hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Hearing Protection Act

Bill: 118-s-401
Sponsor: Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Federal preemption
Firearms and explosives
Government information and archives
Licensing and registrations
Sales and excise taxes
State and local taxation

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

Hearing Protection Act 

 
This bill removes silencers from the definition of
 firearms
 for purposes of the National Firearms Act. It also treats persons acquiring or possessing a firearm silencer as meeting any registration and licensing requirements of such Act.
 
The Department of Justice must destroy certain records relating to the registration, transfer, or making of a silencer.
 
The bill also revises the definitions of
 firearm silencer 
and
 firearm muffler 
under the federal criminal code and includes such items in the 10% excise tax category.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
EEOC Transparency and Accountability Act

Bill: 118-s-402
Sponsor: Sen. Braun, Mike [R-IN]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Subjects: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government information and archives
Lawyers and legal services

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

EEOC Transparency and Accountability Act

 
This bill provides statutory authority for the requirement that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) vote on whether to commence, intervene, or otherwise participate in certain types of litigation, including cases involving issues in which the commission has taken a position that is contrary to the corresponding judicial precedent. (The EEOC adopted a similar resolution in January 2021.)
 
The commission must post information relating to such cases and associated votes on its website.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act of 2023

Bill: 118-s-403
Sponsor: Sen. Lujan, Ben Ray [D-NM]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Aging
Child health
Congressional oversight
Dental care
Disability and paralysis
Health care quality
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Minority health
Performance measurement
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act of 2023

 
This bill requires the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to conduct a public education campaign to increase oral health literacy and awareness. HRSA must design the campaign to focus on children, pregnant women, parents, older adults, people with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act

Bill: 118-s-404
Sponsor: Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act

 
This bill prohibits the Department of Energy (DOE) from using the Nuclear Waste Fund for planning, constructing, or operating a repository of nuclear waste unless DOE has obtained consent from the state in which the repository is located, affected local governments, and Indian tribes.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Heating and Cooling Relief Act

Bill: 118-s-405
Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

Heating and Cooling Relief Act

 
This bill provides additional energy assistance to households, including heating and cooling assistance.
 
Specifically, the bill reauthorizes through FY2033 and revises the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Under the existing program, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may award grants to states for assisting low-income households that pay a high proportion of their income for home energy. To be eligible under the existing program, households must have incomes which do not exceed the greater of an amount equal to 150% of the poverty level for their state or an amount equal to 60% of the state median income. The bill expands eligibility to households with incomes which do not exceed the greater of an amount equal to 250% of the poverty line as defined in the Community Services Block Grant Act or an amount equal to 80% of the state median income. In addition, the bill expands eligibility to households with a monthly energy burden of 3% or more per year.
 
It also requires states to establish procedures to protect households receiving assistance under the program from energy shutoffs and certain late fees.
 
In addition, the bill requires HHS and the Department of Energy to jointly carry out a program that awards grants to states and local governments for developing and implementing interagency plans to reduce energy burdens for eligible households with high home energy use. The plans must promote the reduction of energy from fossil fuels.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Promoting Public Health Information Act

Bill: 118-s-406
Sponsor: Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Congressional oversight
Department of Health and Human Services
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Executive agency funding and structure
Health information and medical records
Health promotion and preventive care
Scientific communication

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

Promoting Public Health Information Act

 
This bill sets out programs and activities to support the communication and dissemination of evidence-based public health information, with a particular focus on communication during public health emergencies.
 
Specifically, it temporarily establishes an advisory committee to report on and make recommendations about, for example, the role and impact of misinformation on responses to public health emergencies and strategies to improve communication during such emergencies. The committee terminates four years after the bill's enactment.
 
Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services must support the development of initiatives that promote fact-based public health and medical information to the public and educate the public on identifying misinformation.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
SAFE Hospitals Act of 2023

Bill: 118-s-407
Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health care coverage and access
Hospital care
Medicaid

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

State Accountability, Flexibility, and Equity for Hospitals Act of 2023 or the SAFE Hospitals Act of 

2023

 
This bill alters Medicaid requirements relating to payment for inpatient hospital services that are provided by disproportionate share hospitals (DSHs). (DSHs are hospitals that receive additional payment under Medicaid for treating a large share of low-income patients.)
 
Among other changes, the bill requires state Medicaid programs to adopt a payment methodology that meets certain criteria, including by prioritizing payments based on the DSH tier for which the hospital qualifies; tiers are determined based on factors such as the hospital's Medicaid inpatient utilization rate. 
 
The bill also incorporates state poverty ratios (i.e., the number of qualifying low-income individuals in a state compared to all states) into the formula for determining state DSH allotments under Medicaid. The bill phases in application of the revised formula over the course of 10 to 15 years. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act

Bill: 118-s-408
Sponsor: Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act

 
This bill imposes an excise tax on the windfall profits of crude oil on taxpayers who extracted and imported more than 300,000 barrels (a barrel equals 42 U.S. gallons) of taxable crude oil (i.e., crude oil, crude oil condensates, and natural gasoline) in 2019, or who extracted and imported that amount in the current calendar quarter.
 
The bill requires rebates of the tax collected to be paid to individual taxpayers. The bill establishes the Protect Consumers from Gas Hikes Fund to finance such rebates.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Terrorism Survivors Student Loan Deferment Act of 2023

Bill: 118-s-409
Sponsor: Sen. Rubio, Marco [R-FL]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Education

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

Terrorism Survivors Student Loan Deferment Act
 
of 2023

 
This bill allows a borrower who is a victim of a terrorist attack to defer payment of federal student loans for up to one year.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Federal Social Media Research Act

Bill: 118-s-410
Sponsor: Sen. Hawley, Josh [R-MO]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Child health
Congressional oversight
Government studies and investigations
Internet, web applications, social media
Mental health

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

Federal Social Media Research Act

 
This bill provides funding for a short-term study and a long-term study on the physical and mental health effects of using social media technologies on users who are under the age of 18. It also authorizes the Government Accountability Office to conduct the studies, including in partnership with any other federal agency.
 
The bill specifies that the aim of the studies is to assess the relationship between patterns of social media use and suicide, anxiety, depression, and other medical conditions.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
EAGLES Act of 2023

Bill: 118-s-411
Sponsor: Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Department of Homeland Security
Employee hiring
Employment and training programs
Executive agency funding and structure
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Internet, web applications, social media
Law enforcement administration and funding
Protection of officials
School administration

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

EAGLES Act of 2023

 
This bill reauthorizes the National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) within the U.S. Secret Service.
 
It reauthorizes the functions of NTAC through FY2028 and expands them to include additional activities related to the prevention of targeted violence, such as the establishment of a national program on targeted school violence prevention. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Stock Buyback Accountability Act of 2023

Bill: 118-s-413
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 
 
Stock Buyback Accountability Act of 2023 

 
This bill increases from 1% to 4% the rate of the excise tax on the repurchase of corporate stock.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Caring for Survivors Act of 2023

Bill: 118-s-414
Sponsor: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Disability assistance
Marriage and family status
Veterans' pensions and compensation

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

Caring for Survivors Act of 2023

 
This bill increases the monthly rate of dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
 
 Dependency and indemnity compensation is a monthly payment made to eligible survivors (i.e., spouses, parents, or children) of (1) certain veterans who died as a result of a service-connected condition; (2) service members killed while on active military duty or active or inactive duty for training; or (3) veterans who did not die from a service-connected condition, but were totally disabled by a service-connected disability for a certain period of time.
 
The bill also (1) reduces, from 10 years to 5 years, the period of time that certain veterans must have been rated totally disabled due to a service-connected disability in order for a survivor to qualify for benefits; and (2) specifies the amount that is payable to survivors of veterans who were rated totally disabled for a period of less than 10 years before their death.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-04-26
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 118-160.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Food and Energy Security Act

Bill: 118-s-415
Sponsor: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

Food and Energy Security Act 

 
This bill provides requirements for specified federal financial agencies when regulating activity that could impact the extension of capital or investments to agricultural- or energy-related businesses. 
 
Specifically, an agency must analyze the economic impact of any such regulation. If the analysis estimates that the regulation would increase prices, and if the consumer price index exceeds a certain level, the agency is prohibited from implementing the regulation. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text: CR S399)
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
HARM Act

Bill: 118-s-416
Sponsor: Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Advisory bodies
Africa
Congressional oversight
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Europe
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Middle East
Military assistance, sales, and agreements
Military operations and strategy
Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
Russia
Sanctions
Terrorism
Ukraine

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

Holding Accountable Russian Mercenaries Act or the HARM Act

 
This bill requires the Department of State to designate the Wagner Group as a foreign terrorist organization. Such designation also applies to any affiliated and successor entities undertaking malign activities against the United States and its allies or partners. 
 
(Among other things, such a designation allows the Department of the Treasury to require financial institutions to block transactions involving the organization.)
 
The President may waive the application of sanctions against these entities if the President determines it to be in the national interest. 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-07-25
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 147.
action_date: 2023-07-25
text: Committee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Menendez with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
action_date: 2023-07-25
text: Committee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Menendez with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
action_date: 2023-07-13
text: Committee on Foreign Relations. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Francis G. Newlands Memorial Removal Act

Bill: 118-s-417
Sponsor: Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: District of Columbia
Members of Congress
Monuments and memorials
Museums, exhibitions, cultural centers
Racial and ethnic relations
Senate

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

Francis G. Newlands Memorial Removal Act 

 
This bill directs the Department of the Interior to remove or permanently conceal the name of Francis Newlands on the grounds of the memorial fountain located at Chevy Chase Circle in the District of Columbia and take other specified actions.
 
Specifically, Interior must
 
 
remove the brass plaque bearing the name 
Senator Francis G. Newlands
 from the grounds of the memorial fountain located at Chevy Chase Circle in the District; 
 
remove from the south end of the memorial fountain's face, the stone, tablet-like projection bearing the name of 
Francis Griffith Newlands
 and a related inscription; 
 
remove or permanently conceal the name 
Newlands Memorial Fountain
 carved into the upper face of the memorial fountain's coping stones; and 
 
offer the items removed to the descendants of Francis Griffith Newlands for a 60-day period, and if not claimed within that period, direct the removed items to be maintained by the National Park Service as federal property and accessioned into the Rock Creek Park museum collection.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
MATURE Act

Bill: 118-s-419
Sponsor: Sen. Hawley, Josh [R-MO]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

Making Age-Verification Technology Uniform, Robust, and Effective Act or the MATURE Act

 
This bill requires social media platforms to verify that individuals who create an account on the platform are at least 16 years old. The verification process must require individuals to submit a copy of their government-issued identification. Social media platforms may not allow individuals under 16 to create an account.
 
Additionally, at least once every six months, the Federal Trade Commission must audit large social media platforms (i.e., platforms that average more than 1 million monthly users or have more than 1 million total accounts) to determine whether each platform is in compliance with the bill's requirements. The bill also provides the commission with enforcement authority.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
COVID–19 Vaccination Non-Discrimination Act

Bill: 118-s-420
Sponsor: Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Cardiovascular and respiratory health
Disability and health-based discrimination
Health information and medical records
Health programs administration and funding
Immunology and vaccination
Infectious and parasitic diseases

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

COVID-19 Vaccination Non-Discrimination Act

 
This bill prohibits making federal funds available to any facility that refuses to treat an individual based on the individual's COVID-19 vaccination status, including any funding under Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Defund the Wuhan Institute of Virology Act

Bill: 118-s-421
Sponsor: Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

Defund the Wuhan Institute of Virology Act

 
This bill prohibits making federal funds available to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.
 
The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on federal funds that were provided directly or indirectly to the institute, the Chinese government, the Chinese Communist Party, or affiliates of these entities over the past 15 years.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate
Build the Wall Now Act

Bill: 118-s-422
Sponsor: Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC]
Introduced: 2023-02-14 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: 

Build the Wall Now Act

 
This bill resumes the construction of, and modifies the requirements for, a physical barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.
 
 Specifically, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must, within one day of the bill's enactment, resume any project related to the construction of such barriers (and any related infrastructure), and DHS may not cancel any contracts related to such construction that were entered into on or before January 20, 2021. Additionally, funds already appropriated for such construction must remain available until expended.
 
The bill also modifies the requirements for the physical barriers along the southern border and requires DHS to consult with the labor organization representing border patrol agents about the safety and effectiveness of the agents deployed in the vicinity of the barriers.
 
Finally, the bill exempts these construction projects from certain legal requirements, including requirements stemming from the Administrative Procedure Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the federal laws regarding public contracts.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
action_date: 2023-02-14
text: Introduced in Senate