lcalvobartolome/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: International Affairs — Organizations
Subject: International affairs
Date: 2016-07-07 00:00:00

Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today (JUST) Act of 2016

This bill directs the Department of State, with respect to covered countries, to annually include within either the relevant Annual Country Report on Human Rights, the International Religious Freedom Report, or other appropriate report an assessment of the nature and extent of national laws or enforceable policies regarding the identification, return, or restitution of wrongfully seized or transferred Holocaust era assets and compliance with the goals of the Terezin Declaration on Holocaust Era Assets and Related Issues, including:

 the return to the rightful owner of wrongfully seized or transferred property, including religious or communal property, or the provision of comparable substitute property or the payment of equitable compensation to the rightful owner; the use of the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art and the Terezin Declaration in settling claims involving publicly and privately held movable property; the restitution of heirless property to assist needy Holocaust survivors; and progress on the resolution of claims for U.S. citizen Holocaust survivors and family members. "Covered countries" means signatories to the Terezin Declaration that are determined by the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues to be countries of particular concern with respect to such restitution.
Topic: International Affairs — Organizations
Subject: International affairs
Date: 2016-09-08 00:00:00

Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2016

This bill directs the Department of State to provide assistance to entities taking specified criminal and judicial actions against individuals who are suspected of committing genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes in Iraq since January 2014 or in Syria since March 2011.

The State Department shall encourage foreign governments to identify and prosecute individuals who are suspected of committing such crimes, including members of foreign terrorist organizations operating in Iraq or Syria.

The Department of Justice shall review existing criminal statutes concerning genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes to determine:

 the extent to which U.S. courts have jurisdiction over such crimes where the perpetrators or victims are U.S. nationals, residents, or persons present in a U.S. territory; current statutes that would apply to such conduct and whether additional statutory authorities are necessary; and the extent to which the absence of criminal statutes defining the crimes or granting jurisdiction impede their prosecution in U.S. courts. The State Department shall identify:

 threats of persecution, genocide, crimes against humanity, and forced migration against members of Iraqi or Syrian religious or ethnic groups with respect to whom the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has committed such crimes in Iraq or Syria since January 2014 or who are members of other persecuted religious or ethnic groups; humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs of these individuals; and assistance provided by the United States, the U.N., and other entities, including faith-based entities. The Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1990 is amended to:

 include as a category for U.S. refugee determinations aliens who are or were nationals and residents of Iraq or Syria and who share common characteristics that identify them as targets of persecution on account of religion or membership in an ethnic minority in such foreign states, include in such category aliens who are or were nationals and residents of Iraq or Syria and who are members of a religious or ethnic community against which genocide has been committed or that has otherwise been identified as a persecuted group, and extend such Act's coverage to refugee applications submitted before October 1, 2017.
Topic: International Affairs — Organizations
Subject: International affairs
Date: 2016-09-08 00:00:00

Coptic Churches Accountability Act

This bill directs the Department of State, until 2021, to submit an annual report describing:

 the progress made in restoring or repairing Christian religious property and property owned by Christians in Egypt that was damaged or destroyed during the August 2013 sectarian violence; implementation of the law Egypt passed in 2016 that imposes significant burdens on church building; and the nature and extent of Egyptian laws and policies regarding the construction of Christian churches or places of worship. The State Department shall ensure that each country report on human rights practices for Egypt and each report on international religious freedom contains:

 a summary of the progress made in restoring religious property; and a list of each Christian church, place of worship, or other Christian religious property and each item of property belonging to a Christian church that was damaged or destroyed.
Topic: International Affairs — Organizations
Subject: International affairs
Date: 2016-09-20 00:00:00

This bill prohibits U.S. funds from being made available to the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization if, on or after September 16, 2016, the U.N. Security Council adopts a resolution that obligates the United States or affirms a purported obligation of the United States to refrain from actions that would run counter to the treaty.
Topic: International Affairs — Organizations
Subject: Law
Date: 2016-09-22 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House passed version is repeated here.)

Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016

(Sec. 5) This bill allows civil claims or causes of action for the recovery of artwork or certain other property lost between January 1, 1933, and December 31, 1945, because of Nazi persecution to be commenced within six years after the claimant's actual discovery of: (1) the identity and location of the artwork or other property, and (2) a possessory interest in the artwork or property.

Such statutory limitation period of six years after actual discovery preempts any other statutes of limitation or defenses relating to the passage of time.

Preexisting claims known by a claimant before enactment of this bill shall be considered discovered on the date of this bill's enactment if they were barred before, or not barred on, the date of enactment.

This bill applies to claims or actions that are: (1) pending on the date of this bill's enactment, including an action for which the time to file an appeal has not expired; or (2) filed after enactment but before 2027. But the bill does not apply to claims barred on the day before enactment of this bill if: (1) the claimant had knowledge on or after January 1, 1999, and (2) six years have passed from the date such claimant acquired such knowledge and during which time the claim was not barred by a statute of limitations.
Topic: International Affairs — Organizations
Subject: International affairs
Date: 2016-09-28 00:00:00

Combating European Anti-Semitism Act of 2016

This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) it is in the U.S. national interest to combat anti-Semitism at home and abroad; (2) there is a need to ensure the security of European Jewish communities, including synagogues, schools, and cemeteries; and (3) the United States should continue to emphasize the importance of combating anti-Semitism in multilateral bodies.

The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 is amended to require the Department of State's Annual Report on International Religious Freedom to include, for each European country in which threats or attacks against Jewish persons, schools, and religious institutions are particularly significant, a description of:

 the security challenges and needs of European Jewish communities and European law enforcement agencies; U.S. efforts to partner with European law enforcement agencies and civil society groups to combat anti-Semitic incidents; educational programming and public awareness initiatives that impart values of pluralism and tolerance, showcase the positive contributions of Jews, and pay special attention to population segments that exhibit a high degree of anti-Semitic animus; and efforts by European governments to adopt and apply a working definition of anti-Semitism.
Topic: International Affairs — Organizations
Subject: International affairs
Date: 2016-09-28 00:00:00

Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2016

This bill allows a beneficiary of a Holocaust-era life, dowry, education, annuity, property, or other insurance policy to bring a civil action in a U.S. district court against the insurer for the covered policy to recover proceeds due or, otherwise, to enforce any rights under the policy.

 The bill covers any policy that was: (1) in effect at any time from January 31, 1933, to December 31, 1945; and (2) issued to a policy holder domiciled in any area that was occupied or controlled by Nazi Germany, an ally or friendly government, or the territorial jurisdiction of Switzerland.

 The bill requires the award: (1) to a prevailing beneficiary of the amount of the proceeds due under the policy, plus prejudgment interest at 6% per year, compounded annually, calculated from the date the amount was originally due; and (2) of treble damages against any insurer that acted in bad faith.

 A civil action under this bill must be filed within 10 years after enactment of this bill.

 A prior judgment or release entered for any claim arising under a covered policy in any civil action in a federal or state court shall not impair a claim brought under this bill.

Any executive agreement between the United States and a foreign government or any executive foreign policy of the U.S. government shall not supercede or preempt any state law or compromise, settle, extinguish, waive, preclude, bar, or foreclose any claim brought under this bill.

 A claim brought under state law within 10 years after enactment of this billshall not be deemed untimely on the basis of any state or federal statute of limitations or on the basis of any other legal or equitable rule or doctrine governing timeliness.
Topic: International Affairs — Organizations
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Date: 2016-09-28 00:00:00

Trafficking Survivors Relief Act of 2016

This bill amends the federal criminal code to establish a process to vacate convictions and expunge arrests for criminal offenses committed by trafficking victims that directly result from or relate to having been a trafficking victim.

A trafficking victim may file a motion to: (1) vacate a conviction for a nonviolent offense that does not include a child victim (i.e., under age 18); (2) expunge records of an arrest for a nonviolent offense that does not include a child victim; or (3) expunge records of an arrest for an offense that is violent or that includes a child victim, if the charges are reduced, dismissed, or disposed of.
Topic: International Affairs — Organizations
Subject: International affairs
Date: 2015-01-07 00:00:00

Expresses the sense of Congress that, now that evidence is available that nullifies the most controversial aspects of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (the Goldstone Report), the United Nations (U.N.) should formally retract the Report.

Directs the Secretary of State to withhold U.S. contributions to the regularly assessed U.N. biennial budget until the U.N. formally retracts the Report.

Defines "formally retracts" as a U.N.-adopted resolution stating that insufficient information relating to the Report's subject matter was available before its release and that the Report is annulled.
Topic: International Affairs — Organizations
Subject: International affairs
Date: 2015-05-07 00:00:00

Annual Report on United States Contributions to the United Nations Act

Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to report annually to Congress regarding all assessed and voluntary U.S. contributions to the United Nations (U.N.) and its affiliated agencies and related bodies during the previous fiscal year.

Requires the report to include:

 the total amount of all assessed and voluntary U.S. contributions to the U.N. and its affiliated agencies and related bodies; the approximate percentage of U.S. contributions to each such agency or body in a fiscal year when compared with all such contributions in that fiscal year; and the amount, description, and purpose of each contribution, the identity of the donating U.S. department or agency, and the identity of the recipient U.N. agency or body. Requires the first report to include information for the previous five fiscal years.

Requires OMB to post a public version of the report on a publicly available Internet website.
Topic: International Affairs — Organizations
Subject: International affairs
Date: 2015-07-23 00:00:00

Block Arms to Iran Act of 2015

This bill declares that, of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available for the Department of State for "Contributions to International Organizations" and available for contributions to the United Nations, 20% may not be obligated or expended for that purpose if the arms embargo on Iran pursuant to Security Council Resolutions 1747 and 1929 is lifted, reduced, or otherwise eased.
Topic: International Affairs — Organizations
Subject: International affairs
Date: 2016-05-12 00:00:00

Limiting Contributions to the United Nations and Affiliated Organizations that Accord the Palestine Liberation Organization the Same Standing as Member States Act

This bill directs the Department of State to ensure that the use of federal funding supporting the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including the Green Climate Fund, complies with applicable federal law, including:

 provisions of the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 authorizing appropriations for the U.S. annual payment to the U.N. and for necessary salaries and expenses of U.S. representatives to the U.N., provisions of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 prohibiting making funds authorized under such Act available to the U.N. or any specialized agency that accords the Palestine Liberation Organization the same standing as member states, and provisions of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 prohibiting contributions to the U.N. or to any affiliated U.N. organization that grants full state membership to a group that does not have internationally recognized attributes of statehood.
Topic: International Affairs — Organizations
Subject: International affairs
Date: 2016-05-17 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

(Sec. 1) This bill amends the International Organizations Immunities Act to authorize the President to extend the provisions of such Act to the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf to the same extent, and subject to the same conditions, as may be extended to a public international organization in which the United States participates pursuant to any treaty or under the authority of any Act of Congress.

(The International Organization Immunities Act entitles covered international organizations and their employees to certain exemptions, immunities, and privileges similar to the benefits granted to foreign governments.)
Topic: Domestic Commerce — General
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2007-01-05 00:00:00

Social Security KidSave Accounts Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to create a new part B (KidSave Accounts). Directs the Commissioner of Social Security to establish in the name of each individual born on or after January 1, 2008, an individual retirement account in the Thrift Savings Fund known as a KidSave Account. Requires such Account to be treated in the same manner as an account maintained by a federal employee under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) (into which contributions by or on behalf of the individual are deposited into one or more designated investment funds).Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund to each account holder's KidSave Account: (1) $2,000, on the date such individual's KidSave Account is established; plus (2) other, including rollover, contributions, by or on behalf of the individual, the aggregate amount of which in the case of any individual below age 19 is capped at $500 for any taxable year. Provides for the treatment of distributions.Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income any rollovers into a KidSave Account.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — General
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2007-03-01 00:00:00

Community Reinvestment Modernization Act of 2007 - Repeals specified revisions to regulations governing the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision. Reinstates banking agency regulations in effect before the publication of such revisions. Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (BHCA) to subject to the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA) nonbank affiliates of bank holding companies that engage in lending or offering banking products or services. Amends the CRA to require a rating reduction for a regulated financial institution engaged in negative credit practices, including predatory and discriminatory lending. States that securities companies, mortgage banks, and insurance companies have a continuing affirmative obligation to meet the financial services needs in their assessment areas, including those of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods and persons of modest means. Requires their affiliates to attain satisfactory ratings in accordance with this Act. Insurance Disclosure Act - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish requirements for insurers to submit information annually regarding noncommercial insurance, rural insurance, and investments by insurers. Requires the Secretary to make such information public. Directs the Financial Institutions Examination Council to maintain a comprehensive database containing the hierarchical structure of financial holding companies, bank holding companies, depository institutions, and non-depository institutions. Amends the BHCA to allow certain expanded financial activities by a bank holding company only if it or its affiliate has neither: (1) been adjudicated in federal court; nor (2) entered into a consent decree or settlement agreement, premised upon a violation of the Fair Housing Act (antiredlining requirement). Requires: (1) public meetings regarding bank acquisitions and mergers; and (2) a period for public comment regarding branch closures. Amends the CRA to subject all regulated financial institutions, regardless of size or aggregate assets, to mandatory biennial examinations.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — General
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2008-02-07 00:00:00

Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2008- Expands the federal prohibition against state taxation of interstate commerce to: (1) include taxation of out-of-state transactions involving all forms of property, including intangible personal property and services (currently, only sales of tangible personal property are protected); and (2) prohibit state taxation of an out-of-state entity unless such entity has a physical presence in the taxing state. Sets forth criteria for determining that a person has a physical presence in a state.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — General
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Date: 2008-06-10 00:00:00

Private Property Rights Protection and Government Accountability Act - Makes any state or political subdivision thereof that carries out a public taking for any private purpose in or affecting interstate commerce ineligible for any federal economic development funds for ten fiscal years. Entitles any owner of private property subject to such a taking to injunctive and declaratory relief. Authorizes appropriations for the Department of Commerce for FY2009-FY2013.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — General
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2007-06-13 00:00:00

National Offshore Aquaculture Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish an operating permit process for the development and operation of offshore aquaculture facilities in areas of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Requires the Secretary to prepare an analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 with respect to the process for issuing permits. Authorizes the Secretary to issue such permits. Prohibits considering offshore aquaculture "fishing" under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Prohibits permits for facilities within 12 miles of a coastal state if the state opposes the activities. Authorizes the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to designate a zone around a facility in which incompatible installations, structures, or uses are prohibited. Requires the Secretary of Commerce, for permits for facilities in certain areas subject to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, to obtain the concurrence of the Secretary of the Interior and the consent of lessees, operators, and owners. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) establish and conduct an integrated, multidisciplinary, scientific research and development program to further marine aquaculture technologies that are compatible with the protection of marine ecosystems; and (2) conduct research and development in partnership with permit holders. Directs the Secretary to conduct research to reduce the use of wild fish in aquaculture feeds.
Topic: Domestic Commerce — General
Subject: Immigration
Date: 2008-04-10 00:00:00

Global Competitiveness Act of 2008 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend the annual cap exemption for returning H-2B aliens (temporary nonagricultural workers). Revises H-1B nonimmigrant visa (specialty occupation) provisions regarding: (1) recapture of unused visas (including a recapture fee); (2) visa increases and increases for exemptions from numerical limitations for aliens with higher education degrees; (3) increased employer petition fees; (4) employer restrictions on outsourcing, advertising, and hiring; and (5) enforcement, information sharing, and labor application penalty increases. Amends the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 regarding: (1) recapture of unused employment-based immigrant visas and redistribution to specified employment categories, including nurses and physical therapists; and (2) a recapture fee (with an exemption for certain health care facilities). Increases the annual limit for National Science Foundation low-income scholarships. Revises L-visa (intracompany transfer) provisions regarding: (1) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) authority to investigate employer fraud; (2) whistleblower protections; and (3) limitations on approval of start-up company petitions. Authorizes (with a supplemental fee) early status adjustment filing for certain employment-based immigrants. Obligates funds from the H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account for programs under the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act of 2001. Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1966 to extend the E-Verify program.