple use or any principal or major use, unless such action has been authorized by an act of Congress.
 
No federal funds may be used by a federal agency to acquire more than 160 acres of nonfederal land unless
 
 
the federal agency has received written notice from the state in which the nonfederal land is located that the state has enacted legislation approving the proposed acquisition, and 
 
the proposed acquisition has been authorized by an act of Congress.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Affordable Housing Production Act

Bill: 117-s-1674
Sponsor: Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Housing and Community Development
Subjects: Government trust funds
Homelessness and emergency shelter
Housing and community development funding
Housing finance and home ownership
Housing supply and affordability
Low- and moderate-income housing
State and local finance

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

Affordable Housing Production Act

 
This bill allows the Department of the Treasury to transfer Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Housing Trust Fund. This fund provides grants to states to (1) increase and preserve the supply of rental housing for extremely low-income and very low-income families, including homeless families; and (2) increase homeownership for extremely low-income and very low-income families.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Rural Broadband Financing Flexibility Act

Bill: 117-s-1676
Sponsor: Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Business investment and capital
Income tax credits
Income tax exclusion
Interest, dividends, interest rates
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Rural conditions and development
Securities

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

Rural Broadband Financing Flexibility Act

 
This bill provides tax incentives for investment in broadband, particularly in rural areas. 
 
Specifically, the bill allows
 
 
issuance of private activity bonds for financing qualified broadband projects, 
 
 issuers of broadband infrastructure bonds a credit for interest payments under such bonds, and 
 
a 10% investment tax credit for qualified broadband projects.
 
 
The bill defines
 qualified broadband project 
as any project that (1) is designed to provide broadband service solely to one or more areas that are rural areas and in which more than 50% of residential households do not have access to fixed, terrestrial broadband service that delivers at least 25 megabits per second downstream and at least 3 megabits service upstream, and (2) results in gigabit capable internet access to certain residential and commercial locations.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Encouraging More Proxy voting by Organized Workers, Employees, and Retirement Savers Act

Bill: 117-s-1677
Sponsor: Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Corporate finance and management
Department of Labor
Employee benefits and pensions
Financial services and investments
Labor-management relations
Securities

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

Encouraging More Proxy voting by Organized Workers, Employees, and Retirement Savers Act or the EMPOWERS Act

 
This bill modifies the requirements for single-employer retirement plans with respect to the fiduciaries and proxy voting procedures for such plans.
 
Specifically, it requires the assets of such plans to be held in trust by a joint board of trustees that represents the interests of the employer and the interests of the plan participants and their beneficiaries on an equal basis.
 
Additionally, the trustees of each plan must undergo training and establish proxy voting guidelines for the plan. In exercising a plan's proxy voting rights, a fiduciary may consider (1) the investment objectives of the plan participants and their beneficiaries, and (2) certain effects of negative externalities generated by portfolio companies.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
DEJOY Act

Bill: 117-s-1678
Sponsor: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Postal service

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

Delivering Envelopes Judiciously On-time Year-round Act or the DEJOY Act

 
This bill requires the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to maintain the service standards for first-class mail that were in effect on January 1, 2021. The Postmaster General proposed in March 2021 a 10-year restructuring plan for the USPS that would lengthen the permissible mail-delivery window. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Allied Health Workforce Diversity Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-1679
Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. [D-PA]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Allied health services
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Disability and paralysis
Education of the disadvantaged
Education programs funding
Health personnel
Health programs administration and funding
Hearing, speech, and vision care
Higher education
Long-term, rehabilitative, and terminal care
Medical education
Minority education
Minority employment
Student aid and college costs

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

Allied Health Workforce Diversity Act of 2021

 
This bill allows the Department of Health and Human Services to provide grants to accredited education programs to increase diversity in the physical therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, audiology, and speech-language pathology professions. Grants may be used to provide scholarships or to support recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented groups.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
ASAP Act

Bill: 117-s-1680
Sponsor: Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Disability and paralysis
Disability assistance
Public transit
Transportation programs funding

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

All Station Accessibility Program Act of 2021 or the ASAP Act of 2021

 
This bill authorizes the Department of Transportation to award grants to states or localities for improving the accessibility of commuter rail systems that have stations or facilities for passengers and that were in operation before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (which occurred on July 26, 1990).
 

 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Promoting Service in Transportation Act

Bill: 117-s-1681
Sponsor: Sen. Peters, Gary C. [D-MI]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Government information and archives
Marketing and advertising
Minority employment
Transportation employees

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

Promoting Service in Transportation Act

 
This bill directs the Department of Transportation to establish and administer a transportation workforce outreach program to (1) increase awareness of transportation career opportunities; and (2) target awareness of professional opportunities in the transportation sector to diverse segments of the population, including with respect to race, sex, age, ethnicity, ability (including physical and mental ability), and socioeconomic status.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
No Land Grab Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-1682
Sponsor: Sen. Moran, Jerry [R-KS]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Air quality
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Land use and conservation
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

No Land Grab Act of 2021

 
This bill prohibits from having the force and effect of law a provision of Executive Order 14008 (86 Fed. Reg. 7619), titled
 Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad
, that requires the Department of the Interior to recommend steps to achieve the goal of conserving at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate
Preventing Foreign Attempts To Erode Healthcare Innovation Act

Bill: 117-s-1683
Sponsor: Sen. Scott, Tim [R-SC]
Introduced: 2021-05-18 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Africa
Asia
Cardiovascular and respiratory health
China
Competitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficits
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Free trade and trade barriers
India
Infectious and parasitic diseases
Intellectual property
Property rights
South Africa
Technology transfer and commercialization
Trade agreements and negotiations
U.S. and foreign investments

Summary:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: 

Preventing Foreign Attempts to Erode Healthcare Innovation Act

 
This bill prohibits the use of federal funds to support, allow, or facilitate the negotiation or approval of any measure at the World Trade Organization to waive intellectual property rights, including the waiver proposed by India and South Africa to suspend certain provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights to facilitate the prevention, containment, and treatment of COVID-19.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2021-05-18
text: Introduced in Senate