lcalvobartolome/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2014-07-31 00:00:00

Improving Access to Social Security Services Act - Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to prohibit the Commissioner of Social Security from imposing any reduction in public access on a Social Security Administration field or hearing office without a public comment period meeting specified deadlines, including at least one public hearing.

Requires each field office to provide services necessary for: (1) Social Security number printout services until August 1, 2015, and (2) benefit verification letter services until October 1, 2015.

Directs the Commissioner to conduct an outreach campaign to notify Social Security beneficiaries and other interested parties of plans to phase out such services and their online availability.

Requires each office that ceases to offer, or reduces the availability of, such services to give notice to key local organizations whose members or patrons may be affected by such cessation or reduction.

Requires the Commissioner to establish a system providing live-chat assistance for online users of the Administration website.

Directs the Commissioner to establish: (1) a process whereby an eligible individual may apply for a reduction or waiver of Administration service fees, and (2) an automated notification system to alert Social Security beneficiaries of changes made to their information for direct deposit to a financial institution of their Social Security benefits.

Prohibits any person from displaying another individual's Social Security number to the general public without the individual's affirmatively expressed consent, or selling or purchasing that number without such consent.

Directs the Attorney General to study all uses of Social Security numbers permitted, required, authorized, or excepted under any federal law.

Prohibits any person from obtaining an individual's Social Security number for purposes of locating or identifying the individual with the intent to physically injure, harm, or use the identity of the individual for any illegal purpose.

Amends SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) to prescribe criminal sanctions for the knowing and willful display, sale, or purchase of a Social Security number without meeting the prerequisites for consent.

Extends to any electronic communication the prohibitions, subject to criminal penalties, relating to references to Social Security or Medicare.

Authorizes a private cause of action in state court for injunctive relief or up to $500 in actual damages by any individual aggrieved by a violation of this Act or any of its amendments.

Subjects any person the Attorney General determines has violated any provisions of this Act to a civil penalty of up to: (1) $5,000 for each violation, and (2) $50,000 if the violation has occurred with such frequency as to constitute a general business practice.
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Health
Date: 2015-01-13 00:00:00

Amends title XI (General Provisions, Peer Review, Administrative Simplification) of the Social Security Act to exempt from manufacturer transparency reporting to the Secretary of Health and Human Services any transfer of value to a covered recipient of: (1) peer-reviewed journals, journal reprints, journal supplements, conference reports, and medical textbooks that directly benefit patients or are intended for patient use; and (2) anything of value to a physician if it is intended solely to provide continuing medical education.
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2015-03-04 00:00:00

Social Impact Partnership Act 

 Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services and Elder Justice) of the Social Security Act to add a new part C (Social Impact Partnerships).

Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to publish in the Federal Register a request for proposals from states or local government for social impact partnership projects which produce measurable, clearly defined outcomes that result in social benefit, such as employment for the unemployed, high school graduation, and reduction of teen and unplanned pregnancies as well as incidences and adverse consequences of child abuse and neglect. Requires applications to include a feasibility study, funded under this Act, which contains specified information.

Requires the Director to decide whether to enter into such a contract within six months after receiving an application.

Requires independent evaluation to determine whether the state or local government project has met an outcome specified in the contract in order for such governments to receive outcome payments.

Makes appropriations for 10 years to carry out this Act.

Establishes the Federal Interagency Council on Social Impact Partnerships.

Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to require the appropriate federal financial supervisory agency to consider, in assessing and taking into account the record of a financial institution in meeting the credit needs of its entire community, its investments in social impact partnership projects.
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2015-03-16 00:00:00

Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young Jr., Social Work Reinvestment Act

 This bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Social Work Reinvestment Commission to provide independent counsel to Congress and the Secretary on policy issues related to recruitment, retention, research, and reinvestment in the profession of social work.

The Commission shall study issues facing the social work profession, including: (1) fair market compensation, high educational debt, social work workforce trends, translating social work research to practice, and social work safety; and (2) state-level social work licensure policies and reciprocity agreements for providing services across state lines. The Secretary is directed to award grants to four eligible entities, including at least two agencies of state or local governments, to assist them in carrying out a workplace improvement program to address concerns for the social work profession.

The Secretary shall also award grants to: (1) 25 social workers who hold a doctoral degree in social work for postdoctoral research in social work, (2) 20 eligible institutions of higher education to support the recruitment and education of social work students in advanced degree programs and the professional development of social work faculty, and (3) six eligible covered entities to test and replicate effective social work interventions.

The Secretary shall contract with a national social work entity that serves as a coordinating center to: (1) engage in activities to build on the efforts of the National Association of Social Workers National Center for Workforce Studies; (2) collect, coordinate, monitor, and distribute data and information on best practices and findings regarding grant-funded activities; (3) report to the Secretary recommendations on the need to recruit new social workers, retain current social worker, conduct social worker research, and reinvest in the profession of social work; and (4) select research topics to further the goals of this Act.

The Secretary must develop and issue public service announcements that advertise and promote the social work profession.
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2015-03-18 00:00:00

Social Security Fraud and Error Prevention Act of 2015 

 Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to appropriate from the Social Security Trust Funds to the Social Security Administration for each fiscal year beginning FY2016 amounts for specified fraud and error prevention activities. Prescribes a formula for the calculation of such amounts, which include fines and civil monetary penalties recovered.

Directs the Commissioner of Social Security to: (1) report to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a plan for conducting fraud and error prevention activities; (2) take any necessary actions to ensure that cooperative disability investigations (CDI) units have been established for each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories; (3) conduct quality reviews in certain cases with respect to decisions in connection with the application for benefits under this title and SSAct title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI), in a sufficient number to ensure compliance with laws, regulations, and other guidance issued by the Commissioner; (4) report annually to Congress the total number of cases selected for such quality review, the number of such cases in which a decision is remanded, and the number of such cases in which a decision is modified or reversed; and (5) report annually to Congress on the number of work-related continuing disability reviews conducted.

Allows the Commissioner to submit a combined annual report to specified congressional committees of certain information relating to disability benefits.

Increases civil and criminal penalties for specified persons in positions of trust in certain cases of fraud, and requires inflation adjustments every four years for certain civil penalties.

Prohibits the Commissioner, in making any determination with respect to whether an individual is or continues to be under a disability, from considering (except for good cause) any evidence furnished by a physician or other health care provider who has been barred from practice, has been assessed a penalty for the submission of false evidence, or is excluded from participation in any federal health care program..

Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to repeal program integrity adjustments after FY2014 to budget authority for continuing disability reviews and redeterminations.
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2015-06-15 00:00:00

Social Security Integrity Act of 2015

This bill directs the Commissioner of Social Security to implement all of the recommendations described in the memorandum from the Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration entitled "Numberholders Age 112 or Older Who Did Not Have a Death Entry on the Numident (A-06-14-34030)" and dated March 4, 2015.
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2015-06-17 00:00:00

Recidivism Reduction Act 

 Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income for Aged, Blind, and Disabled) (SSI) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to require the reinstatement upon release of an otherwise eligible disabled inmate for SSI benefits which were terminated because of the inmate's incarceration in a jail, prison, penal institution, or correctional facility for a period of 12 or more consecutive months. Requires automatic reinstatement of the benefit eligibility under SSAct title XVI upon discharge or release of an individual who has become an inmate of a jail, prison, penal institution, or correctional facility, without the need to reapply for the benefits, if the period of sentence to the institution does not exceed 90 days.

Requires the inmate to apply for reinstatement and resumption of such benefits within 36 months after release.

Requires the reinstatement of SSI benefit eligibility for such an individual's spouse if the spouse was previously an SSI-eligible spouse.

Amends SSAct title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) to direct the Commissioner of Social Security to develop a system for prerelease application for resumption of suspended OASDI disability insurance benefits, or other benefits based on disability.

Amends SSAct title XIX (Medicaid) to require state Medicaid plans to provide that in the case of any individual enrolled for medical assistance immediately before becoming an inmate of a public institution under a sentence of 90 days or less: (1) the enrollment shall be reinstated automatically upon the individual's release from such institution without the need to apply for such assistance, and (2) any period of continuous eligibility in effect when the individual became such an inmate shall be reinstated as of the release date and the duration of such period shall be determined without regard to the period in which the individual was such an inmate.

Requires an increase in the federal medical assistance percentage (matching rate) by five percentage points (not to exceed 100%) for medical assistance for items and services furnished during the one-year period beginning when the individual's eligibility for medical assistance under Medicaid is reinstated after release.

Authorizes case management services in order to engage in planning for services following an individual's release from a public institution.
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-06-24 00:00:00

Senior and Retired Volunteers Act of 2015

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals who have attained age 60 or are disabled an exemption from income and employment taxes for real property tax abatements received under a state or local program in which such individuals have provided services in exchange for such abatements.
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2015-07-22 00:00:00

One Social Security Act

This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to merge the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund into a new, restructured Social Security Trust Fund to consist of the employment and self-employment taxes imposed with respect to wages and self-employment income.

The annual report to Congress on the operation and status of the Trust Fund shall include an actuarial analysis of the benefit cost with respect to disabled beneficiaries and their auxiliaries, to retired beneficiaries and their auxiliaries, and to survivor beneficiaries.
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2015-07-29 00:00:00

Stephanie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independence Reauthorization Act of 2015

 This bill amends the Assets for Independence Act, which provides for demonstration projects designed to provide individuals and families of limited means with an incentive to save a portion of their earned income and thereby accumulate assets, increase their economic self-sufficiency, and stabilize such families and the communities in which they live.

Expresses the sense of Congress that a qualified entity conducting a demonstration project under the Act should, to the maximum extent practicable, increase: (1) the rate at which it matches contributions by participating individuals, or (2) the number of such participating individuals.

States that multiple households may share a single residence. Specifies public housing agencies and tribally designated housing entities as entities qualified to participate in a demonstration project. Repeals the requirement that state or local government or other public agencies apply jointly with a tax-exempt not-for-profit charitable organization or collaborate with certain kinds of local community-based organizations. Includes among postsecondary educational expenses any expenses for preparatory courses, room and board, and transportation.

Revises requirements for: (1) applications for new and renewals of existing projects; (2) limitations on uses of the Reserve Fund; and (3) the adjusted gross household income eligibility test, requiring regulations for transfers from one project to another for individuals who move because of major disasters or emergencies, to find employment, or to a community where no project is available.

Revises requirements for deposits by qualified entities in the individual development accounts (IDAs) of participating individuals to: (1) increase maximum deposits per individual and per household; (2) facilitate withdrawal of funds from an IDA, with formal approval, during the year following the end of a demonstration project; and (3) require disposal of funds remaining in an IDA at the end of that year.

Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of Community Services, to make every effort, 90 days after terminating the authority of one qualified entity to operate a demonstration project, to identify another qualified entity (or entities), in the same or a different community, willing and able to conduct one or more demonstration projects. Specifies criteria for giving priority consideration to candidate entities.

Revises requirements for contracting with independent research organizations to evaluate demonstration projects.

Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) use certain funds to cover the necessary costs of training for a qualified entity conducting a demonstration project, including costs of travel, accommodations, and meals; and (2) waive any requirement of the Act in certain circumstances.
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2015-09-16 00:00:00

Social Security Beneficiary 2nd Amendment Rights Protection Act

This bill amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to prohibit any determination by the Commissioner of Social Security with respect to an individual, including one that OASDI and SSI benefits to which that individual is entitled shall be paid to a representative payee, from being considered to be a determination that the individual has been adjudicated as a mental defective to make it unlawful for the individual to engage in the shipment or transport of firearms or ammunition or receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2015-11-16 00:00:00

Seniors And Veterans Emergency Benefits Act or the SAVE Benefits Act

This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to disburse a payment equal to 3.9% of the average amount of annual benefits to certain individuals (except prisoners, fugitive felons, or aliens) who are entitled to a specified benefit under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA), an annuity under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974, a veterans benefit, or are eligible for a cash benefit under SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income), including a special benefit for individuals who perform substantial gainful activity despite severe medical impairment.

A refundable income tax credit is allowed for the first taxable year beginning in 2015 in an amount equal to $581 for certain eligible government retirees who do not receive such a payment.

The Internal Revenue Code is amended, with respect to the $1 million limitation on the deductibility of employee compensation, to:

 subject to that limitation any compensation payable on a commission basis or upon the attainment of a performance goal; extend the limitation to any individual who is a current or former officer, director, or employee of a publicly-held corporation; and apply the limitation to all publicly-held corporations required by the Securities and Exchange Commission to register securities and provide periodic reports to their investors.
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2015-12-01 00:00:00

Seniors And Veterans Emergency (SAVE) Benefits Act 

This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to disburse a payment equal to 3.9% of the average amount of annual benefits to certain individuals (except prisoners, fugitive felons, or aliens) who are entitled to a specified benefit under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA), an annuity under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974, a veterans benefit, or are eligible for a cash benefit under SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income), including a special benefit for individuals who perform substantial gainful activity despite severe medical impairment.

A refundable income tax credit is allowed for the first taxable year beginning in 2015 in an amount equal to $581 for certain eligible government retirees who do not receive such a payment.

The Internal Revenue Code is amended, with respect to the $1 million limitation on the deductibility of employee compensation, to:

 eliminate the exemption from that limitation for compensation payable on a commission basis or upon the attainment of a performance goal; extend the limitation to any individual who is a current or former officer, director, or employee of a publicly-held corporation; and apply the limitation to all publicly-held corporations required by the Securities and Exchange Commission to register securities and provide periodic reports to their investors.
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2016-03-10 00:00:00

Reducing Duplicative and Ineffective Federal Funding Act

(Sec. 2) This bill repeals the program of block grants to states for social services under title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act, except those for:

 demonstration projects to address health professions workforce needs, and the program for early detection of certain medical conditions related to environmental health hazards.
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Health
Date: 2016-06-07 00:00:00

Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes Act or the ECHO Act

This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration, to study technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models and the ability of those models to improve patient care and provider education. (Such models connect specialists to primary care providers through videoconferencing to facilitate case-based learning, dissemination of best practices, and evaluation of outcomes.)

The Government Accountability Office must report on such models and HHS support for such models.
Topic: Social Welfare — General
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2016-09-28 00:00:00

Social Security Safety Dividend Act of 2016

 This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to disburse a $250 cash payment for a particular year to recipients of Social Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income benefits (under title XVI of the Social Security Act), railroad retirement benefits, or veterans disability compensation or pension benefits if no cost-of-living adjustment is payable for any month in such a year.