zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the Senate passed version is repeated here.)

Department of Veterans Affairs Dental Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish and administer a dental insurance plan for veterans enrolled in the system of annual patient enrollment under federal veterans' benefits provisions and for veterans' survivors and dependents who are eligible for medical care under such provisions. The VA shall contract with a dental insurer to administer the plan. Benefits shall include diagnostic services, preventative services, endodontics and other restorative services, surgical services, and emergency services.

Enrollment shall be voluntary. The VA shall: (1) prescribe the minimum enrollment period, and (2) prescribe and annually adjust the premiums necessary to cover costs associated with carrying out the plan. Each individual covered by the plan shall pay the entire premium and the full cost of any copayments.

The VA shall permit voluntary disenrollment within 30 days after initial enrollment and under other specified circumstances the VA shall prescribe to the extent that such disenrollment does not jeopardize the fiscal integrity of the plan.

This bill's provisions terminate on December 31, 2021.

Date: 2016-06-14
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Small Business Health Care Relief Act of 2016

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and other laws to exempt qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) from certain requirements that apply to group health plans.

A qualified small employer HRA is offered by employers that have fewer than 50 full-time employees and do not offer group health plans to any of their employees. A qualified small employer HRA must:

 be provided on the same terms to all eligible employees of the employer; be funded solely by the employer without salary reduction contributions; provide, after an employee provides proof of coverage, for the payment or reimbursement of medical expenses of the employee and family members; and limit annual payments and reimbursements to specified dollar amounts. HRAs that meet these requirements are not considered group health plans and are exempt from various requirements that apply to group health plans, including coverage and cost-sharing requirements. (Under current law, employers that sponsor group health plans that do not meet specified requirements are subject to an excise tax.)

Coverage and payments under a qualified HRA are excluded from gross income, unless the employee does not have minimum essential coverage for the month in which the medical care was provided.

Employers offering a qualified HRA must notify employees in advance regarding permitted benefits and report benefit information on W-2 forms and to health exchanges.

The bill sets forth requirements for determining whether an employee covered under an HRA is also eligible for premium subsidies under PPACA.

Date: 2016-06-15
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Taxation
Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to extend, through 2018, the rule that permits individuals who are 65 and older to deduct certain medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income. (Under current law, the rule that reduces the 10% threshold for the medical expense deduction to 7.5% if a taxpayer or a taxpayer's spouse is 65 or older expires at the end of 2016.)

The bill also expresses the sense of the Senate that the reduction in revenues resulting from this bill should be offset by an appropriate amendment to the IRC.

Date: 2016-06-29
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Taxation
Connecting Rural Americans to Care Act of 2016

This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to publish an interim final rule to revise certain Medicaid transportation regulations to allow states to reimburse drivers for costs attributable to providing no-load volunteer travel services to Medicaid-eligible individuals who require transportation to receive non-emergency medical treatment.

The Department of Transportation may prioritize and carry out projects within the Rural Transportation Assistance Program to increase access to health care services in rural areas.

The bill establishes the Interagency Task Force on Rural Health Information Technology to coordinate delivery of financial and technical assistance to rural providers and provide leadership and recommendations on best practices to increase internet access in rural areas.

The bill also requires the Federal Communications Commission to simplify the process for submitting a request for services under the Healthcare Connect Fund, which expands access to broadband services for health care providers in rural areas.

Date: 2016-07-13
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Health
Rural Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 2016

This bill amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to:

 establish certain health care quality measures with respect to rural providers; include such measures within specified Medicare payment models;  revise certain requirements related to specified Medicare grants for rural emergency medical services and critical access hospitals; require the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to test a hospital readmissions reduction program for rural hospitals, a model for incentivizing rural providers to submit data on applicable quality measures, and value-based payment models for services furnished by rural providers; and require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to allow rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers to participate in the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus test model.

Date: 2016-07-13
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Health
Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification Act of 2016 or the BENES Act of 2016

This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to:

 establish requirements for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to notify individuals of their potential eligibility for Medicare; require the Internal Revenue Service to disclose to CMS specified taxpayer information for the purpose of establishing individuals' potential Medicare eligibility; restructure Medicare enrollment periods; and expand Medicare beneficiaries' rights to appeal certain enrollment errors.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Health
Responsible Additions and Increases to Sustain Employee Health Benefits Act of 2016

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax exclusion for distributions from health flexible spending arrangements provided under a cafeteria plan, to: (1) increase the annual limit on employee salary reduction contributions to $5,000, with an additional $500 for each additional employee dependent above two dependents that has not been taken into account by another person for the year; (2) revise the adjustment for inflation after 2017; and (3) allow a carryforward into the next year for unused amounts in such plans.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Taxation
Relief from Obamacare Mandate Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to exempt individuals with certain premium increases from the requirement under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to maintain minimum essential health coverage.

The exemption applies to any individual for any month during a year that the individual resides in a state in which the average premium for self-only or family coverage under the second lowest cost silver plans within the state has increased by more than 10% from the prior year.

The bill also requires the cost of annual deductibles to be taken into account in applying the exemption for individuals who cannot afford coverage.

The bill repeals provisions added to the IRC by PPACA that: (1) restrict payments from health savings accounts (HSAs), Archer medical savings accounts (MSAs), and health flexible spending and reimbursement arrangements for medications to prescription drugs and insulin only (thus allowing payments for over-the-counter medications); (2) impose a $2,500 limitation on salary reduction contributions to a health flexible spending arrangement under a cafeteria plan; and (3) impose an additional tax on HSA and Archer MSA distributions not used for qualified medical expenses.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Taxation
Protection from ObamaCare Monopolies Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the requirement to maintain minimum essential health coverage any individual residing in a county with fewer than two health insurance issuers offering qualified health plans on an exchange.

Date: 2016-09-07
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Taxation
Relief from Obamacare Mandate Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to exempt individuals with certain premium increases from the requirement under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to maintain minimum essential health coverage.

The exemption applies to any individual for any month during a year that the individual resides in a state in which the average premium for self-only or family coverage under the second lowest cost silver plans within the state has increased by more than 10% from the prior year.

The bill also requires the cost of annual deductibles to be taken into account in applying the exemption for individuals who cannot afford coverage.

The bill repeals provisions added to the IRC by PPACA that: (1) restrict payments from health savings accounts (HSAs), Archer medical savings accounts (MSAs), and health flexible spending and reimbursement arrangements for medications to prescription drugs and insulin only (thus allowing payments for over-the-counter medications); (2) impose a $2,500 limitation on salary reduction contributions to a health flexible spending arrangement under a cafeteria plan; and (3) impose an additional tax on HSA and Archer MSA distributions not used for qualified medical expenses.

Date: 2016-09-07
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Taxation
This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to exempt from the requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage individuals who reside in areas where a health plan is not available through the health insurance exchange. Such individuals may remain enrolled in a short term health plan as long as a health plan is not available through the exchange.

Date: 2016-09-14
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Health
State Flexibility to Provide Affordable Health Options Act

This bill deems to be a qualified health plan for 2017 any state-authorized health insurance offered in the individual or small group market in certain states. (Qualified health plans purchased through a health insurance exchange are eligible for premium subsidies.) This applies in states that: (1) determine that temporary access to affordable private health insurance outside of a health insurance exchange is necessary to ensure access to an adequate number of affordable private health insurance options in the individual or small group market; and (2) notify the Department of Health and Human Services of that determination no later than November 1, 2016.

Residents of such a state are not subject to the requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage in 2017.

Date: 2016-09-14
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Health
Halt Tax Increases on the Middle Class and Seniors Act

 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to roll back the increased threshold for determining the amount of the tax deduction for medical expenses. Currently, individual taxpayers under age 65 may only deduct those medical expenses that exceed 10% of their adjusted gross income. This bill reduces that percentage to 7.5% for all taxpayers for tax years beginning after December 31, 2015.  

The threshold percentage remains at 10% for purposes of computing the alternative minimum tax (AMT).

Date: 2016-09-15
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Taxation
Improving Veterans Care in the Community Act of 2016

This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) should remain the primary means by which eligible veterans access health care, and (2) the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) needs a simple tool by which it can send veterans into the community to receive health care when appropriate.

The bill establishes the Care in the Community Program to furnish specified hospital care and medical services to eligible veterans through certain individuals and entities, including through the use of contracts or agreements.

The VA shall: (1) administer the program through its Non-VA Care Coordination Program, and (2) establish an interdisciplinary panel to assist in developing a new clinical appeals process for resolving VA health care disputes.

The Government Accountability Office shall report on: (1) clinical operations of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), (2) the VA travel benefits program, (3) management of the VA's Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs, and (4) payment by the VA for health care furnished to veterans through non-VA health care providers.

The bill repeals specified authorities for emergency treatment reimbursement and contracts for care in non-VA facilities.

The bill establishes in the VHA a Payment and Access Commission, which shall: (1) review and make recommendations to Congress regarding VHA policies and regulations affecting veterans health care access, including topics affected by the Care in the Community Program; and (2) create an early-warning system to identify provider shortage areas.

Date: 2016-09-27
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Student Worker Exemption Act of 2016

 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude students who are employed by an institution of higher education (IHE) and carrying a full-time academic workload at the IHE from being counted as full-time employees in calculating the IHE's shared responsibility regarding health care coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Date: 2016-09-29
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Taxation
HHS Slush Fund Elimination Act 

This bill prohibits federal funds, including funds appropriated from the Judgment Fund, from being used to pay any final judgment, award, or compromise settlement relating to the transitional reinsurance program or the risk corridor program established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

(The Judgment Fund is a permanent and indefinite appropriation to pay judgments against the United States, including awards, compromise settlements, and related interest and costs. Under the risk corridor program, qualified health plans offered in the individual or small group markets participate in a payment adjustment system based on the ratio of the allowable costs of the plan to the plan's aggregate premiums. Under the transitional reinsurance program, health insurance issuers and certain group health plans make contributions to the program, and reinsurance payments are made to issuers for enrollees in certain individual market plans with claim costs within a specified level.)

The bill includes an exception that requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to pay any final judgment, award, or compromise settlement relating to the two programs from funds appropriated to HHS under provisions of the risk corridor program that require certain health plans with lower costs to make payments to HHS.

Date: 2016-11-17
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic (CHRONIC) Care Act of 2016

This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to:

 extend the Independence at Home demonstration program; modify provisions regarding access to home dialysis therapy under Medicare and special needs plans under Medicare Advantage (MA); expand testing of the MA Value-Based Insurance Design test model; allow an MA plan to provide additional telehealth benefits to enrollees and, to chronically ill enrollees, certain supplemental health care benefits; modify other provisions regarding the use of telehealth services; allow prospective, voluntary assignment of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries to accountable care organizations (ACOs); and allow ACOs to operate beneficiary incentive programs.

Date: 2016-12-06
Topic: Health (Health Care Reform)
Subject: Health
Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to obligate for each fiscal year certain hazardous materials transportation funds to develop and administer a hazardous materials cooperative research program. Directs the Secretary to establish an independent governing board to select cooperative research projects and studies of hazardous materials transportation to be carried out under the program that will yield results immediately applicable to risk analysis and mitigation or that will strengthen the ability of first responders to respond to accidents involving the transportation of hazardous materials.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Toxic Right-to-Know Protection Act - Amends the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 to repeal provisions authorizing the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to modify the frequency of submitting toxic chemical release forms. Requires the Administrator to establish the eligibility threshold regarding the use of a form A certification statement under the toxic release inventory program at not greater than 500 pounds for nonpersistent bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals. Prohibits the use of such form with respect to any chemical of special concern identified by the Administrator.

Date: 2007-02-14
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Agricultural Protection and Prosperity Act of 2007 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to: (1) include the definition of "manure"; and (2) exclude manure from the meaning of "hazardous substance" or "pollutant or contaminant" under that Act. Provides that such exclusion shall not: (1) impose liability under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 with respect to manure; (2) affect any provision of the Air Quality Agreement entered into between the Administrator and operators of animal feeding operations; or (3) affect the applicability of any other environmental law as it relates to the definition of manure or the responsibilities or liabilities of any person regarding the treatment, storage, or disposal of manure. Amends the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 to exempt releases associated with manure (as defined under CERCLA) from the emergency notification requirements under that Act.

Date: 2007-03-08
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Program Establishment Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a national-scale mercury monitoring program. Requires such program to monitor: (1) long-term changes in mercury levels in the air and watersheds; (2) mercury levels in water and soil chemistry; and (3) mercury levels in plants and animals. Establishes the Scientific Advisory Committee to advise the Administrator on the establishment, site selection, and operation of the program.

Date: 2007-03-15
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Superfund Equity and Megasite Remediation Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reinstate the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate and the corporate environmental income tax, except in certain calendar quarters in which the unobligated balance in the Hazardous Substance Superfund exceeds $5.7 billion. Provides for a 50% increase in the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate and the corporate environmental income tax between 2008 and 2013 to fund response actions at Superfund sites estimated to cost more than $50 million (megasites) or which pose high health risks.Establishes the Megasites and High Risk Sites Cleanup Account in the Hazardous Substance Superfund. Transfers to such Account revenues resulting from the temporary 50% increase in the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate and the corporate environmental income tax.Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to report to Congress annually on the progress of response actions funded by the Hazardous Substance Superfund.

Date: 2007-04-17
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Taxation
Community Environmental Equity Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit any entity that handles, manages, treats, releases, discharges, disposes, stores, transports, removes, moves, or delivers any covered substance from disproportionately exposing any person or community to such substance on the ground of race, color, national origin, or economic status. Defines "covered substance" to include: (1) any contaminant identified under the Safe Drinking Water Act; (2) any pesticide chemical under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; (3) any chemical listed as a known or probable human carcinogen under the National Toxicology Program of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); (4) any chemical substance or mixture regulated under the Toxic Substance Control Act; (5) any hazardous waste identified under the Solid Waste Disposal Act; (6) any pesticide registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; and (7) any air pollutant regulated under the Clean Air Act.Requires such an entity to: (1) work in partnership with state and local government officials and the federal government to comply with this Act; and (2) address actual or potential disproportionate exposure to covered substances prior to pursuing authorization or approval to work with such substances.Authorizes enforcement: (1) by denial or termination of authorization to work with covered substances; (2) by any other means authorized by law; and (3) for an entity receiving federal financial assistance, through specified compliance provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Health Impact Profile Program to make grants to community-based organizations and community health centers to assist in the planning and development of community health impact profiles.

Date: 2007-04-19
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Health
Nuclear Waste Storage Prohibition Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from using any funds made available for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership initiative for the transfer or storage of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste to any site that is not a site where facilities for reprocessing of that fuel or waste have been constructed or are under construction. Prohibits spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste from being retained for long-term storage at such a site where facilities for reprocessing of fuel or waste have been constructed or are under construction.

Date: 2007-05-10
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Energy
West Valley Remediation Act of 2007 - Expresses the intent of Congress that the federal government should achieve complete remediation of all radioactive, solid, and hazardous waste contamination at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center in West Valley, New York.States that this Act: (1) establishes exclusive federal responsibility for the complete remediation of the Center; and (2) replaces and supersedes the West Valley Demonstration Project Act.Directs the Secretary of Energy to employ the best current technologies and develop new state-of-the-art technologies and methodologies to complete remediation of the Center, including: (1) decontamination and decommissioning; (2) transportation of high level radioactive waste to a federal repository for permanent disposal; and (3) disposal of low level radioactive and transuranic waste.Directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to regulate the remediation of radioactive waste and nuclear materials at the Center according to prescribed guidelines. Directs the Secretary to: ( 1) prepare any environmental impact statement for decommissioning or long-term stewardship of the Center in cooperation with the NRC and federal and state agencies; (2) assume exclusive use and possession of the entire Center; (3) take title to land or facilities at the Center that have not been approved by the NRC for release for unrestricted use; and (4) take title to radioactive and nonradioactive wastes and materials located at the Center. Repeals the West Valley Demonstration Project Act upon assumption by the Secretary of exclusive use and possession of the entire Center.

Date: 2007-05-24
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Children's Mercury Exposure Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS): (1) acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to establish a program for research regarding the risks posed by exposure of children to mercury from contaminated industrial sites; and (2) acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to study and report on the prevalence of such exposure. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the CDC Director, to make grants on a competitive basis to state departments of health to conduct testing of exposed children.

Date: 2007-06-21
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Health
America's Brownfield Cleanup Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business tax credit for 50% of expenditures for the abatement or control of any hazardous substance, the demolition of any structure, the removal and disposal of property, and the reconstruction of utilities at certain contaminated sites. Allows a tax exclusion for certain contributions made for the remediation of contaminated sites.

Date: 2007-07-18
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Taxation
School Environment Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) establish a National School Integrated Pest Management Advisory System to develop and update uniform standards and criteria for implementing integrated pest management systems in schools; (2) establish a National School Integrated Pest Management Advisory Board; and (3) provide grants to local educational agencies to develop such systems. Prohibits: (1) the application of a pesticide when a school or school ground is occupied or in use; or (2) the use of an area or room treated by a pesticide, other than a least toxic pesticide, during the 24-hour period beginning at the end of the treatment. Requires each local educational agency or school to provide notice of the integrated pest management system of the school district at the beginning of each school year and to give prior notice of any use of a pesticide (other than a least toxic pesticide). Prescribes procedures to be followed if a pest cannot be controlled after having used an integrated pest management system and least toxic pesticides. Prescribes civil penalties for violations of this Act. Establishes the Integrated Pest Management Trust Fund to carry out education, training, propagation, and development activities under school integrated pest management systems.Prohibits, any later than six years after this Act's enactment, the use of any pesticide other than a least toxic pesticide in schools unless the Administrator has met the requirements of this Act. Prohibits the Administrator from removing any pesticide that is included on the list of pesticides exempted from regulation under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act or refusing to add a pesticide to such list solely on the grounds that the pesticide is claimed to be able to be used to control a public health pest.

Date: 2007-08-01
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Prohibits the use, production, sale, importation, or exportation of atrazine (pesticide chemical 2-chloro-4-ethylamine-6-isopropylamin-1,3,5-triazine) or an atrazine product.

Date: 2007-08-03
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Declares any water hose that contains more than 15 parts per billion lead to be a banned hazardous product within the meaning of the Consumer Product Safety Act. Authorizes the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to revise such standard to a lower level it determines can be achieved, based on the best available scientific and technical information.

Date: 2007-09-17
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Superfund Reinvestment Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code by reinstating until January 1, 2018, the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate and the corporate environmental income tax.

Date: 2007-09-24
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Taxation
Superfund Polluter Pays Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code by reinstating until January 1, 2016, the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate and the corporate environmental income tax.

Date: 2007-10-24
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Taxation
Brownfield Redevelopment Tax Incentive Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the taxpayer election to expense (deduct in the current taxable year) expenditures made for environmental remediation (i.e., abatement or control of hazardous substances at contaminated sites).

Date: 2007-10-29
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Taxation
National Public Notification of Environmental Hazards Act of 2007 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to require the President to revise the national contingency plan to provide for improved public notification and community relations in the case of a response action.Requires the head of the lead agency for a response action to: (1) designate a spokesperson, who shall provide notice of the action, respond to inquiries, and provide information to the public; (2) issue a press release within a specified time frame; (3) ensure coordination of press releases and other statements; (4) establish a public information office at or near the response site; (5) establish at least one local information repository; (6) make the administrative record file available for public inspection; (7) provide a public comment period; (8) conduct public meetings; (9) establish a toll-free telephone number and a public Internet website; (10) ensure that each residence and business within a half-mile radius of the response site is visited by a lead agency representative; and (11) mail printed materials containing information about the removal action to such residences and businesses.Directs the head: (1) to take specified actions if the President determines, based on a site evaluation, that an action is appropriate and the head determines that a planning period of at least 180 days exists prior to initiation of on-site activities, including making the engineering evaluation and cost analysis available to the public; and (2) for actions lasting more than 120 days, to interview local officials, community residents, and specified others about their concerns, information needs, and how they would like to be involved and prepare a formal community relations plan.

Date: 2007-11-15
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Compound 1080 and M-44 Elimination Act - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to prohibit the manufacture, processing, possession, or distribution in commerce of sodium fluoroacetate (known as Compound 1080 or sodium monofluoroacetate). Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) conduct an inventory to identify stocks of Compound 1080 under federal control; (2) provide for the collection and destruction of all remaining stocks of Compound 1080 and the compensation of persons (other than federal entities) who transfer stocks of Compound 1080 to the Secretary; and (3) disseminate information to the public about the ban on Compound 1080 and the collection and compensation program under this Act. Prohibits any federal entity from using M-44. Defines "M-44" as sodium cyanide packaged in a dispenser designed to propel it when activated and any other form of sodium cyanide used for wildlife management or other animal control purposes.

Date: 2007-12-18
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2008 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to: (1) require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Inspector General's report to Congress on the management of the brownfields program to be submitted every four years; and (2) extend the authorization of appropriations for such program and for state response programs through FY2012. Includes among the criteria used to rank brownfield grant applications the extent to which the grant would implement green building standards, including the use of energy efficient building standards. Amends the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 to authorize grants to be made for the training and education of workers who are or may be engaged in activities related to: (1) brownfields site characterization, assessment, or remediation; or (2) emergency response, rescue, recovery, or cleanup in connection with a natural or intentional disaster. Authorizes funding for worker training and education grants for FY2008-FY2012.

Date: 2008-02-12
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Prohibits the Secretary of Defense from transporting hydrolysate (derived from the neutralization of VX nerve gas) from the Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado, or the Blue Grass Army Depot, Kentucky, to an off-site location for treatment, storage, or disposal.

Date: 2008-03-10
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Missing Mercury in Manufacturing Monitoring and Mitigation Act - Declares that the United States should develop policies and programs that will reduce: (1) mercury use and emissions; (2) mercury releases from the reservoir of mercury currently in use or circulation; and (3) exposures to mercury, particularly of women of childbearing age and young children.Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to prohibit the manufacture of chlorine or caustic soda using mercury cells, effective January 1, 2012. Requires the owner or operator of each chlor-alkali facility to submit to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator and the state in which the facility is located an annual report for 2009-2012 concerning mercury waste, emissions, and content in products. Requires the Administrator to : (1) conduct a comprehensive mercury inventory covering the life and closure of chlor-alkali facilities that cease operations on or after January 1, 2009; and (2) obtain mercury purchase records and such other information from each such facility as are necessary to determine the magnitude and nature of mercury releases from the facility into air and other environmental media.

Date: 2008-03-11
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Kid-Safe Chemicals Act of 2008 - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to require each manufacturer of a chemical substance distributed in commerce to submit to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): (1) a statement certifying that the substance meets required safety standards or that there is insufficient data to make such determination; and (2) all reasonably available information concerning the substance not previously submitted. Requires manufacturers to update such information at least every three years or at any time new information becomes available on a substance's toxicity. Requires manufacturers to provide chemical safety information upon the Administrator's request.Prohibits the manufacture, importation, or distribution in commerce of a chemical substance if the Administrator determines that the manufacturer has failed to comply with this Act or that the substance does not meet applicable safety standards. Authorizes the Administrator to prohibit a specified use of a chemical substance in consumer products if the use of the product in the home results in human exposure that does not meet the safety standard.Requires the Administrator to: (1) publish a priority list that categorizes all chemical substances distributed in commerce; (2) develop a priority list for making safety determinations of at least 300 chemical substances; (3) determine whether a manufacturer has established that its priority-list substances meet applicable safety standards; (4) arrange for the Director of the National Center for Environmental Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct a biomonitoring study to determine the presence of a chemical substance in human cord blood if the Administrator determines that it may be present in human blood, fluids, or tissue; (5) implement animal testing alternatives; (6) create market incentives for the development of safer alternatives to existing chemical substances; (7) establish an Interagency Science Advisory Board on Children's Health and Toxic Substances; (8) cooperate with international efforts to monitor chemical substances; and (9) create a database to share information on the toxicity and use of, and exposure to, chemical substances and provide public access to such data.

Date: 2008-05-20
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Drug Free Water Act of 2008 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to convene a task force to develop: (1) recommendations on the proper disposal of unused pharmaceuticals to prevent or reduce the detrimental effects caused by introducing such materials into water systems and for limiting the disposal of unused pharmaceuticals through treatment works in accordance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act); and (2) a strategy for educating the public on such recommendations.Requires a report by the task force to Congress containing the recommendations and strategy required by this Act.

Date: 2008-07-09
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Healthy Forests Restoration Amendments Act of 2008 - Amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to revise requirements with respect to the areas of federal land on which authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects may be conducted.

Date: 2008-08-01
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Solid Waste Rail Transfer Facilities Regulation Act of 2008 - Requires a solid waste rail transfer facility to comply with all federal and state solid waste environmental laws (except those requiring permits). Declares that any such facility lacking a state permit shall not be required to possess one (other than a siting permit): (1) if by a certain deadline the facility has applied, in good faith, for all required permits; and (2) until the permitting agency has either approved or denied the permit application. Declares that any such facility that does not possess a state siting permit shall not be required to possess one to continue to operate or to comply with state land use requirements. Authorizes a state governor to petition the Surface Transportation Board to require the facility to apply for a land-use exemption. Requires the Board to accept such a petition and the facility to have such an exception to continue to operate. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make modifications to such requirements to protect human health and the environment.

Date: 2008-09-27
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Nuclear Waste Access to Yucca Act - Withdraws specified lands in Nye County, Nevada, permanently from any form of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, including: (1) the mineral leasing laws; (2) the geothermal leasing laws; (3) materials sales laws; and (4) the mining laws. Transfers jurisdiction over such lands to the Secretary of Energy. Reserves use of such lands for certain activities associated with the disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. Requires the Secretary to manage the lands so withdrawn, and submit to Congress and the state of Nevada a management plan for their use. Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to direct the Secretary to apply to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a license to construct and operate facilities to receive and store spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste at the Yucca Mountain site. Authorizes the Secretary to begin construction of connected infrastructure facilities after completion of a final environmental impact statement evaluating the activities involved. Requires the Secretary to acquire rights-of-way for construction and operation of railroad facilities to transport spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from existing rail systems to the site of surface facilities within the geologic repository operations area for the receipt, handling, packaging, and storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste prior to emplacement. Revises requirements for new plant contracts.

Date: 2007-05-23
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Energy
West Valley Remediation Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to remediate the Western New York Nuclear Service Center in West Valley, New York. Requires the Secretary to decontaminate and decommission: (1) Center facilities in which certain solidified high level radioactive waste was stored; (2) facilities used in waste solidification; and (3) material and hardware used in connection with the West Valley Demonstration Project. Makes the Secretary responsible for all remediation costs. Instructs the Secretary to: (1) transport high level radioactive waste at the Center to a federal repository for permanent disposal; (2) safeguard and ensure safe storage of such waste; and (3) dispose of low level radioactive waste and transuranic waste located at the Center, including future radioactive waste generated as a result of remediation. Directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to regulate the remediation of radioactive waste and nuclear materials at the Center. Requires the Secretary to develop and submit a specified decommissioning plan for NRC approval. Requires the Secretary to: (1) enter into a consultation agreement with New York State regarding remediation of the Center; (2) prepare an environmental impact statement for decommissioning or long-term stewardship of the Center; and (3) assume exclusive use and possession of the Center after execution of a Cooperative Agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Requires the Secretary to take title to any land or facilities at the Center that have not been approved by the NRC for release for unrestricted use, and title to all radioactive and nonradioactive wastes and materials located at the Center. Repeals the West Valley Demonstration Project Act upon assumption of exclusive use and possession of the Center by the Secretary.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Requires states and Indian tribes (authorized under current law) to designate specific highway routes over which hazardous materials may be transported.

Date: 2007-01-25
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Cleanup Assurance and Polluter Accountability Act of 2007 or CAPA - Directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) finalize regulations under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) that require facilities to establish and maintain evidence of financial responsibility for the risk associated with the production, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous substances; (2) publish proposed financial assurance rules for classes of facilities that present the highest risk associated with such substances; and (3) annually promulgate financial assurance rules for additional classes of facilities, giving highest priority to classes that may contain sites at which unreimbursed response costs are at least $12,000. Requires facilities subject to financial assurance requirements to submit to the EPA: (1) a notification of filings for bankruptcy protection; (2) an estimate of environmental impacts resulting from their activities; and (3) a description of their corporate relationships. Requires the EPA to give priority to the development of requirements for facilities or industries whose prior actions indicate a high risk of default on environmental liabilities. Directs the EPA to require that each affected person: (1) enter a financial assurance agreement that reflects the hazardous substances risk; and (2) provide financial assurances to cover potential response costs and damages. Sets forth factors for the EPA to consider in determining whether to accept financial assurances. Requires the EPA to: (1) make full use of administrative offsets and liens on assets for enforcement purposes; and (2) issue guidance for enforcement of requirements for use of such offsets and liens. Authorizes a trustee in bankruptcy proceedings to avoid any transfer of a debtor's interest in an asset made during the 10 years before the bankruptcy petition is filed, if: (1) the debtor had environmental liability under CERCLA; and (2) the debtor made such transfer with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud any person with respect to such liability. Requires the EPA to report methods to strengthen the government's ability to secure assets needed to pay for response costs at sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Requires the National Bankruptcy Review Commission to evaluate the interaction between bankruptcy and CERCLA and to provide recommendations for action.

Date: 2007-01-31
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a national-scale mercury monitoring program. Requires such program to monitor: (1) long-term changes in mercury levels in the air and watersheds; (2) mercury levels in water and soil chemistry; and (3) mercury levels in plants and animals. Establishes the Mercury Monitoring Advisory Committee to advise the Administrator on the establishment and operation of the program.

Date: 2007-03-12
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Environmental protection
Subjects 5-axle single-trailer trucks transporting solid waste for at least 200 miles on the National Highway System to federal highway routing of hazardous materials requirements. Requires states and Indian tribes to designate specific highway routes over which solid waste may be transported. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe standards for states and Indian tribes to carry out such requirements.

Date: 2007-03-22
Topic: Environment (Hazardous Waste)
Subject: Transportation and public works