lcalvobartolome/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2014-07-31 00:00:00

Consolidate Heavy-handed and Outdated Programs Act of 2014 - Consolidates the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish the Department of Energy and the Environment (DEE), with the primary mission of ensuring U.S. security and prosperity by: (1) protecting human health; (2) safeguarding the natural environment; and (3) addressing U.S. energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions. Transfers to the DEE Secretary all of the functions of the EPA Administrator and the Secretary of Energy.

Establishes within the Department: (1) an Energy and Environmental Information Administration, (2) an Office of Science, (3) an Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, (4) an Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, and (5) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as an independent regulatory commission. Transfers to the Commission specified functions of the Federal Power Commission (FPC). Preserves the Southeastern Power Administration, the Southwestern Power Administration, and the Bonneville Power Administration as distinct organizational entities within DEE, each headed by an Administrator.

Requires the DEE Secretary to establish policy for the National Nuclear Security Administration and assess annually the vulnerability of Department facilities to a terrorist attack.

Requires the President to submit a proposed National Energy Policy Plan to Congress by April 1, 2015, and biennially thereafter.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2014-07-31 00:00:00

Preventing the EPA from Garnishing Wages Act of 2014 - Eliminates the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to garnish wages for a debt owed under programs it administers.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2014-07-31 00:00:00

Air and Health Quality Empowerment Zone Designation Act of 2013 - Allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate an area as an air and health quality empowerment zone if the air pollution control district or other local governmental entity (area entity) authorized to regulate air quality for the area nominates the area for the designation and the area meets the following criteria:

 it has been designated as being in extreme nonattainment of the national ambient air quality standard for ozone and in nonattainment of the national ambient air quality standard for PM2.5 (particulate matter diameter); it had nitrogen oxide emissions from farm equipment, emissions of volatile organic compounds from farming, or nitrogen oxide emissions from sources governed primarily through international law in excess of specified amounts; it meets or exceeds the national average per capita incidence of asthma; it experiences unemployment rates higher than the national average; and the area entity will provide matching contributions of federal funds toward the activities to be carried out under the area's strategic plan to address air quality challenges, achieve attainment of air quality standards, and improve the health of the population in the area. Makes the effective period of area designation the shorter of 10 years or the period ending with revocation by the EPA.

Authorizes grants for carrying out an area's strategic plan.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-02-13 00:00:00

Requires the Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in reports required to be submitted not later than April 30 and October 31 of each calendar year, to include an assessment of the agency's compliance during the applicable period with the following: (1) portions of Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 concerning reporting of regulatory and deregulatory agendas, as well as successor Executive Orders establishing such requirements; (2) regulatory flexibility agenda requirements; (3) portions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 that require agencies to publish statements describing and assessing state, local, and tribal compliance costs before promulgating any general notice of proposed rulemaking; and (4) requirements of Executive Order 13132 concerning certifications by agencies upon transmittals of draft final regulations of adherence to federalism principles.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-02-13 00:00:00

Environmental Protection Agency Accountability Act of 2013 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that the following regulatory requirements are satisfied: (1) Executive Order 13563 (concerning regulatory principles) and the regulatory planning procedures of Executive Order 12866, as well as successor Executive Orders concerning reporting of regulatory and deregulatory agendas; (2) regulatory flexibility agenda requirements; (3) requirements of Executive Order 13132 concerning certifications by agencies upon transmittals of draft final regulations of adherence to federalism principles; and (4) portions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 that require agencies to publish statements describing and assessing state, local, and tribal compliance costs before promulgating any general notice of proposed rulemaking.

Imposes financial penalties, in the form of funding rescissions, upon the Office of the Administrator if the Comptroller General determines that any of the above requirements have not been satisfied. Requires EPA Inspector General audits for any fiscal year in which funds were so rescinded.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: International affairs
Date: 2013-05-22 00:00:00

Conservation Reform Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of State to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study of, and report to Congress on, U.S. international conservation programs to determine the extent to which such programs are: (1) advancing conservation in the world's most ecologically and economically important terrestrial and marine ecosystems; (2) addressing natural resource challenges; (3) advancing U.S. foreign policy priorities in areas such as security, democratization, sustainable food production, and clean water; (4) enhancing economic and wildlife conservation benefits derived from properly managed international hunting and angling tourism; and (5) addressing poaching, illegal logging, fishing, and wildlife trafficking.

Directs the President: (1) to establish the Interagency Working Group on Global Conservation; and (2) through such Working Group, to establish the International Conservation Strategy to strengthen the capacity of the United States to collaborate with other countries, international organizations, the private sector, and private voluntary organizations to conserve natural resources and enhance biodiversity.

Requires: (1) the Strategy to provide a comprehensive plan of action that identifies specific and measurable benchmarks, goals, and time frames; and (2) the Working Group to ensure that the Strategy is appropriate to local needs and conditions and incorporates the views of partner countries.

Establishes the International Conservation Public Advisory Board to: (1) advise the Working Group on matters related to U.S. international conservation policies and programs and the implementation of the Strategy; and (2) ensure that the best scientific, policy, economic security, and business expertise are reflected in U.S. international conservation strategies and policies.

Prohibits any provision in this Act from being construed as restricting, limiting, or otherwise impairing: (1) properly managed recreational hunting and angling, or (2) the ability of any foreign jurisdiction or authority to authorize regulated programs supporting wildlife for local consumption and commercialization.

Urges the President to work with foreign assistance donor countries to: (1) develop a comprehensive international conservation assistance strategy consistent with the United States International Conservation Strategy, (2) identify multilateral mechanisms to coordinate international action, and (3) agree on a timetable for achieving the goals of the United States International Conservation Strategy.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-08-01 00:00:00

Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to review each notice issued by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and published in the Federal Register relating to the preparation of any guidance, policy, memorandum, regulation, or statement of general applicability and future effect that may have a significant impact on a substantial number of agricultural entities.

Requires the Secretary, for each publication item determined to have a possible significant impact, to: (1) solicit from the EPA Administrator information to facilitate a review of the item, (2) produce an economic impact statement, (3) identify representatives of potentially affected agricultural entities to obtain advice and recommendations about the potential impacts of the item, and (4) convene a review panel that includes the Secretary to analyze the publication item.

Provides procedures for submission by the Secretary of comments to the Administrator for inclusion in the administrative record and for waiver of a panel's initiation.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2014-07-16 00:00:00

Secret Science Reform Act of 2014 - Amends the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from proposing, finalizing, or disseminating a covered action unless all scientific and technical information relied on to support such action is specifically identified and publicly available in a manner sufficient for independent analysis and substantial reproduction of research results.

Defines "covered action" as a risk, exposure, or hazard assessment, criteria document, standard, limitation, regulation, regulatory impact analysis, or guidance.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2014-07-31 00:00:00

Endangered Species Litigation Reasonableness Act - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to replace the current standard for awarding court costs, including attorney fees, in citizen suits with the federal judicial code standard for awarding costs to a prevailing party.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2015-01-08 00:00:00

Reducing Environmental Barriers to Unified Infrastructure and Land Development Act of 2015 Act or the REBUILD Act 

 This bill amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to authorize: (1) the assignment to states of federal environmental review responsibilities under NEPA and other relevant federal environmental laws for covered federal projects, and (2) states to assume all or part of those responsibilities.

Each responsible federal official who is authorized to assign such responsibility must promulgate regulations that establish requirements relating to information required to be contained in state applications to assume those responsibilities.

 An official may approve an application only if: (1) public notice requirements have been met, (2) the state has the capability to assume the responsibilities, and (3) the head of the state agency having primary jurisdiction over covered projects enters into a written agreement with an official to assume the responsibilities and to maintain the financial resources necessary to carry them out.

The officials must audit state compliance with federal laws for which responsibilities are assumed. The officials may terminate the responsibilities assigned to states after providing notice to states of any noncompliance and an opportunity to take corrective action.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2015-01-14 00:00:00

Environmental Protection Agency Accountability Act of 2015

This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to satisfy within 30 days regulatory requirements concerning:

 improving planning and regulator review under Executive Order 13563, Executive Order 12866, or any successor executive order establishing requirements applicable to the uniform reporting of regulatory and deregulatory agendas; publishing in the Federal Register its regulatory flexibility agendas; certifying compliance with Executive Order 13132 when transmitting any draft final regulation or proposed legislation that has federalism implication to the Office of Management and Budget; and preparing statements to accompany significant regulatory actions. If the EPA fails to satisfy these requirements, financial penalties in the form of funding rescissions will be imposed on the EPA each week until all the requirements are satisfied. In any year in which funds are rescinded, the EPA Inspector General must conduct an audit to assess the EPA's compliance with this Act.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2015-02-24 00:00:00

EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015

 (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 to revise the process of selecting members of the Science Advisory Board, guidelines for participation in Board advisory activities, and terms of office. The Board provides scientific advice to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This bill requires the Board to independently provide that advice.

Among the revisions to requirements concerning the Board's membership are the following:

 a requirement to balance scientific and technical points of view; a set minimum level of representation from state, local, or tribal governments; allowance of affiliation with or representation of entities that may have a potential interest in the Board's advisory activities; conflict of interest restrictions; restrictions on participation in advisory activities involving review of a member's work; restrictions on appointment of registered lobbyists; and prohibitions on member receipt of current EPA grants or contracts. The EPA must make public a list of nominees to the Board and accept public comments on the nominees. Reports filed upon the provisional nomination of a member disclosing financial relationships and interests must also be made public.

The EPA must provide draft risk or hazard assessments in its regulatory proposals and documents to the Board. The Board's advice and comments must be included in the record regarding any such proposal and published in the Federal Register.

The Board's member committees and investigative panels must operate in accordance with the membership, participation, and policy requirements contained in this Act, including new requirements for public participation in advisory activities of the Board. The member committees and investigative panels do not have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the Board and may not report directly to the EPA. The bill imposes additional public participation requirements: The EPA and the Board must make public all reports and relevant scientific information at the same time they are received by the Board. The Board must hold public information-gathering sessions to discuss the state of the science related to a major advisory activity. Prior to convening a member committee or investigative panel, the EPA must accept and address public comments on questions asked of the Board. The Board, member committees, and investigative panels may not accept a question that unduly narrows the scope of an advisory activity. The Board must strive to avoid making policy determinations or recommendations, communicate uncertainties, encourage dissenting members to make their views known, conduct periodic reviews to ensure that its activities address the most important scientific issues affecting the EPA, and respond to Congress fully and in a timely manner.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2015-04-29 00:00:00

Wasteful EPA Programs Elimination Act of 2015

This bill terminates all existing grant programs of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), its National Clean Diesel Campaign, and its environmental justice programs. The EPA may not establish new grant programs.

Federal funds may not be used by the EPA:

 to implement any ozone standard promulgated after this bill's enactment date; to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from mobile sources, or from fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating units; for the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program; for the Global Methane Initiative; for the Climate Resilience Fund; for the Climate Resilience Evaluation Awareness Tool; for the Green Infrastructure Program; for the Climate Ready Water Utilities Initiative; or for climate research at the EPA's Office of Research and Development. The EPA must: (1) discontinue operation and maintenance of its field offices and activities carried out through those offices, and (2) dispose of or lease any underutilized property.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2015-06-18 00:00:00

This bill replaces certain environmental laws in the United States Code with provisions in the new Title 55, Environment, as part of an effort to consolidate environmental acts found in several sections of the code into one title. Subtitle I of Title 55 contains provisions that establish the Environmental Protection Agency, national environmental policy, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and the Council on Environmental Quality. Subtitle II contains provisions about air quality and air pollution control, including provisions from the Clean Air Act and related laws.

A change in wording made in the restatement of existing law enacted by this bill is meant to elucidate the existing law, but not to change the meaning or effect of the existing law.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2015-07-29 00:00:00

This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to limit the amount that may be awarded for the costs of litigation in citizen suits. An award of litigation costs may not exceed: (1) an amount that is proportional to the number of successful claims included in the complaint, or (2) the amount of monetary penalties.

The award of litigation costs must be based on the prevailing rates in the local market area where the violation occurred for the kind and quality of the services furnished.

Citizen suits may not be commenced if the Environmental Protection Agency or a state has commenced and is diligently prosecuting a civil or criminal action through the issuance of a compliance order.

The bill provides for certain affirmative defenses for a person who may be liable for the unlawful discharge of a pollutant under the Clean Water Act.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2015-11-03 00:00:00

Stopping EPA Overreach Act of 2015

This bill amends the Clean Air Act to exclude carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride pollution from the scope of that Act.

The bill declares that current law does not authorize or require the regulation of climate change or global warming and nullifies certain proposed rules relating to greenhouse gas and carbon pollution emissions.

Before proposing or finalizing regulations or policies, the Environmental Protection Agency must analyze the net and gross impact of those regulations and policies on employment. Regulations and policies may not take effect if they have a negative impact on employment, unless they are approved by Congress and signed by the President.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2015-11-05 00:00:00

EPA Maximum Achievable Contraction of Technocrats Act of 2015

This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce its total number of employees by 15% by a certain workforce reduction target date.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2015-12-16 00:00:00

End EPA Advertising Act

This bill prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from awarding contracts for public relations, market research, or other similar activities.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-02-26 00:00:00

Environmental Justice Act of 2016

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a credit against the employment taxes of a tax-exempt organization equal to 40% of amounts paid or incurred by such organization to support environmental justice communities or projects. The limit on the amount of such credit for a calendar year is $10,000.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2016-06-21 00:00:00

End EPA Rogue Spending Act 

This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deposit any fees it collects into the general fund of the Treasury and prohibits the EPA from spending the fees unless the authority is provided in advance by an appropriations Act.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Energy
Date: 2016-07-14 00:00:00

This bill establishes a U.S. Green Bank that provides financial support to assist regional, state, and local institutions finance: (1) clean energy (e.g. solar or wind energy) projects, or (2) energy efficiency projects that reduce energy use or substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Department of the Treasury must issue Green Bonds to provide the bank with: (1) an initial capitalization of $10 billion; and (2) additional capitalization, upon the bank's request, of no more than $50 billion in aggregate at any one time.

Treasury must also establish a revolving Green Bank Establishment Fund.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2016-07-14 00:00:00

This bill prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from using funds to carry out the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program, which helps communities understand and address exposure to multiple environmental harms and risks.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2015-01-07 00:00:00

Environmental Protection Agency Accountability Act of 2015

This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to satisfy within 30 days regulatory requirements concerning:

 improving planning and regulator review under Executive Order 13563, Executive Order 12866, or any successor executive order establishing requirements applicable to the uniform reporting of regulatory and deregulatory agendas; publishing in the Federal Register its regulatory flexibility agendas; certifying compliance with Executive Order 13132 when transmitting any draft final regulation or proposed legislation that has federalism implication to the Office of Management and Budget; and preparing statements to accompany significant regulatory actions. If the EPA fails to satisfy these requirements, financial penalties in the form of funding rescissions will be imposed on the EPA each week until all the requirements are satisfied. In any year in which funds are rescinded, the EPA Inspector General must conduct an audit to assess the EPA's compliance with this Act.
Topic: Environment — General
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2015-02-24 00:00:00

Secret Science Reform Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from proposing, finalizing, or disseminating a covered action unless all scientific and technical information relied on to support such action is the best available science, specifically identified, and publicly available in a manner sufficient for independent analysis and substantial reproduction of research results. A "covered action" includes a risk, exposure, or hazard assessment, criteria document, standard, limitation, regulation, regulatory impact analysis, or guidance.

The EPA must carry out the bill in a manner that does not exceed $1 million per fiscal year.