zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Spending Safeguard Act 

This bill requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish spending limits for direct spending programs that: (1) are enacted or reauthorized after enactment of this bill, and (2) do not have a specific level of authorized spending expressed as a dollar amount.

The spending limits must be equal to: (1) 120% of the cost of the program for defense, health, Medicare, income security, Social Security, and veterans benefits and services programs; and (2) 110% of the cost for any other program.

The OMB must maintain a publicly available scorecard that displays the spending level for any program that is subject to the limits. The OMB and the President must submit specified reports to Congress comparing current spending to the limits.

The bill prohibits obligations for programs that have reached the applicable spending limit. Agencies implementing programs listed on the OMB's scorecard must ensure that any contract, offer of benefits, or other material provided to program participants specifies that the program is subject to a spending limit that may impact future availability of funds to pay benefits.

Date: 2016-09-28
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Promote Accountability and Government Efficiency Act

This bill requires civil service employees to be hired on an at-will basis beginning one year after this bill's enactment. Such an employee may be removed or suspended from service by the agency head for good cause, bad cause, or no cause at all, without notice or right to appeal.

 The bill specifies how an employee or applicant may seek a remedy under specified employment protection statutes with respect to an adverse personnel action.

The bill permits an agency to suspend an employee for misconduct or poor performance. The employee may appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board, which may not reinstate the employee until a final decision is made on such appeal. In the case of critical necessity, an agency may immediately replace a suspended employee. An employee or applicant may not appeal an adverse personnel action to more than one agency. The bill prohibits an employee who does not receive a score of four or five out of five (or an equivalent rating) on his or her latest performance review from receiving a pay raise. A grievance filed on behalf of such employee covered by a collective bargaining agreement that results in an increased performance rating for such employee may not result in a pay raise.

The OPM shall submit a report that contains recommendations for a single-agency rating system.

An individual appointed to the civil service who is not subject to this bill's requirements regarding at-will employment may not be paid an annuity or retired pay on the basis of such service if the individual was finally convicted of a felony offense: (1) when such individual was performing creditable service, or (2) after such individual has separated from service if such offense is related to the performance of his or her government position.

An agency may transfer an individual occupying a Senior Executive Service position who is not an at-will employee to a position within the General Schedule.

The bill: (1) eliminates provisions authorizing official time for an employee serving as an exclusive representative in the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement, and (2) prohibits an employee from using government property in carrying out any activities relating to the internal business of a labor organization.

Date: 2016-09-28
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Truth in Regulations Act of 2016

This bill requires each executive agency to: (1) have written procedures for the approval of significant guidance documents by each appropriate senior agency official; and (2) maintain on its website a list of, links to, and a means for the public to comment on and request issuance, modification, or rescission of, such documents.

"Significant guidance document" means a guidance document disseminated to regulated entities or the general public that may reasonably be anticipated to:

 lead to an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a material way the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or state, local, or tribal governments or communities; create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an agency action; materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients; or raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in Executive Order 12866 (relating to regulatory planning and review). The bill requires agencies to publish drafts of economically significant guidance documents for public comment.

The bill allows an exception to rulemaking notice and publication requirements when an agency determines that an imminent threat to public health or safety or a similar exigent circumstance exists. When such exception is applied, the agency, within 18 months after the rule takes effect, shall: (1) provide for a period in which interested persons may submit written data, views, or arguments; and (2) consider such submissions and, if appropriate, repeal or amend the rule.

If a committee reports a joint resolution of disapproval for a rule, the committee may also submit recommendations on withholding agency funds to the Committee on Appropriations of that chamber.

The Administrative Conference of the United States shall study and report on the permitting process under environmental laws and on categories of federal rulemaking that would be more appropriately addressed by state action.

 An agency shall report any determination pertaining to a permit that the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs determines would cost more than $25 million to the Administrative Conference.

Date: 2016-09-28
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Workforce Regulatory Review Act of 2016

This bill establishes in the legislative branch the Workforce Regulatory Review Commission. The purpose of the commission is to evaluate and provide recommendations for modification, consolidation, or repeal of regulations with the aim of reducing the total number of regulatory requirements related to workplace safety, workplace discrimination, wages, hours, and employee health by one-third to reduce compliance costs, encourage growth and innovation, and improve competitiveness.

The commission shall:

 decide, within 45 days of convening, which regulations to examine; solicit and review comments from the public; determine the effectiveness of individual regulations by using multiple resources, including quantitative metrics, testimony from industry and agency experts, and research from commission staff; develop and implement a uniform model such as the Standard Cost Model to determine whether a regulation shall be modified or eliminated by balancing the effectiveness and efficiency of the regulation in achieving desirable outcomes; and develop a package of regulations to modify, consolidate, or repeal to be submitted to Congress for an up-or-down vote. A regulation shall be recommended for amendment or repeal if: (1) its intended outcome is no longer desirable or would result even if the regulation were amended or repealed; (2) the regulation is ineffective in achieving the desired outcome; or (3) the costs associated with achieving the desired outcome outweigh the benefits. Regulations mandated by statute but recommended for repeal or amendment by the Commission shall be repealed or amended as soon as possible, and repealed regulations may not be replaced.

The bill sets forth reporting requirements for the commission and procedures for congressional consideration of the commission's report, recommendations, and proposed legislation.

The commission shall terminate 90 days after it submits its report.

Date: 2016-11-16
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Regulatory Impact on Employment and Wages Act

This bill bars any major rule proposed by a federal agency on or after enactment of this bill from taking effect as a final rule until the Department of Labor, through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, conducts a study to determine how the rule will impact:

 wage growth (including for hourly and part-time workers) in each industry to which it is applicable, and employment in each such industry. The bill states that the requirement for conducting a study under this bill may not be fulfilled by a study that is conducted prior to this bill's enactment date, or conducted by another agency.

Date: 2016-11-16
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Labor and employment
Main Street Input Opportunity Act of 2016

This bill includes the Department of Labor as a "covered agency" for purposes of regulatory flexibility analysis provisions.

Date: 2016-11-16
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Advancing and Promoting Programming or the APP Act

This bill requires the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish a publicly available website that includes a database of federal funding opportunities for the creation of apps (software applications that enable the performance of specific tasks that may be run on a computer, a mobile device, the Internet, or any other electronic device) and allows the public to download a federal government app that includes:

 a list of each funding source for the creation and maintenance of government apps and instructions on how an applicant may apply for such funding; the ability for the public to rate and review any such app; a page that prominently displays apps that have been recently updated or that receive a high user review average; a page that features government projects that provide application developers with tools to improve private apps; resources for education and training related to the creation of apps; and a page that features outstanding, educational, computer science programs and resources to replicate such programs. The GSA shall review any app for which an update has not been released in more than two years and shall remove any app from the website that is no longer functional or compatible.

Date: 2016-12-07
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Directs the Government Accountability Office, in coordination with the National Academy of Engineering, to conduct and submit to Congress a full audit of hurricane protection funding and cost estimates associated with post-Katrina hurricane protection.

Date: 2015-01-07
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Emergency management
Public Land Job Creation Act of 2015

This bill gives the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 45 days to review a state BLM notice for submission to the Federal Register. If the review has not been completed: (1) the notice shall consider to be approved, and (2) the state BLM office shall immediately forward the notice to the Federal Register for publication.

Date: 2015-01-07
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Energy Consumers Relief Act of 2015

 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to submit a report to Congress and the Department of Energy (DOE) before promulgating a final rule that regulates any aspect of the production, supply, distribution, or use of energy and that is estimated by the EPA or the Office of Management and Budget to impose aggregate costs of more than $1 billion. The report must contain: (1) an estimate of the total costs and benefits of the rule, (2) an estimate of the increases in energy prices that may result from implementation or enforcement of the rule, and (3) a detailed description of the employment effects that may result from implementation or enforcement of the rule.

DOE must: (1) prepare an independent analysis to determine whether the rule will cause any increase in energy prices for consumers, any impact on fuel diversity of the nation's electricity generation portfolio or on electric reliability, or any adverse effect on energy supply, distribution, or use; and (2) determine whether the rule will cause significant adverse effects to the economy and publish the determination.

The EPA may not promulgate the final rule if DOE determines that the rule will cause significant adverse effects to the economy.

The EPA may not use the social cost of carbon in any cost-benefit analysis relating to an energy-related rule estimated to cost more than $1 billion unless a federal law is enacted authorizing such use. The social cost of carbon is an estimate of the monetized damages associated with an incremental increase in carbon dioxide emissions in a given year.

Date: 2015-01-13
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Environmental protection
Regulatory Responsibility for our Economy Act of 2015

 Sets forth general requirements for the federal regulatory system, including the protection of public health, welfare, safety, and the environment, the promotion of predictability in the regulatory process, and the consideration of benefits and costs of regulations.

Requires federal agencies to: (1) propose or adopt regulations only upon a reasoned determination that the benefits of such regulations justify their costs; (2) tailor regulations to impose the least burden on society and to maximize economic and other benefits; (3) involve the public and parties affected by regulations in the regulatory process; (4) develop regulatory actions that promote innovation, flexibility, and objectivity; and (5) consider methods to promote retrospective analysis of rules that may be outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome, and develop plans for reviewing on a periodic basis significant regulation actions (i.e., those having an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or otherwise adversely affecting the economy).

Provides for judicial review of any agency action required under this Act.

Date: 2015-01-13
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2015

 States that the purpose of this Act is to increase accountability for and transparency in the federal regulatory process by requiring Congress to approve all new major regulations.

Revises provisions relating to congressional review of agency rulemaking to require a federal agency promulgating a rule to include in its report to Congress and to the Comptroller General a classification of the rule as a major or nonmajor rule.

Requires a joint resolution of approval of major rules to be enacted before such rules may take effect. Provides that if a joint resolution of approval is not enacted by the end of 70 session days or legislative days, as applicable, after the agency proposing the rule submits its report on such rule to Congress, the major rule shall be deemed not to be approved and shall not take effect. Permits a major rule to take effect for one 90-calendar day period without such approval if the President determines it is necessary because of an imminent threat to health or safety or other emergency, for the enforcement of criminal laws, for national security, or to implement an international trade agreement.

Sets forth the congressional approval procedure for major rules and the congressional disapproval procedure for nonmajor rules.

Requires the introduction of a joint resolution addressing a report classifying a rule as a major rule within three legislative days in the House of Representative and three session days in the Senate. Prohibits any amendments to such a joint resolution at any stage of the legislative process. Provides for expedited consideration of a joint resolution of approval and requires a vote on such resolution in the Senate within 15 session days after it is reported by the committee to which it was referred, or after such committee has been discharged from further consideration of the resolution.

Allows a court to review whether an agency has completed the necessary requirements under this Act for a rule to take effect. Limits the effect of a joint resolution of approval of a major rule.

Prohibits an agency from allowing a major rule to take effect without the congressional review procedures set forth in this Act.

Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to provide that any congressional approval procedure set forth in this Act affecting budget authority, outlays, or receipts shall be assumed to be effective unless it is not approved in accordance with this Act.

Date: 2015-01-21
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Duplication Elimination Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill requires the President to send Congress a proposed joint resolution and a special message within 180 days of publication of the annual Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on duplicative government programs.

The joint resolution must: (1) address the recommendations contained in the GAO report and included by the President, (2) eliminate or consolidate programs identified in the GAO report as duplicative or fragmented, and (3) require savings from legislative changes to be transferred to the Treasury for deficit reduction.

Before the proposed joint resolution is transmitted to Congress, the President must consult with: (1) Congress to provide an opportunity for feedback, alternative recommendations, and input regarding which GAO report recommendations should not be addressed by the proposed joint resolution; and (2) the GAO.

The bill requires the special message to specify:

 the GAO recommendations that are excluded from the proposed joint resolution, why the recommendations were excluded, the GAO recommendations included in the joint resolution, and programs included in the GAO report that should be eliminated or consolidated. The bill sets forth procedures and time periods for congressional introduction, expedited consideration, amendments, and points of order for the joint resolution.

The sponsor of the joint resolution must exclude, and it shall be out of order for the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider, provisions that: (1) are unnecessary to eliminate or consolidate programs in GAO-identified actions or areas of duplication, (2) are not germane to the GAO report, or (3) affect direct spending.

In the Senate, the joint resolution shall be agreed to only upon an affirmative three-fifths vote.

The bill provides procedures for the coordination of consideration between chambers and the consideration of presidential vetoes of such joint resolutions.

Date: 2015-01-22
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Taxpayer Transparency Act of 2015 

Requires each communication funded by a federal agency for advertising or educational purposes to clearly state: (1) in the case of a printed communication, including mass mailings, signs, and billboards, that the communication is printed and published at taxpayer expense; and (2) in the case of a communication transmitted through radio, television, or the Internet, that the communication is produced and disseminated at taxpayer expense.

Requires any such printed communication, including e-mails, to be of sufficient size to be clearly readable, to be set apart from the other contents of the communication, and to be printed with a reasonable degree of color contrast between the background and the printed statement. Exempts from such requirements: (1) information in or relating to a solicitation for offers for a federal contract or applications or submissions of a bid or proposal for a federal grant or other means of funding under a federal program; and (2) advertisements for employment opportunities, not including advertising materials developed for use in recruiting and retaining personnel for the Armed Forces.

Date: 2015-01-28
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Responsible Use of Taxpayer Dollars for Portraits Act of 2015

 Prohibits federal funds from being used to pay for production of a portrait of: (1) a Member of Congress, (2) the head of an executive agency, or (3) the head of an agency or office of the legislative branch.

Authorizes up to $20,000 in federal funds to pay for production of a portrait of an individual in line of succession to the presidency.

Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the use of:

 federal funds to publicly display a portrait of: (1) a Member of Congress, (2) the head of an executive agency, or (3) the head of an agency or office of the legislative branch; or nonfederal funds to produce a portrait of such individual, including, in the case of a portrait of an individual in line of succession to the presidency, the use of nonfederal funds to pay the entire cost of producing it or the portion of the cost that exceeds $20,000, if any.

Date: 2015-01-29
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2015 

Defines a "covered civil action" as a civil action seeking to compel agency action and alleging that an agency is unlawfully withholding or unreasonably delaying an agency action relating to a regulatory action that would affect: (1) the rights of private persons other than the person bringing the action; or (2) a state, local, or tribal government. Defines a "covered consent decree" or a "covered settlement agreement" as: (1) a consent decree or settlement agreement entered into a covered civil action, and (2) any other consent decree or settlement agreement that requires agency action relating to such a regulatory action that affects the rights of such persons or governments.

Requires an agency against which a covered civil action is brought to publish the notice of intent to sue and the complaint in a readily accessible manner, including by making such notice and complaint available online not later than 15 days after receiving service of such notice or complaint

Requires an agency seeking to enter a covered consent decree or settlement agreement to publish such decree or agreement in the Federal Register and online not later than 60 days before it is filed with the court. Provides for public comment and public hearings on such decree or agreement.

Requires the Attorney General or an agency head, if an agency is litigating a matter independently, to certify to the court that the Attorney General or the agency head approves of: (1) any proposed covered consent decree that includes terms that convert into a nondiscretionary duty a discretionary authority of an agency to propose, promulgate, revise, or amend regulations, commit an agency to expend funds that have not been appropriated and budgeted or to seek a particular appropriation or budget authorization, divest an agency of discretion committed to it by statute or the Constitution, or otherwise afford any relief that the court could not enter under its own authority; or (2) any proposed covered settlement agreement that includes terms that provide a remedy for a failure by the agency to comply with the terms of the agreement other than the revival of the civil action resolved by the agreement, interfere with the authority of an agency to revise, amend, or issue rules, or commit the agency to expend funds that have not been appropriated and budgeted or to exercise in a particular way discretion which was committed to the agency by statute or the Constitution.

Requires a court to grant de novo review of a covered consent decree or settlement agreement if an agency files a motion to modify such decree or agreement on the basis that its terms are no longer fully in the public interest due to the agency's obligations to fulfill other duties or due to changed facts and circumstances.

Date: 2015-02-04
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2015

This bill modifies the rule making requirements and procedures of federal agencies (excluding Congress, U.S. courts, U.S. territories and possession, and the District of Columbia) under the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) and the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA). The definition of "rule" under RFA is expanded to include all agency rules, except for rules that pertain to the protection of the rights of, or benefits for, veterans or rules of particular (and not general) applicability relating to rates, wages, and other financial indicators. Under a new definition of "economic impact," agencies are required to consider any direct economic effect of a proposed rule on small entities and any indirect economic effect on small entities that is reasonably foreseeable and that results from such rule.

Under the bill, agencies are required to modify their rulemaking procedures to:

 include within initial and final regulatory flexibility analyses a detailed statement of information relating to a proposed rule; include in the agency regulatory flexibility agenda a description of the sector of the North American Industrial Classification System that is affected by a proposed agency rule that is likely to have a significant economic impact of a substantial number of small entities; require each initial regulatory flexibility analysis to contain detailed information about a proposed rule, including an estimate of the additional cumulative economic impact of the proposed rule on small entities, any disproportionate economic impact on small entities, and any impairment of the ability of small entities to have access to credit; eliminate waivers or delays of an initial regulatory flexibility analysis; modify the procedures for participation of small entities in the promulgation of a proposed rule and the review panel advocacy process; and publish a plan for the periodic review of existing rules and new rules that have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities to determine whether such rules should be continued, changed, or rescinded. Judicial review of an agency final rule for compliance with RFA requirements is allowed after the publication of such rule, instead of after completion of the rulemaking process.

The Small Business Act is amended to authorize the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to make small business size standard determinations for all purposes other than for the purposes of such Act or the Small Business Investment Act of 1958.

SBREFA is amended to require agencies, in preparing small entity compliance guides, to solicit input from affected small entities or associations of small entities.

The Comptroller General must complete and publish a study that examines whether the SBA Chief Counsel for Advocacy has the capacity and resources to carry out duties under this Act.

Date: 2015-02-10
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Commerce
Domestic Reduction In Vehicle Expenditure and Lowering Emissions from State Sources Act of 2015 or the DRIVE LESS Act

Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to determine: (1) the total number of civilian vehicles purchased and leased by each executive agency in FY2010, (2) the total dollar amount obligated by each executive agency to purchase and to lease civilian vehicles in FY2010, and (3) the amount that would be 20% less than such total dollar amount. Prohibits each executive agency from obligating more than the reduced dollar amount for FY2010 to purchase and lease civilian vehicles in each of FY2016-FY2020. Exempts the purchase or procurement of any vehicle determined by the President to be essential for reasons of national security.

Directs the Administrator of General Services to ensure that agencies may share excess or unused vehicles for temporary or long-term use through the Federal Fleet Management System.

Date: 2015-02-10
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
(This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the Senate on July 28, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Federal Improper Payments Coordination Act of 2015

(Sec. 2) Amends the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012 to extend the availability of the Do Not Pay Initiative to states, any contractor, subcontractor, or agent of a state, and the judicial and legislative branches of the United States. Authorizes the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue guidance for establishing privacy and other requirements for incorporation into Do Not Pay Initiative access agreements with states and judicial and legislative branches.

(Sec. 3) Modifies such Act to require each federal agency to review the death records maintained by the Social Security Administration (SSA) (currently, the Death Master File of SSA).

Directs the Departments of Defense and State to establish a procedure for submitting information on the deaths of individuals to federal agencies promptly and on a regular basis.

Requires the OMB and the heads of other relevant governmental entities to issue guidance on the implementation of the Do Not Pay Initiative to the Department of the Treasury and each agency and component of an agency: (1) that operates or maintains a database of information; or (2) for which the OMB determines improved data matching would be relevant, necessary, or beneficial.

(Sec. 4) Directs Treasury to submit a report to Congress that describes: (1) data analytics performed as part of the Do Not Pay Business Center operated by Treasury, (2) metrics used in determining whether analytic and investigatory efforts have reduced improper payments or awards, and (3) the target dates for implementing the data analytics operations.

Date: 2015-02-27
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015

Establishes in the legislative branch the Regulatory Improvement Commission.

Requires the Commission to evaluate and make recommendations and propose legislation for modification, consolidation, or repeal of regulations that have been finalized not later than 10 years before the establishment of the Commission (covered regulations) for the purpose of reducing compliance costs, encouraging growth and innovation, improving competitiveness, and protecting public safety.

 Requires the Commission to give priority to covered regulations that: (1) impose disproportionately high costs on a small entity, (2) create substantial recurring paperwork burdens or transaction costs, or (3) could be made more effective while reducing regulatory costs.

Sets forth reporting requirements for the Commission and procedures for congressional consideration of Commission reports and recommendations and proposed legislation.

Date: 2015-03-11
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Expedited Consideration of Cuts, Consolidations, and Savings Act of 2015 

This bill amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to establish expedited procedures for congressional consideration of legislation to carry out recommendations included in the Office of Management and Budget's annual Cuts, Consolidations, and Savings report. The report lists proposals included in the President's budget to cut, consolidate, or otherwise produce savings from mandatory and discretionary spending programs. The authority provided by this bill terminates on the date of the sine die adjournment of Congress during 2018.

Date: 2015-03-17
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Economics and public finance
NTIS Elimination Act

Repeals the National Technical Information Act of 1988, which provided for establishment of the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), effective one year after the enactment of this Act.

Directs the Secretary of Commerce, the Archivist of the United States, and the Comptroller General to consult with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to determine if any NTIS activity or function is critical to the national economy and is not being carried out by any other federal government agency, instrumentality, or contractor. Authorizes the the Secretary to transfer responsibility for any such activity or function to another office within Commerce. Directs the Secretary, before one year after enactment of this Act, to certify that all other NTIS operations have been terminated.

Defines as "critical to the national economy" an activity or function that promotes U.S. economic growth by providing access to information that stimulates innovation and discovery.

Authorizes Commerce to continue to maintain a permanent repository of nonclassified scientific, technical, and engineering information, which shall be publicly available and searchable in a format useful to American industry, business, libraries, and research institutions. Requires all federal entities to send electronic copies of all nonclassified scientific, technical, and engineering reports and information to Commerce for inclusion in the repository.

Directs the Department of the Treasury to transfer all unexpended balances in the NTIS Revolving Fund to Commerce to be expended solely for the maintenance of the repository and to dissolve the Fund.

Date: 2015-03-18
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Regulatory Examination Vital for Improving and Evaluating Working Solutions Act of 2015 or the REVIEWS Act

This bill makes existing rules of a federal agency (i.e. each authority of the federal government, except the Congress, U.S. courts, the governments of U.S. territories or possessions, and the government of the District of Columbia) inoperative 10 years after promulgation, but allows extensions for additional periods of not more than 10 years if the agency promulgates the expiring rule in compliance with the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.

The bill expands the definition of "final agency action" for purposes of judicial review to include interpretative rules, general statements of policy, and rules of agency organization, procedure or practice issued by an agency.

The bill grants exclusive jurisdiction to the federal courts of appeal (except for the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit) to review all rules of an agency that cease to be effective under this Act and that the agency continues to enforce.

Date: 2015-03-19
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to report on and make public the outcomes of specified green building programs administered by DOE and listed in the Government Accountability Office's "2012 Annual Report: Opportunities to Reduce Duplication, Overlap and Fragmentation, Achieve Savings, and Enhance Revenue."

DOE must conduct an analysis of whether any of the programs should be eliminated or consolidated and report on methods to improve the programs.

By January 1, 2016, DOE must identify which programs were specifically authorized by Congress and which are carried out solely under DOE's discretionary authority.

Date: 2015-04-14
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Energy
Evidence-Based Policymaking Commission Act of 2015

 (Sec. 2) This bill establishes in the executive branch a Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking. The Commission shall conduct a comprehensive study of the data inventory, data infrastructure, and statistical protocols related to federal policymaking and the agencies responsible for maintaining that data to:

 determine the optimal arrangement for which administrative data on federal programs and tax expenditures, survey data, and related statistical data series may be integrated and made available to facilitate program evaluation, continuous improvement, policy-relevant research, and cost-benefit analyses by qualified researchers and institutions; make recommendations on how data infrastructure and statistical protocols should be modified to best fulfill those objectives; and make recommendations on how best to incorporate outcomes measurement, institutionalize randomized controlled trials, and rigorous impact analysis into program design. The Commission must consider whether a clearinghouse for program and survey data should be established and how to create such a clearinghouse.

The bill directs the Commission to evaluate:

 what administrative data and survey data are relevant for program evaluation and federal policymaking and should be included in a potential clearinghouse; which survey data such administrative data may be linked to, in addition to linkages across administrative data series; the legal and administrative barriers to including or linking these data series; what data-sharing infrastructure should be used to facilitate data merging and access for research purposes; how a clearinghouse could be self-funded; which types of researchers, officials, and institutions should have access to data and what their qualifications should be; what limitations should be placed on the use of data provided; how to protect information and ensure individual privacy and confidentiality; how data and results of research can be used to inform program administrators and policymakers to improve program design; and what incentives may facilitate interagency sharing of information to improve programmatic effectiveness and enhance data accuracy and comprehensiveness. The Commission must submit to the President and Congress a detailed statement of its findings and conclusions, together with its recommendations for legislation or administrative actions, within 15 months of the date a majority of the Commission members are appointed.

(Sec. 6) The agencies identified as "Principal Statistical Agencies" in the the Office of Management and Budget report entitled "Statistical Programs of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2015" shall provide specified funds for carrying out the activities of the Commission.

(Sec. 8) The Commission shall terminate not later than 18 months after enactment of this Act.

Date: 2015-04-16
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Restoring the 10th Amendment Act

Authorizes a designated state official to submit to the head of a federal agency proposing a rule, during the period when the proposed rule is open for public comment, a legal brief challenging the constitutionality of the rule under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution.

Directs the agency head: (1) to notify the designated official of each state within 15 days after such a brief was submitted; (2) to post prominently on the front page of the agency's website a link to the brief; and (3) within 15 days after posting such link, to certify in writing that such rulemaking does not violate the Tenth Amendment and post the certification prominently on the agency's website next to the briefs pertaining to the rule, unless the agency determines not to finalize such proposed rule.

Authorizes a designated state official, at any time after an agency head posts such a certification, to commence a civil action against the agency on the grounds that the rule violates the Tenth Amendment. Permits such state official, in addition to any other venue or jurisdiction provided by law, to bring such action in the U.S. district court for the district in which the official's place of business is located.

Directs the appropriate U.S. court of appeals, upon the filing of a notice by a designated state official, to grant expedited review of a decision by the district court in such an action.

Date: 2015-04-22
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Law
Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act 

(Sec. 2) This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Benefits) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to direct the Social Security Administration (SSA) to pay state or local governments for transcribing and transmitting to the SSA information on death records.

The SSA shall make cooperative arrangements with federal and state agencies for use of SSA information on all deceased individuals by federal or state agencies providing federally funded benefits or administering a federal program for such benefits.

The SSA shall make similar arrangements for the use of such information by federal agencies to:

 operate the Do Not Pay working system (which uses specified federal agency databases to reduce improper payments or awards); ensure proper payments under a federal program, including federally funded benefits; conduct federal policing agency prevention activities, detection activities, crime investigation, or apprehension of alleged offenders; and carry out tax administration or debt collection duties. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) shall analyze potential alternative sources of death data maintained by non-federal sources.

(Sec. 3) The Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012 is amended to require the OMB to:

 issue guidance to agencies that operate or maintain a database of information relating to beneficiaries, annuity recipients, or other purposes specified in Sec. 3 for which improved data matching with databases relating to an individual's death would be relevant and necessary; develop a plan to assist state and local agencies, Indian Tribes, and tribal organizations to provide death information electronically to the federal government; and submit to Congress a plan to improve state, local, and tribal data matching with the federal government on the death of federally funded benefit recipients. (Sec. 4) The SSA shall submit a plan to improve the accuracy and completeness of death data (including data on individuals who are neither eligible for nor receiving OASDI or title XVI [Supplemental Security Income] benefits).

The plan shall include:

 a procedure for identifying, and verifying information about, individuals who are still alive and are older than the oldest known living person; improved policies and procedures for identifying and correcting erroneous records, especially about dead individuals listed as alive and living individuals listed as dead; improved policies and procedures for identifying and correcting errors in Numerical Identification System records; a process for employing statistical analysis of SSA death data to determine an estimate of the number of erroneous records; and recommendations for legislation. (Sec. 5) The SSA shall report to Congress on: (1) all SSA information systems containing sensitive information; and (2) the measures the SSA is taking to secure and protect these systems.

Date: 2015-04-23
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Social welfare
Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill expands the cash awards program for disclosures by federal employees of fraud, waste, or mismanagement that result in cost savings to the employee's agency to include identification of surplus salaries and expenses funds that: (1) an agency employee identifies as unnecessary, (2) the inspector general and the chief financial officer of the agency determine are not required for the purpose for which the amounts were made available, and (3) the rescission of which would not be detrimental to the full execution of the purposes for which the amounts were made available.

Any savings resulting from such identifications must be deposited in the Treasury and used to reduce a budget deficit or the federal debt. But agencies may retain up to 10% of such savings for the purpose of paying cash awards to employees who identify surplus salaries and expenses funds.

Each fiscal year, agencies must submit reports to the Department of the Treasury regarding: (1) the total savings achieved through disclosures of possible fraud, waste, or mismanagement and identifications of surplus salaries and expenses funds by an employee; and (2) each disclosure that has merit and the number and amount of cash awards by the agency. This information must also be included in agency budget requests submitted to the Office of Management and Budget.

Treasury must report annually to Congress on federal cost saving and awards based on agency reports about such employee disclosures. The Office of Personnel Management must certify annually whether each agency's cash award program complies with this bill.

Every three years, the Government Accountability Office must report on the operation of the program and any recommendations for legislative improvements.

The amendments in this bill regarding the expansion of the cash awards program and the use of cost savings from such employee identifications shall sunset six years after enactment of this bill.

The bill prohibits the payment of awards to: (1) federal officers who serve in a position at level I of the Executive Schedule; (2) the head of an agency; or (3) a commissioner, board member, or other voting member of an independent establishment.

Date: 2015-05-19
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Regulatory Predictability for Business Growth Act of 2015

This bill adds the definitions of "longstanding interpretative rule" and "revise" to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). A longstanding interpretative rule is distinguished from an "interpretative rule" if it has been in effect for at least one year. If a rule is a longstanding interpretative rule, it remains subject to the general notice of proposed rulemaking and comment and publication provisions of the APA.

Date: 2015-06-03
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics