zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Ensuring a Better Response for Victims of Child Sex Trafficking

This bill amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require a state plan for its child protective services system to include a certified assurance that the state has in effect and is enforcing a law requiring: (1) identification and assessment of all reports involving children known or suspected to be victims of sex trafficking; and (2) training child protective services workers about identifying, assessing, and providing comprehensive services for children who are sex trafficking victims.

Each state receiving a grant must work with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make an annual data report that includes the number of children determined to be victims of sex trafficking.

A child is considered to be a victim of "child abuse and neglect" and of "sexual abuse" if the child is identified by a state or local agency employee as being a victim of sex trafficking or a victim of severe forms of trafficking in persons.

A state is given the option to define "child" under such Act as a person who has not attained age 24.

Date: 2015-03-04
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Ensuring a Better Response for Victims of Child Sex Trafficking

This bill amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require a state plan for its child protective services system to include a certified assurance that the state has in effect and is enforcing a law requiring: (1) identification and assessment of all reports involving children known or suspected to be victims of sex trafficking; and (2) training child protective services workers about identifying, assessing, and providing comprehensive services for children who are sex trafficking victims.

Each state receiving a grant must work with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make an annual data report that includes the number of children determined to be victims of sex trafficking.

A child is considered to be a victim of "child abuse and neglect" and of "sexual abuse" if the child is identified by a state or local agency employee as being a victim of sex trafficking or a victim of severe forms of trafficking in persons.

A state is given the option to define "child" under such Act as a person who has not attained age 24.

Date: 2015-04-21
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Fairness for Victims of Crime Act of 2015

Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to require that, on and after October 1, 2015: (1) the amount available for expenditure from the Crime Victims Fund for a fiscal year shall be equal to the entire amount in the Fund; and (2) the difference between the amount Congress makes available for expenditure from the Fund for a fiscal year and the average of the annual sums deposited in the Fund during the fiscal years that are four years, three years, and two years prior to the current one shall not count for purposes of scorekeeping under rule 3 of the Budget Scorekeeping Guidelines set forth in the joint explanatory statement of the committee of conference accompanying Conference Report 105-217.

Date: 2015-04-23
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Helping Schools Protect Our Children Act of 2015

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include the training of school personnel to recognize child sexual abuse among the uses of grants to states and subgrants to local educational agencies and partnerships under the Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund program.

Date: 2015-05-19
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Education
Children's Recovery from Trauma Act

This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support programs that provide for the continued operation of the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCTSI) and for research on evidence-based practices for identifying and treating children and youth with mental, behavioral, and biological disorders resulting from witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event.

HHS must award a cooperative agreement to a comprehensive national coordinating center to oversee NCTSI activities.

The NCTSI coordinating center must: (1) collect, analyze, and report data to establish the effectiveness of early identification and delivery of treatment and services; (2) focus on the development of services and resources to prevent the long-term consequences of child trauma; (3) collaborate with federal research institutions; and (4) collaborate with HHS in the dissemination of evidence-based and trauma-informed interventions, treatments, products, and other resources.

Date: 2015-06-03
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Health
Child Sexual Abuse Awareness and Prevention Act

This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to: (1) authorize the use of grants to local educational agencies for carrying out child sexual abuse awareness and prevention programs and activities, (2) establish periodic evaluation requirements for such grant programs and activities, and (3) establish principles of effectiveness applicable to these grant programs and activities as well as to those aimed at reducing the impact of domestic violence on schoolchildren.

Date: 2015-06-24
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Education
International Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders

 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to establish the Angel Watch Center. The Center must identify outbound sex offender travelers who failed to provide advanced notice of international travel and provide a list of such individuals to the U.S. Marshals Service to investigate.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) must designate the Center as the central repository for incoming notifications of sex offender travel.

The bill authorizes the Center and the Marshals Service to transmit notification to a destination country of a sex offender's international travel. The Center and the Marshals Service must comply with certain procedures, collect specified data, and establish a complaint process for sex offenders affected by notifications.

It amends the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act to require a registered sex offender to report additional information on intended international travel. In addition, the bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for a sex offender to knowingly fail to report such intended international travel information.

DOJ may notify a destination country of a sex offender's international travel.

This bill amends the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to prohibit the Department of State from issuing a passport to a sex offender applicant, unless the passport contains a unique identifier. A "unique identifier" is any visual sex offender designation that is conspicuously affixed to a passport.

Date: 2015-07-27
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: International affairs
Child Protection Improvements and Electronic Life and Safety Security Systems Act of 2015

This bill amends the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to direct the Department of Justice to: (1) establish policies and procedures to streamline the process of obtaining state and national criminal history background checks on covered individuals, and (2) establish a criminal history review program to provide covered entities with reliable and accurate information on the criminal history of a covered individual.

It defines "covered entity" as any business or organization that: (1) provides, or licenses, certifies, or coordinates individuals or organizations to provide, care, care placement, supervision, treatment, education, training, instruction, or recreation to children; or (2) is in the electronic life and safety security systems industry.

It defines "covered individual" as an individual who: (1) has, seeks to have, or may have unsupervised access to vulnerable populations (i.e., elderly, disabled, and children) served by a covered entity; (2) is employed by or volunteers with, or seeks to be employed by or volunteer with, a covered entity; (3) owns or operates, or seeks to own or operate, a covered entity; or (4) is an employer or employee in the electronic life and safety security systems industry.

Date: 2015-11-30
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Speak Up to Protect Every Abused Kid Act 

 This bill expresses the sense of Congress with respect to abused children.

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) is amended to direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to eligible entities to carry out educational campaigns and provide evidence-based or evidence-informed training regarding state laws for mandatory reporting of incidents of child abuse or neglect.

The state plan under a grant for child abuse or neglect prevention and treatment programs shall contain specified assurances about: state laws or programs that include procedures for an individual to report suspected or known incidents incidents of child abuse or neglect to state child protective services agencies or to law enforcement agencies; procedures to ensure coordination between the state law or statewide program and relevant law enforcement and state or community-based victims' services agencies with respect to referrals of child victims of acts by a perpetrator other than a parent or caretaker that would otherwise be considered child abuse or neglect; primary state responsibility to accept and investigate reports of known and suspected child abuse or neglect pertaining to an incident that occurred in the state, even if the child or alleged perpetrator resides in a different state; as well as established state procedures meeting certain requirements to screen for domestic violence in the course of investigating child abuse. State law shall require certain licensed, certified, or professional individuals to report suspected or known incidents of child abuse or neglect. The annual state application for a grant for programs relating to investigation and prosecution of child abuse and neglect cases shall contain an assurance that the state will support training for adults who work with children in a professional or volunteer capacity to report suspected and known incidents of child abuse or neglect. Requires the state multidisciplinary task force on children's justice to evaluate the state's efforts to train such adults to report such incidents. A state shall adopt state task force recommendations in the category of experimental, model, and demonstration programs for testing innovative approaches and techniques that may improve reporting to the state child protective services agencies or to law enforcement agencies of and response to suspected and known incidents of child abuse or neglect by adults. A state, to be eligible to receive any form of financial assistance, shall include in its plan or application an assurance that the state has in effect a state law for mandatory reporting of child abuse or neglect. HHS shall collect information on and otherwise study the efforts of states relating to state laws for mandatory reporting of incidents of child abuse or neglect in order to assess the implementation of CAPTA. Any application for a community-based grant shall contain an assurance that the state has in effect a state law for mandatory reporting of child abuse or neglect.

Date: 2015-12-03
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Families
This bill amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to make grants to assist eligible states in developing, establishing, and operating programs to improve:

 the assessment and investigation of suspected child abuse cases, in a manner that limits additional trauma to the child and the child's family; the investigation and prosecution of cases of child sexual abuse; and the assessment and investigation of cases involving children with disabilities or serious health-related problems who are suspected victims of child sexual abuse.

Date: 2015-12-10
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Families
National Child Protection Training Act

This bill directs the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, in coordination with the National Child Protection Training Center, to establish at least four regional training centers affiliated with institutions of higher education (IHEs). 

Regional training centers must: 

 develop model undergraduate and graduate child maltreatment curricula for distribution to IHEs, develop laboratory training facilities for students preparing for and professionals engaged in child protection careers, and promote evidence-based prevention programs in communities and forensic interview training programs in states.

Date: 2015-12-18
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Military Child Care Protection Act of 2016

This bill requires that the criminal background check of military child care system employees that is required pursuant to the Crime Control Act of 1990 be conducted pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Department of Defense in accordance with the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, which includes:

 searches of state criminal and sex offender registries and child abuse and neglect registries, a search of the National Crime Information Center, and a Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint check. A provider of military child care services or youth program services must comply with criminal background check requirements under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 for the state in which such services are provided.

Date: 2016-02-09
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Security Officer Screening Improvement Act of 2016

This bill amends the National Child Protection Act of 1993 to direct the Department of Justice to: (1) establish policies and procedures to streamline the process of obtaining state and national criminal history background checks on private security officers, and (2) establish a criminal history review program to provide covered entities with reliable and accurate information on the criminal history of a private security officer.

It defines "covered entity" as any person who employs a private security officer.

Date: 2016-02-10
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act to reauthorize through FY2018 the Sex Offender Management Assistance program and the Jessica Lunsford Address Verification Grant program.

(Sec. 3) Additionally, it reauthorizes appropriations through FY2018 for the U.S. Marshals Service to locate and apprehend sex offenders who violate sex offender registration requirements.

(Sec. 4) The bill amends the federal criminal code to modify the duties of probation and pretrial services officers to include, when directed by a court, supervision of a sex offender conditionally released from civil commitment subject to court-ordered compliance with a prescribed regimen of medical, psychiatric, or psychological treatment.

(Sec. 5) It establishes statutory rights for sexual assault survivors, including the right to: (1) receive a forensic medical examination at no cost; (2) have a sexual assault evidence collection kit (i.e., a rape kit) preserved for 20 years or the maximum applicable statute of limitations, whichever is shorter; (3) receive written notification prior to destruction or disposal of a rape kit; and (4) be informed of the rights and policies under this section.

Additionally, it makes statutory crime victims' rights applicable to sexual assault survivors.

 The term "sexual assault" means any nonconsensual sexual act prohibited by federal, state, or tribal law, including when a victim lacks capacity to consent.

Funds made available to the Crime Victims Fund under the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 must be used to carry out the requirements of this section, subject to specified exceptions.

(Sec. 6) The bill amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to authorize DOJ's Office of Justice Programs to make grants to states to develop sexual assault survivors' rights and policies and to disseminate written notice of such rights and policies to medical centers, hospitals, forensic examiners, sexual assault service providers, law enforcement agencies, and other state entities.

(Sec. 7) DOJ must establish a working group to develop, coordinate, and disseminate best practices regarding the care and treatment of sexual assault survivors and the preservation of forensic evidence. The working group must report its findings and recommended actions.

(Sec. 8) It extends the statute of limitations for a minor victim of a federal sex offense to file a civil action to 10 years (currently 3 years) from the date such individual reaches age 18.

Date: 2016-03-01
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Protecting Our Servicemembers' Children from Sexual and Violent Predators Act

This bill requires each Department of Defense domestic dependent elementary and secondary school and each local educational agency (LEA) that receives, under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, specified funds for children with a parent on active duty in the uniformed services to:

 require, for each employee of the LEA or school, a criminal background check that includes a search of specified registries and repositories; prohibit the employment of an individual who refuses to consent to, or who makes a false statement in connection with, a background check or who has been convicted of one of specified crimes; require background checks to be periodically repeated or updated in accordance with established policies; provide an employee with a timely process to appeal the results of a background check; and allow the LEA or school to share the results of a school employee's recent background check with another LEA that is considering that individual for employment.

Date: 2016-03-03
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Education
Plan of Safe Care Improvement Act

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require a grant-receiving state plan for a child abuse or neglect prevention and treatment program to include policies and procedures requiring systems to monitor the multidisciplinary plan of safe care for an infant born affected by substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms or a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in order to:

 ensure the safety and well-being of children; address the health, including mental health and substance use disorder treatment, needs of the child, and of the family or affected caregiver, involved; and determine whether and to what extent local entities are capable of providing referrals to and delivery of appropriate services for the child and family. (Sec. 3) Each grant-receiving state shall work annually with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to produce a report including the total number of infants identified and the number of infants for whom a plan of safe care was developed.

(Sec. 4) HHS shall: (1) monitor states to ensure that each one's policies and procedures meet requirements to improve outcomes among infants born and identified as being affected by substance abuse or withdrawal symptoms or a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and (2) issue guidance to states regarding the requirements and best practices for the development and implementation of plans of safe care.

Date: 2016-03-15
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Families
Recovering Missing Children Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit federal law enforcement officials to seek an ex parte order in federal court for the disclosure of tax returns or return information for criminal investigations pertaining to missing or exploited children.

 If the order is granted, the information may be disclosed to federal officers and employees who are personally and directly engaged in judicial or administrative proceedings, investigations, or federal grand jury proceedings to enforce a federal criminal statute pertaining to a missing or exploited child.

A federal agency may disclose to state and local law enforcement agencies information obtained under the authority provided by this bill if:

 the state or local agency is part of a team with the federal agency in the investigation, and the information is disclosed only to officers and employees who are personally and directly engaged in the investigation. The state or local agency may only use the disclosed information in locating the missing child, in a grand jury proceeding, or in any preparation for, or investigation which may result in, a judicial or administrative proceeding.

Date: 2016-05-26
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Taxation
Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2016 

This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to require each covered program in a state, in order for the state to remain eligible for grants to prevent child abuse and neglect at residential programs, to prohibit child abuse and neglect and meet specified minimum standards.

A "covered program" is one operated by a public or private entity that, with respect to one or more children who are unrelated to the program owner or operator, purports to provide treatment or modify behaviors in a residential environment.

HHS shall: (1) implement a review process for overseeing, investigating, and evaluating reports of child abuse and neglect; and (2) establish a process to assist states in the oversight and enforcement of this bill.

HHS must refer any violation of such standards to the Attorney General, who may bring an action on his or her own initiative regardless of whether such a referral has been made.

The bill amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to establish additional eligibility requirements for grants to states to prevent child abuse and neglect at residential programs. States receiving grants must develop policies and procedures to prevent child abuse and neglect at covered programs, including standards that meet or exceed the standards required under this bill.

Date: 2016-06-08
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Social welfare
Youth Access to Sexual Health Services Act of 2016

This bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants to support the access of marginalized youth to sexual health services such as sexual health education and contraception. Marginalized youth are disadvantaged individuals under the age of 26. Grants may be awarded to state or local health or education agencies, public schools, nonprofit organizations, hospitals, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations.

Grants may be used to: (1) provide sexual health information to marginalized youth, (2) promote effective communication regarding sexual health among marginalized youth, (3) promote and support opportunities for school-age parents, and (3) train individuals who work with marginalized youth to promote sexual health and the development of safe and supportive environments.

Grants may not be used to provide access to health services that: (1) are medically unsound; (2) withhold sexual health-promoting or lifesaving information; (3) promote gender stereotypes; or (4) are insensitive or unresponsive to the needs of homosexual, bisexual, or transgender youth, sexually active youth, school-age parents, or survivors of sexual abuse or assault.

Unobligated FY2017 appropriations for abstinence education are made available for these grants.

Date: 2016-09-20
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Health
Manufacturing Technology Competitiveness Act of 2007 - Directs the President to establish or designate an Interagency Committee to plan and coordinate Federal efforts in manufacturing research and development, with an Advisory Committee from the non-Federal sector. Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (NIST Act) to establish: (1) a pilot program of collaborative manufacturing research grants; (2) manufacturing sciences research fellowships; (3) manufacturing extension center competitive grants; and (4) standards education grants to develop higher education curricula on the role of standards in engineering, business, science, and economics. Revises requirements under the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership program. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Commerce for the following NIST programs: (1) scientific and technical research and services laboratory activities; (2) the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980); (3) construction and maintenance of facilities; (4) Teacher Science and Technology Enhancement Institute; (5) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (through the Secretary or other appropriate Federal agencies); (6) Collaborative Manufacturing Research Pilot Grants; and (7) Manufacturing Fellowships.

Date: 2007-01-05
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Commerce
Reciprocity and Fairness in Foreign Investment Act - Permits a foreign person owned, in whole or in part, or controlled by a foreign government to acquire ownership in either a business, or in real property in the United States, but only to the same extent as that foreign government allows U.S. persons to acquire ownership in comparable enterprises organized under the laws of that foreign country. Subjects investment and operation of critical infrastructure in the United States by such a foreign person to the same reciprocity requirements. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue implementing regulations. Establishes civil penalties for violations of this Act.

Date: 2008-03-31
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
United States Commission on Rebuilding America for the 21st Century Act - Establishes the United States Commission on Rebuilding America for the 21st Century to review published materials on the nation's transportation, water, energy, public lands, and housing infrastructure and assess the challenges of meeting the nation's infrastructure needs in the 21st century.Directs the Commission to submit to Congress a report that: (1) documents those challenges and articulates a national vision of infrastructure investments to overcome them; (2) contains specific recommendations on policies and investments to provide for streamlined state and local transportation investment processes, an electric grid that delivers clean, safe, and affordable energy, reductions in greenhouse has emissions, and improved transportation mobility, community health outcomes, water conservation, and public lands infrastructure accommodating user growth without degrading the environment; and (3) contains a set of model principles to ensure that future investments in the nation's infrastructure incorporate the report's findings and recommendations.

Date: 2008-05-06
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Family Relief and Economic Stimulus Act - Allows federal-state agreements for payment of emergency unemployment compensation to individuals who have exhausted their rights to such compensation.Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow individuals who are facing foreclosure to make penalty-free withdrawals from tax-exempt retirement plans; (2) extend through 2008 the tax deduction for dividends received from controlled foreign corporations; (3) suspend the excise tax on gasoline, diesel fuel, and kerosene for a specified period in 2008; and (4) adjust the basis of certain capital assets for inflation for purposes of determining gain or loss for income tax purposes. Provides additional funding to state and local governments for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed upon residences and for the weatherization of homes of low-income families.

Date: 2008-05-22
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Amends the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act to extend the effective period of final orders of the Secretary of Transportation regarding the eligibility of small communities for essential air service subsidies through September 30, 2012.

Date: 2007-03-20
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) qualify manufacturing facilities that create intangible property for tax-exempt bond financing; and (2) revise the definition of "manufacturing facility" for purposes of certain limitations on tax-exempt bond financing to include facilities which are functionally related and subordinate to a manufacturing facility.

Date: 2008-04-17
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Taxation
America's Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008 - Requires quarter dollars, issued beginning in 2010, to have designs on the reverse emblematic of one national site in each state, the District of Columbia, and specified U.S. territories.Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to select in each state a national park or other national site to be honored with a coin. Requires Yellowstone National Park, since it was established on March 1, 1872, as the nation's first national park, to be depicted on the first quarter dollar issued and to be designated to the state of Wyoming. Requires: (1) 5 coin designs in each of the first 10 years of either the original period of issuance or the second period of issuance; and (2) 6 coin designs in the 11th year of either the original period of issuance or the second period of issuance. Instructs the Secretary to strike and make available for sale silver bullion coins that are exact duplicates of such quarter dollars.Authorizes the Director of the National Park Service to purchase for resale or distribution numismatic items issued under this Act. Requires the Secretary to take such actions as are necessary to ensure that minting and issuing coins under this Act will not result in any net cost to the federal government.

Date: 2008-07-21
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
American Steel First Act of 2009 - Prohibits heads of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Transportation (DOT) from obligating or expending funds or providing financial assistance for projects for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless all of the iron and steel used in such project is produced in the United States. Waives such prohibition in cases where: (1) the prohibition would be inconsistent with the public interest; (2) iron and steel are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities of a satisfactory quality; or (3) inclusion of iron and steel produced in the United States will increase the cost of the overall project contract by more than 25%. Prohibits waivers by a department head for products produced in a foreign country that is determined by the U.S. Trade Representative to have violated the terms of an agreement with the United States by discriminating against products covered by the agreement that are produced in the United States.Prohibits such department heads from imposing financial assistance restrictions on: (1) states that impose more stringent requirements on the use of iron and steel in foreign countries in projects carried out with such assistance; or (2) recipients that comply with such state imposed requirements.Makes any person who intentionally labels or represents a product used in a project under this Act as "Made in America" when it is not ineligible for another department contract from for six years.Requires the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) publish a justification for a waiver of the prohibition against obligating funds to carry out the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, highway projects, public transportation projects, or aviation programs unless the steel, iron, and manufactured products used are produced in the United States; and (2) provide for public notice and comment for such waiver.

Date: 2009-01-15
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Bill to Underwrite Increased Lending to Domestic (BUILD) Manufacturing Act or BUILD Manufacturing Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should use all available powers to encourage financial institutions that are in receipt of federal financial support to immediately increase lending to the domestic manufacturing sector. Establishes within the Treasury the Manufacturing Loan Guarantee Program, headed by the Administrator of the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (established by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System), to guarantee loans made by depository institutions to U.S. manufacturing companies. Prohibits any such loan from equaling or exceeding 1.5 times the gross net worth of the company receiving the loan. Allows a company to have more than one guaranteed loan, within aggregate dollar limits. Authorizes the Administrator to adjust Program loan guarantee percentages in order to maximize lending and to minimize default rates of participating manufacturers. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Administrator should encourage participating depository institutions to focus on lending to small- and medium-sized manufacturers.

Date: 2009-06-18
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to reduce the matching funds requirement for participants in the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program (providing services to small and mid-sized manufacturers) from not less than 50% of the costs incurred for the first three years and an increasing share for each of the last three years to no more than 50% of the costs incurred by a participating Regional Center for the Transfer of Manufacturing Technology. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish criteria to determine a Center's cost share.

Date: 2009-12-16
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Commerce
21st Century Buy American Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to establish and carry out a program to award grants to any entity that is a manufacturer in the United States, is a firm certified as eligible to apply for adjustment assistance under the Trade Act of 1974, and is an entity that either: (1) mines, produces, or manufactures a nonavailable item; (2) is the last remaining manufacturer of an item in the United States and can prove hardship because of foreign competition; or (3) is the last remaining manufacturer of an item in the United States that is considered to be vital for national security purposes. Permits a recipient to use such a grant to: (1) increase its ability to compete for a government contract for, and to produce, a nonavailable item; (2) increase its capacity to produce items that are vital to national security and to create or retain jobs; (3) modernize or renovate manufacturing facilities using domestically made equipment; and (4) cover costs associated with obtaining access to adjustment assistance. Defines a "nonavailable item" as an article that: (1) a federal agency has determined is not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality; (2) has been subject to a waiver of buy American provisions under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; or (3) is on the list of nonavailable articles under the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Amends the Buy America Act to: (1) make buy American requirements for articles for public use applicable without regard to whether the articles are for use outside the United States, if they are not needed on an urgent basis or are acquired on a regular basis; (2) require an analysis of the difference in the cost of such articles manufactured inside compared to outside the United States before a contract for such articles is entered; and (3) require an agency, before granting a public interest waiver or a waiver for use outside the United States, to consider the effect on domestic employment. Requires: (1) each agency that applies an exception to the Buy American Act to notify the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), who shall post the notification on a publicly accessible website; and (2) the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the amount of articles purchased by each agency each fiscal year from entities that manufacture them outside the United States.

Date: 2010-02-02
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat a bond issued for a specified purpose as a tax credit Build America Bond. Defines "specified purpose" to mean providing a facility (including any land, building, or other property functionally related and subordinate to such facility) that is located within 2,000 feet of an enclosed convention center facility that is more than 150,000 square feet and is owned by or on behalf of a governmental unit having a population (determined by using 2000 census data) of not more than 250,000. Limits to $250 million the amount of bonds that may be issued for such purpose.

Date: 2010-02-04
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Taxation
Manufacturing Modernization and Diversification Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to certify special purpose vehicles (SPVs) created by a state to take part in a program to carry out collateral support and loan participation programs for the benefit of qualified manufacturers (manufacturers with less than $50 million in annual revenue and less than $50 million in assets). Outlines SPV application requirements. Allows, under the collateral support program, a qualified manufacturer that wishes to receive a bank loan but has insufficient collateral to ask the bank to seek collateral loan support from the SPV. Prohibits an SPV from providing more than $20 million in collateral support to any one manufacturer. Requires manufacturers to be charged a fee for such support. Allows, under the loan participation program, a qualified manufacturer that wishes to receive a bank loan but would not otherwise qualify for the loan to ask the bank to seek participation for such loan from the SPV. Prohibits an SPV from providing more than $20 million in participation support to any one manufacturer. Requires manufacturers to be charged a fee for such support. Requires: (1) periodic reports from such banks to participating SPVs; and (2) quarterly reports from the Secretary to Congress on participants in and impacts of the support and participation programs.

Date: 2010-02-22
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Buses, Rail Cars, Ferryboats: Make it in America Act of 2010 - Eliminates certain waivers of Buy American requirements that the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) obligate federal funding for capital public transportation projects only if U.S. steel, iron, and manufactured goods are used in such projects. (Retains the current waiver of such Buy American requirements for any case where use of U.S. material will increase overall project costs by more than 25%.)

Date: 2010-07-20
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Manufacturing Reinvestment Account Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish tax-exempt manufacturing reinvestment accounts (MRAs) for taxpayers engaged in a manufacturing business. Allows such manufacturers to make tax deductible cash payments into an MRA of the lesser of their domestic manufacturing gross receipts for the taxable year or $500,000. Permits expenditures from an MRA for expenses for property to be used in the manufacturing business and expenses for employee job training and workforce development. Imposes a 10% tax on amounts in an MRA that are not distributed within 7 years. Terminates the tax deduction for payments to an MRA 10 years after the enactment of this Act.

Date: 2011-01-05
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Taxation
Community Bank and Automotive Industry Recapitalization Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income gain from the sale of qualified investment property acquired within 18 months after the enactment of this Act and held for more than five years. Defines "qualified investment property" as original issue stock in a community bank with less than $10 billion in assets or an automotive company.

Date: 2011-04-01
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Taxation
National Manufacturing Strategy Act of 2011 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the U.S. government should promote policies related to the nation's manufacturing sector intended to promote growth, sustainability, and competitiveness, create well-paying jobs, enable innovation and investment, and support national security; and (2) the President and Congress should act promptly to pursue policies consistent with a National Manufacturing Strategy (Strategy). Directs the President, every four years, to submit to Congress, and publish on a public website, a Strategy. Directs the President to establish the President's Manufacturing Strategy Board to: (1) advise the President and Congress on issues affecting the nation's manufacturing sector; (2) conduct a comprehensive analysis of such sector; (3) develop a Strategy; and (4) report annually to the President and Congress on the current state of U.S. manufacturing. Directs the Comptroller General, in each of 2013, 2017, and 2021, to submit to Congress an assessment and analysis of the Strategy. Directs the President, in developing each Strategy, to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to conduct a study concerning U.S. manufacturing and related assessments and reviews. Requires the NAS to report each study's results to Congress and the President. Requires the President, in preparing each annual budget, to include information regarding that budget's consistency with the goals and recommendations included in the latest Strategy.

Date: 2011-04-05
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Commerce
Make It in America Block Grant Program Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Make It in America Block Grant Program under which the Secretary is authorized to make grants to eligible entities to support the U.S. manufacturing industry. Allows such grants to be used, with respect to small and medium-sized manufacturers, for: (1) retooling or retrofitting, (2) business plan diversification, (3) improving energy efficiency, (4) employee training and retraining, and (5) the provision of capital and technical expertise. Outlines provisions concerning eligible entities, the allocation of grant funds, and requirements for grant recipients, including the submission of a proposed manufacturing enhancement strategy. Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory committee for advice in implementing and evaluating the program. Authorizes the Secretary to review and evaluate recipient performance under the program. Requires the Comptroller General to study the program, and report study results to Congress. Expresses the sense of Congress that program amounts should supplement and not replace other funding provided by federal departments and agencies to support the manufacturing industry.

Date: 2011-05-13
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Commerce
American Textile Technology Innovation and Research for Exportation (ATTIRE) Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a grant program to fund textile research and innovation in the U.S. textile and fiber products industry and to promote increased U.S. textile exports. Limits eligibility under such grant program to institutions of higher education and not-for-profit research institutions, including not-for-profit industry associations whose mission is to support textile research and innovation. Gives preference in the award of such grants to collaborative research organizations that emphasize peer-reviewed research by leading academic and industry experts. Requires grant funds to be used for research and development activities that achieve at least one of the goals described in this Act, including to: (1) build and sustain innovation and competitiveness in the U.S. textile industry; (2) contribute to transforming the U.S. textile and apparel industry into a highly flexible supply chain; and (3) facilitate the creation of domestic jobs in the textile industry.

Date: 2011-06-22
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Nanotechnology Advancement and New Opportunities Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce, if $100 million is made available from the private sector for establishing a Nanomanufacturing Investment Partnership, to establish such a Partnership to provide funding for precommercial nanomanufacturing research and development projects. Allows the Partnership to provide funding through direct investments in specified mechanisms designed to advance nanomanufacturing. Requires return on investment of amounts resulting from the commercialization of developed technologies to the Partnership. Requires establishment of an advisory board to assist the Secretary in carrying out the Partnership. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to allow a tax credit for the purchase of qualified nanotechnology developer stock. Authorizes establishment within the Technology Administration of a grant program to support the establishment and development of incubators (entities affiliated with or housed in degree-granting institutions that provide space and coordinated and specialized services to certain entrepreneurial businesses). Establishes a Nanotechnology Startup Advisory Council. Directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center for the development of computer aided design tools for nanotechnology applications. Requires the establishment of nanotechnology research grant programs by the: (1) Secretary of Energy (DOE) to address the need for clean, cheap, renewable energy; (2) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address technologies for remediation of pollution and other environmental protection technologies; (3) Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to address the need for sensors and other materials related to homeland security needs; and (4) Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to address health related applications of nanotechnology. Requires the Director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office to transmit a nanotechnology research strategy that establishes priorities for the federal government and industry. Amends the IRC to: (1) allow a tax credit for nanotechnology education and training program expenses; and (2) revise, for purposes of Hope and Lifetime Learning tax credits, the definition of "eligible educational institution" to include commercial nanotechnology training providers. Directs the NSF to establish: (1) a grant program for the development of curriculum materials for interdisciplinary nanotechnology courses at institutions of higher education, and (2) establish a program to encourage manufacturing companies to enter into partnerships with occupational training centers for the development of training to support nanotechnology manufacturing. Directs the Secretary of Energy to transmit a strategy for increasing interaction on nanotechnology issues between scientists and engineers at the Department of Energy's national laboratories and in the informal science education community.

Date: 2011-08-01
Topic: Macroeconomics (Industrial Policy)
Subject: Science, technology, communications