jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Bill 110-HR-1243 — Domestic Commerce / Disaster Relief
Subject: Commerce

Gulf Coast Back to Business Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations for the Economic Development Administration of the Department of Commerce for grants to appropriate state government agencies in Louisiana and Mississippi for small businesses located in disaster areas caused by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita. Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to defer for a conditional period the payment of principal and interest on disaster loans made to small businesses affected by such hurricanes in the case of loans made before December 31, 2006. Prohibits an increased collateral requirement with respect to the deferred loans. Includes as a HUBZone (historically underutilized business zone) any area in which the President has declared a major disaster as a result of such hurricanes. Amends the Small Business Competitive Demonstration Program Act of 1988 to make the small business competitive demonstration program (to test innovative small business procurement methods and procedures) inapplicable, for a conditional period, to any contract related to relief or reconstruction from such hurricanes.
Bill 110-HR-1410 — Domestic Commerce / Disaster Relief
Subject: Families

Emergency Child Care for the Gulf Coast Region Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish grant programs for: (1) businesses and consortia in the Gulf Coast Region to pay start-up costs and to provide additional child care services for employees; (2) nonprofit business organizations in the Region to provide technical assistance to such businesses for child care services; (3) entities to develop distance learning child care training technology infrastructures and model technology-based training courses for child care providers and workers in the Region; and (4) child care providers in the Region to improve the qualifications and promote the retention of such providers. Defines "Gulf Coast Region" to mean the area declared by the President to be a major disaster as a consequence of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make scholarship grants to child care providers to improve their educational qualifications to provide services.
Bill 110-HR-1445 — Domestic Commerce / Disaster Relief
Subject: Taxation

Tax Free Road Home Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income payments to individual taxpayers from the Louisiana Road Home program for rebuilding or renewing a personal residence.
Bill 110-HR-1549 — Domestic Commerce / Disaster Relief
Subject: Education

College and University Hurricane Revitalization Act of 2007 - Provides for calculating the allotments of grants under title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which provides institutional aid to schools serving high percentages of minority and low-income students, to institutions of higher education located in parishes or counties for which a major disaster was declared owing to Hurricane Katrina or Rita. Requires the Secretary of Education to consider school data from the school year immediately preceding the school year which included August, 29, 2005, rather than current school year data, in calculating 2007-2012 grant allotments. Requires each institution to submit a written request to the Secretary for such consideration.
Bill 110-HR-1562 — Domestic Commerce / Disaster Relief
Subject: Taxation

Katrina Housing Tax Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) qualify certain buildings in the Gulf Opportunity Zone, the Rita Go Zone, and the Wilma GO Zone (GO Zones) placed in service before 2011 for the housing tax credit without regard to certain otherwise applicable restrictions if such buildings receive (or received) a state or local housing credit allocation in 2006, 2007, or 2008; (2) extend through 2010 the treatment of such Go Zones as difficult development areas for purposes of the increased housing tax credit; (3) exclude certain assistance provided under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (e.g., community development block grants), the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2006, or the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery, 2006, in determining whether Go Zone buildings eligible for the housing tax credit are federally subsidized and therefore subject to limitations on such tax credit; and (4) treat qualified GO Zone repair and reconstruction loans provided prior to January 1, 2011, as qualified rehabilitation loans for purposes of the tax exemption for exempt facility and mortgage bonds.Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee on state and local practices in allocating and utilizing tax incentives provided by this Act. Requires such committees to hold public hearings if the report includes findings of significant fraud, waste or abuse.Denies a pre-levy hearing to taxpayers upon whom the Secretary of the Treasury has served a disqualified employment tax levy. Defines a "disqualified employment tax levy" as any levy in connection with the collection of employment taxes if: (1) the person subject to the levy requested a hearing with respect to unpaid employment taxes arising in the most recent two-year period before the beginning of the taxable period with respect to which the levy is served; and (2) such levy is served before February 29, 2016.Amends the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 to increase from 106.25% to 106.45% the estimated tax rate in the third quarter of 2012 for corporations with assets of not less than $1 billion.
Bill 110-HR-1602 — Domestic Commerce / Disaster Relief
Subject: Environmental protection

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Environmental Justice Act of 2007 - Defines "environmental justice" to mean the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and socioeconomic groups with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of laws and policies affecting the environment.Requires the heads of federal agencies to make achieving environmental justice part of their missions by identifying and addressing disproportionately high and adverse effects of their programs on minority, low-income populations in the area affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Requires agencies to conduct programs in a manner to prevent discrimination.Establishes the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (Working Group). Requires federal agencies to develop agency-wide environmental justice strategies that identify and address disproportionately high and adverse effects or disproportionately low benefits of their programs with respect to minority, low-income populations. Requires such strategies to identify programs that should be revised to: (1) promote enforcement of all health and environmental statutes in areas with such populations; (2) ensure greater public participation; (3) improve research and data collection; and (4) identify differential patterns of use of natural resources among such populations.Establishes the Federal Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Environmental Justice Advisory Committee to provide independent advice and recommendations to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Working Group on areas relating to environmental justice.
Bill 110-HR-1681 — Domestic Commerce / Disaster Relief
Subject: International affairs

American National Red Cross Governance Modernization Act of 2007 - (Sec. 2) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) charitable organizations are an indispensable part of American society; (2) such organizations must maintain the trust of the American public by fostering effective governance and transparency; (3) the American National Red Cross (ANRC) is and will remain a federally chartered instrumentality of the United States; and (4) the ANRC should maintain appropriate communications with state regulators of charitable organizations and cooperate with such regulators.(Sec. 3) Amends the charter of the ANRC to designate the ANRC as a federally chartered instrumentality of the United States and authorize it to conduct its business and affairs as the American Red Cross in any jurisdiction and to conduct other activities consistent with its traditional purposes.(Sec. 5) Authorizes the ANRC corporation (corporation), rather than its board of directors, to prescribe policies and regulations relating to ANRC chapters. Provides for the selection of delegates to the annual meeting of the ANRC, instead of its national convention.(Sec. 6) Modifies provisions relating to the ANRC board of governors to restate the role of the board as the governing body of the corporation and to revise provisions relating to its size, composition, and relationship with management. Establishes an Advisory Council to advise, report to, and meet with the board of governors.(Sec. 7) Authorizes the corporation to adopt policies in lieu of bylaws. (Sec. 8) Defines the annual meeting of the corporation as the annual meeting of the delegates of the chapters (instead of the national convention). Designates the time and place of the annual meeting and determines the voting guidelines and requirements for such meeting. (Sec. 9) Eliminates the requirement that the number of trustees overseeing the ANRC endowment fund be nine. Grants the corporation, rather than the board of governors, the authority to prescribe policies and regulations on terms and tenure of office, accountability, and expenses of the board of trustees. (Sec. 10) Requires the corporation to submit a report to the Secretary of Defense on the activities of the corporation during the preceding fiscal year, including a complete, itemized report of all receipts and expenditures. (Sec. 11) Authorizes the Comptroller General to review the corporation's involvement in any federal program or activity. Requires the corporation to establish an Office of the Ombudsman. Requires such Office to submit an annual report to specified congressional committees on trends and systemic matters that the Office has identified as confronting the corporation.
Bill 110-HR-1682 — Domestic Commerce / Disaster Relief
Subject: Emergency management

Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2007 - Instructs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on: (1) the status of the national flood insurance program for specified pre-FIRM properties (containing a structure neither constructed nor substantially improved after the later of December 31, 1974, or the effective date of the initial rate map published by the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (NFIA) for the pertinent area); (2) the extension of mandatory flood insurance coverage purchase requirements to properties located in any area that would be designated as having special flood hazards but for the existence of a structural flood protection system; and (3) the mandatory purchase requirement in connection with non-federally related loans. Amends the NFIA to include nonresidential properties and nonprimary residences within the guidelines for actuarial rate properties. Amends the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 to increase civil monetary penalties. Amends the NFIA to: (1) increase flood insurance coverage for residential property; (2) provide coverage for necessary increases in living expenses, basement improvements, business interruption, and replacement cost of contents; (3) provide for notification to tenants of the availability of contents insurance; and (4) increase borrowing authority for the flood insurance program. Requires FEMA, upon request, to participate in state disaster claims mediation programs. Authorizes grants for outreach to property owners and renters to encourage purchase of flood insurance protection. Extends funding through FY2011 for the pilot program for mitigation of severe repetitive loss properties. Includes demolition and rebuilding activities within the flood mitigation assistance program. Amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to require good faith estimates to state that flood insurance coverage for residential real estate is generally available, whether or not the real estate is located in an area having special flood hazards. Instructs the FEMA Director to: (1) establish a decisions appeals process for flood insurance policyholders; (2) establish a program to review, update, and maintain flood insurance program maps; and (3) clarify the applicability of replacement cost coverage. Reestablishes the Technical Mapping Advisory Council.
Bill 110-HR-1703 — Domestic Commerce / Disaster Relief
Subject: Public lands and natural resources

Federal Land Avalanche Protection Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, to establish an avalanche protection program to: (1) identify the potential for avalanches on federal lands and inform the public about the probability of avalanches and their potential adverse effects; (2) carry out ongoing research to improve avalanche forecasting; and (3) reduce the risks of avalanches and mitigate their effects.Requires the Secretary: (1) to coordinate the program to ensure protection for recreational users of public land under the Secretary of the Interior's jurisdiction, using resources of the Forest Service's National Avalanche Center; (2) to establish an advisory committee to assist in program development and implementation; and (3) with the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of the Army, to establish a central depository for weapons, ammunition, and parts for avalanche control purposes.Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to carry out projects and activities to: (1) assist in the prevention, forecasting, detection, and mitigation of avalanches; (2) maintain essential transportation, utilities, and communications; (3) assist avalanche artillery users to ensure the availability of adequate supplies of artillery and explosives required for avalanche control in specified areas; and (4) assist research and development activities for alternatives to minimize reliance on military weapons for avalanche control.Directs the Secretary to give priority to projects carried out in avalanche zones with a high frequency or severity of avalanches or in which deaths, injuries, or damage to public facilities and communities have occurred. Requires the Administrator of General Services to transfer specified property suitable for avalanche control purposes to a user of surplus ordnance.
Bill 110-HR-1751 — Domestic Commerce / Disaster Relief
Subject: Public lands and natural resources

Federal Land Avalanche Protection Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, to establish an avalanche protection program to: (1) identify the potential for avalanches on federal lands and inform the public about the probability of avalanches and their potential adverse effects; (2) carry out ongoing research to improve avalanche forecasting; and (3) reduce the risks of avalanches and mitigate their effects.Requires the Secretary: (1) to coordinate the program to ensure protection for recreational users of public land under the Secretary of the Interior's jurisdiction, using resources of the Forest Service's National Avalanche Center; (2) to establish an advisory committee to assist in program development and implementation; and (3) with the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of the Army, to establish a central depository for weapons, ammunition, and parts for avalanche control purposes.Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to carry out projects and activities to: (1) assist in the prevention, forecasting, detection, and mitigation of avalanches; (2) maintain essential transportation, utilities, and communications; (3) assist avalanche artillery users to ensure the availability of adequate supplies of artillery and explosives required for avalanche control in specified areas; and (4) assist research and development activities for alternatives to minimize reliance on military weapons for avalanche control.Directs the Secretary to give priority to projects carried out in avalanche zones with a high frequency or severity of avalanches or in which deaths, injuries, or damage to public facilities and communities have occurred. Requires the Administrator of General Services to transfer specified property suitable for avalanche control purposes to a user of surplus ordnance.
Bill 110-HR-1805 — Domestic Commerce / Disaster Relief
Subject: Health

Strengthening Public Health Protections in Major Disasters and Emergencies Act of 2007 - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President to carry out a program for the protection, assessment, monitoring, and study of the health and safety of individuals who responded to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita or who respond to a major disaster or emergency, if chemicals or substances associated with potential acute or chronic human health effects were or are released in a major disaster area.Makes participation voluntary. Requires the President to take appropriate measures to protect the privacy of registry or study participants. Authorizes the President to carry out such a program through a cooperative agreement with a medical institution (including a local health department) or a consortium of medical institutions. Requires the President to carry out such a program in accordance with certain privacy regulations.Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enter jointly into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to study and report on disaster area health and environmental protection and monitoring. Extends through September 30, 2010, the President's authority to establish a program to provide technical and financial assistance to state and local governments for the implementation of cost-effective predisaster hazard mitigation measures.Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize payments from allotments made to a state for community outreach and education programs and other activities designed to prevent health and health care disparities.
Bill 110-HR-1832 — Domestic Commerce / Disaster Relief
Subject: Emergency management

National Hurricane Research Initiative Act of 2007 - Requires the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere of the Department of Commerce and the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a National Hurricane Research Initiative and to cooperate with other specified federal agencies to carry it out. Requires such Initiative to set research objectives (based on a National Science Board report on the need for such Initiative) to: (1) make recommendations to the Board; (2) assemble the expertise of U.S. science and engineering capabilities through a multi-agency effort focused on infrastructure, the natural environment, and improving understanding of hurricane prediction, intensity, and mitigation on coastal populations; and (3) make grants for hurricane research, including regarding hurricane dynamics, modification, and observation, air-sea interaction, relationships between hurricanes and climate, predicting flooding and storm surge, coastal infrastructure, building construction, emergency communication networks, information utilization by public officials, and sharing computational capability.Directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, through the National Science and Technology Council, to coordinate U.S. activities related to the Initiative as a formal program with a well-defined organizational structure and execution plan. Directs the Under Secretary and the Director to: (1) establish a National Infrastructure Database to catalog infrastructure, provide information to improve information public policy related to hurricanes, and provide data to improve researchers' abilities to measure hurricane impacts in order to improve building codes and urban planning; and (2) develop a National Hurricane Research Model to conduct integrative research and facilitate the transfer of research knowledge to operational applications.
Bill 110-HR-1891 — Domestic Commerce / Disaster Relief
Subject: Emergency management

Ready, Willing, and Able Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting jointly, to establish a working group to assist their respective departments to: (1) promote the development of disaster plans that will protect the maximum number of citizens; (2) help state and local officials provide the necessary means and infrastructure for the American public to volunteer to assume a direct and influential role in community-based disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation planning efforts; and (3) develop standards to measure the success of a community's level of direct, participatory disaster planning efforts. Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise the requirements for a state application for a grant to improve state, local, and hospital preparedness for and response to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. Requires the application to include an assurance that the state will take specific steps to comply with any recommendations of the working group.
Bill 110-HR-1988 — Domestic Commerce / Disaster Relief
Subject: Emergency management

Authorizes the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to carry out a program to refinance Gulf Coast disaster loans (loans made by the SBA to Gulf Coast small businesses in response to Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma, or Rita) under which the Administrator may provide an option to defer loan repayment for up to four years after the initial disbursement under the original loan was made. Requires the Administrator to disclose the accrued interest that must be paid under the option.
Bill 110-HR-2067 — Domestic Commerce / Disaster Relief
Subject: Law

Good Samaritan Protection for Construction, Architectural, and Engineering Volunteers Act - Grants construction companies and architectural and engineering firms and their employees immunity from liability for negligence, except for gross negligence or willful misconduct, when providing emergency assistance on a voluntary basis in response to a declared emergency or disaster, in good faith, and without expectation of compensation.