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["BILL","BILL NAME","WHAT DOES IT DO?","RATING","WHY WE RATED IT","SOURCES"]
["HR10","SOAR Reauthorization Act","Reauthorizes funds earmarked by the Department of Education for providing scholarships to DC students in poorly performing schools through FY2021.","Mixed","This bill ensures that DC schools and students will be supported financially so as to increase quality education access. The problem is that this authorization also allows these federal funds to go to private and charter schools, which often have their own sources of funding. ","house.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR1020","STEM Education Act of 2015","Expands the NSF teachers fellowships to applicants with a STEM field bachelor’s degree instead of restricting the application process to masters recipients.","Mixed","In theory, it is a good idea to have fellowships for training more putative STEM field teachers, but while this law authorizes the NSF to award bachelor’s degree holders, it does not expand the available funding for such fellowships.","house.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR1029","EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015","What Does it Do: Re-frames the EPA science advisory board selection process by amending key points in the protocol; most notably, this legislation would allow the board to consist of members with “potential interest” in the decisions of the board itself without naming specific countermeasures to avoid conflicts of interest.","Bad","This legislation would allow companies regulated by the EPA to have a say in what regulations would be in place.","house.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR1030","Secret Science Reform Act of 2015","Requires that the EPA not act in any capacity without showing that its policies are being supported by the “best available science” as defined by data that is published and publically available for review and reproduction","Bad","This bill masquerades as an act that is based on scientific principles of rigorous reproduction of results and dissemination of methods. In principle, then, this bill is a sound idea. But its definition of “best available science” greatly harms the process of academic science in many ways while also harming the mission of the EPA; data that can inform the decisions of the EPA in the immediate are forced into publication prematurely, opening the door for a wave of skepticism that could have been addressed by a thorough peer review.","house.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR115","Thin Blue Line Act","Amends the criminal code to include attacks against law enforcement as worthy of the death penalty.","Bad","In principle, this bill is non-controversial, but this bill does more than just ensure justice for law enforcement officers injured or killed in the line of duty. This bill represents a veritable road block against any federal effort to investigate crimes committed by law enforcement; too many people have been killed by law enforcement, justly or otherwise, for those lives not to matter at least as much as those officers meant to be honored by this bill.","house.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR1180","Working Families Flexibility Act of 2017","Amendment to existing legislation that sets federal standards for compensatory time off offered by employees that states that the Department of Labor is to report to congress the extent to which the protections in the bill are necessary in the workforce.","Good","Data show that having sufficient paid leave is good for mental health and for productivity across the board.","house.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR1181","Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act","Prohibits the VA from deeming a patient too mentally unfit to bear arms under the protection of the Second Amendment without a judge’s court ruling that said patient is a danger to him/herself.","Bad","One of the most evident signs predicting potential violent acts such as mass shootings has been shown to be mental health. Medical science has shown that mentally unfit patients can do significant harm unto others while not posing an explicit threat to themselves. This act flies in the face of medical science.","house.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR1314","Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015","Increases the discretionary spending limit from FY2016 to FY2017.","Mixed","This bill does increase the discretionary spending limit so that congress can continue to fund various research enterprises (among the other things congress is responsible for funding). However, this legislation also protects the funding for controversial federal projects for extraction and sale of fossil fuels.","house.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR1324","Arapaho National Forest Boundary Adjustment Act of 2015","Alots an additional 96 acres of land to the national forest","Good","This bill increases protected environment land in the name of conservation","house.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR1430","HONEST Act","Prohibits the EPA from proposing any action that uses science which is not publicly available","Bad","This law hampers the power of the EPA to identify environment risks. It is directly contrary to the charter of the agency.","house.gov votesmart.org https://science.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-approves-honest-act"]
["HR1431","EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2017","Prohibits members of EPA Science Advisory Board from applying for EPA grants, and requires Board to avoid making policy recommendations.","Bad","This law hampers the power of the EPA to identify environment risks. It is directly contrary to the charter of the agency.","congress.gov https://www.nrdc.org/experts/jennifer-sass/industry-friendly-science-advisory-board-act-2017"]
["HR1628","American Health Care Act of 2017","Re-frames key portions and funding appropriations in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act systematically in such a way that federally run and regulated insurance markets are either destroyed or rendered impotent.","Bad","The Congressional Budget Office reported that this legislation would singlehandedly take affordable, comprehensive health insurance away from over twenty million people. Beyond this, this bill was drafted and proposed with no regard for a well established statistical measure of successful public health programs funded by the PPACA, like Planned Parenthood.","congress.gov CBO votesmart.org"]
["HR1732","Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015","This bill mandates the Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA to withdraw their classifications of certain bodies of water protected in the Clean Water Act. Also, both of these agencies must publish economic and scientific reports about these bodies of water before and after the implementation of the rule to justify any future regulation of, among other things, sewage sludge being dumped into rivers.","Bad","This bill is aggressively anti-science and detrimental to public health. We the scientists believe that Americans have a right to clean drinking water.","congress.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR1806","America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015","Authorizes congress to fund the NSF for FY 2016-2017. Clauses in the bill stress the importance of predictable funding for basic research for American competitiveness in STEM fields.","Good","The NSF funds basic research across many STEM fields, and this bill shows that funding research like this is still a priority to Congress.","congress.gov votesmart.org",null,null,"Does this have oversight provisions? the 2015 one did, it was grim."]
["HR2017","Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2015","Mandates that all chain restaurants to make the nutritional information of all menu items available/visible.","Good","There are excessive data that show that over consumption of some foods is correlated with many pathological states, like diabetes. Furthermore, psychological studies show that the presence of nutritional value on a menu influences dietary decisions, leading to greater awareness of influence of diet on health.","congress.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR2192","To amend the Public Health Service Act to eliminate the non-application of certain State waiver provisions to Members of Congress and congressional staff","Allows members of congress to use waivers made available to states as “innovation” waivers to maintain the federally available insurance plans for congress-people outside of the insurance marketplace set up by the ACA.","Bad","This is a cynical move by congress to protect its level of health insurance coverage before pressing for a new healthcare bill that would gut key parts of the ACA.","congress.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR2262","U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act","In an effort to “spur” aerospace technological advancement in the age of private space companies, congress mandates that the DOT shall address the liabilities of space launch and reentry and recommend common sense regulations for experimentation therewith associated.","Good","We the scientists believe that any effort to encourage research efforts and facilitate them in the face of changing technology is good.","congress.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR244","Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017","Authorizes congress to appropriate funds for a number of federal agencies, including those pertaining to agriculture, disaster relief, conservation, etc","Good","This bill ensures that a number of critical federal agencies are funded in order to work in all capacities, including a number of those that serve explicitly scientific purposes.","congress.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR2646","Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2016","Reframes the structure of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in such a way that a new chair-person will evaluate and implement a strategic plan to address mental health programs across the country.","Good","This bill shows an explicit desire to implement effective policy moving forward to address mental health amongst the American public. It is yet to be seen whether or not this desire will be translated into effective policy, but this bill at least is a herald of potential progress.","congress.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR2820","Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of 2015","Reauthorizes a program that matches patients in need of transplants with donors. This bill also states that the department of Health and Human Services shall re-evaluate the science in the adult stem cell and birthing tissue stem cell fields with an eye towards potential therapeutics. Also states that HHS shall determine whether or not umbilical blood and adult peripheral blood stem cells are human tissue.","Mixed","This bill is set up to potentially offer new treatments developed in the lab to patients in the clinic, which is good. However, this potential hinges on the judgment of HHS, and not the scientific community per se.","congress.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR2822","Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016","This bill decreases the funding for every major conservation agency within the federal government except for the Department of the Interior, which receives a flat amount of funding. The budget reduces the discretionary spending on these departments well below the previous levels.","Bad","This bill is responsible for slashing funding for some of the most influential organizations that protect the environment and wildlife in America. In the context of massive increases in discretionary spending for the military and other related enterprises, this bill heralds a stark lack of appreciation for science at large.","congress.gov votesmart.org"]
["HR2898","Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015","The bill also provides for: (1) a nonnative predator fish removal program in the Stanislaus River, (2) the repeal of the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act and the related settlement, (3) expansion of the CVP's authorized service area to include the Kettleman City Community Services District, and (4) the use of expedited procedures to consider project requests from the California governor relating to emergency drought conditions.","Bad","Takes aim at the endangered species act under the ruse of providing drought relief for CA","http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-house-drought-bill-20150716-story.html votesmart.com"]
["HR3293","Scientific Research in the National Interest Act","This bill directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to award federal funding for basic research and education in the sciences through a new research grant or cooperative agreement only if it makes an affirmative determination, justified in writing, that the grant or agreement promotes the progress of science in the United States, is worthy of federal funding, and meets certain other criteria.","Bad","“At its core, this bill is about second guessing our Nation’s best and brightest scientists, and the grant making decisions they make,” said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D–TX), in a statement. “[M]y biggest concern about these new requirements is they will push NSF reviewers to fund less high-risk research, which, by its very nature entails the pursuit of scientific understanding without necessarily any particular or known benefit.”","http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/02/updated-us-house-passes-controversial-bill-nsf-research"]
["HR34","21st Century Cures Act","Helping Families In Mental Health Crisis Act, which increased the availability of psychiatric hospital beds and established a new assistant secretary for mental health and substance use disorders, It authorized $6.3 billion in funding, mostly for the National Institutes of Health.[1] The act was supported especially by large pharmaceutical manufacturers and was opposed especially by consumer organizations.[2]","Good","Increases funding and provides more funding for reducing opioid abuse","https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/wins-loses-21st-century-cures-act"]
["HR348","RAPID Act","Vote to pass a bill that prohibits a federal agency from considering the \"social cost\" of carbon emissions in an environmental review.","Bad","the bill will severely undermine the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and, consequently, the quality and integrity of federal agency decisions","https://www.npca.org/articles/879-position-on-h-r-348-the-responsibly-and-professionally-invigorating"]
["HR36","Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act","Bans abortion after 20 weeks","Bad","This bill uses false statements about when fetuses can pfeel pain.  The American Congress of obstetetrics states that fetuses cannot feel pain until at least 24 weeks of gestation","https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-gops-20-week-abortion-ban-is-about-politics-not-science/ https://www.acog.org/-/media/Departments/Government-Relations-and-Outreach/FactAreImportFetalPain.pdf"]
["HR3762","To provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 2002 of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2016.","Vote to override a veto of a bill that repeals certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act and rescinds funds from abortion providers.","Bad","Vote to override a veto of a bill that repeals certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act and rescinds funds from abortion providers.","congress.gov https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/01/08/veto-message-president-hr-3762"]
["HR3797","SENSE Act","The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must maintain the existing limits for sulfur dioxide emissions from coal refuse utilities under the cap-and-trade system, instead of applying the more restrictive limits that are scheduled to go into effect in 2017.","Bad","The SENSE Act would weaken the Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) by replacing the state emissions reductions rules with federal rules that allow waste coal plants to pollute in excess of current law, damaging public health in the surrounding area and far downwind of the power plants. This law would also weaken the EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics (MATS) standards, successful safeguards already in place that are designed to reduce pollution associated with dangerous compounds like sulfur dioxide and hydrogen chloride, increasing the risk of asthma attacks and other serious health impacts including premature deaths","https://www.lcv.org/?article=letter-oppose-h-r-3797"]
["HR4470","Safe Drinking Water Act Improved Compliance Awareness Act","Sets clear standards for when / who are responsible for notifying the public about lead contamination in drinking water.","Good","In response to Flint","congress.gov"]
["HR4557","Blocking Regulatory Interference from Closing Kilns Act of 2016","Prohibits the EPA from enforcing Clean Air Act on manufacturers of clay structural or ceramic products until judicial reviews of the rules are complete.","Bad","This allows for more pollution","congress.gov"]
["HR4570","100 Years of Women in Congress Act","Renames a grant program to honor the 100th anniversary of the first woman elected to serve in Congress. Aimed at increasing women and underrepresented minorities from rural areas in STEM","Good","Having more diversity in science makes for better science","congress.gov"]
["HR4586","Lali's Law","Grant funding to make overdose revearsal drugs (e.g., naloxone) more widely available","Good","Overdose prevention","http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-lns-lalis-law-st-0429-20150428-story.html"]
["HR4641","To provide for the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication, and for other purposes.","This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to convene a Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force to: (1) review, modify, and update best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication; and (2) examine and identify the need for, development of, and availability of medical alternatives to opioids (drugs with effects similar to opium, such as certain pain medications).","Good","Supports the development of best practices for the use of prescription opioids considering research on pain management, existing evidence-based guidelines, high-risk populations at risk of addiction etc.","congress.gov"]
["HR4742","Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act","This bill amends the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act to authorize the National Science Foundation to encourage its entrepreneurial programs to recruit and support women to extend their focus beyond the laboratory and into the commercial world.","Good","expands the mission of NSF to include supporting women entrepreneurs in STEM","congress.gov"]
["HR4755","Inspiring the Next Space Pioneers, Innovators, Researchers, and Explorers (INSPIRE) Women Act","This bill directs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to encourage women and girls to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), pursue careers in aerospace, and further advance the nation's space science and exploration efforts through support of the following initiatives:","Good","directs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to encourage women and girls to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), pursue careers in aerospace, and further advance the nation's space science and exploration efforts","congress.gov"]
["HR5325","Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act","This bill provides FY2017 appropriations for Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; continuing appropriations through December 9, 2016, for other federal agencies; and FY2016 supplemental appropriations to respond to the Zika virus.","Mixed","General appropriations bill that funds various DOD and military agencies for FY2017. Also sets aside almost $400 million dollars for the CDC to combat the zika virus.","congress.gov"]
["HR538","Native American Energy Act","Vote to pass a bill that reduces regulations for the development of energy on Native American land. Exempts Native American land from federal regulations on fracking","Bad","Fracking is detrimental to the enviroment, and has lead to increases in earthquakes in areas where it is permitted","https://www.npca.org/articles/831-position-on-h-r-538-native-american-energy-act"]
["HR702","To adapt to changing crude oil market conditions.","Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to repeal authority to restrict the export of: (1) coal, petroleum products, natural gas, or petrochemical feedstocks; and (2) supplies of materials or equipment necessary to maintain or further exploration, production, refining, or transportation of energy supplies, or for the construction or maintenance of energy facilities within the United States.","Bad","Will increase greenhouse gas emissions","congress.gov https://www.npca.org/articles/905-position-on-h-r-8-north-american-energy-security-and-infrastructure-act"]
["HR8","North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015","H.R. 2295, now Section 1111 in the Manager’s Amendment for H.R. 8, would, in part, amend the Minerals Leasing Act to strip the requirement for Congressional authorization when constructing a natural gas pipeline across National Park Service and other federal lan","Mixed","Sweeping energy legislation that bascially streamlines the ability to export crude oil, natural gas, and other fossil fuels. However, it does also streamline the construction of new hydroelectric plants."]
["HR880","American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2015","This bill revises and makes permanent after 2014 the research tax credit. The rate of such credit is modified to equal the sum of 20% of so much of the qualified research expenses for the taxable year as exceeds 50% of the average qualified research expenses for the three preceding taxable years, 20% of so much of the basic research payments for the taxable year as exceeds 50% of the average basic research payments for the three preceding taxable years, plus 20% of amounts paid by a business taxpayer to an energy research consortium for energy research. If a taxpayer has no qualified research expenses in any of the three preceding taxable years, the rate of the tax credit is reduced to 10% of current research expenses.","Bad","makes permanent research tax credit--mostly (maybe solely) used for private company R&D ??","congress.gov votesmart.com"]
["HR897","Zika Vector Control Act","This bill amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency or a state from requiring a permit until September 30, 2018, under the Clean Water Act for a discharge from a point source into navigable waters of a pesticide authorized for sale, distribution, or use under FIFRA, or a residue resulting from the application of the pesticide. Point source pollution is waste discharged from a distinct place, such as a pipe, channel, or tunnel.","Bad","Guts EPA clean water act regulation of pesticide use/introduction to water sources under the political ruse of caring about Zika","congress.gov votesmart.com"]
["HR953","Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2017","This bill amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency or a state from requiring a permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) for a discharge of a pesticide from a point source into navigable waters if the discharge is approved under FIFRA. Point source pollution is waste discharged from a distinct place, such as a pipe, channel, or tunnel.","Bad","Prohibits requirement of permit to spray pesticides into navigable waters","congress.gov votesmart.com"]
["HR954","CO-OP Consumer Protection Act of 2016","Exempts certain types of health insurance from the ACA required minimal coverages.","Bad","Repealing the ACA would cost millions and leave many people uninsured.","congress.gov votesmart.com"]
["HR985","Fairness in Class Action Litigation and Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act of 2017","This bill amends the federal judicial code to prohibit federal courts from certifying class actions unless:in a class action seeking monetary relief for personal injury or economic loss, each proposed class member suffered the same type and scope of injury as the named class representatives;no class representatives or named plaintiffs are relatives of class counsel, except in a private securities litigation brought as a class action subject to the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and in a class action seeking monetary relief, the party seeking to maintain the class action demonstrates a reliable and administratively feasible mechanism for the court to determine whether putative class members fall within the class definition and for the distribution of any monetary relief directly to a substantial majority of class members.","Bad","H.R. 985 imposes a new and impossible hurdle for class certification.  It requires that the proponents of the class demonstrate that “each class member has suffered the same type and scope of injury.”  Atthis early stage of a civil rights class action, it is frequently impossible toidentifyall of the victims or the precise nature of each of their injuries.","https://www.aclu.org/letter/sign-letter-opposing-hr-985-fairness-class-action-litigation-act"]
["HR998","SCRUB Act","This bill establishes the Retrospective Regulatory Review Commission to conduct a review of the Code of Federal Regulations to identify rules and sets of rules that collectively implement a regulatory program that should be repealed to lower the cost of regulation. The commission shall give priority to the review of rules or sets of rules that are major rules or that include major rules, that have been in effect more than 15 years, that impose paperwork burdens or unfunded mandates that could be reduced substantially without significantly diminishing regulatory effectiveness, that impose disproportionately high costs on small entities, or that could be strengthened in their effectiveness while reducing regulatory costs. The commission's goal is to achieve a reduction of at least 15% in the cumulative costs of regulation with a minimal reduction in the overall effectiveness of such regulation.","Bad","Instead of improving the regulatory process, each of these bills would inhibit agencies from carrying out the laws Congress has passed—and make it more difficult for them to protect the public from threats such as tainted food, hazardous products, dirty air and water, and predatory financial schemes","https://consumersunion.org/research/cu-letter-to-the-u-s-house-opposing-h-r-998-the-scrub-act-h-r-1004-the-regulatory-integrity-act-and-h-r-1009-the-oira-act/"]
["HRES847","Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives about a national strategy for the Internet of Things to promote economic growth and consumer empowerment.","(1) develop a national strategy to encourage development of the Internet of Things for connected technologies to empower consumers, foster future economic growth, and improve the nation's collective social well-being; (2) recognize the role of businesses in the future development of the Internet of Things; (3) engage in inclusive dialogue with industry and work cooperatively; and (4) determine if using the Internet of Things can improve the government's efficiency and effectiveness and cut waste, fraud, and abuse.","Good","encourages cooperation and collaboration","congress.gov votesmart.com"]
["S1177","Every Student Succeeds Act",null,"Mixed","more federal regulation on schools, similar to no child left behind; enforces standards for science education in public schools"]
["S524","Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016","This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to convene a Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force to review best practices for pain management developed or adopted by federal agencies. The task force must propose updates to best practices and recommendations for addressing gaps or inconsistencies.","Good","Provides funds to research non-opiate pain management, gives funds for community efforts to help those suffering from opiate addiction","congress.gov"]
["SJRES23"," A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of a rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to \"Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from New, Modified, an","Nullifies the Environmental Protection Agency's rule published on October 23, 2015, that establishes new source performance standards under the Clean Air Act for carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating units (EGUs) if the EGUs are newly constructed, modified, or reconstructed.","Bad","Nullifies EPA rules regarding reducing carbon emissions","congress.gov"]
["SJRES24","A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of a rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to \"Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electr","Nullifies the Environmental Protection Agency's rule published on October 23, 2015, that requires states to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired electric generating units (EGUs).","Bad","Nullifies EPA rules regarding reducing carbon emissions","congress.gov"]

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