zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Social Security Fraud and Error Prevention Act of 2015 

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

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

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

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

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

Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to repeal program integrity adjustments after FY2014 to budget authority for continuing disability reviews and redeterminations.

Date: 2015-03-18
Topic: Social Welfare (General)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Integrity Act of 2015

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

Date: 2015-06-15
Topic: Social Welfare (General)
Subject: Social welfare
Recidivism Reduction Act 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Authorizes case management services in order to engage in planning for services following an individual's release from a public institution.

Date: 2015-06-17
Topic: Social Welfare (General)
Subject: Social welfare
Senior and Retired Volunteers Act of 2015

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals who have attained age 60 or are disabled an exemption from income and employment taxes for real property tax abatements received under a state or local program in which such individuals have provided services in exchange for such abatements.

Date: 2015-06-24
Topic: Social Welfare (General)
Subject: Taxation
One Social Security Act

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

The annual report to Congress on the operation and status of the Trust Fund shall include an actuarial analysis of the benefit cost with respect to disabled beneficiaries and their auxiliaries, to retired beneficiaries and their auxiliaries, and to survivor beneficiaries.

Date: 2015-07-22
Topic: Social Welfare (General)
Subject: Social welfare
Stephanie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independence Reauthorization Act of 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) use certain funds to cover the necessary costs of training for a qualified entity conducting a demonstration project, including costs of travel, accommodations, and meals; and (2) waive any requirement of the Act in certain circumstances.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Social Welfare (General)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Beneficiary 2nd Amendment Rights Protection Act

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

Date: 2015-09-16
Topic: Social Welfare (General)
Subject: Social welfare
Seniors And Veterans Emergency Benefits Act or the SAVE Benefits Act

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

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

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

 subject to that limitation any compensation payable on a commission basis or upon the attainment of a performance goal; extend the limitation to any individual who is a current or former officer, director, or employee of a publicly-held corporation; and apply the limitation to all publicly-held corporations required by the Securities and Exchange Commission to register securities and provide periodic reports to their investors.

Date: 2015-11-16
Topic: Social Welfare (General)
Subject: Social welfare
Seniors And Veterans Emergency (SAVE) Benefits Act 

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

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

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

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

Date: 2015-12-01
Topic: Social Welfare (General)
Subject: Social welfare
Reducing Duplicative and Ineffective Federal Funding Act

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

 demonstration projects to address health professions workforce needs, and the program for early detection of certain medical conditions related to environmental health hazards.

Date: 2016-03-10
Topic: Social Welfare (General)
Subject: Social welfare
Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes Act or the ECHO Act

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

The Government Accountability Office must report on such models and HHS support for such models.

Date: 2016-06-07
Topic: Social Welfare (General)
Subject: Health
Social Security Safety Dividend Act of 2016

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

Date: 2016-09-28
Topic: Social Welfare (General)
Subject: Social welfare
Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young Jr., Social Work Reinvestment Act

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

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

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

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

The Secretary must develop and issue public service announcements that advertise and promote the social work profession.

Date: 2015-03-18
Topic: Social Welfare (General)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Impact Partnership Act

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

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

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

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

Establishes the Federal Interagency Council on Social Impact Partnerships.

Makes appropriations for 10 years to carry out this Act.

Authorizes the Government Accountability Office to audit the social impact partnership project activities of any state, local, government, or nongovernment entity that receives funds under this Act.

Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to require the appropriate federal financial supervisory agency to consider, in assessing and taking into account the record of a financial institution in meeting the credit needs of its entire community, its investments in social impact partnership projects.

Date: 2015-04-27
Topic: Social Welfare (General)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Beneficiary 2nd Amendment Rights Protection Act

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

Date: 2016-02-03
Topic: Social Welfare (General)
Subject: Social welfare
Revises the effective date for mandatory deposit in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts of any amount derived from proceeds of the surcharge on the sale of the Thomas Alva Edison Commemorative Coin, under the Thomas Alva Edison Commemorative Coin Act, which remains unpaid to a designated recipient organization solely by reason of a specified matching fund requirement. Postpones the effective date of such requirement until July 1, 2007.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Methamphetamine and Identity Theft Study Act of 2007 - Directs the Attorney General to conduct a study evaluating whether there is a connection between the commission of crimes involving methamphetamine and the commission of identity theft crimes. Requires such study to include a statistical analysis of any correlation and to evaluate: (1) imposing a sentencing enhancement if a person commits both; (2) establishing a password-protected electronic clearinghouse within the Department of Justice for federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to share information on crimes involving both; and (3) whether individuals who use methamphetamine are more likely to commit certain kinds of identity theft crimes, such as through the use of mail, than are others who commit identity theft crimes.

Date: 2007-01-05
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 or David's Law - Amends the federal criminal code to impose penalties for willfully causing bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, or an explosive device, attempting to cause such injury, whether or not acting under color of law, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of any person, where the offense is in or affects interstate or foreign commerce. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to study the issue of adult recruitment of juveniles to commit hate crimes and, if appropriate, to amend the federal sentencing guidelines to provide sentencing enhancements for such an offense.Requires the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make grants to state and local programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles.Authorizes appropriations to the Department of the Treasury and to DOJ for FY2007-FY2009 to increase the number of personnel to protect against criminal interference with federally-protected activities.

Date: 2007-01-05
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Federal Prison Bureau Nonviolent Offender Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to direct the Bureau of Prisons, pursuant to a good time policy, to release a prisoner who has served one half or more of his or her term of imprisonment if that prisoner: (1) has attained age 45; (2) has never been convicted of a crime of violence; and (3) has not engaged in any violation, involving violent conduct, of institutional disciplinary regulations.

Date: 2007-01-05
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Safe NOW Act of 2007 - Establishes the National Sex Offender Risk Classification Task Force to create guidelines for a risk-based sex offender classification system. Authorizes the Task Force to carry out demonstration programs in five selected jurisdictions to: (1) use the Task Force's preliminary guidelines to implement such a system for their sex offender registries; and (2) identify ways to improve such guidelines. Expresses the sense of Congress that each participating jurisdiction should use final Task Force guidelines to implement such a system for its registry.

Date: 2007-01-05
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Sex Offender Visa Loophole Elimination Act of 2007 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit a convicted U.S.-citizen sex offender from filing a family-based immigration petition. Defines "sex offense" and "specified offense against a minor." Prohibits approval of a fiance/fiancee or waiting nonimmigrant spouse visa petition filed by a convicted sex offender.

Date: 2007-01-09
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Immigration
Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to eliminate the requirement that states collect Social Security numbers from applicants for recreational licenses.

Date: 2007-01-22
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Social welfare
Second Chance for Ex-Offenders Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to allow an individual to file a petition for expungement of a record of conviction for a nonviolent criminal offense if such individual has: (1) never been convicted of a violent offense and has never been convicted of a nonviolent offense other than the one for which expungement is sought; (2) fulfilled all requirements of the sentence of the court in which conviction was obtained; (3) remained free from dependency on or abuse of alcohol or a controlled substance for a minimum of one year and has been rehabilitated, to the court's satisfaction, if so required by the terms of supervised release; (4) obtained a high school diploma or completed a high school equivalency program; and (5) completed at least one year of community service.Authorizes an individual convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor to file an expungement petition. Directs the court, in ruling on such petition, after determining petitioner eligibility, to weigh the petitioner's interests against the best interests of justice and public safety.Authorizes the Department of Justice to maintain a nonpublic manual or computerized index of expunged records, to be made available only to federal and state law enforcement personnel who have custody of such records for limited disclosure purposes.Requires the restoration of expunged records of individuals subsequently convicted of any federal or state offense.

Date: 2007-01-22
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Web Video Violence Act - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to reduce funding under such Act for states which fail to certify that their laws or official policies require increased penalties for a criminal defendant convicted of a violent crime who places a video or image of the commission of such crime on the Internet.

Date: 2007-01-24
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Criminal Restitution Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) make restitution mandatory for federal crimes resulting in pecuniary loss to identifiable victims, including loss proximately resulting from such crimes; (2) expand the extent of such restitution to include the victim's costs related to the investigation or prosecution of the underlying crime; (3) permit disclosure to crime victims of portions of pre-sentence reports relating to restitution; (4) require courts to enter orders requiring immediate payment of full restitution; (5) prohibit termination of supervised release or probation for convicts with unsatisfied orders of restitution; (6) expand forfeiture provisions to require the forfeiture of any profits made possible by a criminal offense; (7) require courts to enter protective orders to preserve assets available for restitution; and (8) allow an injunction against an individual who is committing or about to commit a federal offense that may result in an order or restitution. Amends the federal judicial code to revise debt collection procedures relating to criminal restitution and authorize prejudgment remedies in criminal restitution proceedings.

Date: 2007-02-06
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Death Penalty Reform Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to modify substantive law and procedures relating to the death penalty. Adds certain crimes that result in death, including obstruction of justice, as aggravating factors in death penalty deliberations.Defines "mentally retarded" for death penalty purposes. Requires a defendant to give notice to the government of any mitigating factors, including mental retardation, which the defendant intends to present in a death penalty proceeding. Grants the government the right to an independent mental health examination of a defendant claiming mental retardation. Grants the Attorney General regulatory authority over the implementation of the death penalty. Repeals the prohibition against executing a person who is mentally retarded. Grants the government an unlimited right to rehearings of a finding of mental incapacity in death penalty cases. Requires a court in a death penalty case to: (1) assign a second attorney for the defendant when the government files a notice of intent to seek a sentence of death (currently, assignment is required upon indictment); and (2) permit the government to strike for cause jurors who oppose the death penalty. Modifies criteria relating to mitigating and aggravating factors in death penalty cases. Authorizes a court in the sentencing phase of a death penalty case to impanel a jury of less than 12 members upon a finding of good cause.Amends the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to increase the number of alternative jurors and peremptory challenges to such jurors in criminal proceedings.

Date: 2007-02-06
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Criminal Terrorism Improvements Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose the death penalty or life imprisonment on individuals who cause the death of a person while committing a terrorist act.Authorizes the death penalty for: (1) developing, possessing, or threatening to use radiological weapons against a person or against U.S. property; (2) causing the death of an individual by using missile systems designed to destroy aircraft, by using radiological dispersal devices, or by using the variola virus; and (3) use of atomic weapons with intent to injure the United States.Increases criminal penalties for: (1) attempting or conspiring to kill a U.S. national; (2) engaging in physical violence with the intent to injure a U.S. national; (3) financing terrorism or concealing assets to be used for terrorist activities; and (4) providing material support to terrorists or receiving military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization. Amends the crime of receiving military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization to include attempts or conspiracies to receive such training.Denies certain federal benefits to individuals convicted of a federal crime of terrorism. Expands the authorization for interception of communications (wiretapping) to include all federal crimes of terrorism.

Date: 2007-02-06
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Amends the federal criminal code to impose on a public official who engages in conduct in furtherance of a federal felony a fine and two-year prison term in addition to any penalties imposed for such felony. Defines "public official" as: (1) an elected official of the United States or of a state of local government; (2) a presidentially-appointed official; and (3) an official appointed to a state or local governmental office by an elected official of a state or local government.

Date: 2007-02-07
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Freedom From Union Violence Act of 2007 - Amends the Hobbs Act to authorize imposition of a fine of up to $100,000, 20 years imprisonment, or both for: (1) obstructing, delaying, or affecting commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce by robbery or extortion (or attempting or conspiring to do so); and (2) threatening physical violence to any person or property in furtherance of a plan or purpose to interfere with commerce by threats or violence. Makes provisions regarding any such interference inapplicable to conduct that: (1) is incidental to otherwise peaceful picketing during the course of a labor dispute; (2) consists solely of minor bodily injury, or minor damage to property, or threat or fear of such minor injury or damage; and (3) is not part of a pattern of violent conduct or of coordinated violent activity. Subjects such conduct to prosecution only by the appropriate state and local authorities.

Date: 2007-02-08
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Innocent Sellers Fairness Act - Exempts a lawful seller from liability for personal injury, monetary loss, or damage to property arising out of an accident or transaction involving a seller's products, unless the claimant proves one or more of the following non-sale activities by the seller: (1) the seller was the manufacturer of the product; (2) the seller participated in the design of the product; (3) the seller participated in the installation of the product; or (4) the seller altered, modified, or expressly warranted the product in a manner not authorized by the manufacturer. Requires, where a claimant proves one or more of such activities, that: (1) the activity be negligent; and (2) damages be limited to those directly caused by the activity.

Date: 2007-02-12
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Law
Sentencing Fairness and Equity Restoration Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to require: (1) federal courts to impose sentences for crimes at no less than the minimum of the range prescribed by U.S. Sentencing Commission Guidelines up to the statutory maximum; and (2) appellate de novo review of any sentence imposed below the minimum of the range in applicable sentencing guidelinesDirects the Attorney General to create and implement a new policy for the filing of motions for reducing a criminal sentence for substantial assistance in investigating or prosecuting another individual.Amends the federal judicial code to: (1) exempt sentencing courts from the requirement of filing a written report with the U.S. Sentencing Commission for certain petty crimes for which there are no applicable sentencing guidelines; and (2) prohibit the delegation of certain judicial duties relating to sentencing to the executive branch.

Date: 2007-02-12
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Habeas Corpus Preservation Act - Provides that nothing in the Military Commissions Act of 2006 shall affect the right of any U.S. resident to habeas corpus.

Date: 2007-02-16
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Quelling of Unwanted Intrusive and Excessive Telephone Calls Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term of up to one year for: (1) knowingly initiating a telephone call using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice during certain time periods or without disclosing the identity of the sponsor, endorser, or originator of the call; and (2) using such dialing system or artificial or prerecorded voice to deceive any person regarding a federal election, voter eligibility, or an election candidate. Imposes a minimum mandatory prison sentence of 30 days for offenses involving 100 or more telephone calls.

Date: 2007-03-07
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Securing Aircraft Cockpits Against Lasers Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term of up to five years for any person who knowingly aims the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft or in its flight path. Exempts from such prohibition: (1) individuals conducting research and development or flight test operations for an aircraft manufacturer or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); (2) Department of Defense or Department of Homeland Security personnel conducting research, development, operations, testing, or training; or (3) an individual using a laser emergency signaling device to send an emergency distress signal. Authorizes the Attorney General to promulgate regulations for granting additional exemptions.

Date: 2007-03-21
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Protecting Americans Fighting Terrorism Act of 2007 - Exempts individuals from civil liability for reporting suspicious behavior to federal, state, or local law enforcement agencies, if such reporting is made in good faith and with the reasonable belief that such behavior is suspicious.

Date: 2007-03-22
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Terrorist Death Penalty Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) impose the death penalty for certain terrorist offenses; (2) include as death penalty aggravating factors whether the defendant committed an offense after substantial planning or engaged in conduct resulting in the death of another person in order to obstruct the investigation or prosecution of any offense; (3) permit the impaneling of a new jury when a unanimous death penalty recommendation cannot be reached; and (4) expand the power of a court to impanel a jury of less than 12 members in a death penalty proceeding. Amends the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to increase the number of allowable alternate jurors from six to nine and permit four additional peremptory challenges when seven, eight, or nine alternative jurors are impaneled.

Date: 2007-04-18
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2007 - Requires each federal and state court to recognize any lawful notarization occurring in or affecting interstate commerce which is made by a notary public licensed or commissioned under the laws of a state other than the state where the court is located.Requires such a notarization to: (1) use a seal of office as symbol of the notary public's authority; or (2) have the seal information, in the case of an electronic record, securely attached to, or logically associated with, the electronic record so as to render the record tamper-resistant.

Date: 2007-04-20
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Law
Empowering Our Local Communities Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a minimum mandatory prison term of five years and a maximum term of 40 years on any illegal alien who commits manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to impose criminal penalties on individuals present in the United States in violation of immigration laws. Requires the Department of Homeland Security to continue to operate and implement the Institutional Removal Program for the identification and removal from the United States of criminal aliens. Requires such program to be extended to all states. Authorizes states to detain criminal aliens after the completion of their prison sentences to effectuate their transfer to federal custody.Authorizes appropriations for the training of state and local government officers or employees to perform certain functions of a federal immigration officer.

Date: 2007-05-02
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Commonsense Consumption Act of 2007 - Prohibits new, and requires dismissal of pending, civil actions by any person against a manufacturer, marketer, distributor, advertiser, or seller of food, or a trade association, for any injury related to a person's accumulated acts of consumption of food and weight gain, obesity, or any associated health condition. Subjects to such prohibition: (1) any action brought by a person other than the person on whose weight gain, obesity, or health condition the action is based; and (2) any derivative action brought by or on behalf of any person or any representative, spouse, parent, child, or other relative of that person. Excludes from this prohibition any actions alleging: (1) a breach of express contract or express warranty provided that the grounds of recovery are unrelated to a person's weight gain, obesity, or related health condition; (2) a knowing violation of a federal or state statute applicable to the marketing, advertisement, or labeling of food with intent for a person to rely on that violation, where such person relied on that violation, and where such reliance was the proximate cause of injury related to that person's weight gain, obesity, or related health condition; or (3) a violation brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under the Federal Trade Commission Act or by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Date: 2007-05-07
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Law
Hate Crimes Against the Homeless Statistics Act of 2007 - Amends the Hate Crime Statistics Act to include crimes against the homeless in the crime data collected by the Attorney General under such Act.

Date: 2007-05-08
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Sergeant Henry Prendes Memorial Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose penalties for killing, or attempting or conspiring to kill, a current or former federally-funded public safety officer engaged in official duties or on account of the performance of official duties.

Date: 2007-05-10
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Public Official Accountability Act - Amends the federal criminal code to provide for a two-year increase in the prison sentence of public officials convicted of any crime: (1) committed during the course of official duty and intended to enrich such officials; and (2) involving bribery, fraud, extortion, or theft of public funds greater than $10,000.

Date: 2007-05-21
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Computer-Assisted Remote Hunting Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit and to establish penalties for knowingly making available a computer-assisted remote hunt (i.e., using a computer or other device, equipment, or software to allow a person remotely to control the aiming and discharge of a weapon to kill or injure an animal while not in the targeted animal's physical presence).

Date: 2007-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act of 2007 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to expand the authority of the administering authority or the International Trade Commission (ITC) to impose countervailing duties on products from a nonmarket economy country that have been provided a countervailable subsidy. Requires, when measuring subsidy benefits, the use of benchmarks outside of a nonmarket economy country when benchmarks in such a country are not available or are inappropriate. Includes fundamental and actionable misalignment of a currency (undervaluation of a foreign currency) by a foreign country as a countervailable subsidy. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to: (1) report annually to Congress on international monetary policy and currency exchange rates (including fundamentally misaligned currencies); (2) analyze semiannually the prevailing real exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies and to designate fundamentally misaligned foreign currencies for priority action; and (3) seek bilateral consultations with fundamentally misaligned currency countries designated for priority action to eliminate such misalignment. Requires the United States to inform the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of countries that fail to eliminate fundamentally misaligned currencies designated for priority action and to request the IMF Managing Director to consult with such countries regarding their observance of the IMF Articles of Agreement and to report the results of such consultations to the IMF Executive Board. Prohibits the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) from, and instructs multilateral banks to oppose, financing projects in countries that issue fundamentally misaligned currencies designated for priority action. Requires: (1) the Secretary to take certain actions with respect to countries that fail to eliminate fundamentally misaligned currencies designated for priority action; and (2) the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to request consultations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) with such countries regarding the consistency of their actions with regard the WTO Agreement. Establishes an Advisory Committee on International Exchange Rate Policy. Repeals the Exchange Rates and International Economic Policy Coordination Act of 1988.

Date: 2007-06-28
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Sex Offender Internet Prohibition Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a mandatory minimum prison term of five years and a maximum term of 20 years on individuals required to register as sex offenders who knowingly access a website with the intent to communicate with a child under the age of 18 years who is unaware that such individual is a registered sex offender.

Date: 2007-07-24
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Death Penalty for Cop Killers Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to include as an aggravating factor in a death penalty determination the killing, or attempted killing, of a law enforcement officer.

Date: 2007-07-24
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Cops for Kids Act - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to states and local governments to hire and train personnel to monitor the activities of sex offenders.

Date: 2007-08-02
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Mickey Wright Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit the transportation of any portion of the corpse of a homicide victim across a state line to prevent its use as evidence in a criminal prosecution for such homicide.

Date: 2007-08-03
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Let Our Veterans Rest in Peace Act of 2008 - Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and, if appropriate, amend its sentencing guidelines and policy statements to provide adequate sentencing enhancements for any offense involving the desecration, theft, or trafficking in a grave marker, headstone, monument, or other object intended to permanently mark a veteran's grave. Requires the Commission to ensure that the sentences, guidelines, and policy statements for these crimes are appropriately severe and reasonably consistent with other relevant directives, sentencing guidelines, and policies.

Date: 2007-09-06
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Stop the Sale of Murderabilia to Protect the Dignity of Crime Victims Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) restrict the items that a federal prisoner may place in the mail or for delivery; and (2) provide for civil and criminal forfeiture of real or personal property used to commit a crime or obtained as a result of such crime.Provides civil remedies, including injunctions, damages, and attorney fees, for persons aggrieved by federal prisoners using the mail in violation of this Act.

Date: 2007-09-25
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Procedural Fairness for September 11 Victims Act of 2007 - Amends the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund of 2001 to allow a subpoena requiring the attendance of a witness at a trial or hearing conducted under such Act to be served at any place in the United States.

Date: 2007-10-22
Topic: Law and Crime (Criminal & Civil Code)
Subject: Law