From 2841e25cf1abf4f74ec3e42101496123889d00ad Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Shreya Shankar Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2024 23:56:40 +0800 Subject: [PATCH] Add the lobbying baselines --- .gitignore | 2 +- .../relevance_assessment_baseline.json | 4902 ----------------- 2 files changed, 1 insertion(+), 4903 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 paper_workloads/corporate_lobbying/relevance_assessment_baseline.json diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore index d5d680dd..c450cb7f 100644 --- a/.gitignore +++ b/.gitignore @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ .env *__pycache__* *scratch* -*relevance_assessment_tool.json* \ No newline at end of file +*relevance_assessment* \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/paper_workloads/corporate_lobbying/relevance_assessment_baseline.json b/paper_workloads/corporate_lobbying/relevance_assessment_baseline.json deleted file mode 100644 index e6cb5aea..00000000 --- a/paper_workloads/corporate_lobbying/relevance_assessment_baseline.json +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4902 +0,0 @@ -[ - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on the administration of national monuments and the establishment of a National Monument Enhancement Fund, primarily affecting land management and conservation in New Mexico and Nevada. This legislation does not have direct implications for Monster Beverage Corp., which operates in the energy drink and beverage sector. There are no clear links between the content of the bill and the company\u2019s business operations, as it does not pertain to beverage production, marketing, distribution, or related regulatory concerns.", - "index": "0", - "bill_title": "To provide for the administration of certain national monuments, to establish a National Monument Enhancement Fund, and to establish certain wilderness areas in the States of New Mexico and Nevada.", - "bill_summary": "America's Natural Treasures of Immeasurable Quality Unite, Inspire, and Together Improve the Economies of States Act or the ANTIQUITIES Act\n\nThis bill provides for the administration of certain National Monuments and the designation of certain lands in New Mexico and Nevada as wilderness.\n\nThis bill directs the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to administer each specified national monument in accordance with (1) the one or more presidential proclamations that apply to the monument, (2) any Act of Congress enacted before December 4, 2017, that provides for an adjustment to the boundary or administration of such monument, and (3) this bill.\n\nThe bill establishes the National Monument Enhancement Fund to furnish funding (1) to such federal agencies to develop management plans for their national monuments that were designated under current federal law, (2) for federal acquisition and development of certain land and other areas, and (3) to develop and enhance recreational infrastructure on such designated lands.\n\nThe bill designates specified BLM lands within the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and Rio Grande del Norte National Monuments in New Mexico and in the Gold Butte National Conservation Area in Nevada as wilderness and as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.\n\nThe Department of the Interior shall manage approximately 100 acres of BLM land in New Mexico identified as Lookout Peak Communication Site in a manner that preserves the character of the land for future inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System.", - "company_name": "Monster Beverage Corp.", - "company_description": "The Company\u0092s subsidiaries primarily develop and market energy drinks as well as Mutant\u00ae Super Soda drinks. Drinks segment (\u0093Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks\u0094), which is comprised of our Monster Energy\u00ae drinks, Monster Hydro\u00ae energy drinks and Mutant\u00ae Super Soda drinks, (ii) Strategic Brands segment (\u0093Strategic Brands\u0094), which is comprised of the various energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company (\u0093TCCC\u0094) in 2015 (the \u0093TCCC Transaction\u0094) (see Note 2 \u0093Acquisitions and Divestitures\u0094 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements) and (iii) Other segment (\u0093Other\u0094), the principal products of which include the non-energy brands disposed of as a result of the TCCC Transaction (effectively from January 1, 2015 to June 12, 2015), as well as certain products, acquired as part of our American Fruits & Flavors (\u0093AFF\u0094) asset acquisition in 2016 (the \u0093AFF Transaction\u0094) (see Note 2 \u0093Acquisitions and Divestitures\u0094 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements), that are sold by AFF to independent third-party customers (the \u0093AFF Third-Party Products\u0094) (effectively from April 1, 2016). Corporate and unallocated amounts that do not specifically relate to a reportable segment have been allocated to \u0093Corporate Drinks segment generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks primarily to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. In some cases, we sell directly to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, drug stores, food service customers and the military. Our Strategic Brands segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling \u0093concentrates\u0094 and/or \u0093beverage bases\u0094 to authorized bottling and canning operations. Such bottlers generally combine the concentrates and/or beverage bases with sweeteners, water and other ingredients to produce ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks. The ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks are then sold to other bottlers and full service distributors and to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, food service customers, drug stores and the military. To a lesser extent, our Strategic Brands segment generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. Generally, the Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks segment generates higher per case net operating revenues, but lower per case gross profit margins than the Strategic Brands segment. We develop, market, sell and distribute energy drink beverages, sodas and/or concentrates for energy drink beverages, primarily under the following brand names: \u00b7 \u00b7 NOS\u00ae \u00b7 Monster Energy Ultra\u00ae \u00b7 Full Throttle\u00ae \u00b7 brand energy drinks, which represented 90.1%, 90.1% and 92.5% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, primarily include the following energy drinks 1 : \u00b7 Monster Energy\u00ae Monster Rehab\u00ae Tea + Orangeade + Energy \u00b7 Monster Energy Ultra Red The \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category combines non-carbonated, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters (flavored, unflavored and enhanced) with \u0093new age\u0094 beverages, including sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices and flavored sparkling beverages. According to Beverage Marketing Corporation, domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2017 for the \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category of the market are estimated at approximately $52.6 billion, representing an increase of approximately 5.6% over estimated domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2016 of approximately $49.8 billion. On April 1, 2016, we completed the AFF Transaction resulting in our acquisition of flavor supplier and long-time business partner AFF, in an asset acquisition that brought our primary flavor supplier in-house, secured the intellectual property of our most important flavors in perpetuity and further enhanced our flavor development and global flavor footprint capabilities. On June 12, 2015, we completed the TCCC Transaction contemplated by the definitive agreements entered into with TCCC on August 14, 2014, which provided for a long-term strategic relationship in the global energy drink category. In the 1930s, Hubert Hansen and his sons started a business selling fresh non-pasteurized juices in Los Angeles, California. FJC retained the right to market and sell fresh non-pasteurized juices under the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae trademark. In 1977, Tim Hansen, one of the grandsons of Hubert Hansen, perceived a demand for shelf stable pasteurized natural juices and juice blends and formed Hansen Foods, HFI expanded its product line from juices to include Hansen\u0092s Natural Soda\u00ae brand sodas. In 1990, California Co-Packers Corporation (d/b/a Hansen Beverage Company) (\u0093CCC\u0094) acquired certain assets of HFI, including the right to market the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand name. In 1992, Hansen Natural Corporation acquired the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand natural soda and apple juice business from CCC.", - "id": "493e3822-ed0e-4b66-b9cc-958a97cb3cbf" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Space Frontier Act of 2019 aims to streamline regulations for commercial space activities, which could facilitate partnerships and opportunities for companies like Plexus Corp. that operate in sectors that may leverage aerospace/defense technologies. Plexus has a presence in the Aerospace/Defense market sector, indicating that changes in regulatory frameworks regarding space activities may directly impact their business through potential new contracts or collaborations in this sphere.", - "index": "1", - "bill_title": "A bill to reduce regulatory burdens and streamline processes related to commercial space activities, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Space Frontier Act of 2019\n\nThe bill revises provisions relating to commercial space launch license applications and experimental permits. The Department of Transportation shall consolidate across federal agencies requirements to protect the public health and safety, safety of property, national security interests, and foreign policy interests of the United States relevant to any commercial space vehicle into a single application set that satisfies those requirements and expedites the coordination of commercial space services.\n\nNASA is authorized to establish a low-Earth orbit commercialization program.\n\nThe bill revises and sets forth provisions relating to nongovernmental Earth observation activities.\n\nNASA must ensure that the International Space Station remains a viable and productive facility capable of potential U.S. use through at least FY2030.", - "company_name": "Plexus Corp.", - "company_description": "we\") participate in the Electronic Manufacturing Services (\"EMS\") industry. We partner with our customers to create the products that build a better world. Since 1979, Plexus has been partnering with companies to transform concepts into branded products and deliver them to the market. From idea to aftermarket and everything in between, Plexus is a global leader in providing support for all the facets of the product realization process - Design and Development, Supply Chain Solutions, New Product Introduction, Manufacturing, and Aftermarket Services. Plexus delivers comprehensive end-to-end solutions in the Americas (\"AMER\"), Europe, Middle East, and Africa (\"EMEA\") and Asia-Pacific (\"APAC\") regions for our customers. We specialize in working in industries with highly complex products and demanding regulatory requirements. Plexus has partnerships with approximately 140 customers in the Healthcare/Life Sciences, Industrial/Commercial, Communications, and Aerospace/Defense market sectors. We leverage our expertise to understand the unique needs of our customers' markets and have aligned our processes to provide flexibility, create efficiency and deliver superior quality. Our customers have stringent quality, reliability and regulatory requirements, requiring exceptional production and supply chain agility. Their products require complex configuration management, direct order fulfillment (to end customers), global logistics management and aftermarket services. To service the complexities that our customers' products demand, we utilize our full suite of solution offerings to support our customers' products from concept to end of life. Plexus is passionate about being the leading EMS company in the world at servicing mid-to-low volume, higher complexity customer programs, characterized by unique flexibility, technology, quality and regulatory requirements. A high performance, accountable organization with a talented workforce that is deeply passionate about driving growth through customer service excellence; \u2022 Strategic growth by using customer driven, sector based go-to-market strategies; and \u2022 Execution driven by a collaborative, customer centric culture that continuously evaluates and optimizes our business processes to strive to create shareholder value. We operate flexible manufacturing facilities and design our processes to accommodate customers with multiple product lines and configurations. One or more uniquely configured \"focus factories,\" supported by a tailored supply chain and logistics solution, are designed to meet the flexibility and responsiveness needed to support customer fulfillment requirements. Each sector has a market sector vice president and a business development and customer management leader who together oversee and provide leadership to teams that include business development directors, customer directors or managers, supply chain and manufacturing subject matter experts, and market sector analysts. These teams maintain expertise related to each market sector and execute sector strategies aligned to that market's unique quality and regulatory requirements. Our market sector teams help define Plexus' strategy for growth with a particular emphasis on expanding the value-added solutions we offer customers. Our primary focus is to earn a return on invested capital (\"ROIC\") Plexus measures economic profit by taking the difference between ROIC and WACC and multiplying it by invested capital. 4 Relative to our competition, overriding factors such as lower manufacturing volumes, flexibility and fulfillment requirements, and complex regulatory requirements typically result in higher investments in inventory and selling and administrative costs for us. The cost variance from our competitors is especially evident relative to those that provide EMS services for high-volume, less complex products, with less stringent requirements (e.g., consumer electronics). Plexus serves a diverse customer landscape that includes industry-leading, branded product companies, along with many other technology pioneering start-ups or emerging companies that may or may not maintain manufacturing capabilities. As a result of serving market sectors that rely on advanced electronics technology, our business is influenced by critical technological trends such as the level and rate of development of wired and wireless telecommunications infrastructure, communications data and data bandwidth growth, and internet usage.", - "id": "a0bc05e2-68ff-4cc1-a6bc-6eb97d9c706f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill, which deals with intelligence and security activities, has legal consequences related to cybersecurity, information sharing, and defense interests, which can significantly impact Qorvo, Inc. as a supplier of RF solutions for defense and infrastructure. Their products cater to military and government applications, and developments in cybersecurity or intelligence initiatives can affect their market, regulatory compliance, and strategic direction.", - "index": "2", - "bill_title": "A bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System.", - "bill_summary": "Damon Paul Nelson and Matthew Young Pollard Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019\n\nThis bill addresses various intelligence issues, including by reauthorizing intelligence-related activities, establishing certain bodies, and directing the intelligence community to report on topics such as election infrastructure security and Russian interference in the 2016 election.\n\nThe bill reauthorizes through FY2019 various intelligence-related activities in\u00a0specified government bodies, including the Department of Defense, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency. It also reauthorizes for FY2019 the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability Fund. In addition, the bill\u00a0authorizes higher pay scales for positions requiring expertise in areas such as science, technology, and mathematics.\n\nThe Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) shall establish a task force to standardize information sharing between the intelligence and government acquisition communities. The President shall establish an Energy Infrastructure Security Center to analyze and disseminate intelligence related to energy infrastructure.\n\nThe ODNI shall develop a security plan and long-term roadmap for the information technology environment for the intelligence community.\n\nThe Department of Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis shall report to Congress about cyberattacks on U.S. election infrastructure during the 2016 presidential election. The ODNI shall report on the intelligence community's efforts to analyze Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election. The ODNI shall also develop a whole-of-government strategy to counter the threat of Russian cyberattacks on election infrastructure, including voter registration databases and voting equipment.", - "company_name": "Qorvo, Inc.", - "company_description": "(\"TriQuint\") entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization as subsequently amended on July 15, 2014 (the \"Merger Agreement\"), providing for the combination of RFMD and TriQuint in a merger of equals (the \"Business Combination\") under a new holding company named Company Overview Qorvo\u00ae is a product and technology leader at the forefront of the growing global demand for always-on broadband connectivity. We combine a broad portfolio of radio frequency (\"RF\") solutions, highly differentiated semiconductor technologies, deep systems-level expertise and scale manufacturing to supply a diverse group of customers in expanding markets, including smartphones and other mobile devices, defense and aerospace, Wi-Fi customer premises equipment (\"CPE\"), cellular base stations, optical networks, automotive connectivity and smart home applications. Within these markets, our products enable a broad range of leading-edge applications \u2013 from very-high-power wired and wireless infrastructure solutions to ultra-low-power smart home solutions. Our products and technologies help transform how people around the world access their data, transact commerce and interact with their communities. We have world-class manufacturing facilities, and our fabrication facility in Richardson, Texas, is a United States Department of Defense (\"DoD\") (Category 1A) for gallium arsenide (\"GaAs\"), gallium nitride (\"GaN\") and bulk acoustic wave Our design and manufacturing expertise covers many semiconductor process technologies, which we source both internally and through external suppliers. Our primary wafer fabrication facilities are in Florida, North Carolina, Oregon and Texas, and our primary assembly and test facilities are in China, Costa Rica, Germany and Texas. We also operate design, sales and other manufacturing facilities throughout Asia, Europe and North America. We design, develop, manufacture and market our products to leading U.S. and international original equipment manufacturers (\"OEMs\") and original design manufacturers (\"ODMs\") in the following operating segments: \u2022 Mobile Products (MP) - MP is a leading global supplier of cellular RF and Wi-Fi solutions into a variety of mobile devices, including smartphones, notebook computers, wearables, tablets, and cellular-based applications for the Internet of Things (\"IoT\"). Mobile device manufacturers and mobile network operators are adopting new technologies to address the growing demand for data-intensive, increasingly cloud-based distributed applications and for mobile devices with smaller form factors, improved signal quality, less heat and longer talk and standby times. New wireless communications standards are being deployed to utilize available spectrum more efficiently. Carrier aggregation (\"CA\") is being implemented to support wider bandwidths, increase data rates and improve network performance. MP offers a comprehensive product portfolio of BAW and surface acoustic wave (\"SAW\") filters, power amplifiers (\"PAs\"), low noise amplifiers (\"LNAs\"), switches, multimode multi-band PAs and transmit modules, RF power management integrated circuits (\"ICs\"), diversity receive modules, antenna switch modules, antenna tuning and control solutions, modules incorporating PAs and duplexers (\"PADs\") and modules incorporating switches, PAs and duplexers (\"S-PADs\"). Infrastructure and Defense Products (IDP) - IDP is a leading global supplier of RF solutions with a diverse portfolio of solutions that \"connect and protect,\" spanning communications and defense applications. These applications include high performance defense systems such as radar, electronic warfare and communication systems, Wi-Fi CPE for home and work, high speed connectivity in Long-Term Evolution (\"LTE\") and 5G base stations, cloud connectivity via data center communications and telecom transport, automotive connectivity and other IoT, including smart home solutions. IDP products include GaAs and GaN PAs, LNAs, switches, complementary metal oxide semiconductor (\"CMOS\") system-on-a-chip (\"SoC\") solutions, premium BAW and SAW filter solutions and various multi-chip and hybrid assemblies. Our business is diversified primarily across seven strategic end markets: mobile devices, defense and aerospace, CPE Wi-Fi, cellular base stations, optical, automotive connectivity and smart home. In our largest market, mobile devices, the most significant trend today is the increasing demand for ubiquitous broadband mobile data. This is driven primarily by video, with data traffic for video exceeding data traffic for web browsing and voice. Compounding this, consumers want higher resolution screens and access to streaming media, real-time traffic/navigation, GPS, Bluetooth\u00ae connectivity and Wi-Fi. In response, leading smartphone providers are adding 4G LTE and 5G bands of coverage to their flagship devices to reduce development costs and enable larger, more concentrated marketing budgets in support of fewer models.", - "id": "1d15b277-8f87-4604-b45b-a3f866957eeb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on public health preparedness, emergency response, and the regulation of over-the-counter drugs, which do not directly impact Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. as their core business is manufacturing and servicing lift trucks and related materials handling solutions. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill are not relevant to the company's operations.", - "index": "3", - "bill_title": "To reauthorize certain programs under the Public Health Service Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to public health security and all-hazards preparedness and response, to clarify the regulatory framework with respect to certain nonprescription drugs that are marketed without an approved drug application, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2019\n\nThis bill (1) reauthorizes, revises, and establishes several programs and entities relating to public-health emergency preparedness and response; and (2) addresses the approval process for over-the counter (OTC) drugs.\n\nAmong other programs, the bill reauthorizes through FY2023 and revises\n\n the Public Health Emergency Preparedness cooperative-agreement program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Hospital Preparedness Program, the CDC situational-awareness and biosurveillance program, the Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals, the National Disaster Medical System, the Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps, the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters, the Strategic National Stockpile, and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. In addition, the bill provides statutory authority for existing programs, including the CDC's Children's Preparedness Unit and the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise. The bill also establishes new programs and entities, including a trauma-center grant program to support military trauma teams.\n\nThe bill further modifies the approval process for OTC drugs by providing statutory authority for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to (1) regulate certain OTC drugs that are marketed without an approved new-drug application, and (2) issue administrative orders specifying the conditions under which an OTC drug may be deemed safe and effective and not subject to approval as a new drug. The FDA must assess and collect user fees for OTC drugs, including OTC-drug facility and OTC-drug order-request fees.", - "company_name": "Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc.", - "company_description": "Inc. (\"HYG\"), is a leading, globally integrated, full-line lift truck manufacturer. The Company offers a broad array of solutions aimed at meeting the specific materials handling needs of its customers, including attachments and hydrogen fuel cell power products, telematics, automation and fleet management services, as well as a variety of other power options for its lift trucks. The Company, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, through HYG designs, engineers, manufactures, sells and services a comprehensive line of lift trucks, attachments and aftermarket parts marketed globally primarily under the Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae brand names, mainly to independent Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae retail dealerships. Lift trucks and component parts are manufactured in the United States, Northern Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Italy, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, Brazil and China. Bolzoni is a leading worldwide producer of attachments, forks and lift tables marketed under the Bolzoni Auramo\u00ae and Meyer\u00ae brand names. Bolzoni products are manufactured in Italy, China, Germany, Finland and the United States. Through the design, production and distribution of a wide range of attachments, Bolzoni has a strong presence in the market niche of lift-truck attachments and industrial material handling. Nuvera is an alternative-power technology company focused on fuel cell stacks and engines. Nuvera also supports on-site hydrogen production and dispensing systems that are designed to deliver clean energy solutions to customers. The Company operates five reportable segments: the Americas, EMEA, JAPIC, Bolzoni and Nuvera. The Company manufactures components, such as frames, masts and transmissions, and assembles lift trucks in the market of sale whenever practical to minimize freight cost and balance currency mix. In some instances, however, it utilizes one worldwide location to manufacture specific components or assemble specific lift trucks. Additionally, components and assembled lift trucks are exported when it is advantageous to meet demand in certain markets. The Company operates twelve lift truck manufacturing and assembly facilities worldwide with five plants in the Americas, three in EMEA and four in JAPIC, including joint venture operations. In addition, the Company operates seven Bolzoni manufacturing facilities worldwide. During 2017 , the Company's retail shipments of lift trucks in North America by end market were approximately 23% to the food and beverage market, approximately 14% to the logistics market, approximately 14% to the natural resource and materials market, approximately 13% to the consumer and business trade market, approximately 13% to the manufacturing market, approximately 12% to the rental market and approximately 11% to the durable goods market. The Company offers a line of aftermarket parts to service its large installed base of lift trucks currently in use in the industry. The Company offers online technical reference databases specifying the required aftermarket parts to service lift trucks and an aftermarket parts ordering system. -branded aftermarket parts to dealers for Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae The Company also sells aftermarket parts under the UNISOURCE\u2122 and PREMIER\u2122 brands to Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae dealers for the service of 1 competitor lift trucks. The Company has a contractual relationship with a third-party, multi-brand, aftermarket parts wholesaler in the Americas and EMEA whereby orders from the Company's dealers for parts for lift trucks are fulfilled by the third party who then pays the Company a commission. The Company's marketing organization is structured in three regional divisions: the Americas; EMEA, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and JAPIC, which includes Japan, Asia, Pacific, India and China. In each region, certain marketing support functions for the Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae brands are carried out by shared-services teams. These activities include sales and service training, information systems support, product launch coordination, specialized sales material development, help desks, order entry, marketing strategy and field service support. ", - "id": "afd85d34-83b7-4c20-a87d-6404ba984617" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses penalties related to stalking offenses, particularly online stalking involving minors. Haemonetics Corp., a healthcare company specializing in blood processing and management, does not have a direct connection to stalking offenses or their legal consequences in its business activities. Therefore, the bill is not relevant to the company's operations or business model.", - "index": "4", - "bill_title": "To amend title 18, United States Code, with regard to stalking.", - "bill_summary": "Combat Online Predators Act\n\nThis bill increases the maximum prison term for a stalking offense, if the victim is under 18 years of age.", - "company_name": "Haemonetics Corp.", - "company_description": "Haemonetics Corporation, a healthcare company, provides products for processing, handling, and analysis of blood. The company operates through five segments: North America Plasma; Americas Blood Center and Hospital; Europe, Middle East and Africa; Asia Pacific; and Japan. It offers plasma collection and storage products, including PCS brand plasma collection equipment and disposables, plasma collection containers, and intravenous solutions, as well as information technology platforms for plasma customers to manage their donors, operations, and supply chain; Multicomponent Collection System brand apheresis equipment to collect specific blood components integrated from the donor; Automated Cell Processor brand solution to automate the washing and freezing of red cell components; and whole blood collection, filtration, and processing products. The company also offers hospital products comprising TEG thrombelastograph hemostasis analyzer system, a blood diagnostic instrument that measure a patient's hemostasis or the ability to form and maintain blood clots; Cell Saver system, a surgical blood salvage system for cardiovascular surgeries; and OrthoPAT surgical blood salvage systems for orthopedic procedures. In addition, it offers SafeTrace Tx, a software solution that manages blood product inventory and transfusion, as well as performs patient cross-matching; and BloodTrack suite of solutions for managing, tracking, and controlling blood products from the hospital blood center through to transfusion to the patient. The company markets and sells its products to bio-pharmaceutical companies, blood collection groups and independent blood centers, hospitals and hospital service providers, group purchasing organizations, and national health organizations through its direct sales force, as well as independent distributors. Haemonetics Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Braintree, Massachusetts.", - "id": "c75c2640-498f-43ae-98d7-bb3b0486779b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on election integrity, voter access, campaign financing, and ethics in government, which do not directly impact Altra Industrial Motion Corp.'s business in manufacturing power transmission and automation products. The legal consequences pertain to political and electoral processes rather than industrial operations, making the bill not relevant to the company's business model.", - "index": "5", - "bill_title": "To expand Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, and strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "For the People Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses voter access, election integrity, election security, political spending, and ethics for the three branches of government.\n\nSpecifically, the bill expands voter registration and voting access and limits removing voters from voter rolls.\n\nThe bill provides for states to establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions.\n\nThe bill also sets forth provisions related to election security, including sharing intelligence information with state election officials, protecting the security of the voter rolls, supporting states in securing their election systems, developing a national strategy to protect the security and integrity of U.S. democratic institutions, establishing in the legislative branch the National Commission to Protect United States Democratic Institutions, and other provisions to improve the cybersecurity of election systems.\n\nThis bill addresses campaign spending, including by expanding the ban on foreign nationals contributing to or spending on elections; expanding disclosure rules pertaining to organizations spending money during elections, campaign advertisements, and online platforms; and revising disclaimer requirements for political advertising.\n\nThis bill establishes an alternative campaign funding system for certain federal offices. The system involves federal matching of small contributions for qualified candidates.\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions related to ethics in all three branches of government. Specifically, the bill requires a code of ethics for federal judges and justices, prohibits Members of the House from serving on the board of a for-profit entity, expands enforcement of regulations governing foreign agents, and establishes additional conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions for federal employees and the White House.\n\nThe bill also requires candidates for President and Vice President to submit 10 years of tax returns.", - "company_name": "Altra Industrial Motion Corp.", - "company_description": "Our company consists of two business segments: Power Transmission Technologies (\"PTT\") and Automation & Specialty (\"A & S\"). Couplings are the interfaces which enable power to be transmitted from one shaft to another. Our various coupling products include gear couplings, high performance diaphragm and disc couplings, elastomeric couplings, miniature and precision couplings, as well as universal joints, mill spindles 7 and shaft locking devices. These products are used in conveyor, energy, marine, medical, metals, mining, and other industrial machinery applications. Our key brands which provide couplin gs include Ameridrives, Bibby, Guardian, Huco, Lamiflex, Stromag and TB Wood' Clutches are devices which use mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, or friction connections to facilitate the engagement or disengagement of at least two rotating parts. These pro ducts are used in aerospace and defense, conveyor, energy, mining and other industrial machinery applications. Brakes are a combination of interacting parts that work to slow or stop moving machine parts. These products are used in heavy-duty industrial, m ining, metals and energy applications. Our key brands which provide clutches and brakes include Industrial Clutch, Formsprag, Stieber, Stromag, Svendborg, Twiflex and Wichita. Electromagnetic clutches and brakes use electromagnetic friction connections to slow, stop, engage, or disengage equipment. These products are used in baggage handling, elevator, forklift, material handling, medical, lawn mower, mobile off-highway and other niche applications. Our key brands which provide electromagnetic clutches and brakes include Inertia Dynamics, Matrix, Stromag and Warner Electric. Gears reduce the output speed and increase the torque of an electric motor or engine to the level required to drive a particular piece of equipment. These products are used in various industrial, material handling, mixing, transportation, food processing and other specialty niche applications. Our key brands which provide gears include Bauer Gear Motor, Boston Gear, Delroyd, and Nuttall. Automation and Specialty \u2013 A & S. Our Automation and Specialty segment consists of four key brands: Provides rotary precision motion solutions, including servo motors, stepper motors, high performance electronic drives and motion controllers and related software, and precision linear actuators. These products are used in advanced material handling, aerospace and defense, factory automation, medical, packaging, printing, semiconductor, robotic and other applications. Provides high-efficiency miniature motors and motion control products, including brush and brushless DC motors, can stack motors and disc magnet motors. These products are used in medical, industrial power tool and general industrial equipment applications. Provides systems that enable and support the transition of rotary motion to linear motion. Products include linear bearings, guides, glides, lead and ball screws, industrial linear actuators, resolvers and inductors. These products are used in factory automation, medical, mobile off-highway, material handling, food processing and other niche applications. Jacobs Vehicle Systems (JVS): Provides heavy-duty diesel engine brake systems and valve actuation mechanisms for the commercial vehicle market, including compression release, bleeder and exhaust brakes, including the \"Jake Brake\" engine braking system.", - "id": "23434b77-4099-456b-a034-5b8ced1e9e24" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes a test for determining worker classification between independent contractors and employees, which impacts Prologis, Inc. as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that manages logistics facilities. The bill's reporting requirements and potential liabilities associated with misclassification are relevant to Prologis given their workforce structure, which may include independent contractors for various services. Additionally, compliance with the proposed IRS guidelines would affect their operational management.", - "index": "6", - "bill_title": "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a safe harbor for determinations of worker classification, to require increased reporting, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "New Economy Works to Guarantee Independence and Growth Act of 2019 or the NEW GIG Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a test for determining if a service provider should be classified as an independent contractor rather than as an employee for tax purposes.\n\nIf the requirements of the test are met, the provider may not be treated as an employee, the recipient or any payor may not be treated as an employer, and compensation for the service may not be treated as paid or received with respect to employment.\n\nThe factors of the test include\n\n the relationship between the parties (i.e., the provider incurs expenses; does not work exclusively for a single recipient; performs the service for a particular amount of time, to achieve a specific result, or to complete a specific task; or is a sales person compensated primarily on a commission basis); the place of business or ownership of the equipment (i.e., the provider has a principal place of business, does not work primarily at the recipient's place of business, and provides tools or supplies); and the performance of the services under a written contract that meets certain requirements (i.e., specifies that the provider is not an employee, the recipient will satisfy withholding and reporting requirements, and that the provider is responsible for taxes on the compensation). The bill also (1) sets forth withholding and reporting requirements for service recipients who meet the requirements of the test, and (2) allows service providers to petition the U.S. Tax Court for a determination of employment status.", - "company_name": "Prologis, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business Prologis, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed REIT and is the sole general partner of Prologis, L.P. through which it holds substantially all of its assets. We invest in real estate through wholly owned subsidiaries and other entities through which we co-invest with partners and investors. Prologis, Inc. began operating as a fully integrated real estate company in 1997 and elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (\"Internal Revenue Code\"). We believe the current organization and method of operation will enable Prologis, Inc. to maintain its status as a REIT. We operate and evaluate our business on an owned and managed (\"O & M\") basis, including properties that we wholly-own and properties that are owned by one of our co-investment ventures. We make decisions based on the property operations, regardless of our ownership interest. Our investment consists of our wholly-owned properties and our pro rata (or ownership) share of the properties owned in ventures. THE COMPANY Prologis is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on key markets in 19 countries on four continents. We own, manage and develop well-located, high-quality logistics facilities. Our local teams actively manage our portfolio, which encompasses leasing and property management, capital deployment and opportunistic dispositions allowing us to recycle capital to self-fund our development and acquisition activities. The majority of our properties in the United States (\"U.S.\") are wholly owned, while our properties outside the U.S. are generally held in co-investment ventures, to mitigate our exposure to foreign currency movements. Our irreplaceable portfolio is focused on the world's most vibrant markets where consumption and supply chain reconfiguration drive logistics demand. In the developed markets of the U.S., Europe and Japan, key demand drivers include the reconfiguration of supply chains (strongly influenced by e-commerce trends), the demand for sustainable design features and the operational efficiencies that can be realized from high-quality logistics facilities. In emerging markets, such as Brazil, China and Mexico, growing affluence and the rise of a new consumer class have increased the need for modern distribution networks. Our strategy is to own the highest-quality logistics property portfolio in each of our target markets. These markets are characterized by what is most important for the consumption side of a logistics supply chain \u2014 large population centers with proximity to labor pools, surrounded by highways, rail service or ports. The DCT portfolio of logistics real es tate assets wa s highly complementary to our portfolio in terms of product quality, location and growth potential. As a result of the closely aligned portfolios and similar business strategies, we have integrated the properties while adding minimal property management expenses . Our results for 2018 include the DCT port folio from the date of acquisition . At December 31, 2018, we owned or had investments in properties, on a wholly-owned basis or through ventures, in the following regions (dollars in billions, based on gross book value and total expected investment (as defined below) and square feet in millions): Included in these amounts are consolidated and unconsolidated investments denominated in foreign currencies, principally the British pound sterling, euro and Japanese yen that are impacted by fluctuations in exchange rates when translated to U.S. dollars. A developed property moves into the operating portfolio when it meets our definition of stabilization, which is the earlier of one year after completion or reaching 90% occupancy. Amounts represent our total expected investment (\"TEI\"), which includes the estimated cost of development or expansion, including land, construction and leasing costs. Rental operations comprise the largest component of our operating segments and generally contribute 85% to 90% of our consolidated revenues, earnings and funds from operations (\"FFO\"). We collect rent from our customers through long-term operating leases, including reimbursements for the majority of our property operating costs.", - "id": "6907c2f4-d9bb-47aa-9b2a-b82410cb54cd" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill establishes a national health insurance program and modifies healthcare provisions, which primarily concerns the healthcare sector. ADTRAN, Inc. operates in the networking and communications equipment space, which is largely unrelated to healthcare policy. There are no direct implications from this bill for ADTRAN's business model or activities.", - "index": "7", - "bill_title": "To amend the Social Security Act to establish a Medicare for America health program to provide for comprehensive health coverage for all Americans.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare for America Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes several health insurance programs and otherwise modifies certain requirements relating to health care coverage, costs, and services.\n\nIn particular, the bill establishes a national health insurance program to be\u00a0administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Among other requirements, the program must (1) cover all U.S. residents; (2) cover specified items and services, including hospital services, prescription drugs, dental services, and home- and community-based long-term care; and (3) be fully implemented in 2023. HHS must also offer a transitional public health option that provides certain minimum coverage through health insurance exchanges in 2021 and 2022.\n\nThe bill also makes a series of other changes to health care and tax provisions. For example, the bill (1) allows federal funds to be used for abortions; (2) sunsets a specified tax reform law that, among other things, repealed the penalty for failing to maintain minimum essential health coverage; and (3) prohibits excessive prices for prescription drugs and medical devices, as determined by a newly established federal regulatory board.", - "company_name": "ADTRAN, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview ADTRAN is a leading global provider of networking and communications equipment, serving a diverse domestic and international customer base in 68 countries that includes Tier 1, 2 and 3 service providers, cable/MSOs and distributed enterprises. Our innovative solutions and services enable voice, data, video and internet communications across a variety of network infrastructures and are currently in use by millions of users worldwide. Our success depends upon our ability to increase unit volume and market share through the introduction of new products and succeeding generations of products having lower selling prices and increased functionality as compared to both the prior generation of a product and to the products of competitors. In order to service our customers and build revenue, we are constantly conducting research and development of new products addressing customer needs and testing those products for the particular specifications of the particular customers. In addition to our corporate headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama, we have research and development (R & D) facilities in strategic global locations. We are focused on being a top global supplier of access infrastructure and related value-added solutions from the cloud edge to the subscriber edge. We offer a broad portfolio of flexible software and hardware network solutions and services that enable service providers to meet today's service demands, while enabling them to transition to the fully converged, scalable, highly automated, cloud-controlled voice, data, internet and video network of the future. Our business operates under two reportable segments: Network Solutions and Services & Support. We also report revenue across three categories \u2013 Access & Aggregation, Subscriber Solutions & Experience (formerly Customer Devices) and Traditional & Other Products. Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, ADTRAN anchors Cummings Research Park\u2014the second largest high-tech center in the U.S. and fourth largest in the world. Revenue Segments Our business operates under two reportable segments: Network Solutions and Services & Support. Our Network Solutions software and hardware products provide solutions supporting fiber-, copper- and coaxial-based infrastructures and a growing number of wireless solutions, lowering the overall cost to deploy advanced services across a wide range of applications for Carrier and Cable/MSO networks. We are accelerating the industry's transition to open, programmable and scalable networks. ADTRAN offers both chassis-based networks solutions, such as our Total Access 5000 (TA5000) and hiX families, as well as disaggregated network solutions which leverage ADTRAN's Software Defined Access (SD-Access) architecture which combines modern web-scale technologies with open-source platforms to facilitate rapid innovation in multi-technology, multi-vendor environments. The Mosaic cloud platform and Mosaic OS, combined with programmable network elements, provide operators with a highly agile, open-services architecture. This enables operators to better compete with web-scale companies by reducing the time and cost to onboard new services, technologies, and supply partners as they strive to reduce operational costs. Also included in this category are our subscriber solutions that terminate the broadband access in the home and/or business . These include open-source connected home and enterprise platforms, cloud services, Wi-Fi and software applications and services . To complement our Network Solutions portfolio and to enable our service provider customers to accelerate time to market, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction, we offer a complete portfolio of services. These include consulting, managed services, solutions integration, network implementation and maintenance services. ADTRAN's consulting services allow service providers to leverage ADTRAN's 30 plus years of network engineering expertise to build and deploy best of breed networks. Our ADTRAN NetAssure Program offers a variety of ways to leverage ADTRAN networking expertise applied to networks. One aspect, the resident engineering services, provides an on-site ADTRAN engineer, whose goal is to drive customer success by serving as the single point of contact for product knowledge, on-going network troubleshooting, and technical expertise, enabling service providers to gain a strategic competitive advantage from our products. 's integration services enable operators to architect and build the open distributed access networks of the future. Our solutions integration offerings include our SD-Access Accelerator.", - "id": "46fefc22-a7b1-4c4b-8d85-60e6722e1f1c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses appropriations for agricultural programs, rural development, and food safety, which are not directly related to Aduro BioTech's focus on immunotherapy and cancer treatment. The company's activities center around drug development for cancer and autoimmune therapies, which does not align with the agriculture and rural development initiatives outlined in the bill.", - "index": "8", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020\n\nThis bill provides FY2020 appropriations for the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies.\n\nThe bill provides appropriations to USDA for Agricultural Programs, including\n\n the Office of the Secretary, Executive Operations, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, the Office of Civil Rights, Agriculture Buildings and Facilities, Hazardous Materials Management, the Office of Inspector General, the Office of the General Counsel, the Office of Ethics, the Economic Research Service, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Agricultural Research Service, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Agricultural Marketing Service, and the Food Safety and Inspection Service. The bill also provides appropriations to USDA for Farm Production and Conservation Programs, including\n\n the Farm Production and Conservation Business Center, the Farm Service Agency, the Risk Management Agency, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The bill provides appropriations to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund and the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund.\n\nFor USDA Rural Development programs, the bill includes appropriations for\n\n Rural Development Salaries and Expenses, the Rural Housing Service, the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, and the Rural Utilities Service. Within the Food and Nutrition Service budget, the bill includes appropriations for\n\n Child Nutrition Programs; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program); the Commodity Assistance Program; and Nutrition Programs Administration. Within the Foreign Agricultural Service budget, the bill provides appropriations for Food for Peace Title II Grants and McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program Grants.\n\nThe bill also provides appropriations for\n\n the Food and Drug Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Farm Credit Administration. Additionally, the bill sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.", - "company_name": "Aduro BioTech, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an immunotherapy company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies that transform the treatment of challenging diseases, including cancer. We believe our three technology platforms are uniquely positioned to recruit and direct the immune system by activating cancer-fighting immune cells and inhibiting immune suppressive cells known to allow tumor growth. Product candidates from our STING Pathway Activator, B-select monoclonal antibody, and LADD, or Live, Attenuated, Double-Deleted Listeria monocytogenes platforms are designed to stimulate and/or regulate innate and adaptive immune responses, either as single agents or in combination with conventional therapies (i.e. chemotherapy and radiation) as well as other novel immunotherapies. Our diverse technology platforms have led to a strong pipeline of clinical and preclinical candidates, which are being developed for a number of cancer indications. Additionally, our platforms have the potential to generate product candidates that address other therapeutic areas, such as autoimmune and infectious diseases. Immuno-oncology is an emerging field of cancer therapy that aims to activate the immune system in the tumor microenvironment to create and enhance anti-tumor immune responses, as well as to overcome the immuno-suppressive mechanisms that cancer cells have developed against the immune system. Recent developments in the field of immuno-oncology, including checkpoint inhibitors\u2014therapies which work to remove suppression mechanisms that prevent an immune response against cancer cells\u2014have shown the potential to provide efficacy and extended survival, even in cancers where conventional therapies, such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, have failed. The immunotherapy field is rapidly advancing with new immuno-oncology combinations that focus on strengthening therapeutic efficacy in a wide range of cancers. We intend to pursue a broad strategy of combining our technology platforms with conventional and novel therapies, based on their mechanisms of action, safety profiles and versatility. Our STING Pathway Activator platform is designed to activate the intracellular Stimulator of Interferon Genes, or STING, receptor, resulting in a potent tumor-specific immune response. ADU-S100 is the first STING Pathway Activator compound to enter the clinic and is currently being evaluated in Phase 1 studies both as a monotherapy and in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor in patients with cutaneously accessible metastatic solid tumors or lymphomas. Our B-select monoclonal antibody platform includes a proprietary ultra-selective functional screening process to identify antibodies with unique binding properties against a broad range of targets that are being designed to modulate the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. Our most advanced product candidate from the B-select platform, BION-1301, is being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial in mulitiple myeloma. In addition, the B-select platform has delivered a number of immune modulating assets currently in research and preclinical development. Our LADD technology platform is based on proprietary attenuated strains of Listeria that have been engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce specific and targeted immune responses. Our LADD program is focused on the development of personalized LADD, or pLADD, therapeutics that encode and express antigens that are based on protein sequences that result from mutations specific to an individual patient's tumor (neoantigens). These antigens can be also derived from native protein sequences that are highly expressed in patients with certain tumor types (self antigens). We are developing a pipeline of proprietary product candidates on our own and have a number of collaborations with leading global pharmaceutical companies to expand our products and technology platforms. We are developing STING Activator product candidates in oncology under our worldwide collaboration with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, or Novartis, and an anti-CD27 antibody was developed with and is exclusively licensed to, Merck Sharp and Dohme B.V., or Merck. In addition, we have developed self antigen-based LADD product candidates targeting lung and prostate cancers that are licensed to Janssen Biotech Inc., or Janssen. We believe our technology platforms \u2013 STING Pathway Activators, B-select monoclonal antibodies and LADD - represent innovative approaches in immuno-oncology. Since our product candidates act by leveraging the patient's own immune system, we believe they have the potential to deliver enhanced efficacy and to be safer and more tolerable than existing therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Based on the mechanisms of action and safety profiles of our technology platforms, we intend to build a deep pipeline of product candidates that can be readily combinable and synergistic with both conventional and novel therapies, such as checkpoint inhibitors. Our vision is to utilize our scientific expertise and understanding of the body's natural defense systems, including the interplay between the innate and adaptive immune responses, to develop safe and effective therapies for the benefit of patients. The STING receptor is known to be a central mediator of innate immunity and is critical for immune surveillance and control of cancer progression.", - "id": "53fff534-de3c-4161-8e26-bdb4243a8695" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Dollar Tree, Inc. because it establishes tax credits and grants for activities that increase access to healthy food in food deserts. Given Dollar Tree's broad retail operations, they may benefit from the opportunity to operate grocery stores in such areas, potentially receiving financial support for new stores or renovations, which aligns with their expansion into offering frozen and refrigerated items. This aligns with their operational strategy to enhance product offerings and meet community needs.", - "index": "9", - "bill_title": "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a new tax credit and grant program to stimulate investment and healthy nutrition options in food deserts, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act \n\nThis bill allows tax credits and grants for activities that provide access to healthy food in food deserts, which are communities that have limited or no access to grocery stores and meet income requirements.\n\nFor entities that are certified by the Department of the Treasury as special access food providers using specified criteria, the bill allows tax credits for operating a new grocery store or renovating an existing grocery store in a food desert. The bill also authorizes grants for a portion of (1) the construction costs of building a permanent food bank in a food desert, and (2) the annual operating costs of temporary access merchants (mobile markets, farmers markets, and food banks).\n\nTreasury, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture (USDA), must annually allocate the tax credits and grants to special access food providers. Grants authorized by this bill are not considered gross income for tax purposes.\n\nThe bill also requires USDA to update the Food Access Research Atlas at least annually to account for food retailers that are placed in service during that year.", - "company_name": "Dollar Tree, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a leading operator of discount variety stores. At February 3, 2018, we operated 14,835 discount variety retail stores. Our stores operate under the names of Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada. This transformational transaction created the largest discount retailer (by store count) in North America. Everything is $1.00 at Dollar Tree while Family Dollar is a neighborhood variety store offering merchandise largely for $10.00 or less. Also, on October 13, 2015, we announced our plans to convert all Deals and Dollar Tree Deals stores to one of our two primary banners, Dollar Tree or Family Dollar. On November 1, 2015, we completed the transaction pursuant to which we divested 330 Family Dollar stores, 325 of which were open at the time of the divestiture, to Dollar Express LLC (\"Dollar Express\"), a portfolio company of Sycamore Partners, in order to satisfy a condition as required by the Federal Trade Commission in connection with our purchase of Family Dollar. Our Dollar Tree segment is the leading operator of discount variety stores offering merchandise at the fixed price point of $1.00. The Dollar Tree segment includes 6,650 stores operating under the Dollar Tree and Dollar Tree Canada brands, 11 distribution centers in the United States and two in Canada and a Store Support Center in Chesapeake, Virginia. Our stores predominantly range from 8,000 - 10,000 selling square feet. In our Dollar Tree stores in the United States, we sell all items for $1.00 or less and in our Dollar Tree Canada stores, we sell all items for $1.25(CAD) or less. We strive to exceed our customers' expectations of the variety and quality of products that they can purchase for $1.00 by offering items that we believe typically sell for higher prices elsewhere. We buy approximately 58% to 60% of our merchandise domestically and import the remaining 40% to 42%. Our domestic purchases include basic, seasonal, home, closeouts and promotional merchandise. We believe our mix of imported and domestic merchandise affords our buyers flexibility that allows them to consistently exceed our customer's expectations. In addition, direct relationships with manufacturers permit us to select from a broad range of products and customize packaging, product sizes and package quantities that meet our customers' needs. The addition of frozen and refrigerated merchandise to more of our Dollar Tree stores has been one of our ongoing initiatives. We added freezers and coolers to 420 additional stores in 2017. As of February 3, 2018, we have freezers and coolers in approximately 5,205 of our Dollar Tree stores. The remaining items are pushed to the stores and a portion can be reordered by our store managers on a weekly basis. Through automatic replenishment and our store managers' ability to order product, each store manager is able to satisfy the demands of their particular customer base. We maintain a balanced selection of products within traditional variety store categories. We offer a wide selection of everyday basic products and we supplement these basic, everyday items with seasonal, closeout and promotional merchandise. We attempt to keep certain basic consumable merchandise in our stores continuously to establish our stores as a destination and increase traffic in our stores. Closeout and promotional merchandise is purchased opportunistically and represents less than 10% of our purchases. ", - "id": "7f075413-71a7-43ee-ab8e-5fd2c734ba6d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on carbon monoxide detectors and public safety measures related to residential buildings, targeting low-income families and older adults. This does not align with Allegheny Technologies, Inc.'s primary markets, which are in aerospace, defense, oil & gas, and specialized manufacturing. The company's business activities do not involve residential safety equipment or compliance with consumer safety standards as outlined in the bill.", - "index": "10", - "bill_title": "A bill to encourage States to require the installation of residential carbon monoxide detectors in homes, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Nicholas and Zachary Burt Memorial Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2019 This bill directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to award grants to states and tribal organizations to install carbon monoxide alarms in (1) the homes of low-income families and older adults, (2) facilities that commonly serve children or older adults, and (3) student-housing units at public universities. Such carbon monoxide alarms must be compliant with the specified standard of the National Fire Protection Association, the International Fire Code, or the International Residential Code.", - "company_name": "Allegheny Technologies, Inc.", - "company_description": "Our Business ATI's strategic vision is to be an aligned and integrated specialty materials and components company. Our strategies target the products and global growth markets that require and value ATI's technical and manufacturing capabilities. Our largest markets are aerospace & defense, representing approximately 50% of total sales, led by products for jet engines. Additionally, we have a strong presence in the oil & gas, medical, electrical energy and automotive markets. ATI is a market leader in manufacturing differentiated products that require our unique manufacturing and precision machining capabilities as well as our innovative new product development competence. Our capabilities range from alloy development to final production of highly engineered finished components, as well as producing powders used in next-generation jet engine forgings and 3D-printed aerospace products. Over 75% of 2018 HPMC business segment sales were to the aerospace & defense markets, and nearly half of HPMC's total sales are products for commercial jet engines. Increasing demand for commercial aerospace products has been the main source of sales and segment operating profit growth for HPMC over the last few years, and is expected to continue to drive HPMC and overall ATI results for the next several years due to the ongoing expansion in production of next generation jet engines and airplanes. Other major HPMC end markets include medical, oil & gas, electrical energy, and construction & mining. HPMC produces a wide range of high performance materials and components, including advanced metallic powder alloys, made from titanium and titanium-based alloys, nickel-based alloys and superalloys, and a variety of other specialty materials. These materials are made in a variety of product forms that include precision forgings, castings, machined parts, 3D-printed parts and others. Our FRP segment serves a diverse group of end markets, with the oil & gas market, including chemical and hydrocarbon processing, and the automotive market collectively representing over 45% of 2018 sales. Other major end markets for FRP include aerospace & defense, food equipment and appliances, construction & mining, electronics, communication equipment and computers. FRP produces nickel-based alloys, specialty alloys, and titanium and titanium-based alloys, and stainless steel in a variety of product forms including plate, sheet, engineered strip, and Precision Rolled Strip products. markets for our products include: Aerospace & Defense. We are a world leader in the production of specialty materials and components for both commercial and military jet engines and airframes supporting customer needs for initial build requirements and for spare parts. Through alloy development, internal growth efforts, and long-term supply agreements on current and next-generation jet engines and airframes, we are well positioned with a fully qualified asset base to meet the expected multi-year demand growth from the commercial aerospace market. Typical aerospace applications for nickel-based alloys and superalloys and advanced metallic powders include jet engine shafts, discs, blades, vanes, rings and casings. Nickel-based alloys and superalloys remain extremely strong at high temperatures and resist degradation under extreme conditions. The next generation jet engines use advanced nickel-based superalloys and metallic powder alloys due to increased fuel efficiency requirements that require hotter-burning engines. Our specialty materials are also used in the manufacture of aircraft landing gear and structural components. We are a global industry leader in isothermal and hot-die forging technologies for advanced aerospace components. We produce highly sophisticated components that have differing mechanical properties across a single product unit and are highly-resistant to fatigue and temperature effects. Our precision forgings are used for jet engine components, structural components for aircraft, helicopters, launch vehicles, and other demanding applications. ATI provides a full range of post-production inspection and machining with the certified quality needed to meet demanding application requirements.", - "id": "44f0400c-aa60-493a-9816-e9e0f664e318" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill regulates the importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices, which is directly relevant to Dick's Sporting Goods as it is a sporting goods retailer that sells firearms and related equipment. The legal consequences could impact their inventory, sales practices, and compliance with gun laws, thus affecting their business operations.", - "index": "11", - "bill_title": "To regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Assault Weapons Ban of 2019\n\nThis bill makes it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD).\n\nThe prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model.\n\nThe bill also exempts from the prohibition the following, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD:\n\n importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties.\n\nThe bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD.\n\nNewly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture.\n\nThe bill requires law enforcement agencies to be notified when a prohibited person attempts to purchase a grandfathered SAW.\n\nIt also allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.", - "company_name": "Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"us\" and \"our\" unless specified otherwise) is a leading omni-channel sporting goods retailer offering an extensive assortment of authentic, high-quality sports equipment, apparel, footwear and accessories through a blend of dedicated associates, in-store services and unique specialty shop-in-shops. The Company also owns and operates Golf Galaxy and Field & Stream specialty concept stores, and Dick's Team Sports HQ, an all-in-one youth sports digital platform offering free league management services, mobile apps for scheduling, communications and live scorekeeping, custom uniforms and FanWear, and access to donations and sponsorships. The Company offers its products through a content-rich eCommerce platform that is integrated with its store network and provides customers with the convenience and expertise of a 24-hour storefront. Our vision is to build leading brands that serve and inspire athletes and outdoor enthusiasts around the world to achieve their personal best; create value for our stockholders through the relentless improvement of everything we do; and make a lasting impact in our communities through sport. We are shifting our mindset and our culture to ensure that every decision we make, whether in our stores or at our Customer Support Center (\"CSC\"), improves the customer's experience. We are increasing spend in our stores for training, faster checkout, enhanced ship-from-store capabilities and more opportunities for our customers to buy online and pick-up in-store. Our marketing program is designed to build loyalty for the Dick's Sporting Goods brand while promoting our broad assortment of brand name sporting goods equipment, apparel and footwear in a specialty store environment. Our historical marketing strategy consisted largely of newspaper advertising supplemented by direct mail and seasonal use of local and national television and radio. While we continue to market through these traditional channels, we have developed brand-building marketing campaigns focused on building passion and loyalty to the Dick's Sporting Goods brand and have shifted our advertising mix toward digital marketing and personalization. The Company is also actively involved in communities, sponsoring thousands of teams at the local level. We also plan to launch a new tier of our ScoreCard loyalty program during 2018 that will better reward our best customers for their loyalty to us. Our history and core foundation is as a retailer of high-quality authentic athletic equipment, apparel and footwear, which is intended to enhance our customers' performance and enjoyment of athletic pursuits, rather than focusing our merchandise selection on the latest fashion trend or style. Our objective is not only to carry leading brands, but to carry a full range of products within each category, including premium items for the sports enthusiast. We believe that the breadth of our product selections in each category of sporting goods offers our customers a wide range of good, better and best price points and enables us to address the needs of sporting goods consumers, from the beginner to the sports enthusiast, which distinguishes us from other large format sporting goods stores. We also believe that the range of merchandise and extensive in-store support services that we offer allows us to differentiate and compete effectively against all of our competitors, from traditional independent sporting goods stores and specialty shops to other large format sporting goods stores and mass merchant discount retailers to internet-based retailers. The sporting goods industry is experiencing consolidation as competitor bankruptcies are leaving behind significant market share. We believe when our customers connect with the Dick's Sporting Goods brand they expect a seamless shopping experience, regardless of the manner in which they choose to shop with us. We continue to see growth in the number of customers who shop with us both online and in our stores and believe these omni-channel customers represent the future of retail. On January 29, 2017, we transitioned our eCommerce platform from a third-party provider to a proprietary internal platform that now allows us to fully control our customer experience and optimize profitability. Like our customers, we see retail as an omni-channel experience, where the distinctions between stores and online are becoming increasingly irrelevant. We believe our store base gives us a competitive advantage over our online-only competitors, as our physical presence allows us to better serve our customers, through the convenience of accepting in-store returns or exchanges and expediting fulfillment of eCommerce orders. We believe that offering support services for the products we sell enhances the credibility of our associates and specialty store concepts with our customers and further differentiates our stores from our competitors. Our key partners invest in our stores to showcase their brands. We carry a wide variety of well-known brands, including adidas, Asics, Brooks, Callaway Golf, Columbia, Nike, TaylorMade, The North Face, Under Armour and Yeti. Our brand partnerships also provide us with access to exclusive products and allow us to differentiate our customers' shopping experience through initiatives such as our brand shops, which provide our customers with a wider and deeper selection of products from our key brands. ", - "id": "bf5d1827-67ab-45a6-937c-26a3f277e6f2" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to the exportation of natural gas and regulatory processes related to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. focuses on power conversion and control solutions, particularly in the semiconductor and industrial markets, rather than natural gas. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill do not directly impact the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "12", - "bill_title": "To amend the Natural Gas Act to expedite approval of exports of small volumes of natural gas, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Small Scale LNG Access Act of 2019\n\nThis bill provides that an application for the exportation of natural gas that does not exceed 51.75 billion cubic feet per year shall be deemed consistent with the public interest and granted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission without modification or delay.\n\nApplications for exportation of natural gas to any nation subject to sanctions imposed by the United States may not be expedited.", - "company_name": "Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview Advanced Energy provides highly-engineered, mission-critical, precision power conversion, measurement and control solutions to our global customers. We design, manufacture, sell and support precision power products that transform, refine, and modify the raw electrical power from the utility and convert it into various types of highly- controllable usable power that is predictable, repeatable and customizable. Our power solutions enable innovation in complex semiconductor and thin film plasma processes such as dry etch, strip, chemical and physical deposition, high and low voltage applications such as process control, analytical instrumentation and medical equipment, and in temperature-critical thermal applications such as material and chemical processing. We also supply related instrumentation products for advanced temperature measurement and control, electrostatic instrumentation products for test and measurement applications, and gas sensing and monitoring solutions for multiple industrial markets. Our network of global service support centers provides local repair and field service capability in key regions as well as provide upgrades and refurbishment services, and sales of used equipment to businesses that use our products. The high-efficiency, low voltage, configurable power supplies that Excelsys manufactures for medical and industrial applications further enhance Advanced Energy's product portfolio. In February 2018, we acquired Trek Holding Co., Ltd (\"Trek\"), a privately held company with operations in Tokyo, Japan and Lockport, New York. Trek has a 95% ownership interest in its U.S. subsidiary which is also its primary operation. Trek designs, manufactures and sells high-voltage amplifiers, power supplies and generators, high-performance electrostatic measurement instruments and electrostatic discharge (ESD) sensors and monitors to the global marketplace. standard and custom-OEM products are used in production and research in aerospace, automotive, electronics, electrostatics, medical, military, nanotechnology, photovoltaic/solar, plasma, semiconductor and test and measurement applications. Trek's comprehensive portfolio of power supply products strengthen and accelerate Advanced Energy's growth in high voltage applications. In May 2018, we acquired the electrostatic technology and product line from Monroe Electronics, Inc. located in Lyndonville, New York. The electrostatic detection and measurement instrumentation products serve specific areas of testing and monitoring of ionization systems across a variety of applications. In addition, the non-contact electrostatic voltmeters and field meters complement those of Trek. Production of these electrostatic products has been integrated into Trek's manufacturing facility in nearby Lockport, New York. (\"LumaSense\"), a privately held company with primary operations in Santa Clara, California, Frankfurt, Germany, Magdeburg, Germany and Ballerup, Denmark. LumaSense designs, manufactures and sells a line of photonic-based measurement and monitoring solutions that are synergistic with the Company's precision power control technologies in both semiconductor and industrial markets allowing customers' the ability to better control critical parameters of thermal and material processes. The acquisition of LumaSense complements our leading pyrometry solutions with additional fiber optic thermometry for an extended range of semiconductor applications in etch and deposition, provides integrated industrial temperature control and metrology applications for both thin films coating and thermal processing, and adds industrial pyrometry and gas sensing technologies. Our precision power products and solutions are designed to enable new process technologies, improve productivity, and lower the cost of ownership for our customers. These products must meet demanding requirements in efficiency, flexibility, performance, and reliability. We also provide repair and maintenance services for all of our products. We principally serve global original equipment manufacturers (\"OEM\") and end customers in the semiconductor and industrial technology markets with process power and applied power products. Our process power products are used in a diverse set of processes and applications in semiconductor device manufacturing such as dry etch, strip, chemical and physical deposition, and in thin film application of advanced materials for architectural glass, flat panel displays, crystalline silicon solar cells and industrial coatings. Our applied power products are used across a variety of industrial technology applications and include high and low voltage power supplies, power control modules, thermal instrumentation and gas detection and monitoring products. Our process power solutions include direct current (\"DC\"), pulsed DC, low frequency alternating current (\"AC\"), high voltage, and radio frequency (\"RF\") power supplies, RF matching networks, remote plasma sources for reactive gas applications and RF instrumentation.", - "id": "902d5dd1-24fb-45ef-8f40-4b8ec675acc7" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Smart Energy and Water Efficiency Act focuses on energy and water efficiency improvements, which do not directly align with Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.'s core business of semiconductors and microprocessors. While energy efficiency might impact the tech industry broadly, the specific provisions of this bill targeting water authorities and water systems do not have a direct connection to AMD's operations, products, or market strategy.", - "index": "13", - "bill_title": "To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a smart energy and water efficiency program, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Smart Energy and Water Efficiency Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish and carry out a smart energy and water efficiency program. Under the program, DOE must award grants to water authorities\u00a0(i.e., authorities that provide water, wastewater, or water reuse services)\u00a0for implementing advanced and innovative technology-based solutions that will improve\u00a0the energy or efficiency of water, wastewater, and water reuse systems.", - "company_name": "Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.", - "company_description": "any amounts in addition to what has been already accrued by AMD for future remediation costs under clean-up orders will not be material; we expect to file future patent applications in both the United States and abroad on significant inventions, as we deem appropriate; anticipated increase in costs related to enhancing, implementing and monitoring information security controls, remediating any data security breaches and addressing related litigation, mitigating reputational harm and compliance with external regulations related to our IT assets; we expect to receive $448.5 million upon the exercise of a warrant by West Coast Hitech L.P. (WCH) and issue 75 million shares of our common stock to WCH; revenue allocated to remaining performance obligations that are unsatisfied which will be recognized over the next 12 months; and a small number of customers will continue to account for a substantial part of AMD's revenue in the future. Material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: Intel Corporation's dominance of the microprocessor market and its aggressive business practices may limit AMD's ability to compete effectively; AMD has a wafer supply agreement with GF with obligations to purchase all of its microprocessor and APU product requirements, and a certain portion of its GPU product requirements, manufactured at process nodes larger than 7 nanometer (nm) from GF with limited exceptions. is dependent upon its technology being designed into third-party products and the success of those products 1 to operate its business; the markets in which AMD's products are sold are highly competitive; AMD's worldwide operations are subject to political, legal and economic risks and natural disasters, which could have a material adverse effect on it; AMD's issuance to West Coast Hitech L.P. (WCH) of warrants to purchase 75 million shares of its common stock, if and when exercised, will dilute the ownership interests of AMD's existing stockholders, and the conversion of the 2.125% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 (2.125% Notes) may dilute the ownership interest of AMD's existing stockholders, or may otherwise depress the price of its common stock; uncertainties involving the ordering and shipment of AMD's products could materially adversely affect it; the demand for AMD's products depends in part on the market conditions in the industries into which they are sold. We are a global semiconductor company primarily offering: \u2022x86 microprocessors, as standalone devices or as incorporated into an accelerated processing unit (APU), chipsets; discrete and integrated graphics processing units (GPUs), and professional GPUs; and \u2022 server and embedded processors and semi-custom System-on-Chip (SoC) products and technology for game consoles. We are a global semiconductor company. Semiconductors are components used in a variety of electronic products and systems. An integrated circuit (IC) is a semiconductor device that consists of many interconnected transistors on a single chip. Since the invention of the transistor in 1948, improvements in IC process and design technologies have led to the development of smaller, more complex and more reliable ICs at a lower cost-per-function. A microprocessor is an IC that serves as the CPU of a computer. It generally consists of hundreds of millions or billions of transistors that process data in a serial fashion and control other devices in the system, acting as the \"brain\" of the computer. The performance of a microprocessor is a critical factor impacting the performance of computing and entertainment platforms, such as desktop PCs, notebooks and workstations. The principal elements used to measure CPU performance are work-per-cycle (or how many instructions are executed per cycle), clock speed (representing the rate at which a CPU's internal logic operates, measured in units of gigahertz, or billions of cycles per second) and power consumption. Other factors impacting microprocessor performance include the process technology used in its manufacture, the number and type of cores, the ability of the cores to process multi-thread or process multiple 3 instructions simultaneously, the bit size of its instruction set (e.g., 32-bit vs 16-bit), memory size and data access speed. Developments in IC design and manufacturing process technologies have resulted in significant advances in microprocessor performance. Since businesses and consumers require greater performance from their computer systems due to the growth of digital data and increasingly sophisticated software applications, multi-core microprocessors offer enhanced overall system performance and efficiency because computing tasks can be spread across two or more processing cores, each of which can execute a task at full speed. Multi-core microprocessors can simultaneously increase performance of a computer system without greatly increasing the total amount of power consumed and the total amount of heat emitted. Businesses and consumers also require computer systems with improved power management technology, which helps them to reduce the power consumption of their computer systems, enables smaller and more portable form factors, and can lower the total cost of ownership. A GPU is a programmable logic chip that helps render images, animations and video and is increasingly being used to handle general computing tasks. GPUs are located in plug-in cards, as a discrete processor or in a chip on the motherboard, or in the same chip as the CPU as part of an accelerated processing unit (APU) or System-on-Chip (SoC). GPUs on stand-alone cards or discrete GPUs on the motherboard typically access their own memory, while GPUs in the chipset or CPU chip share main memory with the CPU. GPUs perform parallel operations on data to render images for a video display and are essential to presenting computer generated images on that display, decoding and rendering animations and displaying video. The more sophisticated the GPU, the higher the resolution and the faster and smoother moving objects can be displayed on video display or in a virtual environment (virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)). In addition to graphics processing, GPUs are used to perform parallel operations on multiple sets of data and are increasingly used to perform vector processing for non-graphics applications that require repetitive computations such as supercomputing, deep learning, artificial and machine intelligence, blockchain and various other applications (e.g., cryptocurrency mining, autonomous driving). ", - "id": "fdb72011-53aa-4e3c-9348-ec43b41b3888" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill, which provides grants for law enforcement agencies to purchase chemical screening devices and train personnel, is relevant to Waters Corp. since the company specializes in analytical measurement technologies, including liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. These devices are integral in chemical analysis, which directly aligns with the purposes of the bill, potentially leading to increased demand for Waters Corp's products in law enforcement applications.", - "index": "14", - "bill_title": "A bill to provide grants to State, local, territorial, and Tribal law enforcement agencies to purchase chemical screening devices and train personnel to use chemical screening devices in order to enhance law enforcement efficiency and protect law enforcement officers.", - "bill_summary": "Providing Officers With Electronic Resources Act or the POWER Act\n\nThis bill authorizes the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services within the Department of Justice to make grants to law enforcement agencies to purchase a chemical screening device and to train personnel to use, and interpret data collected by, such device.", - "company_name": "Waters Corp.", - "company_description": "Business General Waters Corporation (the \u0093Company,\u0094 \u0093we,\u0094 \u0093our,\u0094 or \u0093us\u0094) is a specialty measurement company that operates with a fundamental underlying purpose to advance the science that enables our customers to enhance human health and well-being. The Company has pioneered analytical workflow solutions involving liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis innovations serving the life, materials and food sciences for more than 60 years. The Company primarily designs, manufactures, sells and services high performance liquid chromatography (\u0093HPLC\u0094), ultra performance liquid chromatography (\u0093UPLC TM \u0094 and together with HPLC, referred to as \u0093LC\u0094) and mass spectrometry (\u0093MS\u0094) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products and comprehensive post-warranty service plans. These systems are complementary products that are frequently employed together (\u0093LC-MS\u0094) and sold as integrated instrument systems using common software platforms. In addition, the Company designs, manufactures, sells and services thermal analysis, rheometry and calorimetry instruments through its TA TM product line. The Company is also a developer and supplier of advanced software-based products that interface with the Company\u0092s instruments, as well as other manufacturers\u0092 instruments. The Company\u0092s products are used by pharmaceutical, biochemical, industrial, nutritional safety, environmental, academic and governmental customers working in research and development, quality assurance and other laboratory applications. LC is a standard technique and is utilized in a broad range of industries to detect, identify, monitor and measure the chemical, physical and biological composition of materials, and to purify a full range of compounds. MS technology, principally in conjunction with chromatography, is employed in drug discovery and development, including clinical trial testing, the analysis of proteins in disease processes (known as \u0093proteomics\u0094), nutritional safety analysis and environmental testing. LC-MS instruments combine a liquid phase sample introduction and separation system with mass spectrometric compound identification and quantification. The Company\u0092s thermal analysis, rheometry and calorimetry instruments are used in predicting the suitability and stability of fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, water, polymers, metals and viscous liquids for various industrial, consumer goods and healthcare products, as well as for life science research. Since the IPO, the Company has added two significant and complementary technologies to its range of products with the acquisitions of TA Instruments in May 1996 and Micromass Limited in September 1997. The Waters operating segment is primarily in the business of designing, manufacturing, selling and servicing LC and MS instrument systems, columns and other precision chemistry consumables that can be integrated and used along with other analytical instruments. The TA operating segment is primarily in the business of designing, manufacturing, selling and servicing thermal analysis, rheometry and calorimetry instruments. Waters Products and Markets High Performance and Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography HPLC is a standard technique used to identify and analyze the constituent components of a variety of chemicals and other materials. The Company believes that HPLC\u0092s performance capabilities enable it to separate, identify and quantify a high proportion of all known chemicals. As a result, HPLC is used to analyze substances in a wide variety of industries for research and development purposes, quality control and process engineering applications. The most significant end-use markets for HPLC are those served by the pharmaceutical and life science industries. In these markets, HPLC is used extensively to understand diseases, identify new drugs, develop manufacturing methods and assure the potency and purity of new pharmaceuticals. HPLC is also used in a variety of other applications, such as analyses of foods and beverages for nutritional labeling and compliance with safety regulations and the testing of water and air purity within the environmental testing industry, as well as applications in other industries, such as chemical and consumer products. HPLC is also used by universities, research institutions and governmental agencies, such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (\u0093FDA\u0094) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (\u0093EPA\u0094) and their foreign counterparts that mandate safety and efficacy testing. In 2004, Waters introduced a novel technology that the Company describes as ultra performance liquid chromatography that utilizes a packing material with small, uniform diameter particles and a specialized instrument, the ACQUITY UPLC TM , to accommodate the increased pressure and narrower chromatographic bands that are generated by these small and tightly packed particles. By using the ACQUITY UPLC, researchers and analysts are able to achieve more comprehensive chemical separations and faster analysis times in comparison with many analyses previously performed by HPLC. In addition, in using the ACQUITY UPLC, researchers have the potential to extend the range of applications beyond that of HPLC, enabling them to uncover more levels of scientific information. While offering significant performance advantages, the ACQUITY UPLC is also compatible with the Company\u0092s software products and the general operating protocols of HPLC.", - "id": "49c502dc-10d2-45a1-8ca9-b9a4c319e153" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs, which does not directly relate to Air Transport Services Group, Inc.'s core business in aircraft leasing, airline operations, and related logistics services. The bill's content primarily pertains to government funding and international relations rather than aviation or logistics industries.", - "index": "15", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020\n\nThis bill provides FY2020 appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs.\n\nThe bill provides appropriations to the State Department for\n\n Administration of Foreign Affairs, International Organizations, and International Commissions. The bill provides appropriations for Related Agencies and Related Programs, including\n\n the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the Asia Foundation, the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue Trust Fund, the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship Program, the Israeli Arab Scholarship Program, the East-West Center, and the National Endowment for Democracy. The bill provides appropriations for Other Commissions, including\n\n the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Congressional-Executive Commission on the People's Republic of China, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, and the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission. The bill provides appropriations to\n\n the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the State Department and the President for International Security Assistance, the President and International Financial Institutions for Multilateral Assistance, and specified accounts for Overseas Contingency Operations/ Global War on Terrorism. The bill provides appropriations for Bilateral Economic Assistance to\n\n the President; the State Department; Independent Agencies, including the Peace Corps, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Inter-American Foundation, and the U.S. African Development Foundation; and the Department of the Treasury. The bill provides appropriations for Export and Investment Assistance to\n\n the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. The bill sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.", - "company_name": "Air Transport Services Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "leases aircraft and provides airline operations, ground services, aircraft modification and maintenance services, and other support services to the air transportation and logistics industries. Through the Company's subsidiaries, we offer a range of complementary services to delivery businesses, freight forwarders, airlines and government customers. We offer standalone services along with bundled, customized solutions, scalable to our customers' needs. : We lease aircraft through the Company's leasing subsidiary, Cargo Aircraft Management, CAM's fleet consists of Boeing 737, 757 and 767 cargo aircraft, Boeing 767 and 777 passenger aircraft and Boeing 757 \"combi\" aircraft which simultaneously carry passengers and cargo on the main deck. CAM services global demand for cargo airlift by offering Boeing 767, 757 and 737 aircraft leases. CAM is able to provide competitive lease rates by converting passenger aircraft into cargo freighters. CAM monitors the market for available passenger aircraft, typically 15 to 20 years beyond their original manufacture date. After evaluation of an aircraft's condition and technical specifications, CAM acquires passenger aircraft that meet its requirements for projected into-service costs and rate of return targets. After conversion to freighter configuration, CAM's aircraft can be deployed into markets more economically than newly built freighters. CAM's aircraft leases are typically under multi-year agreements. : We offer combinations of aircraft, crews, maintenance and insurance services to provide customized transportation capacity to our customers. Inc. (\"ATI\"), and Omni Air International, LLC (\"OAI\") which are each independently certificated by the U.S. Department of Transportation and separately offer services to customers. ABX operates Boeing 767 freighter aircraft, ATI operates Boeing 767 and 757 freighter and Boeing 757 combi aircraft and OAI operates Boeing 767 and 777 passenger aircraft. We provide transportation related services such as aircraft maintenance, crew training and ground handling to delivery companies, freight forwarders and other airlines. Customers who lease our aircraft often need related support services. Offering support services provides us with a competitive advantage for diversification and incremental revenues. : We provide load transfer and sorting services, as well as related maintenance services for material handling equipment, ground equipment and facilities through our LGSTX Services, LGSTX also rents ground equipment and sells aviation fuel in Ohio. Aircraft maintenance and modification services: We provide airframe modification and maintenance, component repairs, engineering services and aircraft line maintenance through our subsidiaries Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services, Inc. Inc. (\"AMS\") resells and brokers aircraft parts. We provide line maintenance services at certain airports. Flight support services: We also offer flight crew training. AGS markets the various services and products offered by our subsidiaries by bundling solutions that leverage the entire portfolio of our subsidiaries", - "id": "b51cea1a-3e31-46d8-8f23-dc5c33f65ff0" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Autism CARES Act of 2019 enhances research and support programs related to autism spectrum disorder, which may lead to increased demand and funding for healthcare providers, including LHC Group, Inc. The company's involvement in home health services and post-acute care could be positively affected by programs aimed at enhancing education, intervention, and support for individuals with autism, making the bill relevant to their business.", - "index": "16", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to enhance activities of the National Institutes of Health with respect to research on autism spectrum disorder and enhance programs relating to autism, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support Act of 2019 or the Autism CARES Act of 2019\n\nThis bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises several programs and activities relating to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Among other things, the bill reauthorizes provisions relating to (1) expanded ASD research at the National Institutes of Health; (2) ASD education, early detection, and intervention activities supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration; and (3) the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.\n\nThe bill also generally revises the scope of such programs and activities to encompass ASD individuals of all ages, rather than only youth.", - "company_name": "LHC Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "our participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs; the reimbursement levels of Medicare and other third-party payors; \u2022 the prompt receipt of payments from Medicare and other third-party payors; \u2022 the outcomes of various routine and non-routine governmental reviews, audits and investigations; \u2022 our compliance with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations; \u2022 our compliance with health care laws and regulations; \u2022 our compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission laws and regulations and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements; \u2022 the impact of federal and state government regulation on our business; \u2022 that the required stockholder approvals of the proposed transaction with Almost Family, We provide post-acute health care services to patients through our home nursing agencies, hospice agencies, community-based services agencies, and long-term acute care hospitals (\"LTACHs\"). As of December 31, 2017, through our wholly- and majority-owned subsidiaries, equity joint ventures and controlled affiliates, we operated 442 service providers in 27 states within the continental United States. We operate in four segments: home health services, hospice services, community-based services, and facility-based services. Our home health service locations offer a wide range of services, including skilled nursing, medically-oriented social services and physical, occupational, and speech therapy. The nurses, home health aides, and therapists in our home health agencies work closely with patients and their families to design and implement individualized treatment plans in accordance with a physician-prescribed plan of care. As of December 31, 2017, we operated 318 home health service locations, of which 159 are wholly-owned by us, 153 are majority-owned by us through equity joint ventures, three are under license lease arrangements, and the operations of the remaining three locations are managed by us. Our hospices provide end-of-life care to patients with terminal illnesses through interdisciplinary teams of physicians, nurses, home health aides, counselors, and volunteers. We offer a wide range of services, including pain and symptom management, emotional and spiritual support, inpatient and respite care, homemaker services, and counseling. As of December 31, 2017, we operated 91 hospice locations, of which 45 are wholly-owned by us, 44 are majority-owned by us through equity joint ventures, and two are under license lease arrangements. Our community-based service locations offer assistance with activities of daily living to elderly, chronically ill, and disabled patients. Our LTACH locations provide services primarily to patients with complex medical conditions who have transitioned out of a hospital intensive care unit but whose conditions remain too severe for treatment in a non-acute setting. We operated 11 LTACHs with 15 locations, of which all but one are located within host hospitals. As part of our facility-based services segment, we also own and operate two pharmacies, a family health center, a rural health clinic, and two physical therapy clinics. Of these 21 facility-based services locations, eight are wholly-owned by us, 12 are majority-owned by us through equity joint ventures, and one is managed by us. (\"Merger Sub\"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, providing for a \"merger of equals\" business combination of the Company and Almost Family. On February 22, 2018, we issued a joint press release with Almost Family announcing that the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (\"HSR Act\"), with respect to the proposed Merger, has expired, satisfying one of the important conditions to the Merger. The Merger is expected to close on April 1, 2018, subject to the approval of both companies' stockholders and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. Our objective is to become the leading provider of home health, hospice, community-based services, and LTACHs in the United States.", - "id": "c1879a61-8608-4e19-9d1d-b0ed80236c8c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving oversight and accountability for institutions of higher education, particularly for-profit colleges, and providing protections for students and borrowers. Weis Markets, Inc., being a grocery retailer, does not have direct involvement with higher education institutions, student loans, or related educational practices. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill are not applicable to Weis Markets' business model or activities.", - "index": "17", - "bill_title": "A bill to protect students of institutions of higher education and the taxpayer investment in institutions of higher education by improving oversight and accountability of institutions of higher education, particularly for-profit colleges, improving protections for students and borrowers, and ensuring the integrity of postsecondary education programs, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Preventing Risky Operations from Threatening the Education and Career Trajectories of Students Act of 2019 or the PROTECT Students Act of 2019\n\nThis bill provides additional oversight of postsecondary education programs, including for-profit institutions of higher education\u00a0(IHEs), and addresses protections for students and student loan borrowers from fraudulent or predatory practices.\n\nThe bill sets forth a variety of provisions concerning oversight of for-profit IHEs. Specifically, the bill decreases the cap on the amount of revenue for-profit IHEs may receive from federal sources, including funds from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. In addition, it establishes (1) a process for reviewing for-profit IHEs that convert to nonprofit or public status, and (2) a For-Profit Education Oversight Coordination Committee.\n\nThe bill also sets forth provisions to address predatory practices in higher education. For instance, the bill requires career education programs to prepare students for gainful employment. In addition, it requires the Office of Federal Student Aid to have a unit that enforces compliance with laws governing student financial assistance programs. The office must also maintain a system that tracks reports of suspicious activity of IHEs or student loan servicers, including anonymous complaints. Lastly, the bill allows borrowers of student loans to seek loan forgiveness if IHEs mislead the students or engage in other misconduct.\n\nFinally, the bill prohibits IHEs that receive federal funding from limiting students' legal actions, providing incentive compensation, and using educational assistance funds for recruiting and marketing activities.", - "company_name": "Weis Markets, Inc.", - "company_description": "The Company is engaged principally in the retail sale of food in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. The Company's retail food stores sell groceries, dairy products, frozen foods, meats, seafood, fresh produce, floral, pharmacy services, deli products, prepared foods, bakery products, beer and wine, fuel and general merchandise items, such as health and beauty care and household products. The store product selection includes national, local and private brands including natural, gluten-free and organic varieties. The Company advertises its products and promotes its brand through weekly newspaper circulars; radio ads; e-mail blasts; and on-line via its web site, social media and mobile applications. Printed circulars are used extensively on a weekly basis to advertise featured items. The Company promotes by using Everyday Lower Price, Low Price Guarantee , Low, Low price and utilizes a loyalty marketing program, \"Weis Club Preferred Shopper,\" which enables customers to receive discounts, promotions and fuel rewards. The Company currently owns and operates 20 0 retail food stores many of which have on-line order and pick up customer service. The Company's operations are reported as a single reportable segment. Additionally, significant inclement weather systems, particularly winter storms, tend to affect sales trends. (1) Consists primarily of groceries, dairy products, frozen foods, beer and wine, and general merchandise items, such as health and beauty care and household products. (2) Consists primarily of meats, seafood, fresh produce, floral, deli products, prepared foods and bakery products. In 2016, Weis Markets acquired five Mars Super Market locations in Baltimore County, MD, 38 Food Lion stores throughout Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, and a Nell's Family Market in East Berlin, PA. Beginning August 1, 2016, the Company converted the 44 stores to Weis Markets stores in 96 days ending in November, during which it interviewed and hired more than 2,000 associates who were previously employed at the acquired locations. In 201 8 , the acquired store group is providing a positive cash flow for the Company as management continues to develop the st ores using its business model. During 2018, the C ompany closed two of the former Food Lion stores at the end of the committed lease term . Although there are no pending acquisitions, the Company continues to investigate acquisition opportunities as well as grow its existing store base organically. On March 9, 2017, the Company opened its new 65,000 square-foot prototype store next to a major competitor in Enola, PA. Designated the \"Community Market\" format, the store features a brand new store layout and unique features to elevate the shopping experience including a pub, grill and ice cream parlor, featuring the Company's own ice cream. The store contains a Pennsylvania foods section and more than 1,900 organic and gluten-free products, along with a mix-and-match pick K-cup 12-packs section. At the end of 2018 , Weis Markets, Inc. operated 4 stores in Delaware, 51 stores in Maryland, 6 stores in New Jersey, 9 stores in New York, 11 8 stores in Pennsylvania, 1 2 stores in Virginia and 2 stores in West Virginia, for a total of 20 2 retail food stores operating under the Weis Markets trade name. In January 2019, the company closed 2 store locations, bringing the current total store count to 200. All retail food store locations operate as conventional supermarkets. The retail food stores range in size from 8,000 to 71,000 square feet, with an average size of approximately 48, 5 00 square feet. The Company's store fleet includes a variety of sizes with a few locations in operation since the 1950's; all stores are branded Weis Markets and provide the same basic offerings scaled to the size of each store. The following summarizes the number of stores by size categories as of year-end: 2018 ", - "id": "7934461c-86bb-4515-affd-7c4f996523ad" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill includes appropriations for the Department of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, which are closely related to real estate development and transportation infrastructure. Boston Properties operates in the real estate sector, specifically focusing on Class A office properties, and any funding or policies related to urban development could potentially influence their operations, project developments, and leasing opportunities.", - "index": "18", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for the Department of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": " This bill provides FY2019 appropriations for the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and several related agencies. It includes both discretionary and mandatory funding, with most of the DOT budget being mandatory spending from the Highway Trust Fund. It also prohibits the use of funds for certain activities, such as purchasing first class or premium airline travel, and provides compensation for federal employees furloughed as a result of a lapse in appropriations.", - "company_name": "Boston Properties, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business General BXP, a Delaware corporation organized in 1997, is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust, or \"REIT,\" and one of the largest owners, managers and developers of office properties in the United States. At December 31, 2017 , we owned or had interests in 179 commercial real estate properties, aggregating approximately 50.3 million net rentable square feet of primarily Class A office properties, including twelve properties under construction/redevelopment totaling approximately 6.2 million net rentable square feet. As of December 31, 2017 our properties consisted of: \u2022 We consider Class A office properties to be well-located buildings that are professionally managed and maintained, attract high-quality tenants and command upper-tier rental rates, and that are modern structures or have been modernized to compete with newer buildings. Our definition of Class A office properties may be different than those used by other companies. We are a full-service real estate company, with substantial in-house expertise and resources in acquisitions, development, financing, capital markets, construction management, property management, marketing, leasing, accounting, risk management, tax and legal services. BXP manages BPLP as its sole general partner. Our 36 senior officers have an average of 30 years of experience in the real estate industry, including an average of nineteen years of experience with us. Economic interest was calculated as the number of common partnership units of BPLP owned by BXP as a percentage of the sum of (1) the actual aggregate number of outstanding common partnership units of BPLP, (2) the number of common units issuable upon conversion of all outstanding long term incentive plan units of BPLP, or LTIP Units, other than LTIP Units issued in the form of Multi-Year Long-Term Incentive Plan Awards (\"MYLTIP Awards\") that remain subject to performance conditions, assuming all conditions have been met for the conversion of the LTIP Units, (3) the 2012 Outperformance Awards that were issued in the form of LTIP Units and earned as of February 6, 2015 (the \"2012 OPP Units\"), (4) the 2013 MYLTIP Units that were issued in the form of LTIP Units and earned as of February 4, 2016 the 2014 MYLTIP 1 Units that were issued in the form of LTIP Units and earned as of February 3, 2017 (the \"2014 MYLTIP Units\") and (6) the 2015 MYLTIP Units that were issued in the form of LTIP Units and earned as of February 4, 2018 (the \"2015 MYLTIP Units\"). 103 Carnegie Center is an approximately 96,000 net rentable square foot Class A office property. Net cash proceeds totaled approximately $5.0 million, resulting in a gain on sale of real estate totaling approximately $3.7 million. On June 13, 2017, we completed the sale of 40 Shattuck Road located in Andover, Massachusetts for a gross sale price of $12.0 million. Net cash proceeds totaled approximately $11.9 million, resulting in a gain on sale of real estate totaling approximately $28,000 for BXP and approximately $0.6 million for BPLP. 40 Shattuck Road is an approximately 122,000 net rentable square foot Class A office property. On August 30, 2017, we completed the sale of our Reston Eastgate property located in Reston, Virginia for a gross sale price of $14.0 million. Net cash proceeds totaled approximately $13.2 million, resulting in a gain on sale of real estate totaling approximately $2.8 million. Reston Eastgate is a parcel of land containing approximately 21.7 acres located at 11011 Sunset Hills Road. As of December 31, 2017, we had twelve properties under construction/redevelopment comprised of eight office properties and four residential properties, which aggregate approximately 6.2 million square feet. For a detailed list of the properties under construction/redevelopment see On April 6, 2017, we commenced the construction of 145 Broadway, a build-to-suit Class A office project with approximately 485,000 net rentable square feet located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This property is 98% leased with initial occupancy in the fourth quarter of 2019. On May 27, 2017, we completed and fully placed in-service Reservoir Place North, a Class A office redevelopment project with approximately 73,000 net rentable square feet located in Waltham, Massachusetts. On August 24, 2017, we entered into a 15-year lease with the General Services Administration under which we will develop the new headquarters for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).", - "id": "e15e83ec-7dd5-4aa4-bb18-93334865ac43" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2018 includes provisions related to the regulation and registration of pesticides, which may directly impact companies that manufacture or sell outdoor products that utilize such chemicals, particularly in the context of safety and compliance. American Outdoor Brands Corp. operates in the outdoor products market, which could involve the use of pesticides for maintenance of outdoor environments where their products are used. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill are relevant to their business model and activities.", - "index": "19", - "bill_title": "A bill to enact into law a bill by reference.", - "bill_summary": "Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2018\n\nThis bill revises requirements for pesticide registration applications and their corresponding maintenance fees and registration service fees.\n\n(Sec. 2) The bill extends the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to collect annual fees to maintain the registration of pesticides (maintenance fees) through FY2023.\n\nAdditionally, the bill increases the maximum (1) amount that the EPA may collect in total maintenance fees from $27.8 million per fiscal year to $31 million for each of FY2019-FY2023; and (2) annual maintenance fees for pesticide registrants, including small business registrants.\n\nThe bill extends until the end of FY2025 a prohibition on levying pesticide registration fees not otherwise authorized as maintenance or registration service fees. The bill extends the prohibition on levying fees for applications involving pesticide chemical residues (tolerance fees) until the end of FY2023. (Sec. 3) The bill expands the permissible uses of the fees collected and deposited in the Reregistration and Expedited Processing Fund, including by allowing the fees to be used for any review under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 required as part of the pesticide registration review.\n\nThe bill also establishes set-asides of funds for (1) the development and implementation of performance data requirements for products claiming efficacy against certain invertebrate pests of significant public importance, such as bed bugs; and (2) monitoring good laboratory practices with respect to inspections and data audits conducted in support of pesticide product registrations.\n\nThe set-aside of funds for review of inert ingredients is extended through FY2023.\n\n(Sec. 4) Applications for an experimental use permit must conform to the requirements governing pesticide registration applications.\n\n(Sec. 5) The bill extends through FY2025 the authority of the EPA to collect pesticide registration service fees, with a two-year phaseout period in FY2024 and FY2025. The EPA must increase by 5% the application fees for covered applications of pesticides that are received in FY2020 and FY2021. After that, the EPA must increase the application fee by an additional 5%.\n\nNo waiver or fee reduction may be provided for a letter of certification of registration, which is commonly referred to as a Gold Seal letter. The set-asides of funds for worker protection, partnership grants, and pesticide safety education are extended until FY2023. Funds for worker protection must emphasize field workers. The EPA must also evaluate the application review process, including identifying opportunities for streamlining the review of a new active ingredient in a pesticide or a new use of a pesticide.\n\nThe bill extends and revises reporting requirements, including by requiring the EPA to provide additional information about pesticide cases it reviewed and the number of registration review decisions it completed.\n\n(Sec. 6) The bill revises the fee requirements for pesticide registration applications and their registration service fees. This includes revision of existing fees, the addition of new fee categories, and the revision of time frames in which the EPA is required to complete review of a requested action.\n\n(Sec. 7) The bill directs the EPA to implement specified final rules without revision by the end of FY2021. Specifically, the EPA must implement the final rules titled (1) \"Pesticides; Agricultural Worker Protection Standard Revisions\" published on November 2, 2015, and (2) \"Pesticides; Certification of Pesticide Applicators\" published on January 4, 2017.\n\nThe Government Accountability Office must report on the effectiveness of workplace requirements for providing pesticide safety information to employees.", - "company_name": "American Outdoor Brands Corp.", - "company_description": "We are a leading manufacturer, designer, and provider of consumer products for the shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor enthusiast. We are one of the largest manufacturers of handguns, modern sporting rifles, and handcuffs in the United States and an active participant in the hunting rifle and suppressor markets. We are also a leading provider of shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor products and accessories, including knives and cutting tools, sighting lasers, shooting supplies, tree saws, and survival gear. The Wesson family sold Smith & Wesson Corp. to Bangor Punta Corp. in 1965. Lear Siegler Corporation purchased Bangor Punta in 1984, thereby acquiring ownership of Smith & Wesson Corp. Forstmann Little & Co. purchased Lear Siegler in 1986 and sold Smith & Wesson Corp. shortly thereafter to Tomkins Corporation, an affiliate of U.K.-based Tomkins PLC. We purchased Smith & Wesson Corp. from Tomkins in May 2001 and renamed our company Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation. In January 2017, we changed the name of our company from Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation to American Outdoor Brands Corporation to better reflect our expanding strategic focus on the growing markets for shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor enthusiasts. We have two reporting segments: (1) Firearms (which includes the Firearms and Manufacturing Services divisions) and (2) Outdoor Products & Accessories (which includes the Outdoor Products & Accessories and Electro-Optics divisions). In our Firearms segment, we manufacture a wide array of handguns (including revolvers and pistols), long guns (including modern sporting rifles, bolt action rifles, and muzzleloaders), handcuffs, suppressors, and other firearm-related products for sale to a wide variety of customers, including gun enthusiasts, collectors, hunters, sportsmen, competitive shooters, individuals desiring home and personal protection, law enforcement and security agencies and officers, and military agencies in the United States and throughout the world. We sell our firearm products under the Smith & Wesson, M & P, Performance Center, Thompson/Center Arms, and Gemtech brands. We manufacture our firearm products at our facilities in Springfield, Massachusetts, Houlton, Maine, and Deep River, Connecticut. We perform research and development activities for our suppressors and accessories products at our facility located in Meridian, Idaho. We also sell our manufacturing services to other businesses in order to level-load our factories. We sell those services under our Smith & Wesson and Smith & Wesson Precision Components (formerly known as Deep River Plastics) brands. In our Outdoor Products & Accessories segment, we design, source, distribute, and manufacture reloading, gunsmithing, and gun cleaning supplies; high-quality stainless steel cutting tools and accessories; flashlights; tree saws and related trimming accessories; shooting supplies, rests, and other related accessories; apparel; vault accessories; laser grips and laser sights; and a full range of products for survival and emergency preparedness. We sell our outdoor products and accessories under the following brands: Caldwell, Wheeler, Tipton, Frankford Arsenal, Lockdown, Hooyman, BOG-POD, Golden Rod, Non-Typical, Crimson Trace, Imperial, Schrade, Old Timer, Uncle Henry, Bubba Blade, Smith & Wesson, M & P, Thompson/Center, UST, and KeyGear. We develop and market our outdoor products and accessories at our facilities in Columbia, Missouri; Our objective is to continue to enhance our position as one of the world's leading firearm manufacturers and expand our po sition as a provider of high-quality and innovative outdoor products and accessories for the shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor markets. \u2022 design, produce, and market high-quality, innovative firearms, firearms and hunting accessories, and rugged outdoor products that meet the needs and desires of our consumer and professional customers; \u2022 increase market share in markets in which we participate; \u2022 expand into adjacent and complementary markets; \u2022 streamline and standardize our business operations, including optimizing product distribution; \u2022 emphasize customer satisfaction and loyalty; and \u2022 pursue acquisitions that are synergistic with our current business. We estimate that the annual domestic non-military firearm market based on industry shipments is approximately $2.2 billion for handguns and $1.9 billion for long guns, excluding shotguns, with our market share in calendar 2016 being approximately 16.7% and 7.6%, respectively. According to 2016 reports by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, the U.S. firearm manufacturing industry has grown at a 12.0% compound annual growth rate in units from 2011 through 2016. The 2015 report issued by the Outdoor Industry Association, a leading trade organization for the outdoor industry, estimates that the annual U.S. domestic hunting and shooting market is approximately $16 billion, while the annual U.S. domestic outdoor recreation market is approximately $90 billion to $100 billion, which includes hunting and shooting, as well as camping, fishing, trail sports, and wildlife watching. (Subsequently relocated production of hunting products to Springfield, Massachusetts facility in fiscal 2011) ", - "id": "45055ee5-47eb-4c7a-af81-49088ae46d5b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill mandates support for stem cell research, which could be relevant to Acorda Therapeutics as they are focused on developing therapies for neurological disorders. Advances in stem cell research may lead to new treatment methodologies or compounds that Acorda could incorporate into their pipeline or leverage in their existing therapies, particularly as they deal with neurological conditions like Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis.", - "index": "20", - "bill_title": "To intensify stem cell research showing evidence of substantial clinical benefit to patients, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Patients First Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support stem cell research. Specifically, the NIH must conduct and support basic and applied research to develop techniques for the isolation, derivation, production, testing, and human clinical use of stem cells that may result in improved understanding of, or treatments for, diseases and other adverse health conditions. However, such techniques must not involve (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; (2) the destruction or discarding of, or risk of injury to, a human embryo; or (3) the use of any stem cell the derivation or provision of which would be inconsistent with this bill.\n\nThe NIH must also report on peer-reviewed stem cell research proposals that were not funded.", - "company_name": "Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies that restore function and improve the lives of people with neurological disorders. We market two U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved therapies, including Ampyra (dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10mg, a treatment to improve walking in adult patients with multiple sclerosis, or MS, as demonstrated by an increase in walking speed. We have a pipeline of novel neurological therapies addressing a range of disorders, including Parkinson's disease and MS. We currently derive substantially all our revenue from the sale of Ampyra. In March 2017, we announced a decision by the United States District Court for the District of Delaware in litigation with certain generic drug manufacturers upholding our Ampyra Orange Book-listed patent set to expire on July 30, 2018, but invalidating our four other Orange Book-listed patents pertaining to Ampyra that were set to expire between 2025 and 2027. Under this decision, we expect to maintain patent exclusivity with respect to Ampyra at least through July 30, 2018, depending on the outcome of appeal of the District Court's decision. The defendant generic drug manufacturers have appealed the District Court's decision upholding the patent that expires in July 2018, and we have appealed the ruling on the four invalidated patents. We expect to experience a rapid and significant decline in Ampyra sales beyond July 2018 due to competition from generic versions of Ampyra that may be marketed after the expiration of our remaining Ampyra patent, unless the District Court's decision on the four invalidated patents is overturned on appeal, which could include reversal or remand by the appeals court back to the District Court. If the appeals court does not overturn the District Court's decision by July 30, 2018, multiple ANDA filers may be able to launch generic versions of Ampyra absent injunctive relief. Inbrija, our most advanced development program, is a self-administered, inhaled formulation of levodopa, or L-dopa, being investigated for the treatment of OFF periods in people with Parkinson's disease who are taking a carbidopa/levodopa regimen. Inbrija is based on our proprietary ARCUS platform, a dry-powder pulmonary drug delivery technology that we believe has potential applications in multiple disease areas. We announced positive Phase 3 efficacy and safety data for this program in 2017. In June 2017, we submitted a New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija to the FDA. In August 2017, we announced that we received a Refusal to File, or RTF, letter from the FDA regarding the Inbrija NDA. Upon its preliminary review, the FDA determined that the NDA was not sufficiently complete to permit a substantive review. The FDA specified two reasons for the RTF: first, the date when the manufacturing site would be ready for inspection; and second, a question regarding the submission of the drug master production record. The resubmission addressed the two issues raised in the RTF and included all additional information requested by the FDA in the RTF. On February 20, 2018, we announced that the resubmitted NDA was accepted for filing by the FDA, and that under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, the FDA has set a target date of October 5, 2018. Our commercial preparations for the launch of Inbrija continue. We expect to file a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency in the first quarter of 2018. In November 2017, we discontinued our clinical development program for tozadenant, an investigational treatment for reduction of OFF time in people with Parkinson' We made this decision based on new information obtained from our Phase 3 clinical trials related to agranulocytosis and associated serious adverse events. In return for the payment to us, HCRP obtained the right to receive Fampyra royalties payable to us by Biogen, up to an agreed upon threshold of royalties. We believe that operating expense reductions from the restructuring, as well as additional expense reductions due to termination of the tozadenant development program, will enable us to fund operations through launch of Inbrija in the U.S., pending approval from the FDA.", - "id": "ab8a0b7c-ac63-4ee4-be24-a9946ee757a5" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on voter access, election integrity, campaign finance, and ethics in government, which are mostly political and regulatory issues. These do not present a direct impact on the retail food business model of Weis Markets, Inc., which is centered on food sales and retail operations rather than political or election processes.", - "index": "21", - "bill_title": "To expand Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, and strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "For the People Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses voter access, election integrity, election security, political spending, and ethics for the three branches of government.\n\nSpecifically, the bill expands voter registration and voting access and limits removing voters from voter rolls.\n\nThe bill provides for states to establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions.\n\nThe bill also sets forth provisions related to election security, including sharing intelligence information with state election officials, protecting the security of the voter rolls, supporting states in securing their election systems, developing a national strategy to protect the security and integrity of U.S. democratic institutions, establishing in the legislative branch the National Commission to Protect United States Democratic Institutions, and other provisions to improve the cybersecurity of election systems.\n\nThis bill addresses campaign spending, including by expanding the ban on foreign nationals contributing to or spending on elections; expanding disclosure rules pertaining to organizations spending money during elections, campaign advertisements, and online platforms; and revising disclaimer requirements for political advertising.\n\nThis bill establishes an alternative campaign funding system for certain federal offices. The system involves federal matching of small contributions for qualified candidates.\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions related to ethics in all three branches of government. Specifically, the bill requires a code of ethics for federal judges and justices, prohibits Members of the House from serving on the board of a for-profit entity, expands enforcement of regulations governing foreign agents, and establishes additional conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions for federal employees and the White House.\n\nThe bill also requires candidates for President and Vice President to submit 10 years of tax returns.", - "company_name": "Weis Markets, Inc.", - "company_description": "The Company is engaged principally in the retail sale of food in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. The Company's retail food stores sell groceries, dairy products, frozen foods, meats, seafood, fresh produce, floral, pharmacy services, deli products, prepare d foods, bakery products, beer and wine, fuel and general merchandise items, such as health and beauty care and household products. The store product selection includes national, local and private brands including natural , gluten-free and organic varieties. The Company advertises its products and promotes its brand through weekly newspaper circulars; radio ads ; e-mail blasts; and on-line via its web site, social media and mobile applications. Printed circulars are used extensively on a weekly basis to advertise featured items. The Company promotes by using Everyday Low er Price, Low Price Guarantee and utilizes a loyalty marketing program, \"Weis Club Preferred Shopper,\" which enables customers to receive discounts, promotions and fuel rewards. The Company currently owns and operates 20 5 retail food stores many of which have on-line order and pick up customer service . The Company's operations are reported as a single reportable segment. Additionally, significant inclement weather systems, particularly winter storms, tend to affect sales trends. (1) Consists primarily of groceries, dairy products, frozen foods, beer and wine, and general merchandise items, such as health and beauty care and household products. (2) Consists primarily of meats, seafood, fresh produce, floral, deli products, prepared foods and bakery products. In 2016, Weis Markets acquired five Mars Super Market locations in Baltimore County, MD, 38 Food Lion stores throughout Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, and a Nell's Family Market in East Berlin, PA. Beginning August 1, 2016, the Company converted the 44 stores to Weis Markets stores in 96 days ending in November, during which it interviewed and hired more than 2,000 associates who were previously employed at the acquired locations. In 2017, the acquired store group is providing a positive cash flow for the Company as management continues to develop the stores using its business model. Although there are no pending acquisitions, the Company continues to investigate acquisition opportunities as well as grow its existing store base organically. On March 9, 2017, the Company opened its new 65,000 square-foot prototype store next to a major competitor in Enola, PA. Designated the \"Community Market\" format, the store features a brand new store layout and unique features to elevate the shopping experience including a pub, grill and ice cream parlor, featuring the Company's own ice cream. The store contains a Pennsylvania foods section and more than 1,900 organic and gluten-free products, along with a mix-and-match pick K-cup 12-packs section and a Chobani Yogurt Bar. Inc. o perated 4 stores in Delaware, 51 stores in Maryland, 5 stores in New Jersey, 9 stores in New York , 12 1 stores in Pennsylvania , 13 stores in Virginia and 2 stores in W est Virginia, for a total of 20 5 retail food stores operating under the Weis Markets trade name. All retail food store locations operate as conventional supermarkets. The retail food stores range in size from 8,000 to 70,000 square feet, with an average size of approximately 48 ,000 square feet. The Company's store fleet includes a variety of sizes with a few l ocations in operation since the 1950's ; all stores are branded Weis Markets and provide the same basic offerings scaled to the size of each store . The following summarizes the number of stores by size categories as of year- Number of stores % of Total Number of stores % of Total 55,000 to 70,000 The Company believes that new stores and remodeling current stores are vital for future Company growth.", - "id": "3833097c-4924-4068-85d4-05d68990bad3" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on reauthorizing and revising the National Sea Grant College Program, which primarily deals with ocean and coastal resources. It involves NOAA funding for marine policy fellowships and research on aquatic ecosystems, none of which directly relates to Alphabet, Inc.'s core business in technology, artificial intelligence, and internet services. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill are not relevant to Alphabet's business model or activities.", - "index": "22", - "bill_title": "A bill to reauthorize and amend the National Sea Grant College Program Act, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "National Sea Grant College Program Amendments Act of 2019\n\nThis bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises the National Sea Grant College Program, through which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)supports university-based programs that focus on studying, conserving, and effectively using U.S. coastal resources.\n\nAmong other things, the bill requires NOAA to award Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowships. Currently, NOAA has discretion in awarding such fellowships. The fellowships support the placement of graduate students in fields related to ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources in positions with the executive and legislative branches.\n\nThe bill reauthorizes through FY2024 grants for (1) university research on the biology, prevention, and control of aquatic nonnative species; (2) university research on oyster diseases, oyster restoration, and oyster-related human health risks; (3) university research on the biology, prevention, and forecasting of harmful algal blooms; and (4) fishery extension activities conducted by sea grant colleges or sea grant institutes to enhance existing core program funding.\n\nThe bill authorizes grants for (1) priority issues identified in the National Sea Grant Program's strategic plan, and (2) university research on sustainable aquaculture techniques and technologies.", - "company_name": "Alphabet, Inc.", - "company_description": "That unconventional spirit has been a driving force throughout our history \u2014 inspiring us to do things like tackling deep computer science problems, such as our investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing. Alphabet is a collection of businesses \u2014 the largest of which is Google. Our Other Bets include earlier stage technologies that are further afield from our core Google business. We take a long term view and manage the portfolio of Other Bets with the discipline and rigor needed to deliver long-term returns. The Internet is one of the world's most powerful equalizers, capable of propelling new ideas and people forward. Since then, we've evolved from a company that helps people find answers to a company that helps you get things done. We aspire to give everyone the tools they need to increase their knowledge, health, happiness, and success. focused on continually innovating in areas where technology can have an impact on people's lives. We're also working hard to make sure that our products are accessible to the more than one billion individuals around the world with a disability. For example, Android 10 has automatic Live Captions for videos, podcasts and voicemails to make it easier to consume information on the phone. For instance, as a part of our efforts in the Metro Phoenix area, Waymo is working toward our goal of making transportation safer and easier for everyone while Verily is developing tools and platforms to improve health outcomes. People thought we were crazy when we acquired YouTube and Android and when we launched Chrome, but those efforts have matured into major platforms for digital video and mobile devices and a safer, popular browser. The power of machine learning Across the company, machine learning and AI are increasingly driving many of our latest innovations. Within Google, our investments in machine learning over a decade have enabled us to build products that are smarter and more helpful. For example, our investments in AI are enabling doctors to detect cancer earlier. Machine learning powers the Google Assistant and many of our newer technologies. We have always been a company committed to building products that have the potential to improve the lives of millions of people. Our product innovations have made our services widely used, and our brand one of the most recognized in the world. Google's core products and platforms, such as Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Play, Search, and YouTube As the majority of Alphabet's big bets continue to reside within Google, an important benefit of the shift to Alphabet has been the tremendous focus that we' Instead of just showing ten blue links in our search results, we are increasingly able to provide direct answers \u2014 even if you're speaking your question using Voice Search \u2014 which makes it quicker, easier and more natural to find what you're looking for. With Google Lens, you can use your phone's camera to identify an unfamiliar landmark or find a trailer 5 Over time, we have also added other services that let you access information quickly and easily \u2014 like Google Maps, which helps you navigate to a store while showing you current traffic conditions, or Google Photos, which helps you store and organize your photos. This drive to make information more accessible and helpful has led us over the years to improve the discovery and creation of digital content, on the web and through platforms like Google Play and YouTube. And with the migration to mobile, people are consuming more digital content by watching more videos, playing more games, listening to more music, reading more books, and using more apps than ever before.", - "id": "fcf2553e-1c01-4b37-8fc4-e7ab6bfe7f01" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on funding for public school facilities and improvements, which does not directly impact Public Storage's self-storage business model or operations. Public Storage specializes in self-storage facilities, not educational infrastructure, so the consequences of this bill are irrelevant to the company's activities.", - "index": "23", - "bill_title": "To provide for the long-term improvement of public school facilities, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Rebuild America's Schools Act of 2019\n\nThis bill provides financial assistance in FY2020-FY2029 for long-term improvements to public school facilities by allocating funds to states for school improvements, awarding need-based grants to local education agencies, and restoring school infrastructure tax credit bonds.\n\nThe bill specifies allowable uses of grant funds, including making major repairs of public school facilities and making public school facilities accessible to disabled individuals.\n\n The bill requires local education agencies to adopt certain green practices (environmental standards) and use products made in the United States (Buy America).\n\nThe Department of Education must establish a clearinghouse to disseminate information to assist schools in initiating, developing, and financing energy efficiency projects, distributed generation projects, and energy retrofitting projects.\n\nThe bill increases funding through FY2023 for the Impact Aid Construction program under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.", - "company_name": "Public Storage", - "company_description": "We acquire, develop, own and operate self-storage facilities , which offer storage spaces for lease on a month-to-month basis, for personal and business use. We are the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in the U.S. We have direct and indirect equity interests in 2,3 8 6 self-storage facilities that we consolidate (an aggregate of 15 9 million net rentable square feet of space) located in 38 states within the U.S. operating under the \"Public Storage\" brand name. We also own one self -storage facility in London, England which is managed by Shurgard Europe (defined below). Ancillary Operations : We reinsure policies against losses to goods stored by customers in our self-storage facilities and sell merchandise, primarily locks and cardboard boxes, at our self-storage facilities. Inc. (\"PSB\"), a publicly held REIT that owns, operates, acquires and develops commercial properties, primarily multi-tenant flex, office, and industrial parks. 0 million rentable square feet of commercial space. Shurgard Self Storage Europe Limited (\"Shurgard Europe\") which owns 221 self-storage facilities (twelve million net rentable square feet) located in seven countries in Western Europe operated under the \"Shurgard\" brand name. We believe Shurgard Europe is the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in Western Europe. We also manage approximately 27 self-storage facilities for third parties . We are seeking to expand our third-party management operations to further increase our economies of scale and leverage our brand; however, there is no assurance that we will be able to do so. We also own 0.9 million net rentable square feet of commercial space which is managed primarily by PSB . For all periods presented herein, we have elected to be treated as a REIT, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the \"Code\") . and we expect to continue to elect and qualify as a REIT. We believe that our customers generally store their goods within a five mile radius of their home or business . Our facilities compete with nearby self-storage facilities owned by other operators using marketing channels similar to ours , including Internet advertising, signage, and banners and offer services similar to ours . A s a result, competition is significant and affects the occupancy levels, rental rates, rental income and operating expenses of our facilities. There has been an increase in supply of newly constructed self-storage facilities in several of our markets, most notably Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, and New York. Ownership and operation of self- storage facilities is highly fragmented. As the largest owner of self-storage facilities, we believe that we own approximately 7 % of the self-storage square footage in the U.S. and that collectively the five largest self-storage owners in the U.S. own approximately 15 %, with the remaining 8 5 % owned by numerous regional and local operators. We believe that we have significant market share and concentration in major metropolitan centers, with approximately 71 % of our 201 7 same-store revenues generated in the 20 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (each, an \"MSA\", as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau) with the highest population levels. Industry fragmentation also provides opportunities for us to acquire additional facilities; however, we compete with a wide variety of institutions and other investors who also view self-storage facilities as attractive investments. The amount of capital available for real estate investments greatly influences the competition for ownership interests in facilities and, by extension, the yields that we can achieve on newly acquired investments. a s well as analyze customer data and quickly change each of our individual properties ' pricing and promotion s on an automated basis. ", - "id": "d360ce9b-9910-4b44-8253-01e44e88f715" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill is focused on pension benefits for retired coal miners and addresses funding and distribution of pensions under a specific plan. Tempur Sealy International, Inc. operates in the bedding industry and does not have any direct connection or obligation related to coal miners' pensions or the mining sector, making this bill irrelevant to their business.", - "index": "24", - "bill_title": "To provide for transfers to the 1974 UMWA pension plan and a reduction in the minimum age for allowable in-service distributions.", - "bill_summary": "Miners Pension Protection Act \n\nThis bill transfers certain funds to provide pension benefits for retired coal miners who have been affected by issues such as coal company bankruptcies.\n\nThe Department of the Treasury must transfer additional funds to the 1974 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Pension Plan to pay pension benefits required under that plan if the annual limit on transfers under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 exceeds the amount required to be transferred for existing obligations of the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund. The bill also increases the annual limit on transfers from $490 million to $750 million.\n\nThe bill also allows in-service distributions under a pension plan or governmental section 457(b) plan at age 59-1/2 (currently age 62).", - "company_name": "Tempur Sealy International, Inc.", - "company_description": "We develop, manufacture and market bedding products, which we sell globally. Our brand portfolio includes many highly recognized brands in the industry, including TEMPUR\u00ae, Tempur-Pedic\u00ae, Sealy\u00ae featuring Posturepedic\u00ae Technology, and Stearns & Foster\u00ae. Our comprehensive suite of bedding products offers a variety of products to consumers across a broad range of channels. We operate in two segments: North America and International. Our North America segment consists of Tempur and Sealy manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries and licensees located in the U.S. and Canada. Our International segment consists of Tempur and Sealy manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries, joint ventures and licensees located in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. We recently divested certain of our manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries in Latin America. Wholesale includes all third party retailers, including third party distribution, hospitality and healthcare. Direct includes company-owned stores, e-commerce, and call centers. Our goal is to improve the sleep of more people, every night, all around the world. In order to achieve our long-term strategy while managing the current economic and competitive environments, we will focus on developing the most innovative bedding products in all the markets we serve, making significant investments in our global brands and optimizing our worldwide distribution through all channels. Our Products and Brands We have a comprehensive offering of products that appeal to a broad range of consumers, some of which are covered by one or more patents and/or patent applications. In order to achieve our goal to improve the sleep of more people, every night, all around the world, one of our strategic initiatives is to leverage and strengthen our comprehensive portfolio of iconic brands and products. Our brand portfolio includes many highly recognized brands, including TEMPUR\u00ae, Tempur-Pedic\u00ae, Sealy\u00ae featuring Posturepedic\u00ae Technology and Stearns & Foster\u00ae, which are described below: \u00ae - Founded in 1991, the Tempur brand is our specialty innovation category leader designed to provide life changing sleep for our wellness-seeking consumers. Our proprietary Tempur material precisely adapts to the shape, weight and temperature of the consumer and creates fewer pressure points, reduces motion transfer and provides personalized comfort and support. The Stearns & Foster brand offers our consumers high quality mattresses built by certified craftsmen who have been specially trained. Founded in 1846, the brand is designed and built with precise engineering and relentless attention to detail and fuses new innovative technologies with time-honored techniques, creating supremely comfortable beds. The Sealy brand originated in 1881 in Sealy, Texas, and for over a century has focused on offering trusted comfort, durability and excellent value while maintaining contemporary styles and great support. The Sealy Posturepedic brand, introduced in 1950, was engineered to provide all-over support and body alignment to allow full relaxation and deliver a comfortable night's sleep. In 2017, Sealy Posturepedic no longer represented its own separate brand as we united all of our Sealy products under one masterbrand, which features the Posturepedic Technology\u2122 in the Sealy Performance The Cocoon by Sealy brand, introduced in 2016, is our offering in the below $1,000 e-commerce space, made with the high quality materials that consumers expect from Sealy, sold online at www.cocoonbysealy.com and delivered in a box directly to consumers' doorsteps. In 2018, we launched a new line of Tempur-Pedic products and a new Sealy Hybrid line in North America. The new Tempur-Pedic line includes the Tempur-Adapt\u00ae, Tempur-ProAdapt\u00ae, and Tempur LuxeAdapt TM series which are made from a unique combination of innovative materials that adapt and respond to the body's needs. Our Adapt TM and ProAdapt TM series feature a new advanced pressure relief TEMPUR\u00ae material called TEMPUR-APR\u2122, while our LuxeAdapt TM series features TEMPUR-APR+ TM, providing better pressure relief and higher conforming features than ever before.", - "id": "e1fe877d-23e3-473a-b9c6-18bd8aab2ca6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on securing voting rights for individuals who have been released from incarceration, which primarily pertains to civil rights and legal reform. Acadia Healthcare Co., Inc. operates in the behavioral healthcare industry, focusing on the acquisition and development of healthcare facilities. The legal consequences of the bill do not directly impact the company's business model, structure, or activities, as their primary concerns are related to patient care and facility operations rather than voting rights or criminal justice issues.", - "index": "25", - "bill_title": "To secure the Federal voting rights of persons when released from incarceration.", - "bill_summary": "Democracy Restoration Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses the voting rights of persons convicted of a criminal offense and the restoration of their voting rights.\n\nThe bill declares that the right of a U.S. citizen to vote in any election for federal office shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has been convicted of a criminal offense unless, at the time of the election, such individual is serving a felony sentence. The bill provides for enforcement of, and remedies for violations of, the bill.\n\nThe bill sets forth requirements for state and federal notification of individuals of the restoration of their voting rights.\n\nThe bill prohibits federal funding of construction or improvement of a place of incarceration unless U.S. citizens incarcerated in that jurisdiction are notified, upon release, of their voting rights.", - "company_name": "Acadia Healthcare Co., Inc.", - "company_description": "Our business strategy is to acquire and develop behavioral healthcare facilities and improve our operating results within our facilities and our other behavioral healthcare operations. We strive to improve the operating results of our facilities by providing quality patient care, expanding referral networks and marketing initiatives while meeting the increased demand for behavioral healthcare services through expansion of our current locations as well as developing new services within existing locations. At December 31, 2017, we operated 582 behavioral healthcare facilities with approximately 17,800 beds in 39 states, the United Kingdom (\u0093U.K.\u0094) and Puerto Rico. During the year ended December 31, 2017, we acquired one facility and added 750 new beds (exclusive of the acquisition), including 588 added to existing facilities and 162 added through the opening of two de novo facilities. We are the leading publicly traded pure-play provider of behavioral healthcare services, with operations in the United States (\u0093U.S.\u0094) and the U.K. Management believes that we are positioned as a leading platform in a highly fragmented industry under the direction of an experienced management team that has significant industry expertise. Management expects to take advantage of several strategies that are more accessible as a result of our increased size and geographic scale, including continuing a national marketing strategy to attract new patients and referral sources, increasing our volume of out-of-state referrals, providing a broader range of services to new and existing patients and clients and selectively pursuing opportunities to expand our facility and bed count in the U.S. and U.K. Acadia was formed as a limited liability company in the State of Delaware in 2005, and converted to a corporation on May 13, 2011. On November 13, 2017, we completed the acquisition of Aspire Scotland (\u0093Aspire\u0094), an education facility with 36 beds located in Scotland, for cash consideration of approximately $21.3 million. On June 1, 2016, we completed the acquisition of Pocono Mountain Recovery Center (\u0093Pocono Mountain\u0094), an inpatient psychiatric facility with 108 beds located in Henryville, Pennsylvania, for cash consideration of approximately $25.4 million. On May 1, 2016, we completed the acquisition of TrustPoint Hospital (\u0093TrustPoint\u0094), an inpatient psychiatric facility with 100 beds located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for cash consideration of approximately $62.7 million. On April 1, 2016, we completed the acquisition of Serenity Knolls (\u0093Serenity Knolls\u0094), an inpatient psychiatric facility with 30 beds located in Forest Knolls, California, for cash consideration of approximately $10.0 million. Priory was the leading independent provider of behavioral healthcare services in the U.K., operating 324 facilities with approximately 7,100 beds at the acquisition date. On July 14, 2016, the CMA announced that our acquisition of Priory was referred for a phase 2 investigation unless we offered acceptable undertakings to address the CMA\u0092s competition concerns relating to the provision of behavioral healthcare services in certain markets. On July 28, 2016, the CMA announced that we had offered undertakings to address the CMA\u0092s concerns and that, in lieu of a phase 2 investigation, the CMA would consider our undertakings. On October 18, 2016, we signed a definitive agreement with BC Partners (\u0093BC Partners\u0094) for the sale of 21 existing U.K. behavioral health facilities and one de novo behavioral health facility with an aggregate of approximately 1,000 beds (collectively, the \u0093U.K. Disposal Group\u0094). On November 10, 2016, the CMA accepted our undertakings to sell the U.K. Disposal Group to BC Partners and confirmed that the divestiture satisfied the CMA\u0092s concern about the impact of our acquisition of Priory on competition for the provision of behavioral healthcare services in certain markets in the U.K. During 2015, we completed the acquisition of CRC Health Group, Inc. (\u0093CRC\u0094), Quality Addition Management Inc., Choice Lifestyles, Pastoral Care Group, Mildmay Oaks f/k/a Vista Independent Hospital, Care UK Limited, The Manor Clinic, Belmont Behavioral Health, Southcoast Behavioral, The Danshell Group, Health and Social Care Partnerships, Manor Hall, Meadow View, Cleveland House, Duffy\u0092s Napa Valley Rebab, Discovery House-Group Inc and MMO Behavioral Health Systems (collectively with the 2016 Acquisitions , the \u00932015 and 2016 Acquisitions\u0094). The Third Repricing Amendment reduced the Applicable Rate with respect to the Tranche B-1 Term Loan facility (the \u0093Tranche B-1 Facility\u0094) and the Tranche B-2 Term Loan facility (the \u0093Tranche B-2 Facility\u0094) from 3.0% to 2.75% in the case of Eurodollar Rate loans and from 2.0% to 1.75% in the case of Base Rate Loans. In connection with the Third Repricing Amendment, the Company recorded a debt extinguishment charge of $0.8 million, including the discount and write-off of deferred financing costs, which was recorded in debt extinguishment costs in the consolidated statements of operations. The Tenth Amendment, among other things, (i) amended the negative covenant regarding dispositions, (ii) modified the collateral package to release any real property with a fair market value of less than $5.0 million and (iii) changed certain investment, indebtedness and lien baskets. The Tranche B-2 Repricing Amendment reduced the Applicable Rate with respect to our Tranche B-2 Facility from 3.75% to 3.00% in the case of Eurodollar Rate loans and 2.75% to 2.00% in the case of Base Rate Loans. The Tranche B-1 Repricing Amendment reduced the Applicable Rate with respect to our Tranche B-1 Facility from 3.5% to 3.0% in the case of Eurodollar Rate loans and 2.5% to 2.0% in the case of Base Rate Loans. We used the net proceeds to fund a portion of the purchase price for the acquisition of Priory and the fees and expenses for such acquisition and the related financing transactions. Borrowings under the Tranche B-2 Facility were used to fund a portion of the purchase price for the acquisition of Priory and the fees and expenses for such acquisition and the related financing transactions. Borrowings under the TLA Facility were used to pay down the majority of our $300.0 million revolving credit facility. The net proceeds to us from the sale of the shares, after deducting the underwriting discount of $15.8 million and additional offering related costs of $0.7 million, were approximately $685.0 million.", - "id": "2f0c1be2-9255-438f-8aa6-5489b5572117" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on appropriations for energy and water development-related agencies, which primarily affects government funding for civil works, energy efficiency, and other environmental and energy programs. Nasdaq, Inc. operates primarily as a global exchange technology and financial market services provider, without direct involvement in energy, water infrastructure, or related sectors. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill do not align with Nasdaq's business model or activities.", - "index": "26", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020\n\nThis bill provides FY2020 appropriations for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works projects, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy (DOE), and independent agencies such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.\n\nThe bill provides appropriations for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works projects, including for\n\n Investigations, Construction, Mississippi River and Tributaries, Operation and Maintenance, the Regulatory Program, the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program, Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies, Expenses, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. The bill provides appropriations to the Department of the Interior for the Central Utah Project and the Bureau of Reclamation.\n\nThe bill provides appropriations to DOE for Energy Programs, including\n\n Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response; Electricity; Nuclear Energy; Fossil Energy Research and Development; Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves; the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve; the Energy Information Administration; Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup; the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund; Science; the Advanced Research Projects Agency--Energy; the Title 17 Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program; the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program; the Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program; the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs; Departmental Administration; and the Office of the Inspector General. The bill also provides appropriations to DOE for\n\n Atomic Energy Defense Activities of the National Nuclear Security Administration, Environmental and Other Defense Activities, and the Power Marketing Administrations. The bill provides appropriations to several independent agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.\n\nThe bill sets forth permissible and prohibited uses for funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.", - "company_name": "Nasdaq, Inc.", - "company_description": "Overview Nasdaq, Inc. is a leading provider of trading, clearing, marketplace technology, regulatory, securities listing, information and public and private company services. Our global offerings are diverse and include trading and clearing across multiple asset classes, trade management services, data products, financial indexes, capital formation solutions, corporate solutions, and market technology products and services. Our technology powers markets across the globe, supporting equity derivative trading, clearing and settlement, cash equity trading, fixed income trading, trading surveillance and many other functions. Beginning in 2000, FINRA restructured and broadened ownership in Nasdaq by selling shares to FINRA members, investment companies and issuers listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market. This transformational combination resulted in the expansion of our business from a U.S.-based exchange operator to a global exchange company offering technology that powers our own exchanges and markets as well as many other marketplaces around the world. We have increased investment in areas that we believe help solve our clients In 2018, these businesses included: the data analytics business within our Information Services segment, NPM, within our Corporate Services segment, and our Market Technology segment (including our regulatory technology business). We also are investing further in the Market Technology segment through the Nasdaq Financial Framework, the expansion of our SMARTS products and customers, and our efforts to commercialize disruptive technologies, including blockchain, machine intelligence and the cloud. In these areas, we expect to target resiliency and efficiency versus growth, and free up resources when possible to redirect toward greater opportunities. We operate six electronic options exchanges in the U.S.: Together, our combined options market share in 2018 represented the largest share of the U.S. market for multiply-listed options on equities and ETFs. Our options trading platforms provide trading opportunities to both retail investors, algorithmic trading firms and market makers, who tend to prefer electronic trading, and institutional investors, who typically pursue more complex trading strategies and often trade on the floor. In Europe, Nasdaq offers trading in derivatives, such as stock options and futures, index options and futures and fixed-income options and futures. Nasdaq Clearing offers clearing services for fixed-income options and futures, stock options and futures, index options and futures, and interest rate swaps by serving as the CCP. Nasdaq Clearing also operates a clearing service for the resale and repurchase agreement market. The Nasdaq Stock Market is the largest single venue of liquidity for trading U.S.-listed cash equities. Market participants include market makers, broker-dealers, ATSs and registered securities exchanges. In addition, we operate a Canadian exchange with three independent markets, CXC, CX2 and CXD, for the trading of Canadian-listed securities. Collectively, the Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic exchanges offer trading in cash equities, depository receipts, warrants, convertibles, rights, fund units and ETFs. Our platform allows the exchanges to share the same trading system, which enables efficient cross-border trading and settlement, cross membership and a single source for Nordic data products. Settlement and registration of cash equity trading takes place in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland via the local central securities depositories. In addition, Nasdaq owns two central securities depositories that provide notary, settlement, central maintenance and other services in the Baltic countries and Iceland. The U.S. portion of Nasdaq Fixed Income includes an electronic platform for trading U.S. Treasuries. The electronic trading platform provides real-time institutional trading of benchmark U.S. Treasury securities. Through this business, we provide trading access to the U.S. Treasury securities market with an array of trading instruments to meet various investment goals across the fixed income spectrum. ", - "id": "3569bdc8-4803-4881-b82b-e5dd58610404" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to appropriations for financial services and government agencies, directly impacting sectors like financial regulation, telecommunications, and tax management. Public Storage operates in the self-storage industry, which is not directly affected by the legal consequences outlined in this bill, such as IRS employee training, regulatory scrutiny, and appropriations for government agencies. Therefore, the consequences of this bill do not align with the business model or activities of Public Storage.", - "index": "27", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for financial services and general government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": " The Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2019 provides FY2019 appropriations to agencies responsible for regulating the financial, telecommunications, and consumer products industries; collecting taxes and assisting taxpayers; managing federal buildings and the federal workforce; and operating the Executive Office of the President, the judiciary, and the District of Columbia. It also includes provisions related to IRS employee training, safeguarding taxpayer information, 1-800 help line service, video production, address changes, offers-in-compromise, First Amendment rights, regulatory scrutiny, conference spending, employee bonuses, and confidentiality of tax returns. It also provides appropriations to independent agencies, including the Administrative Conference of the United States, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Election Assistance Commission, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Election Commission, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the General Services Administration (GSA), the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, the Merit Systems Protection Board, Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of Government Ethics, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Office", - "company_name": "Public Storage", - "company_description": "We acquire, develop, own and operate self-storage facilities , which offer storage spaces for lease on a month-to-month basis, for personal and business use. We are the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in the U.S. We have direct and indirect equity interests in 2,3 8 6 self-storage facilities that we consolidate (an aggregate of 15 9 million net rentable square feet of space) located in 38 states within the U.S. operating under the \"Public Storage\" brand name. We also own one self -storage facility in London, England which is managed by Shurgard Europe (defined below). Ancillary Operations : We reinsure policies against losses to goods stored by customers in our self-storage facilities and sell merchandise, primarily locks and cardboard boxes, at our self-storage facilities. Inc. (\"PSB\"), a publicly held REIT that owns, operates, acquires and develops commercial properties, primarily multi-tenant flex, office, and industrial parks. 0 million rentable square feet of commercial space. Shurgard Self Storage Europe Limited (\"Shurgard Europe\") which owns 221 self-storage facilities (twelve million net rentable square feet) located in seven countries in Western Europe operated under the \"Shurgard\" brand name. We believe Shurgard Europe is the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in Western Europe. We also manage approximately 27 self-storage facilities for third parties . We are seeking to expand our third-party management operations to further increase our economies of scale and leverage our brand; however, there is no assurance that we will be able to do so. We also own 0.9 million net rentable square feet of commercial space which is managed primarily by PSB . For all periods presented herein, we have elected to be treated as a REIT, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the \"Code\") . and we expect to continue to elect and qualify as a REIT. We believe that our customers generally store their goods within a five mile radius of their home or business . Our facilities compete with nearby self-storage facilities owned by other operators using marketing channels similar to ours , including Internet advertising, signage, and banners and offer services similar to ours . A s a result, competition is significant and affects the occupancy levels, rental rates, rental income and operating expenses of our facilities. There has been an increase in supply of newly constructed self-storage facilities in several of our markets, most notably Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, and New York. Ownership and operation of self- storage facilities is highly fragmented. As the largest owner of self-storage facilities, we believe that we own approximately 7 % of the self-storage square footage in the U.S. and that collectively the five largest self-storage owners in the U.S. own approximately 15 %, with the remaining 8 5 % owned by numerous regional and local operators. We believe that we have significant market share and concentration in major metropolitan centers, with approximately 71 % of our 201 7 same-store revenues generated in the 20 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (each, an \"MSA\", as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau) with the highest population levels. Industry fragmentation also provides opportunities for us to acquire additional facilities; however, we compete with a wide variety of institutions and other investors who also view self-storage facilities as attractive investments. The amount of capital available for real estate investments greatly influences the competition for ownership interests in facilities and, by extension, the yields that we can achieve on newly acquired investments. a s well as analyze customer data and quickly change each of our individual properties ' pricing and promotion s on an automated basis. ", - "id": "661da30f-49dd-4d0c-b38d-a6a3ecbe9332" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing Lifelong Learning and Training Account programs aimed at providing tax-preferred savings accounts for training expenses related to postsecondary education. While Primerica, Inc. operates in the financial services sector, primarily focusing on life insurance and investment products for middle-income households, the bill's legal provisions do not directly align with or impact Primerica\u2019s core business model of offering insurance and investment products. Therefore, it does not bear relevance to Primerica's operations.", - "index": "28", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish Lifelong Learning and Training Account programs.", - "bill_summary": "Lifelong Learning and Training Account Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes tax-preferred savings accounts that may be used to pay for training expenses and will be managed by state programs known as Lifelong Learning and Training Account programs.\n\nTax-exempt distributions from an account may be used for training that results in a recognized postsecondary credential, such as an industry-recognized certificate or certification, a license recognized by the federal government or a state, or an associate or baccalaureate degree.\n\nThe bill specifies contribution limits, age restrictions, and income limits that apply to beneficiaries of the accounts. Accounts that meet the requirements are eligible to receive certain federal matching funds for contributions made by the beneficiary or an employer.", - "company_name": "Primerica, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"us\" or the \"Parent Company\") is a leading distributor of financial products to middle-income households in the United States and Canada with 126,121 licensed sales representatives at December 31, 2017. We assist our clients in meeting their needs for term life insurance, which we underwrite, and mutual funds, annuities, managed investments and other financial products, which we distribute primarily on behalf of third parties. Our licensed sales representatives primarily use our proprietary financial needs analysis tool (\"FNA\") and an educational approach to demonstrate how our product offerings can assist clients to provide financial protection for their families, save for their retirement and other needs, and manage their debt. Typically, our clients are the friends, family members and personal acquaintances of our sales representatives. We provide an entrepreneurial business opportunity for individuals to distribute financial products. Low entry fees as well as the ability to select their own schedules and time commitments allow our sales representatives to supplement their income by starting their own independent businesses without leaving their current jobs. Our unique compensation structure, technology, sales support and back-office processing are designed to enable our sales representatives to successfully grow their independent businesses. We believe there is significant opportunity to meet the increasing array of financial services needs of our clients. We intend to leverage our sales force to provide additional products and services that meet such client needs, which will drive long-term value for all of our stakeholders. Broadening our protection product portfolio; \u2022 Providing offerings that enhance our Investment and Savings Products (\"ISP\") business; and \u2022 Developing digital capabilities to deepen our client relationships. Primerica Life Insurance Company (\"Primerica Life\"), our principal life insurance underwriting company; and \u2022 (\"PFS Investments\"), our investment and savings products company, broker-dealer and registered investment advisor. Primerica Life is domiciled in Tennessee, and its wholly owned subsidiary, National Benefit Life Insurance Company (\"NBLIC\"), is a New York-domiciled life insurance underwriting company. Prior to Primerica Life's redomestication to Tennessee in December 2017, Primerica Life was a Massachusetts-domiciled life insurance underwriting company. Primerica Life Insurance Company of Canada (\"Primerica Life Canada\"), our Canadian life insurance underwriting company; \u2022 (\"PFSL Investments Canada\"), our Canadian licensed mutual fund dealer; and \u2022 (\"PFSL Fund Management\"), our Canadian investment funds manager. Our clients are generally middle-income consumers, which we define as households with $30,000 to $100,000 of annual income. According to the 2016 U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey, the latest period for which data is available, almost 50% of U.S. households fall in this range. Many have inadequate or no life insurance coverage. Individual life insurance sales in the United States declined from 12.5 million policy sales in 1975 to 10.2 million policy sales in 2016, the latest period for which data is available, according to the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association International, Inc. (\"LIMRA\"), a worldwide association of insurance and financial services companies. We believe that term life insurance, which we have provided to middle-income clients for many years, is generally the best option for them to meet their life insurance needs. Many need help saving for retirement and other personal goals.", - "id": "44bed9b6-1b12-421f-9d34-7a205150769d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Native American Business Incubators Program Act primarily focuses on establishing grant programs to support business incubators in Native American communities. Prologis, Inc., as a logistics real estate company, does not have a direct involvement or responsibility in providing the types of support or resources outlined in the bill, such as operating business incubators or facilitating relationships with educational institutions. Therefore, the bill's legal consequences do not align with or impact Prologis's business model or activities.", - "index": "29", - "bill_title": "To establish a business incubators program within the Department of the Interior to promote economic development in Indian reservation communities.", - "bill_summary": "Native American Business Incubators Program Act \n\nThis bill requires the Department of the Interior to establish a grant program in the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development for establishing and operating business incubators that serve Native American communities. A business incubator is an organization that (1) provides physical workspace and facilities resources to startups and established businesses, and (2) is designed to accelerate the growth and success of businesses through a variety of business support resources and services. Grant applicants may be institutions of higher education, private nonprofits, Native American tribes, or tribal nonprofits.\n\nInterior must facilitate the establishment of relationships between grant recipients and educational institutions serving Native American communities.", - "company_name": "Prologis, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business Prologis, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed REIT and is the sole general partner of Prologis, L.P. through which it holds substantially all of its assets. We invest in real estate through wholly owned subsidiaries and other entities through which we co-invest with partners and investors. Prologis, Inc. began operating as a fully integrated real estate company in 1997 and elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (\"Internal Revenue Code\"). We believe the current organization and method of operation will enable Prologis, Inc. to maintain its status as a REIT. We operate and evaluate our business on an owned and managed (\"O & M\") basis, including properties that we wholly-own and properties that are owned by one of our co-investment ventures. We make decisions based on the property operations, regardless of our ownership interest. Our investment consists of our wholly-owned properties and our pro rata (or ownership) share of the properties owned in ventures. THE COMPANY Prologis is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on key markets in 19 countries on four continents. We own, manage and develop well-located, high-quality logistics facilities. Our local teams actively manage our portfolio, which encompasses leasing and property management, capital deployment and opportunistic dispositions allowing us to recycle capital to self-fund our development and acquisition activities. The majority of our properties in the United States (\"U.S.\") are wholly owned, while our properties outside the U.S. are generally held in co-investment ventures, to mitigate our exposure to foreign currency movements. Our irreplaceable portfolio is focused on the world's most vibrant markets where consumption and supply chain reconfiguration drive logistics demand. In the developed markets of the U.S., Europe and Japan, key demand drivers include the reconfiguration of supply chains (strongly influenced by e-commerce trends), the demand for sustainable design features and the operational efficiencies that can be realized from high-quality logistics facilities. In emerging markets, such as Brazil, China and Mexico, growing affluence and the rise of a new consumer class have increased the need for modern distribution networks. Our strategy is to own the highest-quality logistics property portfolio in each of our target markets. These markets are characterized by what is most important for the consumption side of a logistics supply chain \u2014 large population centers with proximity to labor pools, surrounded by highways, rail service or ports. The DCT portfolio of logistics real es tate assets wa s highly complementary to our portfolio in terms of product quality, location and growth potential. As a result of the closely aligned portfolios and similar business strategies, we have integrated the properties while adding minimal property management expenses . Our results for 2018 include the DCT port folio from the date of acquisition . At December 31, 2018, we owned or had investments in properties, on a wholly-owned basis or through ventures, in the following regions (dollars in billions, based on gross book value and total expected investment (as defined below) and square feet in millions): Included in these amounts are consolidated and unconsolidated investments denominated in foreign currencies, principally the British pound sterling, euro and Japanese yen that are impacted by fluctuations in exchange rates when translated to U.S. dollars. A developed property moves into the operating portfolio when it meets our definition of stabilization, which is the earlier of one year after completion or reaching 90% occupancy. Amounts represent our total expected investment (\"TEI\"), which includes the estimated cost of development or expansion, including land, construction and leasing costs. Rental operations comprise the largest component of our operating segments and generally contribute 85% to 90% of our consolidated revenues, earnings and funds from operations (\"FFO\"). We collect rent from our customers through long-term operating leases, including reimbursements for the majority of our property operating costs.", - "id": "9c49765f-c665-47f2-8abf-760b0f9b1bbd" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on land management, conservation, and public land exchange, which does not directly impact Monster Beverage Corp's energy drink business. The legal consequences regarding land use and environmental protections are unrelated to the company's core operations in beverage marketing and sales.", - "index": "30", - "bill_title": "To maximize land management efficiencies, promote land conservation, generate education funding, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Advancing Conservation and Education Act\n\n This bill allows the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, or Wyoming (western states) to relinquish state land grant parcels wholly or primarily within eligible areas and select, in exchange, public land within the state.\n\nThe bill defines \"eligible areas\" as lands within the outer boundaries of units or components of the National Park, National Wilderness Preservation, National Wildlife Refuge, or National Landscape Conservation Systems, areas identified by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of the Department of the Interior through a inventory carried out in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) as having wilderness characteristics as of enactment of this bill or in a land use plan that was finalized under the FLPMA, certain designated lands within the National Forest System or administered by the BLM, and sentinel landscapes designated by the Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, or Interior.\n\n Interior shall create a process for the relinquishment of such parcels.\n\n A western state may select, and Interior may convey, lands that are mineral in character.\n\n The overall value of the state land grant parcels and the public land to be conveyed shall be equal or made equal.\n\nThe bill sets forth requirements regarding hazardous materials on land to be conveyed, water rights, grazing permits, road rights-of-ways, and protection of Indian rights.", - "company_name": "Monster Beverage Corp.", - "company_description": "The Company's subsidiaries primarily develop and market energy drinks. We develop, market, sell and distribute energy drink beverages and concentrates for energy drink beverages, primarily under the following brand names: \u25cf The \"alternative\" beverage category combines non-carbonated, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters (flavored, unflavored and enhanced) with \"new age\" beverages, including sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices and flavored sparkling beverages. According to Beverage Marketing Corporation, domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2019 for the \"alternative\" beverage category of the market are estimated at approximately $58.6 billion, representing an increase of approximately 5.7% over estimated domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2018 of approximately $55.5 billion. Drinks\"), which is primarily comprised of our Monster Energy\u00ae drinks and Reign Total Body Fuel TM high performance energy drinks, (ii) Strategic Brands segment (\"Strategic Brands\"), which is comprised primarily of the various energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company (\"TCCC\") in 2015, as well as our affordable energy brands, and (iii) Other segment (\"Other\"), which is comprised of certain products sold by American Fruits and Flavors, LLC (\"AFF\"), a wholly-owned subsidiary, to independent third-party customers (the \"AFF Third-Party Products\"). Corporate and unallocated amounts that do not specifically relate to a reportable segment have been allocated to \"Corporate and unallocated. Drinks segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks primarily to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. In some cases, we sell directly to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, drug stores, foodservice customers, value stores, e-commerce retailers and the military. Our Strategic Brands segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling \"concentrates\" and/or \"beverage bases\" to authorized bottling and canning operations. Such bottlers generally combine the concentrates and/or beverage bases with sweeteners, water and other ingredients to produce ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks. The ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks are then sold to other bottlers, full service distributors or retailers, including, retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, foodservice customers, drug stores, value stores, e-commerce retailers and the military. To a lesser extent, our Strategic Brands segment generates net operating revenues by selling certain ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. Generally, the Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks segment generates higher per case net operating revenues, but lower per case gross profit margin percentages than the Strategic Brands segment. In the 1930s, Hubert Hansen and his sons started a business selling fresh non-pasteurized juices in Los Angeles, California. In 1977, Tim Hansen, one of the grandsons of Hubert Hansen, perceived a demand for shelf stable pasteurized natural juices and juice blends and formed Hansen Foods, HFI expanded its product line from juices to include Hansen's Natural Soda\u00ae brand sodas. In 1990, California Co-Packers Corporation (d/b/a Hansen Beverage Company) (\"CCC\") acquired certain assets of HFI, including the right to market the Hansen's\u00ae brand name. In 1992, Hansen Natural Corporation acquired the Hansen's\u00ae brand natural soda and apple juice business from CCC. Under our ownership, the Hansen's\u00ae beverage business significantly expanded to include a wide range of beverages within the growing \"alternative\" beverage category including, in particular, energy drinks. In 2015, we acquired various energy brands from TCCC and disposed of our non-energy drink business. During 2019, we continued to expand our existing portfolio of drinks and further develop our distribution markets. \u25cf Java Monster\u00ae Swiss Chocolate (U.S. national launch) In the normal course of business, we discontinue certain products and/or product lines. Drinks - a line of carbonated energy drinks.", - "id": "7f49f6dc-8b3b-467a-a967-86e7257e3679" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The 'Fly Smart Act' regulates airline travel by federal employees, which could impact companies like Alaska Air Group that serve government contracts or carry federal employees. The requirement for coach-class accommodations and the circumstances under which first-class travel is allowed may directly influence the pricing strategies and operational decisions of airlines. Thus, this bill is relevant to Alaska Air Group's business model and activities.", - "index": "31", - "bill_title": "A bill to provide standards relating to airline travel by Federal employees for official business.", - "bill_summary": "Fly Smart Act\n\nThis bill establishes standards for\u00a0airline travel by federal employees for official business, including a\u00a0general requirement to use coach-class accommodations and a\u00a0ban on military aircraft for domestic official travel. It allows use of first-class and business class for federal employees under certain circumstances, such as to accommodate a disability or special need or because of exceptional security circumstances.", - "company_name": "Alaska Air Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "Virgin America has been a member of Air Group since it was acquired in 2016. In 2018, Virgin America and Alaska combined operating certificates to become a single airline, and legally merged into a single entity. The Company also includes McGee Air Services, an aviation services provider that was established as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alaska in 2016. Together with our regional partner airlines, we fly to 115 destinations with over 1,200 daily departures through an expansive network across the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Costa Rica. With global airline partners, we provide our guests with a network of more than 900 destinations worldwide. Our adjusted net income was $554 million, which excludes merger-related costs, special items and mark-to-market fuel hedge adjustments. Refer to \"Results of Operations\" in Management's Discussion and Analysis for our reconciliation of Non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Mainline - includes scheduled air transportation on Alaska's Boeing or Airbus jet aircraft for passengers and cargo throughout the U.S., and in parts of Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica. other third-party carriers' scheduled air transportation for passengers across a shorter distance network within the U.S. under capacity purchase agreements (CPA). Horizon - includes the capacity sold to Alaska under CPA. Expenses include those typically borne by regional airlines such as crew costs, ownership costs and maintenance costs. We believe our success depends on our ability to provide safe air transportation, develop relationships with guests by providing exceptional customer service and low fares, and maintain a low cost structure to compete effectively. In 2018 , we focused much of our energy on the integration of Virgin America, completing over 95% of our integration milestones. In January 2018, Alaska and Virgin America received a Single Operating Certificate (SOC) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which recognizes Alaska and Virgin America as one airline. In April 2018, we transitioned to a single Passenger Service System (PSS), which allows us to provide one reservation system, one website and one inventory of flights to our guests. This transition to a single PSS enables us to unlock many of the revenue synergies expected from the acquisition, and to provide consistent branding to our guests at all airport gates, ticketing, and check-in areas. The two most important milestones we have yet to complete include combining the maintenance operations of Boeing and Airbus, and reconfiguring our Airbus fleet. In 2018 , we painted 33 Airbus aircraft with the Alaska livery and we are in process of reconfiguring all Airbus aircraft to achieve a cabin experience for our guests that is consistent with our Boeing fleet. In early 2019, we will also complete the integration of our crew management systems and aim to reach a collective bargaining agreement with our aircraft technicians, the last remaining labor group that has not yet reached a joint collective bargaining agreement. With the integration largely behind us, we remain committed to our vision to become the favorite airline for people on the West Coast. The acquisition of Virgin America positioned us as the fifth largest airline in the U.S., with an unparalleled ability to serve West Coast travelers. ' evolving needs by offering a relevant network and schedule, upgrading our onboard offerings, and retaining our unique West Coast vibe. Some of the more notable product enhancements underway include adding high-speed satellite connectivity to our entire Boeing and Airbus fleets, updating and expanding our airport lounges, and working with the Port of Seattle to open a state-of-the-art 20-gate North Satellite Concourse 4 at Sea-Tac Airport, including a 15,000 square-foot flagship lounge. We have also introduced new food and beverage menus, which include more fresh, local, and healthy offerings including salads, protein plates, and fresh snacks, as well as new beverage offerings, including craft beers, juices and an updated wine selection. We are also active in the communities we serve and strive to be an industry leader in environmental and community stewardship.", - "id": "321c4822-81fc-43ca-acf2-674faf71b26f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to ACADIA Pharmaceuticals as it aims to lower prescription drug prices and increase oversight on drug pricing, which could impact the commercialization strategies for their drug NUPLAZID and future products targeted at CNS disorders. The increased scrutiny on pricing and the potential for nonexclusive licenses could directly affect the competitive landscape and pricing strategies for ACADIA's drugs.", - "index": "32", - "bill_title": "A bill to significantly lower prescription drug prices for patients in the United States by ending government-granted monopolies for manufacturers who charge drug prices that are higher than the median prices at which the drugs are available in other countries.", - "bill_summary": "Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a series of oversight and disclosure requirements relating to the prices of brand-name drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review at least annually all brand-name drugs for excessive pricing; HHS must also review prices upon petition. If any such drugs are found to be excessively priced, HHS must (1) void any government-granted exclusivity; (2) issue open, nonexclusive licenses for the drugs; and (3) expedite the review of corresponding applications for generic drugs and biosimilar biological products. HHS must also create a public database with its determinations for each drug.\n\nUnder the bill, a price is considered excessive if the domestic average manufacturing price exceeds the median price for the drug in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. If a price does not meet this criteria, or if pricing information is unavailable in at least three of the aforementioned countries, the price is still considered excessive if it is higher than reasonable in light of specified factors, including cost, revenue, and the size of the affected patient population.\n\nThe bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified financial information for brand-name drugs, including research and advertising expenditures.", - "company_name": "ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative medicines to address unmet medical needs in central nervous system, or CNS, disorders. We have a portfolio of product opportunities led by our novel drug, NUPLAZID (pimavanserin), which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on April 29, 2016 for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis, or PD Psychosis, and is the only drug approved in the United States for this condition. NUPLAZID is a selective serotonin inverse agonist, or SSIA, preferentially targeting 5-HT 2A receptors. Through this novel mechanism, NUPLAZID demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing the hallucinations and delusions associated with PD Psychosis in our Phase 3 pivotal trial and has the potential to avoid many of the debilitating side effects of existing antipsychotics, none of which are approved by the FDA in the treatment of PD Psychosis. We hold worldwide commercialization rights to pimavanserin. We believe that pimavanserin has the potential to address important unmet medical needs in neurological and psychiatric disorders in addition to PD Psychosis and we plan to continue to study the use of pimavanserin in multiple disease states. For example, we believe dementia-related psychosis represents one of our most important opportunities for further exploration. In December 2016, we announced positive top-line results from our Phase 2 study exploring the utility of pimavanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease psychosis, or AD Psychosis, a disorder for which no drug is currently approved by the FDA. Following our End-of-Phase 2 Meeting with the FDA and agreement with the agency on our clinical development plan, we initiated 1 our Phase 3 HARMONY relapse prevention study in October 2017, which allows us to evaluate pimavanserin for a broader indication than AD Psychosis alone. More specifically, HARMONY will evaluate pimavanserin for the treatment of hal lucinations and delusions associated with dementia-related psychosis, which includes psychosis in patients with Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease dementia, vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. Furthermore, in Oc tober 2017, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to pimavanserin for dementia-related psychosis. As a result of potential overlap of clinical sites and study participants between the HARMONY study and our Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease agitation and aggression, which we refer to as SERENE, we decided to discontinue enrollment of new patients in that study. We also believe schizophrenia represents a disease with multiple unmet or ill-served needs and we are currently exploring the utility of pimavanserin in this area. Despite a large number of FDA-approved therapies for schizophrenia, current drugs do not adequately address some very important symptoms of schizophrenia, such as the inadequate response to current antipsychotic treatment of psychotic symptoms and negative symptoms. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we initiated two studies evaluating the adjunctive use of pimavanserin in patients with schizophrenia. ENHANCE-1 is a Phase 3 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment of schizophrenia in patients with an inadequate response to their current antipsychotic therapy. ADVANCE is a Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment in patients with negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Depression is another disorder with a high unmet need that we believe represents an attractive development opportunity for pimavanserin. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that patients with depression often do not receive adequate relief from an antidepressant medication, and, due to side effects of currently available therapies, many patients discontinue their medication, significantly increasing their chance of relapse. Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests 5-HT 2A antagonism may be an effective adjunctive therapy to currently prescribed antidepressants. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we initiated CLARITY, a Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment in patients with major depressive disorder, or MDD, who have an inadequate response to standard antidepressant therapy. Our strategy is to discover, develop and commercialize innovative small molecule drugs that address unmet medical needs in CNS disorders. We have assembled a management team with significant industry experience to lead the discovery, development, and commercialization of our product opportunities. We complement our management team with scientific and clinical advisors, including recognized experts in the fields of PD Psychosis, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, depression, and other CNS disorders.", - "id": "bf3ba8b0-ea70-4154-a016-af749c841aed" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The CHANGE Act of 2019 focuses on improving diagnosis and care for Alzheimer's disease, which directly aligns with Adamas Pharmaceuticals' focus on developing treatments for neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's. The bill's emphasis on enhancing cognitive impairment detection and accelerating research aligns with the company's interests in innovating Alzheimer's treatments.", - "index": "33", - "bill_title": "To provide better care and outcomes for Americans living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and their caregivers while accelerating progress toward prevention strategies, disease modifying treatments, and, ultimately, a cure.", - "bill_summary": "Concentrating on High-value Alzheimer's Needs to Get to an End Act of 2019 or the CHANGE Act of 2019 This bill modifies the requirements under Medicare for diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive impairments in older adults. Specifically, the bill expands the cognitive impairment detection benefit during annual wellness visits to require the use of validated detection tools and documentation of the results in the patient's medical record. Further, when a cognitive impairment is detected, the patient must be referred to an appropriate diagnostic service provider and other specified supports. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services must implement Medicare policies that increase the identification and response to patients' Alzheimer's disease risk factors and incentivize providers to utilize high-quality cognitive impairment diagnosis practices. The Government Accountability Office also must conduct a study of policies that may accelerate progress in Alzheimer's disease research and enhance the quality of care for individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.", - "company_name": "Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "At Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., we seek to redefine the treatment experience for patients suffering from chronic neurological diseases. Our vision is grand, our goal bold: to create and commercialize a new generation of medicines intended to lessen the burden of disease on patients, caregivers and society. With a new commercial medicine and robust pipeline of investigational programs focused on meaningfully differentiated treatment options for patients, we believe we are well on our way. Our therapeutic targets include a broad range of neurologic diseases, including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. Our treatment innovations stem from a deep scientific understanding of time-dependent biology \u2013 the deliberate mapping of disease patterns and drug activity \u2013 along with a goal to meaningfully increase the efficacy of known molecules without compromising tolerability. This approach is designed to ensure that our medicines fit within, rather than define, people's daily lives. Our goal is to develop medicines that are timed for the benefit of patients. Our understanding of time-dependent biological processes informs our every innovation, targeting advancement in treatment of chronic neurologic disorders. (amantadine) extended release capsules, formerly referred to as ADS-5102, for the treatment of dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease receiving levodopa-based therapy, with or without concomitant dopaminergic medications. GOCOVRI was approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on August 24, 2017, with seven years of orphan exclusivity and additional patent protections, and we fully launched GOCOVRI with a deployed sales force in January 2018. Potential Additional Indications for GOCOVRI (amantadine) ADS-5102 in development for the treatment of walking impairment in patients with multiple sclerosis. We expect the start of our Phase 3 pivotal study in this supplemental indication to occur early in the second quarter of 2018. ADS-5102 in research and potential development for additional indications, including the treatment of wearing OFF and delaying motor complications in Parkinson's disease, tardive dyskinesia, Huntington's chorea, Tourette syndrome, and non-motor disorders, including depression, and anti-psychotic induced weight gain. We expect to select additional indications for ADS-5102 by first quarter 2019. ADS-4101 (lacosamide) modified release capsules in development for the treatment of partial onset seizures in patients with epilepsy. We have requested a meeting with the FDA in the first half of 2018, with the start of a Phase 3 pivotal study planned for 2019, depending on FDA feedback. Additional product candidates in research based on potential new discoveries in Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, as well as new research programs in psychiatry. (memantine hydrochloride extended release and donepezil hydrochloride) capsules for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of an Alzheimer's type, marketed in the United States by Allergan plc under an exclusive license agreement between us and Forest Laboratories Holdings Limited (\"Forest\"), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Allergan plc. (memantine hydrochloride) extended release capsules for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of an Alzheimer's type, marketed in the United States by Allergan plc under the Forest license agreement. 3 Products in our wholly-owned portfolio, potential additional indications for these products, and our product candidates, are protected by an array of intellectual property, including robust and diversified patent claims, and regulatory exclusivities. For example, GOCOVRI is protected by seven-year orphan drug exclusivity, three-year new product exclusivity, and issued patents and pending patent applications out to at least 2035. We also received $160.0 million in upfront and milestone payments and $4.1 million in development funding from our partnership with Allergan plc. We estimate that approximately 36 million people in the United States suffer from chronic central nervous system, or CNS, disorders such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, psychosis, depression, and Alzheimer' CNS diseases are frequently treated with multiple medications having different mechanisms of action with the goal of maximizing symptomatic benefits for patients.", - "id": "d53db087-f056-4a3d-9f71-d3c652a1c5aa" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill mandates drug manufacturers to justify price increases, which directly impacts Aerie Pharmaceuticals since they are a pharmaceutical company involved in the development and commercialization of drugs (Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan\u2122). The requirement for price justification and potential penalties for non-compliance are significant legal considerations that would affect their pricing strategies and overall operations.", - "index": "34", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title XI of the Social Security Act to require drug manufacturers to publicly justify unnecessary price increases.", - "bill_summary": "Stopping the Pharmaceutical Industry from Keeping Drugs Expensive (SPIKE) Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires manufacturers of drugs with specified percentage increases in their wholesale costs to submit to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) written justification\u00a0for\u00a0certain increases in drug prices. The CMS shall\u00a0publish each\u00a0submission, together with an\u00a0easily understandable summary, on its website. Certain proprietary information may be excluded from publication, as specified by the bill.\n\nA manufacturer that does not comply with the bill's requirements\u00a0shall be\u00a0subject to civil monetary penalties.", - "company_name": "Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class therapies for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma and other diseases of the eye. Our strategy is to commercialize Rhopressa \u00ae, approved by the FDA on December 18, 2017, in North American markets and advance our product candidate, Roclatan TM, to regulatory approval. We are in the process of hiring a commercial team that will include approximately 100 sales representatives to target approximately 12,000 high prescribing eye-care professionals throughout the United States. If we obtain regulatory approval, we currently expect to commercialize Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM in Europe on our own, and likely partner for commercialization in Japan. Subsequent to December 31, 2017, we issued and sold approximately 2.3 million additional shares of our common stock, for which we received net proceeds of approximately $136.2 million, after deducting fees and expenses, upon the completion of the \"at-the-market\" offering that commenced in December 2017 and pursuant to an underwriting agreement, dated January 23, 2018, related to a registered public offering. Our FDA-approved product, Rhopressa \u00ae, is a once-daily eye drop designed to reduce elevated intraocular pressure (\"IOP\") in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The active ingredient in Rhopressa \u00ae, netarsudil, is a Rho kinase inhibitor. We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae represents the first of a new drug class for reducing IOP in patients with glaucoma in over 20 years. Based on clinical data, we expect that Rhopressa\u00ae will have the potential to compete with non-PGA (prostaglandin analog) products as a preferred adjunctive therapy to prostaglandin analogs (\"PGAs\"), due to its targeting of the diseased tissue known as the trabecular meshwork (\"TM\"), its demonstrated ability to reduce IOP at consistent levels across tested baselines, and its preferred once-daily dosing relative to currently marketed non-PGA products. Adjunctive therapies currently represent nearly one-half of the glaucoma prescription market in the United States, according to IQVIA (formerly known as IMS Health). We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae may also become a preferred therapy where PGAs are contraindicated, for patients who do not respond to PGAs and for patients who choose to avoid the cosmetic issues associated with PGA products. Our advanced-stage product candidate, Roclatan TM, is a once-daily, fixed-dose combination of Rhopressa\u00ae and latanoprost, the most commonly prescribed drug for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma. We plan to submit a New Drug Application (\"NDA\") for Roclatan TM to the FDA in the second quarter of 2018. We believe, based on our clinical data, that Roclatan TM has the potential to provide a greater IOP-reducing effect than any currently marketed glaucoma medication. Therefore, we believe that Roclatan TM, if approved, could compete with both PGA and non-PGA therapies and become the product of choice for patients requiring maximal IOP reduction, including those with higher IOPs and those who present with significant disease progression despite use of the currently available therapies. We own the worldwide rights to all indications for Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM. We have patent protection for Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM in the United States through at least 2030 and internationally through dates ranging from 2030 to 2037. Our intellectual property portfolio contains patents and pending patent applications related to composition of matter, pharmaceutical compositions, methods of use, and synthetic methods. Our collaboration with DSM, a global science-based company headquartered in the Netherlands, provides access to their bio-erodible polymer technology, and our acquisition of assets from Envisia Therapeutics Inc. (\"Envisia\"), which includes the right to use PRINT\u00ae manufacturing technology for ophthalmology, are designed to 1 advance our progress in developing potential future product candidates to treat retinal diseases. Aided by these technologies, we are developing two preclinical molecules focused on retinal disease. AR-13503, for which we expect to submit an Investigational New Drug application (\"IND\") in 2019, is an Aerie-owned Rho kinase and Protein kinase C inhibitor with potential in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (\"AMD\"), diabetic retinopathy and related diseases of the retina, such as diabetic macular edema (\"DME\"). As the active metabolite of AR-13154(S), AR-13503 has shown lesion size decreases in an in vivo preclinical model of wet AMD at levels similar to the current market-leading wet AMD anti-VEGF product. Also preclinically, when used in combination with the market leading anti-VEGF product, AR-13503 produced greater lesion size reduction than the anti-VEGF product alone in a model of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Additionally, through the Envisia asset acquisition, we are also developing AR-1105, a preclinical dexamethasone steroid implant with potential in the treatment of DME, and currently expect to submit an IND in late 2018. Further, we are evaluating our owned library of Rho kinase inhibitors for potential indications beyond ophthalmology.", - "id": "30b3c7eb-2d23-4cc3-8a29-53c6ede44d46" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing a mesothelioma patient registry related to asbestos exposure and cancer research, which does not directly align with Acceleron Pharma's core focus on TGF-beta superfamily therapeutics for hematologic, neuromuscular, and pulmonary diseases. Acceleron's research and development primarily address conditions such as chronic anemia, beta-thalassemia, and pulmonary hypertension, but not specifically mesothelioma or asbestos-related health issues.", - "index": "35", - "bill_title": "To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment of a mesothelioma patient registry, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Mary Jo Lawyer Spano Mesothelioma Patient Registry Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, to establish a mesothelioma patient registry. (Mesothelioma is a cancer of the tissue lining the lung, chest, and abdomen areas and is generally associated with asbestos exposure.) The registry must include information relating to the incidence and prevalence of mesothelioma in the United States, including treatment outcomes and demographics.", - "company_name": "Acceleron Pharma, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a leading biopharmaceutical company in the discovery and development of TGF-beta superfamily therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases. Our research focuses on key natural regulators of cellular growth and repair, particularly the Transforming Growth Factor-Beta, or TGF-beta, protein superfamily. By combining our discovery and development expertise, including our proprietary knowledge of the TGF-beta superfamily, and our internal protein engineering and manufacturing capabilities, we have generated several innovative therapeutic candidates, all of which encompass novel potential first-in-class mechanisms of action. We have focused and prioritized our research and development activities within three key therapeutic areas: hematologic, neuromuscular and pulmonary. If successful, these candidates could have the potential to significantly improve clinical outcomes for patients across these areas of high, unmet need. Luspatercept, our lead program, and sotatercept, are partnered with Celgene Corporation, or Celgene. Luspatercept is an investigational erythroid maturation agent designed to promote red blood cell production through a novel mechanism, and is being developed to treat chronic anemia and associated complications in myelodysplastic syndromes, or MDS, beta-thalassemia, and myelofibrosis. In 2018, we and Celgene announced positive results for two Phase 3 clinical trials with luspatercept; one for the treatment of patients with lower-risk MDS with ring sideroblasts, known as the MEDALIST trial, and another for the treatment of patients with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, also known as the BELIEVE trial. In the MEDALIST trial, luspatercept achieved a highly statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion independence of at least 8 consecutive weeks during the first 24 weeks compared to placebo. In the BELIEVE trial, luspatercept achieved a highly statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of erythroid response, which was defined as at least a 33 percent reduction from baseline in red blood cell (RBC) transfusion burden with a reduction of at least 2 units during the protocol-defined period of 12 consecutive weeks, from week 13 to week 24, compared to placebo. Results from the MEDALIST and BELIEVE trials were then presented during plenary and oral sessions, respectively, at the 60th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in December 2018, and we expect to submit these results for publication during 2019. \"Best of ASH,\" chosen from among the thousands of meeting abstracts as \"the biggest breakthroughs from the meeting's scientific presentations. We and Celgene are planning regulatory application submissions for luspatercept in both MDS and beta-thalassemia in the United States in April 2019 and in Europe in the first half of 2019. In addition to the MEDALIST and BELIEVE Phase 3 clinical trials with luspatercept, Celgene is currently conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial in non-transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia patients, referred to as the BEYOND trial, with preliminary top-line results currently expected in 2020. Celgene has also initiated a Phase 3 clinical trial, the COMMANDS trial, in first-line, lower-risk MDS patients and enrollment is ongoing. Enrollment is also currently ongoing in a Phase 2 clinical trial being conducted by Celgene for the treatment of patients with myelofibrosis, a rare bone marrow disorder, with preliminary top-line results currently expected in the second half of 2019. If luspatercept were to receive regulatory approval for each of these indications in the United States and Europe, we believe that there is an annual peak sales opportunity for luspatercept in excess of $2 billion across the indications in the BEYOND trial and the luspatercept Phase 3 clinical trials, and an annual peak sales opportunity for luspatercept in excess of $1 billion in myelofibrosis. We and Celgene are also evaluating further research of luspatercept for the treatment of anemia in potential new indications that could provide additional sales opportunities. For sotatercept, we have the rights to fund, develop, and lead the global commercialization of sotatercept in pulmonary hypertension, which we refer to as the PH field, including pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH. PAH is a rare and chronic, rapidly progressing disorder characterized by the constriction of small pulmonary arteries, resulting in abnormally high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries. We are currently enrolling the PULSAR Phase 2 clinical trial of sotatercept for the treatment of patients with PAH with preliminary results expected in the first half of 2020, and we recently initiated an exploratory study, called SPECTRA, in the first quarter of 2019 to provide us with further understanding of sotatercept's impact on PAH. If sotatercept is commercialized to treat PAH and we recognize such revenue, then Celgene will be eligible to receive a royalty in the low 20% range on global net sales. For luspatercept and, outside of the PH field, sotatercept, Celgene is responsible for paying 100% of the development costs for all clinical trials. ACE-083 is designed for the treatment of focal muscle disorders, and we are currently conducting Phase 2 clinical trials with ACE-083 in patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD, as well as in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, or CMT.", - "id": "2899b516-c425-4802-95a1-d852a5110a9c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Prescription Drug STAR Act mandates drug manufacturers to report on pricing, discounts, and product samples. As Acceleron Pharma develops and sells biopharmaceuticals, the requirements for price transparency and reporting on product samples are directly applicable to their operations and could impact their pricing strategies and compliance requirements.", - "index": "36", - "bill_title": "To amend titles XI and XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for drug manufacturer price transparency, to require certain manufacturers to report on product samples provided to certain health care providers, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Prescription Drug Sunshine, Transparency, Accountability and Reporting Act or the Prescription Drug STAR Act This bill establishes requirements for prescription drug manufacturers to provide certain information about pricing, discounts, and product samples of applicable drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to annually determine whether there are price increases of a certain threshold for outpatient prescription drugs covered under Medicare, excluding low-cost drugs. Manufacturers must provide HHS with an explanation for drug prices that (1) cumulatively increase by at least 10% or $10,000 over one year; (2) cumulatively increase by at least 25% or $25,000 over three years; or (3) are at least $26,000 annually, per individual, if first covered by Medicare during the applicable year. The manufacturer must explain the role of the factors contributing to such prices and other relevant information, including manufacturing costs, marketing costs, and revenue.\n\nAdditionally, drug manufacturers must provide HHS with aggregate data related to product samples of drugs, devices, biologic products, and medical supplies given to hospitals, physicians, or other medical professionals during the previous calendar year, beginning in 2023. The bill further requires HHS to make publicly available the information related to drug discounts, rebates, and price concessions that is provided annually to HHS by group health plans. Drug manufacturers also must report to HHS certain sales information for drugs available under Medicare for which the manufacturer does not have a rebate agreement in place. The bill requires HHS to study and report on trends concerning inpatient hospital drug costs.", - "company_name": "Acceleron Pharma, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a leading biopharmaceutical company in the discovery and development of TGF-beta superfamily therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases. Our research focuses on key natural regulators of cellular growth and repair, particularly the Transforming Growth Factor-Beta, or TGF-beta, protein superfamily. By combining our discovery and development expertise, including our proprietary knowledge of the TGF-beta superfamily, and our internal protein engineering and manufacturing capabilities, we have generated several innovative therapeutic candidates, all of which encompass novel potential first-in-class mechanisms of action. We have focused and prioritized our research and development activities within three key therapeutic areas: hematologic, neuromuscular and pulmonary. If successful, these candidates could have the potential to significantly improve clinical outcomes for patients across these areas of high, unmet need. Luspatercept, our lead program, and sotatercept, are partnered with Celgene Corporation, or Celgene. Luspatercept is an investigational erythroid maturation agent designed to promote red blood cell production through a novel mechanism, and is being developed to treat chronic anemia and associated complications in myelodysplastic syndromes, or MDS, beta-thalassemia, and myelofibrosis. In 2018, we and Celgene announced positive results for two Phase 3 clinical trials with luspatercept; one for the treatment of patients with lower-risk MDS with ring sideroblasts, known as the MEDALIST trial, and another for the treatment of patients with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, also known as the BELIEVE trial. In the MEDALIST trial, luspatercept achieved a highly statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion independence of at least 8 consecutive weeks during the first 24 weeks compared to placebo. In the BELIEVE trial, luspatercept achieved a highly statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of erythroid response, which was defined as at least a 33 percent reduction from baseline in red blood cell (RBC) transfusion burden with a reduction of at least 2 units during the protocol-defined period of 12 consecutive weeks, from week 13 to week 24, compared to placebo. Results from the MEDALIST and BELIEVE trials were then presented during plenary and oral sessions, respectively, at the 60th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in December 2018, and we expect to submit these results for publication during 2019. \"Best of ASH,\" chosen from among the thousands of meeting abstracts as \"the biggest breakthroughs from the meeting's scientific presentations. We and Celgene are planning regulatory application submissions for luspatercept in both MDS and beta-thalassemia in the United States in April 2019 and in Europe in the first half of 2019. In addition to the MEDALIST and BELIEVE Phase 3 clinical trials with luspatercept, Celgene is currently conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial in non-transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia patients, referred to as the BEYOND trial, with preliminary top-line results currently expected in 2020. Celgene has also initiated a Phase 3 clinical trial, the COMMANDS trial, in first-line, lower-risk MDS patients and enrollment is ongoing. Enrollment is also currently ongoing in a Phase 2 clinical trial being conducted by Celgene for the treatment of patients with myelofibrosis, a rare bone marrow disorder, with preliminary top-line results currently expected in the second half of 2019. If luspatercept were to receive regulatory approval for each of these indications in the United States and Europe, we believe that there is an annual peak sales opportunity for luspatercept in excess of $2 billion across the indications in the BEYOND trial and the luspatercept Phase 3 clinical trials, and an annual peak sales opportunity for luspatercept in excess of $1 billion in myelofibrosis. We and Celgene are also evaluating further research of luspatercept for the treatment of anemia in potential new indications that could provide additional sales opportunities. For sotatercept, we have the rights to fund, develop, and lead the global commercialization of sotatercept in pulmonary hypertension, which we refer to as the PH field, including pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH. PAH is a rare and chronic, rapidly progressing disorder characterized by the constriction of small pulmonary arteries, resulting in abnormally high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries. We are currently enrolling the PULSAR Phase 2 clinical trial of sotatercept for the treatment of patients with PAH with preliminary results expected in the first half of 2020, and we recently initiated an exploratory study, called SPECTRA, in the first quarter of 2019 to provide us with further understanding of sotatercept's impact on PAH. If sotatercept is commercialized to treat PAH and we recognize such revenue, then Celgene will be eligible to receive a royalty in the low 20% range on global net sales. For luspatercept and, outside of the PH field, sotatercept, Celgene is responsible for paying 100% of the development costs for all clinical trials. ACE-083 is designed for the treatment of focal muscle disorders, and we are currently conducting Phase 2 clinical trials with ACE-083 in patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD, as well as in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, or CMT.", - "id": "6bee5d3e-b273-4527-b735-5f35039ec354" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on reauthorizing the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System and strengthening NOAA's authority concerning environmental assessments and hydrology, which does not directly align with Amazon's core business operations in e-commerce, cloud computing, and media. Although environmental considerations may have some indirect impact, they are not central to Amazon's logistics, retail, or technology services.", - "index": "37", - "bill_title": "A bill to reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009, to clarify the authority of the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with respect to post-storm assessments, and to require the establishment of a National Water Center, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Coordinated Ocean Observations and Research Act of 2019\n\nThis bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System (IOOS), which is a network of federal and regional entities that provide information about the nation's coasts, oceans, and Great Lakes, as well as new tools and forecasts to improve safety, enhance the economy, and protect the environment.\n\nThe bill revises the authority of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to conduct scientific assessments related to storms, including to (1) direct NOAA to seek public input before the Named Storm Event Model (the official meteorological and oceanographic computerized model which utilizes data to replicate the magnitude, timing, and spatial variations of winds, rainfall, and storm surges associated with named storms for which post-storm assessments are conducted) takes effect, and (2) allow NOAA to deploy sensors to areas in coastal states that are at the highest risk of experiencing geophysical events that would cause indeterminate losses.\n\nThe bill provides statutory authority for NOAA's National Water Center. (The center currently exists at NOAA as the research and operational center of excellence for hydrologic analyses, forecasting, and related decision support services.)", - "company_name": "Amazon.com, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. In each of our segments, we serve our primary customer sets, consisting of consumers, sellers, developers, enterprises, and content creators. In addition, we provide services, such as advertising to sellers, vendors, publishers, and authors, through programs such as sponsored ads, display, and video advertising. We serve consumers through our online and physical stores and focus on selection, price, and convenience. We design our stores to enable hundreds of millions of unique products to be sold by us and by third parties across dozens of product categories. Customers access our offerings through our websites, mobile apps, Alexa, devices, streaming, and physically visiting our stores. We also manufacture and sell electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablet, Fire TV, Echo, Ring, and other devices, and we develop and produce media content. In addition, we offer Amazon Prime, a membership program that includes unlimited free shipping on over 100 million items, access to unlimited streaming of tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes, including Amazon Original content, and other benefits. We fulfill customer orders in a number of ways, including through: North America and International fulfillment and delivery networks that we operate; co-sourced and outsourced arrangements in certain countries; digital delivery; and through our physical stores. We offer programs that enable sellers to grow their businesses, sell their products in our stores, and fulfill orders through us. We earn fixed fees, a percentage of sales, per-unit activity fees, interest, or some combination thereof, for our seller programs. We serve developers and enterprises of all sizes, including start-ups, government agencies, and academic institutions, through our AWS segment, which offers a broad set of global compute, storage, database, and other service offerings. We serve authors and independent publishers with Kindle Direct Publishing, an online service that lets independent authors and publishers choose a royalty option and make their books available in the Kindle Store, along with Amazon's own publishing arm, Amazon Publishing. We also offer programs that allow authors, musicians, filmmakers, skill and app developers, and others to publish and sell content. Our businesses encompass a large variety of product types, service offerings, and delivery channels. The worldwide marketplace in which we compete is evolving rapidly and intensely competitive, and we face a broad array of competitors from many different industry sectors around the world. We believe that the principal competitive factors in our retail businesses include selection, price, and convenience, including fast and reliable fulfillment. Additional competitive factors for our seller and enterprise services include the quality, speed, and reliability of our services and tools, as well as customers' ability and willingness to change business practices. They may secure better terms from suppliers, adopt more aggressive pricing, pursue restrictive distribution agreements that restrict our access to supply, direct consumers to their own offerings instead of ours, lock-in potential customers with restrictive terms, and devote more resources to technology, infrastructure, fulfillment, and marketing. The Internet facilitates competitive entry and comparison shopping, which enhances the ability of new, smaller, or lesser-known businesses to compete against us. Fourth quarter 2017 results include revenue attributable to Whole Foods Market, which we acquired on August 28, 2017. Competition for qualified personnel has historically been intense, particularly for software engineers, computer scientists, and other technical staff. ", - "id": "7bb222b6-f3d1-4d28-a2de-e22195861f25" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill makes permanent individual tax provisions that could impact the financial health of small to medium-sized businesses and individual customers in the Houston region. Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. primarily serves this market, so changes in individual tax rates, the child tax credit, and other tax benefits could influence the disposable income of their customer base, ultimately affecting the bank's business activities and revenue.", - "index": "38", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the individual tax provisions of the tax reform law, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "This bill makes permanent several tax provisions that were enacted in 2017 and are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.\n\nThe bill makes permanent provisions that\n\n reduce individual tax rates, modify the taxation of the unearned income of children, allow a deduction for qualified business income of pass-through entities, increase the standard deduction, increase and modify the child tax credit, increase the limitation for certain charitable contributions, allow additional contributions to ABLE accounts (tax-favored accounts designed to enable individuals with disabilities to save for and pay for disability-related expenses), allow certain members of the Armed Forces in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt to receive combat zone tax benefits, reduce the adjusted gross income threshold for the medical expense deduction, exclude from gross income discharges of student loan debt due to the death or disability of the student, repeal the deduction for personal exemptions, limit individual deductions for state and local taxes, limit the mortgage interest deduction, double the estate and gift tax exemption amount, increase the alternative minimum tax exemption amount for individuals, and repeal or limit several other deductions and exclusions. The bill also modifies (1) the capital gains tax brackets, and (2) the tax filing requirements for married taxpayers.", - "company_name": "Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. (Texas)", - "company_description": "Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. is a Texas corporation and registered bank holding company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Allegiance Bank, we provide a diversified range of commercial banking services primarily to small to medium-sized businesses within the Houston region, professionals and individual customers. Our super-community banking strategy, which is described in more detail below, is designed to foster strong customer relationships while benefitting from a platform and scale that is competitive with larger regional and national banks. As of December 31, 2018, we operated 28 full-service banking locations, with 27 bank offices and one loan production office in the Houston metropolitan area and one bank office location in Beaumont, just outside of the Houston metropolitan area. We have experienced significant growth since we began banking operations in 2007, resulting from both organic growth, including de novo branching, and three whole-bank acquisitions, most recently Post Oak Bancshares, The Company's objective is to grow and strengthen its community banking franchise by deploying its super-community banking strategy and by pursuing select strategic acquisitions in the Houston region. We are positioned to be a leading provider of personalized commercial banking services by emphasizing the strength and capabilities of local bank office management and by providing superior customer service. Super-community banking strategy. Our super-community banking strategy emphasizes local delivery of the excellent customer service associated with community banking combined with the products, efficiencies and scale associated with larger banks. We operate full-service bank offices and employ bankers with strong underwriting credentials who are authorized to make loan and underwriting decisions up to prescribed limits at the bank office level. We support bank office operations with a centralized credit approval process for larger credit relationships, loan operations, information technology, core data processing, accounting, finance, treasury and treasury management support, deposit operations and executive and board oversight. We emphasize lending to and banking with small to medium-sized businesses, with which we believe we can establish stronger relationships through excellent service and provide lending that can be priced on terms that are more attractive to the Company than would be achieved by lending to larger businesses. We believe this approach produces a clear competitive advantage by delivering an extraordinary customer experience and fostering a culture dedicated to achieving both superior external and internal service levels. increasing the productivity of existing bankers, as measured by loans, deposits and fee income per banker, while enhancing profitability by leveraging our existing operating platform; focusing on local and individualized decision-making, allowing us to provide customers with rapid decisions on loan requests, which we believe allows us to effectively compete with larger financial institutions; identifying and hiring additional seasoned bankers in the Houston region who will thrive within our super-community banking model, and opening additional branches where we are able to attract seasoned bankers; and developing new products designed to serve the increasingly diversified Houston economy, while preserving our strong culture of risk management. We intend to continue to expand our market position in the Houston region through organic growth, the development of de novo branch locations and a disciplined acquisition strategy. On January 31, 2016, the Company completed the sale of two of the acquired branches of Farmers & Merchants, Inc. Our senior management team has a demonstrated track record of managing profitable organic growth, improving operating efficiencies, maintaining a strong risk management culture, implementing a community and service-focused approach to banking and successfully executing and integrating acquisitions. Scalable banking and operational platform designed to foster and accommodate significant growth. We have built a capable and knowledgeable staff by utilizing the significant prior experience of our management team and employees. We have made extensive investments in the technology and systems necessary to build a scalable corporate infrastructure with the capacity to support continued growth. We are focused on delivering a wide variety of high-quality, relationship-driven commercial and community-oriented banking products and services tailored to meet the needs of small to medium-sized businesses, professionals and individuals in the Houston region. We actively solicit the deposit business of our consumer and commercial loan customers and seek to further leverage these relationships by broadening customer relationships with additional products and services. ", - "id": "3a4a4b2c-4413-4e48-ac4a-7af5a18f5f51" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to wildlife conservation and hunter recruitment funding, which primarily impacts state and federal wildlife management policies. Alphabet, Inc.'s business focus on technology, internet services, and machine learning does not intersect with the specifics of wildlife conservation or hunting promotion. Therefore, there is no direct relevance to the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "39", - "bill_title": "To amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to modernize the funding of wildlife conservation, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow's Needs Act\n\nThis bill revises provisions of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act relating to the funding of wildlife conservation. Specifically, the bill\n\n adds new definitions, including a definition of hunter recruitment and recreational shooter recruitment; apportions to states revenues from taxes on pistols, revolvers, bows, and arrows at a rate not greater than 3% and not less than 1% of such revenues; removes the existing prohibition in the Act on public relations to allow spending by states for management of wildlife areas and promotion of hunting and recreational shooting; allows the use of grant funds for the enhancement of hunter recruitment and recreational shooter recruitment; and expands the Multistate Conservation Grant program by providing $5 million exclusively for making hunter and recreational shooter recruitment project grants that promote a national hunting and shooting sport recruitment program, including related communication and outreach activities. The Fish and Wildlife Service shall review and evaluate the effects of funds used for hunter and recreational shooter recruitment on funds available for wildlife conservation.", - "company_name": "Alphabet, Inc.", - "company_description": "That unconventional spirit has been a driving force throughout our history -- inspiring us to do things like rethink the mobile device ecosystem with Android and map the world with Google Maps. Alphabet is a collection of businesses -- the largest of which is Google. It also includes businesses that are generally pretty far afield of our main internet products in areas such as self-driving cars, life sciences, internet access and TV services. The Internet is one of the world's most powerful equalizers, capable of propelling new ideas and people forward. So whether you're a child in a rural village or a professor at an elite university, you can access the same information. We are helping people get online by tailoring digital experiences to the needs of emerging markets. For instance, our digital payments app in India, now called Google Pay, helps tens of millions of people and businesses easily pay with just a few taps. We're also making sure our core Google products are fast and useful, especially for users in areas where speed and connectivity are central concerns. For instance, Loon announced that it will bring its balloon-powered internet to regions of central Kenya, starting in 2019. People thought we were crazy when we acquired YouTube and Android and when we launched Chrome, but those efforts have matured into major platforms for digital video and mobile devices and a safer, popular browser. The power of machine learning Across the company, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly driving many of our latest innovations. Within Google, our investments in machine learning over a decade have enabled us to build products that are smarter and more useful -- it's what allows you to use your voice to ask the Google Assistant for information, to translate the web from one language to another, to see better YouTube recommendations, and to search for people and events in Google Photos. Our advertising tools also use machine learning to help marketers find the right audience, deliver the right creative, and optimize their campaigns through better auto-bidding and measurement tools. Machine learning is also showing great promise in helping us tackle big issues, like dramatically improving the energy efficiency of our data centers. Across Other Bets, machine learning helps self-driving cars better detect and respond to others on the road, assists delivery drones in determining whether a location is safe for drop off, and can also help clinicians more accurately detect sight-threatening eye diseases. We have always been a company committed to building products that have the potential to improve the lives of millions of people. Our product innovations have made our services widely used, and our brand one of the most recognized in the world. Google's core products and platforms such as Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Play, Search, and YouTube each have over one billion monthly active users. Our vision is to remain a place of incredible creativity and innovation 3 that uses our technical expertise to tackle big problems. As the majority of Alphabet's big bets continue to reside within Google, an important benefit of the shift to Alphabet has been the tremendous focus that we' Instead of just showing ten blue links in our search results, we are increasingly able to provide direct answers -- even if you're speaking your question using Voice Search -- which makes it quicker, easier and more natural to find what you're looking for. You can also type or talk with the Google Assistant in a conversational way across multiple devices like phones, speakers, headphones, televisions and more. And with Google Lens, you can use your phone's camera to identify an unfamiliar landmark or find a trailer from a movie poster. Over time, we have also added other services that let you access information quickly and easily -- like Google Maps, which helps you navigate to a store while showing you current traffic conditions, or Google Photos, which helps you store and organize your photos. ", - "id": "44176097-a251-462d-996c-eed1a96b0cbd" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to workplace violence prevention specifically within the health care and social service sectors. Verso Corp. operates primarily in the paper manufacturing industry, producing various types of coated and specialty papers, which does not directly involve health care or social service activities. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill are not relevant to the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "40", - "bill_title": "To direct the Secretary of Labor to issue an occupational safety and health standard that requires covered employers within the health care and social service industries to develop and implement a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Labor to address workplace violence in the health care and social service sectors. Specifically, Labor must promulgate an occupational safety and health standard that requires certain employers in the health care and social service sectors, as well as employers in sectors that conduct activities similar to the activities in the health care and social service sectors, to develop and implement a comprehensive plan for protecting health care workers, social service workers, and other personnel from workplace violence.\n\nIn addition, those employers must\n\n investigate workplace violence incidents, risks, or hazards as soon as practicable; provide training and education to employees who may be exposed to workplace violence hazards and risks; meet record keeping requirements; and prohibit acts of discrimination or retaliation against employees for reporting workplace violence incidents, threats, or concerns.", - "company_name": "Verso Corp.", - "company_description": "After the Internal Reorganization, Verso is the sole member of Verso Holding LLC, which is the sole member of Verso Paper Holding LLC. As used in this report, the term \"Verso Holding\" refers to Verso Holding LLC, and the term \"Verso Paper\" refers to Verso Paper Holding LLC. Prior to the Internal Reorganization, Verso was the sole member of Verso Paper Finance Holdings One LLC, which was the sole member of Verso Paper Finance Holdings LLC, which was the sole member of Verso Paper Holdings LLC. We are the leading North American producer of coated papers, which are used primarily in commercial print, magazines, catalogs, high-end advertising brochures and annual reports, among other media and marketing publications. We produce a wide range of products, ranging from coated freesheet and coated groundwood, to specialty papers, packaging papers, inkjet and digital papers, supercalendered papers and uncoated freesheet. We also produce and sell bleached and unbleached market kraft pulp, which is used to manufacture printing and writing paper grades and tissue products. The mills have an aggregate annual production capacity of approximately 3,080,000 tons of paper. In February 2018, we announced plans to upgrade the shuttered No. 3 paper machine at our Androscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine, enabling this equipment to restart for the manufacture of packaging papers. This paper machine was previously idled beginning in January 2017 and shut down in July 2017. The upgrade was completed in the third quarter of 2018 and the No. 3 paper machine increased the aggregate annual paper production capacity by approximately 200,000 tons. We sell and market our products to approximately 300 customers which comprise approximately 1,600 end-user accounts. We have long-standing relationships with many leading magazine and catalog publishers, commercial printers, specialty retail merchandisers and paper merchants. We reach our end-users through several distribution channels, including direct sales, commercial printers, paper merchants and brokers. \" Verso and substantially all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, or the \"Debtors,\" filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, or the \"Bankruptcy Code,\" in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, or the \"Bankruptcy Court. In accordance with the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board, or \"FASB,\" Accounting Standards Codification, or \"ASC\" 852, Reorganizations, the Debtors adopted fresh start accounting upon emergence from the Chapter 11 Cases and became a new entity for financial reporting purposes as of July 15, 2016. The Internal Reorganization involved several separate, but related, actions consisting of mergers between subsidiaries to reduce their numbers, the conversion of corporate subsidiaries to limited liability companies, the re-domestication of subsidiaries under Delaware law to provide for a uniform and enlightened regulatory framework, the formation of new holding companies to create separate \"branches\" for Verso's paper-making and energy operations, and name changes of subsidiaries to more appropriately reflect the nature of their assets and operations. Based on total industry 2018 sales and other market research, we estimate the size of the global coated paper industry to be approximately $36 billion, or 38 million tons of coated paper shipments, including approximately $5 billion, or 6 million tons, of coated paper shipments, in North America. Coated paper is used primarily in media and marketing applications, including catalogs, magazines and commercial printing applications, which include high-end advertising brochures, annual reports and direct mail advertising. Demand is generally driven by North American advertising and print media trends, which in turn have historically been correlated with growth in Gross Domestic Product, or \"GDP. The coated paper industry has been facing a decline in demand driven primarily by the growth in digital media. In North America, coated papers are classified by brightness and fall into five grades, labeled No. 1 to No. 5, with No. 1 having the highest brightness level and No. 5 having the lowest brightness level. Papers graded No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 are typically coated freesheet grades. No. 4 and No. 5 papers are predominantly grades containing groundwood. Coated groundwood grades are the preferred grades for catalogs and magazines, while coated freesheet is more commonly used in commercial print applications. ", - "id": "69a59847-7bb9-4693-a726-1d8c2d8faccb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy standards, which are relevant to SkyWest, Inc. as an airline company whose operations significantly depend on fuel usage. As fuel costs are a major factor in the airline industry, any regulations that affect fuel economy and emissions could impact operational costs and compliance requirements.", - "index": "41", - "bill_title": "To preserve appropriate and achievable Federal standards for greenhouse gas emissions and corporate average fuel economy for cars and light trucks through model year 2025, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Clean and Efficient Cars Act of 2019\n\nThis bill provides statutory authority for rules concerning corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for automobiles with model years 2021 through 2025 and greenhouse gas emission standards for light-duty vehicles (e.g., trucks) with model years 2017 through 2025. Specifically, the bill provides statutory authority for rules issued in 2012 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the CAFE standards and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the greenhouse gas emission standards.\n\nNHTSA and the EPA may not take actions that could reduce the stringency of the standards.", - "company_name": "Sky West, Inc.", - "company_description": "Inc. (\"Alaska\") (each, a \"major airline partner\") and any potential impact of their financial condition on the operations of SkyWest, SkyWest Airlines or ExpressJet; fluctuations in flight schedules, which are determined by the major airline partners for whom SkyWest's operating airlines conduct flight operations; variations in market and economic conditions; significant aircraft lease and debt commitments; realization of manufacturer residual value guarantees on applicable SkyWest aircraft; residual aircraft values and related impairment charges; the impact of global instability; labor relations and costs; potential fluctuations in fuel costs, and potential fuel shortages; the impact of weather-related or other natural disasters on air travel and airline costs; new aircraft deliveries; and the ability to attract and retain qualified pilots, as well as the other factors described below in Item 1A. Risk Factors. Through SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet, we offer scheduled passenger service with approximately 2,980 daily departures to destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Substantially all of our flights are operated as Delta Connection, United Express, American Eagle or Alaska Airlines flights under code\u2011share arrangements (commercial agreements between airlines that, among other things, allow one airline to use another airline's flight designator codes on its flights) with Delta, United, American or Alaska, respectively. Under these fixed\u2011fee agreements, our major airline partners generally pay us fixed rates for operating the aircraft primarily based on the number of completed flights, flight time and the number of aircraft under contract. The major airline partners also reimburse us for specified direct operating expenses (including fuel expense). SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet have developed industry\u2011leading reputations for providing quality regional airline service during their long operating histories. As of December 31, 2017, these aircraft have been removed from service and are in the process of being returned under the applicable leasing arrangement or are aircraft transitioning between code-share agreements with our major airline partners. As of December 31, 2017, our fleet scheduled for service consisted of aircraft manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace (\"Bombardier\") and Embraer S.A. (\"Embraer\") summarized as follows: Manufacturer 37 Bombardier and Embraer are the primary manufacturers of regional jets operated in the United States and offer many of the amenities of larger commercial jet aircraft, including flight attendant service, a stand\u2011up cabin, overhead and under seat storage, lavatories and in\u2011flight snack and beverage service. The speed of Bombardier and Embraer regional jets is comparable to larger aircraft operated by major airlines, and they have a range of approximately 1,600 miles and 2,100 miles, respectively. SkyWest Airlines provides regional jet service to airports primarily located in the Midwestern and Western United States, as well as Mexico and Canada. As of December 31, 2017, SkyWest Airlines offered approximately 2,000 daily departures, of which approximately 770 were United Express flights, 810 were Delta Connection flights, 300 were American Eagle flights and 120 were Alaska Airlines flights. SkyWest Airlines' operations are conducted principally from airports located in Chicago (O'Hare), Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Seattle. As of December 31, 2017, SkyWest Airlines operated a fleet of 422 aircraft consisting of the following: 4 CRJ200 CRJ700 SkyWest Airlines conducts its code\u2011share operations with its major airline partners pursuant to the following agreements: Major airline partner United \"SkyWest Airlines United Express Agreements\" and ExpressJet ExpressJet provides regional jet service to airports primarily located in the Eastern and Midwestern United States, as well as Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean. ExpressJet's operations are conducted principally from airports located in Atlanta, Chicago (O'Hare), Houston, Newark and New York. ExpressJet offered approximately 980 daily departures, of which approximately 350 were Delta Connection flights, 550 were United Express flights and 80 were American Eagle flights. As of December 31, 2017, ExpressJet operated a fleet of 173 aircraft consisting of the following: CRJ200 173 ExpressJet conducts its code\u2011share operations with its major airline partners pursuant to the following agreements: Major airline partner SkyWest Leasing The SkyWest Leasing segment includes revenue attributed to our Embraer E175 dual-class regional jet aircraft (\"E175\") ownership cost earned under the applicable fixed-fee contracts, and the depreciation and interest expense of our E175 aircraft. The SkyWest Leasing segment additionally includes the income from Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet (\"CRJ200\") aircraft leased to a third-party. The airline industry is highly competitive.", - "id": "031c001e-cbd7-4a11-b350-1fcf85b846ea" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on vaccination rates and public health awareness related to immunizations, which does not directly impact Amarin Corp.'s business model centered on cardiovascular therapeutics and omega-3 fatty acids. Amarin's primary activities involve the development and marketing of treatments for lipid management, not vaccines or immunizations.", - "index": "42", - "bill_title": "To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a national system for surveillance of vaccine rates, to authorize research on vaccine hesitancy, to increase public understanding of the benefits of immunizations, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Vaccine Awareness Campaign to Champion Immunization Nationally and Enhance Safety Act of 2019 or the VACCINES Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to take a series of actions relating to vaccination rates and awareness. Specifically, the CDC must (1) develop a national surveillance system to monitor vaccination rates, and (2) conduct a national campaign to increase awareness of the importance of vaccines.\n\nAdditionally, the National Vaccine Advisory Committee must assess national confidence in vaccines and update a specified 2015 report accordingly.", - "company_name": "Amarin Corp. Plc", - "company_description": "Management estimates are derived from publicly available information released by independent industry analysts and third-party sources, as well as data from our internal research, and based on assumptions made by us based on such data and our knowledge of such industry, which we believe to be reasonable. Amarin Corporation plc was originally incorporated in England as a private limited company on March 1, 1989 under the Companies Act 1985, and re-registered in England as a public limited company on March 19, 1993. Our primary office in the United States is located at 1430 Route 206, Bedminster, NJ 07921, USA. We are a pharmaceutical company with expertise in omega-3 fatty acids and lipid science focused on the commercialization and development of therapeutics to improve cardiovascular, or CV, health. (icosapent ethyl) capsules, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, for use as an adjunct to diet to reduce triglyceride, or TG, levels in adult patients with severe (TG \u2265 500 mg/dL) hypertriglyceridemia. Triglycerides are the main constituent of body fat in humans. Hypertriglyceridemia refers to a condition in which patients have high levels of triglycerides in the bloodstream. The primary targeted clinical benefit of lowering triglycerides in adult patients with severe (TG \u2265 500 mg/dL) hypertriglyceridemia is to reduce the risk of pancreatitis. In January 2013, we began selling and marketing Vascepa in the United States based on the FDA-approved MARINE indication of patients with severely high (TG \u2265 500 mg/dL) triglyceride levels, a patient population of approximately 4 million people in the United States. Our FDA-approved indication for Vascepa, known as the MARINE indication, is based primarily on the successful results from the MARINE study of Vascepa in the approved patient population. In considering this approval, the FDA also reviewed the successful results from our study of Vascepa in patients with high triglyceride levels (TG \u2265 200 mg/dL and <500 mg/dL) who are also on statin therapy for elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or LDL-C, levels In August 2015, in addition to our FDA-approved indication, we began promoting Vascepa to healthcare professionals, or HCPs, in the United States for the lowering of triglyceride levels and other lipid and lipoprotein parameters in treatment of the patient population studied in the ANCHOR study (persistent high triglycerides after statin therapy). It is estimated that one in four adults in the United States, or more than 50 million people, have elevated (>150 mg/dL) triglyceride levels. We also educated HCPs with supportive but not conclusive early stage and Japanese cardiovascular outcomes trial research on how the unique active ingredient in Vascepa, icosapent ethyl, might reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. This HCP promotion was based on an August 2015 federal court declaration and subsequent settlement with the FDA and U.S. government that we believe permits such promotion under the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. To remain truthful and non-misleading, as part of this promotion we educated HCPs on the continued uncertainty between lowering triglycerides and cardiovascular risk reduction based on the failure of other drugs (fenofibrate and formulations of niacin) to demonstrate incremental cardiovascular benefit from adding a second lipid-altering drug on top of standard of care statin therapy, despite such drugs reducing triglyceride levels and having other favorable effects on lipid and lipoprotein parameters. Multiple primary and secondary prevention trials have shown a significant relative risk reduction, or RRR, of 25% to 35% in the risk of cardiovascular events with statin therapy, leaving significant persistent residual risk despite the achievement of target LDL-C levels. Worldwide, cardiovascular disease, or CVD, remains the number one killer of men and women. In the United States, CVD leads to one in every three deaths\u2014one death approximately every 38 seconds\u2014with annual treatment cost in excess of $500 billion. There is no FDA-approved therapy for lowering cardiovascular risk beyond therapies which target lowering of LDL-C levels. REDUCE-IT was a global study of 8,179 statin-treated adults with elevated cardiovascular risk. REDUCE-IT met its primary endpoint demonstrating a 25% relative risk reduction, or RRR, to a high degree of statistical significance (p<0.001), in first occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events, or MACE, in the intent-to-treat patient population with use of Vascepa 4 grams/day as compared to placebo. Patients who were enrolled in REDUCE-IT needed to have LDL-C between 41-100 mg/dL (median baseline LDL-C75 mg/dL) controlled by statin therapy and various cardiovascular risk factors including persistent elevated triglycerides, or TG, between 135-499 mg/dL (median baseline 216 mg/dL) and either established cardiovascular disease (secondary prevention cohort) or be at least age 50 with diabetes mellitus and at least one other CV risk factor (primary prevention cohort). Approximately 59% of the patients had diabetes at baseline, approximately 71% of the patients had established cardiovascular disease at time of enrollment and approximately 29% were primary prevention subjects at high risk for cardiovascular disease.", - "id": "ae110857-ba91-482b-ab7d-2ed0b4f12afe" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on Medicaid payments and hospital reimbursement methodologies, which primarily affect the healthcare sector. Since Brown-Forman Corp. operates in the alcoholic beverage industry, the legal consequences of the bill do not impact the company's business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "43", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to establish a methodology for determining State allotments for Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments that is based on State poverty levels, to require States to prioritize disproportionate share hospital payments on the basis of Medicaid inpatient utilization and low-income utilization rates, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "State Accountability, Flexibility, and Equity for Hospitals Act of 2019 or the SAFE Hospitals Act of 2019\n\nThis bill alters Medicaid requirements relating to payment for inpatient hospital services that are provided by disproportionate share hospitals (DSHs). (DSHs are hospitals that receive additional payment under Medicaid for treating a large share of low-income patients.)\n\nAmong other changes, the bill requires state Medicaid programs to adopt a payment methodology that meets certain criteria, including by prioritizing payments based on the DSH tier for which the hospital qualifies; tiers are determined based on factors such as the hospital's Medicaid inpatient utilization rate.\n\nThe bill also incorporates state poverty ratios (i.e., the number of qualifying low-income individuals in a state compared to all states) into the formula for determining state DSH allotments under Medicaid. The bill phases in application of the revised formula over the course of 10 to 15 years.", - "company_name": "Brown-Forman Corp.", - "company_description": "We primarily manufacture, bottle, import, export, market, and sell a wide variety of alcoholic beverages under recognized brands. We are the largest American-owned spirits and wine company with global reach. Beginning in 1870 with Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky \u2013 our founding brand \u2013 and spanning the generations since, we have built a portfolio of more than 40 spirit, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail, and wine brands that includes some of the best-known and most-loved trademarks in our industry. The most important brand in our portfolio is Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, which is the fourth-largest spirits brand of any kind and the largest American whiskey brand in the world, according to Impact Databank's \"Top 100 Premium Spirits Brands Worldwide\" list. Among the top five premium spirits brands on the list, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey was the only one to grow volume in each of the past five years. In its fifth year on the Worldwide Impact list, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey was recognized as a top 15 growth brand and remains the second-largest-selling flavored whiskey. Our other leading global brands on the Worldwide Impact list are Finlandia, which is the tenth-largest-selling vodka; Canadian Mist, which is the fourth-largest-selling Canadian whisky; and el Jimador, which is the fifth-largest-selling tequila and designated as an Impact \"Hot Brand. While Korbel is not an owned brand, we sell Korbel products under contract in the United States and other select markets. Fiscal 2018 Brand Highlights\" for brand performance details. Our vision in marketing is to be the best brand builders in the industry. These programs cover a wide spectrum of activities, including media (TV, radio, print, outdoor, and, increasingly, digital and social), consumer and trade promotions, sponsorships, and homeplace programs at our distilleries and our winery. We expect to grow our sales and profits by consistently delivering creative, responsible marketing programs that drive brand recognition, brand trial, brand loyalty, and, ultimately, consumer demand around the world. Our largest international markets include the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, Germany, France, Poland, Russia, Brazil, and Canada. Our distribution network, which we sometimes refer to as our \"route-to-consumer\" (RTC), takes a variety of forms, depending on (a) a market's laws and regulatory framework for trade in beverage alcohol, (b) our assessment of a market's long-term attractiveness and competitive dynamics, (c) the relative profitability of distribution options available to us, (d) the structure of the retail and wholesale trade in a market, and (e) our portfolio's development stage in a market. In the United States, which generally prohibits spirits and wine manufacturers from selling their products directly to consumers, we sell our brands either to distributors or (in states that directly control alcohol sales) to state governments that then sell to retail customers and consumers. , we use a variety of RTC models, which can be grouped into three categories: owned distribution, partner, and government-controlled markets. We own and operate distribution companies in 14 markets: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czechia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Thailand, and Turkey. In these markets, and in a large portion of the Travel Retail channel, we sell our products directly to retailers, to wholesalers, or, in Canada, to provincial governments. Over the past decade, we began distribution operations in multiple markets outside the United States, as shown in the table below. In the United Kingdom, we partner in a cost-sharing arrangement with another supplier, Bacardi Limited, to sell a portfolio of both companies In many other markets, including Russia, Japan, Italy, and South Africa, we rely on others to distribute our brands, generally under fixed-term distribution contracts. Competition Trade information indicates that we are one of the largest global suppliers of premium spirits. According to International Wine & Spirit Research (IWSR), for calendar year 2017, the ten largest global spirits companies controlled less than 20% of the total global market for spirits (on a volume basis).", - "id": "fa535efc-ba03-41fb-b8ea-bdc6af8e2ff5" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill specifically focuses on providing assistance and funding for small businesses in Puerto Rico, which does not align with Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.'s business model of delivering IT solutions in healthcare. Allscripts primarily operates in the healthcare technology space rather than small business growth or funding initiatives.", - "index": "44", - "bill_title": "To provide for small business concerns located in Puerto Rico, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Puerto Rico Small Business Assistance Act of 2019\n\nThis bill expands funding and support for small businesses that have their principal office in Puerto Rico.\n\nSpecifically, the bill\n\n increases the total amount of loans outstanding and committed to any microloan intermediary if at least 20% of the intermediary's loans are made to such businesses; waives the Small Business Administration (SBA) Microloan Program's limit on an intermediary's spending on technical assistance for prospective borrowers if 25% of the intermediary's loans are made to these businesses requires the Government Accountability Office to report on intermediary participation; reduces or eliminates SBA fees on certain loans to such businesses; and gives federal contract preference to such businesses. The SBA shall establish (1) a Veteran Business Outreach Center in Puerto Rico, and (2) a temporary Federal and State Technology (FAST) grant program to provide assistance to Puerto Rico businesses.", - "company_name": "Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.", - "company_description": "(\"Allscripts\") delivers information technology (\"IT\") solutions and services to help healthcare organizations achieve optimal clinical, financial and operational results. Our portfolio, which we believe offers some of the most comprehensive solutions in our industry today, is designed to help clients advance the quality and efficiency of healthcare by providing electronic health records (\"EHR\"), financial management, population health management and precision medicine/consumer solutions. Built on an open integrated platform, Allscripts solutions enable users to exchange data, streamline workflows and leverage functionality from other software vendors. The Allscripts Developer Program focuses on nurturing partnerships with other developers to help clients optimize the value of their Allscripts investment. During 2017, we completed the acquisition of McKesson's hospital and health system business known as Enterprise Information Solutions (\"EIS\") (the \"EIS Business\"). It expands our ability to meet the strategic needs of a broader range of hospitals and health systems, ranging from critical access and community hospitals to the largest, most complex integrated delivery networks. For example, clients of the EIS Business will benefit from our numerous solutions that are designed to help them stay ahead in the increasingly competitive environment in which they operate: precision medicine, cross community care coordination, consumer solutions and financial analytics. Allscripts also completed a transaction pursuant to which Allscripts exchanged its entire holdings of the NantHealth common stock for NantHealth's provider and patient engagement solutions business, including the FusionFX solution and components of NantOS software connectivity solutions. In addition, NantHealth amended its mutual license and reseller agreement with us to, among other things, commit to deliver a minimum dollar amount of software and related services from Allscripts over a 10-year period. Our portfolio addresses a range of industry needs, with the goal of helping clients to connect communities across multiple care settings, encourage efficiency and deepen the engagement of the patient in his/her own care. Electronic Health Records Allscripts offers a suite of EHRs for hospitals and health systems, as well as physician and community practices. Built on an open platform with advanced clinical decision support, our EHRs provide analysis and insights. Each of our EHR offerings delivers a single patient record, workflows and consolidated analytics. Our innovative technology-based solutions are designed to improve patient care delivery and outcomes. Sunrise Acute EHR is a comprehensive interdisciplinary clinical solution for larger hospital facilities with a combination of services lines. The solution\u2014including Sunrise Ambulatory to support health systems on a single platform for both inpatient and outpatient care\u2014provides decision guidance, including computerized provider order entry, note and flowsheet documentation, clinical summary views and other key workflows necessary for driving quality care. Functionality is also offered on mobile devices. Allscripts Paragon EHR is an integrated clinical, financial and administrative solution tailored for community hospitals and health systems. It is part of the EIS portfolio that supports the full scope of care delivery and business processes, from patient access management and accounting through clinical assessment, documentation and treatment. It offers integration with OneContent, an enterprise content management solution, to automate workflow across the enterprise for all content types, such as documents and images. Allscripts TouchWorks EHR is designed for larger single and multispecialty practices and is built on an open platform that brings data sources together. This open platform feature, along with the ability to customize workflows, allows clinical staff to effectively coordinate and deliver both primary and specialized care. Functionality is also offered on mobile devices. Allscripts Professional EHR is for small- to mid-size physician practices. Allscripts Professional EHR works in Accountable Care Organizations (\"ACOs\"), Patient-Centered Medical Homes and Federally Qualified Health Centers, and enables practices to adhere to government initiatives like Meaningful Use and the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act. ", - "id": "c81c804f-a3bb-4339-8c14-7480df340bec" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing a business incubator program to support Native American entrepreneurs and businesses, which is unrelated to Qorvo, Inc.'s primary operations in semiconductor technologies and RF solutions for connectivity. The company does not have a specific focus on Native American communities or business incubation, making the legal consequences of the bill not relevant to its business model or activities.", - "index": "45", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish a business incubators program within the Department of the Interior to promote economic development in Indian reservation communities.", - "bill_summary": "Native American Business Incubators Program Act \n\nThis bill establishes a grant program to provide business incubation and other business services to Native American entrepreneurs and businesses.\n\n(Sec. 4) Specifically, the bill requires the Department of the Interior to establish a grant program in the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development for establishing and operating business incubators that serve Native American communities. A business incubator is an organization that (1) provides physical workspace and facilities resources to start-ups and established businesses, and (2) is designed to accelerate the growth and success of businesses through a variety of business support resources and services. Grant applicants may be institutions of higher education, private nonprofits, Native American tribes, or tribal nonprofits.\n\nInterior must issue a grant for a three-year term and may renew a grant for up to three more years.\n\nGrant recipients must generally provide a nonfederal contribution of at least 25% of the annual grant disbursement each year; however, Interior may waive this requirement under certain circumstances. Further, grant recipients must provide a nonfederal contribution of at least 33% of a grant renewal. (Sec. 6) Interior must facilitate the establishment of relationships between grant recipients and educational institutions serving Native American communities.\n\n(Sec. 7) Additionally, Interior must coordinate with the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Treasury, and the Small Business Administration to ensure that grant recipients have the information and materials needed to provide Native American businesses and entrepreneurs with assistance in applying for federal business and entrepreneurial development programs.", - "company_name": "Qorvo, Inc.", - "company_description": "Company Overview Qorvo\u00ae is a leader in the development and commercialization of technologies and products for wireless and wired connectivity. We combine a broad portfolio of innovative radio frequency (\"RF\") solutions, highly differentiated semiconductor technologies, systems-level expertise and global manufacturing scale to supply a diverse set of customers a broad range of products that enable a more connected world. Our design expertise and manufacturing capabilities span multiple semiconductor process technologies. Our primary wafer fabrication facilities are in North Carolina, Oregon and Texas, and our primary assembly and test facilities are in China, Costa Rica, Germany and Texas. We also source multiple products and materials through external suppliers. We operate design, sales and other manufacturing facilities throughout Asia, Europe and North America. We have two reportable segments: Mobile Products (\"MP\") and Infrastructure and Defense Products (\"IDP\"). MP is a global supplier of cellular, ultra-wide band (\"UWB\") and Wi-Fi solutions for a variety of high-volume markets, including smartphones, wearables, laptops, tablets and Internet of Things (\"IoT\") applications. (\"SoC\") and power management solutions for wireless infrastructure, defense, smart home, automotive and other IoT applications. Our MP segment supplies consumer products with a shorter life cycle, to a small set of large global customers. Our IDP segment supplies a diverse portfolio of products, that generally have longer life cycles, to a broad base of customers. During fiscal 2020, we made the following strategic acquisitions to expand our product offerings and design capabilities and to extend our reach into new markets: Inc. (\"Active-Semi\"), a fabless supplier of programmable power management solutions; \u2022 (\"Cavendish\"), a supplier of high-performance RF microelectromechanical system (\"MEMS\") technology for RF switching applications; \u2022 Inc. (\"Custom MMIC\"), a fabless provider of gallium arsenide (\"GaAs\") and gallium nitride (\"GaN\") monolithic microwave integrated circuits (\"MMICs\") for defense and aerospace applications; and, 4 Decawave Limited (\"Decawave\"), a leader in UWB technology and provider of UWB solutions for mobile, automotive and IoT applications. There is growing global demand for ubiquitous, always-on connectivity. Total mobile data traffic continues to grow as smartphones, laptops, and other mobile devices are used increasingly to access the internet, stream videos, interact on social media and access other services. 5G will improve network capacity, increase data throughput, reduce signal latency and enable machine-to-machine connectivity on a massive scale. With each application, demand is increasing for RF solutions that improve performance, reduce product footprint, enhance network efficiency and ensure data security. In mobile devices, the deployment of 5G, the addition of Multiple-Input/Multiple-Output (\"MIMO\") architectures and new carrier aggregation (\"CA\") band combinations increase device complexity. To address this, Qorvo is integrating a broad portfolio of technologies and advancing the state-of-the-art in functional integration. In consumer IoT, the increasing demand for secure and accurate location and data communication services is driving demand for our UWB technology, which enables real-time, highly accurate and reliable local area precision-location services. In infrastructure, the deployment of 5G networks is driving demand for Qorvo's high performance communications infrastructure solutions, including our GaN high power amplifiers and GaAs front-end modules (\"FEMs\").", - "id": "87f7dc4f-9ffd-4cfb-a02c-8627b188673b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing a business incubators program to support Native American communities through grants for startups and businesses. This does not directly relate to Monster Beverage Corp.'s core business of developing and marketing energy drinks, which does not involve business development assistance or specific engagement with Native American communities, nor does it suggest any operational implications for Monster's business model.", - "index": "46", - "bill_title": "To establish a business incubators program within the Department of the Interior to promote economic development in Indian reservation communities.", - "bill_summary": "Native American Business Incubators Program Act \n\nThis bill requires the Department of the Interior to establish a grant program in the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development for establishing and operating business incubators that serve Native American communities. A business incubator is an organization that (1) provides physical workspace and facilities resources to startups and established businesses, and (2) is designed to accelerate the growth and success of businesses through a variety of business support resources and services. Grant applicants may be institutions of higher education, private nonprofits, Native American tribes, or tribal nonprofits.\n\nInterior must facilitate the establishment of relationships between grant recipients and educational institutions serving Native American communities.", - "company_name": "Monster Beverage Corp.", - "company_description": "The Company\u0092s subsidiaries primarily develop and market energy drinks. We develop, market, sell and distribute energy drink beverages and concentrates for energy drink beverages, primarily under the following brand names: \u00b7 Our Monster Energy\u00ae brand energy drinks, which represented 91.7%, 90.1% and 90.1% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively, primarily include the following energy drinks 1 : \u00b7 Monster Energy\u00ae \u00b7 Monster Rehab\u00ae Tea + Orangeade + Energy \u00b7 Monster Rehab\u00ae The \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category combines non-carbonated, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters (flavored, unflavored and enhanced) with \u0093new age\u0094 beverages, including sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices and flavored sparkling beverages. According to Beverage Marketing Corporation, domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2018 for the \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category of the market are estimated at approximately $55.5 billion, representing an increase of approximately 6.7% over estimated domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2017 of approximately $52.0 billion. Drinks segment (\u0093Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks\u0094), which is comprised of our Monster Energy\u00ae drinks, (ii) Strategic Brands segment (\u0093Strategic Brands\u0094), which is comprised primarily of the various energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company (\u0093TCCC\u0094) in 2015 as well as Other segment (\u0093Other\u0094), which is comprised of certain products sold by American Fruits and Flavors LLC (\u0093AFF\u0094) (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company) to independent third-party customers (\u0093AFF Third-Party Products\u0094). Corporate and unallocated amounts that do not specifically relate to a reportable segment have been allocated to \u0093Corporate Drinks segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks primarily to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. In some cases, we sell directly to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, drug stores, foodservice customers and the military. Our Strategic Brands segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling \u0093concentrates\u0094 and/or \u0093beverage bases\u0094 to authorized bottling and canning operations. Such bottlers generally combine the concentrates and/or beverage bases with sweeteners, water and other ingredients to produce ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks. The ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks are then sold to other bottlers, full service distributors or retailers, including, retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, foodservice customers, drug stores and the military. To a lesser extent, our Strategic Brands segment generates net operating revenues by selling certain ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. Generally, the Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks segment generates higher per case net operating revenues, but lower per case gross profit margin percentages than the Strategic Brands segment. In the 1930s, Hubert Hansen and his sons started a business selling fresh non-pasteurized juices in Los Angeles, California. In 1977, Tim Hansen, one of the grandsons of Hubert Hansen, perceived a demand for shelf stable pasteurized natural juices and juice blends and formed Hansen Foods, HFI expanded its product line from juices to include Hansen\u0092s Natural Soda\u00ae brand sodas. In 1990, California Co-Packers Corporation (d/b/a Hansen Beverage Company) (\u0093CCC\u0094) acquired certain assets of HFI, including the right to market the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand name. In 1992, Hansen Natural Corporation acquired the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand natural soda and apple juice business from CCC. Under our ownership, the Hansen\u0092s \u00ae beverage business significantly expanded to include a wide range of beverages within the growing \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category including, in particular, energy drinks. During 2018, we continued to expand our existing portfolio of drinks and further develop our distribution markets. During 2018, we introduced the following products: \u00b7 BPM \u00ae \u00b7 Live+ Persist \u00ae \u00b7 Monster Cuba Libre TM (Japan) \u00b7 Monster Hydro \u00ae", - "id": "b82b1f0b-05ab-4108-a88d-80b403ae8be2" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to environmental reclamation related to abandoned coal mining sites, which is unrelated to Ralph Lauren Corp's primary focus on the design, marketing, and distribution of premium lifestyle products, including apparel and home furnishings. The company's business model does not involve any activities that would be influenced by or require compliance with this legislation.", - "index": "47", - "bill_title": "To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to authorize partnerships between States and nongovernmental entities for the purpose of reclaiming and restoring land and water resources adversely affected by coal mining activities before August 3, 1977, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Community Reclamation Partnerships Act\n\nThis bill revises the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program which restores land and water adversely impacted by surface coal mines that were abandoned before August 3, 1977.\n\nA state with an approved reclamation program may enter into a memorandum of understanding with relevant federal or state agencies for remediating mine drainage on abandoned mine land and water impacted by abandoned mines.\n\nIn addition, the bill authorizes a partnership between a state and a community reclaimer for remediating abandoned mine land if\n\n the partnership's proposed project is consistent with an approved state memorandum of understanding and conducted on certain prioritized sites; the state assumes all responsibly on behalf of the community reclaimer and the owner of the proposed project site for costs or damages resulting from actions or inactions of the community reclaimer in carrying out the project, except for gross negligence or intentional misconduct by the community reclaimer; and the state has necessary legal authority to conduct the project and has financial resources to ensure the project's completion. A community reclaimer is a person who (1) voluntarily assists a state in a reclamation project, (2) did not participate in the creation of site conditions at the proposed site or activities that caused any land or waters to become eligible for reclamation or drainage abatement expenditures, (3) is not a past or current owner or operator of any site with ongoing reclamation obligations, and (4) is not subject to outstanding violations of surface coal mining permits.", - "company_name": "Ralph Lauren Corp.", - "company_description": "General Founded in 1967 by Mr. Ralph Lauren, we are a global leader in the design, marketing, and distribution of premium lifestyle products, including apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and other licensed product categories. Our long-standing reputation and distinctive image have been developed across an expanding number of products, brands, sales channels, and international markets. We believe that our global reach, breadth of product offerings, and multi-channel distribution are unique among luxury and apparel companies. Our wholesale sales are made principally to major department stores and specialty stores around the world. We also sell directly to consumers through our integrated retail channel, which includes our retail stores, concession-based shop-within-shops, and digital commerce operations around the world. In addition, we license to unrelated third parties for specified periods the right to operate retail stores and/or to use our various trademarks in connection with the manufacture and sale of designated products, such as certain apparel, eyewear, fragrances, and home furnishings. In addition to these reportable segments, we also have other non-reportable segments. Our global reach is extensive, with merchandise available through our wholesale distribution channels at over 12,000 doors worldwide, the majority in specialty stores, as well as through the digital commerce sites of many of our wholesale customers. We also sell directly to customers throughout the world via our 472 retail stores and 632 concession-based shop-within-shops, as well as through our own digital commerce sites and those of various third-party digital partners. In addition to our directly-operated stores and shops, our international licensing partners operate 88 Ralph Lauren concession shops, and 136 Club Monaco stores and shops. We believe that our size and the global scope of our operations provide us with design, sourcing, and distribution synergies across our different businesses. Our core strengths include a portfolio of global premium lifestyle brands, a well-diversified global multi-channel distribution network, an investment philosophy supported by a strong balance sheet, and an experienced management team. We have developed a long-term growth strategy with the objective of delivering sustainable, profitable growth and long-term value creation for shareholders. Our strategy includes the following key strategic initiatives: \u2022 Elevating our brand through improved quality of sales, distribution, and product; \u2022 Evolving product, marketing, and shopping experience to increase reach and appeal with new consumers; \u2022 Expanding our digital and international presence; and \u2022 On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law new tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the \"TCJA\"), which became effective January 1, 2018. The TCJA significantly revised U.S. tax law by, among other provisions, lowering the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate from 35% to 21%, creating a territorial tax system that includes a one-time mandatory transition tax on previously deferred foreign earnings, and eliminating or reducing certain income tax deductions. We are refocusing on our core brands and evolving our product, marketing, and shopping experience to increase desirability and relevance. We are also evolving our operating model to enable sustainable, profitable sales growth by significantly improving quality of sales, reducing supply chain lead times, improving our sourcing, and executing a disciplined multi-channel distribution and expansion strategy. The Way Forward Plan includes strengthening our leadership team and creating a more nimble organization by moving from an average of nine to six layers of management. The Way Forward Plan also includes the discontinuance of our Denim & Supply brand and the integration of our denim product offerings into our Polo Ralph Lauren brand. Collectively, these actions, which were substantially completed during Fiscal 2017, resulted in a reduction in workforce and the closure of certain stores and shop-within-shops, as well as gross annualized expense savings of approximately $200 million. (i) the restructuring of our in-house global digital commerce platform which was in development and shifting to a more cost-effective, flexible platform through a new agreement with Salesforce's Commerce Cloud, formerly known as Demandware; (ii) the closure of our Polo store at 711 Fifth Avenue in New York City; and (iii) the further streamlining of the organization and the execution of other key corporate actions in line with the Way Forward Plan.", - "id": "a5642ea5-4c44-451e-b8b8-5413e8f3f927" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill directly impacts Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. as it aims to lower prescription drug prices by enforcing oversight and eliminating monopolies for excessively priced drugs. As a pharmaceutical company developing treatments for glaucoma, Aerie's drug pricing and market exclusivity could be affected by this legislation, especially since it mandates reporting and licensing requirements for brand-name drugs. Additionally, the competitive landscape may shift due to enhanced access to generic alternatives if their products are deemed excessively priced.", - "index": "48", - "bill_title": "A bill to significantly lower prescription drug prices for patients in the United States by ending government-granted monopolies for manufacturers who charge drug prices that are higher than the median prices at which the drugs are available in other countries.", - "bill_summary": "Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a series of oversight and disclosure requirements relating to the prices of brand-name drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review at least annually all brand-name drugs for excessive pricing; HHS must also review prices upon petition. If any such drugs are found to be excessively priced, HHS must (1) void any government-granted exclusivity; (2) issue open, nonexclusive licenses for the drugs; and (3) expedite the review of corresponding applications for generic drugs and biosimilar biological products. HHS must also create a public database with its determinations for each drug.\n\nUnder the bill, a price is considered excessive if the domestic average manufacturing price exceeds the median price for the drug in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. If a price does not meet this criteria, or if pricing information is unavailable in at least three of the aforementioned countries, the price is still considered excessive if it is higher than reasonable in light of specified factors, including cost, revenue, and the size of the affected patient population.\n\nThe bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified financial information for brand-name drugs, including research and advertising expenditures.", - "company_name": "Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class therapies for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma and other diseases of the eye. Our strategy is to commercialize Rhopressa \u00ae, approved by the FDA on December 18, 2017, in North American markets and advance our product candidate, Roclatan TM, to regulatory approval. We are in the process of hiring a commercial team that will include approximately 100 sales representatives to target approximately 12,000 high prescribing eye-care professionals throughout the United States. If we obtain regulatory approval, we currently expect to commercialize Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM in Europe on our own, and likely partner for commercialization in Japan. Subsequent to December 31, 2017, we issued and sold approximately 2.3 million additional shares of our common stock, for which we received net proceeds of approximately $136.2 million, after deducting fees and expenses, upon the completion of the \"at-the-market\" offering that commenced in December 2017 and pursuant to an underwriting agreement, dated January 23, 2018, related to a registered public offering. Our FDA-approved product, Rhopressa \u00ae, is a once-daily eye drop designed to reduce elevated intraocular pressure (\"IOP\") in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The active ingredient in Rhopressa \u00ae, netarsudil, is a Rho kinase inhibitor. We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae represents the first of a new drug class for reducing IOP in patients with glaucoma in over 20 years. Based on clinical data, we expect that Rhopressa\u00ae will have the potential to compete with non-PGA (prostaglandin analog) products as a preferred adjunctive therapy to prostaglandin analogs (\"PGAs\"), due to its targeting of the diseased tissue known as the trabecular meshwork (\"TM\"), its demonstrated ability to reduce IOP at consistent levels across tested baselines, and its preferred once-daily dosing relative to currently marketed non-PGA products. Adjunctive therapies currently represent nearly one-half of the glaucoma prescription market in the United States, according to IQVIA (formerly known as IMS Health). We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae may also become a preferred therapy where PGAs are contraindicated, for patients who do not respond to PGAs and for patients who choose to avoid the cosmetic issues associated with PGA products. Our advanced-stage product candidate, Roclatan TM, is a once-daily, fixed-dose combination of Rhopressa\u00ae and latanoprost, the most commonly prescribed drug for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma. We plan to submit a New Drug Application (\"NDA\") for Roclatan TM to the FDA in the second quarter of 2018. We believe, based on our clinical data, that Roclatan TM has the potential to provide a greater IOP-reducing effect than any currently marketed glaucoma medication. Therefore, we believe that Roclatan TM, if approved, could compete with both PGA and non-PGA therapies and become the product of choice for patients requiring maximal IOP reduction, including those with higher IOPs and those who present with significant disease progression despite use of the currently available therapies. We own the worldwide rights to all indications for Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM. We have patent protection for Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM in the United States through at least 2030 and internationally through dates ranging from 2030 to 2037. Our intellectual property portfolio contains patents and pending patent applications related to composition of matter, pharmaceutical compositions, methods of use, and synthetic methods. Our collaboration with DSM, a global science-based company headquartered in the Netherlands, provides access to their bio-erodible polymer technology, and our acquisition of assets from Envisia Therapeutics Inc. (\"Envisia\"), which includes the right to use PRINT\u00ae manufacturing technology for ophthalmology, are designed to 1 advance our progress in developing potential future product candidates to treat retinal diseases. Aided by these technologies, we are developing two preclinical molecules focused on retinal disease. AR-13503, for which we expect to submit an Investigational New Drug application (\"IND\") in 2019, is an Aerie-owned Rho kinase and Protein kinase C inhibitor with potential in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (\"AMD\"), diabetic retinopathy and related diseases of the retina, such as diabetic macular edema (\"DME\"). As the active metabolite of AR-13154(S), AR-13503 has shown lesion size decreases in an in vivo preclinical model of wet AMD at levels similar to the current market-leading wet AMD anti-VEGF product. Also preclinically, when used in combination with the market leading anti-VEGF product, AR-13503 produced greater lesion size reduction than the anti-VEGF product alone in a model of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Additionally, through the Envisia asset acquisition, we are also developing AR-1105, a preclinical dexamethasone steroid implant with potential in the treatment of DME, and currently expect to submit an IND in late 2018. Further, we are evaluating our owned library of Rho kinase inhibitors for potential indications beyond ophthalmology.", - "id": "66e26b77-29f0-4e1b-bbaa-05d0b8572410" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Independence at Home Act of 2019 primarily focuses on providing home health care services and improving accountability for medical practices under Medicare. Align Technology, Inc. is a medical device company specialized in orthodontics and dental technology, which is fundamentally different from the home health care services addressed in the bill. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill are not relevant to Align's business model or activities.", - "index": "49", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a permanent Independence at Home medical practice program under the Medicare program.", - "bill_summary": "Independence at Home Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a permanent Independence at Home Medical Practice Program for Medicare beneficiaries. Under the program, a primary care\u00a0practice\u00a0shall be accountable for (1)\u00a0providing comprehensive, coordinated, continuous, and accessible care to applicable Medicare beneficiaries at home; and (2) coordinating health care across all treatment settings.\n\nSubject to meeting specified quality performance standards, a participating practice\u00a0is eligible to\u00a0receive an incentive payment under the program if actual expenditures for applicable beneficiaries are less than\u00a0the estimated spending target established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).\n\nThe CMS shall terminate a program\u00a0agreement with a participating practice if the practice (1)\u00a0for the third of three consecutive years under the program, did not achieve savings; or (2) fails to meet a minimum number of quality performance standards established by the CMS.\n\nThe bill extends the existing Independence at Home Medical Practice Demonstration Program pending implementation of the permanent program. In addition, the bill\u00a0removes the limit on the number of beneficiaries that may participate in the demonstration program.", - "company_name": "Align Technology, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"Align\") is a global medical device company engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of Invisalign\u00ae clear aligners and iTero\u00ae intraoral scanners and services for orthodontics, and restorative and aesthetic dentistry. Align's products are intended primarily for the treatment of malocclusion or the misalignment of teeth and are designed to help dental professionals achieve the clinical outcomes that they expect. We sell the vast majority of our products directly to our customers: orthodontists and general practitioner dentists (\"GPs\"), as well as to restorative and aesthetic dentists, including prosthodontists, periodontists, and oral surgeons. In addition, we sell directly to Dental Support Organizations (DSOs) who contract with dental practices to provide critical business management and support including non-clinical operations, and we sell directly to dental laboratories who manufacture or customize a variety of products to assist in the provision of oral health care by a licensed dentist. We received 510(k) clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (\"FDA\") to market the Invisalign System in 1998. The Invisalign System is regulated by the FDA as a Class II medical device. In order to provide Invisalign treatment to their patients, orthodontists and GPs must initially complete an Invisalign training course. Our iTero scanner is used by dental professionals and/or labs and service providers for restorative and orthodontic digital procedures as well as Invisalign case submission. We received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market iTero software for expanded indications in 2013. Scanners and computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (\"CAD/CAM\") services are primarily sold through our direct sales force and a few distributors in North America, Europe and certain Asia Pacific countries, and through distribution partners in smaller non-core international country markets. Clear Aligner Segment Malocclusion and Traditional Orthodontic Treatment Malocclusion, or the misalignment of teeth, is one of the most prevalent clinical dental conditions, affecting billions of people, or approximately 60% to 75% of the population. Annually, approximately 12 million people in major developed countries elect treatment by orthodontists worldwide. Most orthodontic patients are treated with the use of traditional methods such as metal arch wires and brackets, referred to as braces, and may be augmented with elastics, metal expanders, headgear or functional appliances, and other ancillary devices as needed. Upon completion of the treatment, the dental professional may, at his or her discretion, have the patient use a retainer appliance. In addition, approximately 300 million people with malocclusion could benefit from straightening their teeth but are unlikely to seek treatment through a doctor's office. This represents an incremental opportunity for us as we expand the market for orthodontics by educating more consumers about the benefits of straighter teeth using Invisalign clear aligners and connect them with an Invisalign doctor of their choice. The Invisalign System The Invisalign System is a proprietary method for treating malocclusion based on a proprietary computer-simulated virtual treatment plan and a series of doctor-prescribed, custom manufactured, clear plastic, removable aligners. The Invisalign System offers a range of treatment options, specialized services, and proprietary software for treatment visualization and is comprised of the following phases: Orthodontic diagnosis and transmission of treatment data to us. The Invisalign-trained dental professional prepares and sends us a patient's treatment data package which consists of a prescription form, a digital scan or a polyvinyl-siloxane (or \"PVS\") impression of the relevant dental arches, photographs of the patient and, at the dental professional's election, x-rays of the patient's dentition. Intraoral digital scans may be submitted through either Align's iTero scanner or a few qualified third-party scanners. See \"Third Party Scanners and Digital scans for Invisalign treatment submission. \" More than 63% of Invisalign case submissions are submitted via digital scan instead of a physical PVS impression. Using propriety software which we do not sell, we generate a proposed custom, three-dimensional treatment plan, called a ClinCheck treatment plan. Attachments are tooth-colored \"buttons\" that are sometimes used to increase the biomechanical force on a specific tooth or teeth in order to effect the desired movement(s). Review and approval of the treatment plan by an Invisalign-trained doctor. ", - "id": "5347d27e-2082-4491-96e8-72fb64d405a9" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on drug pricing transparency and requires drug manufacturers to justify price increases, which primarily impacts pharmaceutical companies. Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc. is an in vitro diagnostics company that develops rapid testing solutions for infections, rather than producing or pricing pharmaceuticals. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill do not directly affect the company or its business model.", - "index": "50", - "bill_title": "To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to provide for drug manufacturer price transparency.", - "bill_summary": "Stopping the Pharmaceutical Industry from Keeping drugs Expensive Act or the SPIKE Act\n\nThis bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to determine at least annually whether certain covered drugs under Medicare were subject to a price increase that exceeded specified thresholds. Drug manufacturers must submit justifications for such price increases to the CMS, subject to civil penalties. The bill's requirements do not apply to low-cost drugs, as identified by the CMS.", - "company_name": "Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc.", - "company_description": "Inc. (\"Accelerate\") is an in vitro diagnostics company dedicated to providing solutions that improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs through the fast diagnosis of serious infections. Microbiology laboratories are in need of new tools to address what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the \"CDC\") calls one of the most serious healthcare threats of our time, antibiotic resistance. A significant contributing factor to the rise of resistance is the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, which is exacerbated by a lack of timely diagnostic results. The delay of identification and antibiotic susceptibility results is often due to the reliance by microbiology laboratories on traditional culture-based tests that often take two to three days to complete. Our technology platform is built to address these challenges by delivering significantly faster testing of infectious pathogens in various patient sample types. Our first system to address these challenges is the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system. The Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system utilizes genotypic technology to identify (ID) infectious pathogens and phenotypic technology to conduct antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST), which determines whether live bacterial and fungal cells are resistant or susceptible to a particular antimicrobial. The Accelerate PhenoTest\u2122 BC Kit, which is the first test kit for the system, provides ID and AST results for patients suspected of bacteremia or fungemia, both life-threatening conditions with high morbidity and mortality risk. This information is used to rapidly modify antibiotic therapy to lessen side-affects, improve clinical outcomes, and help preserve the useful life of antibiotics. In Vitro Diagnostic Directive 98/79/EC and applied a CE Mark to the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system and the Accelerate PhenoTest\u2122 BC Kit for in vitro diagnostic use. On February 23, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (\"FDA\") granted our de novo request to market our Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system and Accelerate PhenoTest\u2122 BC Kit. In 2017, we began selling the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system in hospitals in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. Consistent with the Company's \"razor\" / \"razor-blade\" business model, revenues to date have principally been generated from the sale of the instruments and the sale of single use consumable test kits. From 2001 to 2012, we focused primarily upon furthering the research and development of the OpTest portfolio of technologies (\"OpTest\") that we acquired from DDx, Inc. in 2001 and the development of revenue producing products related to that technology. The purchase of OpTest provided us with a proprietary surface chemistry formulation, which led to our OptiChem and other surface chemistry products, and quantitative bio-analytical measurement instruments. In 2012, our Board of Directors and management team established a new strategic direction for the Company, which was (1) to focus on the internal development, manufacture, and commercialization of the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system and (2) to discontinue efforts to develop and actively market OptiChem and our other surface chemistry products. Since the adoption of the new strategic direction in 2012, we have made significant investments in research and development personnel, facilities, equipment, and consumables to support the internal development of the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system. The Company has also invested in the hiring of regulatory, manufacturing, quality, sales, and marketing personnel experienced in the manufacture and commercialization of medical devices. This strategic direction required the Company to raise additional capital, including through the following transactions: 4 In August 2013, the Company completed a rights offering that raised gross proceeds of $20.0 million. This strategic direction coupled with various investments permitted the development, clinical trial and FDA registration, and commercialization of the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system and the Accelerate PhenoTest\u2122 BC Kit. Accelerate has expanded the strategic direction it took in 2012 to include the development of additional test kits, systems, and geographic expansion to advance its mission to improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs through the rapid diagnosis of serious infections globally. Antibiotic resistance poses a significant impact to healthcare, costing the U.S. an estimated $55 billion per year in healthcare and productivity costs. This estimate includes $20 billion in direct costs and $35 billion in indirect costs, such as lost productivity and sick days. Increasing infection rates and misuse of antibiotics results in serious treatment complications.", - "id": "458f1142-20ab-41e8-bb28-242c278925b8" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Honest Ads Act requires online platforms to disclose information about political advertisements, which is relevant to VeriSign as they operate internet infrastructure and services. As a provider of domain name registry services, they could be indirectly affected by the requirements imposed on online platforms that host political ads. Additionally, the bill's provisions on not allowing political ads purchased by foreign nationals may impact the operations of the platforms using VeriSign's services.", - "index": "51", - "bill_title": "To enhance transparency and accountability for online political advertisements by requiring those who purchase and publish such ads to disclose information about the advertisements to the public, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Honest Ads Act\n\nThis bill applies requirements, limitations, and protections regarding political advertising in traditional media to internet or digital political advertising. The bill sets forth special rules for disclosure statements for certain internet or digital ads.\n\nEach television or radio station, provider of cable or satellite television, or online platform must ensure that the political advertising it hosts is not directly or indirectly purchased by a foreign national.\n\nOnline platforms must publish a record of requests to purchase political advertising.", - "company_name": "VeriSign, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a global provider of domain name registry services and internet infrastructure, enabling internet navigation for many of the world's most recognized domain names (\"Registry Services\"). Our Registry Services enable the security, stability, and resiliency of key internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of the 13 global internet root servers, and providing registration services and authoritative resolution for the . com and . net top-level domains (\"TLDs\"), which support the majority of global e-commerce. On December 5, 2018, we completed the sale of our rights, economic benefits, and obligations, in all customer contracts related to our Security Services business, which primarily consisted of Distributed Denial of Service (\"DDoS\") Pursuant to our agreements with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers The domain name base is the active zone plus the number of domain names that are registered but not configured for use in the respective top-level domain zone file plus the number of domain names that are in a client or server hold status. Registry Services Registry Services operates the authoritative directory of and/or the back-end systems for all.com, .net, .cc, .tv, .gov Registry Services allows individuals and organizations to establish their online identities, while providing the secure, always-on access they need to communicate and transact reliably with large-scale online audiences. We are the exclusive registry of domain names within the.com, .net, and .name generic top-level domains (\"gTLDs\"), among others, under agreements with ICANN and also, with respect to the.com agreement, the U.S. Department of Commerce (\"DOC\"). Our global constellation of DNS servers provides internet protocol (\"IP\") address information in response to queries, enabling the use of browsers, email systems, and other systems on the internet. In addition, we own and maintain the shared registration system that allows ICANN-accredited registrars to enter new second-level domain names into central directories and to submit modifications, transfers, re-registrations, and deletions for existing second-level domain names (\"Shared Registration System\"). In addition to our registry agreements with ICANN, we have agreements to operate the registry for the.tv and .cc country code top-level domains (\"ccTLDs\") for Tuvalu and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, respectively, and to operate the back-end registry systems for the.gov,.jobs, and .edu sponsored TLDs, among others. These TLDs are also supported by our global constellation of DNS servers and Shared Registration System. We also provide internationalized domain name (\"IDN\") services that enable internet users to access websites in characters representing their local language. Our gTLDs and ccTLDs can support standards-compliant registrations in over 100 different native languages and scripts. We also perform the root zone maintainer function under an agreement with ICANN for the core of the internet's DNS and operate two of the 13 root zone servers that contain authoritative data for the very top of the DNS hierarchy. The fees charged for .com,.net and .name may only be increased according to adjustments prescribed in our agreements with ICANN over the applicable term. Revenues for .cc and .tv domain names and our IDN gTLDs are based on a similar fee system and registration system, although the fees charged are not subject to the same pricing restrictions as those imposed by the DOC on.com, or ICANN with respect to .net and .name. The fees received from operating the.jobs registry infrastructure, and that of others for which Verisign provides such services, are based on the terms of Verisign's agreements with those respective registry operators. Security Services was primarily comprised of DDoS Protection Services and Managed DNS Services. DDoS Protection Services supports online business continuity by providing monitoring and mitigation services against DDoS attacks. Customers include financial institutions, software-as-a-service providers, e-commerce providers, and media companies. Customers pay a subscription fee that varies depending on the customer's network requirements. Managed DNS Services is a hosting service that delivers DNS resolution, improving the availability of web-based systems. Customers include financial institutions, e-commerce, and software-as-a-service providers.", - "id": "ff5440c2-0d09-4140-b3f8-8a18b7866968" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to appropriations for government agencies and services, primarily related to financial services and general government functions. It does not address matters directly affecting Caleres, Inc., which is a footwear retailer. The company's operations focus on retail and wholesale footwear, and the bill does not have legal implications that would impact its business model or activities.", - "index": "52", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for financial services and general government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": " The Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2019 provides FY2019 appropriations to agencies responsible for regulating the financial, telecommunications, and consumer products industries; collecting taxes and assisting taxpayers; managing federal buildings and the federal workforce; and operating the Executive Office of the President, the judiciary, and the District of Columbia. It also includes provisions related to IRS employee training, safeguarding taxpayer information, 1-800 help line service, video production, address changes, offers-in-compromise, First Amendment rights, regulatory scrutiny, conference spending, employee bonuses, and confidentiality of tax returns. It also provides appropriations to independent agencies, including the Administrative Conference of the United States, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Election Assistance Commission, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Election Commission, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the General Services Administration (GSA), the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, the Merit Systems Protection Board, Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of Government Ethics, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Office", - "company_name": "Caleres, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Caleres, Inc., originally founded as Brown Shoe Company in 1878 and incorporated in 1913, is a global footwear retailer and wholesaler with annual net sales of $2.8 billion. In May 2015, the shareholders of Brown Shoe Company, Inc. approved a rebranding initiative that changed the name of the company to Caleres, Current activities include the operation of retail shoe stores and e-commerce websites as well as the design, sourcing and marketing of footwear for women and men. Our business is seasonal in nature due to consumer spending patterns, with higher back-to-school and holiday season sales. Traditionally, the third fiscal quarter accounts for a substantial portion of our earnings for the year. Our net sales are comprised of four major categories: women's footwear, men's footwear, children's footwear and accessories. Approximately 69% of footwear sales in 2017 were retail sales, including sales through our e-commerce websites, compared to 67% in 2016 and 66% in 2015, while the remaining 31%, 33% and 34% in the respective years represented wholesale sales. In the United States, there are no employees subject to union contracts. In Canada, we employ approximately 20 warehouse employees under a union contract, which expires in October 2019. With many companies operating retail shoe stores and shoe departments, we compete in a highly fragmented market. In addition, the continuing consumer shift to online and mobile shopping has increased price competition and requires retailers to lower shipping costs, improve shipping speeds and optimize mobile platforms. Our competitors include local, regional and national shoe store chains, department stores, discount stores, mass merchandisers, numerous independent retail operators of various sizes and e-commerce businesses. Quality of products and services, store location, trend-right merchandise selection and availability of brands, pricing, advertising and consumer service are all factors that impact retail competition. In addition, our wholesale customers sell shoes purchased from competing footwear suppliers. Those competing footwear suppliers own and license brands, many of which are well-known and marketed aggressively. Many retailers, who are our wholesale customers, source directly from factories or through agents. The wholesale footwear business has low barriers to entry, which further intensifies competition. Our Famous Footwear segment includes our Famous Footwear stores, Famous.com and beginning in March 2018, FamousFootwear.ca. Famous Footwear is one of America's leading family-branded footwear retailers with 1,026 stores at the end of 2017 and net sales of $1.6 billion in 2017. Our core consumers are women who seek leading national brands of athletic, casual and fashionable footwear at a value for themselves and their families. Famous Footwear stores feature a wide selection of brand-name athletic, casual and dress shoes for the entire family. Brands carried include, among others, Nike, Skechers, adidas, Converse, Vans, New Balance, Sperry, Asics, Under Armour, Sof Sole and Bearpaw, as well as company-owned and licensed brands including, among others, LifeStride, Dr. Scholl's Shoes, Naturalizer, Fergie Footwear, Carlos 4 by Carlos Santana and Circus by Sam Edelman. We work closely with our vendors to provide our consumers with fresh product and, in some cases, product exclusively designed for and available only in our stores. Famous Footwear's average retail price is approximately $42 for footwear with retail price points typically ranging from $25 for shoes up to $220 for boots. Famous Footwear stores are located in strip shopping centers as well as outlet and regional malls in all 50 states, Canada and Guam.", - "id": "6eef0406-8167-4b73-bb68-07d6f0d04b1c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on advancing smart building technologies and energy efficiency, which aligns with Advanced Energy's mission of providing precision power solutions that enable innovation in various sectors, including energy management and industrial applications. The company's products may play a significant role in integrating smart building infrastructures and enhancing energy efficiency, thereby making the bill relevant to their business model.", - "index": "53", - "bill_title": "To accelerate smart building development, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Smart Building Acceleration Act\n\nThis bill assists the building sector in adopting smart building technology that increases energy efficiency. Smart buildings are buildings with energy systems that (1) are flexible and automated; (2) have extensive operational monitoring and communication connectivity, allowing remote monitoring and analysis of building functions; (3) take a systems-based approach in integrating the overall building operations for control of energy generation, consumption, and storage; (4) communicate with utilities and other third-party commercial entities, if appropriate; (5) protect the health and safety of occupants and workers; and (6) are cybersecure.\n\nSpecifically, the bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a Federal Smart Building Program. Under the program, DOE must implement smart building technology in certain federal buildings and demonstrate the costs and benefits of smart buildings.\n\nDOE may expand awards made under the Federal Energy Management Program and the Better Building Challenge to recognize specific federal agency achievements in accelerating the adoption of smart building technologies.\n\nIn addition, DOE must conduct (1) a survey of privately owned smart buildings throughout the United States and evaluate their costs and benefits, and (2) research and development on barriers to the integration of advanced building technologies. As part of the Better Building Challenge, DOE must demonstrate policies and approaches that accelerate the transition to smart buildings.", - "company_name": "Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview Advanced Energy provides highly-engineered, mission-critical, precision power conversion, measurement and control solutions to our global customers. We design, manufacture, sell and support precision power products that transform, refine, and modify the raw electrical power from the utility and convert it into various types of highly- controllable usable power that is predictable, repeatable and customizable. Our power solutions enable innovation in complex semiconductor and thin film plasma processes such as dry etch, strip, chemical and physical deposition, high and low voltage applications such as process control, analytical instrumentation and medical equipment, and in temperature-critical thermal applications such as material and chemical processing. We also supply related instrumentation products for advanced temperature measurement and control, electrostatic instrumentation products for test and measurement applications, and gas sensing and monitoring solutions for multiple industrial markets. Our network of global service support centers provides local repair and field service capability in key regions as well as provide upgrades and refurbishment services, and sales of used equipment to businesses that use our products. The high-efficiency, low voltage, configurable power supplies that Excelsys manufactures for medical and industrial applications further enhance Advanced Energy's product portfolio. In February 2018, we acquired Trek Holding Co., Ltd (\"Trek\"), a privately held company with operations in Tokyo, Japan and Lockport, New York. Trek has a 95% ownership interest in its U.S. subsidiary which is also its primary operation. Trek designs, manufactures and sells high-voltage amplifiers, power supplies and generators, high-performance electrostatic measurement instruments and electrostatic discharge (ESD) sensors and monitors to the global marketplace. standard and custom-OEM products are used in production and research in aerospace, automotive, electronics, electrostatics, medical, military, nanotechnology, photovoltaic/solar, plasma, semiconductor and test and measurement applications. Trek's comprehensive portfolio of power supply products strengthen and accelerate Advanced Energy's growth in high voltage applications. In May 2018, we acquired the electrostatic technology and product line from Monroe Electronics, Inc. located in Lyndonville, New York. The electrostatic detection and measurement instrumentation products serve specific areas of testing and monitoring of ionization systems across a variety of applications. In addition, the non-contact electrostatic voltmeters and field meters complement those of Trek. Production of these electrostatic products has been integrated into Trek's manufacturing facility in nearby Lockport, New York. (\"LumaSense\"), a privately held company with primary operations in Santa Clara, California, Frankfurt, Germany, Magdeburg, Germany and Ballerup, Denmark. LumaSense designs, manufactures and sells a line of photonic-based measurement and monitoring solutions that are synergistic with the Company's precision power control technologies in both semiconductor and industrial markets allowing customers' the ability to better control critical parameters of thermal and material processes. The acquisition of LumaSense complements our leading pyrometry solutions with additional fiber optic thermometry for an extended range of semiconductor applications in etch and deposition, provides integrated industrial temperature control and metrology applications for both thin films coating and thermal processing, and adds industrial pyrometry and gas sensing technologies. Our precision power products and solutions are designed to enable new process technologies, improve productivity, and lower the cost of ownership for our customers. These products must meet demanding requirements in efficiency, flexibility, performance, and reliability. We also provide repair and maintenance services for all of our products. We principally serve global original equipment manufacturers (\"OEM\") and end customers in the semiconductor and industrial technology markets with process power and applied power products. Our process power products are used in a diverse set of processes and applications in semiconductor device manufacturing such as dry etch, strip, chemical and physical deposition, and in thin film application of advanced materials for architectural glass, flat panel displays, crystalline silicon solar cells and industrial coatings. Our applied power products are used across a variety of industrial technology applications and include high and low voltage power supplies, power control modules, thermal instrumentation and gas detection and monitoring products. Our process power solutions include direct current (\"DC\"), pulsed DC, low frequency alternating current (\"AC\"), high voltage, and radio frequency (\"RF\") power supplies, RF matching networks, remote plasma sources for reactive gas applications and RF instrumentation.", - "id": "a68aa4a5-5a4a-4a0e-a42f-d1bedde17779" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Vietnam Human Rights Act primarily focuses on human rights issues and foreign assistance related to Vietnam, including monitoring online freedom of expression and addressing human trafficking. While Steelcase, Inc. operates globally, its business model is centered around furniture and workplace solutions, and the provisions of this bill do not directly impact its operations, structure, or business activities.", - "index": "54", - "bill_title": "To advance United States national interests by prioritizing the protection of internationally recognized human rights and development of the rule of law in relations between the United States and Vietnam, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Vietnam Human Rights Act\n\nThis bill amends various reporting requirements related to foreign assistance and human rights. It also authorizes various aid programs related to Vietnam.\n\nIn its annual reports to Congress on human rights in foreign countries and U.S. security assistance programs, the Department of State shall include assessments of online freedom of expression in each country, including efforts by governments to censor information, punish individuals for their speech, and monitor communications.\n\nThe State Department's annual report on human rights in Vietnam shall include information regarding the country's progress in various areas, including with respect to ending torture and violence against religious groups and returning property improperly confiscated by the Vietnamese government.\n\nThe bill authorizes the State Department to establish programs to (1) monitor and halt sex trafficking of women from Vietnam and other Asian countries, and (2) address Vietnam's growing sex-ratio disparity. It authorizes the President to provide assistance for ethnic minority groups in Vietnam affected by human rights violations and directs the State Department to report on such efforts.", - "company_name": "Steelcase, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"our,\" \"Company\" and similar references are to Steelcase Inc. and its subsidiaries in which a controlling interest is maintained. All amounts are in millions, except share and per share data, data presented as a percentage or as otherwise indicated. At Steelcase, our purpose is to unlock human promise by transforming work, worker and workplace. Through our family of brands that include Steelcase\u00ae, Coalesse\u00ae, Designtex\u00ae, PolyVision\u00ae, , we offer a comprehensive portfolio of furniture and technology solutions that support the social, economic and sustainability needs of people and are inspired by the insights gained from our human-centered research process. We are a globally integrated enterprise, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A., with approximately 11,700 employees. Our growth strategy focuses on translating our research-based insights into products, applications and experiences that will help the world's leading organizations amplify the performance of their people, teams and enterprise. We help our customers create workplace destinations that augment human interaction by supporting the physical, cognitive and emotional needs of their people, while also optimizing the value of their real estate investments. We invest in research and product development and have launched new products, applications and experiences designed to address the significant trends that are impacting the workplace, such as global integration, disruptive technologies, worker mobility, distributed teams and the need for enhanced creativity, collaboration and innovation. Our global scale allows us to provide local differentiation, as we serve customers around the globe through significant sales, manufacturing and administrative operations in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. We market our products and services primarily through a network of independent and company-owned dealers and also sell directly to end-use customers. We extend our reach with a limited presence in retail and web-based sales channels. Our brands provide an integrated portfolio of furniture settings, user-centered technologies and interior architectural products across a range of price points. Our furniture portfolio includes panel-based furniture systems, storage, fixed and height-adjustable desks, benches and tables and complementary products such as worktools. Our seating products include task chairs which are highly ergonomic, seating that can be used in collaborative or casual settings and specialty seating for specific vertical markets such as healthcare and education. Our technology solutions support group collaboration by integrating furniture and technology. Our interior architectural products include full and partial height walls and doors. We also offer services designed to reduce costs and enhance the performance of people, wherever they work. Among these services are workplace strategy consulting, data-driven space measurement, lease origination services, furniture and asset management and hosted event experiences. The Steelcase brand takes our insights from research and delivers high performance, sustainable work environments while striving to be a trusted partner to our customers and partners who seek to elevate their performance. The Steelcase brand 's core customers are leading organizations (such as corporations, healthcare organizations, colleges/universities and government entities) that are often large with ever-changing complex needs and have an increasingly global reach. We strive to meet their diverse needs while minimizing complexity by using a platform approach \u2014 from product components to common processes \u2014 wherever possible. Steelcase Health , which is focused on creating healthcare environments that enable empathy, empowerment and connection for patients, care partners and providers engaged in the healthcare experience. Steelcase Education, which is focused on helping schools, colleges and universities create the most effective, rewarding and inspiring \"active learning\" environments to meet the evolving needs of students and educators. ", - "id": "c9a0bf17-e22d-49ee-bf39-9a17252e16e6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains specifically to pension and health benefits for retired coal miners and does not address any issues related to the retail business or operations of Foot Locker, Inc., which focuses on athletic shoes and apparel. Therefore, it is not relevant to Foot Locker's business model or activities.", - "index": "55", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to transfer certain funds to the 1974 United Mine Workers of America Pension Plan, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "American Miners Act of 2019\n\nThis bill transfers certain funds to provide pension and health benefits for retired coal miners who have been affected by issues such as coal company bankruptcies.\n\nThe Department of the Treasury must transfer additional funds to the 1974 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Pension Plan to pay pension benefits required under that plan if the annual limit on transfers under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 exceeds the amount required to be transferred for existing obligations of the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund. The bill also increases the annual limit on transfers from $490 million to $750 million.\n\nThe bill also adds miners affected by 2018 coal company bankruptcies to the group whose retiree health benefits are taken into account in determining the amount that Treasury must transfer under current law to the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan.\n\nAdditionally, the bill (1) reduces the minimum age for in-service distributions under certain retirement plans, and (2) extends the increased rates for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund excise tax.", - "company_name": "Foot Locker, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business General Foot Locker, Inc., incorporated under the laws of the State of New York in 1989, is a leading global retailer of athletically inspired shoes and apparel . A s of February 3, 2018 , the Company operat ed 3,310 primarily mall-based stores, as well as stores in high-traffic urban retail areas and high streets, in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. \" Information regarding sales, operating results, and identifiable assets of the Company by business segment and by geographic area is contained under the Segment Information note in \"Item 8. Merchandise Purchases Financial information concerning merchandise purchases is contained under the \"Liquidity\" section in \"Item 7.", - "id": "6978e6d8-5ed5-4fe6-9d32-134337fd6ced" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily deals with appropriations for agriculture and related government activities, which are not directly relevant to Alphabet, Inc. as its business model focuses on technology and internet services rather than agriculture or governmental funding.", - "index": "56", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": " This section of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 provides FY2019 appropriations for the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Farm Credit Administration. It includes both discretionary and mandatory funding, and provides appropriations for various agricultural programs, services, and foreign assistance. It also sets forth various restrictions and requirements for the use of funds provided by the bill, including prohibitions on the use of funds for computer networks unless pornography is blocked, limits on the amount of Section 32 funds that may be used for certain domestic food assistance programs, prohibitions on the use of funds to reestablish farmers' purchasing power, and procedures and restrictions for reprogramming and transferring funds. It also increases the funding provided by this bill for extension programs and agricultural research at 1890 land-grant colleges, decreases the funding provided by this bill for Agriculture Buildings and Facilities, and compensates federal employees furloughed as a result of a lapse in appropriations.", - "company_name": "Alphabet, Inc.", - "company_description": "That unconventional spirit has been a driving force throughout our history -- inspiring us to do things like rethink the mobile device ecosystem with Android and map the world with Google Maps. Alphabet is a collection of businesses -- the largest of which, of course, is Google. It also includes businesses that are generally pretty far afield of our main Internet products such as Access, Calico, CapitalG, GV, Nest, Verily, Waymo, and X. We report all non-Google businesses collectively as Other Bets. The Internet is one of the world's most powerful equalizers, capable of propelling new ideas and people forward. So whether you're a child in a rural village or a professor at an elite university, you can access the same information. We are helping people get online by tailoring digital experiences to the needs of emerging markets. We're also making sure our core Google products are fast and useful, especially for users in areas where speed and connectivity are central concerns. For instance, in October 2017, Project Loon within X deployed its network of stratospheric balloons to deliver basic internet connectivity to more than 100,000 people in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. People thought we were crazy when we acquired YouTube and Android and when we launched Chrome, but those efforts have matured into major platforms for digital video and mobile devices and a safer, popular browser. The power of machine learning Across the company, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly driving many of our latest innovations. Within Google, our investments in machine learning over a decade have enabled us to build products that are smarter and more useful -- it's what allows you to use your voice to ask the Google Assistant for information, to translate the web from one language to another, to see better YouTube recommendations, and to search for people and events in Google Photos. Machine learning is also showing great promise in helping us tackle big issues, like dramatically improving the energy efficiency of our data centers. Across Other Bets, machine learning helps self-driving cars better detect and respond to others on the road, and can also improve the ability of clinicians to detect diseases such as diabetic retinopathy. We have always been a company committed to making big bets that have the potential to improve the lives of millions of people. Our product innovations have made our services widely used, and our brand one of the most recognized in the world. Google's core products and platforms such as Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Play, Search, and YouTube each have over one billion monthly active users. Our vision is to remain a place of incredible creativity and innovation that uses our technical expertise to tackle big problems. As the majority of Alphabet's big bets continue to reside within Google, an important benefit of the shift to Alphabet has been the tremendous focus that we' Instead of just showing ten blue links in our search results, we are increasingly able to provide direct answers -- even if you're speaking your question using Voice Search -- which makes it quicker, easier and more natural to find what you're looking for. You can also type or talk with the Google Assistant in a conversational way across multiple devices like phones, speakers, headphones, televisions and more. And with Google Lens, you can now use your phone's camera to identify an unfamiliar landmark or find a trailer from a movie poster. Over time, we have also added other services that let you access information quickly and easily -- like Google Maps, which helps you navigate to a store while showing you current traffic conditions, or Google Photos, which helps you store and organize your photos. This drive to make information more accessible has led us over the years to improve the discovery and creation of digital content, on the web and through platforms like Google Play and YouTube. And with the migration to mobile, people are consuming more digital content by watching more videos, playing more games, listening to more music, reading more books, and using more apps than ever before. Working with content creators and partners, we continue to build new ways for people around the world to find great digital content. ", - "id": "0ee95a74-94cb-4076-84a7-6a241c41beaf" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to BJ's Restaurants, Inc. as it regulates the use of facial recognition technology, which could potentially be employed for customer identification, tracking, or enhancing customer service in restaurants. Since the bill requires affirmative consent from customers for such data use, it could impact BJ's operations if they were to implement similar technology for customer engagement or security purposes. Furthermore, compliance with these legalities would be crucial for the company to avoid any legal issues.", - "index": "57", - "bill_title": "A bill to prohibit certain entities from using facial recognition technology to identify or track an end user without obtaining the affirmative consent of the end user, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Commercial Facial Recognition Privacy Act of 2019 This bill prohibits entities from collecting, processing, storing, or controlling facial recognition data unless such entities (1) provide documentation that explains the capabilities and limitations of facial-recognition technology, and (2) obtain explicit affirmative consent from end users to use such technology after providing notice about the reasonably foreseeable uses of the collected facial-recognition data. Facial-recognition data includes attributes or features of the face that permit facial-recognition technology to uniquely and consistently identify a specific individual. Controllers of facial recognition data also are prohibited from (1) using such data to discriminate against end users, (2) using such data for a purpose that is not reasonably foreseeable to the end user, (3) sharing such data with a third party without the additional affirmative consent of the end user, or (4) conditioning the use of a product on an end user providing affirmative consent.", - "company_name": "BJ's Restaurants, Inc.", - "company_description": "the total domestic capacity for our restaurants; expectations for consumer spending on casual dining restaurant occasions; \u2022 the availability and cost of key commodities and labor used in our restaurants and brewing operations; menu price increases and their effect, if any, on revenue and results of operations; projected revenues, operating costs, including commodities, labor and other expenses; Any inability to open new restaurants on schedule in accordance with our targeted capacity growth or problems associated with securing suitable restaurant locations, leases and licenses, recruiting and training qualified 1 managers and hourly employees and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and difficult to forecast accurately may adversely affect our operations. Our corporate office is located in California and a significant number of our restaurants are located in California, Texas and Florida which makes us particularly sensitive to economic, regulatory, weather and other risk factors and conditions that are more prevalent in those states. Any negative publicity about us, our restaurants, other restaurants, or others across the food supply chain, due to food borne illness or other reasons, whether or not accurate may adversely affect the reputation and popularity of our restaurants and our results of operations. Any adverse changes in the supply of food, labor, brewing, energy and other expenses, including those resulting from climate change, may adversely affect our operating results. Periodic reviews and audits of our internal brewing, independent third party brewing and beer distribution arrangements by various federal, state and local governmental and regulatory agencies may adversely affect our operations and our operating results. Government laws and regulations affecting the operation of our restaurants, including but not limited to those that apply to the acquisition and maintenance of our brewing and retail liquor licenses, minimum wages, federal or state exemption rules, health insurance coverage, or other employment benefits such as paid time off, consumer health and safety, nutritional disclosures, and employment eligibility-related documentation requirements may cause disruptions to our operations, adversely affect our operating costs and restrict our growth. The first BJ's restaurant, which opened in 1978 in Orange County, California, was a small sit down pizzeria that featured Chicago style deep-dish pizza with a unique California twist. Our goal then and still today, is to be the best casual dining concept ever by focusing on high quality menu options, at a compelling value, a dining experience that exceeds customers' expectations for service, hospitality and enjoyment, and an atmosphere that is always welcoming and approachable. In 1996, we introduced our initial proprietary craft beers and expanded the BJ's concept from its beginnings as a small pizzeria to a full-service, high energy casual dining restaurant when we opened our first large format restaurant featuring a brewing operations in Brea, California. Today our restaurants feature over 140 menu offerings including: slow roasted entrees, such as, prime rib; EnLIGHTened Entrees\u00ae such as our Cherry Chipotle Glazed Salmon; our original signature deep-dish pizza; the often imitated, but never replicated world-famous Pizookie\u00ae dessert; and our award-winning BJ's proprietary craft beers. As of February 25, 2019, we own and operate 202 restaurants located in 27 states, and our proprietary craft beer is produced at several of our locations, our Temple, Texas brewpub locations and by independent third party brewers using our proprietary recipes. We compete in the casual dining segment of the restaurant industry, which is a large, highly fragmented segment with estimated annual sales in the $100+ billion range. We believe that the BJ's restaurant concept offers consumers a higher quality, more contemporary and approachable \"casual plus,\" \"premium casual,\" or \"polished casual\" dining experience than the more mature, mass market casual dining concepts. Our Gold Standard of Operational Excellence is our genuine commitment to take pride in passionately connecting with every customer on every visit, through flawless and relentless execution of every detail, during every shift \u2013 to create and keep fanatical fans of BJ' Our Gold Standard of Operational Excellence is focused on the following key areas that help to differentiate BJ's from other casual dining restaurants: Over the years we have expanded the BJ's concept to include menu options that meet our customers ' preferences for any dining occasion.", - "id": "2c3dffbe-ed16-4dd7-a682-17e9fd8574ae" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Child Safety Accounts Act focuses on creating funding mechanisms for parents to address safety issues for students through designated accounts, which is primarily a social policy issue. ACI Worldwide, Inc. is focused on real-time electronic payments and payment processing solutions, which do not intersect with the legislation's intent or outcomes. Thus, the legal consequences of this bill do not impact ACI's business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "58", - "bill_title": "To create child safety accounts in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Child Safety Accounts Act This bill creates child safety accounts (CSAs) in the District of Columbia for students experiencing safety issues at school (e.g., incidents of bullying, sexual misconduct, fighting or physical assaults on the student, gang activity or drug usage, or food safety needs). Once the Office of School Security determines that an issue exists, parents are given the opportunity to enroll in CSAs for tuition and fees at qualified schools, tutoring services, textbooks, transportation costs, therapy costs to cope with safety incidents, and college courses. The bill sets forth procedures for scholarship granting organizations to accept donations for CSAs and pay out scholarships for students.\n\nCSA donors must be taxpayers, individuals, or corporations who\n\n file District income tax returns, cannot be claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer return, has donated to a scholarship granting organization, and has been certified by the Chief Financial Officer of the District to make the donation. Finally, this bill establishes a District program to provide tax credits against income tax imposed by the District on (1) certified donors to CSAs, and (2) parents for eligible expenses above the amount provided by the CSA.", - "company_name": "ACI Worldwide, Inc.", - "company_description": "We develop, market, install, and support a broad line of software products and solutions primarily focused on facilitating real-time electronic payments. Our payment capabilities, technologies, and solutions are marketed under the brand name Universal Payments, or \u0093UP,\u0094 which describes the breadth and depth of ACI\u0092s product offerings. UP defines ACI\u0092s enterprise or \u0093universal\u0094 payments capabilities targeting any channel, any network, and any payment type. ACI UP solutions empower customers to regain control, choice, and flexibility in today\u0092s complex payments environment, get to market more quickly, and reduce operational costs. These products and services are used globally by banks, financial intermediaries, merchants and corporates, such as third-party electronic payment processors, payment associations, switch interchanges and a wide range of transaction-generating endpoints, including automated teller machines (\u0093ATM\u0094), merchant point-of-sale (\u0093POS\u0094) terminals, bank branches, mobile phones, tablets, corporations, and internet commerce sites. The authentication, authorization, switching, settlement, fraud-checking, and reconciliation of electronic payments is a complex activity due to the large number of locations and variety of sources from which transactions can be generated, the large number of participants in the market, high transaction volumes, geographically dispersed networks, differing types of authorization, and varied reporting requirements. ACI combines a global perspective with local presence to tailor electronic payment solutions for our customers. We believe that we have one of the most diverse and robust electronic payment product portfolios in the industry with application software spanning the entire payments value chain. Target Markets ACI\u0092s comprehensive electronic payment solutions serve four key markets: Banks ACI provides payment solutions to large and mid-size banks globally for both retail banking, digital, and other payment services. Our solutions transform banks\u0092 complex payment environments to speed time to market, reduce costs, and deliver a consistent experience to customers across channels while enabling them to prevent 3 and rapidly react to fraudulent activity. In addition, we enable banks to meet the requirements of different real-time payment schemes and to quickly create differentiated products to meet consumer, business, and merchant demands. ACI\u0092s payment solutions support financial intermediaries, such as processors, networks, payment service providers (\u0093PSPs\u0094), and new financial technology (\u0093FinTech\u0094) entrants. We offer these customers scalable solutions that strategically position them to innovate and achieve growth and cost efficiency, while protecting them against fraud. Our solutions also allow new entrants in the digital marketplace to access innovative payment schemes, such as the U.K. Faster Payments New Access Model, ACI\u0092s support of merchants globally includes Tier 1 and Tier 2 merchants, online-only merchants and the PSPs, independent selling organizations (\u0093ISOs\u0094), value added resellers (\u0093VARs\u0094), and acquirers who service them. These customers operate in a variety of verticals, including general merchandise, grocery, hospitality, dining, transportation, and others. Our solutions provide merchants with a secure, omni-channel payments platform that gives them independence from third-party payment providers. We also offer secure solutions to online-only merchants that provide consumers with a convenient and seamless way to shop. Within the corporate segment, ACI provides electronic bill presentment and payment (\u0093EBPP\u0094) services to companies operating in the consumer finance, insurance, healthcare, higher education, tax, and utility categories. Our solutions enable these customers to support a wide range of payment options and provide a painless consumer payments experience that drives consumer loyalty and increases revenue. ACI\u0092s UP \u00ae solutions span the payments ecosystem to support the electronic payment needs of banks, intermediaries, merchants and corporates. Our six strategic solution areas include the following: Retail Payments ACI offers comprehensive consumer payment solutions ranging from core payment engines to back-office support that enable banks and financial intermediaries to compete effectively in today\u0092s real-time, open payments ecosystem. Retail Payments\u0099 solution enables banks and financial intermediaries to accept, authorize, route and secure payment transactions.", - "id": "c1bc1de5-e3e7-40c9-8b1b-2362d4c79aa1" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on land conservation, wilderness area designation, and environmental management in Colorado. It has no direct implications for Tempur Sealy International, Inc. as its business revolves around bedding products and does not involve activities related to land use, environmental management, or resource extraction.", - "index": "59", - "bill_title": "A bill to provide for the designation of certain wilderness areas, recreation management areas, and conservation areas in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act\n\nThis bill provides for the conservation of specified lands in Colorado.\n\nSpecifically, the bill designates\n\n specified federal lands within the White River National Forest as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, the proposed Williams Fork Wilderness as a potential wilderness area, the Tenmile Recreation Management Area, the Porcupine Gulch Wildlife Conservation Area, the Williams Fork Wildlife Conservation Area, the Camp Hale National Historic Landscape, the Sheep Mountain and Liberty Bell East Special Management Areas, and the Curecanti National Recreation Area. The bill adjusts the boundary of the White River National Forest, the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness, and the Arapaho National Forest.\n\n The bill directs the Department of Agriculture to permit by special use authorization nonmotorized access and use of the Bolts Ditch headgate and the Bolts Ditch within the Holy Cross Wilderness for the diversion of water and use, maintenance, and repair of the ditch and headgate by the town of Minturn.\n\nThe bill provides for the inclusion of additional federal lands in the National Wilderness Preservation System.\n\nThe bill provides for the cancellation of all Thompson Divide oil or gas leases.\n\nThe Department of the Interior shall carry out a program to lease federal methane from coal mines leaking methane in the North Fork Valley.", - "company_name": "Tempur Sealy International, Inc.", - "company_description": "We develop, manufacture and market bedding products, which we sell globally. Our brand portfolio includes many highly recognized brands in the industry, including TEMPUR\u00ae, Tempur-Pedic\u00ae, Sealy\u00ae featuring Posturepedic\u00ae Technology, and Stearns & Foster\u00ae. Our comprehensive suite of bedding products offers a variety of products to consumers across a broad range of channels. We operate in two segments: North America and International. Our North America segment consists of Tempur and Sealy manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries, joint ventures and licensees located in the U.S. and Canada. Our International segment consists of Tempur and Sealy manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries, joint ventures and licensees located in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. In the first quarter of 2017, we updated our primary selling channels to Wholesale and Direct. Wholesale includes all third party retailers, including third party distribution, hospitality and healthcare. Direct includes company-owned stores, e-commerce, and call centers. Retail included furniture and bedding retailers, department stores, specialty retailers and warehouse clubs. Other included direct-to-consumer, third party distributors, hospitality and healthcare customers. Our goal is to improve the sleep of more people, every night, all around the world. Our Products and Brands We have a comprehensive offering of products that appeal to a broad range of consumers, some of which are covered by one or more patents and/or patent applications. In order to achieve our goal to improve the sleep of more people, every night, all around the world, one of our strategic initiatives is to leverage and strengthen our comprehensive portfolio of iconic brands and products. Our brand portfolio includes many highly recognized brands, including TEMPUR\u00ae, Tempur-Pedic\u00ae, Sealy\u00ae featuring Posturepedic\u00ae Technology and Stearns & Foster\u00ae, which are described below: \u00ae - Founded in 1991, the Tempur brand is our specialty innovation category leader designed to provide life changing sleep for our wellness-seeking consumers. Our proprietary Tempur material precisely adapts to the shape, weight and temperature of the consumer and creates fewer pressure points, reduces motion transfer and provides personalized comfort and support. The Stearns & Foster brand offers our consumers high quality mattresses built by certified craftsmen who have been specially trained. Founded in 1846, the brand is designed and built with precise engineering and relentless attention to detail and fuses new innovative technologies with time-honored techniques, creating supremely comfortable beds. The Sealy brand originated in 1881 in Sealy, Texas, and for over a century has focused on offering trusted comfort, durability and excellent value while maintaining contemporary styles and great support. The Sealy Posturepedic brand, introduced in 1950, was engineered to provide all-over support and body alignment to allow full relaxation and deliver a comfortable night's sleep. In 2017, Sealy Posturepedic no longer represented its own separate brand as we united all of our Sealy products under one masterbrand, which features the Posturepedic Technology\u2122 in the Sealy Performance The Cocoon by Sealy brand, introduced in 2016, is our offering in the below $1,000 e-commerce space, made with the high quality materials that consumers expect from Sealy, sold online at www.cocoonbysealy.com and delivered in a box directly to consumers' doorsteps. In North America, we united all of our Sealy products under one masterbrand. Product introductions included new Sealy products in two distinct lines: Response and Conform.", - "id": "e7aaff55-2e93-4e58-9d88-15a6447b6566" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on water rights claims and a water project related to the Hualapai Tribe in Arizona, which does not directly impact BJ's Restaurants, Inc. This company's operations are primarily in the casual dining and restaurant sector, and the legislation is unrelated to its business model or activities.", - "index": "60", - "bill_title": "A bill to approve the settlement of water rights claims of the Hualapai Tribe and certain allottees in the State of Arizona, to authorize construction of a water project relating to those water rights claims, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2019\n\nThis bill modifies and ratifies the Hualapai Tribe water rights settlement agreement negotiated between the tribe, the United States, Arizona, and others, thus satisfying the tribe's claims for groundwater and surface water rights to water in Arizona, including the Verde River, the Bill Williams River, and the Colorado River.\n\nThe bill outlines the tribe's water rights, including the right to divert, use, and store 4,000 acre-feet of agricultural priority water of the Central Arizona Project that was previously allocated to nontribal agricultural entities, but retained by the Department of the Interior for reallocation to tribes in Arizona pursuant to the Central Arizona Project Settlement Act of 2004.\n\nThe Bureau of Reclamation must construct the Hualapai Water Project. The project must be designed to divert, treat, and convey at least 3,414 acre-feet of water per year from the Colorado River for municipal, commercial, and industrial uses on the Hualapai Reservation.\n\nThe bill provides for land to be added to the reservation and taken into trust for the benefit of the tribe. In the future, land located outside the reservation may only be taken into trust through an act of Congress.\n\nThe bill outlines (1) waivers, releases, and retentions of claims by the tribe and the United States under the settlement agreement; and (2) a limited waiver of sovereign immunity by the United States and the tribe with respect to certain claims.", - "company_name": "BJ's Restaurants, Inc.", - "company_description": "the total domestic capacity for our restaurants; expectations for consumer spending on casual dining restaurant occasions; \u2022 the availability and cost of key commodities and labor used in our restaurants and brewing operations; menu price increases and their effect, if any, on revenue and results of operations; projected revenues, operating costs, including commodities, labor and other expenses; Any inability to open new restaurants on schedule in accordance with our targeted capacity growth or problems associated with securing suitable restaurant locations, leases and licenses, recruiting and training qualified 1 managers and hourly employees and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and difficult to forecast accurately may adversely affect our operations. Our corporate office is located in California and a significant number of our restaurants are located in California, Texas and Florida which makes us particularly sensitive to economic, regulatory, weather and other risk factors and conditions that are more prevalent in those states. Any negative publicity about us, our restaurants, other restaurants, or others across the food supply chain, due to food borne illness or other reasons, whether or not accurate may adversely affect the reputation and popularity of our restaurants and our results of operations. Any adverse changes in the supply of food, labor, brewing, energy and other expenses, including those resulting from climate change, may adversely affect our operating results. Periodic reviews and audits of our internal brewing, independent third party brewing and beer distribution arrangements by various federal, state and local governmental and regulatory agencies may adversely affect our operations and our operating results. Government laws and regulations affecting the operation of our restaurants, including but not limited to those that apply to the acquisition and maintenance of our brewing and retail liquor licenses, minimum wages, federal or state exemption rules, health insurance coverage, or other employment benefits such as paid time off, consumer health and safety, nutritional disclosures, and employment eligibility-related documentation requirements may cause disruptions to our operations, adversely affect our operating costs and restrict our growth. The first BJ's restaurant, which opened in 1978 in Orange County, California, was a small sit down pizzeria that featured Chicago style deep-dish pizza with a unique California twist. Our goal then and still today, is to be the best casual dining concept ever by focusing on high quality menu options, at a compelling value, a dining experience that exceeds customers' expectations for service, hospitality and enjoyment, and an atmosphere that is always welcoming and approachable. In 1996, we introduced our initial proprietary craft beers and expanded the BJ's concept from its beginnings as a small pizzeria to a full-service, high energy casual dining restaurant when we opened our first large format restaurant featuring a brewing operations in Brea, California. Today our restaurants feature over 140 menu offerings including: slow roasted entrees, such as, prime rib; EnLIGHTened Entrees\u00ae such as our Cherry Chipotle Glazed Salmon; our original signature deep-dish pizza; the often imitated, but never replicated world-famous Pizookie\u00ae dessert; and our award-winning BJ's proprietary craft beers. As of February 25, 2019, we own and operate 202 restaurants located in 27 states, and our proprietary craft beer is produced at several of our locations, our Temple, Texas brewpub locations and by independent third party brewers using our proprietary recipes. We compete in the casual dining segment of the restaurant industry, which is a large, highly fragmented segment with estimated annual sales in the $100+ billion range. We believe that the BJ's restaurant concept offers consumers a higher quality, more contemporary and approachable \"casual plus,\" \"premium casual,\" or \"polished casual\" dining experience than the more mature, mass market casual dining concepts. Our Gold Standard of Operational Excellence is our genuine commitment to take pride in passionately connecting with every customer on every visit, through flawless and relentless execution of every detail, during every shift \u2013 to create and keep fanatical fans of BJ' Our Gold Standard of Operational Excellence is focused on the following key areas that help to differentiate BJ's from other casual dining restaurants: Over the years we have expanded the BJ's concept to include menu options that meet our customers ' preferences for any dining occasion.", - "id": "f7745f71-0174-4c5f-8815-e30063ef3988" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes oversight and disclosure requirements that would impact drug pricing, including potential loss of government exclusivity for high-priced drugs. As Adaptimmune Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company involved in developing and commercializing novel therapies, including T-cell therapies, the pricing regulations could significantly affect their pricing strategy, revenue, and the financial information they would be required to report. Therefore, the bill is relevant to their business operations.", - "index": "61", - "bill_title": "A bill to significantly lower prescription drug prices for patients in the United States by ending government-granted monopolies for manufacturers who charge drug prices that are higher than the median prices at which the drugs are available in other countries.", - "bill_summary": "Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a series of oversight and disclosure requirements relating to the prices of brand-name drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review at least annually all brand-name drugs for excessive pricing; HHS must also review prices upon petition. If any such drugs are found to be excessively priced, HHS must (1) void any government-granted exclusivity; (2) issue open, nonexclusive licenses for the drugs; and (3) expedite the review of corresponding applications for generic drugs and biosimilar biological products. HHS must also create a public database with its determinations for each drug.\n\nUnder the bill, a price is considered excessive if the domestic average manufacturing price exceeds the median price for the drug in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. If a price does not meet this criteria, or if pricing information is unavailable in at least three of the aforementioned countries, the price is still considered excessive if it is higher than reasonable in light of specified factors, including cost, revenue, and the size of the affected patient population.\n\nThe bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified financial information for brand-name drugs, including research and advertising expenditures.", - "company_name": "Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc", - "company_description": "We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on providing novel cell therapies to patients, particularly in solid tumors. (Specific Peptide Enhanced Affinity Receptor) T-cell platform enables us to identify cancer targets, find and genetically engineer T-cell receptors (\u0093TCRs\u0094), and produce therapeutic candidates for administration to patients. Using our affinity engineered TCRs, we aim to become a fully integrated cell therapy company and to be the first company to have a TCR T-cell approved for a solid tumor indication. We have four SPEAR T-cells in clinical trials, MAGE-A10, MAGE-A4, AFP and NY-ESO. Phase 1/2 clinical trials are ongoing in patients with various cancer tumor types including urothelial, melanoma, head and neck, ovarian, esophageal, gastric, multiple myeloma, hepatocellular cancers and in synovial sarcoma, myxoid round cell liposarcoma (\u0093MRCLS\u0094) and non small cell lung cancer (\u0093NSCLC\u0094). Our MAGE-A10 SPEAR T-cells have shown promising tolerability profiles with no evidence of off-target toxicities observed. The MAGE-A10 triple tumor study dose escalation to 1 billion transduced cells, which is the dose previously observed to provide responses with our NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell, has been recommended by the Safety Review Committee (\u0093SRC\u0094). In the MAGE-A10 NSCLC study, the SRC has recommended modification of the protocol to permit escalation of the patient dose to 1 billion transduced cells with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide preconditioning in the next treatment cohort. In the MAGE-A4 trial patient enrollment has started in bladder, melanoma, head and neck, ovarian, NSCLC, esophageal and gastric cancers. Our NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell has shown promising initial results in clinical trials with a 50% response rate and a median projected overall survival of 120 weeks (~28 months) in Cohort 1 of synovial sarcoma (a solid tumor) and 76% overall response rate at day 100 in multiple myeloma. We have also now seen three partial responses (two confirmed and one to be confirmed) and one stable disease in the first four patients dosed in a second solid tumor indication, MRCLS. Our NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell therapy has breakthrough therapy designation in the United States and has also received orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (\u0093FDA\u0094), and European Commission for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma. The European Medicines Agency (\u0093EMA\u0094) has also granted PRIME regulatory access for our NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell therapy for the synovial sarcoma indication. In September 2017, GlaxoSmithKline (\u0093GSK\u0094) exercised its option to obtain an exclusive global license to the NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell program. Upon transition of the NY-ESO program to GSK which is anticipated to occur during 2018, GSK will assume full responsibility for all development, manufacturing and commercialization activities for the NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell including progression of the SPEAR T-cell into further clinical trials. In January 2018, we announced that we had successfully manufactured the first SPEAR T-cells for a patient at our Navy Yard facility in Philadelphia. We intend to use the facility to manufacture SPEAR T-cells for all three of our wholly owned programs. In addition in January 2018 we also announced an agreement with Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult for vector production in the U.K., which is intended to ensure vector supply for our ongoing and future clinical studies. Our SPEAR T-cell platform is being utilized with the aim of maximizing both patient and disease indication coverage in a number of different ways. \u00b7 We are using our platform to identify and validate cancer targets for development of SPEAR T-cells in multiple indications. As a result, we are developing multiple SPEAR T-cells to different target antigens within selected disease indications to increase treatment potential for any given disease. For example the NY-ESO-1, MAGE-A4 and MAGE-A10 SPEAR T-cells address targets expressed in NSCLC, melanoma, urothelial (bladder) cancers and head and neck cancers, with each of these indications being addressed by at least two of the SPEAR T-cells. \u00b7 We are also developing SPEAR T-cells directed to targets which are closely related to a specific disease indication. Further targets closely associated with other cancers are also being validated. 1 \u00b7 Finally, we are identifying peptides to different Human Leukocyte Antigen (\u0093HLA\u0094) types ensuring that for any given target, for example NY-ESO, MAGE-A10, MAGE-A4 or AFP, we can address patient populations with different HLA types. ", - "id": "b4d0aea5-c7c1-4490-ae5b-3be7f75cd978" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on resilience to extreme weather events and establishing a National Extreme Weather Resilience Action Plan, which primarily affects governmental and infrastructure sectors. Aerie Pharmaceuticals, being an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company, is not directly impacted by legislation related to weather resilience, as its operations revolve around drug development and commercialization for eye diseases.", - "index": "62", - "bill_title": "To minimize the economic and social costs resulting from losses of life, property, well-being, business activity, and economic growth associated with extreme weather events by ensuring that the United States is more resilient to the impacts of extreme weather events in the short- and long-term, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Strengthening The Resiliency of Our Nation on the Ground Act or the STRONG Act\n\nThis bill requires the Office of Science and Technology Policy of the Executive Office of the President to establish an interagency working group to (1) provide a strategic vision of extreme weather resilience; (2) conduct an analysis of current and planned federal activities related to achieving short- and long-term resilience to extreme weather and its impacts on the United States, such as flooding, drought, and wildfires; and (3) develop a National Extreme Weather Resilience Action Plan.\n\nThe plan must include (1) the establishment of an online portal that directs users to key data and tools to inform resilience-enhancing efforts; and (2) the identification of a coordinating entity to establish and maintain such portal and to coordinate the implementation of the plan and track its progress.", - "company_name": "Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class therapies for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma and other diseases of the eye. Our strategy is to commercialize Rhopressa \u00ae, approved by the FDA on December 18, 2017, in North American markets and advance our product candidate, Roclatan TM, to regulatory approval. We are in the process of hiring a commercial team that will include approximately 100 sales representatives to target approximately 12,000 high prescribing eye-care professionals throughout the United States. If we obtain regulatory approval, we currently expect to commercialize Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM in Europe on our own, and likely partner for commercialization in Japan. Subsequent to December 31, 2017, we issued and sold approximately 2.3 million additional shares of our common stock, for which we received net proceeds of approximately $136.2 million, after deducting fees and expenses, upon the completion of the \"at-the-market\" offering that commenced in December 2017 and pursuant to an underwriting agreement, dated January 23, 2018, related to a registered public offering. Our FDA-approved product, Rhopressa \u00ae, is a once-daily eye drop designed to reduce elevated intraocular pressure (\"IOP\") in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The active ingredient in Rhopressa \u00ae, netarsudil, is a Rho kinase inhibitor. We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae represents the first of a new drug class for reducing IOP in patients with glaucoma in over 20 years. Based on clinical data, we expect that Rhopressa\u00ae will have the potential to compete with non-PGA (prostaglandin analog) products as a preferred adjunctive therapy to prostaglandin analogs (\"PGAs\"), due to its targeting of the diseased tissue known as the trabecular meshwork (\"TM\"), its demonstrated ability to reduce IOP at consistent levels across tested baselines, and its preferred once-daily dosing relative to currently marketed non-PGA products. Adjunctive therapies currently represent nearly one-half of the glaucoma prescription market in the United States, according to IQVIA (formerly known as IMS Health). We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae may also become a preferred therapy where PGAs are contraindicated, for patients who do not respond to PGAs and for patients who choose to avoid the cosmetic issues associated with PGA products. Our advanced-stage product candidate, Roclatan TM, is a once-daily, fixed-dose combination of Rhopressa\u00ae and latanoprost, the most commonly prescribed drug for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma. We plan to submit a New Drug Application (\"NDA\") for Roclatan TM to the FDA in the second quarter of 2018. We believe, based on our clinical data, that Roclatan TM has the potential to provide a greater IOP-reducing effect than any currently marketed glaucoma medication. Therefore, we believe that Roclatan TM, if approved, could compete with both PGA and non-PGA therapies and become the product of choice for patients requiring maximal IOP reduction, including those with higher IOPs and those who present with significant disease progression despite use of the currently available therapies. We own the worldwide rights to all indications for Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM. We have patent protection for Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM in the United States through at least 2030 and internationally through dates ranging from 2030 to 2037. Our intellectual property portfolio contains patents and pending patent applications related to composition of matter, pharmaceutical compositions, methods of use, and synthetic methods. Our collaboration with DSM, a global science-based company headquartered in the Netherlands, provides access to their bio-erodible polymer technology, and our acquisition of assets from Envisia Therapeutics Inc. (\"Envisia\"), which includes the right to use PRINT\u00ae manufacturing technology for ophthalmology, are designed to 1 advance our progress in developing potential future product candidates to treat retinal diseases. Aided by these technologies, we are developing two preclinical molecules focused on retinal disease. AR-13503, for which we expect to submit an Investigational New Drug application (\"IND\") in 2019, is an Aerie-owned Rho kinase and Protein kinase C inhibitor with potential in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (\"AMD\"), diabetic retinopathy and related diseases of the retina, such as diabetic macular edema (\"DME\"). As the active metabolite of AR-13154(S), AR-13503 has shown lesion size decreases in an in vivo preclinical model of wet AMD at levels similar to the current market-leading wet AMD anti-VEGF product. Also preclinically, when used in combination with the market leading anti-VEGF product, AR-13503 produced greater lesion size reduction than the anti-VEGF product alone in a model of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Additionally, through the Envisia asset acquisition, we are also developing AR-1105, a preclinical dexamethasone steroid implant with potential in the treatment of DME, and currently expect to submit an IND in late 2018. Further, we are evaluating our owned library of Rho kinase inhibitors for potential indications beyond ophthalmology.", - "id": "daeaedfd-749d-4063-88de-0eee99891970" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill is focused on the reauthorization of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and changes to its Board of Directors, which primarily pertains to environmental and wildlife conservation issues. This is not relevant to Primerica, Inc., whose focus is on financial products and services for middle-income households, particularly in the areas of life insurance and investments. There is no direct connection between the bill's objectives and Primerica's business activities.", - "index": "63", - "bill_title": "A bill to reauthorize and amend the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act.", - "bill_summary": "National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Reauthorization Act of 2019\n\nThis bill revises requirements for appointment to the Board of Directors of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and reauthorizes the foundation through FY2024.", - "company_name": "Primerica, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"us\" or the \"Parent Company\") is a leading provider of financial products to middle-income households in the United States and Canada with 130,736 licensed sales representatives as of December 31, 2018. This network of independent contractor sales representatives (\"sales representatives\" or \"sales force\") assists our clients in meeting their needs for term life insurance, which we underwrite, and mutual funds, annuities, managed investments and other financial products, which we distribute primarily on behalf of third parties. Licensed sales representatives primarily use our proprietary financial needs analysis tool (\"FNA\") and an educational approach to demonstrate how our product offerings can assist clients to provide financial protection for their families, save for their retirement and other needs, and manage their debt. Typically, our clients are the friends, family members and personal acquaintances of sales representatives. We provide an entrepreneurial business opportunity for individuals to distribute financial products. Low entry fees as well as the ability to select their own schedules and time commitments allow sales representatives to supplement their income by starting their own independent businesses without leaving their current jobs. Our unique compensation structure, technology, sales support and back-office processing are designed to enable sales representatives to successfully grow their independent businesses. We believe there is significant opportunity to meet the increasing array of financial services needs of our clients. We intend to leverage the sales force to meet such client needs, which will drive long-term value for all of our stakeholders. \u2022 Broadening and strengthening our protection product portfolio; \u2022 Providing offerings that enhance our Investment and Savings Products (\"ISP\") business; and \u2022 Developing digital capabilities to deepen our client relationships. Primerica Life Insurance Company (\"Primerica Life\"), our principal life insurance underwriting company; and \u2022 (\"PFS Investments\"), our investment and savings products company, broker-dealer and registered investment advisor. Primerica Life is domiciled in Tennessee, and its wholly owned subsidiary, National Benefit Life Insurance Company (\"NBLIC\"), is a New York-domiciled life insurance underwriting company. Primerica Life Insurance Company of Canada (\"Primerica Life Canada\"), our Canadian life insurance underwriting company; \u2022 (\"PFSL Investments Canada\"), our Canadian licensed mutual fund dealer; and \u2022 (\"PFSL Fund Management\"), our Canadian investment funds manager. Our clients are generally middle-income consumers, which we define as households with $30,000 to $100,000 of annual income. According to the 2017 U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey, the latest period for which data is available, almost 50% of U.S. households fall in this range. Many have inadequate or no life insurance coverage. Individual life insurance sales in the United States declined from 12.5 million policy sales in 1975 to 9.8 million policy sales in 2017, the latest period for which data is available, according to the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association International, Inc. (\"LIMRA\"), a worldwide association of insurance and financial services companies. We believe that term life insurance, which we have provided to middle-income clients for many years, is generally the best option for them to meet their life insurance needs. Many need help saving for retirement and other personal goals.", - "id": "c078c146-e9e6-471c-985d-f1693f0130eb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill allows the President to negotiate tariff reductions on exported U.S. goods or impose additional duties on imported goods based on trade imbalances. For Brown-Forman Corp., which manufactures and sells alcoholic beverages globally, any changes in tariff rates could significantly affect their pricing strategy, competitive positioning, and profit margins in international markets. Given their extensive global operations and presence in multiple countries, this bill is directly relevant to their business activities.", - "index": "64", - "bill_title": "To authorize the President to take certain actions relating to reciprocal trade, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "United States Reciprocal Trade Act \n\nThis bill allows the President, in certain circumstances, to (1) negotiate with a foreign country for tariff reductions on exported U.S. goods, or (2) impose additional duties on imported goods. Specifically, the President may take these actions if it is determined that the country (1) when importing a good from the United States, applies a higher rate of duty on that good than the rate imposed by the United States when imported from that country; or (2) similarly imposes other, nontariff trade restrictions on that good.\n\nThe President must terminate a rate of duty increase under this bill if the country no longer applies such higher rates or nontariff trade restrictions, or if the higher rate is no longer in the interest of the United States.\n\nCongress may nullify a rate of duty increase implemented under this bill through a joint resolution.\n\nThis bill is effective for three years, subject to one three-year renewal.", - "company_name": "Brown-Forman Corp.", - "company_description": "We primarily manufacture, bottle, import, export, market, and sell a wide variety of alcoholic beverages under recognized brands. We are the largest American-owned spirits and wine company with global reach. Beginning in 1870 with Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky \u2013 our founding brand \u2013 and spanning the generations since, we have built a portfolio of more than 40 spirit, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail, and wine brands that includes some of the best-known and most-loved trademarks in our industry. The most important brand in our portfolio is Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, which is the fourth-largest spirits brand of any kind and the largest American whiskey brand in the world, according to Impact Databank's \"Top 100 Premium Spirits Brands Worldwide\" list. Among the top five premium spirits brands on the list, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey was the only one to grow volume in each of the past five years. In its fifth year on the Worldwide Impact list, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey was recognized as a top 15 growth brand and remains the second-largest-selling flavored whiskey. Our other leading global brands on the Worldwide Impact list are Finlandia, which is the tenth-largest-selling vodka; Canadian Mist, which is the fourth-largest-selling Canadian whisky; and el Jimador, which is the fifth-largest-selling tequila and designated as an Impact \"Hot Brand. While Korbel is not an owned brand, we sell Korbel products under contract in the United States and other select markets. Fiscal 2018 Brand Highlights\" for brand performance details. Our vision in marketing is to be the best brand builders in the industry. These programs cover a wide spectrum of activities, including media (TV, radio, print, outdoor, and, increasingly, digital and social), consumer and trade promotions, sponsorships, and homeplace programs at our distilleries and our winery. We expect to grow our sales and profits by consistently delivering creative, responsible marketing programs that drive brand recognition, brand trial, brand loyalty, and, ultimately, consumer demand around the world. Our largest international markets include the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, Germany, France, Poland, Russia, Brazil, and Canada. Our distribution network, which we sometimes refer to as our \"route-to-consumer\" (RTC), takes a variety of forms, depending on (a) a market's laws and regulatory framework for trade in beverage alcohol, (b) our assessment of a market's long-term attractiveness and competitive dynamics, (c) the relative profitability of distribution options available to us, (d) the structure of the retail and wholesale trade in a market, and (e) our portfolio's development stage in a market. In the United States, which generally prohibits spirits and wine manufacturers from selling their products directly to consumers, we sell our brands either to distributors or (in states that directly control alcohol sales) to state governments that then sell to retail customers and consumers. , we use a variety of RTC models, which can be grouped into three categories: owned distribution, partner, and government-controlled markets. We own and operate distribution companies in 14 markets: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czechia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Thailand, and Turkey. In these markets, and in a large portion of the Travel Retail channel, we sell our products directly to retailers, to wholesalers, or, in Canada, to provincial governments. Over the past decade, we began distribution operations in multiple markets outside the United States, as shown in the table below. In the United Kingdom, we partner in a cost-sharing arrangement with another supplier, Bacardi Limited, to sell a portfolio of both companies In many other markets, including Russia, Japan, Italy, and South Africa, we rely on others to distribute our brands, generally under fixed-term distribution contracts. Competition Trade information indicates that we are one of the largest global suppliers of premium spirits. According to International Wine & Spirit Research (IWSR), for calendar year 2017, the ten largest global spirits companies controlled less than 20% of the total global market for spirits (on a volume basis).", - "id": "6100eacc-d06c-46a2-881d-36721270fa4e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Secure 5G and Beyond Act of 2020 primarily focuses on securing telecommunications systems and infrastructure, particularly 5G and future generations. Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc., as a manufacturer of lift trucks and related equipment, does not directly engage in telecommunications or technology sectors affected by this bill. The legal consequences regarding telecommunications security and international partnerships for telecommunications are not relevant to Hyster-Yale's business model, which revolves around materials handling solutions and lift truck manufacturing.", - "index": "65", - "bill_title": "A bill to require the President to develop a strategy to ensure the security of next generation mobile telecommunications systems and infrastructure in the United States and to assist allies and strategic partners in maximizing the security of next generation mobile telecommunications systems, infrastructure, and software, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Secure 5G and Beyond Act of 2020\n\nThis bill requires the President, in consultation with relevant federal agencies, to develop a strategy to secure and protect U.S. fifth and future generations (5G) systems and infrastructure.\n\nSuch strategy, to be known as the National Strategy to Secure 5G and Next Generation Wireless Communications, shall (1) ensure the security of 5G wireless communications systems and infrastructure within the United States; (2) assist mutual defense treaty allies, strategic partners, and other countries in maximizing the security of 5G systems and infrastructure; and (3) protect the competitiveness of U.S. companies, privacy of U.S. consumers, and integrity of standards-setting bodies.", - "company_name": "Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc.", - "company_description": "Inc. (\"HYG\"), is a leading, globally integrated, full-line lift truck manufacturer. The Company offers a broad array of solutions aimed at meeting the specific materials handling needs of its customers, including attachments and hydrogen fuel cell power products, telematics, automation and fleet management services, as well as a variety of other power options for its lift trucks. The Company, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, through HYG, designs, engineers, manufactures, sells and services a comprehensive line of lift trucks, attachments and aftermarket parts marketed globally primarily under the Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae brand names, mainly to independent Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae retail dealerships. Lift trucks and component parts are manufactured in the United States, China, Northern Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Italy, Japan, Vietnam and Brazil. Hyster-Yale Maximal is a Chinese manufacturer of low-intensity and standard lift trucks and specialized material handling equipment. Hyster-Yale Maximal also designs and produces specialized products in the port equipment and rough terrain forklift markets. Bolzoni is a leading worldwide producer and distributor of attachments, forks and lift tables marketed under the Bolzoni \u00ae, Auramo\u00ae and Bolzoni products are manufactured in the United States, Italy, China, Germany and Finland. Through the design, production and distribution of a wide range of attachments, Bolzoni has a strong presence in the market niche of lift-truck attachments and industrial material handling. In 2019, as part of a plan to expand Bolzoni's capabilities in the United States, Bolzoni's North America attachment manufacturing moved into HYG's Sulligent, Alabama manufacturing facility. Nuvera is an alternative-power technology company focused on the design, manufacture and sale of hydrogen fuel-cell stacks and engines. trucks and electric lift trucks were approximately 47% and approximately 28% of annual revenues in 2019, respectively. The Company manufactures components, such as frames, masts and transmissions, and assembles lift trucks in the market of sale whenever practical to minimize freight cost and balance currency mix. In some instances, however, it utilizes one worldwide location to manufacture specific components or assemble specific lift trucks. Additionally, components and assembled lift trucks are exported when it is advantageous to meet demand in certain markets. The Company operates twelve lift truck manufacturing and assembly facilities worldwide with four plants in the Americas, three in EMEA and five in JAPIC, including joint venture operations. In addition, the Company operates six Bolzoni manufacturing facilities worldwide. The Company offers a line of aftermarket parts to service its large installed base of lift trucks currently in use in the industry. The Company offers online technical reference databases specifying the required aftermarket parts to service lift trucks and an aftermarket parts ordering system. -branded aftermarket parts to dealers for Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae The Company also sells aftermarket parts under the UNISOURCE\u2122 and PREMIER\u2122 brands to Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae dealers for the service of competitor lift trucks. The Company has a contractual relationship with a third-party, multi-brand, aftermarket parts wholesaler in the Americas and EMEA whereby orders from the Company's dealers for parts for lift trucks are fulfilled by the third party who then pays the Company a commission. The Company's marketing organization is structured in three regional divisions by industry focus: the Americas; EMEA, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and JAPIC, which includes Japan, Asia, Pacific, India and China. In each region, certain marketing support functions for the Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae brands are carried out by shared-services teams. These activities include sales and service training, information systems support, product launch coordination, specialized sales material development, help desks, order entry, marketing strategy and field service support. ", - "id": "ad1db93e-2f4d-4677-a9d1-792157daaab6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to establish a program for carbon capture technologies specifically in natural gas power generation. Advanced Energy Industries operates in sectors that utilize precision power solutions, including processes that may be relevant to carbon capture and measurement technologies. Their expertise in power conversion and monitoring could align with the technological advancements required in carbon capture, making the bill relevant to their business interests.", - "index": "66", - "bill_title": "A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program for the research, development, and demonstration of commercially viable technologies for the capture of carbon dioxide produced during the generation of natural gas-generated power.", - "bill_summary": "Launching Energy Advancement and Development through Innovations for Natural Gas Act of 2019\n\nThis bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a program for the capture of carbon dioxide produced during the generation of natural gas-generated power.\n\nSpecifically, DOE must\n\n identify opportunities to accelerate the development of commercially viable carbon capture technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions; enter into cooperative agreements with certain entities to license, permit, construct, and operate at least three facilities to capture carbon dioxide from natural gas generating power facilities; and identify any barriers to the commercial development of carbon capture technologies.", - "company_name": "Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview Advanced Energy provides highly-engineered, mission-critical, precision power conversion, measurement and control solutions to our global customers. We design, manufacture, sell and support precision power products that transform, refine, and modify the raw electrical power from the utility and convert it into various types of highly- controllable usable power that is predictable, repeatable and customizable. Our power solutions enable innovation in complex semiconductor and thin film plasma processes such as dry etch, strip, chemical and physical deposition, high and low voltage applications such as process control, analytical instrumentation and medical equipment, and in temperature-critical thermal applications such as material and chemical processing. We also supply related instrumentation products for advanced temperature measurement and control, electrostatic instrumentation products for test and measurement applications, and gas sensing and monitoring solutions for multiple industrial markets. Our network of global service support centers provides local repair and field service capability in key regions as well as provide upgrades and refurbishment services, and sales of used equipment to businesses that use our products. The high-efficiency, low voltage, configurable power supplies that Excelsys manufactures for medical and industrial applications further enhance Advanced Energy's product portfolio. In February 2018, we acquired Trek Holding Co., Ltd (\"Trek\"), a privately held company with operations in Tokyo, Japan and Lockport, New York. Trek has a 95% ownership interest in its U.S. subsidiary which is also its primary operation. Trek designs, manufactures and sells high-voltage amplifiers, power supplies and generators, high-performance electrostatic measurement instruments and electrostatic discharge (ESD) sensors and monitors to the global marketplace. standard and custom-OEM products are used in production and research in aerospace, automotive, electronics, electrostatics, medical, military, nanotechnology, photovoltaic/solar, plasma, semiconductor and test and measurement applications. Trek's comprehensive portfolio of power supply products strengthen and accelerate Advanced Energy's growth in high voltage applications. In May 2018, we acquired the electrostatic technology and product line from Monroe Electronics, Inc. located in Lyndonville, New York. The electrostatic detection and measurement instrumentation products serve specific areas of testing and monitoring of ionization systems across a variety of applications. In addition, the non-contact electrostatic voltmeters and field meters complement those of Trek. Production of these electrostatic products has been integrated into Trek's manufacturing facility in nearby Lockport, New York. (\"LumaSense\"), a privately held company with primary operations in Santa Clara, California, Frankfurt, Germany, Magdeburg, Germany and Ballerup, Denmark. LumaSense designs, manufactures and sells a line of photonic-based measurement and monitoring solutions that are synergistic with the Company's precision power control technologies in both semiconductor and industrial markets allowing customers' the ability to better control critical parameters of thermal and material processes. The acquisition of LumaSense complements our leading pyrometry solutions with additional fiber optic thermometry for an extended range of semiconductor applications in etch and deposition, provides integrated industrial temperature control and metrology applications for both thin films coating and thermal processing, and adds industrial pyrometry and gas sensing technologies. Our precision power products and solutions are designed to enable new process technologies, improve productivity, and lower the cost of ownership for our customers. These products must meet demanding requirements in efficiency, flexibility, performance, and reliability. We also provide repair and maintenance services for all of our products. We principally serve global original equipment manufacturers (\"OEM\") and end customers in the semiconductor and industrial technology markets with process power and applied power products. Our process power products are used in a diverse set of processes and applications in semiconductor device manufacturing such as dry etch, strip, chemical and physical deposition, and in thin film application of advanced materials for architectural glass, flat panel displays, crystalline silicon solar cells and industrial coatings. Our applied power products are used across a variety of industrial technology applications and include high and low voltage power supplies, power control modules, thermal instrumentation and gas detection and monitoring products. Our process power solutions include direct current (\"DC\"), pulsed DC, low frequency alternating current (\"AC\"), high voltage, and radio frequency (\"RF\") power supplies, RF matching networks, remote plasma sources for reactive gas applications and RF instrumentation.", - "id": "2e4ac261-f0b2-4524-99ba-129c3fef94f4" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Move America Act of 2019 primarily focuses on providing tax-exempt bonds and tax credits to support infrastructure projects. This does not have a direct relevance to Brown-Forman Corp.'s business model, which primarily concerns the manufacturing and distribution of alcoholic beverages. The legal consequences of the bill do not affect the company's operations, financial structure, or market activities.", - "index": "67", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for Move America bonds and Move America credits.", - "bill_summary": "Move America Act of 2019\n\nThis bill allows tax-exempt Move America bonds and Move America tax credits to be used for certain infrastructure projects.\n\nA Move America bond is treated as a tax-exempt private facility bond with certain exceptions. At least 95% of the net proceeds from the issuance of the bond must be used for infrastructure projects, including\n\n airports; docks and wharves; mass commuting facilities; facilities for the furnishing of water; sewage facilities; railroads; certain surface transportation projects eligible for federal assistance, projects for an international bridge or tunnel, or facilities for transferring freight from truck to rail or rail to truck; flood diversions; inland waterways; or rural broadband service infrastructure. The bill specifies exceptions and modifications to existing rules for bonds regarding land acquisition, government ownership, rehabilitation expenditures, and the alternative minimum tax.\n\nThe bonds are subject to a volume cap equal to 50% of a state's current private activity bond volume cap. States may exchange all or a portion of the volume cap for Move America tax credits to be allocated to taxpayers. The credits include (1) an equity credit for a portion of the basis of each qualified facility; and (2) an infrastructure fund credit for investments in qualified infrastructure funds, including a state infrastructure bank, a water pollution control revolving fund, or a drinking water treatment revolving loan fund.", - "company_name": "Brown-Forman Corp.", - "company_description": "We primarily manufacture, bottle, import, export, market, and sell a wide variety of alcoholic beverages under recognized brands. We are the largest American-owned spirits and wine company with global reach. Beginning in 1870 with Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky \u2013 our founding brand \u2013 and spanning the generations since, we have built a portfolio of more than 40 spirit, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail, and wine brands that includes some of the best-known and most-loved trademarks in our industry. The most important brand in our portfolio is Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, which is the fourth-largest spirits brand of any kind and the largest American whiskey brand in the world, according to Impact Databank's \"Top 100 Premium Spirits Brands Worldwide\" list. Among the top five premium spirits brands on the list, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey was the only one to grow volume in each of the past five years. In its fifth year on the Worldwide Impact list, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey was recognized as a top 15 growth brand and remains the second-largest-selling flavored whiskey. Our other leading global brands on the Worldwide Impact list are Finlandia, which is the tenth-largest-selling vodka; Canadian Mist, which is the fourth-largest-selling Canadian whisky; and el Jimador, which is the fifth-largest-selling tequila and designated as an Impact \"Hot Brand. While Korbel is not an owned brand, we sell Korbel products under contract in the United States and other select markets. Fiscal 2018 Brand Highlights\" for brand performance details. Our vision in marketing is to be the best brand builders in the industry. These programs cover a wide spectrum of activities, including media (TV, radio, print, outdoor, and, increasingly, digital and social), consumer and trade promotions, sponsorships, and homeplace programs at our distilleries and our winery. We expect to grow our sales and profits by consistently delivering creative, responsible marketing programs that drive brand recognition, brand trial, brand loyalty, and, ultimately, consumer demand around the world. Our largest international markets include the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, Germany, France, Poland, Russia, Brazil, and Canada. Our distribution network, which we sometimes refer to as our \"route-to-consumer\" (RTC), takes a variety of forms, depending on (a) a market's laws and regulatory framework for trade in beverage alcohol, (b) our assessment of a market's long-term attractiveness and competitive dynamics, (c) the relative profitability of distribution options available to us, (d) the structure of the retail and wholesale trade in a market, and (e) our portfolio's development stage in a market. In the United States, which generally prohibits spirits and wine manufacturers from selling their products directly to consumers, we sell our brands either to distributors or (in states that directly control alcohol sales) to state governments that then sell to retail customers and consumers. , we use a variety of RTC models, which can be grouped into three categories: owned distribution, partner, and government-controlled markets. We own and operate distribution companies in 14 markets: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czechia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Thailand, and Turkey. In these markets, and in a large portion of the Travel Retail channel, we sell our products directly to retailers, to wholesalers, or, in Canada, to provincial governments. Over the past decade, we began distribution operations in multiple markets outside the United States, as shown in the table below. In the United Kingdom, we partner in a cost-sharing arrangement with another supplier, Bacardi Limited, to sell a portfolio of both companies In many other markets, including Russia, Japan, Italy, and South Africa, we rely on others to distribute our brands, generally under fixed-term distribution contracts. Competition Trade information indicates that we are one of the largest global suppliers of premium spirits. According to International Wine & Spirit Research (IWSR), for calendar year 2017, the ten largest global spirits companies controlled less than 20% of the total global market for spirits (on a volume basis).", - "id": "3d112aef-6786-4bce-954f-8b4ad00372d9" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily concerns the restoration, economic development, and conservation of federal lands in Northern California, including recreational access and specific environmental initiatives. While Dick's Sporting Goods promotes sporting goods and outdoor recreation, the bill does not directly impact its business model or operations, which focus on retailing sports equipment and apparel rather than land management or conservation efforts.", - "index": "68", - "bill_title": "A bill to provide for restoration, economic development, recreation, and conservation on Federal lands in Northern California, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions concerning the restoration, economic development, and conservation of, and recreational access to, certain public lands in Northern California.\n\nThe bill establishes\n\n the South Fork Trinity-Mad River Restoration Area, the Northwest California Public Lands Remediation Partnership, the Trinity Lake and Del Norte County visitor centers, the Horse Mountain Special Management Area, the Elk Camp Ridge National Recreation Trail, and the Sanhedrin Conservation Management Area. The bill designates\n\n specified federal lands as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, the North Fork Wilderness as the North Fork Eel River Wilderness, specified federal lands as potential wilderness areas, and specified segments of certain rivers and creeks and of a specified river estuary as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Also, the bill\n\n authorizes the use of certain forest residues for research and development of biobased products that\u00a0result in net carbon sequestration; authorizes initiatives to restore degraded redwood forest ecosystems in the Redwood National Forest and state parks; requires studies concerning certain visitor accommodations and recreational trails in the Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinity, and Mendocino National Forests, as applicable; authorizes partnerships for trail and campground maintenance, public education, visitor contacts, and visitor center staffing on federal lands in Mendocino, Humboldt, Trinity, and Del Norte Counties; and adjusts the boundaries of the Elkhorn Ridge Wilderness.", - "company_name": "Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"us\" and \"our\" unless specified otherwise) is a leading omni-channel sporting goods retailer offering an extensive assortment of authentic, high-quality sports equipment, apparel, footwear and accessories through a blend of dedicated associates, in-store services and unique specialty shop-in-shops. The Company also owns and operates Golf Galaxy and Field & Stream stores, and Dick's Team Sports HQ, an all-in-one youth sports digital platform offering scheduling, communications and live scorekeeping through its GameChanger mobile apps, free league management services, custom uniforms and fan wear, and access to donations and sponsorships. The Company offers its products through a content-rich eCommerce platform that is integrated with its store network and provides customers with the convenience and expertise of a 24-hour storefront. Our vision is to be the best sports company in the world. We believe that our mindset and our culture must ensure that every decision we make, whether in our stores or at our Customer Support Center (\"CSC\"), improves the athlete's experience. We will continue to make investments that enhance our store experience, improve our eCommerce fulfillment capabilities and implement technology solutions that improve the athlete experience as well as teammate productivity. Our marketing program is designed to build loyalty for the Dick's Sporting Goods brand while promoting our broad assortment of brand name sporting goods equipment, apparel and footwear in a specialty store environment. Our historical marketing strategy has consisted largely of newspaper advertising supplemented by direct mail and seasonal use of local and national television and radio. While we continue to market through these traditional channels, we have more recently developed brand-building marketing campaigns focused on building passion and loyalty to the Dick's Sporting Goods brand and have shifted our advertising focus toward digital marketing and personalization. The Company continues to grow its community presence through Team Sports HQ and sponsoring thousands of teams at the local level. We also launched a new tier of our ScoreCard loyalty program during 2018 that better rewards our best customers for their loyalty to us. Our history and core foundation is as a retailer of high-quality authentic athletic equipment, apparel and footwear, which is intended to enhance our customers' performance and enjoyment of athletic pursuits, rather than focusing our merchandise selection on the latest fashion trend or style. Our objective is not only to carry leading brands, but to carry a full range of products within each category, including premium items for the sports enthusiast. We believe that the breadth of our product selections in each category of sporting goods offers our customers a wide range of good, better and best price points and enables us to address the needs of sporting goods consumers, from the beginner to the sports enthusiast, which distinguishes us from other large format sporting goods stores. We also believe that the range of merchandise and extensive in-store support services that we offer allows us to differentiate and compete effectively against all of our competitors, from traditional independent sporting goods stores and specialty shops to other large format sporting goods stores and mass merchant discount retailers to internet-based retailers. We believe when our customers connect with the Dick's Sporting Goods brand they expect a seamless shopping experience, regardless of the manner in which they choose to shop with us. We continue to see growth in the number of customers who shop with us both online and in our stores and believe these omni-channel customers represent the future of retail. We plan to continue investing to improve the functionality and performance of our eCommerce site, including a faster and more convenient checkout, improved page responsiveness and new content development through our Pro Tips platform. Like our customers, we see retail as an omni-channel experience, where the distinctions between stores and online are becoming increasingly irrelevant. We believe our store base gives us a competitive advantage over our online-only competitors, as our physical presence allows us to better serve our customers by creating strong engagement through experiential elements, offering the convenience of accepting in-store returns or exchanges and expediting fulfillment of eCommerce orders. We believe that offering support services for the products we sell enhances the credibility of our associates and specialty store concepts with our customers and further differentiates our stores from our competitors. Our key partners invest in our stores to showcase their brands. We carry a wide variety of well-known brands, including adidas, Asics, Brooks, Callaway Golf, Columbia, Easton, Nike, TaylorMade, The North Face, Titleist, Under Armour and Yeti. Our brand partnerships also provide us with access to exclusive products and allow us to differentiate our customers' shopping experience through initiatives such as our brand shops, which provide our customers with a wider and deeper selection of products from our key brands. To provide differentiation in assortment of products when compared to our competitors, we also offer a wide variety of private brand products that are not available from other retailers.", - "id": "fb9f9378-e98a-42e2-ab5a-78b72ef9dcee" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing Youth Corps programs to provide work readiness training and education for low-income youth aged 16 to 24. These initiatives primarily aim to support youth employment and skills development, which is not directly related to ANSYS, Inc.'s business model centered on engineering simulation software and services for various industries. The company's operations do not involve direct engagement in workforce training for youth, making the bill not relevant to their activities.", - "index": "69", - "bill_title": "To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to provide for the establishment of Youth Corps programs and provide for wider dissemination of the Youth Corps model.", - "bill_summary": "Youth Corps Act of 2019\n\nThis bill authorizes the Department of Labor to make grants to public or private nonprofit agencies or organizations to carry out Youth Corps programs that utilize the Youth Corps model to provide low-income youth (age 16 and not more than age 24) with education and work readiness training.\n\nThe term \"Youth Corps model\" means a youth education and training program for which an eligible entity provides eligible youth with, among other things, stipended or paid work experience and basic and technical skills training leading to (1) enrollment in postsecondary education or training, (2) attainment of an industry-recognized certification or credential, (3) meaningful employment in the economy of the 21st century, or (4) military service.", - "company_name": "ANSYS, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS ANSYS, a Delaware corporation formed in 1994, develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services widely used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a broad spectrum of industries and academia, including aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, semiconductors, energy, materials and chemical processing, turbomachinery, consumer products, healthcare, and sports. The Company focuses on the development of open and flexible solutions that enable users to analyze designs directly on the desktop, providing a common platform for fast, efficient and cost-conscious product development, from design concept to final-stage testing and validation. The Company distributes its ANSYS\u00ae suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in strategic, global locations. The Company operates and reports as one segment. ANSYS Workbench\u2122 ANSYS Workbench is the framework upon which the Company's suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The innovative project schematic view ties together the entire simulation process, guiding the user through complex multiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop simplicity. With bi-directional computer-aided design (CAD) connectivity, powerful highly-automated meshing, a project-level update mechanism, pervasive parameter management and integrated optimization tools, the ANSYS Workbench platform enables Pervasive Engineering Simulation\u2122. The Company's Workbench framework allows engineers and designers to incorporate the compounding effects of multiple physics into a virtual prototype of their design and simulate its operation under real-world conditions. As product architectures become smaller, lighter and more complex, companies must be able to accurately predict how products will behave in real-world environments where multiple types of physics interact in a coupled way. ANSYS multiphysics software enables engineers to simulate the interactions between structures, heat transfer, fluids and electronics all within a single, unified engineering simulation environment. ANSYS Workbench enables companies to create a customized simulation environment to deploy specialized simulation best practices and automations unique to their product development process or industry. With ANSYS ACT\u2122, end users or ANSYS partners can modify the user interface, process simulation data or embed third-party applications to create specialized tools based on ANSYS Workbench. The Company's high-performance computing (HPC) product suite enables enhanced insight into product performance and improves the productivity of the design process. The HPC product suite delivers cross-physics parallel processing capabilities for the full spectrum of the Company's simulation software by supporting structures, fluids, thermal and electronics simulations. This product suite decreases turnaround time for individual simulations, allowing users to consider multiple design ideas and make the right design decisions early in the design cycle. The Company's structural analysis product suite offers simulation tools for product design and optimization that increase productivity, minimize physical prototyping and help to deliver better and more innovative products in less time. These tools tackle real-world analysis problems by making product development less costly and more reliable. In addition, these tools have capabilities that cover a broad range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities, all targeted toward understanding and solving complex design problems. The Company also provides comprehensive topology optimization tools that engineers use to design structural components to meet loading requirements with minimal material and component weight. The Company offers a complete simulation workflow for additive manufacturing that allows reliable 3D printing by simulating the laser sintering process and delivering compensated CAD geometries that ensure reliable printed parts. The Company's fluids product suite enables modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design and optimize new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications. The Company's electromagnetics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance of mobile communication and internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment, all prior to building a prototype. ", - "id": "a393122e-c495-4810-b2e8-b483f0633a0c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on preventing housing discrimination and increasing funds for fair housing initiatives, which primarily relate to housing policies and practices. Public Storage operates in the self-storage industry, providing rental storage spaces and services, and is not directly involved in residential housing or rental practices that would be affected by this legislation. Therefore, the potential legal consequences of the bill are not relevant to Public Storage's business model or operations.", - "index": "70", - "bill_title": "To authorize funds to prevent housing discrimination through the use of nationwide testing, to increase funds for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Veterans, Women, Families with Children, Race, and Persons with Disabilities Housing Fairness Act of 2019 or the Housing Fairness Act of 2019\n\nThis bill provides for testing to detect housing discrimination and awards grants to study the causes and effects of such discrimination.\n\nSpecifically, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) must conduct a nationwide testing program to (1) detect and document differences in the treatment of prospective renters, homebuyers, or mortgage borrowers; (2) measure patterns of adverse treatment because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability status, or national origin of a renter, homebuyer, or borrower; and (3) measure the prevalence of such discriminatory practices across housing and mortgage lending markets.\n\nThe bill also increases funding for the fair housing initiative program in FY2020-FY2024.\n\nAdditionally, HUD shall implement a grant program to assist public and private nonprofit organizations in (1) conducting comprehensive studies of the causes and effects of housing discrimination and segregation on education, poverty, and economic development or on veterans and military personnel; and (2) implementing pilot projects that test solutions to help prevent or alleviate housing discrimination and segregation.", - "company_name": "Public Storage", - "company_description": "could adversely impact our operations or our business , customer, and employee relationships or result in fraudulent payments; \uf0b7 risks associated with the self-insurance of certain business risks, including property and casualty insurance, employee health insurance and workers compensation liabilities; \uf0b7 difficulties in raising capital at a reasonable cost; \uf0b7 delays and cost overruns on our projects to develop or expand our facilities; \uf0b7 ongoing litigation and other legal and regulatory actions that may divert management's time and attention, require us to pay damages and expenses or restrict the operation of our business; and \uf0b7 economic uncertainty due to the impact of war or terrorism. We acquire, develop, own and operate self-storage facilities, which offer storage spaces for lease on a month-to-month basis, for personal and business use. We are the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in the U.S. At December 31, 2019, we have direct and indirect equity interests in 2,483 self-storage facilities that we consolidate (an aggregate of 169 million net rentable square feet of space) located in 38 states within the U.S. operating under the \"Public Storage\" brand name. (ii) Ancillary Operations : We reinsure policies against losses to goods stored by customers in our self-storage facilities and sell merchandise, primarily locks and cardboard boxes, at our self-storage facilities. Inc. (\"PSB\"), a publicly held REIT that owns, operates, acquires and develops commercial properties, primarily multi-tenant flex, office, and industrial parks. At December 31, 2019, PSB owns and operates 27.6 million rentable square feet of commercial space. We have a 35% equity interest in Shurgard Self Storage SA (\"Shurgard\"), a public company traded on Euronext Brussels under the \"SHUR\" symbol, which owns 234 self-storage facilities (13 million net rentable square feet) located in seven countries in Western Europe operated under the \"Shurgard\" brand name. We believe Shurgard is the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in Western Europe. In order to further increase our economies of scale and leverage our brand, in 2018 we began an effort to expand the number of facilities we manage, through a dedicated internal sales, administration, and implementation team. At December 31, 2019, we are under contract to manage 27 additional facilities, currently under construction, following their completion. We also own 0.9 million net rentable square feet of commercial space which is managed primarily by PSB. For all periods presented herein, we have elected to be treated as a REIT, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the \"Code\"). and we expect to continue to elect and qualify as a REIT. We believe that our customers generally store their goods within a three to five mile radius of their home or business. Our facilities compete with nearby self-storage facilities owned by other operators using marketing channels similar to ours, including Internet advertising, signage, and banners and offer services similar to ours. As a result, competition is significant and affects the occupancy levels, rental rates, rental income and operating expenses of our facilities. In the last three years, there has been a marked increase in development of new self-storage facilities in many of the markets where we operate, due to the favorable economics of developing new properties. These newly developed facilities compete with many of the facilities we own, negatively impacting our occupancies, rental rates, and rental growth. This increase in supply has been most notable in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Miami, New York, and Portland. Ownership and operation of self-storage facilities is highly fragmented. As the largest owner of self-storage facilities, we believe that we own approximately 7% of the self-storage square footage in the U.S. and that collectively the five largest self-storage owners in the U.S. own approximately 16%, with the remaining 84% owned by regional and local operators. The high level of ownership fragmentation in the industry is partially attributable to the relative simplicity of managing a local self-storage facility, such that small-scale owners can operate self-storage facilities at a basic level of profitability without significant managerial or operational infrastructure. However, we believe that the economies of scale inherent in this business result in our being able to operate self-storage facilities at a materially higher level 6 of cash flow per square foot than other operators without our scale.", - "id": "a98e870b-32ec-4b2e-bd4a-20661bde323d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on appropriations for environmental and health-related agencies, which do not directly impact or relate to Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc., a sporting goods retailer. The legal consequences of the bill are largely centered around environmental funding and services, and these areas are not relevant to the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "71", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020\n\nThis bill provides FY2020 appropriations for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and related agencies.\n\nThe bill provides appropriations to Interior for\n\n the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, Departmental Offices, and Department-Wide Programs. The bill provides appropriations to the EPA and the Forest Service.\n\nWithin the Department of Health and Human Services, the bill provides appropriations for\n\n the Indian Health Service, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The bill provides appropriations to several related agencies, including\n\n the Executive Office of the President for the Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Environmental Quality; the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board; the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation; the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development; the Smithsonian Institution; the National Gallery of Art; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities, including the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Commission of Fine Arts; the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; the National Capital Planning Commission; the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission; and the World War I Centennial Commission. Additionally, the bill sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.", - "company_name": "Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"us\" and \"our\" unless specified otherwise) is a leading omni-channel sporting goods retailer offering an extensive assortment of authentic, high-quality sports equipment, apparel, footwear and accessories through a blend of dedicated associates, in-store services and unique specialty shop-in-shops. The Company also owns and operates Golf Galaxy and Field & Stream stores, and Dick's Team Sports HQ, an all-in-one youth sports digital platform offering scheduling, communications and live scorekeeping through its GameChanger mobile apps, free league management services, custom uniforms and fan wear, and access to donations and sponsorships. The Company offers its products through a content-rich eCommerce platform that is integrated with its store network and provides customers with the convenience and expertise of a 24-hour storefront. Our vision is to be the best sports company in the world. We believe that our mindset and our culture must ensure that every decision we make, whether in our stores or at our Customer Support Center (\"CSC\"), improves the athlete's experience. We will continue to make investments that enhance our store experience, improve our eCommerce fulfillment capabilities and implement technology solutions that improve the athlete experience as well as teammate productivity. Our marketing program is designed to build loyalty for the Dick's Sporting Goods brand while promoting our broad assortment of brand name sporting goods equipment, apparel and footwear in a specialty store environment. Our historical marketing strategy has consisted largely of newspaper advertising supplemented by direct mail and seasonal use of local and national television and radio. While we continue to market through these traditional channels, we have more recently developed brand-building marketing campaigns focused on building passion and loyalty to the Dick's Sporting Goods brand and have shifted our advertising focus toward digital marketing and personalization. The Company continues to grow its community presence through Team Sports HQ and sponsoring thousands of teams at the local level. We also launched a new tier of our ScoreCard loyalty program during 2018 that better rewards our best customers for their loyalty to us. Our history and core foundation is as a retailer of high-quality authentic athletic equipment, apparel and footwear, which is intended to enhance our customers' performance and enjoyment of athletic pursuits, rather than focusing our merchandise selection on the latest fashion trend or style. Our objective is not only to carry leading brands, but to carry a full range of products within each category, including premium items for the sports enthusiast. We believe that the breadth of our product selections in each category of sporting goods offers our customers a wide range of good, better and best price points and enables us to address the needs of sporting goods consumers, from the beginner to the sports enthusiast, which distinguishes us from other large format sporting goods stores. We also believe that the range of merchandise and extensive in-store support services that we offer allows us to differentiate and compete effectively against all of our competitors, from traditional independent sporting goods stores and specialty shops to other large format sporting goods stores and mass merchant discount retailers to internet-based retailers. We believe when our customers connect with the Dick's Sporting Goods brand they expect a seamless shopping experience, regardless of the manner in which they choose to shop with us. We continue to see growth in the number of customers who shop with us both online and in our stores and believe these omni-channel customers represent the future of retail. We plan to continue investing to improve the functionality and performance of our eCommerce site, including a faster and more convenient checkout, improved page responsiveness and new content development through our Pro Tips platform. Like our customers, we see retail as an omni-channel experience, where the distinctions between stores and online are becoming increasingly irrelevant. We believe our store base gives us a competitive advantage over our online-only competitors, as our physical presence allows us to better serve our customers by creating strong engagement through experiential elements, offering the convenience of accepting in-store returns or exchanges and expediting fulfillment of eCommerce orders. We believe that offering support services for the products we sell enhances the credibility of our associates and specialty store concepts with our customers and further differentiates our stores from our competitors. Our key partners invest in our stores to showcase their brands. We carry a wide variety of well-known brands, including adidas, Asics, Brooks, Callaway Golf, Columbia, Easton, Nike, TaylorMade, The North Face, Titleist, Under Armour and Yeti. Our brand partnerships also provide us with access to exclusive products and allow us to differentiate our customers' shopping experience through initiatives such as our brand shops, which provide our customers with a wider and deeper selection of products from our key brands. To provide differentiation in assortment of products when compared to our competitors, we also offer a wide variety of private brand products that are not available from other retailers.", - "id": "4aa3fdbd-d0f5-49f2-b08e-f43efdbb52d2" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Women's Retirement Protection Act of 2019 seeks to amend retirement plan requirements and enhance spousal protections, which primarily targets pension plans and retirement financial services. ANSYS, Inc. operates in the engineering simulation software sector, with no direct link to retirement planning or pension management. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill do not impact ANSYS's business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "72", - "bill_title": "To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide for greater spousal protection under defined contribution plans, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Women's Retirement Protection Act of 2019\n\nThis bill modifies the requirements for pension plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to (1) extend spousal consent requirements that currently apply to defined benefit pension plans to defined contribution pension plans, and (2) allow certain long-term part-time workers to participate in pension plans that include either a qualified cash or deferred arrangement or a salary reduction agreement.\n\nFinancial product or service providers who sell retirement financial products or services must provide purchasers of their products or services an easily accessible link to the website of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to obtain information relating to retirement planning or later life economic security.\n\nThe Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor shall award grants to certain community-based organizations to (1) improve the financial literacy of women who are working age or in retirement, and (2) assist low-income women and survivors of domestic violence in obtaining qualified domestic relations orders and the benefits they are entitled to through the orders.", - "company_name": "ANSYS, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS ANSYS, a Delaware corporation formed in 1994, develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services widely used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a broad spectrum of industries and academia, including aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, semiconductors, energy, materials and chemical processing, turbomachinery, consumer products, healthcare, and sports. The Company focuses on the development of open and flexible solutions that enable users to analyze designs directly on the desktop, providing a common platform for fast, efficient and cost-conscious product development, from design concept to final-stage testing and validation. The Company distributes its ANSYS\u00ae suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in strategic, global locations. The Company operates and reports as one segment. ANSYS Workbench\u2122 ANSYS Workbench is the framework upon which the Company's suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The innovative project schematic view ties together the entire simulation process, guiding the user through complex multiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop simplicity. With bi-directional computer-aided design (CAD) connectivity, powerful highly-automated meshing, a project-level update mechanism, pervasive parameter management and integrated optimization tools, the ANSYS Workbench platform enables Pervasive Engineering Simulation\u2122. The Company's Workbench framework allows engineers and designers to incorporate the compounding effects of multiple physics into a virtual prototype of their design and simulate its operation under real-world conditions. As product architectures become smaller, lighter and more complex, companies must be able to accurately predict how products will behave in real-world environments where multiple types of physics interact in a coupled way. ANSYS multiphysics software enables engineers to simulate the interactions between structures, heat transfer, fluids and electronics all within a single, unified engineering simulation environment. ANSYS Workbench enables companies to create a customized simulation environment to deploy specialized simulation best practices and automations unique to their product development process or industry. With ANSYS ACT\u2122, end users or ANSYS partners can modify the user interface, process simulation data or embed third-party applications to create specialized tools based on ANSYS Workbench. The Company's high-performance computing (HPC) product suite enables enhanced insight into product performance and improves the productivity of the design process. The HPC product suite delivers cross-physics parallel processing capabilities for the full spectrum of the Company's simulation software by supporting structures, fluids, thermal and electronics simulations. This product suite decreases turnaround time for individual simulations, allowing users to consider multiple design ideas and make the right design decisions early in the design cycle. The Company's structural analysis product suite offers simulation tools for product design and optimization that increase productivity, minimize physical prototyping and help to deliver better and more innovative products in less time. These tools tackle real-world analysis problems by making product development less costly and more reliable. In addition, these tools have capabilities that cover a broad range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities, all targeted toward understanding and solving complex design problems. The Company also provides comprehensive topology optimization tools that engineers use to design structural components to meet loading requirements with minimal material and component weight. The Company offers a complete simulation workflow for additive manufacturing that allows reliable 3D printing by simulating the laser sintering process and delivering compensated CAD geometries that ensure reliable printed parts. The Company's fluids product suite enables modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design and optimize new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications. The Company's electromagnetics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance of mobile communication and internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment, all prior to building a prototype. ", - "id": "e08c4908-f1ca-479a-a896-a1b11b8ea3b0" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, which are important for diagnostics companies like Accelerate Diagnostics. Their technology could be leveraged for quick and accurate diagnosis of infections associated with tick-borne pathogens. The establishment of the national strategy for these diseases implies increased funding and attention towards research, which could benefit Accelerate's business model and activities in rapid diagnostics.", - "index": "73", - "bill_title": "To provide for a national strategy to address and overcome Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "National Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Control and Accountability Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes the Office of Oversight and Coordination for Tick-Borne Diseases within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The office must oversee the creation of a national strategy to address Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases and disorders. The national strategy must include program assessments, benchmarks for progress, and recommendations from the previously established Tick-Borne Disease Working Group.\n\nThe bill also requires HHS to undertake specific actions that promote research, prevention, and treatment of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases and disorders. Among other things, HHS must:\n\n support expansive research into the pathology, diagnosis, and treatment of such diseases and disorders; establish a surveillance system to track the prevalence of such diseases and disorders in humans; establish a surveillance system to track the prevalence of disease-carrying ticks; conduct educational campaigns; and hold a series of research symposiums.", - "company_name": "Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc.", - "company_description": "Inc. (\"Accelerate\") is an in vitro diagnostics company dedicated to providing solutions that improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs through the rapid diagnosis of serious infections. Microbiology laboratories are in need of new tools to address what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls one of the most serious healthcare threats of our time, antibiotic resistance. A significant contributing factor to the rise of resistance is the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, which is exacerbated by a lack of timely diagnostic results. The delay of identification and antibiotic susceptibility results is often due to the reliance by microbiology laboratories on traditional culture-based tests that often take two to three days to complete. Our technology platform is built to address these challenges by delivering significantly faster and more accurate testing of infectious pathogens in various patient sample types. Since 2004, we have focused our efforts on the research, development, and commercialization of an innovative rapid diagnostic platform, the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system. The Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system utilizes genotypic technology to identify (ID) infectious pathogens and phenotypic technology to conduct antibiotic susceptibility testing, (AST) which determines whether live bacterial and fungal cells are resistant or susceptible to a particular antibiotic. The Accelerate PhenoTest\u2122 BC Kit provides ID and AST results for patients suspected of bacteremia or fungemia, both life-threatening conditions with high morbidity and mortality risk. The Accelerate PhenoTest\u2122 BC Kit is a highly multiplexed panel targeting over 80% of the routine and significant pathogens causing blood stream infections and over 90% of the antibiotics useful in treating those pathogens. In Vitro Diagnostic Directive 98/79 EC and applied a CE Mark to the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system and the Accelerate PhenoTest\u2122 BC Kit for in vitro diagnostic use. On February 23, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (\"FDA\") granted our de novo request to market our Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system and Accelerate PhenoTest\u2122 BC Kit. In 2017, we began selling the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system in hospitals in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. Consistent with the Company's business model revenues were generated from the sale of the instrument and the sale of single use consumable test kits. From 2001 to 2012, we focused primarily upon furthering the research and development of the OpTest portfolio of technologies (\"OpTest\") that we acquired from DDx, Inc. in 2001 and the development of revenue producing products related to that technology. The purchase of OpTest provided us with a proprietary surface chemistry formulation, which led to our OptiChem and other surface chemistry products, and quantitative bio-analytical measurement instruments. In 2012, our Board of Directors and management team established a new strategic direction for the Company, which was (1) to focus on the internal development, manufacture, and commercialization of the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system and (2) to discontinue efforts to develop and actively market OptiChem and our other surface chemistry products. Our Board of Directors and management team decided to pursue this new strategic direction based on the belief that we could internally develop and commercialize the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system, formerly called the BacCel System. Since the adoption of the new strategic direction in 2012, we have made significant investments in research and development personnel, facilities, equipment, and consumables to support the internal development of the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system. The Company has also invested in the hiring of regulatory, manufacturing, quality, sales, and marketing personnel experienced in the manufacture and commercialization of medical devices. In August 2013, the Company completed a rights offering that raised gross proceeds of $20.0 million. In April 2014, the Company completed a rights offering that raised gross proceeds of $45.0 million. Antibiotic resistance has a significant healthcare impact, costing the U.S. an estimated $55 billion per year in healthcare and productivity costs. This estimate includes $20 billion in direct costs and $35 billion in indirect costs, such as lost productivity and sick days. Increasing infection rates and misuse of antibiotics results in serious treatment complications. Recent studies have shown that the number of hospital-acquired infections in the United States ranges from 214,700 to 1.4 million per year, contributing to an estimated 75,000 deaths per year.", - "id": "c2c6f6a8-1fde-467a-b2a7-98bf9e1cb842" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The ELEVATE Act focuses on employment assistance programs for the long-term unemployed and does not directly impact Stifel Financial Corp.'s wealth management, investment banking, or financial services operations. The bill's provisions target job assistance and training rather than financial or investment activities that are core to Stifel's business.", - "index": "74", - "bill_title": "To amend the Social Security Act to establish a new employment, training, and supportive services program for the long-term unemployed and individuals with barriers to employment, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Economic Ladders to End Volatility and Advance Training and Employment Act of 2019 or the ELEVATE Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a federal program to help fund (1) state- and tribe-run job-assistance programs, and (2) assistance for self-employed individuals and workers who relocate for employment opportunities.\n\nThe Department of Health and Human Services shall provide funds for programs that assist eligible individuals, such as those who face barriers to employment. Such programs shall provide employment services, training, and related services.\n\nThe bill also establishes criteria for using such funds for various purposes, including subsidized jobs. The bill also establishes various reporting and application requirements for\u00a0states seeking funds for such programs.\n\nThe bill establishes an assistance program for self-employed individuals who meet various requirements and whose most recent contracts ended through no fault of their\u00a0own. Such\u00a0individuals shall be entitled to a weekly benefit equal to half of the average weekly earnings from their\u00a0last employment, not to exceed the maximum available for unemployment benefits. An individual may not concurrently receive unemployment compensation and self-employment assistance.\n\nDislocated workers and long-term unemployed individuals shall be entitled to assistance for moving to a new area to earn family-sustaining employment. Such assistance may cover up to 90% of reasonable expenses, subject to a cap of $2,000 for an individual.\n\nThe bill establishes the Office of Reemployment Assistance in the Social Security Administration to administer the self-employment and relocation assistance programs.", - "company_name": "Stifel Financial Corp.", - "company_description": "Our principal subsidiary is Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (\"Stifel\"), a full-service retail and institutional wealth management and investment banking firm. Our other subsidiaries include Century Securities Associates, Inc. (\"CSA\"), an independent contractor broker-dealer firm; Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (\"SNEL\"), our European subsidiary; Stifel Bank & Trust (\"Stifel Bank\"), a retail and commercial bank; Stifel Trust Company, N.A. and Stifel Trust Company Delaware, N.A. (collectively, \"Stifel Trust\"), our trust companies; and 1919 Investment Counsel, LLC (\"1919\") and Ziegler Capital Management, LLC (\"ZCM\"), asset management firms. With a 127-year operating history, we have built a diversified business serving private clients, institutional investors, and investment banking clients located across the country. Private client services, including securities transaction and financial planning services; \u2022 Institutional equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, and municipal finance; \u2022 Investment banking services, including mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, and private placements; and \u2022 Retail and commercial banking, including personal and commercial lending programs. We provide our private, institutional, and corporate clients quality, personalized service, with the theory that if we place clients' needs first, both our clients and our company will prosper. Our unwavering client and employee focus have earned us a reputation as one of the nation's leading wealth management and investment banking firms. (\"Ryan Beck\") and its wholly owned broker-dealer subsidiary, Ryan Beck & Company, On February 28, 2007, we closed on the acquisition of Ryan Beck, a full-service brokerage and investment banking firm with a strong private client focus, from BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc. First Service now operates as Stifel Bank & Trust. On July 1, 2010, we acquired TWPG, an investment bank focused principally on the growth sectors of the economy, including technology and health care. On October 1, 2011, we acquired Stone & Youngberg, a leading financial services firm specializing in municipal finance and fixed income securities. Stone & Youngberg's comprehensive institutional group expanded our public finance, institutional sales and trading, and bond underwriting, particularly in the Arizona and California markets, and expanded our Private Client Group. On December 20, 2012, we acquired Miller Buckfire, an investment banking firm. Miller Buckfire provides a full range of investment banking advisory services, including financial restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, and debt and equity placements. On February 15, 2013, we acquired KBW, an investment banking firm with a focus in the banking, insurance, brokerage, asset management, mortgage banking, real estate, and specialty finance sectors. KBW maintains industry-leading positions in research, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, as well as sales and trading in equities and debt securities of financial services companies. Inc. The combined teams of sales and trading professionals in the U.S. and Europe cover high-yield and investment-grade corporate bonds, asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities, loan trading, and emerging markets, as well as fixed income research in selected sectors and companies. On November 30, 2013, we acquired ZCM, an asset management firm that provides investment solutions for institutions, mutual fund sub-advisory clients, municipalities, pension plans, Taft-Hartley plans, and individual investors. On April 3, 2014, we acquired De La Rosa, a California-based public finance investment banking boutique. On July 31, 2014, we completed the acquisition of Oriel, a London-based stockbroking and investment banking firm. The combination of our company and Oriel has created a significant middle-market investment banking group in London, with broad research coverage across most sectors of the economy, equity and debt sales and trading, and investment banking services. 1919 Investment Counsel, formerly known as Legg Mason Investment Counsel & Trust Co., National Association \u2013", - "id": "9664cdb0-fbd5-46d4-a64c-adc3cba606cf" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The USE IT Act focuses on carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration technologies, which are not directly related to Pool Corp.'s business as a distributor of swimming pool supplies and irrigation products. Their business model does not engage in activities that would fall under the scope of this legislation, thus rendering the bill irrelevant to their operations.", - "index": "75", - "bill_title": "To support carbon dioxide utilization and direct air capture research, to facilitate the permitting and development of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects and carbon dioxide pipelines, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies Act or the USE IT Act\n\nThis bill addresses the capture, utilization, and sequestration of carbon dioxide.\n\nThe Environmental Protection Agency must (1) establish a competitive prize program for certain technology projects that capture carbon dioxide directly from the air, (2) research and develop technologies or approaches that transform carbon dioxide generated by industrial processes into a product of commercial value, and (3) support research and infrastructure activities relating to carbon dioxide utilization by providing technical and financial assistance.\n\nThe bill includes the construction of infrastructure for carbon capture (e.g., carbon dioxide pipelines) among those projects subject to performance schedules designed to reduce permitting and project delivery time.\n\nThe Government Accountability Office must issue a report that identifies grant programs that research carbon capture and utilization technologies and examines whether the programs overlap.\n\nThe Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) must publish guidance to (1) facilitate reviews associated with the deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects and carbon dioxide pipelines; and (2) support the development of such projects and pipelines.\n\nThe CEQ must also establish at least two task forces to (1) identify challenges and successes that permitting authorities and project developers and operators face, and (2) improve the performance of the permitting process and regional coordination.", - "company_name": "Pool Corp.", - "company_description": "Business General Pool Corporation (the Company, which may be referred to as we, us or our) is the world's largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products and is one of the top three distributors of irrigation and related products in the United States. Our industry is highly fragmented, and as such, we add considerable value to the industry by purchasing products from a large number of manufacturers and then distributing the products to our customer base on conditions that are more favorable than our customers could obtain on their own. As of December 31, 2017, we operated 351 sales centers in North America, Europe, South America and Australia through our four distribution networks: We believe that the swimming pool industry is relatively young, with room for continued growth from the increased penetration of new pools. Significant growth opportunities also reside with pool remodel and pool equipment replacement activities due to the aging of the installed base of swimming pools, technological advancements and the development of energy-efficient and more aesthetically attractive products. Additionally, the desire for consumers to enhance their outdoor living spaces with hardscapes, lighting and outdoor kitchens also promotes growth in this market area. The irrigation industry shares many characteristics with the pool industry, and we believe that it will realize long\u2011term growth rates similar to the pool industry. As irrigation system installations and landscaping often occur in tandem with new single-family home construction, we believe the continued trend in increased housing starts also offers significant growth opportunities for the irrigation industry. These favorable trends include the following: \u2022 long-term growth in housing units in warmer markets due to the population migration toward the southern United States, which contributes to the growing installed base of pools that homeowners must maintain; \u2022 increased homeowner spending on outdoor living spaces for relaxation and entertainment; \u2022 consumers bundling the purchase of a swimming pool and other products, with new irrigation systems, landscaping and improvements to outdoor living spaces often being key components to both pool installations and remodels; and \u2022 consumers using more automation and control products, higher quality materials and other pool features that add to our sales opportunities over time. Almost 60% of consumer spending in the pool industry is for maintenance and minor repair of existing swimming pools. Maintaining proper chemical balance and the related upkeep and repair of swimming pool equipment, such as pumps, heaters, filters and safety equipment, creates a non-discretionary demand for pool chemicals, equipment and other related parts and supplies. We also believe cosmetic considerations such as a pool's appearance and the overall look of backyard environments create an ongoing demand for other maintenance-related goods and certain discretionary products. This characteristic, along with relatively consistent annual inflationary price increases of 1% to 2% on average passed on by manufacturers and distributors, has helped cushion the negative impact on revenues in periods when unfavorable economic conditions and softness in the housing market adversely impacted pool construction and major replacement and refurbishment activities. The following table reflects growth in the domestic installed base of in-ground swimming pools over the past 11 years (based on Company estimates and information from 2016 P.K. Data, Inc. reports): The replacement and refurbishment market currently accounts for close to 25% of consumer spending in the pool industry. The activity in this market, which includes major swimming pool remodeling, is driven by the aging of the installed base of pools. The timing of these types of expenditures is more sensitive to economic factors that impact consumer spending compared to the maintenance and minor repair market. New swimming pool construction comprises just over 15% of consumer spending in the pool industry. The demand for new pools is driven by the perceived benefits of pool ownership including relaxation, entertainment, family activity, exercise and convenience. The industry competes for new pool sales against other discretionary consumer purchases such as kitchen and bathroom remodeling, boats, motorcycles, recreational vehicles and vacations. The industry is also affected by other factors including, but not limited to, consumer preferences or attitudes toward pool, outdoor living and irrigation products for aesthetic, environmental, safety or other reasons. The irrigation distribution business is split between residential and commercial markets, with the majority of sales related to the residential market. Irrigation activities account for approximately 50% of total spending in the irrigation industry, with the remaining 50% of spending related to power equipment, landscape and specialty outdoor products and accessories. Over the last five years, our irrigation business has benefited from the continued slow recovery of single-family home construction as irrigation system installations and landscape projects typically correlate with, but lag, new home construction. ", - "id": "7a6f8597-cc10-420f-adae-9f4e88785f19" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on appropriations for military construction and veterans' affairs, which do not directly impact Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.'s biopharmaceutical business model centered on developing and selling therapies for neurological disorders. There are no legal consequences from the bill that would affect the company's operations or market for its products.", - "index": "76", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020\n\nThis bill provides FY2020 appropriations for Military Construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and related agencies.\n\nThe bill provides appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for Military Construction for\n\n the Army; the Navy and Marine Corps; the Air Force; Defense-wide agencies and activities; the Army and Air National Guard; and the Army, Navy, and Air Force Reserves. The bill also provides appropriations to DOD for\n\n the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program; the Base Closure Account; Construction and Operation and Maintenance of Family Housing for the Army, the Navy and Marine Corps, the Air Force, and Defense-wide agencies and activities; the Family Housing Improvement Fund; and the Military Unaccompanied Housing Improvement Fund. The bill provides appropriations to the VA for\n\n the Veterans Benefits Administration, the Veterans Health Administration, the National Cemetery Administration, and Departmental Administration. The bill provides appropriations for related agencies and programs, including\n\n the American Battle Monuments Commission, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Cemeterial Expenses of the Army, and the Armed Forces Retirement Home. The bill provide appropriations to specified DOD military construction accounts for (1) Overseas Contingency Operations, and (2) Natural Disaster Relief.\n\nThe bill also sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.", - "company_name": "Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies that restore function and improve the lives of people with neurological disorders. We are preparing for our launch of commercial sales of Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder), which is approved for intermittent treatment of OFF episodes, also known as OFF periods, in people with Parkinson's disease treated with carbidopa/levodopa. Inbrija is an on-demand treatment that utilizes our innovative ARCUS pulmonary delivery system, a technology platform designed to deliver medication through inhalation that we believe has potential to be used in the development of a variety of inhaled medicines. Our New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on December 21, 2018. The approval is for a single dose of 84 mg, with no titration required. We expect Inbrija to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2019 and to be distributed through a network of specialty pharmacies. Our preparations for the commercial sale of Inbrija continue, including sales force training and education, managed care discussions, market research and social media initiatives. We are seeking approval to market Inbrija in the European Union, and accordingly we filed a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in March 2018. After the adoption of a Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, opinion, we expect a final decision regarding the MAA from the European Commission before the end of 2019. We currently derive substantially all of our revenue from the sale of Ampyra. We have been engaged in litigation with certain generic drug manufacturers relating to our five initial Orange Book-listed Ampyra patents. In 2017, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the \"District Court\") issued a ruling that upheld our Ampyra Orange Book-listed patent that expired on July 30, 2018, but invalidated our four other Orange Book-listed patents pertaining to Ampyra that were set to expire between 2025 and 2027. Under this decision, our patent exclusivity with respect to Ampyra terminated on July 30, 2018. We appealed the District Court decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the \"Federal Circuit\"), which issued a ruling on September 10, 2018 upholding the District Court's decision (the \"Appellate Decision\"). In January 2019, the Federal Circuit denied our petition for rehearing en banc. We have experienced a significant decline in Ampyra sales due to competition from generic versions of Ampyra that are being marketed following the Appellate Decision. We expect that additional manufacturers will market generic versions of Ampyra, which may accelerate the decline in our Ampyra sales. Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder) : Launching the commercial sale of Inbrija in the U.S.; obtaining approval of our European MAA for Inbrija; and continuing with potential partnering discussions for commercialization outside of the U.S. ARCUS Platform : Advancing our efforts to develop additional therapeutics based on our proprietary ARCUS pulmonary drug delivery technology, looking at central nervous system, or CNS, as well as non-CNS opportunities, including our program to develop an ARCUS-based treatment for acute migraine. Company Highlights Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder)/Parkinson's Disease Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder) is the first and only inhaled levodopa, or L-dopa, for intermittent treatment of OFF episodes, also known as OFF periods, in people with Parkinson's disease treated with carbidopa/levodopa regimen. Our New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on December 21, 2018. The approval is for a single dose of 84 mg, with no titration required. We expect Inbrija to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2019 and to be distributed through a network of specialty pharmacies. We are seeking approval to market Inbrija in the European Union, and accordingly we filed a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in March 2018. After the adoption of a Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, opinion, we expect a final decision regarding the MAA from the European Commission before the end of 2019.", - "id": "9b32f256-986b-4039-8098-be6095739bea" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on infrastructure development, including broadband access, drinking water, energy infrastructure, and health care infrastructure. While Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. operates within the healthcare sector, the specific provisions of the bill mainly address public health infrastructure and general healthcare support without direct implications for the biopharmaceutical industry or the company's core activities related to rare diseases and drug development.", - "index": "77", - "bill_title": "To rebuild and modernize the Nation's infrastructure to expand access to broadband and Next Generation 9-1-1, rehabilitate drinking water infrastructure, modernize the electric grid and energy supply infrastructure, redevelop brownfields, strengthen health care infrastructure, create jobs, and protect public health and the environment, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow's America Act\n\nThis bill reauthorizes a variety of programs and creates new programs for infrastructure development, including communication, drinking water, energy, or health care infrastructure.\n\nThe bill provides support for communication infrastructure, such as funding to expand broadband internet access, or implement next generation 9-1-1 systems.\n\nIn addition, the bill reauthorizes the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund through FY2024 and provides support for drinking water infrastructure, including support to: (1) remove and replace sources of lead in drinking water; or (2) treat drinking water contaminated with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS. These substances are man-made and may have adverse human health effects. A variety of products contain the compounds, such as nonstick cookware or weatherproof clothing.\n\nThe bill also provides support for energy infrastructure, including support for: (1) the electric grid (e.g., grid modernization, security, resiliency, or efficiency); (2) energy efficiency measures (e.g., programs to promote energy efficiency in buildings); (3) energy supply (e.g., efforts to ensure the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is operated and maintained in an environmentally sound manner); or (4) renewable energy (e.g., solar installations in low-income and underserved areas). It also reauthorizes the Diesel Emissions Reductions Act as well as the Weatherization Assistance Program through FY2024.\n\nFinally, the bill provides support for health care infrastructure, including funding for hospitals, laboratories, or community-based care.", - "company_name": "Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by our management, and may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the potential benefits and commercial potential of UTLOMIRIS\u2122, SOLIRIS\u00ae, STRENSIQ\u00ae and KANUMA\u00ae for approved indications and any expanded uses, sales of our products in various markets worldwide, pricing for our products, level of insurance coverage and reimbursement for our products, timing regarding development and regulatory approvals for additional indications or in additional territories; plans for clinical trials (and proof of concept trials), status of our ongoing clinical trials for our product candidates, commencement dates for new clinical trials, clinical trial results and evaluation of our clinical trial results by regulatory agencies; potential benefits offered by product candidates, including improved dosing intervals; the medical and commercial potential of additional indications for our products; the expected timing for the completion and/or regulatory approval of our facilities and facilities of our third-party manufacturers; future expansion of our commercial organization; future governmental and regulatory decisions regarding pricing (and discounts) and the adoption, implementation and interpretation of healthcare laws and regulations (and the impact on our business); plans and prospects for future regulatory approval of products and product candidates; competitors, potential competitors and future competitive products (including biosimilars); plans to grow our product pipeline (and diversify our business, including through acquisitions) and anticipated benefits to the Company; future objective to expand business and sales; anticipated future milestone, contingent and royalty payments (and expected impact on liquidity); timing and anticipated amounts of future tax payments and benefits, as well as timing of conclusion of tax audits; the adequacy of our pharmacovigilance and drug safety reporting processes; the uncertainties involved in the drug development process and manufacturing; \u2022 performance and reliance on third party service providers; 3 \u2022 our future research and development activities, plans for acquired programs, our ability to develop and commercialize products with our collaborators; \u2022 periods of patent, regulatory and market exclusivity for our products; \u2022 Overview Alexion is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on serving patients and families affected by rare diseases through the innovation, development and commercialization of life-changing therapies. We are the global leader in complement inhibition and have developed and commercialize t he only two approved complement inhibitors to treat patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), as well as the first and only approved complement inhibitor to treat atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) and anti-acetylcholine receptor (AchR) antibody-positive generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG). In addition, Alexion has two highly innovative enzyme replacement therapies for patients with life-threatening and ultra-rare metabolic disorders, hypophosphatasia (HPP) and lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (LAL-D). As the leader in complement biology for over 20 years, Alexion focuses its research efforts on novel molecules and targets in the complement cascade, and its development efforts on the core therapeutic areas of hematology, nephrology, neurology, and metabolic disorders. We focus our products and development programs on life-transforming therapeutics for rare diseases for which we believe the current treatments are either non-existent or inadequate. We have developed or are developing innovative products for the following indications: Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) ", - "id": "50165bda-df37-45d1-9cde-1f2dce607253" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily pertains to appropriations for government agencies related to environmental and health services, which does not directly affect Amarin Corp.'s focus on pharmaceuticals for cardiovascular health. There are no specific legal consequences from the bill that would impact Amarin's business model or operations.", - "index": "78", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020\n\nThis bill provides FY2020 appropriations for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and related agencies.\n\nThe bill provides appropriations to Interior for\n\n the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, Departmental Offices, and Department-Wide Programs. The bill provides appropriations to the EPA and the Forest Service.\n\nWithin the Department of Health and Human Services, the bill provides appropriations for\n\n the Indian Health Service, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The bill provides appropriations to several related agencies, including\n\n the Executive Office of the President for the Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Environmental Quality; the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board; the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation; the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development; the Smithsonian Institution; the National Gallery of Art; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities, including the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Commission of Fine Arts; the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; the National Capital Planning Commission; the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission; and the World War I Centennial Commission. Additionally, the bill sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.", - "company_name": "Amarin Corp. Plc", - "company_description": "Management estimates are derived from publicly available information released by independent industry analysts and third-party sources, as well as data from our internal research, and based on assumptions made by us based on such data and our knowledge of such industry, which we believe to be reasonable. Amarin Corporation plc was originally incorporated in England as a private limited company on March 1, 1989 under the Companies Act 1985, and re-registered in England as a public limited company on March 19, 1993. Our primary office in the United States is located at 1430 Route 206, Bedminster, NJ 07921, USA. We are a pharmaceutical company with expertise in omega-3 fatty acids and lipid science focused on the commercialization and development of therapeutics to improve cardiovascular, or CV, health. (icosapent ethyl) capsules, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, for use as an adjunct to diet to reduce triglyceride, or TG, levels in adult patients with severe (TG \u2265 500 mg/dL) hypertriglyceridemia. Triglycerides are the main constituent of body fat in humans. Hypertriglyceridemia refers to a condition in which patients have high levels of triglycerides in the bloodstream. The primary targeted clinical benefit of lowering triglycerides in adult patients with severe (TG \u2265 500 mg/dL) hypertriglyceridemia is to reduce the risk of pancreatitis. In January 2013, we began selling and marketing Vascepa in the United States based on the FDA-approved MARINE indication of patients with severely high (TG \u2265 500 mg/dL) triglyceride levels, a patient population of approximately 4 million people in the United States. Our FDA-approved indication for Vascepa, known as the MARINE indication, is based primarily on the successful results from the MARINE study of Vascepa in the approved patient population. In considering this approval, the FDA also reviewed the successful results from our study of Vascepa in patients with high triglyceride levels (TG \u2265 200 mg/dL and <500 mg/dL) who are also on statin therapy for elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or LDL-C, levels In August 2015, in addition to our FDA-approved indication, we began promoting Vascepa to healthcare professionals, or HCPs, in the United States for the lowering of triglyceride levels and other lipid and lipoprotein parameters in treatment of the patient population studied in the ANCHOR study (persistent high triglycerides after statin therapy). It is estimated that one in four adults in the United States, or more than 50 million people, have elevated (>150 mg/dL) triglyceride levels. We also educated HCPs with supportive but not conclusive early stage and Japanese cardiovascular outcomes trial research on how the unique active ingredient in Vascepa, icosapent ethyl, might reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. This HCP promotion was based on an August 2015 federal court declaration and subsequent settlement with the FDA and U.S. government that we believe permits such promotion under the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. To remain truthful and non-misleading, as part of this promotion we educated HCPs on the continued uncertainty between lowering triglycerides and cardiovascular risk reduction based on the failure of other drugs (fenofibrate and formulations of niacin) to demonstrate incremental cardiovascular benefit from adding a second lipid-altering drug on top of standard of care statin therapy, despite such drugs reducing triglyceride levels and having other favorable effects on lipid and lipoprotein parameters. Multiple primary and secondary prevention trials have shown a significant relative risk reduction, or RRR, of 25% to 35% in the risk of cardiovascular events with statin therapy, leaving significant persistent residual risk despite the achievement of target LDL-C levels. Worldwide, cardiovascular disease, or CVD, remains the number one killer of men and women. In the United States, CVD leads to one in every three deaths\u2014one death approximately every 38 seconds\u2014with annual treatment cost in excess of $500 billion. There is no FDA-approved therapy for lowering cardiovascular risk beyond therapies which target lowering of LDL-C levels. REDUCE-IT was a global study of 8,179 statin-treated adults with elevated cardiovascular risk. REDUCE-IT met its primary endpoint demonstrating a 25% relative risk reduction, or RRR, to a high degree of statistical significance (p<0.001), in first occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events, or MACE, in the intent-to-treat patient population with use of Vascepa 4 grams/day as compared to placebo. Patients who were enrolled in REDUCE-IT needed to have LDL-C between 41-100 mg/dL (median baseline LDL-C75 mg/dL) controlled by statin therapy and various cardiovascular risk factors including persistent elevated triglycerides, or TG, between 135-499 mg/dL (median baseline 216 mg/dL) and either established cardiovascular disease (secondary prevention cohort) or be at least age 50 with diabetes mellitus and at least one other CV risk factor (primary prevention cohort). Approximately 59% of the patients had diabetes at baseline, approximately 71% of the patients had established cardiovascular disease at time of enrollment and approximately 29% were primary prevention subjects at high risk for cardiovascular disease.", - "id": "31b99d82-6ee7-4b68-a99d-3539e2ffaaa4" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Fairness to Pet Owners Act of 2019 mandates that prescribers provide pet medication prescriptions directly to pet owners. This affects the healthcare IT landscape, particularly as it relates to prescription management and electronic health records (EHRs) for veterinary practices. Allscripts, which provides EHR solutions and other healthcare IT services, may need to adapt its systems to accommodate new requirements for pet medication prescriptions, making this bill relevant to their business model.", - "index": "79", - "bill_title": "To promote competition and help consumers save money by giving them the freedom to choose where they buy prescription pet medications, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Fairness to Pet Owners Act of 2019\n\nThis bill directs the Federal Trade Commission to require a\u00a0prescriber\u00a0of a household-animal\u00a0medication to\u00a0provide a free copy of the prescription to the\u00a0pet owner without the pet owner having the request a copy.", - "company_name": "Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.", - "company_description": "We deliver information technology (\"IT\") solutions and services to help healthcare organizations achieve optimal clinical, financial and operational results. Our portfolio, which we believe offers some of the most comprehensive solutions in our industry today, helps clients advance the quality and efficiency of healthcare by providing electronic health records (\"EHR\"), financial management, population health management, precision medicine and consumer solutions. Built on an open integrated platform, our solutions enable users to streamline workflows, leverage functionality from other software vendors and exchange data. The Allscripts Developer Program focuses on nurturing partnerships with other developers to help clients optimize the value of their Allscripts investment. Practice Fusion offers an affordable certified cloud-based EHR for traditionally hard-to-reach small, independent physician practices. An integrated data systems and services provider, Veradigm combines data-driven clinical insights with actionable tools for clinical workflow, research, analytics and media. Mobile-first and cloud-based, Avenel creates a communitywide, shared patient record, using machine learning to reduce time for clinical documentation, all while designed to work like an app instead of traditional software. Health Grid is a patient engagement solutions provider that helps independent providers, hospitals and health systems improve patient interactions and satisfaction. We are integrating the capabilities of Health Grid into our FollowMyHealth \u00ae platform to help organizations address consumerism trends while enabling them to reach 100% of their patient populations without requiring their patients to sign into a portal. The new functionality will use existing patients' contact information and grow the use of FollowMyHealth \u00ae to connect providers with patients and create opportunities to reach new heights of patient outreach and engagement. Lyft is the fastest growing rideshare company in the United States and will enable non-emergency transportation options to appear directly in the physician's workflow. Leveraging Lyft's proprietary application programming interface (\"API\") and Allscripts Open platform, Allscripts and Lyft will integrate this functionality into Sunrise\u2122 EHR, to enable clinicians to order the Lyft service for patients. Our portfolio addresses a range of industry needs, with the goal of helping clients drive smarter care across connected communities of health. Across care settings, our solutions enable clinical, financial and operational efficiencies while helping patients deepen their engagement in their own care. Electronic Health Records Allscripts offers a suite of EHRs for hospitals and health systems, as well as community and physician practices. Built on an open platform with advanced clinical decision support, our EHRs provide analysis and insights. Our EHR solutions deliver a single patient record, workflows and consolidated analytics. Our innovative solutions help deliver improved patient care and outcomes. Sunrise\u2122 is a comprehensive EHR platform for larger hospital facilities with a combination of services lines. Sunrise supports health systems on a single platform for both inpatient and outpatient care and provides decision guidance, including computerized provider order entry, note and flowsheet documentation, clinical summary views and other key workflows necessary for driving quality care. Functionality is also offered on mobile devices. Paragon \u00ae is an integrated clinical, financial and administrative EHR solution tailored for community hospitals and health systems. Once part of the McKesson EIS portfolio, the solution supports the full scope of care delivery and business processes, from patient ac cess management and accounting through clinical assessment, documentation and treatment. EHR is an EHR solution for larger single and multispecialty practices and is built on an open platform that brings data sources together. This open platform feature, along with the ability to customize workflows, enables clinical staff to effectively coordinate and deliver both primary and specialized care.", - "id": "5a76252d-d898-4543-a2c7-afb89638f693" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on protecting the rights of passengers with disabilities in air transportation. While Ciena Corp. operates in the networking systems and services industry, its business activities and models do not directly involve air transportation or passenger services. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill, which are primarily related to air carriers' obligations toward disabled passengers, are not relevant to Ciena Corp.'s operations.", - "index": "80", - "bill_title": "To protect the rights of passengers with disabilities in air transportation, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Air Carrier Access Amendments Act of 2019\n\nThis bill expands provisions prohibiting discrimination against disabled individuals by an air carrier. Specifically, it enumerates certain actions that an air carrier must take or may not take with respect to a disabled individual. It also requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to ensure that disabled individuals traveling in air transportation are able to file complaints with DOT in response to disability-related discrimination and receive assistance from DOT through a hotline or comparable electronic means.\n\nThe bill authorizes an aggrieved individual and the Department of Justice to bring a civil action for discrimination.\n\nThe Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board shall prescribe regulations setting forth minimum standards for aircraft with new or existing type certificates to ensure the accessibility of individuals with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs. The standards shall address, among other things, boarding and deplaning equipment, seating accommodations, lavatories, visually accessible announcements, and proper stowage of assistive devices in the cargo hold to prevent damage.", - "company_name": "Ciena Corp.", - "company_description": "our ability to forecast accurately demand for our products for purposes of inventory purchase practices; the impact of pricing pressure and price erosion that we regularly encounter in our markets; \u2022 the continued availability, on commercially reasonable terms, of software and other technology under third-party licenses; \u2022 the potential failure to maintain the security of confidential, proprietary or otherwise sensitive business information or systems or to protect against cyber attacks; \u2022 the performance of our third-party contract manufacturers; changes or disruption in components or supplies provided by third parties, including sole and limited source suppliers; \u2022 our ability to grow and maintain our new distribution relationships under which we will make available certain technology as a component; our ability to commercialize and grow our software business and address networking strategies including software-defined networking and network function virtualization; changes in, and the impact of, government regulations, including with respect to: the communications industry generally; the business of our customers; the use, import or export of products; and the environment, potential climate change and other social initiatives; the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, changes in tax regulations and related accounting, and changes in our effective tax rates; future legislation or executive action in the U.S. relating to tax policy or trade regulation; the write-down of goodwill, long-lived assets, or our deferred tax assets; We are a networking systems, services and software company, providing solutions that enable a wide range of network operators to deploy and manage next-generation networks that deliver services to businesses and consumers. We provide network hardware, software and services that support the transport, switching, aggregation, service delivery and management of video, data and voice traffic on communications networks. Our solutions are used by communications service providers, cable and multiservice operators, Web-scale providers, submarine network operators, governments, enterprises, research and education (R & E) institutions and other emerging network operators. Our solutions include a diverse portfolio of high-capacity Networking Platform products, which can be applied from the network core to network access points, and which allow network operators to scale capacity, increase transmission speeds, allocate traffic and adapt dynamically to changing end-user service demands. We also offer Platform Software that provides management and domain control of our next-generation packet and optical platforms and automates network lifecycle operations, including provisioning equipment and services. In addition, through our comprehensive suite of Blue Planet Automation Software, we enable network operators to use network data and analytics to drive enhanced automation across multi-vendor and multi-domain network environments, accelerate service delivery and enable an increasingly predictive and autonomous network infrastructure. To complement our hardware and software solutions, we offer a broad range of attached and software-related services that help our customers design, optimize, integrate, deploy, manage and maintain their networks and associated operational environments. Through our complete portfolio of solutions, we enable our customers to transform their network into a dynamic, programmable environment driven by automation and analytics, which we refer to as the Adaptive Network. Our solutions for the Adaptive Network create business and operational value for our customers, enabling them to introduce new revenue-generating services, reduce costs and maximize the return on their network infrastructure investment. In particular, optical networks \u2013 which carry video, data and voice traffic by encoding digital information on multiple wavelengths of light traveling across fiber optic cables \u2013 have experienced strong traffic growth for several years. This growth, and the resulting requirements for increased network capacity and transmission speed, is being driven by an increasingly diverse set of communications services and applications. These services and applications, including those set forth below, are increasing the bandwidth and service demands placed upon networks and are challenging the business models of many network operators. Enterprises and consumers continue to replace locally-housed computing and storage by adopting a broad array of innovative cloud-based models \u2013 including Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service ( IaaS) \u2013 and an expanding range of cloud-based services that host key applications, store data, enable the viewing and downloading of content and utilize on-demand computing resources. ", - "id": "0fb26580-38f8-40ce-940c-29c36afcb621" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The National De-Escalation of Violence and Community Safety Training Act of 2019 focuses on training for de-escalation techniques, implicit bias, and mental health awareness. While these issues are important for community safety and wellbeing, they do not directly relate to the business activities or products of 3D Systems Corp., which mainly revolves around 3D printing solutions, materials, and manufacturing processes in industries such as healthcare, aerospace, and automotive. The bill does not impose legal obligations nor provide funding or guidance that would impact the company's operational framework or business model.", - "index": "81", - "bill_title": "To help train individuals in effective and evidence-based de-escalation techniques to ensure that individuals at diverse levels of society have and retain greater skills to resolve conflicts, manage anger, and control implicit bias without the use of physical or other force, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "National De-Escalation of Violence and Community Safety Training Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a grant program for de-escalation of violence training in communities. Among other requirements, such training must include (1) techniques to de-escalate situations to avoid violence, (2) education about implicit bias, (3) communication and negotiation skills, and (4) scenario-based application of such de-escalation tactics. SAMHSA must establish the De-Escalation Advisory Board to advise and assist SAMHSA's development and implementation of the grant program.\n\nAdditionally, the bill expands and extends through FY2025 mental health awareness training grants.", - "company_name": "3D Systems Corp.", - "company_description": "We provide comprehensive 3D printing solutions, including 3D printers for plastics and metals, materials, software, on demand manufacturing services and digital design tools. Our solutions support advanced applications in a wide range of industries and verticals, including healthcare, aerospace, automotive and durable goods. Customers can use our 3D solutions to design and manufacture complex and unique parts, eliminate expensive tooling, produce parts locally or in small batches and reduce lead times and time to market. A growing number of customers are shifting from prototyping applications to also using 3D printing for production. We believe this shift will be further driven by our continued advancement and innovation of 3D printing solutions that improve durability, repeatability, productivity and total cost of operations. Our precision healthcare capabilities include simulation; Virtual Surgical Planning (\"VSP\u2122\"); and printing of medical and dental devices, anatomical models, and surgical guides and instruments. We have over 30 years of experience and expertise which have proven vital to our development of end-to-end solutions that enable customers to optimize product designs, transform workflows, bring innovative products to market and drive new business models. We offer a comprehensive range of 3D printers, materials, software, haptic design tools, 3D scanners and virtual surgical simulators. Our 3D printers transform digital data input generated by 3D design software, CAD software or other 3D design tools, into printed parts using several unique print engines that employ proprietary, additive layer by layer building processes with a variety of materials. We offer a broad range of 3D printing technologies including Stereolithography (\"SLA\"), Selective Laser Sintering (\"SLS\"), Direct Metal Printing (\"DMP\"), Our printers utilize a wide range of materials, the majority of which are proprietary materials that we develop, blend and market. Our comprehensive range of materials includes plastic, nylon, metal, composite, elastomeric, wax, polymeric dental materials and Class IV bio-compatible materials. We augment and complement our portfolio of engineered materials with materials that we purchase or develop with third parties under private label and distribution arrangements. We work closely with our customers to optimize the performance of our materials in their applications. Our expertise in materials science and formulation, combined with our processes, software and equipment, enables us to provide unique and highly specialized materials and help our customers select the material that best meets their needs with optimal cost and performance results. As part of our solutions approach, our currently offered printers, with the exception of direct metal printers, have built-in intelligence to make them integrated, closed systems. For these integrated printers, we furnish materials specifically designed for use in those printers which are packaged in smart cartridges and utilize material delivery systems. These integrated materials are designed to enhance system functionality, productivity, reliability and materials shelf life, in addition to providing our customers with a built-in quality management system and a fully integrated workflow solution. Our SLA 3D printers cure liquid resin materials with light or a laser to produce durable plastic parts with surface smoothness, high resolution, edge definition and tolerances that rival the accuracy of machined or molded plastic parts. We offer SLA printers with a wide range of materials, sizes and price points, which are designed for prototyping, end-use part production, casting patterns, molds, tooling, fixtures and medical models. Figure 4\u2122, a light-based SLA platform, also sometimes referred to as digital light processing (\"DLP\"), is an ultra-fast additive manufacturing technology with a discrete module design. This design allows a range of products and configurations to meet customer needs from a stand-alone product to modular products to fully-automated solutions. Figure 4 is capable of manufacturing parts in hybrid materials (multi-mode polymerization) that offer toughness, durability, biocompatibility, high temperature deflection and elastomeric properties. Figure 4 is also the first additive manufacturing product which can achieve six sigma repeatability. These capabilities enable new end-use applications in healthcare, dental, durable goods, automotive, aerospace and other verticals. ", - "id": "4c47dd18-3e3a-4ce8-b594-cb4b2b4fbcb4" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill seeks to expand coverage for medically necessary foods, vitamins, and amino acids, which could relate to Akcea Therapeutics' focus on treatments for rare diseases. Companies in the biopharmaceutical sector, especially those involved in treating metabolic disorders, would benefit from enhanced coverage of related therapeutic options, potentially improving patient access and support.", - "index": "82", - "bill_title": "To provide for the coverage of medically necessary food and vitamins and individual amino acids for digestive and inherited metabolic disorders under Federal health programs and private health insurance, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Medical Nutrition Equity Act of 2019\n\nThis bill expands coverage under Medicare, Medicaid, other specified federal health-care programs, and private health insurance\u00a0to include foods, vitamins, and individual amino acids that are medically necessary for the management of\u00a0certain digestive and metabolic disorders\u00a0and conditions.", - "company_name": "Akcea Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company developing and marketing drugs globally to treat patients with rare and serious diseases. We are bringing novel and transformative medicines to patients by driving clinical program execution, understanding patient and physician needs, preparing the market, creating market access, and commercializing our products on a global basis. As an affiliate of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Ionis, we have a robust portfolio of development-, registration- and commercial-stage drugs covering multiple targets and diseases using antisense therapeutics. Our immediate focus is on the commercial launch of our first commercially approved therapy, TEGSEDI in the United States, or U.S., the European Union, or E.U., and Canada. TEGSEDI treats the polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis, or hATTR amyloidosis, in adults. We estimate that there are approximately 50,000 patients globally with hATTR amyloidosis, the majority of whom have symptoms of polyneuropathy. We are also focused on commercial preparations for WAYLIVRA in the E.U. and on regulatory discussions for WAYLIVRA in the U.S. and Canada. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, of the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, has adopted a positive opinion recommending conditional marketing authorization of WAYLIVRA as an adjunct to diet in adult patients with genetically confirmed familial chylomicronemia syndrome, or FCS, who are at high risk for pancreatitis, in whom response to diet and triglyceride lowering therapy has been inadequate. The positive opinion will now be referred to the EC, which grants marketing authorization for medicines in the European Union, as well as to European Economic Area members Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. FCS is an ultra-rare, devastating hereditary disease that causes unpredictable and potentially fatal acute pancreatitis, chronic complications due to permanent organ damage, and a severe impact on daily living. We are advancing a mature pipeline of novel drugs with the potential to treat multiple diseases. APO(a)-L Rx , AKCEA-ANGPTL3-L Rx , AKCEA-APOCIII-L Rx and AKCEA-TTR-L Rx , are all based on Ionis' antisense technology platform. Ionis' advanced Ligand Conjugated Antisense, or LICA, technology, which enhances the effective uptake and activity of these drugs in particular tissues. TEGSEDI is the world's first subcutaneous, RNA-targeted therapeutic that substantially reduces the production of transthyretin, or TTR protein. Importantly, TEGSEDI is Akcea's first commercially approved drug, and our launch is underway in three regions: the U.S., the E.U. and Canada. We are continuing to build our commercial infrastructure to support TEGSEDI, and plan to use this infrastructure to support WAYLIVRA and the other drugs in our pipeline, if approved in the future as we anticipate further commercialization in serious and rare diseases. A key element of our commercial strategy is to provide the specialized, patient-centric support required to successfully address rare disease patient populations. We believe our focus on treating patients with inadequately addressed rare and serious diseases will allow us to partner efficiently and effectively with the specialized medical community that supports these underserved patient communities. For example, at approval we launched Akcea Connect TM , a drug treatment program made up of dedicated, regionally-based nurse case managers who have a wide range of medical knowledge and experience, in the United States. This program offers free, private and personalized support to patients and their caregivers and families across the country. Internationally, Akcea Connect is being rolled out in each of the countries where we launch with what we believe is the highest level of patient and physician support allowed in accordance with local regulations. Accredo to be our specialty pharmacy partner for the distribution of TEGSEDI in the U.S. We chose Express Scripts' Accredo Health Group, Inc., or Accredo because of their experience supporting the unique needs of rare disease communities and their proven track record for simplifying access to therapy. Accredo has a team of specialty clinicians, pharmacists and over 600 field-based nurses located throughout the U.S. who are augmenting the Akcea Connect team of nurse case managers to provide support and address the needs of the hATTR amyloidosis community. To further support the hATTR amyloidosis community, Akcea and Ambry Genetics Corporation, or Ambry, a Konica Minolta company, launched hATTR Compass\u2122 in the U.S. and Canada, a no-cost, confidential genetic testing and genetic counseling program for people with suspected hATTR amyloidosis.", - "id": "5f65734d-cf94-4084-8e9a-24cb0451353f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2019 establishes oversight and disclosure requirements for brand-name drug pricing, which is highly relevant to Agios Pharmaceuticals as a biopharmaceutical company with FDA-approved and pipeline drugs. If their pricing practices are deemed excessive, they could face significant changes including loss of exclusivity, open licenses for generics, and further scrutiny of their financial disclosures.", - "index": "83", - "bill_title": "To significantly lower prescription drug prices for patients in the United States by ending government-granted monopolies for manufacturers who charge drug prices that are higher than the median prices at which the drugs are available in other countries.", - "bill_summary": "Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a series of oversight and disclosure requirements relating to the prices of brand-name drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review at least annually all brand-name drugs for excessive pricing; HHS must also review prices upon petition. If any such drugs are found to be excessively priced, HHS must (1) void any government-granted exclusivity; (2) issue open, nonexclusive licenses for the drugs; and (3) expedite the review of corresponding applications for generic drugs and biosimilar biological products. HHS must also create a public database with its determinations for each drug.\n\nUnder the bill, a price is considered excessive if the domestic average manufacturing price exceeds the median price for the drug in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. If a price does not meet this criteria, or if pricing information is unavailable in at least three of the aforementioned countries, the price is still considered excessive if it is higher than reasonable in light of specified factors, including cost, revenue, and the size of the affected patient population.\n\nThe bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified financial information for brand-name drugs, including research and advertising expenditures.", - "company_name": "Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company committed to the fundamental transformation of patients' lives through scientific leadership in the field of cellular metabolism, with the goal of making transformative, first- or best-in-class medicines. Our therapeutic areas of focus are cancer and rare genetic diseases, or RGDs, which are diseases that are directly caused by changes in genes or chromosomes, often passed from one generation to the next. The incidence of a single RGD can vary widely but is generally very infrequent, usually equal to or less than one per 100,000 births. In both areas of cancer and RGDs, we are seeking to unlock the biology of cellular metabolism as a platform to create transformative therapies. Our first commercial cancer product is IDHIFA\u00ae. In August 2017, the FDA granted our collaboration partner Celgene Corporation, or Celgene, approval of IDHIFA\u00ae for the treatment of adult patients with R/R AML, and an IDH2 mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test. IDHIFA\u00ae, an oral targeted inhibitor of the mutated IDH2 enzyme, is the first and only FDA-approved therapy for patients with R/R AML and an IDH2 mutation. Our most advanced clinical cancer product candidates are ivosidenib, which targets mutated IDH1, and AG-881, which is a brain-penetrant pan-IDH mutant inhibitor. In December 2017, we submitted a new drug application, or NDA, to the FDA for ivosidenib for the treatment of patients with R/R AML and an IDH1 mutation. We plan to submit an MAA to the EMA for ivosidenib for IDH1 mutant-positive R/R AML in the fourth quarter of 2018. Our next most advanced cancer product candidate is AG-270, an inhibitor of MAT2A. We submitted an investigational new drug application, or IND, for AG-270 in November 2017, and in December 2017 the FDA concluded that we may proceed with our planned phase 1 dose-escalation trial of AG-270 in multiple tumor types carrying a methylthioadenosine phosphorylase, or MTAP, deletion. We expect to initiate this trial in the first quarter of 2018. Our most advanced preclinical cancer product candidate is an inhibitor of the metabolic enzyme DHODH. We plan to submit an IND for our DHODH inhibitor for the treatment of hematologic malignancies in the fourth quarter of 2018. The lead product candidate in our RGD program, AG-348, targets pyruvate kinase-R for the treatment of pyruvate kinase, or PK, deficiency. PK deficiency is a rare genetic disorder that often results in severe hemolytic anemia, jaundice and lifelong conditions associated with chronic anemia and secondary complications due to inherited mutations in the pyruvate kinase enzyme within red blood cells, or RBCs. We intend to initiate two global, pivotal trials of AG-348 in PK deficiency in the first half of 2018: ACTIVATE-T, a single arm trial of approximately 20 regularly transfused patients, is expected to initiate in the first quarter of 2018, and ACTIVATE, a 1:1 randomized, placebo-controlled trial of approximately 80 patients who do not receive regular transfusions, is expected to initiate in the second quarter of 2018. We also expect to initiate a phase 2 proof of concept trial of AG-348 in thalassemia in the fourth quarter of 2018. In addition to the aforementioned development programs, we are seeking to advance a number of early-stage discovery programs in the areas of cancer metabolism, RGDs and metabolic immuno-oncology, or MIO, a developing field which aims to modulate the activity of relevant immune cells by targeting critical metabolic nodes, thereby, enhancing the immune mediated anti-tumor response. The clinical development strategy for all of our product and development candidates includes a precision approach with initial study designs that allow for genetically or biomarker defined patient populations, enabling the potential for proof of concept early in clinical development, along with the potential for accelerated approval. Our ability to identify, validate and drug novel targets is enabled by a set of core capabilities. Key proprietary aspects of our core capabilities in cellular metabolism include our ability to measure the activities of numerous metabolic pathways in cells or tissues in a high throughput fashion and our expertise in \"flux biochemistry. This refers to the dynamic analysis of how metabolites, which are intermediates or small molecule products of metabolism, accumulate or diminish as they are created or chemically altered by multiple networks of metabolic enzymes.", - "id": "6c3e5be4-e2bf-4db1-816b-95686e060d63" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The SECURE Firearm Storage Act establishes security requirements for federally licensed firearms importers, manufacturers, and dealers. Legg Mason, Inc. is an asset management holding company that does not engage in firearms trading or manufacture. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill, which include penalties for firearms businesses, are not relevant to Legg Mason's business model or activities.", - "index": "84", - "bill_title": "To amend title 18, United States Code, to require federally licensed firearms importers, manufacturers, and dealers to meet certain requirements with respect to securing their firearms inventory, business records, and business premises.", - "bill_summary": "Safety Enhancements for Communities Using Reasonable and Effective Firearm Storage Act or the SECURE Firearm Storage Act\n\nThis bill establishes security requirements for the business premises of a licensed firearms importer, manufacturer, or dealer.\n\nSpecifically, when the premises are closed for business, an importer, manufacturer, or dealer must secure the firearms inventory and securely store paper business records.\n\nA violator is subject to penalties\u2014a civil fine, suspension or revocation of a license, or both a civil fine and suspension or revocation of a license.", - "company_name": "Legg Mason, Inc.", - "company_description": "Legg Mason, Inc. is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides investment management and related services to company-sponsored mutual funds and other investment vehicles including pension funds, foundations, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, private banks, family offices, individuals, as well as to global, institutional, and retail clients. It launches and manages equity, fixed income, and multi-asset customized portfolios through its subsidiaries. The firm also launches and manages mutual funds and exchange traded funds for its clients through its subsidiaries. It invests in private and public equity, fixed income, and multi asset markets across the globe through its subsidiaries. Through its subsidiaries, the firm also invests in alternative markets. It also employs a combination of fundamental and quantitative research to make its investments through its subsidiaries. Legg Mason, Inc. was founded in 1899 and is based in Baltimore, Maryland. General Legg Mason is a global asset management firm that operates through nine independent asset management subsidiaries. Acting through our asset management subsidiaries, each of which generally markets its products and services under its own brand name, we provide investment management and related products and services to institutional and individual clients, company-sponsored mutual funds and other investment vehicles. The predecessor companies to Legg Mason trace back to Legg & Co., a Maryland-based broker-dealer formed in 1899. Our subsequent growth occurred primarily through internal expansion and the acquisition of asset management and broker-dealer firms. In December 2005, Legg Mason completed a transaction in which it sold its primary broker-dealer businesses to concentrate on the asset management industry. The asset management industry continues to experience disruption and challenges, including a shift to lower-fee passively managed products, increased fee pressure (including pressure arising from the shift to lower-fee passive products), regulatory changes, an increasing and changing role of technology in asset management services, the constant introduction of new products and services and the consolidation of financial services firms through mergers and acquisition. During fiscal year 2018, our focus on investing to improve lives and expanding client choice continued to drive strong sales, despite the ongoing trend of investor movement to passive strategies in certain portions of the industry. During the course of this fiscal year, we expanded our investment offerings in response to demand for choice by: offering new next generation products such as multi-asset class solutions and new vehicles, including the launch of six new exchange traded funds (\"ETFs\"); completing a bolt-on acquisition adding new capabilities at Clarion Partners; commercializing alternative products offered by our most recently acquired asset managers; 2 expanding our Alternative Distribution Strategies and Alternative Product teams with strategic hires; and investing in technology to enhance our capabilities and expand choice for global investors. Business Overview Acting through our subsidiaries, we provide investment management and related services to institutional and individual clients, company-sponsored investment funds and retail separately managed account programs. Our corporate structure combines our nine asset managers, each with diverse perspectives and specialized expertise across asset classes and strategies, with a centralized global distribution platform focusing on retail distribution and additional distribution capabilities focused on institutional distribution at each of our asset managers. We help investors globally achieve better financial outcomes by expanding choice across investment strategies, vehicles and investor access through independent investment managers with diverse expertise in equity, fixed income, alternative and liquidity investments. Operating from asset management offices located in the United States, the United Kingdom and a number of other countries worldwide, we deliver our investment capabilities through varied products and vehicles and via multiple points of access, including directly and through various financial intermediaries.", - "id": "a711c75c-56dc-4290-a095-c2105f6b3504" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on expanding voter access, campaign finance reforms, and ethics in government, which primarily affects political and electoral processes. These legal consequences do not directly impact Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in T-cell therapies for cancer treatment, as their business model and activities are centered around clinical research and development in the healthcare sector, unrelated to electoral politics.", - "index": "85", - "bill_title": "To expand Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, and strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "For the People Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses voter access, election integrity, election security, political spending, and ethics for the three branches of government.\n\nSpecifically, the bill expands voter registration and voting access and limits removing voters from voter rolls.\n\nThe bill provides for states to establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions.\n\nThe bill also sets forth provisions related to election security, including sharing intelligence information with state election officials, protecting the security of the voter rolls, supporting states in securing their election systems, developing a national strategy to protect the security and integrity of U.S. democratic institutions, establishing in the legislative branch the National Commission to Protect United States Democratic Institutions, and other provisions to improve the cybersecurity of election systems.\n\nThis bill addresses campaign spending, including by expanding the ban on foreign nationals contributing to or spending on elections; expanding disclosure rules pertaining to organizations spending money during elections, campaign advertisements, and online platforms; and revising disclaimer requirements for political advertising.\n\nThis bill establishes an alternative campaign funding system for certain federal offices. The system involves federal matching of small contributions for qualified candidates.\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions related to ethics in all three branches of government. Specifically, the bill requires a code of ethics for federal judges and justices, prohibits Members of the House from serving on the board of a for-profit entity, expands enforcement of regulations governing foreign agents, and establishes additional conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions for federal employees and the White House.\n\nThe bill also requires candidates for President and Vice President to submit 10 years of tax returns.", - "company_name": "Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc", - "company_description": "We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on providing novel cell therapies to patients, particularly in solid tumors. (Specific Peptide Enhanced Affinity Receptor) T-cell platform enables us to identify cancer targets, find and genetically engineer T-cell receptors (\"TCRs\"), and produce therapeutic candidates for administration to patients. Using our affinity engineered TCRs, we aim to become the first company to have a TCR T-cell approved for a solid tumor indication. All SPEAR T-cells are currently exhibiting acceptable tolerability profiles with no evidence of off-target toxicities observed. \u00b7 Two Phase 1 clinical trials are ongoing with ADP-A2M10. The first clinical trial is in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (\"NSCLC\"). The second clinical trial is in patients with three cancer tumor types, urothelial, melanoma and head and neck cancers. Both trials have progressed to the expansion phase, with patients being treated with up to 10 billion transduced SPEAR T-cells. \u00b7 A Phase 1 clinical trial is ongoing with ADP-A2M4 in bladder, melanoma, head and neck, ovarian, NSCLC, synovial sarcoma, myxoid round cell liposarcoma (\"MRCLS\"), esophageal, and gastric cancers. This trial is now in the expansion phase with patients being treated with up to 10 billion transduced SPEAR T-cells. \u00b7 A Phase 1 clinical trial is ongoing with ADP-A2AFP in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The trial is in the dose escalation phase with patients receiving a target dose of 1 billion transduced SPEAR T-cells. A fourth SPEAR T-cell, the NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell was transitioned to GlaxoSmithKline (\"GSK\") during 2018 following GSK's exercise of its option to obtain an exclusive global license to the NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell program in September 2017. GSK has assumed full responsibility for all development, manufacturing and commercialization activities for the NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell including progression of this SPEAR T-cell into further clinical trials. We have our own manufacturing facility in the United States that routinely manufactures SPEAR T-cells to treat patients across a broad range of solid tumors. We also have dedicated vector manufacturing in the United Kingdom and we anticipate producing our first batch of vector to support pilot clinical trials in 2019, which will enable us to continue to develop enhancements and improvements with the aim of reducing the time taken to manufacture and supply patient product. We continue to use our SPEAR T-cell platform to identify and validate further cancer targets (including targets which are closely related to a specific disease indication) to which SPEAR T-cells can be directed. In addition to our internal next generation programs, we also have collaborations with third parties intended to promote further next generation solutions. With Universal Cells, we are looking to develop affinity engineered donor T-cells that are universally applicable to all patients. While these \"off-the shelf cells\" would be specific for a given Human Leukocyte Antigen (\"HLA\") type and target antigen, they would overcome the current limitation of autologous therapies that need to be manufactured specifically for each patient. The enhanced T-cell technology being developed involves selective engineering of cell surface proteins, without the use of nucleases, to develop these T-cell products. Our strategic objective is to be a world leader in discovering, developing and commercializing TCR-based T-cell therapies that transform the clinical outcomes of patients with cancer. We have an ambition to have the first TCR T-cell approved for a solid tumor indication. We plan to advance these wholly-owned SPEAR T-cells during 2019 with the aim of providing initial clinical data for ADP-A2M10 and ADP-A2M4 during the first half of 2019.", - "id": "84b2623e-e527-4520-bdf4-e4b816281fa2" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving care and treatment for Alzheimer's disease and cognitive impairments, which does not align with Aimmune Therapeutics' business model centered around the treatment of food allergies, specifically peanut and other food allergies. The legal consequences of this bill primarily involve Medicare policy changes related to Alzheimer's care, making it irrelevant to Aimmune Therapeutics' activities.", - "index": "86", - "bill_title": "To provide better care and outcomes for Americans living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and their caregivers while accelerating progress toward prevention strategies, disease modifying treatments, and, ultimately, a cure.", - "bill_summary": "Concentrating on High-value Alzheimer's Needs to Get to an End Act of 2019 or the CHANGE Act of 2019 This bill modifies the requirements under Medicare for diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive impairments in older adults. Specifically, the bill expands the cognitive impairment detection benefit during annual wellness visits to require the use of validated detection tools and documentation of the results in the patient's medical record. Further, when a cognitive impairment is detected, the patient must be referred to an appropriate diagnostic service provider and other specified supports. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services must implement Medicare policies that increase the identification and response to patients' Alzheimer's disease risk factors and incentivize providers to utilize high-quality cognitive impairment diagnosis practices. The Government Accountability Office also must conduct a study of policies that may accelerate progress in Alzheimer's disease research and enhance the quality of care for individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.", - "company_name": "Aimmune Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing a new therapeutic approach, including the development of proprietary product candidates, for the treatment of peanut and other food allergies. It is estimated that over 30 million people in the United States and Europe have a food allergy, with peanut allergy being the most prevalent and most commonly associated with severe outcomes and life-threatening events. There are currently no approved medical therapies to cure food allergies or prevent their symptoms. Patients with food allergies are typically counseled to practice strict dietary avoidance. When accidental exposure to food allergens invokes a serious allergic reaction, rescue therapies, such as antihistamines or injectable epinephrine, are the only recourse available. Our therapeutic approach, which we refer to as Characterized Oral Desensitization ImmunoTherapy, or CODIT TM , is designed to desensitize patients to food allergens and thereby reduce the risk of having an allergic reaction upon accidental exposure or reduce symptom severity should an allergic reaction occur. CODIT is intended to reduce meaningfully the burden and anxiety experienced by food-allergic patients and their families. Our lead CODIT product candidate, AR101, is an investigational biologic for the treatment of patients with peanut allergy, which affects approximately three million patients in the United States and three million patients in Europe. AR101 has received Fast Track and Breakthrough Therapy designations for the trea tment of patients 4-17 years of age from the United States Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. We submitted a Biologics License Application, or BLA, for AR101 to the FDA in December 2018. The FDA initiated review of the BLA for AR101 in January 2019, and we expect that the FDA will determine whether the BLA has been accepted for filing by the end of March 2019. The FDA has made an initial determination that AR101, as an allergenic product candidate, is exempt from the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, as amended, or PDUFA. However, we believe the FDA has had policies that pre-date and post-date PDUFA that would allow for expedited review of PDUFA-exempt applications , and we are currently engaged in discussions with the FDA regarding the review timeline for the AR101 BLA. If the Breakthrough Therapy designation for AR101 does not result in an expedited review of the BLA for AR101, the BLA will likely be reviewed under a twelve-month target review period applicable to PDUFA-exempt applications as measured from the January 2019 start date. Our initial target patient population for AR101 is children and adolescents in the 4-17 age group with a diagnosed peanut allergy, which we estimate applied to approximately 1.6 million patients in the United States alone during 2018. We expect to submit a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in the first half of 2019. We maintain worldwide commercial rights to all of our product candidates, including AR101 and, if approved, currently intend to commercialize in the United States and Europe by developing a specialty sales force targeting practicing allergists in the United States and allergy-focused clinicians in major European markets. We are in the process of developing formulations for additional CODIT product candidates beyond peanut allergy and have formulation and manufacturing activities ongoing for a product candidate designed to treat egg allergy, AR201. We are also exploring a product candidate designed to treat multi-nut allergy, including walnut allergy. Review of our investigational new drug application, or IND, for AR201 was completed by the FDA in February 2019. As such, we have been cleared to advance AR201 into a Phase 2 clinical trial, which we expect to commence in mid-2019. In addition, we are also conducting research and development activities for potential CODIT product candidates targeting other food allergies, including cow's milk allergy. Our goal is to build a biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes proprietary therapies to improve the lives of food-allergic patients and their families. Complete development and obtain approval of AR101 in the United States and Europe for the treatment of peanut allergy : We submitted the AR101 BLA in the United States in December 2018 and intend to file a MAA, for AR101 in the European Union in the first half of 2019. ", - "id": "9bfa4723-d906-446b-aa67-b4f9a50bbaf1" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill is focused on improving access to advanced telecommunications capabilities in underserved areas, while ANSYS, Inc. primarily operates in engineering simulation software across various industries. Although improved broadband infrastructure could indirectly benefit ANSYS' operations (e.g., faster internet for users), the primary intent of the bill does not directly relate to ANSYS' core business, which is centered on simulation and design software rather than telecommunications. Thus, the bill does not pose relevant legal consequences for ANSYS.", - "index": "87", - "bill_title": "To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission to conduct an annual inquiry on the availability of advanced telecommunications capability in broadband deserts, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Connecting Broadband Deserts Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)\u00a0to conduct an annual inquiry on the availability of advanced telecommunications capability in broadband deserts, including whether such capability is being deployed in a reasonable and timely fashion. If it is not, the FCC shall take immediate action to accelerate deployment of such capability by removing barriers to infrastructure investment and promoting competition. The term \"broadband desert\" means a census block in an urban area in which fewer than 33% of end-user premises do not have access to advanced telecommunications capability.", - "company_name": "ANSYS, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS ANSYS, a Delaware corporation formed in 1994, develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services widely used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a broad spectrum of industries and academia, including aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, semiconductors, energy, materials and chemical processing, turbomachinery, consumer products, healthcare, and sports. The Company focuses on the development of open and flexible solutions that enable users to analyze designs directly on the desktop, providing a common platform for fast, efficient and cost-conscious product development, from design concept to final-stage testing and validation. The Company distributes its ANSYS\u00ae suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in strategic, global locations. ANSYS Workbench\u2122 ANSYS Workbench is the framework upon which the Company's suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The innovative project schematic view ties together the entire simulation process, guiding the user through complex multiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop simplicity. With bi-directional computer-aided design (CAD) connectivity, powerful highly-automated meshing, a project-level update mechanism, pervasive parameter management and integrated optimization tools, the ANSYS Workbench platform enables Pervasive Engineering Simulation\u2122. The Company's Workbench framework allows engineers and designers to incorporate the compounding effects of multiple physics into a virtual prototype of their design and simulate its operation under real-world conditions. As product architectures become smaller, lighter and more complex, companies must be able to accurately predict how products will behave in real-world environments where multiple types of physics interact in a coupled way. ANSYS multiphysics software enables engineers to simulate the interactions between structures, heat transfer, fluids and electronics all within a single, unified engineering simulation environment. The Company's structural analysis product suite offers simulation tools for product design and optimization that increase productivity, minimize physical prototyping and help to deliver better and more innovative products in less time. These tools tackle real-world analysis problems by making product development less costly and more reliable. In addition, these tools have capabilities that cover a broad range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities, all targeted toward understanding and solving complex design problems. The Company's fluids product suite enables modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design and optimize new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications. The Company's electronics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance of mobile communication and internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment, all prior to building a prototype. Semiconductors Advancements in semiconductor design and manufacturing enable smaller electronic architectures. Shrinking geometries, especially in the emerging 3D IC, FinFET and stacked-die architectures, reveal design challenges related to power and reliability. The Company's power analysis and optimization software suite manages the power budget, power delivery integrity and power-induced noise in an electronic design, from initial prototyping to system sign-off. These solutions deliver accuracy with correlation to silicon measurement; the capacity to handle an entire electronic system, including IC, package and PCB, efficiently for ease-of-debug and fast turnaround time; and comprehensiveness to facilitate cross-domain communications and electronic ecosystem enablement. The Company's SCADE\u00ae product suite is a comprehensive solution for embedded software simulation, code production and automated certification. It has been developed specifically for use in critical systems with high dependability requirements, including aerospace, rail transportation, nuclear, industrial and, more recently, automotive applications. SCADE software supports the entire development workflow, from requirements analysis and design, through verification, implementation and deployment. SCADE solutions easily integrate with each other and the rest of the ANSYS product suite, allowing for development optimization and increased communication among team members. ", - "id": "93ad1c2c-d173-496d-b52f-24940f1facc8" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Alliance Resource Partners LP because it involves the transfer of funds to support pension and health benefits for retired coal miners, which is directly connected to the coal industry. Since Alliance Resource Partners is a major coal producer, changes to the pension plans and health benefits of former miners could affect their workforce and public perception, as well as potential liabilities associated with coal mining operations. Additionally, the bill's provisions regarding the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund and health benefits directly relate to the company's workers and their well-being.", - "index": "88", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to transfer certain funds to the 1974 United Mine Workers of America Pension Plan, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "American Miners Act of 2019\n\nThis bill transfers certain funds to provide pension and health benefits for retired coal miners who have been affected by issues such as coal company bankruptcies.\n\nThe Department of the Treasury must transfer additional funds to the 1974 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Pension Plan to pay pension benefits required under that plan if the annual limit on transfers under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 exceeds the amount required to be transferred for existing obligations of the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund. The bill also increases the annual limit on transfers from $490 million to $750 million.\n\nThe bill also adds miners affected by 2018 coal company bankruptcies to the group whose retiree health benefits are taken into account in determining the amount that Treasury must transfer under current law to the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan.\n\nAdditionally, the bill (1) reduces the minimum age for in-service distributions under certain retirement plans, and (2) extends the increased rates for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund excise tax.", - "company_name": "Alliance Resource Partners LP", - "company_description": "We are a diversified producer and marketer of coal primarily to major United States (\"U.S.\") utilities and industrial users. We began mining operations in 1971 and, since then, have grown through acquisitions and internal development to become the second-largest coal producer in the eastern U.S. In 2017, we sold 37.8 million tons of coal and produced 37.6 million tons of coal, of which 25.4% was low-sulfur coal, 39.9% was medium-sulfur coal and 34.7% was high-sulfur coal. In 2017, we sold 80.0% of our total tons to electric utilities, of which 100% was sold to utility plants with installed pollution control devices. These devices, also known as scrubbers, eliminate substantially all emissions of sulfur dioxide. Based on market expectations, we classify low-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of less than 1.5%, medium-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of 1.5% to 3%, and high-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of greater than 3%. The BTU content of our coal ranges from 11,400 to 13,200. We operate eight underground mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia. We also operate a coal loading terminal on the Ohio River at Mt. Vernon, Indiana. In addition, we own equity interests in various oil and gas mineral interests and gas compression services in various geographic locations within producing basins in the continental U.S. Our mining activities are conducted in two geographic regions commonly referred to in the coal industry as the Illinois Basin and Appalachian regions. We have grown historically primarily through expansion of our operations by adding and developing mines and coal reserves in these regions. AHGP is a Delaware limited partnership that was formed to become the owner and controlling member of MGP. We produce a diverse range of steam and metallurgical coal with varying sulfur and heat contents, which enables us to satisfy the broad range of specifications required by our customers. The following map shows the location of our coal mining operations: Illinois Basin Operations: 4. Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Railroad Transportation: Railroad, Truck & Barge & Barge Truck & Barge 7. Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Transportation: Railroad, Truck & Barge Truck & Barge 1 Gibson North Mine is currently non-producing but is expected to resume production in 2018. Our Illinois Basin mining operations are located in western Kentucky, southern Illinois and southern Indiana. As of January 25, 2018, we had 2,086 employees, and we operate five mining complexes in the Illinois Basin. In July 2015, we acquired the remaining equity interest in White Oak Resources LLC (\"White Oak\"), thereby gaining complete ownership and control of the White Oak Mine No. 1 (now known as the Hamilton mine), located near the city of McLeansboro, Illinois (\"White Oak Acquisition\"). Our subsidiary, Hamilton County Coal, 5 LLC (\"Hamilton\"), operates the Hamilton mine, which is an underground longwall mining operation producing medium/high-sulfur coal from the Herrin No. 6 seam.", - "id": "111d2ddf-be08-4bc7-b93d-1c26cd0c1aaf" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act primarily addresses issues related to flood insurance and does not have direct implications for Alkermes Plc, which operates in the biopharmaceutical sector focusing on CNS disorders and addiction. The company's activities and business model are unrelated to flood insurance or the reforms proposed in this bill.", - "index": "89", - "bill_title": "To reform and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2019 \n\nThis bill generally revises the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and reauthorizes the program through FY2024. Among other things, the bill\n\n expands the NFIP mapping program, establishes capitalization grants for states to provide low-interest loans, establishes pilot programs for means-tested flood insurance rates and community-based NFIP coverage, and revises continuous coverage requirements.", - "company_name": "Alkermes Plc", - "company_description": "Alkermes plc is a fully integrated, global biopharmaceutical company that applies its scientific expertise and proprietary technologies to research, develop and commercialize, both with partners and on its own, pharmaceutical products that are designed to address unmet medical needs of patients in major therapeutic areas. Alkermes has a diversified portfolio of marketed drug products and a clinical pipeline of product candidates focused on central nervous system (\"CNS\") disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, addiction and multiple sclerosis (\"MS\"), and oncology. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Alkermes has a research and development (\"R & D\") center in Waltham, Massachusetts; an R & D and manufacturing facility in Athlone, Ireland; and a manufacturing facility in Wilmington, Ohio. The key marketed products discussed below are expected to generate significant revenues for us. Territory Initiation or re- initiation of ARISTADA for (\"CIS\") 5 Summary information regarding products that use our proprietary technologies: Product Indication(s) We develop and commercialize products designed to address the unmet needs of patients suffering from addiction and schizophrenia. ARISTADA ARISTADA (aripiprazole lauroxil) is an extended-release intramuscular injectable suspension approved in the U.S. for the treatment of schizophrenia. ARISTADA is the first of our products to utilize our proprietary LinkeRx technology. ARISTADA is a prodrug; once in the body, ARISTADA is likely converted by enzyme-mediated hydrolysis to N-hydroxymethyl aripiprazole, which is then hydrolyzed to aripiprazole. ARISTADA is the first atypical antipsychotic with four dosing options\u2014once-monthly (441 mg, 662 mg, 882 mg), once-every-six-weeks (882 mg) and once-every-two-months (1064 mg)\u2014 to deliver and maintain therapeutic levels of medication in the body. We developed ARISTADA and manufacture and commercialize it in the U.S. ARISTADA INITIO ARISTADA INITIO (aripiprazole lauroxil), in combination with a single 30 mg dose of oral aripiprazole, is indicated for the initiation of ARISTADA when used for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults. ARISTADA INITIO leverages our proprietary NanoCrystal technology and provides an extended-release formulation of aripiprazole lauroxil in a smaller particle size compared to ARISTADA. This smaller particle size enables faster dissolution and leads to more rapid achievement of relevant levels of aripiprazole. The ARISTADA INITIO regimen, consisting of a single injection of 675 mg ARISTADA INITIO in combination with a single 30 mg dose of oral aripiprazole, when used to initiate onto any dose of ARISTADA, provides patients with relevant levels of aripiprazole within four days of treatment initiation. We developed ARISTADA INITIO and exclusively manufacture and commercialize it in the U.S. Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder. The disease is marked by positive symptoms (hallucinations and delusions) and negative symptoms (depression, blunted emotions and social withdrawal), as well as by disorganized thinking. Approximately 3.5 million people are diagnosed with schizophrenia in the U.S., with men and women affected equally. Worldwide, it is estimated that one person in every 100 develops schizophrenia. Studies have demonstrated that as many as 75% of patients with schizophrenia have difficulty taking their oral medication on a regular basis, which can lead to worsening of symptoms. VIVITROL VIVITROL (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) is a once-monthly, non-narcotic, injectable medication approved in the U.S., Russia and certain countries of the CIS for the treatment of alcohol dependence and for the prevention of relapse to opioid dependence, following opioid detoxification. VIVITROL uses our polymer-based microsphere injectable extended-release technology to deliver and maintain therapeutic medication levels in the body through one intramuscular injection every four weeks. We developed and exclusively manufacture VIVITROL.", - "id": "65e888a4-7911-4d4c-a00e-67dd92d77d69" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to ACADIA Pharmaceuticals because it mandates negotiation of drug prices under Medicare, directly impacting the pricing and reimbursement strategies for prescription medications like NUPLAZID. As NUPLAZID is a drug focused on treating CNS disorders, its sales could be affected by new pricing regulations and competitive licensing that arise from this bill.", - "index": "90", - "bill_title": "To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices of prescription drugs furnished under part D of the Medicare program.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies regarding prices for drugs covered under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Current law prohibits the CMS from doing so.)\n\nThe CMS must take certain factors into account during negotiations, including the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the drug, the financial burden on patients, and unmet patient needs. If the CMS is unable to negotiate the price of a drug, such drug is subject to competitive licensing in order to further its sale under Medicare, notwithstanding existing government-granted exclusivities.\n\nAdditionally, for one year after a drug is provided under a competitive license, such drug is also subject to specified price limitations; if the drug is not offered at such prices, the drug is\u00a0subject to additional licensing that furthers its sale under any federal program (e.g., Medicaid).", - "company_name": "ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative medicines to address unmet medical needs in central nervous system, or CNS, disorders. We have a portfolio of product opportunities led by our novel drug, NUPLAZID (pimavanserin), which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on April 29, 2016 for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis, or PD Psychosis, and is the only drug approved in the United States for this condition. NUPLAZID is a selective serotonin inverse agonist, or SSIA, preferentially targeting 5-HT 2A receptors. Through this novel mechanism, NUPLAZID demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing the hallucinations and delusions associated with PD Psychosis in our Phase 3 pivotal trial and has the potential to avoid many of the debilitating side effects of existing antipsychotics, none of which are approved by the FDA in the treatment of PD Psychosis. We hold worldwide commercialization rights to pimavanserin. We believe that pimavanserin has the potential to address important unmet medical needs in neurological and psychiatric disorders in addition to PD Psychosis and we plan to continue to study the use of pimavanserin in multiple disease states. For example, we believe dementia-related psychosis represents one of our most important opportunities for further exploration. In December 2016, we announced positive top-line results from our Phase 2 study exploring the utility of pimavanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease psychosis, or AD Psychosis, a disorder for which no drug is currently approved by the FDA. Following our End-of-Phase 2 Meeting with the FDA and agreement with the agency on our clinical development plan, we initiated 1 our Phase 3 HARMONY relapse prevention study in October 2017, which allows us to evaluate pimavanserin for a broader indication than AD Psychosis alone. More specifically, HARMONY will evaluate pimavanserin for the treatment of hal lucinations and delusions associated with dementia-related psychosis, which includes psychosis in patients with Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease dementia, vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. Furthermore, in Oc tober 2017, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to pimavanserin for dementia-related psychosis. As a result of potential overlap of clinical sites and study participants between the HARMONY study and our Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease agitation and aggression, which we refer to as SERENE, we decided to discontinue enrollment of new patients in that study. We also believe schizophrenia represents a disease with multiple unmet or ill-served needs and we are currently exploring the utility of pimavanserin in this area. Despite a large number of FDA-approved therapies for schizophrenia, current drugs do not adequately address some very important symptoms of schizophrenia, such as the inadequate response to current antipsychotic treatment of psychotic symptoms and negative symptoms. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we initiated two studies evaluating the adjunctive use of pimavanserin in patients with schizophrenia. ENHANCE-1 is a Phase 3 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment of schizophrenia in patients with an inadequate response to their current antipsychotic therapy. ADVANCE is a Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment in patients with negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Depression is another disorder with a high unmet need that we believe represents an attractive development opportunity for pimavanserin. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that patients with depression often do not receive adequate relief from an antidepressant medication, and, due to side effects of currently available therapies, many patients discontinue their medication, significantly increasing their chance of relapse. Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests 5-HT 2A antagonism may be an effective adjunctive therapy to currently prescribed antidepressants. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we initiated CLARITY, a Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment in patients with major depressive disorder, or MDD, who have an inadequate response to standard antidepressant therapy. Our strategy is to discover, develop and commercialize innovative small molecule drugs that address unmet medical needs in CNS disorders. We have assembled a management team with significant industry experience to lead the discovery, development, and commercialization of our product opportunities. We complement our management team with scientific and clinical advisors, including recognized experts in the fields of PD Psychosis, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, depression, and other CNS disorders.", - "id": "62a2c395-3d7c-4069-a7c8-20a7cfb29c6c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill is focused on establishing infrastructure for electric vehicle charging and hydrogen fueling, which is not directly related to Air Transport Services Group, Inc.'s business model that revolves around aircraft leasing and air transportation services. The company's activities do not involve electric vehicle infrastructure, making the bill irrelevant to its operations.", - "index": "91", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a grant program for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and hydrogen fueling infrastructure along the National Highway System, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Clean Corridors Act of 2019\n\nThis bill directs the Department of Transportation to award grants to certain governmental entities and planning organizations to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure and hydrogen fueling infrastructure along designated alternative fuel corridors.", - "company_name": "Air Transport Services Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "leases aircraft and provides airline operations, ground services, aircraft modification and maintenance services, and other support services to the air transportation and logistics industries. Through the Company's subsidiaries, we offer a range of complementary services to delivery businesses, freight forwarders, airlines and government customers. We offer standalone services along with bundled, customized solutions, scalable to our customers' needs. : We lease aircraft through the Company's leasing subsidiary, Cargo Aircraft Management, CAM's fleet consists of Boeing 737, 757 and 767 cargo aircraft, Boeing 767 and 777 passenger aircraft and Boeing 757 \"combi\" aircraft which simultaneously carry passengers and cargo on the main deck. CAM services global demand for cargo airlift by offering Boeing 767, 757 and 737 aircraft leases. CAM is able to provide competitive lease rates by converting passenger aircraft into cargo freighters. CAM monitors the market for available passenger aircraft, typically 15 to 20 years beyond their original manufacture date. After evaluation of an aircraft's condition and technical specifications, CAM acquires passenger aircraft that meet its requirements for projected into-service costs and rate of return targets. After conversion to freighter configuration, CAM's aircraft can be deployed into markets more economically than newly built freighters. CAM's aircraft leases are typically under multi-year agreements. : We offer combinations of aircraft, crews, maintenance and insurance services to provide customized transportation capacity to our customers. Inc. (\"ATI\"), and Omni Air International, LLC (\"OAI\") which are each independently certificated by the U.S. Department of Transportation and separately offer services to customers. ABX operates Boeing 767 freighter aircraft, ATI operates Boeing 767 and 757 freighter and Boeing 757 combi aircraft and OAI operates Boeing 767 and 777 passenger aircraft. We provide transportation related services such as aircraft maintenance, crew training and ground handling to delivery companies, freight forwarders and other airlines. Customers who lease our aircraft often need related support services. Offering support services provides us with a competitive advantage for diversification and incremental revenues. : We provide load transfer and sorting services, as well as related maintenance services for material handling equipment, ground equipment and facilities through our LGSTX Services, LGSTX also rents ground equipment and sells aviation fuel in Ohio. Aircraft maintenance and modification services: We provide airframe modification and maintenance, component repairs, engineering services and aircraft line maintenance through our subsidiaries Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services, Inc. Inc. (\"AMS\") resells and brokers aircraft parts. We provide line maintenance services at certain airports. Flight support services: We also offer flight crew training. AGS markets the various services and products offered by our subsidiaries by bundling solutions that leverage the entire portfolio of our subsidiaries", - "id": "9a46b2fa-b0c9-4c6e-b502-233180c323aa" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019 focuses on preventing domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. Its legal consequences include new programs, changes to firearms laws, and housing protections for victims. These aspects do not directly correlate with AeroVironment's business model, which revolves around unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and tactical missile systems for defense purposes. As such, the bill's implications do not affect or relate to AeroVironment's core operations or strategic objectives.", - "index": "92", - "bill_title": "To reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019\n\nThis bill modifies and reauthorizes through FY2024 programs and activities under the Violence Against Women Act that seek to prevent and respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.\n\nAmong other things, the bill also authorizes new programs, makes changes to federal firearms laws, and establishes new protections to promote housing stability and economic security for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.", - "company_name": "AeroVironment, Inc.", - "company_description": "each party's compliance with its covenants and agreements contained in the Purchase Agreement (subject to customary materiality qualifiers), (iii) the execution by the parties of certain ancillary agreements and (iv) other customary closing conditions. As of April 30, 2018, we determined that the EES Business met the criterion for classification as an asset held for sale and represents a strategic shift in in our operations. We design, develop, produce, support and operate a technologically\u2011advanced portfolio of products and services for government agencies and businesses. We supply unmanned aircraft systems (\"UAS\") and related services primarily to organizations within the U.S. Department of Defense (\"DoD\") and to international allied governments, and tactical missile systems and related services to organizations within the U.S. Government. Our success with current products and services stems from our investment in research and development and our ability to invent and deliver advanced solutions, utilizing proprietary and commercially available technologies, to help our government, commercial and consumer customers operate more effectively and efficiently. We develop these highly innovative solutions by working very closely with our key customers to solve their most important challenges related to our areas of expertise. Our core technological capabilities, developed through more than 45 years of innovation, include lightweight aerostructures; power electronics; electric propulsion systems; efficient electric power conversion, and storage systems; high\u2011density energy packaging; miniaturization; digital data links (\"DDL\"); sensors; controls integration; systems integration; engineering optimization; vertical takeoff fixed wing flight and autonomy, each coupled with professional field service capabilities. Our UAS business focuses primarily on the design, development, production, marketing, support and operation of innovative UAS and tactical missile systems and the delivery of UAS\u2011related services that provide situational awareness, remote sensing, multi\u2011band communications, force protection and other information and mission effects to increase the safety and effectiveness of our customers' operations. As a technology solutions provider, our strategy is to develop innovative, safe and reliable new solutions that provide customers with valuable benefits and enable us to create new markets or market segments, gain market share and grow as market adoption increases. We believe that by introducing new solutions that provide customers with compelling value we are able to create new markets or market segments and then grow our positions within those 3 markets or market segments profitably, instead of entering existing markets and competing directly against large, incumbent competitors that may possess advantages in scope, scale, resources and relationships. We intend to grow our business by preserving a leadership position in the UAS and tactical missile system markets, and by creating new solutions that enable us to create and establish leadership positions in new markets. Our small UAS and tactical missile systems enjoy leading positions in their respective markets. We intend to increase the penetration of our small UAS products and services within the U.S. military, the military forces of allied nations, other government agencies and non\u2011government organizations, including commercial entities, and to increase the penetration of our tactical missile systems within the U.S. military and allied nations. We believe that the broad adoption of our small UAS by the U.S. military will continue to spur demand by allied nations, and that our efforts to pursue new applications are creating opportunities beyond the early adopter military market. Deliver innovative new solutions for existing and new markets. Customer\u2011focused innovation is the primary driver of our growth. We view strategic partnerships as a means by which to further the reach of our innovative solutions through access to new markets, customers and complementary capabilities. Our company culture encourages innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit, which helps to attract and retain highly\u2011skilled professionals. A core component of our culture is our intent to demonstrate trust and integrity in all of our interactions, contributing to a positive work environment and engendering loyalty among our employees and customers. We respond rapidly to evolving markets, solve complicated customer problems, and strive to deliver new products, services and capabilities quickly, efficiently and affordably relative to available alternatives. Effectively manage our growth portfolio for long\u2011term value creation. Our production and development programs and services position us for investment opportunities that we believe will deliver long\u2011term growth by providing our customers with valuable new capabilities. We sell the majority of our UAS and services to organizations within the DoD, including the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Special Operations Command, Air Force and Navy, and increasingly to allied governments. We sell our tactical missile systems to organizations within the U.S. government. We also develop High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (\"HAPS\") systems for a commercial customer based in Japan. ", - "id": "a39918ef-ec04-4142-81ba-afc74dfe00a6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses qualification requirements for multiple employer pension plans and pooled plan providers, which are relevant to retirement plans and tax-favored pension schemes. Public Storage, as a self-storage facility operator and REIT, does not have a direct connection to these pension plan regulations or retirement security provisions. Therefore, the bill does not impact the business model or activities of Public Storage.", - "index": "93", - "bill_title": "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the qualification requirements with respect to certain multiple employer plans with pooled plan providers, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Retirement Security for American Workers Act\n\nThis bill provides for the application of qualification requirements for certain tax-favored multiple employer pension plans that participate with a pooled plan provider despite differences in such plans. It also requires annual information reports for pooled employer and multiple employer plans.", - "company_name": "Public Storage", - "company_description": "We acquire, develop, own and operate self-storage facilities , which offer storage spaces for lease on a month-to-month basis, for personal and business use. We are the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in the U.S. We have direct and indirect equity interests in 2,429 self-storage facilities that we consolidate (an aggregate of 162 million net rentable square feet of space) located in 38 states within the U.S. operating under the \"Public Storage\" brand name. Ancillary Operations : We reinsure policies against losses to goods stored by customers in our self-storage facilities and sell merchandise, primarily locks and cardboard boxes, at our self-storage facilities. Inc. (\"PSB\"), a publicly held REIT that owns, operates, acquires and develops commercial properties, primarily multi-tenant flex, office, and industrial parks. At December 31, 201 8 , PSB owns and operates 28. 2 million rentable square feet of commercial space. : We have a 35 % equity inter est in Shurgard Self Storage SA (\"Shurgard Europe\"), a publicly held company trading under Euronext Brussels under the \"SHUR\" symbol , which owns 232 self-storage facilities (13 million net rentable square feet) located in seven countries in Western Europe operated under the \"Shurgard\" brand name. We believe Shurgard Europe is the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in Western Europe. We also manage 33 self-storage facilities for third parties . We are seeking to expand our third-party management operations to further increase our economies of scale and leverage our brand; however, there is no 5 assurance that we will be able to do so. We also own 0.8 million net rentable square feet of commercial space which is managed primarily by PSB . For all periods presented herein, we have elected to be treated as a REIT, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the \"Code\") . and we expect to continue to elect and qualify as a REIT. We believe that our customers genera lly store their goods within a three to f ive mile radius of their home or business . Our facilities compete with nearby self-storage facilities owned by other operators using marketing channels similar to ours , including Internet advertising, signage, and banners and offer services similar to ours . A s a result, competition is significant and affects the occupancy levels, rental rates, rental income and operating expenses of our facilities. In the last three years, there has been a marked increase in development of new self-storage facilities in many of the markets we operate in, due to the favorable economics of development which we have also taken advantage of. These newly developed facilities compete with many of the facilities we own, negatively impacting our occupancies, rental rates, and rental growth. This increase in supply has been most notable in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, New York, and Portland. Ownership and operation of self-storage facilities is highly fragmented. As the largest owner of self-storage facilities, we believe that we own approximately 7 % of the self-storage square footage in the U.S. and that collectively the five largest self-storage owners in the U.S. own approximately 15 %, with the remaining 8 5 % owned by numerous regional and local operators. We believe that we have significant market share and concentration in major metropolitan centers, with approximately 71 % of our 201 8 same-store revenues generated in the 20 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (each, an \"MSA\", as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau) with the highest population levels. Industry fragmentation also provides opportunities for us to acquire additional facilities; however, we compete with a wide variety of institutions and other investors who also view self-storage facilities as attractive investments. The amount of capital available for real estate investments greatly influences the competition for ownership interests in facilities and, by extension, the yields that we can achieve on newly acquired investments. a s well as analyze customer data and quickly change each of our individual properties", - "id": "ac273750-dcb2-4f1d-be51-caaab83ae5f7" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill regulates semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices, which directly impacts Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. as a firearms manufacturer. Since the company designs, manufactures, and sells firearms, they are subject to the prohibitions and conditions set forth in the bill, such as background checks for transfers and requirements for displaying serial numbers and manufacturing dates. This legislation can affect the company's operations, sales, and ability to offer certain products, making it highly relevant to their business.", - "index": "94", - "bill_title": "A bill to regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Assault Weapons Ban of 2019\n\nThis bill makes it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD).\n\nThe prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model.\n\nThe bill also exempts from the prohibition the following, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD:\n\n importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties.\n\nThe bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD.\n\nNewly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture.\n\n The bill also allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.", - "company_name": "Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.", - "company_description": "Overview Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. and Subsidiary (the \"Company\") is principally engaged in the design, manufacture, and sale of firearms to domestic customers. The Company's design and manufacturing operations are located in the United States and almost all product content is domestic. The Company primarily offers products in three industry product categories \u2013 rifles, pistols, and revolvers. The Company's firearms are sold through independent wholesale distributors, principally to the commercial sporting market. The Company manufactures and sells investment castings made from steel alloys and metal injection molding (\"MIM\") parts for internal use in the firearms segment and has minimal sales to outside customers. The Company presently manufactures firearm products, under the \"Ruger\" name and trademark, in the following industry categories: Rifles Most firearms are available in several models based upon caliber, finish, barrel length, and other features. A rifle is a long gun with spiral grooves cut into the interior of the barrel to give the bullet a stabilizing spin after it leaves the barrel. Net sales of rifles by the Company accounted for $243.0 million, $264.9 million, and $208.5 million of total net sales for the years 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. A pistol is a handgun in which the ammunition chamber is an integral part of the barrel and which typically is fed ammunition from a magazine contained in the grip. Net sales of pistols by the Company accounted for $176.2 million, $250.0 million, and $192.2 million of revenues for the years 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. A revolver is a handgun that has a cylinder that holds the ammunition in a series of chambers which are successively aligned with the barrel of the gun during each firing cycle. To fire a single-action revolver, the hammer is pulled back to cock the gun and align the cylinder before the trigger is pulled. To fire a double-action revolver, a single trigger pull advances the cylinder and cocks and releases the hammer. Net sales of revolvers by the Company accounted for $74.6 million, $104.9 million, and $113.3 million of revenues for the years 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. The Company also manufactures and sells accessories and replacement parts for its firearms. Net sales attributable to the Company's casting operations (excluding intercompany transactions) accounted for $4.6 million, $5.9 million, and $6.2 million, for 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. The Company produces one model of pistol, all of its revolvers and most of its rifles at the Newport, New Hampshire facility. Some rifle models and two pistol models are produced at the Mayodan, North Carolina facility. Many of the basic metal component parts of the firearms manufactured by the Company are produced by the Company's castings segment through processes known as precision investment casting. The Company believes that investment castings and MIM parts provide greater design flexibility and result in component parts which are generally close to their ultimate shape and, therefore, require less machining than processes requiring machining a solid billet of metal to obtain a part. Through the use of investment castings and MIM parts, the Company endeavors to produce durable and less costly component parts for its firearms. All assembly, inspection, and testing of firearms manufactured by the Company are performed at the Company's manufacturing facilities. Every firearm, including every chamber of every revolver manufactured by the Company, is test-fired prior to shipment. ", - "id": "b12257d2-7a45-42eb-98f7-34aeed918ebe" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Financial Technology Protection Act focuses on combating terrorism and illicit financing through the investigation of digital currencies, which aligns with ACI Worldwide's business of facilitating electronic payments. As ACI's solutions may involve processing digital currencies and transactions, they must ensure compliance with regulations arising from this bill. Additionally, ACI can potentially benefit from the development of tools and programs outlined in the bill to enhance the security and integrity of their payment systems.", - "index": "95", - "bill_title": "To establish an Independent Financial Technology Task Force to Combat Terrorism and Illicit Financing, to provide rewards for information leading to convictions related to terrorist use of digital currencies, to establish a Fintech Leadership in Innovation and Financial Intelligence Program to encourage the development of tools and programs to combat terrorist and illicit use of digital currencies, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Financial Technology Protection Act \n\nThis bill provides for the investigation of new financial technologies (e.g., digital currencies) and their use in terrorism and other illicit activities.\n\n The bill establishes the Independent Financial Technology Task Force to Combat Terrorism and Illicit Financing, which must research terrorist and illicit use of new financial technologies and issue an annual report.\n\nThe bill directs the Department of the Treasury to provide a reward for a person who provides information leading to the conviction of an individual involved with terrorist use of digital currencies.\n\nThe bill establishes the FinTech Leadership in Innovation and Financial Intelligence Program to support the development of tools and programs to detect terrorist and illicit use of digital currencies.", - "company_name": "ACI Worldwide, Inc.", - "company_description": "We develop, market, install, and support a broad line of software products and solutions primarily focused on facilitating real-time electronic payments. Our payment capabilities, technologies, and solutions are marketed under the brand name Universal Payments, or \u0093UP,\u0094 which describes the breadth and depth of ACI\u0092s product offerings. UP defines ACI\u0092s enterprise or \u0093universal\u0094 payments capabilities targeting any channel, any network, and any payment type. ACI UP solutions empower customers to regain control, choice, and flexibility in today\u0092s complex payments environment, get to market more quickly, and reduce operational costs. These products and services are used globally by banks, financial intermediaries\u0097such as third-party electronic payment processors, payment associations, switch interchanges, merchants, and corporates, and a wide range of transaction-generating endpoints, including automated teller machines (\u0093ATM\u0094), merchant point-of-sale (\u0093POS\u0094) terminals, bank branches, mobile phones, tablets, corporations, and internet commerce sites. The authentication, authorization, switching, settlement, fraud-checking, and reconciliation of electronic payments is a complex activity due to the large number of locations and variety of sources from which transactions can be generated, the large number of participants in the market, high transaction volumes, geographically dispersed networks, differing types of authorization, and varied reporting requirements. ACI combines a global perspective with local presence to tailor electronic payment solutions for our customers. We believe that we have one of the most diverse and robust electronic payment product portfolios in the industry with application software spanning the entire payments value chain. PAY.ON was a leader in eCommerce payments gateway solutions to payment service providers globally. Their advanced platform-based solution complements and strengthens the Company\u0092s UP Merchant Payments and UP eCommerce Payments. The combined entities provide customers the ability to deliver a seamless omni-channel customer payment experience in store, mobile, and online. Target Markets ACI\u0092s comprehensive electronic payment solutions serve four key markets: Banks ACI provides payment solutions to large banks globally for both retail banking and transaction banking services. Our solutions transform banks\u0092 complex payment environments to speed time to market, reduce costs, and deliver a consistent experience to customers across channels while enabling them to prevent and rapidly react to fraudulent activity. In addition, we enable banks to meet the requirements of different real-time payment schemes and to quickly create differentiated products to meet consumer, business, and merchant demands. ACI\u0092s payment solutions support financial intermediaries, such as processors, networks, payment service providers (\u0093PSPs\u0094), and new financial technology (\u0093FinTech\u0094) entrants. We offer these customers scalable solutions that strategically position them to innovate and achieve growth and cost efficiency, while protecting them against fraud. Our solutions also allow new entrants in the digital marketplace to access innovative payment schemes, such as the U.K. Faster Payments New Access Model. Merchants ACI\u0092s support of merchants globally includes Tier 1 and Tier 2 merchants, online-only merchants and the PSPs, independent selling organizations (\u0093ISOs\u0094), value added resellers (\u0093VARs\u0094), and acquirers who service them. These customers operate in a variety of verticals, including general merchandise, grocery, hospitality, dining, transportation, and others. Our solutions provide merchants with a secure, omni-channel payments platform that gives them independence from third-party payment providers. We also offer secure solutions to online-only merchants that provide consumers with a convenient and seamless way to shop. Within the corporate segment, ACI provides electronic bill presentment and payment (\u0093EBPP\u0094) services to companies operating in the consumer finance, insurance, healthcare, higher education, tax, and utility categories. Our solutions enable these customers to support a wide range of payment options and provide a painless consumer payments experience that drives consumer loyalty and increases revenue. Solutions ACI\u0092s UP solutions span the payments ecosystem to support the electronic payment needs of banks, financial intermediaries, merchants and corporates.", - "id": "da3e5524-fe93-4275-bf7a-3e6ab2a1fc4c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing programs for energy storage, which primarily impacts renewable energy and energy storage technologies. Altus Midstream Co. is centered around midstream oil and gas operations, with no direct engagement in energy storage systems or technologies, making the bill irrelevant to their business activities.", - "index": "96", - "bill_title": "A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to establish an energy storage research program, a demonstration program, and a technical assistance and grant program, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Promoting Grid Storage Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish certain programs for energy storage.\n\nDOE must establish a program for the research of energy storage systems, components, and materials.\n\nDOE must also establish a technical assistance and grant program for (1) disseminating information and providing technical assistance directly to nonprofit or for-profit entities so those entities can identify, evaluate, plan, and design energy storage systems; and (2) making grants to those entities so that they may contract to obtain technical assistance to identify, evaluate, plan, and design energy storage systems.\n\nThe bill provides for the establishment of a competitive grant program for pilot energy storage systems.", - "company_name": "Altus Midstream Co.", - "company_description": "The Alpine High Entities comprise four Delaware limited partnerships (collectively, \"Alpine High Midstream\") and their general partner (Alpine High Subsidiary GP LLC, a Delaware limited liability company), formed by Apache between May 2016 and January 2017 for the purpose of acquiring, developing, and operating midstream oil and gas assets in the Alpine High resource play and surrounding areas (\"Alpine High\"). (the \"Closing Date\") and pursuant to the terms of that certain Contribution Agreement , we acquired from Apache the entire equity interests of the Alpine High Entities and options to acquire equity interests in five separate third-party pipeline projects (the \"Pipeline Options\"). Altus Midstream Company holds a 23.1 percent controlling interest in Altus Midstream; \u2022 Altus Midstream Company operates its business through Altus Midstream and its subsidiaries, which include Alpine High Midstream; and \u2022 Altus' equity structure for all periods presented. Altus Midstream owns gas gathering, processing and transmission assets in the Permian Basin of West Texas, anchored by midstream service contracts to service Apache's production from Alpine High. Additionally, we own, or have options to own, joint venture equity interests in a total of five Permian Basin pipelines, four of which go to various points along the Texas Gulf Coast, providing the Company with additional access to fully integrated, wellhead-to-water connectivity. As of December 31, 2018, Altus Midstream's assets included approximately 111 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines, approximately 52 miles of residue gas pipelines with three market connections (with a fourth market connection expected to be in-service by the end of the first quarter of 2019), and approximately 26 miles of NGL Pipelines. Additionally, we own five rich gas processing facilities consisting of approximately 77,000 horsepower with 380 MMcf/d of rich gas processing capacity and two lean gas facilities consisting of 75,000 horsepower with 400 MMcf/d of lean gas treating capacity. Other assets include an NGL truck loading terminal with six lease automatic custody transfer (\"LACT\") units and eight NGL bullet tanks with 90,000 gallon capacity per tank. Construction on the assets began in the fourth quarter of 2016, and operations commenced in the second quarter of 2017. Altus Midstream may acquire an additional 1 percent equity interest, provided that the Permian Highway Option has been exercised (as defined below) and certain other conditions are satisfied. GCX is a long-haul natural gas pipeline that, upon completion, is expected to have capacity of approximately 2.0 Bcf/d and will transport natural gas from the Waha area in northern Pecos County, Texas, to the Agua Dulce Hub near the Texas Gulf Coast. In February 2019, Altus Midstream announced the exercise of the option with EPIC Pipeline LP (the \"EPIC Option\") to acquire a 15 percent equity interest in the EPIC crude oil pipeline (the \"EPIC Pipeline\"). The transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2019. Upon completion, the long-haul crude oil pipeline will extend from the Orla area in northern Reeves County, Texas to the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, and is expected to have Permian Basin initial throughput capacity of approximately 590 MBbl/d. The project includes terminals in Orla, Pecos, Saragosa, Crane, Wink, Midland, Hobson and Gardendale, with Port of Corpus Christi connectivity and export access. These options facilitate our participation in the following third-party pipeline projects: \u2022Salt Creek NGL Pipeline; \u2022 We have an option to acquire a 50 percent equity interest in the Salt Creek NGL Pipeline - an intra-basin NGL pipeline. Upon completion, the pipeline is expected to be capable of transporting approximately 445 MBbl/d from our Diamond cryogenic processing complex in southwest Reeves County, Texas, and Salt Creek Midstream's gas processing complex located in central Reeves County, Texas. The pipeline will transport NGLs to the Waha area in northern Pecos County, Texas, and will be operated by ARM Midstream Management LLC. It is expected to be operational and in service in the first quarter of 2019 and we expect 2 to exercise this option in the fourth quarter of 2019 or the first quarter of 2020. We have an option to acquire up to a 33 percent equity interest in the Shin Oak Pipeline, a long-haul NGL pipeline that, upon completion, is expected to be capable of transporting approximately 550 MBbl/d from the Orla area in northern Reeves County, Texas, through the Waha area in northern Pecos County, Texas, and on to Mont Belvieu, Texas.", - "id": "d3b2780c-9bc9-4bb3-a2a3-9f4b65470418" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill establishes a national health insurance program, which primarily impacts healthcare services and coverage. Groupon, Inc. operates in the local commerce sector, focusing on connecting consumers with merchants through discount offerings and services. The legal consequences of this bill do not directly affect Groupon's core business model or operations, as it does not relate to healthcare services.", - "index": "97", - "bill_title": "To establish an improved Medicare for All national health insurance program.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare for All Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a national health insurance program that is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).\n\nAmong other requirements, the program must (1) cover all U.S. residents; (2) provide for automatic enrollment of individuals upon birth or residency in the United States; and (3) cover items and services that are medically necessary or appropriate to maintain health or to diagnose, treat, or rehabilitate a health condition, including hospital services, prescription drugs, mental health and substance abuse treatment, dental and vision services, and long-term care.\n\nThe bill prohibits cost-sharing (e.g., deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments) and\u00a0other charges for covered services. Additionally, private health insurers and employers may only offer coverage that is supplemental to, and not duplicative of, benefits provided under the program.\n\nHealth insurance exchanges and specified federal health programs terminate upon program implementation. However, the program does not affect coverage provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Indian Health Service.\n\nThe bill also establishes a series of implementing provisions relating to (1) health care provider participation; (2) HHS administration; and (3) payments and costs, including the requirement that HHS negotiate prices for prescription drugs.\n\nIndividuals who are age 18 or younger, age 55 or older, or already enrolled in Medicare may enroll in the program starting one year after enactment of this bill; other individuals may buy into\u00a0the program at this time. The program must be fully implemented two years after enactment.", - "company_name": "Groupon, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Groupon is a global leader in local commerce, making it easy for people around the world to search and discover great businesses and merchandise. Our vision is to connect local commerce, increasing consumer buying power while driving more business to merchants through price and discovery. We want Groupon to be the destination that consumers check first when they are out and about; the place they start when they are looking to buy just about anything, anywhere, anytime. We provide consumers with savings and help them discover what to do, eat, see, buy and where to travel. By bringing the brick and mortar world of local commerce onto the Internet, Groupon is helping local merchants to attract customers and sell goods and services. Groupon operates online local commerce marketplaces throughout the world that connect merchants to consumers by offering goods and services, generally at a discount. Consumers access those marketplaces through our websites, primarily localized groupon.com sites in many countries, and our mobile applications. Our operations are organized into two segments: North America and International. W e offer goods and services through our online marketplaces in three primary categories: We earn product revenue from direct sales of merchandise inventory through our Goods category. We primarily earn service revenue from transactions in which we earn commissions by selling goods or services on behalf of third-party merchants. Those transactions generally involve a customer's purchase of a voucher through one of our online marketplaces that can be redeemed with a third-party merchant for specified goods or services (or for discounts on specified goods or services). Service revenue also includes commissions that we earn when customers make purchases with retailers using digital coupons accessed through our websites and mobile applications and from voucherless merchant offerings in which customers earn cash back on their credit card statements when they transact with third-party merchants. The substantial majority of our service revenue transactions is comprised of sales of vouchers and similar transactions in which we collect the transaction price from the customer and remit a portion of the transaction price to the third-party merchant who will provide the related goods or services. Our goal is to continue to build marketplaces that our customers rely on to discover and save on amazing things to do, eat, see, buy and where to travel. With a mobile-first strategy, we intend to improve the customer experience by continuing to invest in innovative, frictionless products and differentiated local supply coupled with strong national brands. As we build out our marketplaces, we want our customers to have a superior, frictionless experience when they use our product whether finding, booking, buying or redeeming an offer. For merchants, this includes providing capabilities to manage demand for their goods and services and improving their ability to acquire customers. For consumers, this includes easily finding offers and accessing features that augment the overall experience, as well as seamlessly purchasing and redeeming offers. We are currently investing in initiatives to improve the purchase and redemption experience, such as enhancing our mobile applications, testing offerings with voucherless redemption resulting in cash back directly to customers' credit cards, and adding direct booking capabilities. We ultimately want Groupon to become a daily habit for our customers and believe that significantly increasing the offerings available through our online local commerce marketplaces is critical to this goal. Our initiatives to grow our inventory of deal offerings include entering into commercial agreements with third parties that enable us to feature additional merchant offerings through our marketplaces, identifying new distribution channels through which to sell our marketplace offerings, and continuing to optimize the activities performed by our sales teams. Additionally, we believe that our efforts to increase our customer value may improve the health of our marketplaces, making our marketing and promotional services more effective for the merchants who feature offerings on our platform. Our initiatives to grow International gross profit include increasing our international marketing spending and leveraging enhanced marketing analytics, prioritizing more technology resources in order to expand and advance its product and service offerings, growing our inventory of deal offerings by entering into commercial agreements with third parties that enable us to feature additional merchant offerings through our marketplaces, and other initiatives. We earn revenue from transactions in which we provide marketing services primarily by selling vouchers through our online local marketplaces that can be redeemed for goods or services with third-party merchants.", - "id": "2610d185-60fe-4e1e-95a6-17ec75bccc35" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill mandates support for stem cell research, with implications for new treatment development for chronic diseases, which aligns with Adamas Pharmaceuticals' focus on neurological diseases. The advancement in stem cell research could lead to new therapies in the company's therapeutic areas, making the bill relevant.", - "index": "98", - "bill_title": "To intensify stem cell research showing evidence of substantial clinical benefit to patients, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Patients First Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support stem cell research. Specifically, the NIH must conduct and support basic and applied research to develop techniques for the isolation, derivation, production, testing, and human clinical use of stem cells that may result in improved understanding of, or treatments for, diseases and other adverse health conditions. However, such techniques must not involve (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; (2) the destruction or discarding of, or risk of injury to, a human embryo; or (3) the use of any stem cell the derivation or provision of which would be inconsistent with this bill.\n\nThe NIH must also report on peer-reviewed stem cell research proposals that were not funded.", - "company_name": "Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "At Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., we seek to redefine the treatment experience for patients suffering from chronic neurological diseases. Our vision is grand, our goal bold: to create and commercialize a new generation of medicines intended to lessen the burden of disease on patients, caregivers and society. With a new commercial medicine and robust pipeline of investigational programs focused on meaningfully differentiated treatment options for patients, we believe we are well on our way. Our therapeutic targets include a broad range of neurologic diseases, including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. Our treatment innovations stem from a deep scientific understanding of time-dependent biology \u2013 the deliberate mapping of disease patterns and drug activity \u2013 along with a goal to meaningfully increase the efficacy of known molecules without compromising tolerability. This approach is designed to ensure that our medicines fit within, rather than define, people's daily lives. Our goal is to develop medicines that are timed for the benefit of patients. Our understanding of time-dependent biological processes informs our every innovation, targeting advancement in treatment of chronic neurologic disorders. (amantadine) extended release capsules, formerly referred to as ADS-5102, for the treatment of dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease receiving levodopa-based therapy, with or without concomitant dopaminergic medications. GOCOVRI was approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on August 24, 2017, with seven years of orphan exclusivity and additional patent protections, and we fully launched GOCOVRI with a deployed sales force in January 2018. Potential Additional Indications for GOCOVRI (amantadine) ADS-5102 in development for the treatment of walking impairment in patients with multiple sclerosis. We expect the start of our Phase 3 pivotal study in this supplemental indication to occur early in the second quarter of 2018. ADS-5102 in research and potential development for additional indications, including the treatment of wearing OFF and delaying motor complications in Parkinson's disease, tardive dyskinesia, Huntington's chorea, Tourette syndrome, and non-motor disorders, including depression, and anti-psychotic induced weight gain. We expect to select additional indications for ADS-5102 by first quarter 2019. ADS-4101 (lacosamide) modified release capsules in development for the treatment of partial onset seizures in patients with epilepsy. We have requested a meeting with the FDA in the first half of 2018, with the start of a Phase 3 pivotal study planned for 2019, depending on FDA feedback. Additional product candidates in research based on potential new discoveries in Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, as well as new research programs in psychiatry. (memantine hydrochloride extended release and donepezil hydrochloride) capsules for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of an Alzheimer's type, marketed in the United States by Allergan plc under an exclusive license agreement between us and Forest Laboratories Holdings Limited (\"Forest\"), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Allergan plc. (memantine hydrochloride) extended release capsules for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of an Alzheimer's type, marketed in the United States by Allergan plc under the Forest license agreement. 3 Products in our wholly-owned portfolio, potential additional indications for these products, and our product candidates, are protected by an array of intellectual property, including robust and diversified patent claims, and regulatory exclusivities. For example, GOCOVRI is protected by seven-year orphan drug exclusivity, three-year new product exclusivity, and issued patents and pending patent applications out to at least 2035. We also received $160.0 million in upfront and milestone payments and $4.1 million in development funding from our partnership with Allergan plc. We estimate that approximately 36 million people in the United States suffer from chronic central nervous system, or CNS, disorders such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, psychosis, depression, and Alzheimer' CNS diseases are frequently treated with multiple medications having different mechanisms of action with the goal of maximizing symptomatic benefits for patients.", - "id": "1affd517-44db-49dc-a18b-847bfb0e55e3" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to establish a National Full Employment Trust Fund to create job opportunities, which aligns with corporate social responsibility initiatives that many companies, including Est\u00e9e Lauder, may support. The potential funding for job training programs and employment for disadvantaged youth could create a more skilled workforce, benefitting industries like beauty and cosmetics. Additionally, potential projects could enhance the communities where Est\u00e9e Lauder operates, thereby positively influencing their brand image and market presence.", - "index": "99", - "bill_title": "To establish a National Full Employment Trust Fund to create employment opportunities for the unemployed, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Humphrey-Hawkins 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act of 2019 or the Jobs for All Act\n\nThis bill creates the National Full Employment Trust Fund to fund employment opportunity grants for the purpose of achieving full employment. The grant program is to be administered by the Department of Labor and funded by a tax on securities transactions and loans from the Federal Reserve System. Labor shall make grants to public and nonprofit entities to create employment opportunities and free-standing job-training programs. Grant funds may be used for, among other things, (1) affordable housing, (2) employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth, (3) repair of schools and parks, (4) expansion of emergency food programs, and (5) the expansion of work-study opportunities for secondary and post-secondary students.", - "company_name": "The Est\u00e9e Lauder Companies, Inc.", - "company_description": "The Est\u00e9e Lauder Companies Inc., founded in 1946 by Est\u00e9e and Joseph Lauder, is one of the world\u0092s leading manufacturers and marketers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. Our products are sold in over 150 countries and territories under a number of well-known brand names including: Est\u00e9e Lauder, Clinique, Origins, We are also the global licensee for fragrances and/or cosmetics sold under various designer brand names. Each brand is distinctly positioned within the market for cosmetics and other beauty products. We believe we are a leader in the beauty industry due to the global recognition of our brand names, our leadership in product innovation, our strong position in key geographic markets and the consistently high quality of our products and \u0093High-Touch\u0094 services. We sell our prestige products principally through limited distribution channels to complement the images associated with our brands. These channels consist primarily of department stores, specialty multi-brand retailers, upscale perfumeries and pharmacies and prestige salons and spas. In addition, our products are sold in our own and authorized freestanding stores, our own and authorized retailer websites, stores in airports and on cruise ships, in-flight, and duty-free shops. We believe that our strategy of pursuing selective distribution strengthens our relationships with retailers and consumers, enables our brands to be among the best selling product lines at the stores and online, and heightens the aspirational quality of our brands. Our broad range of skin care products addresses various skin care needs. These products include moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care, facial masks, cleansing devices and sun care products. Our full array of makeup products includes lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, nail polishes and powders. Many of the products are offered in an extensive palette of shades and colors. We also sell related items such as compacts, brushes and other makeup tools. We offer a variety of fragrance products. The fragrances are sold in various forms, including eau de parfum sprays and colognes, as well as lotions, powders, creams, candles and soaps that are infused with a particular fragrance. Our hair care products include shampoos, conditioners, styling products, treatment, finishing sprays and hair color products. Given the personal nature of our products and the wide array of consumer preferences and tastes, as well as competition for the attention of consumers, our strategy has been to market and promote our products through distinctive brands seeking to address broad preferences and tastes. Each brand has a single global image that is promoted with consistent logos, packaging and advertising designed to enhance its image and differentiate it from other brands in the market. Beauty brands are differentiated by numerous factors, including quality, performance, a particular lifestyle, where they are distributed (e.g., prestige, mass) and price point. Below is a chart showing most of the brands that we sell and how we view them based on lifestyle and price point: 4 Est\u00e9e Lauder brand products, which have been sold since 1946, have a reputation for innovation, sophistication and superior quality. Est\u00e9e Lauder is one of the world\u0092s most renowned beauty brands, producing iconic skin care, makeup and fragrances. We pioneered the marketing of prestige men\u0092s fragrance, grooming and skin care products with the introduction of Aramis products in 1964. Introduced in 1968, Clinique skin care and makeup products are all allergy tested and 100% fragrance free and have been designed to address individual skin types and needs.", - "id": "26e83756-4d61-4a9a-8a7f-61df6d06a1fb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill addresses drug pricing transparency and requires manufacturers to report on various financial aspects including discounts, pricing increases, and product samples. As Allogene Therapeutics is a clinical-stage company developing CAR T cell therapies, it will likely need to comply with these transparency requirements. Such reporting can signal cost structures and pricing strategies to health care providers and payers, directly impacting Allogene's market positioning and pricing strategy.", - "index": "100", - "bill_title": "To amend titles XI and XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for drug manufacturer price transparency, to require certain manufacturers to report on product samples provided to certain health care providers, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Prescription Drug Sunshine, Transparency, Accountability and Reporting Act or the Prescription Drug STAR Act This bill establishes requirements for prescription drug manufacturers to provide certain information about pricing, discounts, and product samples of applicable drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to annually determine whether there are price increases of a certain threshold for outpatient prescription drugs covered under Medicare, excluding low-cost drugs. Manufacturers must provide HHS with an explanation for drug prices that (1) cumulatively increase by at least 10% or $10,000 over one year; (2) cumulatively increase by at least 25% or $25,000 over three years; or (3) are at least $26,000 annually, per individual, if first covered by Medicare during the applicable year. The manufacturer must explain the role of the factors contributing to such prices and other relevant information, including manufacturing costs, marketing costs, and revenue.\n\nAdditionally, drug manufacturers must provide HHS with aggregate data related to product samples of drugs, devices, biologic products, and medical supplies given to hospitals, physicians, or other medical professionals during the previous calendar year, beginning in 2023. The bill further requires HHS to make publicly available the information related to drug discounts, rebates, and price concessions that is provided annually to HHS by group health plans. Drug manufacturers also must report to HHS certain sales information for drugs available under Medicare for which the manufacturer does not have a rebate agreement in place. The bill requires HHS to study and report on trends concerning inpatient hospital drug costs.", - "company_name": "Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a clinical stage immuno-oncology company pioneering the development and commercialization of genetically engineered allogeneic T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. We are developing a pipeline of off-the-shelf T cell product candidates that are designed to target and kill cancer cells. Our engineered T cells are allogeneic, meaning they are derived from healthy donors for intended use in any patient, rather than from an individual patient for that patient's use, as in the case of autologous T cells. In collaboration with Servier, we are developing UCART19 and ALLO-501, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell product candidates targeting CD19. Servier is sponsoring two Phase 1 clinical trials of UCART19 in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), one for adult patients (the CALM trial) and one for pediatric patients (the PALL trial). In January 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared our investigational new drug application (IND) for ALLO-501, and we plan to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial (the ALPHA trial) in the first half of 2019 for the treatment of R/R non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). In addition, we have a deep pipeline of allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates targeting multiple promising antigens in a host of hematological malignancies and solid tumors. For example, we plan to submit an IND and initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial in 2019 for ALLO-715, an allogeneic CAR T cell product candidate targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) for the treatment of R/R multiple myeloma. We believe our management team's experience in immuno-oncology and specifically in CAR T cell therapy will help drive the rapid development and, if approved, the commercialization of these potentially curative therapies for patients with aggressive cancer. CAR T cell therapy, a form of cancer immunotherapy, has recently emerged as a revolutionary and potentially curative therapy for patients with hematologic cancers, including refractory cancers. In 2017, two autologous anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapies, Kymriah, developed by Novartis International AG (Novartis), and Yescarta, developed by Kite Pharma, Inc. (Kite), were approved by the FDA for the treatment of R/R B-cell precursor ALL (Kymriah) and R/R large B-cell lymphoma (Yescarta). Autologous CAR T cell therapies are manufactured individually for the patient's use by modifying the patient's own T cells outside the body, causing the T cells to express CARs. The entire manufacturing process is dependent on the viability of each patient's T cells and takes approximately two to four weeks. As seen in the registrational trials for Kymriah and Yescarta, up to 31% of intended patients ultimately did not receive treatment primarily due to interval complications from the underlying disease during manufacturing or manufacturing failures. Our allogeneic approach involves engineering healthy donor T cells, which we believe will allow for the creation of an inventory of off-the-shelf products that can be delivered to a larger portion of eligible patients throughout the world. Our allogeneic T cell development strategy has four key pillars: (1) developing product candidates to minimize the risk of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a condition where allogeneic T cells can recognize the patient's normal tissue as foreign and cause damage, (2) creating a window of persistence that may enable allogeneic T cells to expand in patients, (3) building a leading manufacturing platform and (4) leveraging next generation technologies to improve the functionality of allogeneic CAR T cells. We use Cellectis, S.A. (Cellectis), TALEN gene-editing technology with the goal of limiting the risk of GvHD by engineering T cells to lack functional T cell receptors (TCRs) that are no longer capable of recognizing a patient's normal tissue as foreign. With the goal of enhancing the expansion and persistence of our engineered allogeneic T cells, we use TALEN to inactivate the CD52 gene in donor T cells and an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody to deplete CD52 expressing T cells in patients while sparing the therapeutic allogeneic T cells. We believe this enables a window of persistence for the infused allogeneic T cells to actively target and destroy cancer cells. Our off-the-shelf approach is dependent on state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, and we are building a technical operations organization with fully integrated in-house expertise in clinical and commercial engineered T cell manufacturing. In February 2019, we entered into a lease to build our own cell therapy manufacturing facility in Newark, California. Finally, we plan to leverage next generation technologies to improve the functionality of our product candidates and to develop more potent product candidates. We believe next generation technologies will also allow us to develop allogeneic T cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumors, which to date have been difficult to treat because of the lack of validated targets and tumor microenvironments that can impair the activity of T cells. We are currently developing a pipeline of multiple allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates utilizing protein engineering, gene editing, gene insertion and advanced proprietary T cell manufacturing technologies.", - "id": "c0d77bec-4f59-49bd-bdfa-aa2c70671fbd" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Carried Interest Fairness Act of 2019 primarily affects private equity and hedge fund compensation structures, particularly the taxation of carried interest as ordinary income. Public Storage operates in the self-storage industry, focusing on real estate investment and rental income, which is largely unrelated to the financial services sector impacted by this bill. Therefore, the bill does not have relevant legal consequences for Public Storage's business model or activities.", - "index": "101", - "bill_title": "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the proper tax treatment of personal service income earned in pass-thru entities.", - "bill_summary": "Carried Interest Fairness Act of 2019\n\nThis bill modifies the tax treatment of carried interest, which is compensation that is typically received by a partner of a private equity or hedge fund and is based on a share of the fund's profits. (Under current law, carried interest is taxed as investment income rather than at ordinary income tax rates.)\n\nThis bill includes provisions that\n\n set forth a special rule for the inclusion in gross income of partnership interests transferred in connection with the performance of services, treat as ordinary income the net capital gain with respect to an investment services partnership interest except to the extent such gain is attributable to a partner's qualified capital interest, exempt income from investment services partnership interests from treatment as qualifying income of a publicly traded partnership, exempt certain family partnerships from the application of this bill, increase the penalty for underpayments of tax resulting from failure to treat income from an investment services partnership interest as ordinary income, and include income and loss from an investment services partnership interest for purposes of determining net earnings from self-employment and applicable self-employment taxes. The bill defines \"investment services partnership interest\" as any interest in a partnership held by a person who provides services to a partnership by (1) advising the partnership about investing in, purchasing, or selling specified assets; (2) managing, acquiring, or disposing of specified assets; or (3) arranging financing with respect to acquiring specified assets.", - "company_name": "Public Storage", - "company_description": "We acquire, develop, own and operate self-storage facilities , which offer storage spaces for lease on a month-to-month basis, for personal and business use. We are the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in the U.S. We have direct and indirect equity interests in 2,429 self-storage facilities that we consolidate (an aggregate of 162 million net rentable square feet of space) located in 38 states within the U.S. operating under the \"Public Storage\" brand name. Ancillary Operations : We reinsure policies against losses to goods stored by customers in our self-storage facilities and sell merchandise, primarily locks and cardboard boxes, at our self-storage facilities. Inc. (\"PSB\"), a publicly held REIT that owns, operates, acquires and develops commercial properties, primarily multi-tenant flex, office, and industrial parks. At December 31, 201 8 , PSB owns and operates 28. 2 million rentable square feet of commercial space. : We have a 35 % equity inter est in Shurgard Self Storage SA (\"Shurgard Europe\"), a publicly held company trading under Euronext Brussels under the \"SHUR\" symbol , which owns 232 self-storage facilities (13 million net rentable square feet) located in seven countries in Western Europe operated under the \"Shurgard\" brand name. We believe Shurgard Europe is the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in Western Europe. We also manage 33 self-storage facilities for third parties . We are seeking to expand our third-party management operations to further increase our economies of scale and leverage our brand; however, there is no 5 assurance that we will be able to do so. We also own 0.8 million net rentable square feet of commercial space which is managed primarily by PSB . For all periods presented herein, we have elected to be treated as a REIT, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the \"Code\") . and we expect to continue to elect and qualify as a REIT. We believe that our customers genera lly store their goods within a three to f ive mile radius of their home or business . Our facilities compete with nearby self-storage facilities owned by other operators using marketing channels similar to ours , including Internet advertising, signage, and banners and offer services similar to ours . A s a result, competition is significant and affects the occupancy levels, rental rates, rental income and operating expenses of our facilities. In the last three years, there has been a marked increase in development of new self-storage facilities in many of the markets we operate in, due to the favorable economics of development which we have also taken advantage of. These newly developed facilities compete with many of the facilities we own, negatively impacting our occupancies, rental rates, and rental growth. This increase in supply has been most notable in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, New York, and Portland. Ownership and operation of self-storage facilities is highly fragmented. As the largest owner of self-storage facilities, we believe that we own approximately 7 % of the self-storage square footage in the U.S. and that collectively the five largest self-storage owners in the U.S. own approximately 15 %, with the remaining 8 5 % owned by numerous regional and local operators. We believe that we have significant market share and concentration in major metropolitan centers, with approximately 71 % of our 201 8 same-store revenues generated in the 20 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (each, an \"MSA\", as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau) with the highest population levels. Industry fragmentation also provides opportunities for us to acquire additional facilities; however, we compete with a wide variety of institutions and other investors who also view self-storage facilities as attractive investments. The amount of capital available for real estate investments greatly influences the competition for ownership interests in facilities and, by extension, the yields that we can achieve on newly acquired investments. a s well as analyze customer data and quickly change each of our individual properties", - "id": "65fe41a5-13ba-478c-aba1-f964da94331b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to ensure internet openness by prohibiting actions like blocking lawful content and throttling, which directly affects broadband internet providers. ADTRAN, as a provider of networking and communications equipment, supports broadband services and infrastructure. The legal requirements for transparency and fair access outlined in the bill are highly relevant to ADTRAN's business model, as they focus on enabling communications service providers (CSPs) to deliver compliant services.", - "index": "102", - "bill_title": "To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to ensure internet openness, to prohibit blocking lawful content and non-harmful devices, to prohibit throttling data, to prohibit paid prioritization, to require transparency of network management practices, to provide that broadband shall be considered to be an information service, and to prohibit the Commission or a State commission from relying on section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 as a grant of authority.", - "bill_summary": "This bill prohibits a provider of broadband internet access service from taking certain actions to restrict content and requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to enforce such obligations.\n\nSpecifically, the bill bars a broadband internet provider from (1) blocking lawful content, applications, or services; (2) prohibiting the use of non-harmful devices; (3) throttling lawful internet traffic; and (4) engaging in paid prioritization. Additionally, a provider is required to disclose accurate and relevant management practices, performance information, and commercial terms sufficient for consumers to make informed choices and for providers of content, applications, services, and devices to develop and market new internet offerings.\n\nAdditionally, the bill prohibits the FCC or a state commission from relying on their duty to encourage the deployment of advanced telecommunications capability as a grant of authority.", - "company_name": "ADTRAN, Inc.", - "company_description": "Inc. (ADTRAN) is a leading global provider of networking and communications equipment. Our solutions enable voice, data, video and Internet communications across a variety of network infrastructures. These solutions are deployed by many of the United States' and the world's largest communications service providers (CSPs), distributed enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses, public and private enterprises, and millions of individual users worldwide. Network Solutions Network Solutions includes software and hardware products that enable CSPs and enterprise customers to realize a fully connected world. CSPs are now being challenged to deliver Gigabit-enabled residential services, widely available high-bandwidth cloud connectivity services for enterprise customers, and scalable Ethernet and optical networking for mobile backhaul and data center connectivity. These needs are driving CSPs to transition their networks to a fiber-rich, cloud-controlled and software-defined future state for large-scale converged service delivery. We are focused on being a top global supplier of Access infrastructure and related value-added solutions from the Cloud Edge to the Subscriber Edge. We offer a broad portfolio of flexible hardware and software network solutions that enable CSPs to meet today's service demands, while enabling them to transition to the fully converged, scalable, highly automated, cloud-controlled voice, data, Internet and video network of the future. We are accelerating the industry's transition to open, programmable, scalable networks. The ADTRAN Mosaic TM Software-Defined Access (SD-Access) architecture combines modern Web-scale technologies with open-source platforms to facilitate rapid innovation in multi-technology, multi-vendor environments. The Mosaic cloud platform and Mosaic OS, combined with programmable network elements, provide operators with a highly agile, open-services architecture. This allows operators to better compete with Web-scale competition by reducing the time and cost to on-board new service, technologies and best-of-breed suppliers as they strive to reduce operational costs while creating and deploying differentiated product offerings. Our products and services provide solutions supporting fiber- and copper-based infrastructures and a growing number of wireless and coax-based solutions, lowering the overall cost to deploy advanced services across a wide range of applications. To further the goal of accelerating the industry's path to SD-Access, we launched our Mosaic Open Networking Alliance to foster the widespread development and industry adoption of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) solutions based on open standards. The Alliance includes two levels of engagement, the first of which comprises Collaboration Members committed to joint innovation, collaboration, insight and knowledge sharing. The second tier includes Integration Members, a community of partners who will integrate with or work within the Mosaic framework. This involves Technology Partners focused on delivering innovative programmable network functions and service partners delivering managed services, system integration and other network operation requirements. To complement our Network Solutions portfolio and to enable our customers to accelerate time to market, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction, we offer a complete portfolio of maintenance, turnkey network implementation, maintenance, solutions integration and managed services. ADTRAN Professional Services enables CSPs to increase their service velocity, while providing higher customer satisfaction. Our network implementation services offer a full spectrum of services related to engineering (pre-construction), installation/turn-up (construction), and provisioning (post-construction), partnering with customers to tailor a program to each specific service delivery need. We also o ffer a full spectrum of professional services under the ProServices ADTRAN ProServices is a comprehensive and flexible service program designed to offer complete networking lifecycle support. The ProServices portfolio consists of three distinct service offerings: ProStart\u00ae Our maintenance services are specifically designed to protect customers' networks from unnecessary downtime throug h services such as managed spares, and remote or on-site technical support beyond our standard warranty coverage. Our ProCare\u00ae program, which is available to all of our customers, guarantees priority access to technical support engineers.", - "id": "70f7db49-7110-4107-92da-7acb7c8598eb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving mental health care and suicide prevention services for veterans, which does not directly relate to Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.'s business model. Acorda is primarily focused on developing therapies for neurological disorders, specifically in Parkinson's disease with their product Inbrija. The legal consequences mentioned in the bill, such as funding for mental health programs and initiatives, do not impact Acorda's operations or therapeutic offerings.", - "index": "103", - "bill_title": "A bill to improve mental health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019\n\nThis bill makes updates related to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) transition assistance, mental health care, care for women veterans, and telehealth care.\n\nTITLE I--IMPROVEMENT OF TRANSITION OF INDIVIDUALS TO SERVICES FROM DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS\n\n(Sec. 101) This section requires the VA to submit a plan for the provision of VA health care to any veteran during the one-year period following the discharge or release from active military, naval, or air service.\n\n(Sec. 102) The Department of Defense (DOD) and the VA must jointly review and report on the records of each former member of the Armed Forces who died by suicide within one year of separation from the Armed Forces during the five-year period preceding the enactment of this bill.\n\n(Sec. 103) The VA must report on the Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health\u2014Veterans Enhanced Treatment (REACH VET) program to assess, among other elements, the impact of the program on rates of suicide among veterans.\n\n(Sec. 104) This section updates reporting requirements related to the mental and behavioral health care provided by the VA to former members of the Armed Forces with other than honorable discharge.\n\nTITLE II--SUICIDE PREVENTION\n\n(Sec. 201) This section establishes the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, under which the VA must award grants for a period of three years to eligible entities for the provision of suicide prevention services to veterans and their families. A nongovernmental entity must conduct a study on the provision of such grants to evaluate the effectiveness.\n\nIn certain circumstances, entities receiving grants must refer eligible individuals for additional care at the VA. If it is clinically appropriate, the VA must provide an individual receiving suicide prevention services through a grant with a mental health care assessment or services. If an individual refuses such care, ongoing clinical services provided by a grantee must be at the expense of the grantee.\n\n(Sec. 202) The VA must complete a study and report on the feasibility and advisability of providing complementary and integrative health treatments, such as acupuncture, at all VA medical facilities.\n\n(Sec. 203) After the Creating Options for Veterans' Expedited Recovery Commission submits its final report, the VA must conduct a three-year pilot program to provide complementary and integrative health services (e.g., animal therapy) to certain veterans from the VA or non-VA entities for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, or anxiety. The VA is authorized to extend the duration based on the results of the implementation.\n\n(Sec. 204) The VA must seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study the effects of opioids and benzodiazepine on all-cause mortality of veterans, including suicide, regardless of whether information relating to such deaths has been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nThe Government Accountability Office (GAO) must conduct a review of the staffing levels for mental health professionals of the VA.\n\n(Sec. 205) This section requires the GAO to report on the VA's efforts to manage veterans at high risk for suicide.\n\nTITLE III--PROGRAMS, STUDIES, AND GUIDELINES ON MENTAL HEALTH\n\n(Sec. 301) This section requires the VA to conduct a study on the connection between living at high altitude and the risk of developing depression or dying by suicide among veterans. Depending on the results, a follow-up study may be required to identify biological causes and effective treatments.\n\n(Sec. 302) The VA must develop a clinical provider treatment toolkit and training materials for the evidence-based management of comorbid mental health conditions, comorbid mental health and substance use disorders, and a comorbid mental health condition and chronic pain.\n\n(Sec. 303) The VA and DOD (through the Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide Work Group) must issue an update to the VA/DOD Clinical Practice Guideline for Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide that (1) considers gender-specific factors; and (2) includes guidance with respect to the efficacy of certain alternative therapies, such as meditation and animal therapy.\n\n(Sec. 304) This section requires the VA to complete the development of a clinical practice guideline or guidelines for the treatment of serious mental illness. Under this section, such guidelines must address the treatment of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and persistent mood disorder (including bipolar disorder I and II).\n\nThe VA must establish the Serious Mental Illness Work Group with DOD and the Department of Health and Human Services to develop such clinical practice guideline or guidelines.\n\nAdditionally, the VA must complete an assessment of the 2016 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Major Depressive Disorders to determine if an update is necessary.\n\n(Sec. 305) The VA must implement the Precision Medicine for Veterans Initiative to identify and validate brain and mental health biomarkers among veterans, with specific consideration for depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and traumatic brain injury. The VA must develop data privacy and security measures to ensure the information of veterans participating in the initiative is kept private and secure. The VA must also coordinate efforts of the initiative with the Million Veterans Program.\n\n(Sec. 306) This section authorizes the VA to contract with academic institutions or other qualified entities to carry out any statistical analyses and data evaluation as required by law.\n\nTITLE IV--OVERSIGHT OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE AND RELATED SERVICES\n\n(Sec. 401) The VA must enter into an agreement with a nonfederal government entity that has expertise in conducting and evaluating research-based studies to conduct a study on the effectiveness of the VA's suicide prevention and mental health outreach materials and campaigns.\n\n(Sec. 402) The VA must establish measurable goals to evaluate the effectiveness of the VA's mental health and suicide prevention media outreach campaigns.\n\n(Sec. 403) This section requires the GAO to conduct a management review of the mental health and suicide prevention services provided by the VA.\n\n(Sec. 404) The GAO must report on the VA's efforts to integrate (1) mental health care into VA primary care clinics, and (2) community-based mental health care (care provided by a non-VA provider but paid for by the VA) into the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).\n\n(Sec. 405) The VA and DOD must report on their mental health programs, including joint programs of the departments. The VA must establish a joint VA/DOD Intrepid Spirit Center to serve active duty members of the Armed Forces, members of the reserve components, and veterans for mutual benefit and growth in treatment and care for PTSD and traumatic brain injury.\n\nTITLE V--IMPROVEMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH MEDICAL WORKFORCE\n\n(Sec. 501) The VA must submit a plan to address the staffing of mental health providers at its facilities. Additionally, the VA must develop an occupational series for its licensed professional mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists.\n\n(Sec. 502) This section requires the VA to carry out the Department of Veterans Affairs Readjustment Counseling Service Scholarship Program under the Educational Assistance Program.\n\n(Sec. 503) The GAO must report on the VA's Readjustment Counseling Service. Such report must include, among other elements, an assessment of barriers to care at Vet Centers.\n\n(Sec. 504) This section expands the annual reporting requirement on the activities of the Readjustment Counseling Service to include additional elements.\n\n(Sec. 505) The VA must conduct a survey on the attitudes of veterans toward the VA offering appointments outside the usual operating hours of VA facilities, including via telehealth appointments. The VA must also study the feasibility and advisability of offering appointments outside the usual operating hours\n\n(Sec. 506) The VA must ensure each of its medical centers is staffed with at least one suicide prevention coordinator. In addition, the VA must conduct a study to determine the feasibility and advisability of the realignment and reorganization of suicide prevention coordinators within the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and the creation of a suicide prevention coordinator program office.\n\n(Sec. 507) This section requires the VA to report on its efforts to implement a suicide prevention program for veterans presenting to an emergency department or urgent care center of the VHA who are assessed to be at risk for suicide and are safe to be discharged home.\n\nTITLE VI--IMPROVEMENT OF CARE AND SERVICES FOR WOMEN VETERANS\n\n(Sec. 601) This section requires the VA to expand the capabilities of the Women Veterans Call Center by including a text messaging capability.\n\n(Sec. 602) The VA must publish a website providing information for women veterans about the benefits and services available to them.\n\nTITLE VII--OTHER MATTERS\n\n(Sec. 701) This section requires the VA to award grants to entities for the expansion of telehealth capabilities and provision of telehealth services to veterans. An entity seeking to establish a telehealth access point for veterans without grant funding is authorized to enter into an agreement with the VA to establish such access point.\n\nThe VA must assess and report on the barriers veterans face in accessing telehealth services.\n\n(Sec. 702) This section authorizes the VA to enter partnerships with nonfederal government entities to provide hyperbaric oxygen treatment to veterans to research the effectiveness of such therapy in treating certain conditions (e.g., PTSD).\n\nThe VA must conduct a systematic review of published research literature on off-label use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat PTSD and traumatic brain injury among veterans and nonveterans. Additionally, the VA must conduct a study on all individuals receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy through the VA's current pilot program to determine the efficacy and effectiveness for treating PTSD and traumatic brain injury.\n\n(Sec. 703) The VA must prescribe specified technical qualifications for appointment as a licensed hearing aid specialist in the VHA. Under this section, at least one licensed hearing aid specialist must be appointed at each VA medical center.\n\n(Sec. 704) This section requires the VA to complete policy revisions within the internal directive titled Requirements for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research to allow sponsored clinical research of the VA to use accredited commercial institutional review boards to review VA research proposal protocols.\n\nThe VA must (1) identify accredited commercial institutional review boards for use in connection with sponsored clinical research of the VA, and (2) establish a process to modify existing approvals if a board loses its accreditation during an ongoing clinical trial.\n\n(Sec. 705) This section also requires the VA to establish an Office of Research Reviews within the VA's Office of Information and Technology to perform centralized security reviews and complete security processes for approved research sponsored outside the VA, among other purposes.", - "company_name": "Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies that restore function and improve the lives of people with neurological disorders. We are preparing for our launch of commercial sales of Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder), which is approved for intermittent treatment of OFF episodes, also known as OFF periods, in people with Parkinson's disease treated with carbidopa/levodopa. Inbrija is an on-demand treatment that utilizes our innovative ARCUS pulmonary delivery system, a technology platform designed to deliver medication through inhalation that we believe has potential to be used in the development of a variety of inhaled medicines. Our New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on December 21, 2018. The approval is for a single dose of 84 mg, with no titration required. We expect Inbrija to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2019 and to be distributed through a network of specialty pharmacies. Our preparations for the commercial sale of Inbrija continue, including sales force training and education, managed care discussions, market research and social media initiatives. We are seeking approval to market Inbrija in the European Union, and accordingly we filed a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in March 2018. After the adoption of a Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, opinion, we expect a final decision regarding the MAA from the European Commission before the end of 2019. We currently derive substantially all of our revenue from the sale of Ampyra. We have been engaged in litigation with certain generic drug manufacturers relating to our five initial Orange Book-listed Ampyra patents. In 2017, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the \"District Court\") issued a ruling that upheld our Ampyra Orange Book-listed patent that expired on July 30, 2018, but invalidated our four other Orange Book-listed patents pertaining to Ampyra that were set to expire between 2025 and 2027. Under this decision, our patent exclusivity with respect to Ampyra terminated on July 30, 2018. We appealed the District Court decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the \"Federal Circuit\"), which issued a ruling on September 10, 2018 upholding the District Court's decision (the \"Appellate Decision\"). In January 2019, the Federal Circuit denied our petition for rehearing en banc. We have experienced a significant decline in Ampyra sales due to competition from generic versions of Ampyra that are being marketed following the Appellate Decision. We expect that additional manufacturers will market generic versions of Ampyra, which may accelerate the decline in our Ampyra sales. Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder) : Launching the commercial sale of Inbrija in the U.S.; obtaining approval of our European MAA for Inbrija; and continuing with potential partnering discussions for commercialization outside of the U.S. ARCUS Platform : Advancing our efforts to develop additional therapeutics based on our proprietary ARCUS pulmonary drug delivery technology, looking at central nervous system, or CNS, as well as non-CNS opportunities, including our program to develop an ARCUS-based treatment for acute migraine. Company Highlights Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder)/Parkinson's Disease Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder) is the first and only inhaled levodopa, or L-dopa, for intermittent treatment of OFF episodes, also known as OFF periods, in people with Parkinson's disease treated with carbidopa/levodopa regimen. Our New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on December 21, 2018. The approval is for a single dose of 84 mg, with no titration required. We expect Inbrija to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2019 and to be distributed through a network of specialty pharmacies. We are seeking approval to market Inbrija in the European Union, and accordingly we filed a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in March 2018. After the adoption of a Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, opinion, we expect a final decision regarding the MAA from the European Commission before the end of 2019.", - "id": "ae5c792e-d84d-4eee-8dd3-7a8d160ba13f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on election security, voter registration, campaign spending, and ethics, which primarily relate to government processes and regulations. Qorvo, Inc., operates in the semiconductor and RF solutions industry, focusing on mobile devices and infrastructure. There are no direct legal consequences or changes pertaining to Qorvo's business operations or activities related to their technology and market sectors.", - "index": "104", - "bill_title": "To ensure election security, enhance Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics through transparency, establish accountability and integrity measures for Congress, and strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Nonpartisan Bill For the People Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses voter registration, congressional redistricting, election security, political spending, and ethics for the three branches of government.\n\nThe bill provides for the automatic registration of eligible voters.\n\nVoters must present identification to vote.\n\nThe bill requires states to hold open primaries.\n\n\n\nThe bill provides for states to establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions.\n\nThe bill also sets forth provisions related to election security, including sharing intelligence information with state election officials, protecting the security of the voter rolls, supporting states in securing their election systems, developing a national strategy to protect the security and integrity of U.S. democratic institutions, establishing in the legislative branch the National Commission to Protect United States Democratic Institutions, and other provisions to improve the cybersecurity of election systems.\n\nThis bill addresses campaign spending, including by expanding the ban on foreign nationals contributing to or spending on elections; expanding disclosure rules pertaining to organizations spending money during elections, campaign advertisements, and online platforms; and revising disclaimer requirements for political advertising.\n\n\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions related to ethics in all three branches of government. Specifically, the bill requires a code of ethics for federal judges and justices, prohibits Members of the House from serving on the board of a for-profit entity, expands enforcement of regulations governing foreign agents, and establishes additional conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions for federal employees and the White House.\n\nThe bill also requires candidates for President, Vice President, and Congress to submit 10 years of tax returns.", - "company_name": "Qorvo, Inc.", - "company_description": "(\"TriQuint\") entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization as subsequently amended on July 15, 2014 (the \"Merger Agreement\"), providing for the combination of RFMD and TriQuint in a merger of equals (the \"Business Combination\") under a new holding company named Company Overview Qorvo\u00ae is a product and technology leader at the forefront of the growing global demand for always-on broadband connectivity. We combine a broad portfolio of radio frequency (\"RF\") solutions, highly differentiated semiconductor technologies, deep systems-level expertise and scale manufacturing to supply a diverse group of customers in expanding markets, including smartphones and other mobile devices, defense and aerospace, Wi-Fi customer premises equipment (\"CPE\"), cellular base stations, optical networks, automotive connectivity and smart home applications. Within these markets, our products enable a broad range of leading-edge applications \u2013 from very-high-power wired and wireless infrastructure solutions to ultra-low-power smart home solutions. Our products and technologies help transform how people around the world access their data, transact commerce and interact with their communities. We have world-class manufacturing facilities, and our fabrication facility in Richardson, Texas, is a United States Department of Defense (\"DoD\") (Category 1A) for gallium arsenide (\"GaAs\"), gallium nitride (\"GaN\") and bulk acoustic wave Our design and manufacturing expertise covers many semiconductor process technologies, which we source both internally and through external suppliers. Our primary wafer fabrication facilities are in Florida, North Carolina, Oregon and Texas, and our primary assembly and test facilities are in China, Costa Rica, Germany and Texas. We also operate design, sales and other manufacturing facilities throughout Asia, Europe and North America. We design, develop, manufacture and market our products to leading U.S. and international original equipment manufacturers (\"OEMs\") and original design manufacturers (\"ODMs\") in the following operating segments: \u2022 Mobile Products (MP) - MP is a leading global supplier of cellular RF and Wi-Fi solutions into a variety of mobile devices, including smartphones, notebook computers, wearables, tablets, and cellular-based applications for the Internet of Things (\"IoT\"). Mobile device manufacturers and mobile network operators are adopting new technologies to address the growing demand for data-intensive, increasingly cloud-based distributed applications and for mobile devices with smaller form factors, improved signal quality, less heat and longer talk and standby times. New wireless communications standards are being deployed to utilize available spectrum more efficiently. Carrier aggregation (\"CA\") is being implemented to support wider bandwidths, increase data rates and improve network performance. MP offers a comprehensive product portfolio of BAW and surface acoustic wave (\"SAW\") filters, power amplifiers (\"PAs\"), low noise amplifiers (\"LNAs\"), switches, multimode multi-band PAs and transmit modules, RF power management integrated circuits (\"ICs\"), diversity receive modules, antenna switch modules, antenna tuning and control solutions, modules incorporating PAs and duplexers (\"PADs\") and modules incorporating switches, PAs and duplexers (\"S-PADs\"). Infrastructure and Defense Products (IDP) - IDP is a leading global supplier of RF solutions with a diverse portfolio of solutions that \"connect and protect,\" spanning communications and defense applications. These applications include high performance defense systems such as radar, electronic warfare and communication systems, Wi-Fi CPE for home and work, high speed connectivity in Long-Term Evolution (\"LTE\") and 5G base stations, cloud connectivity via data center communications and telecom transport, automotive connectivity and other IoT, including smart home solutions. IDP products include GaAs and GaN PAs, LNAs, switches, complementary metal oxide semiconductor (\"CMOS\") system-on-a-chip (\"SoC\") solutions, premium BAW and SAW filter solutions and various multi-chip and hybrid assemblies. Our business is diversified primarily across seven strategic end markets: mobile devices, defense and aerospace, CPE Wi-Fi, cellular base stations, optical, automotive connectivity and smart home. In our largest market, mobile devices, the most significant trend today is the increasing demand for ubiquitous broadband mobile data. This is driven primarily by video, with data traffic for video exceeding data traffic for web browsing and voice. Compounding this, consumers want higher resolution screens and access to streaming media, real-time traffic/navigation, GPS, Bluetooth\u00ae connectivity and Wi-Fi. In response, leading smartphone providers are adding 4G LTE and 5G bands of coverage to their flagship devices to reduce development costs and enable larger, more concentrated marketing budgets in support of fewer models.", - "id": "da4ef1a5-6f2a-4902-bb39-61163b31e825" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing business incubators and providing grants for Native American entrepreneurs, which does not directly intersect with the operations of Public Storage, a self-storage company. The legal consequences of the bill are primarily aimed at promoting economic development within Native American communities, whereas Public Storage\u2019s business model revolves around owning and operating self-storage facilities, which is unrelated to the provisions of this bill.", - "index": "105", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish a business incubators program within the Department of the Interior to promote economic development in Indian reservation communities.", - "bill_summary": "Native American Business Incubators Program Act \n\nThis bill establishes a grant program to provide business incubation and other business services to Native American entrepreneurs and businesses.\n\n(Sec. 4) Specifically, the bill requires the Department of the Interior to establish a grant program in the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development for establishing and operating business incubators that serve Native American communities. A business incubator is an organization that (1) provides physical workspace and facilities resources to start-ups and established businesses, and (2) is designed to accelerate the growth and success of businesses through a variety of business support resources and services. Grant applicants may be institutions of higher education, private nonprofits, Native American tribes, or tribal nonprofits.\n\nInterior must issue a grant for a three-year term and may renew a grant for up to three more years.\n\nGrant recipients must generally provide a nonfederal contribution of at least 25% of the annual grant disbursement each year; however, Interior may waive this requirement under certain circumstances. Further, grant recipients must provide a nonfederal contribution of at least 33% of a grant renewal. (Sec. 6) Interior must facilitate the establishment of relationships between grant recipients and educational institutions serving Native American communities.\n\n(Sec. 7) Additionally, Interior must coordinate with the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Treasury, and the Small Business Administration to ensure that grant recipients have the information and materials needed to provide Native American businesses and entrepreneurs with assistance in applying for federal business and entrepreneurial development programs.", - "company_name": "Public Storage", - "company_description": "could adversely impact our operations or our business , customer, and employee relationships or result in fraudulent payments; \uf0b7 risks associated with the self-insurance of certain business risks, including property and casualty insurance, employee health insurance and workers compensation liabilities; \uf0b7 difficulties in raising capital at a reasonable cost; \uf0b7 delays and cost overruns on our projects to develop or expand our facilities; \uf0b7 ongoing litigation and other legal and regulatory actions that may divert management's time and attention, require us to pay damages and expenses or restrict the operation of our business; and \uf0b7 economic uncertainty due to the impact of war or terrorism. We acquire, develop, own and operate self-storage facilities, which offer storage spaces for lease on a month-to-month basis, for personal and business use. We are the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in the U.S. At December 31, 2019, we have direct and indirect equity interests in 2,483 self-storage facilities that we consolidate (an aggregate of 169 million net rentable square feet of space) located in 38 states within the U.S. operating under the \"Public Storage\" brand name. (ii) Ancillary Operations : We reinsure policies against losses to goods stored by customers in our self-storage facilities and sell merchandise, primarily locks and cardboard boxes, at our self-storage facilities. Inc. (\"PSB\"), a publicly held REIT that owns, operates, acquires and develops commercial properties, primarily multi-tenant flex, office, and industrial parks. At December 31, 2019, PSB owns and operates 27.6 million rentable square feet of commercial space. We have a 35% equity interest in Shurgard Self Storage SA (\"Shurgard\"), a public company traded on Euronext Brussels under the \"SHUR\" symbol, which owns 234 self-storage facilities (13 million net rentable square feet) located in seven countries in Western Europe operated under the \"Shurgard\" brand name. We believe Shurgard is the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in Western Europe. In order to further increase our economies of scale and leverage our brand, in 2018 we began an effort to expand the number of facilities we manage, through a dedicated internal sales, administration, and implementation team. At December 31, 2019, we are under contract to manage 27 additional facilities, currently under construction, following their completion. We also own 0.9 million net rentable square feet of commercial space which is managed primarily by PSB. For all periods presented herein, we have elected to be treated as a REIT, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the \"Code\"). and we expect to continue to elect and qualify as a REIT. We believe that our customers generally store their goods within a three to five mile radius of their home or business. Our facilities compete with nearby self-storage facilities owned by other operators using marketing channels similar to ours, including Internet advertising, signage, and banners and offer services similar to ours. As a result, competition is significant and affects the occupancy levels, rental rates, rental income and operating expenses of our facilities. In the last three years, there has been a marked increase in development of new self-storage facilities in many of the markets where we operate, due to the favorable economics of developing new properties. These newly developed facilities compete with many of the facilities we own, negatively impacting our occupancies, rental rates, and rental growth. This increase in supply has been most notable in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Miami, New York, and Portland. Ownership and operation of self-storage facilities is highly fragmented. As the largest owner of self-storage facilities, we believe that we own approximately 7% of the self-storage square footage in the U.S. and that collectively the five largest self-storage owners in the U.S. own approximately 16%, with the remaining 84% owned by regional and local operators. The high level of ownership fragmentation in the industry is partially attributable to the relative simplicity of managing a local self-storage facility, such that small-scale owners can operate self-storage facilities at a basic level of profitability without significant managerial or operational infrastructure. However, we believe that the economies of scale inherent in this business result in our being able to operate self-storage facilities at a materially higher level 6 of cash flow per square foot than other operators without our scale.", - "id": "99e4e8e0-cd90-401f-8ad1-1b68f5925c61" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes programs for energy storage which aligns with Advanced Energy's focus on precision power conversion and control solutions. The company's products may play a role in energy storage systems and related technologies, making the bill relevant to their business model.", - "index": "106", - "bill_title": "A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to establish an energy storage research program, a demonstration program, and a technical assistance and grant program, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Promoting Grid Storage Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish certain programs for energy storage.\n\nDOE must establish a program for the research of energy storage systems, components, and materials.\n\nDOE must also establish a technical assistance and grant program for (1) disseminating information and providing technical assistance directly to nonprofit or for-profit entities so those entities can identify, evaluate, plan, and design energy storage systems; and (2) making grants to those entities so that they may contract to obtain technical assistance to identify, evaluate, plan, and design energy storage systems.\n\nThe bill provides for the establishment of a competitive grant program for pilot energy storage systems.", - "company_name": "Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview Advanced Energy provides highly-engineered, mission-critical, precision power conversion, measurement and control solutions to our global customers. We design, manufacture, sell and support precision power products that transform, refine, and modify the raw electrical power from the utility and convert it into various types of highly- controllable usable power that is predictable, repeatable and customizable. Our power solutions enable innovation in complex semiconductor and thin film plasma processes such as dry etch, strip, chemical and physical deposition, high and low voltage applications such as process control, analytical instrumentation and medical equipment, and in temperature-critical thermal applications such as material and chemical processing. We also supply related instrumentation products for advanced temperature measurement and control, electrostatic instrumentation products for test and measurement applications, and gas sensing and monitoring solutions for multiple industrial markets. Our network of global service support centers provides local repair and field service capability in key regions as well as provide upgrades and refurbishment services, and sales of used equipment to businesses that use our products. The high-efficiency, low voltage, configurable power supplies that Excelsys manufactures for medical and industrial applications further enhance Advanced Energy's product portfolio. In February 2018, we acquired Trek Holding Co., Ltd (\"Trek\"), a privately held company with operations in Tokyo, Japan and Lockport, New York. Trek has a 95% ownership interest in its U.S. subsidiary which is also its primary operation. Trek designs, manufactures and sells high-voltage amplifiers, power supplies and generators, high-performance electrostatic measurement instruments and electrostatic discharge (ESD) sensors and monitors to the global marketplace. standard and custom-OEM products are used in production and research in aerospace, automotive, electronics, electrostatics, medical, military, nanotechnology, photovoltaic/solar, plasma, semiconductor and test and measurement applications. Trek's comprehensive portfolio of power supply products strengthen and accelerate Advanced Energy's growth in high voltage applications. In May 2018, we acquired the electrostatic technology and product line from Monroe Electronics, Inc. located in Lyndonville, New York. The electrostatic detection and measurement instrumentation products serve specific areas of testing and monitoring of ionization systems across a variety of applications. In addition, the non-contact electrostatic voltmeters and field meters complement those of Trek. Production of these electrostatic products has been integrated into Trek's manufacturing facility in nearby Lockport, New York. (\"LumaSense\"), a privately held company with primary operations in Santa Clara, California, Frankfurt, Germany, Magdeburg, Germany and Ballerup, Denmark. LumaSense designs, manufactures and sells a line of photonic-based measurement and monitoring solutions that are synergistic with the Company's precision power control technologies in both semiconductor and industrial markets allowing customers' the ability to better control critical parameters of thermal and material processes. The acquisition of LumaSense complements our leading pyrometry solutions with additional fiber optic thermometry for an extended range of semiconductor applications in etch and deposition, provides integrated industrial temperature control and metrology applications for both thin films coating and thermal processing, and adds industrial pyrometry and gas sensing technologies. Our precision power products and solutions are designed to enable new process technologies, improve productivity, and lower the cost of ownership for our customers. These products must meet demanding requirements in efficiency, flexibility, performance, and reliability. We also provide repair and maintenance services for all of our products. We principally serve global original equipment manufacturers (\"OEM\") and end customers in the semiconductor and industrial technology markets with process power and applied power products. Our process power products are used in a diverse set of processes and applications in semiconductor device manufacturing such as dry etch, strip, chemical and physical deposition, and in thin film application of advanced materials for architectural glass, flat panel displays, crystalline silicon solar cells and industrial coatings. Our applied power products are used across a variety of industrial technology applications and include high and low voltage power supplies, power control modules, thermal instrumentation and gas detection and monitoring products. Our process power solutions include direct current (\"DC\"), pulsed DC, low frequency alternating current (\"AC\"), high voltage, and radio frequency (\"RF\") power supplies, RF matching networks, remote plasma sources for reactive gas applications and RF instrumentation.", - "id": "87881ee9-4fa4-4a15-908f-cae9a2d587c5" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on prohibiting oil and gas exploration in the Mid-Atlantic planning area, which impacts the energy sector and fossil fuel industries. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. operates in precision power conversion and control solutions for semiconductor and industrial markets, which do not rely on oil and gas exploration or production. Therefore, the consequences of this bill do not align with the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "107", - "bill_title": "To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to withdraw the outer Continental Shelf in the Mid-Atlantic planning area from disposition, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Defend our Coast Act \n\nThis bill prohibits the Department of the Interior from issuing a lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil or gas in the Mid-Atlantic planning area of the Outer Continental Shelf.", - "company_name": "Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview Advanced Energy provides highly-engineered, mission-critical, precision power conversion, measurement and control solutions to our global customers. We design, manufacture, sell and support precision power products that transform electrical power into various usable forms. Our power conversion products refine, modify and control the raw electrical power from a utility and convert it into power that is predictable, repeatable and customizable. Our products enable thin film manufacturing processes such as plasma enhanced chemical and physical deposition and etch for various semiconductor and industrial products, industrial thermal applications for material and chemical processes, and specialty power for critical industrial applications. We also supply thermal instrumentation products for advanced temperature measurement and control in these markets. Our network of global service support centers provide local repair and field service capability in key regions as well as provide upgrades and refurbishment services, and sales of used equipment to businesses that use our products. The high-efficiency, low voltage, configurable power supplies that Excelsys manufactures for medical and industrial applications will further enhance Advanced Energy's product portfolio. Our products are designed to enable new process technologies, improve productivity, and lower the cost of ownership for our customers. We also provide repair and maintenance services for all of our products. We principally serve original equipment manufacturers (\"OEM\") and end customers in the semiconductor, flat panel display, high voltage, solar panel, and other industrial capital equipment markets. Our products are used in diverse markets, applications, and processes including the manufacture of capital equipment for semiconductor device manufacturing, thin film applications for thin film renewables and architectural glass, and for other thin film applications including flat panel displays, and industrial coatings. Therefore, demand for our products and our financial results can change as demand for manufacturing equipment and repair and maintenance services change in response to consumer demand. Other factors, such as global economic and market conditions and technological advances in the applications we serve can also have an impact on our financial results, both positively and negatively. Our process power systems include direct current (\"DC\"), pulsed DC, low frequency, high voltage, and radio frequency (\"RF\") power supplies, matching networks, remote plasma sources for reactive gas applications and RF instrumentation. These power conversion systems refine, modify, and control the raw electrical power from a utility and convert it into power that may be customized and is predictable and repeatable. Our power control modules and thermal instrumentation products are used in the semiconductor industry, including adjacent thin film applications for solar PV and light emitting diode (\"LED\") industries, and heavy industries, for thermal control and temperature measurement solutions for applications in which time-temperature cycles affect material properties, productivity, and yield. These products are used in rapid thermal processing, chemical vapor deposition, crystal growing, and other semiconductor and solar applications requiring non-contact temperature measurement. They are also used in chemical processing, glass manufacturing and numerous other general industrial power applications. Our high voltage products are designed to meet the demanding requirements of OEMs worldwide. Our high voltage power solutions and custom-built power conversion products offer high frequency, high voltage topology, providing wide input and output operating ranges while retaining excellent stability and efficiencies ranging from benchtop and rackmount systems to micro-size printed circuit board mount modules. The products target applications including semiconductor wafer 3 processing and metrology, scientific instrumentation, mass spectrometry, industrial printing and analytical x-ray systems for industrial and analytical applications. Our solutions are designed to meet the demanding requirements of global OEMs in the Industrial, Medical and MIL-COTS (Commercial-off-the-shelf) verticals. Our low voltage products deliver excellence in efficiency, flexibility, performance and reliability. In the Medical industry our solutions are used in a variety of applications including: clinical diagnostic equipment, lasers, X-ray machines, CT-scanners and MRI scanners. In the Industrial vertical our products are commonly used in test and measurement, lasers, optical inspection equipment and scientific instrumentation.", - "id": "faba110d-3446-4300-b0c1-ee2fc6ebf2d1" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Mechanical Insulation Installation Incentive Act of 2019 provides tax deductions for the installation and maintenance of mechanical insulation property, which is directly relevant to AAON, Inc. as they manufacture and sell air conditioning and heating equipment. The bill\u2019s focus on tax incentives for energy-efficient mechanical systems aligns with AAON's business operations and offers potential financial benefits that could influence their product offerings and investment in energy-efficient technologies.", - "index": "108", - "bill_title": "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax incentive for the installation and maintenance of mechanical insulation property.", - "bill_summary": "Mechanical Insulation Installation Incentive Act of 2019\n\n This bill allows an additional tax deduction for a portion of the cost of installing mechanical insulation property. The bill limits the amount of such deduction to the lesser of (1) 30% of the cost, or (2) the reduction in energy loss from the installed mechanical insulation property compared to property that meets the minimum requirements of American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard 90.1-2007. The bill allows the cost of mechanical insulation property that is placed in service to replace insulation property to be treated as a deductible business expense in the current taxable year.\n\nThe bill defines \"mechanical insulation property\" as insulation materials, facings, and accessory products (1) placed in service in connection with a mechanical system which is located in the United States and of a character subject to an allowance for depreciation; and (2) utilized for thermal requirements for mechanical piping and equipment, hot and cold applications, and heating, venting and air conditioning applications which can be used in a variety of facilities.\n\nThe bill also allows a tax deduction for capital expenditures related to mechanical insulation property.", - "company_name": "AAON, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are engaged in the engineering, manufacturing, marketing and sale of air conditioning and heating equipment consisting of standard, semi-custom and custom rooftop units, chillers, packaged outdoor mechanical rooms, air handling units, makeup air units, energy recovery units, condensing units, geothermal/water-source heat pumps and coils. Our products serve the commercial and industrial new construction and replacement markets. To date, our sales have been primarily to the domestic market. Our rooftop and condensing unit markets primarily consist of units installed on commercial or industrial structures of generally less than ten stories in height. Our air handling units, self-contained units, geothermal/water-source heat pumps, chillers, packaged outdoor mechanical rooms and coils are suitable for all sizes of commercial and industrial buildings. The size of these markets is determined primarily by the number of commercial and industrial building completions. The replacement market consists of products installed to replace existing units/components that are worn or damaged. Currently, over half of the industry's market consists of replacement units. The commercial and industrial new construction market is subject to cyclical fluctuations in that it is generally tied to housing starts, but has a lag factor of six to 18 months. When new construction is down, we emphasize the replacement market. Based on our 2018 sales of $433.9 million, we estimate that we have approximately a 11% share of the greater than five ton rooftop market and a 2% share of the less than five ton market. During 2018, approximately 50% of our sales were generated from the renovation and replacement markets and 50% from new construction. The percentage of sales for new construction vs. replacement to particular customers is related to the customer's stage of development. We purchase certain components, fabricate sheet metal and tubing and then assemble and test the finished products. Our primary finished products consist of a single unit system containing heating and cooling in a self-contained cabinet, referred to in the industry as \"unitary products\". Our other finished products are chillers, packaged outdoor mechanical rooms, coils, air handling units, condensing units, makeup air units, energy recovery units, rooftop units and geothermal/ water-source heat pumps. We offer four groups of rooftop units: the RQ Series, consisting of five cooling sizes ranging from two to six tons; the RN Series, offered in 28 cooling sizes ranging from six to 140 tons; the RL Series, which is offered in 21 cooling sizes ranging from 45 to 240 tons; and the RZ Series, which is offered in 11 cooling sizes ranging from 55 to 240 tons. We also offer the SA, SB and M2 Series as indoor packaged, water-cooled or geothermal/water-source heat pump self-contained units with cooling capacities of three to 70 tons. Our small packaged geothermal/water-source heat pump units consist of the WH Series horizontal configuration and WV Series vertical configuration, both from one-half to 30 tons. We manufacture a LF Series air-cooled chiller, a LN Series air-cooled chiller, and a LZ Series chiller and packaged outdoor mechanical room, which are available in both air-cooled condensing and evaporative-condensed configurations, covering a range of four to 540 tons. BL Series boiler outdoor mechanical rooms are also available with 400-6,000 MBH heating capacity. FZ Series fluid cooler outdoor mechanical rooms are also available with a range of 50 to 450 tons. We offer four groups of condensing units: the CB Series, two to five tons; the CF Series, two to 70 tons; the CN Series, 55 to 140 tons; and the CL Series, 45 to 230 tons. Our air handling units consist of the indoor F1, H3 and V3 Series and the modular M2 and M3 Series, as well as air handling unit configurations of the RQ, RN, RL, RZ and SA Series units. Our energy recovery option applicable to our RQ, RN, RL, RZ and SB units, as well as our H3, V3, M2 and M3 Series air handling units, responds to the U.S. Clean Air Act mandate to increase fresh air in commercial structures.", - "id": "7d631f46-4222-4bc0-bcca-906b48fdc66f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Monster Beverage Corp. as it strengthens online privacy protections for children and minors, affecting how companies collect and manage personal information online, including for targeted advertising and marketing practices. Since Monster Beverage Corp. markets energy drinks, it is likely that they engage with online platforms for marketing, which could involve data collection from users. Compliance with the new privacy regulations would directly impact their business operations and marketing strategies.", - "index": "109", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 to strengthen protections relating to the online collection, use, and disclosure of personal information of children and minors, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "This bill extends to minors (ages 12\u201316) privacy protections previously applicable only to children (ages 0\u201312) and otherwise establishes greater online privacy protections for children and minors.\n\nSpecifically, the bill prohibits an operator of a website, online service, online application, or mobile application directed to a child or minor with constructive knowledge the user is a child or minor from collecting the user's personal information without\n\n providing notice and obtaining consent, providing a parent or minor with certain information upon request, conditioning participation by a user on the provision of personal information, establishing and maintaining reasonable procedures to protect the personal information collected from users. The bill also prohibits targeted marketing directed to a child or directed to a minor without the minor's consent.\n\nThe bill further outlines a set of principles governing how operators should collect and use personal information, as well as provide information to a parent or minor. A parent or minor must be able to challenge the accuracy of personal information, and an operator must provide for the erasure or correction of inaccurate personal information. Operators must also implement mechanisms for the erasure or elimination of personal information at the request of users and make users aware of such mechanisms.\n\nMoreover, the bill prohibits the sale of internet-connected devices targeted to children and minors unless they meet certain cybersecurity and data security standards, and it requires manufacturers of such devices to display a privacy dashboard detailing how personal information is collected and used.", - "company_name": "Monster Beverage Corp.", - "company_description": "The Company\u0092s subsidiaries primarily develop and market energy drinks. We develop, market, sell and distribute energy drink beverages and concentrates for energy drink beverages, primarily under the following brand names: \u00b7 Our Monster Energy\u00ae brand energy drinks, which represented 91.7%, 90.1% and 90.1% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively, primarily include the following energy drinks 1 : \u00b7 Monster Energy\u00ae \u00b7 Monster Rehab\u00ae Tea + Orangeade + Energy \u00b7 Monster Rehab\u00ae The \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category combines non-carbonated, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters (flavored, unflavored and enhanced) with \u0093new age\u0094 beverages, including sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices and flavored sparkling beverages. According to Beverage Marketing Corporation, domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2018 for the \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category of the market are estimated at approximately $55.5 billion, representing an increase of approximately 6.7% over estimated domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2017 of approximately $52.0 billion. Drinks segment (\u0093Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks\u0094), which is comprised of our Monster Energy\u00ae drinks, (ii) Strategic Brands segment (\u0093Strategic Brands\u0094), which is comprised primarily of the various energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company (\u0093TCCC\u0094) in 2015 as well as Other segment (\u0093Other\u0094), which is comprised of certain products sold by American Fruits and Flavors LLC (\u0093AFF\u0094) (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company) to independent third-party customers (\u0093AFF Third-Party Products\u0094). Corporate and unallocated amounts that do not specifically relate to a reportable segment have been allocated to \u0093Corporate Drinks segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks primarily to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. In some cases, we sell directly to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, drug stores, foodservice customers and the military. Our Strategic Brands segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling \u0093concentrates\u0094 and/or \u0093beverage bases\u0094 to authorized bottling and canning operations. Such bottlers generally combine the concentrates and/or beverage bases with sweeteners, water and other ingredients to produce ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks. The ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks are then sold to other bottlers, full service distributors or retailers, including, retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, foodservice customers, drug stores and the military. To a lesser extent, our Strategic Brands segment generates net operating revenues by selling certain ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. Generally, the Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks segment generates higher per case net operating revenues, but lower per case gross profit margin percentages than the Strategic Brands segment. In the 1930s, Hubert Hansen and his sons started a business selling fresh non-pasteurized juices in Los Angeles, California. In 1977, Tim Hansen, one of the grandsons of Hubert Hansen, perceived a demand for shelf stable pasteurized natural juices and juice blends and formed Hansen Foods, HFI expanded its product line from juices to include Hansen\u0092s Natural Soda\u00ae brand sodas. In 1990, California Co-Packers Corporation (d/b/a Hansen Beverage Company) (\u0093CCC\u0094) acquired certain assets of HFI, including the right to market the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand name. In 1992, Hansen Natural Corporation acquired the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand natural soda and apple juice business from CCC. Under our ownership, the Hansen\u0092s \u00ae beverage business significantly expanded to include a wide range of beverages within the growing \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category including, in particular, energy drinks. During 2018, we continued to expand our existing portfolio of drinks and further develop our distribution markets. During 2018, we introduced the following products: \u00b7 BPM \u00ae \u00b7 Live+ Persist \u00ae \u00b7 Monster Cuba Libre TM (Japan) \u00b7 Monster Hydro \u00ae", - "id": "3fd630be-4c65-48e0-aadc-374635e09815" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Kids to College Act primarily focuses on income-share agreements for educational financing, which does not directly relate to SkyWest, Inc.'s operations in the airline industry. SkyWest's business model revolves around providing regional airline services and operating under code-share agreements, with no apparent connection to educational funding or income-repayment structures outlined in the bill.", - "index": "110", - "bill_title": "To provide the legal framework and income tax treatment necessary for the growth of innovative private financing options, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Kids to College Act\n\nThis bill provides for income-share agreements whereby a student agrees to pay a percentage of future income, for a specified period of time, in exchange for funds to pay for educational expenses.\n\nThe bill places caps on the percentage of a student's future income that may go towards repayment, provides income minimums under which the required payment is zero, and establishes limitations on the length of these agreements.\n\nThe bill provides for the treatment of these agreements under various laws, including tax, securities, and consumer finance laws.", - "company_name": "Sky West, Inc.", - "company_description": "On January 22, 2019, we completed the sale of ExpressJet. Inc. (\"Alaska\") (each, a \"major airline partner\") and any potential impact of their financial condition on our operations; fluctuations in flight schedules, which are determined by the major airline partners for whom SkyWest conducts flight operations; variations in market and economic conditions; significant aircraft lease and debt commitments; realization of manufacturer residual value guarantees on applicable SkyWest aircraft; residual aircraft values and related impairment charges; the impact of global instability; labor relations and costs; potential fluctuations in fuel costs, and potential fuel shortages; the impact of weather-related or other natural disasters on air travel and airline costs; new aircraft deliveries; and the ability to attract and retain qualified pilots, as well as the other factors described below in Item 1A. Risk Factors. We offer scheduled passenger service with approximately 2,770 daily departures to destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Substantially all of our flights are operated as Delta Connection, United Express, American Eagle or Alaska Airlines flights under code\u2011share arrangements (commercial agreements between airlines that, among other things, allow one airline to use another airline's flight designator codes on its flights) with Delta, United, American or Alaska, respectively. Under these fixed\u2011fee agreements, our major airline partners generally pay us fixed rates for operating the aircraft primarily based on the number of completed flights, flight time and the number of aircraft under contract. The major airline partners also reimburse us for specified direct operating expenses (including fuel expense). During our long operating history, we have developed an industry\u2011leading reputation for providing quality regional airline service. As of December 31, 2018, we had 596 aircraft in scheduled service consisting of the following (which included 100 Embraer ERJ145 regional jet (\"ERJ145\") aircraft and 16 Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet (\"CRJ200\") aircraft that ExpressJet operated for United, and 10 Canadair CRJ700 regional jet (\"CRJ700\") aircraft that ExpressJet operated for American): CRJ200 CRJ700 As of December 31, 2018, these aircraft have been removed from service and are in the process of being returned under the applicable leasing arrangement or are aircraft transitioning between code-share agreements with our major airline partners. As of December 31, 2018, our fleet scheduled for service consisted of aircraft manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace (\"Bombardier\") and Embraer S.A. (\"Embraer\") summarized as follows: Manufacturer 50 Bombardier and Embraer are the primary manufacturers of regional jets operated in the United States and offer many of the amenities of larger commercial jet aircraft, including flight attendant service, a stand\u2011up cabin, overhead and under seat storage, lavatories and in\u2011flight snack and beverage service. The speed of Bombardier and Embraer regional jets is comparable to larger aircraft operated by major airlines, and they have a range of approximately 1,600 miles and 2,100 miles, respectively. We provide regional jet service to airports throughout the United States, as well as Mexico and Canada. As of December 31, 2018, we offered approximately 2,170 daily departures, of which approximately 820 were United Express flights, 920 were Delta Connection flights, 290 were American Eagle flights and 140 were Alaska Airlines flights. Our operations are conducted principally from airports located in Chicago (O'Hare), Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, 4 Minneapolis, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Seattle. As of December 31, 2018, we operated a fleet of 470 aircraft consisting of the following: CRJ200 CRJ700 Prior to our sale of ExpressJet in January 2019, ExpressJet provided regional jet service to airports primarily located in the Eastern and Midwestern United States, as well as Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean. ExpressJet's operations were conducted principally from airports located in Atlanta, Chicago (O'Hare), Houston, Newark and New York. During the year ended December 31, 2018, ExpressJet offered approximately 600 daily departures, of which approximately 90 were Delta Connection flights, 440 were United Express flights and 70 were American Eagle flights. As of December 31, 2018, ExpressJet operated a fleet of 126 aircraft consisting of the following: CRJ200 SkyWest Leasing The SkyWest Leasing segment includes revenue attributed to our Embraer E175 dual-class regional jet aircraft (\"E175\") ownership cost earned under the applicable fixed-fee contracts, and the depreciation and interest expense of our E175 aircraft. The SkyWest Leasing segment additionally includes the income from CRJ200 aircraft leased to a third-party. The airline industry is highly competitive. SkyWest competes principally with other regional airlines.", - "id": "22b9706b-2cde-44ce-9d4b-71a32e7acbea" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on providing debt-free college education and financial aid access for students, particularly targeting in-state public institutions and specific student groups like DREAMers. This is not relevant to AeroVironment, Inc., which operates in the defense and technology sector, supplying unmanned aircraft systems and related services to government and military clientele. The bill does not address issues pertinent to their business activities, market strategy, or customer base.", - "index": "111", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish State-Federal partnerships to provide students the opportunity to attain higher education at in-State public institutions of higher education without debt, to provide Federal Pell Grant eligibility to DREAMer students, to repeal suspension of eligibility under the Higher Education Act of 1965 for drug-related offenses, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Debt-Free College Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Education to (1) award grants for state-federal partnerships with a goal of providing debt-free college for students at in-state public institutions of higher education, and (2) award grants to provide debt-free college for students at historically black colleges and universities and minority serving institutions, and (3) allow grants for financial aid for dreamer students (students who entered the United States before the age of 16 and who meet certain educational criteria). It also repeals the suspension of eligibility for financial aid for students convicted of the possession or sale of illegal drugs.", - "company_name": "AeroVironment, Inc.", - "company_description": "each party's compliance with its covenants and agreements contained in the Purchase Agreement (subject to customary materiality qualifiers), (iii) the execution by the parties of certain ancillary agreements and (iv) other customary closing conditions. As of April 30, 2018, we determined that the EES Business met the criterion for classification as an asset held for sale and represents a strategic shift in in our operations. We design, develop, produce, support and operate a technologically\u2011advanced portfolio of products and services for government agencies and businesses. We supply unmanned aircraft systems (\"UAS\") and related services primarily to organizations within the U.S. Department of Defense (\"DoD\") and to international allied governments, and tactical missile systems and related services to organizations within the U.S. Government. Our success with current products and services stems from our investment in research and development and our ability to invent and deliver advanced solutions, utilizing proprietary and commercially available technologies, to help our government, commercial and consumer customers operate more effectively and efficiently. We develop these highly innovative solutions by working very closely with our key customers to solve their most important challenges related to our areas of expertise. Our core technological capabilities, developed through more than 45 years of innovation, include lightweight aerostructures; power electronics; electric propulsion systems; efficient electric power conversion, and storage systems; high\u2011density energy packaging; miniaturization; digital data links (\"DDL\"); sensors; controls integration; systems integration; engineering optimization; vertical takeoff fixed wing flight and autonomy, each coupled with professional field service capabilities. Our UAS business focuses primarily on the design, development, production, marketing, support and operation of innovative UAS and tactical missile systems and the delivery of UAS\u2011related services that provide situational awareness, remote sensing, multi\u2011band communications, force protection and other information and mission effects to increase the safety and effectiveness of our customers' operations. As a technology solutions provider, our strategy is to develop innovative, safe and reliable new solutions that provide customers with valuable benefits and enable us to create new markets or market segments, gain market share and grow as market adoption increases. We believe that by introducing new solutions that provide customers with compelling value we are able to create new markets or market segments and then grow our positions within those 3 markets or market segments profitably, instead of entering existing markets and competing directly against large, incumbent competitors that may possess advantages in scope, scale, resources and relationships. We intend to grow our business by preserving a leadership position in the UAS and tactical missile system markets, and by creating new solutions that enable us to create and establish leadership positions in new markets. Our small UAS and tactical missile systems enjoy leading positions in their respective markets. We intend to increase the penetration of our small UAS products and services within the U.S. military, the military forces of allied nations, other government agencies and non\u2011government organizations, including commercial entities, and to increase the penetration of our tactical missile systems within the U.S. military and allied nations. We believe that the broad adoption of our small UAS by the U.S. military will continue to spur demand by allied nations, and that our efforts to pursue new applications are creating opportunities beyond the early adopter military market. Deliver innovative new solutions for existing and new markets. Customer\u2011focused innovation is the primary driver of our growth. We view strategic partnerships as a means by which to further the reach of our innovative solutions through access to new markets, customers and complementary capabilities. Our company culture encourages innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit, which helps to attract and retain highly\u2011skilled professionals. A core component of our culture is our intent to demonstrate trust and integrity in all of our interactions, contributing to a positive work environment and engendering loyalty among our employees and customers. We respond rapidly to evolving markets, solve complicated customer problems, and strive to deliver new products, services and capabilities quickly, efficiently and affordably relative to available alternatives. Effectively manage our growth portfolio for long\u2011term value creation. Our production and development programs and services position us for investment opportunities that we believe will deliver long\u2011term growth by providing our customers with valuable new capabilities. We sell the majority of our UAS and services to organizations within the DoD, including the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Special Operations Command, Air Force and Navy, and increasingly to allied governments. We sell our tactical missile systems to organizations within the U.S. government. We also develop High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (\"HAPS\") systems for a commercial customer based in Japan. ", - "id": "36e04398-0468-4e60-9bce-3e906082470f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act focuses on education and training programs for geriatric care, which is primarily related to workforce development in healthcare targeting aging populations. Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in cellular therapies for cancer treatment, specifically targeting solid tumors. The bill does not directly address oncology or therapeutic drug development, making it irrelevant to Adaptimmune's business model or activities.", - "index": "112", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title VII of the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize programs that support interprofessional geriatric education and training to develop a geriatric-capable workforce, improving health outcomes for a growing and diverse aging American population and their families, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act\n\nThis bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises several programs relating to geriatric-care training and workforce development, including a Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program to support the development of a health care workforce that integrates geriatrics with primary care and other appropriate specialties.", - "company_name": "Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc", - "company_description": "We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on providing novel cell therapies to patients, particularly in solid tumors. (Specific Peptide Enhanced Affinity Receptor) T-cell platform enables us to identify cancer targets, find and genetically engineer T-cell receptors (\u0093TCRs\u0094), and produce therapeutic candidates for administration to patients. Using our affinity engineered TCRs, we aim to become a fully integrated cell therapy company and to be the first company to have a TCR T-cell approved for a solid tumor indication. We have four SPEAR T-cells in clinical trials, MAGE-A10, MAGE-A4, AFP and NY-ESO. Phase 1/2 clinical trials are ongoing in patients with various cancer tumor types including urothelial, melanoma, head and neck, ovarian, esophageal, gastric, multiple myeloma, hepatocellular cancers and in synovial sarcoma, myxoid round cell liposarcoma (\u0093MRCLS\u0094) and non small cell lung cancer (\u0093NSCLC\u0094). Our MAGE-A10 SPEAR T-cells have shown promising tolerability profiles with no evidence of off-target toxicities observed. The MAGE-A10 triple tumor study dose escalation to 1 billion transduced cells, which is the dose previously observed to provide responses with our NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell, has been recommended by the Safety Review Committee (\u0093SRC\u0094). In the MAGE-A10 NSCLC study, the SRC has recommended modification of the protocol to permit escalation of the patient dose to 1 billion transduced cells with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide preconditioning in the next treatment cohort. In the MAGE-A4 trial patient enrollment has started in bladder, melanoma, head and neck, ovarian, NSCLC, esophageal and gastric cancers. Our NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell has shown promising initial results in clinical trials with a 50% response rate and a median projected overall survival of 120 weeks (~28 months) in Cohort 1 of synovial sarcoma (a solid tumor) and 76% overall response rate at day 100 in multiple myeloma. We have also now seen three partial responses (two confirmed and one to be confirmed) and one stable disease in the first four patients dosed in a second solid tumor indication, MRCLS. Our NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell therapy has breakthrough therapy designation in the United States and has also received orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (\u0093FDA\u0094), and European Commission for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma. The European Medicines Agency (\u0093EMA\u0094) has also granted PRIME regulatory access for our NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell therapy for the synovial sarcoma indication. In September 2017, GlaxoSmithKline (\u0093GSK\u0094) exercised its option to obtain an exclusive global license to the NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell program. Upon transition of the NY-ESO program to GSK which is anticipated to occur during 2018, GSK will assume full responsibility for all development, manufacturing and commercialization activities for the NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell including progression of the SPEAR T-cell into further clinical trials. In January 2018, we announced that we had successfully manufactured the first SPEAR T-cells for a patient at our Navy Yard facility in Philadelphia. We intend to use the facility to manufacture SPEAR T-cells for all three of our wholly owned programs. In addition in January 2018 we also announced an agreement with Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult for vector production in the U.K., which is intended to ensure vector supply for our ongoing and future clinical studies. Our SPEAR T-cell platform is being utilized with the aim of maximizing both patient and disease indication coverage in a number of different ways. \u00b7 We are using our platform to identify and validate cancer targets for development of SPEAR T-cells in multiple indications. As a result, we are developing multiple SPEAR T-cells to different target antigens within selected disease indications to increase treatment potential for any given disease. For example the NY-ESO-1, MAGE-A4 and MAGE-A10 SPEAR T-cells address targets expressed in NSCLC, melanoma, urothelial (bladder) cancers and head and neck cancers, with each of these indications being addressed by at least two of the SPEAR T-cells. \u00b7 We are also developing SPEAR T-cells directed to targets which are closely related to a specific disease indication. Further targets closely associated with other cancers are also being validated. 1 \u00b7 Finally, we are identifying peptides to different Human Leukocyte Antigen (\u0093HLA\u0094) types ensuring that for any given target, for example NY-ESO, MAGE-A10, MAGE-A4 or AFP, we can address patient populations with different HLA types. ", - "id": "05d3117e-a660-4ce9-bbc7-a01590523381" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on appropriations for the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, which primarily deal with infrastructure and housing issues. Align Technology, Inc. specializes in medical devices related to orthodontics and dentistry. The legal consequences of this bill do not intersect with Align's business model or activities, as it does not pertain to healthcare regulations, medical devices, or orthodontic treatments.", - "index": "113", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020\n\nThis bill provides FY2020 appropriations to the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and several related agencies.\n\nThe bill provides appropriations to DOT for\n\n the Office of the Secretary, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, the Maritime Administration, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and the Office of Inspector General. The bill provides appropriations to HUD for\n\n Management and Administration, Public and Indian Housing, Community Planning and Development, Housing Programs, the Federal Housing Administration, the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), Policy Development and Research, Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes, the Cybersecurity and Information Technology Fund, and the Office of Inspector General. The bill also provides appropriations to several related agencies, including\n\n the Access Board, the Federal Maritime Commission, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) Office of Inspector General, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, the Surface Transportation Board, and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. Additionally, the bill sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.", - "company_name": "Align Technology, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"Align\") is a global medical device company engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of Invisalign\u00ae clear aligners and iTero\u00ae intraoral scanners and services for orthodontics, and restorative and aesthetic dentistry. Align's products are intended primarily for the treatment of malocclusion or the misalignment of teeth and are designed to help dental professionals achieve the clinical outcomes that they expect. We sell the vast majority of our products directly to our customers: orthodontists and general practitioner dentists (\"GPs\"), as well as to restorative and aesthetic dentists, including prosthodontists, periodontists, and oral surgeons. In addition, we sell directly to Dental Support Organizations (DSOs) who contract with dental practices to provide critical business management and support including non-clinical operations, and we sell directly to dental laboratories who manufacture or customize a variety of products to assist in the provision of oral health care by a licensed dentist. We received 510(k) clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (\"FDA\") to market the Invisalign System in 1998. The Invisalign System is regulated by the FDA as a Class II medical device. In order to provide Invisalign treatment to their patients, orthodontists and GPs must initially complete an Invisalign training course. Our iTero scanner is used by dental professionals and/or labs and service providers for restorative and orthodontic digital procedures as well as Invisalign case submission. We received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market iTero software for expanded indications in 2013. Scanners and computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (\"CAD/CAM\") services are primarily sold through our direct sales force and a few distributors in North America, Europe and certain Asia Pacific countries, and through distribution partners in smaller non-core international country markets. Clear Aligner Segment Malocclusion and Traditional Orthodontic Treatment Malocclusion, or the misalignment of teeth, is one of the most prevalent clinical dental conditions, affecting billions of people, or approximately 60% to 75% of the population. Annually, approximately 12 million people in major developed countries elect treatment by orthodontists worldwide. Most orthodontic patients are treated with the use of traditional methods such as metal arch wires and brackets, referred to as braces, and may be augmented with elastics, metal expanders, headgear or functional appliances, and other ancillary devices as needed. Upon completion of the treatment, the dental professional may, at his or her discretion, have the patient use a retainer appliance. In addition, approximately 300 million people with malocclusion could benefit from straightening their teeth but are unlikely to seek treatment through a doctor's office. This represents an incremental opportunity for us as we expand the market for orthodontics by educating more consumers about the benefits of straighter teeth using Invisalign clear aligners and connect them with an Invisalign doctor of their choice. The Invisalign System The Invisalign System is a proprietary method for treating malocclusion based on a proprietary computer-simulated virtual treatment plan and a series of doctor-prescribed, custom manufactured, clear plastic, removable aligners. The Invisalign System offers a range of treatment options, specialized services, and proprietary software for treatment visualization and is comprised of the following phases: Orthodontic diagnosis and transmission of treatment data to us. The Invisalign-trained dental professional prepares and sends us a patient's treatment data package which consists of a prescription form, a digital scan or a polyvinyl-siloxane (or \"PVS\") impression of the relevant dental arches, photographs of the patient and, at the dental professional's election, x-rays of the patient's dentition. Intraoral digital scans may be submitted through either Align's iTero scanner or a few qualified third-party scanners. See \"Third Party Scanners and Digital scans for Invisalign treatment submission. \" More than 63% of Invisalign case submissions are submitted via digital scan instead of a physical PVS impression. Using propriety software which we do not sell, we generate a proposed custom, three-dimensional treatment plan, called a ClinCheck treatment plan. Attachments are tooth-colored \"buttons\" that are sometimes used to increase the biomechanical force on a specific tooth or teeth in order to effect the desired movement(s). Review and approval of the treatment plan by an Invisalign-trained doctor. ", - "id": "76d582e3-dacf-47b8-a8d0-ea7f8761994e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving safety and training related to smoke and fume incidents on commercial aircraft, which does not align with Waters Corp.'s operations in analytical measurement and life sciences. The legal consequences pertain to FAA regulations that bind commercial air carriers, not measurement technology or analytical instrumentation.", - "index": "114", - "bill_title": "To improve the safety of the air supply on commercial aircraft, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Cabin Air Safety Act of 2019\n\nThis bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement regulations regarding smoke or fume incidents on commercial aircraft (excluding helicopters).\n\nSpecifically, the bill requires\n\n flight attendants, pilots, aircraft maintenance technicians, airport first responders, and emergency response teams to receive annual training on how to respond to incidents involving smoke or fumes on board commercial aircraft; the FAA to develop a standardized form for reporting incidents involving smoke or fumes; the FAA to conduct an investigation after a report is submitted about incidents of smoke or fumes; and commercial air carriers to install and operate onboard carbon monoxide detectors.", - "company_name": "Waters Corp.", - "company_description": "Business General Waters Corporation (the \u0093Company,\u0094 \u0093we,\u0094 \u0093our,\u0094 or \u0093us\u0094) is a specialty measurement company that operates with a fundamental underlying purpose to advance the science that enables our customers to enhance human health and well-being. The Company has pioneered analytical workflow solutions involving liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis innovations serving the life, materials and food sciences for more than 60 years. The Company primarily designs, manufactures, sells and services high performance liquid chromatography (\u0093HPLC\u0094), ultra performance liquid chromatography (\u0093UPLC TM \u0094 and together with HPLC, referred to as \u0093LC\u0094) and mass spectrometry (\u0093MS\u0094) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products and comprehensive post-warranty service plans. These systems are complementary products that are frequently employed together (\u0093LC-MS\u0094) and sold as integrated instrument systems using common software platforms. In addition, the Company designs, manufactures, sells and services thermal analysis, rheometry and calorimetry instruments through its TA TM product line. The Company is also a developer and supplier of advanced software-based products that interface with the Company\u0092s instruments, as well as other manufacturers\u0092 instruments. The Company\u0092s products are used by pharmaceutical, biochemical, industrial, nutritional safety, environmental, academic and governmental customers working in research and development, quality assurance and other laboratory applications. LC is a standard technique and is utilized in a broad range of industries to detect, identify, monitor and measure the chemical, physical and biological composition of materials, and to purify a full range of compounds. MS technology, principally in conjunction with chromatography, is employed in drug discovery and development, including clinical trial testing, the analysis of proteins in disease processes (known as \u0093proteomics\u0094), nutritional safety analysis and environmental testing. LC-MS instruments combine a liquid phase sample introduction and separation system with mass spectrometric compound identification and quantification. The Company\u0092s thermal analysis, rheometry and calorimetry instruments are used in predicting the suitability and stability of fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, water, polymers, metals and viscous liquids for various industrial, consumer goods and healthcare products, as well as for life science research. Since the IPO, the Company has added two significant and complementary technologies to its range of products with the acquisitions of TA Instruments in May 1996 and Micromass Limited in September 1997. The Waters operating segment is primarily in the business of designing, manufacturing, selling and servicing LC and MS instrument systems, columns and other precision chemistry consumables that can be integrated and used along with other analytical instruments. The TA operating segment is primarily in the business of designing, manufacturing, selling and servicing thermal analysis, rheometry and calorimetry instruments. Waters Products and Markets High Performance and Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography HPLC is a standard technique used to identify and analyze the constituent components of a variety of chemicals and other materials. The Company believes that HPLC\u0092s performance capabilities enable it to separate, identify and quantify a high proportion of all known chemicals. As a result, HPLC is used to analyze substances in a wide variety of industries for research and development purposes, quality control and process engineering applications. The most significant end-use markets for HPLC are those served by the pharmaceutical and life science industries. In these markets, HPLC is used extensively to understand diseases, identify new drugs, develop manufacturing methods and assure the potency and purity of new pharmaceuticals. HPLC is also used in a variety of other applications, such as analyses of foods and beverages for nutritional labeling and compliance with safety regulations and the testing of water and air purity within the environmental testing industry, as well as applications in other industries, such as chemical and consumer products. HPLC is also used by universities, research institutions and governmental agencies, such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (\u0093FDA\u0094) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (\u0093EPA\u0094) and their foreign counterparts that mandate safety and efficacy testing. In 2004, Waters introduced a novel technology that the Company describes as ultra performance liquid chromatography that utilizes a packing material with small, uniform diameter particles and a specialized instrument, the ACQUITY UPLC TM , to accommodate the increased pressure and narrower chromatographic bands that are generated by these small and tightly packed particles. By using the ACQUITY UPLC, researchers and analysts are able to achieve more comprehensive chemical separations and faster analysis times in comparison with many analyses previously performed by HPLC. In addition, in using the ACQUITY UPLC, researchers have the potential to extend the range of applications beyond that of HPLC, enabling them to uncover more levels of scientific information. While offering significant performance advantages, the ACQUITY UPLC is also compatible with the Company\u0092s software products and the general operating protocols of HPLC.", - "id": "7935cad1-bd02-4be3-a225-aa4f0ed30816" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes a national health insurance program providing comprehensive health coverage. This is relevant to Alector, Inc. as it operates in the biopharmaceutical sector, developing therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, where coverage of expensive therapies is crucial for patient access. The bill's provisions allowing for federal funding for healthcare, potentially including innovative treatments, could directly impact Alector\u2019s market and the availability of their therapies.", - "index": "115", - "bill_title": "To amend the Social Security Act to establish a Medicare for America health program to provide for comprehensive health coverage for all Americans.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare for America Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes several health insurance programs and otherwise modifies certain requirements relating to health care coverage, costs, and services.\n\nIn particular, the bill establishes a national health insurance program to be\u00a0administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Among other requirements, the program must (1) cover all U.S. residents; (2) cover specified items and services, including hospital services, prescription drugs, dental services, and home- and community-based long-term care; and (3) be fully implemented in 2023. HHS must also offer a transitional public health option that provides certain minimum coverage through health insurance exchanges in 2021 and 2022.\n\nThe bill also makes a series of other changes to health care and tax provisions. For example, the bill (1) allows federal funds to be used for abortions; (2) sunsets a specified tax reform law that, among other things, repealed the penalty for failing to maintain minimum essential health coverage; and (3) prohibits excessive prices for prescription drugs and medical devices, as determined by a newly established federal regulatory board.", - "company_name": "Alector, Inc.", - "company_description": "Our mission is to develop therapies that empower the immune system to cure neurodegeneration. We are a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering immuno-neurology, a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of neurodegeneration. Immuno-neurology targets immune dysfunction as a root cause of multiple pathologies that are drivers of degenerative brain disorders. We are developing therapies designed to simultaneously counteract these pathologies by restoring healthy immune function to the brain. Supporting our scientific approach, our Discovery Platform enables us to advance a broad portfolio of product candidates, validated by human genetics, which we believe will improve the probability of technical success over shorter development timelines. As a result, in the last five years, we have identified over forty immune system targets, progressed over ten programs into preclinical research, and advanced two product candidates, AL001 and AL002, into clinical development. In the first quarter of 2019, the dosing of the single ascending dose Phase 1a study in healthy subjects was completed for AL001, initially aimed at treating a subset of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients who have a known genetic mutation that causes a deficiency in progranulin (PGRN), which is called FTD-GRN. Moreover, statistically significant increases in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) PGRN levels relative to baseline were also observed, successfully demonstrating proof-of-mechanism for AL001 in the central nervous systems of healthy subjects. We plan to advance AL001 into a Phase 1b study with proof-of-mechanism data in FTD-GRN patients expected in the first half of 2019 and into a Phase 2 study with proof-of-concept data in FTD-GRN patients expected in the first half of 2020. In the second half of 2018, we initiated dosing of healthy subjects in the ascending dose Phase 1a study for AL002, a product candidate for Alzheimer's disease. In addition, in the first half of 2019, we plan to initiate clinical trials with AL003, a product candidate for Alzheimer's disease, in an ascending dose Phase 1a study in healthy subjects. In the second half of 2019, we expect to initiate a Phase 1 study with AL101, a product candidate for multiple neurodegenerative disorders. Our Discovery Platform leverages large scale human genetic datasets, advanced tools in bioinformatics and imaging, and insights into neurodegeneration and immunology to identify immune system targets that play a critical role in the development of multiple neurodegenerative diseases. We identify mutations in genes that control the brain's immune system, which we believe are the root cause of neurodegeneration, employ a suite of genetic tools to elucidate the immune dysfunction caused by these mutations, and then engineer immune modulating antibodies to counteract the harmful consequences of these genetic mutations. We are able to identify and employ molecular biomarkers, assays, and precise imaging techniques to confirm target engagement and measure the effect of our product candidates, allowing us to potentially obtain clinical data earlier than would otherwise be expected using traditional clinical measures. We utilize genetic screening and other biomarkers to better align a patient's specific diagnosis with the targeted intervention in each of our clinical studies. Our immuno-neurology approach and our Discovery Platform are designed to broadly address multiple neurodegenerative disorders. The breadth of our opportunity is reinforced by our ability to engineer therapeutics capable of modulating a broad array of immune targets, validated by human genetics, across multiple mechanisms of action, including product candidates that activate, block, inhibit, or down-regulate a given target as therapeutically needed. Our intellectual property portfolio covers over 25 patent families, consisting of one approved patent and over 100 pending patent applications directed to over 15 different targets and technologies. The below table highlights our preclinical and clinical programs. The above table reflects that we currently have seven neurology programs identified in our research and development pipeline focused on targeting Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, ALS, and progressive multiple sclerosis. Moreover, we have three oncology programs identified in our research and development pipeline focused on targeting innate immune cells. Currently, we estimate that all of these neurology and oncology focused programs are one to three years or more away from entering preclinical studies assuming that these programs meet our requirements for advancement into the preclinical stage. For each of our programs in our research and development pipeline we are working to identify biomarkers to be utilized in preclinical studies. Our first program modulates PGRN, a regulator of immune activity in the brain with genetic links to multiple neurodegenerative disorders, including FTD, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease.", - "id": "f555b6a6-7951-4107-b9dd-875177901ed6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on appropriations for the Department of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, with implications for government spending, employee compensation, and funding limitations. It does not directly address issues relevant to International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc., which operates in the flavors and fragrances industry. The company's activities, market focus, and business strategy are not affected by this legislation.", - "index": "116", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for the Department of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": " This bill provides FY2019 appropriations for the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and several related agencies. It includes both discretionary and mandatory funding, with most of the DOT budget being mandatory spending from the Highway Trust Fund. It also prohibits the use of funds for certain activities, such as purchasing first class or premium airline travel, and provides compensation for federal employees furloughed as a result of a lapse in appropriations.", - "company_name": "International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.", - "company_description": "When used in this report, the terms \"IFF,\" \"the Company,\" We are a leading innovator of sensory experiences that move the world. We co-create unique products that consumers taste, smell, or feel in fine fragrances and beauty, detergents and household goods, and food and beverages. Our approximately 7,300 team members globally take advantage of our capabilities in consumer insights, research and product development (\"R & D\"), creative expertise and customer intimacy to partner with our customers in developing innovative and differentiated offerings for consumer products. Our international presence positions us to serve both our global customers and the increasing number of regional and high-end and middle-market specialty consumer goods producers. We operate thirty-seven manufacturing facilities and sixty-nine creative centers and application laboratories located in thirty-seven different countries. We partner with our customers to develop over 46,000 products that are provided to customers in approximately 162 countries. We principally compete in the flavors and fragrances market, which is part of a larger market that supplies a wide variety of ingredients and compounds used in consumer products. The broader market includes large multi-national companies and smaller regional and local participants that supply products such as seasonings, texturizers, spices, enzymes, certain food-related commodities, fortified products and cosmetic ingredients. The global market for flavors and fragrances has expanded consistently, primarily as a result of an increase in demand for, and an increase in the variety of, consumer products containing flavors and fragrances. Management estimates that in 2017 t he flavors and fragrances market was approximately $24.8 billion, and forecasted to grow approximately 2-3% by 2021, primarily driven by expected growth in emerging markets. In 2017, we achieved sales of approximately $3.4 billion, making us one of the top four companies in the global flavors and fragrances sub-segment of the broader consumer products ingredients and compounds market. As our customers seek to grow their businesses in emerging markets, we provide them the ability to leverage our long-standing international presence and extensive market knowledge to help drive their brands in these markets. During 2017 , our 25 largest customers accounted for 50% of our sales. In 2017, we launched three captive fragrance molecules and We also launched Re-Imagine, a program to accelerate flavor innovation and increase agility to capture unmet opportunities in the changing food and beverage market. We also created Tastepoint by IFF, designed to leverage our expertise in and to service the middle-market customer in North America, and opened an expanded facility in Cairo, Egypt to support our regional focus on growth in the Middle East and Africa. Our goal is to attain commercial excellence by providing our customers with in-depth, local consumer understanding, industry-leading innovation, outstanding service and the highest quality products. In 2017, we introduced IFF Taste Design, a combination of artisanal, handcrafted techniques and proprietary technologies that drive consumer preference and market differentiation. In addition, we were rated gold by EcoVadis for sustainability, received an \"A\" rating and were awarded leadership status for our climate change and an \"A-\" for water management strategy by CDP. We prioritize opportunities that provide (i) access to new technologies, (ii) the ability to increase our market share in key markets and with key customers or (iii) access to adjacent products or services that will position us to leverage our expertise in science and technology and our customer base. During 2017, we acquired Fragrance Resources to further improve our market position with regional customers in specialty fine fragrances, and PowderPure to further expand product offerings of clean label flavors solutions. We also became the first sensorial innovator of flavors, fragrances and cosmetic actives to join the MIT Media Lab, a leader in research and technologies that transform the everyday for consumers around the world. Our Product Offerings Flavors Flavors are the key building blocks that impart taste experiences in food and beverage products and, as such, play a significant role in determining consumer preference for the end products in which they are used. As a leading creator of flavor compounds, we help our customers deliver on the promise of delicious and healthy foods and drinks that appeal to consumers.", - "id": "accac46b-7c66-42ce-bf2c-8297a6c50dab" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Smart Manufacturing Leadership Act aims to improve energy efficiency and productivity in the manufacturing sector through the development and implementation of smart manufacturing technologies. As Pool Corp. operates in a highly fragmented market for swimming pool supplies, they could benefit from enhanced manufacturing processes and energy management systems, potentially leading to cost reductions and improved product offerings. Furthermore, the inclusion of smart technologies aligns with their focus on technological advancements and energy-efficient products, making the bill relevant to their business model.", - "index": "117", - "bill_title": "A bill to improve the productivity and energy efficiency of the manufacturing sector by directing the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the National Academies and other appropriate Federal agencies, to develop a national smart manufacturing plan and to provide assistance to small- and medium-sized manufacturers in implementing smart manufacturing programs, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Smart Manufacturing Leadership Act\n\nThis bill addresses the productivity and energy efficiency of the manufacturing sector as well as the development of smart manufacturing technologies (certain advanced technologies in information, automation, monitoring, computation, sensing, modeling, and networking).\n\nThe Department of Energy (DOE) must complete a national plan for smart manufacturing technology development and deployment to improve the productivity and energy efficiency of the U.S. manufacturing sector. DOE must revise the plan biennially to account for advancements in information and communication technology and manufacturing needs.\n\nDOE may make grants to states for supporting the implementation of smart manufacturing technologies. States must use those grants to (1) provide access to shared supercomputing facilities to small- and medium-sized manufacturers, (2) fund research and development of transformational manufacturing processes and materials technology that advance smart manufacturing, and (3) provide tools and training to aid the adoption of energy management systems and implement smart manufacturing technologies in the manufacturers' facilities.\n\nDOE must expand the scope of technologies covered by Industrial Assessment Centers to (1) include smart manufacturing technologies and practices, and (2) equip the centers' directors with the training and tools necessary to provide technical assistance in smart manufacturing technologies and practices.\n\n DOE must (1) study how it can increase access to existing high-performance computing resources in the National Laboratories, and (2) facilitate access to the laboratories by small- and medium-sized manufacturers.", - "company_name": "Pool Corp.", - "company_description": "Business General Pool Corporation (the Company, which may be referred to as we, us or our) is the world's largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products and is one of the top three distributors of irrigation and landscape products in the United States. Our vision is to become the best worldwide distributor of outdoor living products that enhance the quality of outdoor home life. Our industry is highly fragmented, and as such, we add considerable value to the industry by purchasing products from a large number of manufacturers and then distributing the products to our customer base on conditions that are more favorable than our customers could obtain on their own. As of December 31, 2018, we operated 364 sales centers in North America, Europe, South America and Australia through our four distribution networks: We participate in a worldwide market for outdoor living products through our four distribution networks. We believe that the swimming pool industry is relatively young, with room for continued growth from the increased penetration of new pools. Significant growth opportunities also reside with pool remodel and pool equipment replacement activities due to the aging of the installed base of swimming pools, technological advancements and the development of energy-efficient and more aesthetically attractive products. Additionally, the desire for consumers to enhance their outdoor living spaces with hardscapes, lighting and outdoor kitchens also promotes growth in this area. These favorable trends include the following: \u2022 long-term growth in housing units in warmer markets due to the population migration toward the southern United States, which contributes to the growing installed base of pools that homeowners must maintain; \u2022 increased homeowner spending on outdoor living spaces for relaxation and entertainment; \u2022 consumers bundling the purchase of a swimming pool and other products, with new irrigation systems, landscaping and improvements to outdoor living spaces often being key components to both pool installations and remodels; and \u2022 consumers using more automation and control products, higher quality materials and other pool features that add to our sales opportunities over time. Almost 60% of consumer spending in the pool industry is for maintenance and minor repair of existing swimming pools. Maintaining proper chemical balance and the related upkeep and repair of swimming pool equipment, such as pumps, heaters, filters and safety equipment, creates a non-discretionary demand for pool chemicals, equipment and other related parts and supplies. We also believe cosmetic considerations such as a pool's appearance and the overall look of backyard environments create an ongoing demand for other maintenance-related goods and certain discretionary products. This characteristic has helped cushion the negative impact on revenues in periods when unfavorable economic conditions and softness in the housing market adversely impacted pool construction and major replacement and refurbishment activities. The following table reflects growth in the domestic installed base of in-ground swimming pools over the past 11 years (based on Company estimates and information from 2017 P.K. Data, Inc. reports): The replacement and refurbishment market currently accounts for close to 25% of consumer spending in the pool industry. The activity in this market, which includes major swimming pool remodeling, is driven by the aging of the installed base of pools. The timing of these types of expenditures is more sensitive to economic factors that impact consumer spending compared to the maintenance and minor repair market. New swimming pool construction comprises just over 15% of consumer spending in the pool industry. The demand for new pools is driven by the perceived benefits of pool ownership including relaxation, entertainment, family activity, exercise and convenience. The industry competes for new pool sales against other discretionary consumer purchases such as kitchen and bathroom remodeling, boats, motorcycles, recreational vehicles and vacations. The industry is also affected by other factors including, but not limited to, consumer preferences or attitudes toward pool and related outdoor living products for aesthetic, environmental, safety or other reasons. The irrigation and landscape industry shares many characteristics with the pool industry, and we believe that it will realize similar long\u2011term growth rates. Irrigation system installations often occur in tandem with new single\u2011family home construction making it more susceptible to economic variables.", - "id": "65035d3e-9a39-4baa-b50c-ca4d9d9fad66" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Act is focused on asset recovery related to foreign government corruption, which does not directly relate to ACI Worldwide, Inc.'s core business of providing electronic payment solutions. The company primarily operates in the banking and payments processing sector, and the legal implications of this bill would not impact their business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "118", - "bill_title": "To authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to pay rewards under an asset recovery rewards program to help identify and recover stolen assets linked to foreign government corruption and the proceeds of such corruption hidden behind complex financial structures in the United States and abroad.", - "bill_summary": "Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Act\n\nThis bill establishes in the Department of the Treasury the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Program. The program may provide rewards to individuals furnishing information leading to the restraining, seizure, forfeiture, or repatriation of stolen assets linked to foreign government corruption.\n\nA person is ineligible for a reward if they are an officer or employee of a federal, state, local, or foreign government and furnish such information in the course of their official duties. A person may be ineligible if Treasury reasonably believes that such person knowingly participated in certain forms of government corruption.\n\nThe bill provides for the administration of the program, including reward payment and eligibility.\n\nRewards must, to the extent possible, be paid first from any recovered assets.\n\nTreasury must obtain approval from the Department of Justice before paying a reward under this Act\u00a0in a matter where there is federal criminal jurisdiction.", - "company_name": "ACI Worldwide, Inc.", - "company_description": "We develop, market, install, and support a broad line of software products and solutions primarily focused on facilitating real-time electronic payments. Our payment capabilities, technologies, and solutions are marketed under the brand name Universal Payments, or \u0093UP,\u0094 which describes the breadth and depth of ACI\u0092s product offerings. UP defines ACI\u0092s enterprise or \u0093universal\u0094 payments capabilities targeting any channel, any network, and any payment type. ACI UP solutions empower customers to regain control, choice, and flexibility in today\u0092s complex payments environment, get to market more quickly, and reduce operational costs. These products and services are used globally by banks, financial intermediaries, merchants and corporates, such as third-party electronic payment processors, payment associations, switch interchanges and a wide range of transaction-generating endpoints, including automated teller machines (\u0093ATM\u0094), merchant point-of-sale (\u0093POS\u0094) terminals, bank branches, mobile phones, tablets, corporations, and internet commerce sites. The authentication, authorization, switching, settlement, fraud-checking, and reconciliation of electronic payments is a complex activity due to the large number of locations and variety of sources from which transactions can be generated, the large number of participants in the market, high transaction volumes, geographically dispersed networks, differing types of authorization, and varied reporting requirements. ACI combines a global perspective with local presence to tailor electronic payment solutions for our customers. We believe that we have one of the most diverse and robust electronic payment product portfolios in the industry with application software spanning the entire payments value chain. Target Markets ACI\u0092s comprehensive electronic payment solutions serve four key markets: Banks ACI provides payment solutions to large and mid-size banks globally for both retail banking, digital, and other payment services. Our solutions transform banks\u0092 complex payment environments to speed time to market, reduce costs, and deliver a consistent experience to customers across channels while enabling them to prevent 3 and rapidly react to fraudulent activity. In addition, we enable banks to meet the requirements of different real-time payment schemes and to quickly create differentiated products to meet consumer, business, and merchant demands. ACI\u0092s payment solutions support financial intermediaries, such as processors, networks, payment service providers (\u0093PSPs\u0094), and new financial technology (\u0093FinTech\u0094) entrants. We offer these customers scalable solutions that strategically position them to innovate and achieve growth and cost efficiency, while protecting them against fraud. Our solutions also allow new entrants in the digital marketplace to access innovative payment schemes, such as the U.K. Faster Payments New Access Model, ACI\u0092s support of merchants globally includes Tier 1 and Tier 2 merchants, online-only merchants and the PSPs, independent selling organizations (\u0093ISOs\u0094), value added resellers (\u0093VARs\u0094), and acquirers who service them. These customers operate in a variety of verticals, including general merchandise, grocery, hospitality, dining, transportation, and others. Our solutions provide merchants with a secure, omni-channel payments platform that gives them independence from third-party payment providers. We also offer secure solutions to online-only merchants that provide consumers with a convenient and seamless way to shop. Within the corporate segment, ACI provides electronic bill presentment and payment (\u0093EBPP\u0094) services to companies operating in the consumer finance, insurance, healthcare, higher education, tax, and utility categories. Our solutions enable these customers to support a wide range of payment options and provide a painless consumer payments experience that drives consumer loyalty and increases revenue. ACI\u0092s UP \u00ae solutions span the payments ecosystem to support the electronic payment needs of banks, intermediaries, merchants and corporates. Our six strategic solution areas include the following: Retail Payments ACI offers comprehensive consumer payment solutions ranging from core payment engines to back-office support that enable banks and financial intermediaries to compete effectively in today\u0092s real-time, open payments ecosystem. Retail Payments\u0099 solution enables banks and financial intermediaries to accept, authorize, route and secure payment transactions.", - "id": "9e0ce575-cc22-4d30-8880-0d755cf1dfb5" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on environmental restoration, conservation, and recreational activities in federal lands in Northern California, which does not directly relate to 3D Systems Corp.'s business model in 3D printing and manufacturing solutions. The company's activities are centered around advanced manufacturing technologies rather than environmental or land management issues, making the bill irrelevant to their operations.", - "index": "119", - "bill_title": "A bill to provide for restoration, economic development, recreation, and conservation on Federal lands in Northern California, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions concerning the restoration, economic development, and conservation of, and recreational access to, certain public lands in Northern California.\n\nThe bill establishes\n\n the South Fork Trinity-Mad River Restoration Area, the Northwest California Public Lands Remediation Partnership, the Trinity Lake and Del Norte County visitor centers, the Horse Mountain Special Management Area, the Elk Camp Ridge National Recreation Trail, and the Sanhedrin Conservation Management Area. The bill designates\n\n specified federal lands as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, the North Fork Wilderness as the North Fork Eel River Wilderness, specified federal lands as potential wilderness areas, and specified segments of certain rivers and creeks and of a specified river estuary as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Also, the bill\n\n authorizes the use of certain forest residues for research and development of biobased products that\u00a0result in net carbon sequestration; authorizes initiatives to restore degraded redwood forest ecosystems in the Redwood National Forest and state parks; requires studies concerning certain visitor accommodations and recreational trails in the Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinity, and Mendocino National Forests, as applicable; authorizes partnerships for trail and campground maintenance, public education, visitor contacts, and visitor center staffing on federal lands in Mendocino, Humboldt, Trinity, and Del Norte Counties; and adjusts the boundaries of the Elkhorn Ridge Wilderness.", - "company_name": "3D Systems Corp.", - "company_description": "We provide comprehensive 3D printing solutions, including 3D printers for plastics and metals, materials, software, on demand manufacturing services and digital design tools. Our solutions support advanced applications in a wide range of industries and verticals, including healthcare, aerospace, automotive and durable goods. Customers can use our 3D solutions to design and manufacture complex and unique parts, eliminate expensive tooling, produce parts locally or in small batches and reduce lead times and time to market. A growing number of customers are shifting from prototyping applications to also using 3D printing for production. We believe this shift will be further driven by our continued advancement and innovation of 3D printing solutions that improve durability, repeatability, productivity and total cost of operations. Our precision healthcare capabilities include simulation; Virtual Surgical Planning (\"VSP\u2122\"); and printing of medical and dental devices, anatomical models, and surgical guides and instruments. We have over 30 years of experience and expertise which have proven vital to our development of end-to-end solutions that enable customers to optimize product designs, transform workflows, bring innovative products to market and drive new business models. We offer a comprehensive range of 3D printers, materials, software, haptic design tools, 3D scanners and virtual surgical simulators. Our 3D printers transform digital data input generated by 3D design software, CAD software or other 3D design tools, into printed parts using several unique print engines that employ proprietary, additive layer by layer building processes with a variety of materials. We offer a broad range of 3D printing technologies including Stereolithography (\"SLA\"), Selective Laser Sintering (\"SLS\"), Direct Metal Printing (\"DMP\"), Our printers utilize a wide range of materials, the majority of which are proprietary materials that we develop, blend and market. Our comprehensive range of materials includes plastic, nylon, metal, composite, elastomeric, wax, polymeric dental materials and Class IV bio-compatible materials. We augment and complement our portfolio of engineered materials with materials that we purchase or develop with third parties under private label and distribution arrangements. We work closely with our customers to optimize the performance of our materials in their applications. Our expertise in materials science and formulation, combined with our processes, software and equipment, enables us to provide unique and highly specialized materials and help our customers select the material that best meets their needs with optimal cost and performance results. As part of our solutions approach, our currently offered printers, with the exception of direct metal printers, have built-in intelligence to make them integrated, closed systems. For these integrated printers, we furnish materials specifically designed for use in those printers which are packaged in smart cartridges and utilize material delivery systems. These integrated materials are designed to enhance system functionality, productivity, reliability and materials shelf life, in addition to providing our customers with a built-in quality management system and a fully integrated workflow solution. Our SLA 3D printers cure liquid resin materials with light or a laser to produce durable plastic parts with surface smoothness, high resolution, edge definition and tolerances that rival the accuracy of machined or molded plastic parts. We offer SLA printers with a wide range of materials, sizes and price points, which are designed for prototyping, end-use part production, casting patterns, molds, tooling, fixtures and medical models. Figure 4\u2122, a light-based SLA platform, also sometimes referred to as digital light processing (\"DLP\"), is an ultra-fast additive manufacturing technology with a discrete module design. This design allows a range of products and configurations to meet customer needs from a stand-alone product to modular products to fully-automated solutions. Figure 4 is capable of manufacturing parts in hybrid materials (multi-mode polymerization) that offer toughness, durability, biocompatibility, high temperature deflection and elastomeric properties. Figure 4 is also the first additive manufacturing product which can achieve six sigma repeatability. These capabilities enable new end-use applications in healthcare, dental, durable goods, automotive, aerospace and other verticals. ", - "id": "0acc524c-c9b6-47c6-bbc4-1df5c2f39517" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Cybersecurity Skills Integration Act focuses on establishing a pilot program for cybersecurity education grants, which are aimed at partnerships between educational institutions and employers in critical infrastructure sectors like education and cybersecurity. Pinnacle Foods, a food manufacturer and distributor, is not directly involved in cybersecurity or education, making the bill's implications irrelevant to its business model and activities.", - "index": "120", - "bill_title": "To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a pilot program to award competitive grants for the integration of cybersecurity education, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Cybersecurity Skills Integration Act\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Education to establish a pilot program in order to award grants to partnerships between postsecondary educational institutions and employers in critical infrastructure sectors for cybersecurity education programs.", - "company_name": "Pinnacle Foods, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of high-quality, branded food products in North America, with annual net sales of approximately $3.1 billion in fiscal 2017. Our brand portfolio enjoys strong household penetration in the United States (\"U.S.\"), where our products can be found in over 85% of U.S. households. Our products are sold through supermarkets, grocery wholesalers and distributors, mass merchandisers, super centers, convenience stores, dollar stores, natural and organic food stores, drug stores, e-commerce websites and warehouse clubs in the United States and Canada, as well as in military channels and foodservice locations. Pinnacle Foods Inc. is a holding company whose sole asset is 100% ownership of Peak Finance Holdings LLC (\"PFH\"). PFH is a holding company whose sole asset is 100% ownership of Pinnacle Foods Finance LLC. The Company's business is organized into the following four reportable segments: The Frozen segment, The Grocery segment, The Boulder segment and The Specialty segment Frozen Segment Birds Eye is the largest brand in the $3.3 billion frozen vegetables category, with a 31.9% market share. Government programs, such as the USDA's My Plate program, and nutrition and health professionals continue to identify increased vegetable consumption as a key to better health. We believe that enhancing the taste of vegetables and making them exceptionally convenient are keys to driving more vegetable consumption. Birds Eye has taken a leadership role in increasing vegetable consumption, including encouraging children to eat more vegetables. We are supporters of the USDA's My Plate program and have engaged in breakthrough marketing efforts with major multi-media family entertainment partners to encourage children to eat more vegetables. We also compete in the frozen complete bagged meals category with our Birds Eye Voila! frozen bagged meals provide consumers with a high quality complete meal, including protein, starch, and vegetables, that can be prepared in a skillet in just minutes. Our Frozen segment also includes Hungry-Man frozen entr\u00e9es, Van de Kamp's and frozen prepared seafood, Lender's frozen and refrigerated bagels and Celeste frozen pizza. Grocery Segment Included in the Grocery segment is our Duncan Hines portfolio, which includes cake mixes, ready-to-serve frostings, brownie mixes, and cookie mixes. In addition to our traditional cake mix offerings, our cake mix portfolio also includes premium offerings under the Duncan Hines Decadent and Duncan Hines Perfect Size brands. Duncan Hines is the #2 brand with a 28.9% market share in the $1.1 billion cake/brownie mix and frostings We compete in the shelf-stable salad dressings category with our Wish-Bone and Western brands, including our Wish-Bone E.V.O.O., Wish-Bone Ristorante Italiano and Wish-Bone Avocado Oil lines. We hold the #4 position in the $2.0 billion salad dressings category, with a combined share of 11.0%, and Wish-Bone holds the #1 position in the branded Italian segment of the category. Our Grocery segment also includes Armour, Nalley and Brooks canned meat, Mrs. Butterworth's and Log Cabin table syrups, Smart Balance premium margarine/spread, Comstock and Wilderness pie and pastry fruit fillings and Open Pit barbecue sauce. The Grocery segment also includes a diversified portfolio of shelf-stable and refrigerated products including a complete line of shelf-stable pickle products, primarily under the nationally-distributed Vlasic brand, and the regional brands under the Milwaukee's and Wiejske Wyroby brands. Our Vlasic brand, represented by its trademark Vlasic stork, has the highest consumer awareness and quality ratings in the pickle category. Vlasic is the #1 brand in the $790 million shelf-stable pickle category and Pinnacle pickle brands collectively hold a 34.3% market share. We offer a portfolio of gluten-free products under the ", - "id": "dbd702a4-b378-4ccf-aa28-c8c178603813" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving the handling of crimes related to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking through trauma-informed approaches by law enforcement and victim services. Facebook, as a social media and technology company, does not directly engage in law enforcement activities or victim services. While the bill may indirectly affect the digital landscape in which Facebook operates, the primary focus of the bill does not align with the company's core business model, which revolves around social connectivity and advertising.", - "index": "121", - "bill_title": "A bill to authorize the Office on Violence Against Women to improve the handling of crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by incorporating a trauma-informed approach into the initial response to and investigation of such crimes.", - "bill_summary": "Abby Honold Act\n\nThis bill directs the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women to make competitive grants to law enforcement agencies and victim services organizations to implement evidence-based, trauma-informed approaches in responding to and investigating domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.", - "company_name": "Facebook, Inc.", - "company_description": "Our mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. Our top priority is to build useful and engaging products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, and other surfaces. We also help people discover and learn about what is going on in the world around them, enable people to share their opinions, ideas, photos and videos, and other activities with audiences ranging from their closest friends to the public at large, and stay connected everywhere by accessing our products, including: \u2022 Facebook. Facebook enables people to connect, share, discover, and communicate with each other on mobile devices and personal computers. There are a number of different ways to engage with people on Facebook, the most important of which is News Feed which displays an algorithmically-ranked series of stories and advertisements individualized for each person. Instagram is a community for sharing visual stories through photos, videos, and direct messages. Instagram is also a place for people to stay connected with the interests and communities that they care about. Messenger is a messaging application that makes it easy for people to connect with other people, groups and businesses across a variety of platforms and devices. WhatsApp is a fast, simple, and reliable messaging application that is used by people around the world to connect securely and privately. Our Oculus virtual reality technology and content platform power products that allow people to enter a completely immersive and interactive environment to train, learn, play games, consume content, and connect with others. We generate substantially all of our revenue from selling advertising placements to marketers. Our ads enable marketers to reach people based on a variety of factors including age, gender, location, interests, and behaviors. Marketers purchase ads that can appear in multiple places including on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and third-party applications and websites. We are also investing in a number of longer-term initiatives, such as connectivity efforts, artificial intelligence research, and augmented and virtual reality, to develop technologies that we believe will help us better serve our communities and pursue our mission to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. We compete with companies that sell advertising, as well as with companies that provide social, media, and communication products and services that are designed to engage users on mobile devices and online. We face significant competition in every aspect of our business, including from companies that facilitate communication and the sharing of content and information, companies that enable marketers to display advertising, companies that distribute video and other forms of media content, and companies that provide development platforms for applications developers. We compete to attract, engage, and retain people who use our products, to attract and retain marketers, and to attract and retain developers to build compelling mobile and web applications that integrate with our products. Companies that offer products across broad platforms that replicate capabilities we provide. For example, Google has integrated social functionality into a number of its products, including search, video, and Android. Companies that develop applications, particularly mobile applications, that provide social or other communications functionality, such as messaging, photo- and video-sharing, and micro-blogging. Companies that provide regional social networks that have strong positions in particular countries. Traditional, online, and mobile businesses that provide media for marketers to reach their audiences and/or develop tools and systems for managing and optimizing advertising campaigns. Companies that develop and deliver virtual reality products and services. Our product development philosophy is centered on continuous innovation in creating and improving products that are social by design, which means that our products are designed to place people and their social interactions at the core of the product experience. As our user base grows, and the level of engagement from the people who use our products continues to increase, including with video, our computing needs continue to expand.", - "id": "7c427d0b-c027-42c1-bc7f-82fd97f0eb9e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on child care and early learning programs for low- to moderate-income families, which is unrelated to the biopharmaceutical industry, specifically Akebia Therapeutics' focus on developing therapies for renal disease and anemia. The legal consequences of the bill do not impact Akebia's business model or activities.", - "index": "122", - "bill_title": "To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 and the Head Start Act to promote child care and early learning, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Child Care for Working Families Act\n\nThis bill provides funds and otherwise revises certain child care and early learning programs for low- to moderate-income families.\n\nSpecifically, the bill provides funds for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program and reestablishes it as a child care and development assistance program. It also allocates program funds for states to provide services and support to infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities.\n\nFurther, it revises the program to require each state to, among other things\n\n create a tiered and transparent system for measuring the quality of child care providers, which must include evidence-based standards and payment rates that are based on a certain cost estimation model; assure that copayments are based on a sliding scale and that no family receiving assistance pays more than 7% of their household income on child care; and use quality child care amounts for certain activities, such as improving the supply of child care providers who provide care to infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities (e.g., professional development). It also provides funds and establishes grants for states to create preschool programs for low- to moderate-income children between the ages of three and five years.\n\nFinally, the Department of Health and Human Services must make grants to Head Start agencies to (1) provide children with access to full-school-year and full-school-day services, (2) provide access to additional service hours for migrant and seasonal agencies, or (3) enhance the quality of existing services.", - "company_name": "Akebia Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel therapeutics for patients based on hypoxia-inducible factor, or HIF, biology, and building our pipeline while leveraging our development and commercial expertise in renal disease. HIF is the primary regulator of the production of red blood cells, or RBCs, in the body, as well as other important metabolic functions. Pharmacologic modulation of the HIF pathway may have broad therapeutic applications. Our lead product candidate, vadadustat, is an oral therapy in Phase 3 development and has the potential to set a new standard of care in the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease, or CKD. Our management team has extensive experience in developing and commercializing drugs for the treatment of renal and metabolic disorders, as well as a deep understanding of HIF biology. This unique combination of HIF and renal expertise is enabling us to advance a pipeline of HIF-based therapies to potentially address serious diseases. HIF, a pathway involving hundreds of genes, is the same pathway used by the body to adapt to lower oxygen availability, or hypoxia, such as that experienced with a moderate increase in altitude. At higher altitudes, the body responds to lower oxygen levels by increasing the availability of HIF, which coordinates the interdependent processes of iron utilization and erythropoietin, or EPO, production to increase RBC production and, ultimately, improve oxygen delivery. The significance of the HIF pathway was recognized by the 2016 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, which honored the three physician-scientists who discovered the HIF pathway and elucidated this primary oxygen sensing mechanism that is essential for survival. HIF protein is constantly being produced under normal oxygen conditions, but is quickly degraded by prolyl hydroxylases, or PH. Under hypoxic conditions, HIF-PHs are inhibited, allowing HIF to stimulate erythropoiesis. Our lead product candidate, vadadustat, is a HIF-PH inhibitor, or HIF-PHI, in Phase 3 development for the treatment of anemia due to CKD. Anemia is common in patients with CKD, and its prevalence increases as CKD progresses. Anemia is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is contained within RBCs and carries oxygen to other parts of the body. If there are too few RBCs or if hemoglobin levels are low, the cells in the body will not get enough oxygen. In patients with CKD, anemia results from inadequate EPO levels, which negatively affect RBC production. In addition, iron, which is essential to RBC production, may be deficient in patients with CKD. Left untreated, anemia significantly accelerates overall deterioration of patient health with increased morbidity and mortality. Based on third party prevalence data and company estimates, approximately 37 million people in the United States have CKD and approximately 5.7 million of these individuals suffer from anemia. Anemia from CKD is currently treated by injectable recombinant human erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, or injectable ESAs, such as EPOGEN \u00ae (epoetin alfa) and Aranesp \u00ae Based on publicly available information on ESA sales and market data compiled by a third-party vendor, global sales of injectable ESAs for all uses were estimated to be approximately $7.0 billion in 2016. The vast majority of these sales were for the treatment of anemia due to CKD. When administered to a patient, injectable ESAs provide supra-physiological levels of exogenous erythropoietin to stimulate production of RBCs. While injectable ESAs can be effective in raising hemoglobin levels, they have the potential to cause significant side effects, and need to be injected subcutaneously or intravenously.", - "id": "71b58bc8-106a-4eb1-b122-148e9fd9d7de" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to protect the privacy of users of online platforms by requiring operators to inform users about data collection and usage, provide privacy preferences, and potentially restrict access based on privacy elections. Adobe, as a major software company with a cloud-based business model and extensive data transactions in its Digital Experience division, is significantly affected by these privacy requirements. The bill's implications regarding user data collection, user rights to their data, and FTC enforcement are directly relevant to Adobe's operations and business practices.", - "index": "123", - "bill_title": "A bill to protect the privacy of users of social media and other online platforms.", - "bill_summary": "Social Media Privacy Protection and Consumer Rights Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires online platform operators to inform a user, prior to\u00a0a user creating an account or otherwise using the platform, that the user's personal data produced during online behavior will be collected and used by the operator and third parties. The operator must provide\u00a0a user the option to specify privacy preferences, and an operator may deny certain services or complete access to\u00a0a user if the user's privacy elections create inoperability in the platform.\n\nThe operator must\u00a0(1)\u00a0offer\u00a0a user a copy of the personal data of the user that the operator has processed, free of charge, and in an electronic format; and (2) notify\u00a0a user within 72 hours of becoming aware that the user's data has been transmitted in violation of the security platform.\n\nA violation of the bill's privacy requirements shall be considered an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may enforce this bill against common carriers regulated by the Federal Communications Commission under the Communications Act of 1934 and nonprofit organizations. Currently, common carriers regulated under that Act are exempt from the FTC's enforcement authority, and nonprofit organizations are subject to FTC enforcement only if they provide substantial economic benefit to their for-profit members.\n\nA state may bring a civil action in federal court regarding such violations.", - "company_name": "Adobe, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Founded in 1982, Adobe Systems Incorporated is one of the largest and most diversified software companies in the world. We offer a line of products and services used by creative professionals, marketers, knowledge workers, application developers, enterprises and consumers for creating, managing, delivering, measuring, optimizing and engaging with compelling content and experiences across personal computers, devices and media. We license our products to end users through app stores and our own website at www.adobe.com. We offer many of our products via a Software-as-a-Service (\"SaaS\") model or a managed services model (both of which are referred to as hosted or cloud-based) as well as through term subscription and pay-per-use models. We also distribute certain products and services through a network of distributors, value-added resellers (\"VARs\"), systems integrators (\"SIs\"), independent software vendors (\"ISVs\"), retailers, software developers and original equipment manufacturers (\"OEMs\"). In addition, we license our technology to hardware manufacturers, software developers and service providers for use in their products and solutions. Our products run on personal and server-based computers, as well as on smartphones, tablets and other devices, depending on the product. We help our customers create and deliver the most compelling experiences in a streamlined workflow, and optimize those experiences for greater return on investment. Our solutions turn ordinary interactions into valuable digital experiences, across media and devices, anytime, anywhere. While we continue to offer a broad portfolio of products, services, and solutions, we focus our investments in two strategic growth areas: Digital Media\u2014providing products, services and solutions that enable individuals, teams and enterprises to create, publish and promote their content anywhere. Our customers include content creators, web designers, app developers and digital media professionals, as well as management in marketing departments and agencies, companies and publishers. Our customers also include knowledge workers who create, collaborate and distribute documents. This is the core of what we have delivered for over 25 years, and we have evolved our business model to provide our customers with a range of flexible solutions that allow them to reach their full creative potential anytime, anywhere, on any device on projects of all types. Digital Experience\u2014providing solutions and services for creating, managing, executing, measuring and optimizing digital marketing and advertising campaigns across multiple channels. Our customers include marketers, advertisers, agencies, publishers, 3 merchandisers, web analysts, marketing executives, information management executives, product development executives, and sales and support executives. In fiscal 2017, we processed 186 trillion data transactions with our analytics products, providing our customers with a robust data platform that can be used to gain insight and optimize digital experiences delivered with our Adobe Experience Cloud solutions. By combining the creativity of our Digital Media business with the science of our Digital Experience offerings, we help our customers more efficiently and effectively make, manage, measure and monetize their content across every channel with an end-to-end workflow and feedback loop. We believe we are uniquely positioned to be a leader in both the Digital Media and Digital Experience markets, where our mission is to change the world through digital experiences. By integrating products from each of these two areas of Adobe's business, our customers are able to utilize a comprehensive suite of solutions and services that no other company currently offers. In addition, our ability to deliver innovation and productivity improvements across customer workflows involving the creation, management, delivery, measurement and optimization of engaging content favorably positions Adobe as our customers continue investing in engaging their constituents digitally. MARKET OVERVIEW Digital Media Digital Media Opportunity Recent technology trends in digital communications continue to provide a significant market opportunity for Adobe in digital media. In today's world where the velocity of creation and consumption of digital content is ever increasing, customers are looking for a way to meet demand with engaging online experiences. Adobe is in a strong position to capitalize on this opportunity by driving modernization and innovation that will accelerate the creative process across all platforms and devices, deepen engagement with communities, and accelerate long-term revenue growth by focusing on cloud-based offerings, which are licensed on a subscription basis. The flagship of our Digital Media business is Adobe Creative Cloud\u2014a subscription service that allows members to use Adobe's creative products integrated with cloud-delivered services across desktop, web and mobile devices.", - "id": "8c4a83d4-e595-412a-9c50-fc498056ed18" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Air Transport Services Group, Inc. as it restricts the export of certain technologies and mandates restrictions on telecommunications equipment suppliers. Given ATSG's involvement in airfreight and logistics services, compliance with export regulations concerning technology and telecommunications equipment is critical for their operations and maintaining competitive advantage in the air cargo sector.", - "index": "124", - "bill_title": "To safeguard certain technology and intellectual property in the United States from export to or influence by the People's Republic of China and to protect United States industry from unfair competition by the People's Republic of China, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Fair Trade with China Enforcement Act\n\nThis bill revises trade, finance, and tax provisions with respect to China.\n\nThe bill directs the Department of Commerce to prohibit the export of certain U.S. technology and intellectual property to China.\n\nThe bill places a shareholder cap on Chinese investments in certain U.S. corporations.\n\nFederal agencies are prohibited from using or procuring telecommunications equipment or services from Huawei Technologies Company, ZTE Corporation, or any other\u00a0entity reasonably believed to be owned or controlled by China.\n\nThe bill requires the U.S. Trade Representative to list certain Chinese products that receive support pursuant to China's Made in China 2025 policy. The bill aexpedites the countervailing duty process (i.e., the imposition of duties to offset a subsidy by a foreign government) for products on such a list.\n\nThe bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to\n\n repeal certain reduced withholding rates for residents of China, tax income received by China from certain U.S. investments, and tax income derived from certain Chinese investments. \n\nThe bill also allows U.S. courts to hear cases against certain entities or corporate affiliates of a foreign state.", - "company_name": "Air Transport Services Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Company Overview Air Transport Services Group, Inc. is a holding company whose subsidiaries primarily operate within the airfreight and logistics industry. We lease aircraft and provide airline operations, ground services, aircraft modification and maintenance, and other support services mainly to the cargo transportation and package delivery industries. Our subsidiaries offer a range of complementary services to delivery companies, freight forwarders, airlines and government customers. We offer standalone services along with bundled, customized solutions, scalable to our customers' needs. : We lease cargo aircraft through ATSG's leasing subsidiary, Cargo Aircraft Management, CAM services global demand for medium range and medium capacity airlift by offering Boeing 767, 757 and 737 aircraft leases. CAM is able to provide competitive lease rates by converting passenger aircraft into cargo freighters. CAM monitors the market for available medium passenger aircraft, typically 15 to 20 years beyond their original manufacture date. After evaluation of an aircraft's condition and technical specifications, CAM acquires passenger aircraft that meet its requirements for projected into-service costs and rate of return targets. CAM then manages the modification of a passenger aircraft into a freighter. As a result, the converted freighters can be deployed into regional markets more economically than larger capacity aircraft, newly built freighters or other competing alternatives. CAM's aircraft leases are typically under multi-year agreements. Inc. (\"ATI\"), each independently certificated by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Company's airlines separately offer a combination of aircraft, crews, maintenance and insurance services. These services are commonly referred to as ACMI services or CMI services depending on the selection of services contracted. ABX operates Boeing 767 freighter aircraft, while ATI operates Boeing 767 and Boeing 757 freighter and 757 \"combi\" aircraft. Combi aircraft are capable of carrying passengers and cargo containers on the main deck. The airlines can conduct cargo operations worldwide. We provide transportation related services such as aircraft maintenance, crew training and ground handling to delivery companies, freight forwarders and other airlines. Customers who lease our aircraft often need related support services. Offering support services provides us with a competitive advantage for diversification and incremental revenues. We provide mail and package sorting services, as well as related maintenance services for material handling equipment, ground equipment and facilities through our LGSTX Services, LGSTX also rents ground equipment and sells aviation fuel in Ohio. Aircraft maintenance and modification services: We provide airframe modification and maintenance, component repairs, engineering services and aircraft line maintenance through our subsidiaries Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services, Inc. Inc. (\"AMS\") resells and brokers aircraft parts.", - "id": "805fdf9f-a5fe-40d3-93dd-1f1588f7b896" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on the standards of family detention, the treatment of unaccompanied alien children, and related immigration laws. It addresses DHS and HHS procedures, which are not directly related to Air Transport Services Group, Inc.'s core activities in the airfreight and logistics sector. The company's operations revolve around aircraft leasing and logistics services rather than immigration or detention issues, making the bill not relevant to its business model.", - "index": "125", - "bill_title": "To clarify standards of family detention and the treatment of unaccompanied alien children, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Equal Protection of Unaccompanied Minors Act\n\nThis bill amends rules for the treatment of unaccompanied alien children and asylum-seeking families, and for detaining and removal of various types of aliens.\n\nThe bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to return an inadmissible unaccompanied child to the child's country of nationality or last habitual residence, where currently DHS has discretion to do so.\n\nInterviews with unaccompanied alien children shall be conducted by those with specialized training for interviewing child trafficking victims.\n\nBefore placing an alien child with an individual, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall provide DHS with various information, including the individual's immigration status and contact information. DHS shall initiate removal proceedings if the individual is unlawfully present in the United States.\n\nUnder the bill, unaccompanied alien children in DHS or HHS custody shall have access to counsel in legal proceedings, where currently such children shall have counsel.\n\nDHS shall have authority to extend the detention periods for various categories of removable aliens. The bill also expands the definitions of various types of crimes, such as those related to explosive materials, that are aggravated felonies or crimes of violence for immigration purposes. Aliens associated with criminal gangs shall be inadmissible to the United States and deportable.\n\nThe bill directs DHS, the Department of Justice, and HHS to maintain facilities for housing asylum applicants and their children, and increases the number of immigration judges and Board of Immigration Appeals attorneys and necessary support staff.", - "company_name": "Air Transport Services Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Company Overview Air Transport Services Group, Inc. is a holding company whose subsidiaries primarily operate within the airfreight and logistics industry. We lease aircraft and provide airline operations, ground services, aircraft modification and maintenance, and other support services mainly to the cargo transportation and package delivery industries. Our subsidiaries offer a range of complementary services to delivery companies, freight forwarders, airlines and government customers. We offer standalone services along with bundled, customized solutions, scalable to our customers' needs. : We lease cargo aircraft through ATSG's leasing subsidiary, Cargo Aircraft Management, CAM services global demand for medium range and medium capacity airlift by offering Boeing 767, 757 and 737 aircraft leases. CAM is able to provide competitive lease rates by converting passenger aircraft into cargo freighters. CAM monitors the market for available medium passenger aircraft, typically 15 to 20 years beyond their original manufacture date. After evaluation of an aircraft's condition and technical specifications, CAM acquires passenger aircraft that meet its requirements for projected into-service costs and rate of return targets. CAM then manages the modification of a passenger aircraft into a freighter. As a result, the converted freighters can be deployed into regional markets more economically than larger capacity aircraft, newly built freighters or other competing alternatives. CAM's aircraft leases are typically under multi-year agreements. Inc. (\"ATI\"), each independently certificated by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Company's airlines separately offer a combination of aircraft, crews, maintenance and insurance services. These services are commonly referred to as ACMI services or CMI services depending on the selection of services contracted. ABX operates Boeing 767 freighter aircraft, while ATI operates Boeing 767 and Boeing 757 freighter and 757 \"combi\" aircraft. Combi aircraft are capable of carrying passengers and cargo containers on the main deck. The airlines can conduct cargo operations worldwide. We provide transportation related services such as aircraft maintenance, crew training and ground handling to delivery companies, freight forwarders and other airlines. Customers who lease our aircraft often need related support services. Offering support services provides us with a competitive advantage for diversification and incremental revenues. We provide mail and package sorting services, as well as related maintenance services for material handling equipment, ground equipment and facilities through our LGSTX Services, LGSTX also rents ground equipment and sells aviation fuel in Ohio. Aircraft maintenance and modification services: We provide airframe modification and maintenance, component repairs, engineering services and aircraft line maintenance through our subsidiaries Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services, Inc. Inc. (\"AMS\") resells and brokers aircraft parts.", - "id": "86099b7c-4868-4cfe-a70f-2f02f58741f2" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily regulates hours of service for commercial drivers transporting live animals, which does not directly pertain to United Airlines, a passenger airline company. United primarily focuses on air transport and does not operate in the trucking or ground transport of livestock. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill are not relevant to United Airlines' business model or operations.", - "index": "126", - "bill_title": "To require the Secretary of Transportation to modify provisions relating to hours of service requirements with respect to transportation of certain live animals, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Transporting Livestock Across America Safely Act\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Transportation to amend regulations on hours of service for commercial drivers who transport live covered animals (i.e., livestock, honey bees, insects, fish, and crawfish) within a 300 air-mile radius from where the on-duty time of the driver begins. The regulations must (1) exclude from the driver's on-duty time certain activities, such as loading or unloading a commercial motor vehicle; (2) change the driving time requirement to a maximum of not less than 15, and not more than 18, hours within a 24-hour period; (3) permit the driver to take one or more rest periods during the trip, which shall not be included in the calculation of the driving time; (4) require the driver, after completion of the trip, to take a rest break for a period that is five hours less than the maximum driving time; (5) exclude from the calculation of the driving time up to two additional hours, if the driver is within 150 air-miles of the point of delivery; and (6) make inapplicable the requirement that the driver take a 10-hour rest period before driving.", - "company_name": "United Airlines Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. The Company transports people and cargo through its mainline and regional operations. With key global aviation rights in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Latin America, UAL has the world\u0092s most comprehensive global route network. UAL, through United and its regional carriers, operates more than 4,500 flights a day to 338 airports across five continents, with hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport (\u0093Newark\u0094), Chicago O\u0092Hare International Airport (\u0093Chicago O\u0092Hare\u0094), The hub and spoke system allows us to transport passengers between a large number of destinations with substantially more frequent service than if each route were served directly. The 3 hub system also allows us to add service to a new destination from a large number of cities using only one or a limited number of aircraft. As discussed under Alliances below, United is a member of Star Alliance, the world\u0092s largest alliance network. The Company has contractual relationships with various regional carriers to provide regional aircraft service branded as United Express. This regional service complements our operations by carrying traffic that connects to our mainline service and allows flights to smaller cities that cannot be provided economically with mainline aircraft. Republic Airlines (\u0093Republic\u0094), Champlain Enterprises, LLC d/b/a CommutAir (\u0093CommutAir\u0094), ExpressJet Airlines (\u0093ExpressJet\u0094), GoJet Airlines (\u0093GoJet\u0094), Mesa Airlines (\u0093Mesa\u0094), SkyWest Airlines (\u0093SkyWest\u0094), Air Wisconsin Airlines (\u0093Air Wisconsin\u0094), and Trans States Airlines (\u0093Trans States\u0094) are all regional carriers that operate with capacity contracted to United under capacity purchase agreements (\u0093CPAs\u0094). Under these CPAs, the Company pays the regional carriers contractually agreed fees (carrier costs) for operating these flights plus a variable reimbursement (incentive payment for operational performance) based on agreed performance metrics, subject to annual inflation adjustments. The fees for carrier costs are based on specific rates for various operating expenses of the regional carriers, such as crew expenses, maintenance and aircraft ownership, some of which are multiplied by specific operating statistics (e.g., block hours, departures), while others are fixed monthly amounts. Under these CPAs, the Company is responsible for all fuel costs incurred, as well as landing fees and other costs, which are either passed through by the regional carrier to the Company without any markup or directly incurred by the Company. In return, the regional carriers operate this capacity exclusively for United, on schedules determined by the Company. The Company also determines pricing and revenue management, assumes the inventory and distribution risk for the available seats and permits mileage accrual and redemption for regional flights through its MileagePlus \u00ae loyalty program. United is a member of Star Alliance, a global integrated airline network and the largest and most comprehensive airline alliance in the world. As of January 1, 2018, Star Alliance carriers served 1,300 airports in 191 countries with 18,400 daily departures. Star Alliance members, in addition to United, are Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways (\u0093ANA\u0094), Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, Avianca Brasil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI Airways International and Turkish Airlines. United has a variety of bilateral commercial alliance agreements and obligations with Star Alliance members, addressing, among other things, reciprocal earning and redemption of frequent flyer miles, access to airport lounges and, with certain Star Alliance members, codesharing of flight operations (whereby one carrier\u0092s selected flights can be marketed under the brand name of another carrier). In addition to the alliance agreements with Star Alliance members, United currently maintains independent marketing alliance agreements with other air carriers, including Aeromar, Aer Lingus, Air Dolomiti, Azul, Cape Air, Eurowings, Great Lakes Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Silver Airways. In addition to the marketing alliance agreements with air partners, United also offers a train-to-plane codeshare and frequent flyer alliance with Amtrak from Newark on select city pairs in the northeastern United States. United also participates in three passenger joint ventures, one with Air Canada and the Lufthansa Group (which includes Lufthansa and its affiliates Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and SWISS) covering transatlantic routes, one with ANA covering certain transpacific routes and one with Air New Zealand covering certain routes between the United States and New Zealand. These passenger joint ventures enable the participating carriers to integrate the services they provide in the respective regions, capturing revenue synergies and delivering highly competitive flight schedules, fares and services. United has also implemented cargo joint 4 ventures with ANA for transpacific cargo services and continues to implement a cargo joint venture with Lufthansa for transatlantic cargo services. These cargo joint ventures offer expanded and more seamless access to cargo space across the carriers\u0092 respective combined networks. ", - "id": "5b3655e8-5bb2-4856-a95f-5f9a038fee18" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant for Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. because it promotes economic recovery through the growth of new businesses, which could create demand for Advanced Energy's power conversion and measurement solutions, particularly in industries like semiconductor manufacturing and renewable energy (solar). Additionally, the increase in visas for STEM professionals may benefit the company by providing access to a larger talent pool in high-tech sectors crucial for their operations.", - "index": "127", - "bill_title": "A bill to jump-start economic recovery through the formation and growth of new businesses, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Startup Act\n\nThis bill provides conditional visas to certain immigrants with advanced educational credentials. It also establishes a grant program to promote innovation and imposes requirements on certain rulemaking activities.\n\nThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may provide conditional permanent resident status to up to 50,000 aliens with advanced science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) degrees. Such aliens may remain in the country for up to one year after the expiration of a student visa to find employment, or indefinitely if already engaged in a STEM field.\n\nDHS may issue conditional immigrant visas for up to 75,000 qualified alien entrepreneurs. The bill imposes various requirements on such entrepreneurs, such as creating a number of full-time jobs for a period of time, after which the alien shall receive permanent resident status.\n\nThe bill increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from 7% of the total number of such visas available that year to 15%, and eliminates the 7% cap for employment-based immigrant visas. It also removes an offset that reduced the number of visas for individuals from China.\n\nThe bill establishes a grant program to support the commercialization of federally-funded research. It also extends funding authorization through FY2024 for an existing regional innovation grant program and amends the program's provisions.\n\nThis bill requires federal agencies, before proposing a rule that may have a significant economic effect, to publish an analysis of the rule, including the problem the rule intends to address and a cost-benefit analysis.", - "company_name": "Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview Advanced Energy provides highly-engineered, mission-critical, precision power conversion, measurement and control solutions to our global customers. We design, manufacture, sell and support precision power products that transform electrical power into various usable forms. Our power conversion products refine, modify and control the raw electrical power from a utility and convert it into power that is predictable, repeatable and customizable. Our products enable thin film manufacturing processes such as plasma enhanced chemical and physical deposition and etch for various semiconductor and industrial products, industrial thermal applications for material and chemical processes, and specialty power for critical industrial applications. We also supply thermal instrumentation products for advanced temperature measurement and control in these markets. Our network of global service support centers provide local repair and field service capability in key regions as well as provide upgrades and refurbishment services, and sales of used equipment to businesses that use our products. The high-efficiency, low voltage, configurable power supplies that Excelsys manufactures for medical and industrial applications will further enhance Advanced Energy's product portfolio. Our products are designed to enable new process technologies, improve productivity, and lower the cost of ownership for our customers. We also provide repair and maintenance services for all of our products. We principally serve original equipment manufacturers (\"OEM\") and end customers in the semiconductor, flat panel display, high voltage, solar panel, and other industrial capital equipment markets. Our products are used in diverse markets, applications, and processes including the manufacture of capital equipment for semiconductor device manufacturing, thin film applications for thin film renewables and architectural glass, and for other thin film applications including flat panel displays, and industrial coatings. Therefore, demand for our products and our financial results can change as demand for manufacturing equipment and repair and maintenance services change in response to consumer demand. Other factors, such as global economic and market conditions and technological advances in the applications we serve can also have an impact on our financial results, both positively and negatively. Our process power systems include direct current (\"DC\"), pulsed DC, low frequency, high voltage, and radio frequency (\"RF\") power supplies, matching networks, remote plasma sources for reactive gas applications and RF instrumentation. These power conversion systems refine, modify, and control the raw electrical power from a utility and convert it into power that may be customized and is predictable and repeatable. Our power control modules and thermal instrumentation products are used in the semiconductor industry, including adjacent thin film applications for solar PV and light emitting diode (\"LED\") industries, and heavy industries, for thermal control and temperature measurement solutions for applications in which time-temperature cycles affect material properties, productivity, and yield. These products are used in rapid thermal processing, chemical vapor deposition, crystal growing, and other semiconductor and solar applications requiring non-contact temperature measurement. They are also used in chemical processing, glass manufacturing and numerous other general industrial power applications. Our high voltage products are designed to meet the demanding requirements of OEMs worldwide. Our high voltage power solutions and custom-built power conversion products offer high frequency, high voltage topology, providing wide input and output operating ranges while retaining excellent stability and efficiencies ranging from benchtop and rackmount systems to micro-size printed circuit board mount modules. The products target applications including semiconductor wafer 3 processing and metrology, scientific instrumentation, mass spectrometry, industrial printing and analytical x-ray systems for industrial and analytical applications. Our solutions are designed to meet the demanding requirements of global OEMs in the Industrial, Medical and MIL-COTS (Commercial-off-the-shelf) verticals. Our low voltage products deliver excellence in efficiency, flexibility, performance and reliability. In the Medical industry our solutions are used in a variety of applications including: clinical diagnostic equipment, lasers, X-ray machines, CT-scanners and MRI scanners. In the Industrial vertical our products are commonly used in test and measurement, lasers, optical inspection equipment and scientific instrumentation.", - "id": "67ad0135-bf2b-4b9a-8e80-7ade69198710" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill provides appropriations for the Department of State and related programs, which may impact healthcare initiatives and foreign aid programs, particularly regarding global health initiatives. As Allscripts Healthcare Solutions focuses on improving healthcare outcomes and technologies, funding for international health operations could be relevant to their business model, especially if they expand their services globally or work with international health organizations.", - "index": "128", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020\n\nThis bill provides FY2020 appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs.\n\nThe bill provides appropriations to the State Department for\n\n Administration of Foreign Affairs, International Organizations, and International Commissions. The bill provides appropriations for Related Agencies and Related Programs, including\n\n the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the Asia Foundation, the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue Trust Fund, the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship Program, the Israeli Arab Scholarship Program, the East-West Center, and the National Endowment for Democracy. The bill provides appropriations for Other Commissions, including\n\n the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Congressional-Executive Commission on the People's Republic of China, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, and the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission. The bill provides appropriations to\n\n the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the State Department and the President for International Security Assistance, the President and International Financial Institutions for Multilateral Assistance, and specified accounts for Overseas Contingency Operations/ Global War on Terrorism. The bill provides appropriations for Bilateral Economic Assistance to\n\n the President; the State Department; Independent Agencies, including the Peace Corps, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Inter-American Foundation, and the U.S. African Development Foundation; and the Department of the Treasury. The bill provides appropriations for Export and Investment Assistance to\n\n the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. The bill sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.", - "company_name": "Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.", - "company_description": "We deliver information technology (\"IT\") solutions and services to help healthcare organizations achieve optimal clinical, financial and operational results. Our portfolio, which we believe offers some of the most comprehensive solutions in our industry today, helps clients advance the quality and efficiency of healthcare by providing electronic health records (\"EHR\"), financial management, population health management, precision medicine and consumer solutions. Built on an open integrated platform, our solutions enable users to streamline workflows, leverage functionality from other software vendors and exchange data. The Allscripts Developer Program focuses on nurturing partnerships with other developers to help clients optimize the value of their Allscripts investment. Practice Fusion offers an affordable certified cloud-based EHR for traditionally hard-to-reach small, independent physician practices. An integrated data systems and services provider, Veradigm combines data-driven clinical insights with actionable tools for clinical workflow, research, analytics and media. Mobile-first and cloud-based, Avenel creates a communitywide, shared patient record, using machine learning to reduce time for clinical documentation, all while designed to work like an app instead of traditional software. Health Grid is a patient engagement solutions provider that helps independent providers, hospitals and health systems improve patient interactions and satisfaction. We are integrating the capabilities of Health Grid into our FollowMyHealth \u00ae platform to help organizations address consumerism trends while enabling them to reach 100% of their patient populations without requiring their patients to sign into a portal. The new functionality will use existing patients' contact information and grow the use of FollowMyHealth \u00ae to connect providers with patients and create opportunities to reach new heights of patient outreach and engagement. Lyft is the fastest growing rideshare company in the United States and will enable non-emergency transportation options to appear directly in the physician's workflow. Leveraging Lyft's proprietary application programming interface (\"API\") and Allscripts Open platform, Allscripts and Lyft will integrate this functionality into Sunrise\u2122 EHR, to enable clinicians to order the Lyft service for patients. Our portfolio addresses a range of industry needs, with the goal of helping clients drive smarter care across connected communities of health. Across care settings, our solutions enable clinical, financial and operational efficiencies while helping patients deepen their engagement in their own care. Electronic Health Records Allscripts offers a suite of EHRs for hospitals and health systems, as well as community and physician practices. Built on an open platform with advanced clinical decision support, our EHRs provide analysis and insights. Our EHR solutions deliver a single patient record, workflows and consolidated analytics. Our innovative solutions help deliver improved patient care and outcomes. Sunrise\u2122 is a comprehensive EHR platform for larger hospital facilities with a combination of services lines. Sunrise supports health systems on a single platform for both inpatient and outpatient care and provides decision guidance, including computerized provider order entry, note and flowsheet documentation, clinical summary views and other key workflows necessary for driving quality care. Functionality is also offered on mobile devices. Paragon \u00ae is an integrated clinical, financial and administrative EHR solution tailored for community hospitals and health systems. Once part of the McKesson EIS portfolio, the solution supports the full scope of care delivery and business processes, from patient ac cess management and accounting through clinical assessment, documentation and treatment. EHR is an EHR solution for larger single and multispecialty practices and is built on an open platform that brings data sources together. This open platform feature, along with the ability to customize workflows, enables clinical staff to effectively coordinate and deliver both primary and specialized care.", - "id": "c517b5e5-1ffa-4d89-9f13-ebc5da7be4a7" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on defense and security assistance, particularly concerning U.S.-Israel relations and military capabilities. It does not have direct implications or relevance to International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.'s business model, which is centered around sensory experiences, flavors, fragrances, and food preservation. The company's activities do not intersect with defense provisions or military assistance outlined in the bill.", - "index": "129", - "bill_title": "To make improvements to certain defense and security assistance provisions and to authorize assistance for Israel, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "United States-Israel Cooperation Enhancement and Regional Security Act\n\nThis bill authorizes various joint research and cooperation programs between the United States and Israel, reauthorizes security assistance to Israel, and establishes\u00a0reporting requirements regarding\u00a0various related issues.\n\nThe bill authorizes the Department of State to work with Israel on research and development to establish directed energy capabilities. It authorizes through FY2024 cooperative projects involving the United States, Israel, and developing countries to identify and address sustainability challenges related to water resources, agriculture, and energy storage.\n\nThe bill authorizes through FY2022 (1) activities of the U.S.-Israel Energy Center; (2) cooperation with\u00a0and assistance to Israel related to security, explosives detection, and cybersecurity; (3) activities related to the U.S.-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund; and (4) activities to establish a cooperative program with Israel to develop health technologies.\n\nThe State Department shall establish a grant program to support cybersecurity research and development and commercialization of cybersecurity technology open to joint ventures involving U.S. and Israeli entities.\n\nThe President shall establish contingency plans to provide Israel with necessary defense articles and services and assess plans to assist and supply Israel with munitions in the event of a sustained armed confrontation with Hezbollah.\n\nThe bill authorizes the President to (1) waive export control requirements and immediately transfer defense articles to Israel in response to an existing or imminent military threat, and (2) transfer precision guided munitions to Israel as necessary for legitimate self-defense.\n\nThe bill extends through FY2024 security assistance and loan guarantees for Israel.", - "company_name": "International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.", - "company_description": "the term \"Frutarom\" to mean (i) for periods prior to October 4, 2018, Frutarom Industries Ltd and its subsidiaries and (ii) for periods after October 4, 2018, our business segment Frutarom. We are a leading innovator of sensory experiences that move the world. We co-create unique products that consumers taste, smell, or touch. Our expanded geographical footprint and product portfolio position us to better serve both our global customers and the growing regional, mid-sized and smaller specialty customers. Through the acquisition, of Frutarom we increased our product portfolio with complementary adjacencies, such as natural colors, antioxidants for food preservation, nutraceuticals, ingredients for infant formula and proteins for elderly nutrition, and expanded core product lines with savory solutions aimed at the meat and fish industry, citrus and other naturals flavors, specialty ingredients and new cosmetic actives. As a result, we now have over 90,000 products within our portfolio that are provided to customers in approximately 195 countries, which includes a significant number of faster-growing small and mid-sized customers. Prior to our acquisition of Frutarom, we had 37 manufacturing facilities and 21 creative centers and application laboratories, located in 35 different countries. Upon our acquisition of Frutarom, we acquired 60 additional manufacturing facilities and 84 additional R & D/application laboratories globally, including many of the countries in which we currently operate. The 2018 combined sales of IFF and Frutarom, which combines the full year 2018 sales of both Frutarom and IFF, was approximately $5.1 billion which, management believes, makes us the second largest company in the taste, scent and nutrition industry. Based on our 2018 combined sales, approximately 35% of our customers are global consumer products companies while approximately 65% of our customers are small and mid-sized companies. During 2018, our 25 largest customers accounted for 47% of our sales, however as a result of the effect of the Frutarom acquisition, our 25 largest customers only accounted for 37% of our 2018 combined sales. As our customers seek to grow their businesses in emerging markets, we provide them the ability to leverage our long-standing international presence and extensive market knowledge to help drive their brands in these markets. During 2018, we continued to grow in our Re-Imagine modulation and PowderPure clean label portfolios, developed two new molecules which will be launched in 2019 and continued research into olfactory receptors and maximizing the nutritional value of our naturals. Our goal is to attain commercial excellence by providing our customers with in-depth, local consumer understanding, industry-leading innovation, outstanding service and the highest quality products. During 2018, we continued to reflect our customers' focus on naturals and environmental sustainability as IFF-LMR Naturals increased the number of our organic certified sites and have received the Expertise Vegan Europe (EVE) Vegan certification for a portfolio of 90 of our natural extracts. Consumers, and therefore our customers, are continuing to focus on sensorial products that are responsibly sourced. Consequently, an integral component of this pillar is our ongoing commitment to sustainability We prioritize opportunities that provide (i) access to new technologies, (ii) the ability to increase our market share in key markets and with key customers or (iii) access to adjacent products or services that will position us to leverage our expertise in science and technology and our customer base. In addition to significantly expanding our customer base into the faster-growing midsize and smaller companies, the Frutarom acquisition allowed us to expand our cosmetic active ingredients business and enter into the attractive adjacent markets of savory solutions, natural colors, natural food protection and health and wellness products, including nutraceuticals and enzymes. Our fragrance business derives revenue from two sources, Fragrance Compounds and Ingredients. We are a global leader in the creation of fragrance compounds that are integral elements in the world's finest perfumes and best-known consumer products, within fabric care, home care, personal wash, hair care and toiletries. Our Fragrance Ingredients business is a vertically integrated operation, originating with the development in our research laboratories of naturals, synthetic and proprietary molecules and innovative delivery systems, progressing to our manufacturing facilities that produce these ingredients in a consistent, high-quality and cost-effective manner and transitioning to our creative centers and application laboratories where our perfumers partner with our customers to create unique fragrance compounds for use in a variety of end-use products. We also produce cosmetic active and functional ingredients for use in cosmetics. By providing our fragrance development teams with an extensive portfolio of innovative, high-quality and effective ingredients to support their creativity, we are able to provide our customers with a unique identity for their brands. These ingredients or fragrance compounds can then be combined with our innovative delivery systems, including our proprietary encapsulation technology, which consists of individual fragrance droplets coated with a protective polymeric shell to deliver superior fragrance performance throughout a product's lifecycle.", - "id": "f8e1615a-02ab-4b4c-91ac-259dd9bc11ff" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill prohibits the Secretary of Energy from actions regarding the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository until a study on alternative uses of the site is submitted. As Alliant Energy operates as a regulated public utility in the Midwest, any changes in energy policy, particularly regarding nuclear waste management, could impact regulatory decisions and energy sourcing for its operations. Therefore, this bill holds relevance for the company's business model and regulatory environment.", - "index": "130", - "bill_title": "To prohibit the Secretary of Energy from taking any action relating to the licensing, planning, development, or construction of a nuclear waste repository until the Director of the Office of Management and Budget submits to Congress a study on the economic viability and job-creating benefits of alternative uses of the Yucca Mountain site, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Jobs, Not Waste Act of 2019\n\nThis bill prohibits the Department of Energy from licensing, planning, developing, or constructing a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada until the Office of Management and Budget conducts a study on the economic viability of alternative uses of the site and Congress holds a hearing on the findings. (A nuclear waste repository is a site used for storing high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.)", - "company_name": "Alliant Energy Corp.", - "company_description": "Alliant Energy operates as a regulated investor-owned public utility holding company. Alliant Energy's primary focus is to provide regulated electric and natural gas service to approximately 965,000 electric and approximately 415,000 natural gas customers in the Midwest through its two public utility subsidiaries, IPL and WPL. The primary first tier wholly-owned subsidiaries of Alliant Energy are as follows: 1) IPL is a public utility engaged principally in the generation and distribution of electricity and the distribution and transportation of natural gas to retail customers in select markets in Iowa. IPL provides utility services to incorporated communities as directed by the IUB and utilizes non-exclusive franchises, which cover the use of public right-of-ways for utility facilities in incorporated communities for a maximum term of 25 years. At December 31, 2018 , IPL supplied electric and natural gas service to 3 approximately 490,000 and 225,000 retail customers, respectively, in Iowa. IPL also sells electricity to wholesale customers in Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa. IPL is also engaged in the generation and distribution of steam for two customers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 2018 , 2017 and 2016, IPL had no single customer for which electric, gas, steam and/or other sales accounted for 10% or more of IPL's consolidated revenues. WPL is a public utility engaged principally in the generation and distribution of electricity and the distribution and transportation of natural gas to retail customers in select markets in Wisconsin. WPL operates in municipalities pursuant to permits of indefinite duration and state statutes authorizing utility operation in areas annexed by a municipality. At December 31, 2018 , WPL supplied electric and natural gas service to approximately 475,000 and 190,000 retail customers, respectively. WPL also sells electricity to wholesale customers in Wisconsin. In 2018 , 2017 and 2016, WPL had no single customer for which electric, gas and/or other sales accounted for 10% or more of WPL's consolidated revenues. Corporate Services provides administrative services to Alliant Energy, IPL, WPL and AEF. Alliant Energy's non-utility holdings are organized under AEF, which manages a portfolio of wholly-owned subsidiaries and additional holdings through the following distinct platforms: ATI - currently holds all of Alliant Energy's interest in ATC Holdings. ATC Holdings is comprised of a 16% ownership interest in ATC and a 20% ownership interest in ATC HoldCo LLC. ATC HoldCo LLC holds Duke-American Transmission Company, LLC, a joint venture between Duke Energy Corporation and ATC, that is expected to acquire, build, own and operate new electric transmission infrastructure in North America. Non-utility Wind Farm - includes a 50% cash equity ownership interest in a 225 MW non-utility wind farm located in Oklahoma. Sheboygan Falls Energy Facility - is a 347 MW, simple-cycle, natural gas-fired EGU near Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, which is leased to WPL for an initial period of 20 years ending in 2025. Transportation - includes a short-line railway that provides freight service between Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Iowa City, Iowa; a barge terminal and hauling services on the Mississippi River; and other transfer and storage services. The majority of IPL's bargaining unit employees are covered by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 204 (Cedar Rapids) collective bargaining agreement, which expires on August 31, 2020. All of WPL's bargaining unit employees are covered by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 965 collective bargaining agreement, which expires on May 31, 2019. 2) REGULATION - Alliant Energy, IPL and WPL are subject to regulation by various federal, state and local agencies. The following includes the primary regulations impacting Alliant Energy's, IPL's and WPL's businesses. ", - "id": "cbb818a2-b42f-4c11-9bb0-68613e11ab1d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing a gun buyback grant program, which is primarily related to law enforcement and public safety. It has no direct implications for Ciena Corp.'s operations as a networking systems and software company. The legal consequences pertain to law enforcement and public safety initiatives, which do not intersect with Ciena's business model, which concentrates on networking technology, communications infrastructure, and related services.", - "index": "131", - "bill_title": "To establish a gun buyback grant program.", - "bill_summary": "Buyback Our Safety Act\n\nThis bill directs the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs to establish a gun buyback grant program for state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies.", - "company_name": "Ciena Corp.", - "company_description": "our ability to forecast accurately demand for our products for purposes of inventory purchase practices; the impact of pricing pressure and price erosion that we regularly encounter in our markets; \u2022 the continued availability, on commercially reasonable terms, of software and other technology under third-party licenses; \u2022 the potential failure to maintain the security of confidential, proprietary or otherwise sensitive business information or systems or to protect against cyber attacks; \u2022 the performance of our third-party contract manufacturers; changes or disruption in components or supplies provided by third parties, including sole and limited source suppliers; \u2022 our ability to grow and maintain our new distribution relationships under which we will make available certain technology as a component; our ability to commercialize and grow our software business and address networking strategies including software-defined networking and network function virtualization; changes in, and the impact of, government regulations, including with respect to: the communications industry generally; the business of our customers; the use, import or export of products; and the environment, potential climate change and other social initiatives; the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, changes in tax regulations and related accounting, and changes in our effective tax rates; future legislation or executive action in the U.S. relating to tax policy or trade regulation; the write-down of goodwill, long-lived assets, or our deferred tax assets; We are a networking systems, services and software company, providing solutions that enable a wide range of network operators to deploy and manage next-generation networks that deliver services to businesses and consumers. We provide network hardware, software and services that support the transport, switching, aggregation, service delivery and management of video, data and voice traffic on communications networks. Our solutions are used by communications service providers, cable and multiservice operators, Web-scale providers, submarine network operators, governments, enterprises, research and education (R & E) institutions and other emerging network operators. Our solutions include a diverse portfolio of high-capacity Networking Platform products, which can be applied from the network core to network access points, and which allow network operators to scale capacity, increase transmission speeds, allocate traffic and adapt dynamically to changing end-user service demands. We also offer Platform Software that provides management and domain control of our next-generation packet and optical platforms and automates network lifecycle operations, including provisioning equipment and services. In addition, through our comprehensive suite of Blue Planet Automation Software, we enable network operators to use network data and analytics to drive enhanced automation across multi-vendor and multi-domain network environments, accelerate service delivery and enable an increasingly predictive and autonomous network infrastructure. To complement our hardware and software solutions, we offer a broad range of attached and software-related services that help our customers design, optimize, integrate, deploy, manage and maintain their networks and associated operational environments. Through our complete portfolio of solutions, we enable our customers to transform their network into a dynamic, programmable environment driven by automation and analytics, which we refer to as the Adaptive Network. Our solutions for the Adaptive Network create business and operational value for our customers, enabling them to introduce new revenue-generating services, reduce costs and maximize the return on their network infrastructure investment. In particular, optical networks \u2013 which carry video, data and voice traffic by encoding digital information on multiple wavelengths of light traveling across fiber optic cables \u2013 have experienced strong traffic growth for several years. This growth, and the resulting requirements for increased network capacity and transmission speed, is being driven by an increasingly diverse set of communications services and applications. These services and applications, including those set forth below, are increasing the bandwidth and service demands placed upon networks and are challenging the business models of many network operators. Enterprises and consumers continue to replace locally-housed computing and storage by adopting a broad array of innovative cloud-based models \u2013 including Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service ( IaaS) \u2013 and an expanding range of cloud-based services that host key applications, store data, enable the viewing and downloading of content and utilize on-demand computing resources. ", - "id": "ba25bcdd-8185-4a6c-af1f-0455266fafbf" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on lowering prescription drug prices and increasing oversight of drug pricing, which could impact Aduro BioTech, Inc.\u2019s pricing and commercial strategies. As a biopharmaceutical company involved in developing therapies, they may be affected by the pricing regulations and financial disclosures mandated by the bill, which aligns with their operations in the drug development space.", - "index": "132", - "bill_title": "To significantly lower prescription drug prices for patients in the United States by ending government-granted monopolies for manufacturers who charge drug prices that are higher than the median prices at which the drugs are available in other countries.", - "bill_summary": "Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a series of oversight and disclosure requirements relating to the prices of brand-name drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review at least annually all brand-name drugs for excessive pricing; HHS must also review prices upon petition. If any such drugs are found to be excessively priced, HHS must (1) void any government-granted exclusivity; (2) issue open, nonexclusive licenses for the drugs; and (3) expedite the review of corresponding applications for generic drugs and biosimilar biological products. HHS must also create a public database with its determinations for each drug.\n\nUnder the bill, a price is considered excessive if the domestic average manufacturing price exceeds the median price for the drug in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. If a price does not meet this criteria, or if pricing information is unavailable in at least three of the aforementioned countries, the price is still considered excessive if it is higher than reasonable in light of specified factors, including cost, revenue, and the size of the affected patient population.\n\nThe bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified financial information for brand-name drugs, including research and advertising expenditures.", - "company_name": "Aduro BioTech, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an immunotherapy company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies that transform the treatment of challenging diseases, including cancer. We believe our three technology platforms are uniquely positioned to recruit and direct the immune system by activating cancer-fighting immune cells and inhibiting immune suppressive cells known to allow tumor growth. Product candidates from our STING Pathway Activator, B-select monoclonal antibody, and LADD, or Live, Attenuated, Double-Deleted Listeria monocytogenes platforms are designed to stimulate and/or regulate innate and adaptive immune responses, either as single agents or in combination with conventional therapies (i.e. chemotherapy and radiation) as well as other novel immunotherapies. Our diverse technology platforms have led to a strong pipeline of clinical and preclinical candidates, which are being developed for a number of cancer indications. Additionally, our platforms have the potential to generate product candidates that address other therapeutic areas, such as autoimmune and infectious diseases. Immuno-oncology is an emerging field of cancer therapy that aims to activate the immune system in the tumor microenvironment to create and enhance anti-tumor immune responses, as well as to overcome the immuno-suppressive mechanisms that cancer cells have developed against the immune system. Recent developments in the field of immuno-oncology, including checkpoint inhibitors\u2014therapies which work to remove suppression mechanisms that prevent an immune response against cancer cells\u2014have shown the potential to provide efficacy and extended survival, even in cancers where conventional therapies, such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, have failed. The immunotherapy field is rapidly advancing with new immuno-oncology combinations that focus on strengthening therapeutic efficacy in a wide range of cancers. We intend to pursue a broad strategy of combining our technology platforms with conventional and novel therapies, based on their mechanisms of action, safety profiles and versatility. Our STING Pathway Activator platform is designed to activate the intracellular Stimulator of Interferon Genes, or STING, receptor, resulting in a potent tumor-specific immune response. ADU-S100 is the first STING Pathway Activator compound to enter the clinic and is currently being evaluated in Phase 1 studies both as a monotherapy and in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor in patients with cutaneously accessible metastatic solid tumors or lymphomas. Our B-select monoclonal antibody platform includes a proprietary ultra-selective functional screening process to identify antibodies with unique binding properties against a broad range of targets that are being designed to modulate the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. Our most advanced product candidate from the B-select platform, BION-1301, is being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial in mulitiple myeloma. In addition, the B-select platform has delivered a number of immune modulating assets currently in research and preclinical development. Our LADD technology platform is based on proprietary attenuated strains of Listeria that have been engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce specific and targeted immune responses. Our LADD program is focused on the development of personalized LADD, or pLADD, therapeutics that encode and express antigens that are based on protein sequences that result from mutations specific to an individual patient's tumor (neoantigens). These antigens can be also derived from native protein sequences that are highly expressed in patients with certain tumor types (self antigens). We are developing a pipeline of proprietary product candidates on our own and have a number of collaborations with leading global pharmaceutical companies to expand our products and technology platforms. We are developing STING Activator product candidates in oncology under our worldwide collaboration with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, or Novartis, and an anti-CD27 antibody was developed with and is exclusively licensed to, Merck Sharp and Dohme B.V., or Merck. In addition, we have developed self antigen-based LADD product candidates targeting lung and prostate cancers that are licensed to Janssen Biotech Inc., or Janssen. We believe our technology platforms \u2013 STING Pathway Activators, B-select monoclonal antibodies and LADD - represent innovative approaches in immuno-oncology. Since our product candidates act by leveraging the patient's own immune system, we believe they have the potential to deliver enhanced efficacy and to be safer and more tolerable than existing therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Based on the mechanisms of action and safety profiles of our technology platforms, we intend to build a deep pipeline of product candidates that can be readily combinable and synergistic with both conventional and novel therapies, such as checkpoint inhibitors. Our vision is to utilize our scientific expertise and understanding of the body's natural defense systems, including the interplay between the innate and adaptive immune responses, to develop safe and effective therapies for the benefit of patients. The STING receptor is known to be a central mediator of innate immunity and is critical for immune surveillance and control of cancer progression.", - "id": "52e6c354-463c-4148-ad20-7a70f1fcba02" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes a Medicare-for-all national health insurance program, which directly impacts the healthcare delivery system in the U.S. LifePoint Health, Inc., as a provider of healthcare services through its community hospitals, would be affected by the changes in health insurance coverage, reimbursement rates, and the elimination of private insurers for basic health services. The company's business model, which relies on patient revenues and dealings with Medicare and Medicaid, will be significantly influenced by the bill's implications, including automatic enrollment and cost-sharing prohibitions.", - "index": "133", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish a Medicare-for-all national health insurance program.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare for All Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a national health insurance program that is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).\n\nAmong other requirements, the program must (1) cover all U.S. residents; (2) provide for automatic enrollment of individuals upon birth or residency in the United States; and (3) cover items and services that are medically necessary or appropriate to maintain health or to diagnose, treat, or rehabilitate a health condition, including hospital services, prescription drugs, mental health and substance abuse treatment, dental and vision services, and home- and community-based long-term care.\n\nThe bill prohibits cost-sharing (e.g., deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments) and\u00a0other charges for covered services, with the exception of prescription drugs. Additionally, private health insurers and employers may only offer coverage that is supplemental to, and not duplicative of, benefits provided under the program.\n\nHealth insurance exchanges and specified federal health programs terminate upon program implementation. However, the program does not affect coverage provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Indian Health Service. Additionally, state Medicaid programs must cover certain institutional long-term care services.\n\nThe bill also establishes a series of implementing provisions relating to (1) health care provider participation; (2) HHS administration; and (3) payments and costs, including the requirement that HHS negotiate prices for prescription drugs and establish a formulary.\n\nIndividuals who are age 18 or younger may enroll in the program starting one year after enactment of this bill; other individuals may buy into a transitional plan or an expanded Medicare program at this time, depending on age. The bill's program must be fully implemented four years after enactment.", - "company_name": "LifePoint Health, Inc.", - "company_description": "LifePoint Health , Inc . a Delaware corporation, acting through its subsidiaries, owns and operates community hospitals, regional health systems, physician practices, outpatient centers, and post-acute facilities . At December 31, 2017, on a consolidated basis, we operated 71 hospital campuses in 22 states throughout the United States (\"U.S.\") , having a total of 9,254 licensed beds. We generate revenues by providing a broad range of general and specialized healthcare services to patients through a network of hospitals and outpatient facilities. Our hospitals typically provide the range of medical and surgical services commonly available in hospitals in non-urban markets. These services include general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic care, coronary care, rehabilitation services, pediatric services, and, in some of our hospitals, specialized services such as open-heart surgery, skilled nursing, psychiatric care and neuro-surgery. In many markets, we also provide outpatient services such as same-day surgery, laboratory, x-ray, respiratory therapy, imaging, sports medicine and lithotripsy. The services provided at any specific hospital depend on factors such as community need for the service, whether physicians necessary to operate the service line safely are members of the medical staff of that hospital, whether the service might be supported by community residents, and any contractual or certificate of need restrictions that exist. Like most hospitals located in non-urban markets, our hospitals do not engage in extensive medical research and medical education programs. However, a number of our hospitals have affiliations with medical schools, including the clinical rotation of medical and pharmacy students, and two of our hospitals own and operate schools of nursing and other allied health professions. We seek to fulfill our mission of Making Communities Healthier \u00ae by striving to (1) improve the quality and types of healthcare services available in our communities; (2) provide physicians with a positive environment in which to practice medicine, with access to necessary equipment and resources; (3) develop and provide a positive work environment for employees; (4) expand each hospital's role as a community asset; and (5) improve each hospital's financial performance. We expect our hospitals to be the place where patients choose to come for care, where physicians want to practice medicine and where employees want to work. Growth at our facilities is dependent in part on how successful our hospitals are in their efforts to recruit physicians to their respective medical staffs, whether those physicians are active members of their respective medical staffs over a long period of time and whether and to what extent members of our hospitals' medical staffs admit patients to our hospitals or utilize our outpatient service lines. We also believe that organic growth is dependent in part on the quality of care provided in our facilities. The quality of healthcare services provided at our hospitals is an increasingly important factor to patients when deciding where to seek care, to physicians when deciding where to practice and to governmen tal and private third party paye rs when determining the reimbursement that is paid to our hospitals. We recognize that, in virtually every case, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (\"CMS\") core measure scores and other quality measures ascribed to our hospitals, such as Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems scores, 30-day readmission rates, patient falls and adverse drug events, are impacted by the practice decisions of the physicians on our hospital medical staffs. We are committed to further improving our hospitals ' quality scores through targeted strategies, including increased education and engagement campaigns, clinical decision support tools, subject matter expert facilitation and hospital-specific action plans. Additionally, in most of our markets, a significant portion of patients who require services available at acute care hospitals leave our markets to receive such care , and patients often prefer to be treated in an outpatien t rather than inpatient setting . We believe this presents an opportunity for growth, and we are working with the hospitals in communities where this phenomenon exists to implement new strategies or enhance existing strategies to attract patients, such as adding new service lines and investing in new technologies. We regularly conduct operating reviews of our hospitals to identify new service lines that allow residents of our communities to receive healthcare services closer to home. When such needed service lines are determined, we focus on recruiting the physicians necessary to operate such service lines appropriately. For example, our hospitals have responded to physician interest in requests for hospitalists by introducing or strengthening hospitalist programs where appropriate. Our hospitals have taken other steps to allow more community residents to receive appropriate care close to home, such as structured efforts to solicit input from medical staff members and to respond promptly to legitimate unmet physician needs for necessary equipment or trained support staff. Additionally, we are focused on outpatient opportunities, such as ambulatory surgery centers, diagnostic and imaging centers, urgent care centers, radiation and oncology therapy centers, and freestanding emergency care facilities. While responsibly managing our operating expenses, we have also made significant, targeted investments in our facilities to add new technologies, modernize facilities and expand the services available.", - "id": "262897b1-e4f1-40b7-b07c-ac398f0d6eb5" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily concerns the regulation of nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain and does not have legal consequences that impact the leisure travel industry or Allegiant Travel Co.'s business model, which focuses on air transportation and leisure services.", - "index": "134", - "bill_title": "To prohibit the Secretary of Energy from taking any action relating to the licensing, planning, development, or construction of a nuclear waste repository until the Director of the Office of Management and Budget submits to Congress a study on the economic viability and job-creating benefits of alternative uses of the Yucca Mountain site, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Jobs, Not Waste Act of 2019\n\nThis bill prohibits the Department of Energy from licensing, planning, developing, or constructing a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada until the Office of Management and Budget conducts a study on the economic viability of alternative uses of the site and Congress holds a hearing on the findings. (A nuclear waste repository is a site used for storing high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.)", - "company_name": "Allegiant Travel Co.", - "company_description": "Forward-looking statements include our statements regarding future expense, capacity growth, expected capital expenditures, number of contracted aircraft to be placed in service in the future, future expansion of our golf management and family entertainment center businesses, the development and financing of our Sunseeker Resort, as well as other information concerning future results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, industry environment, potential growth opportunities, the effects of future regulation and the effects of competition. We are a leisure travel company focused on providing travel services and products to residents of under-served cities in the United States. Our unique business model provides diversified revenue streams from various travel services and product offerings which distinguish us from other travel companies. We operate a low-cost passenger airline marketed primarily to leisure travelers in under-served cities, allowing us to sell air transportation both on a stand-alone basis and bundled with the sale of air-related and third party services and products. In addition, we provide air transportation under fixed fee flight arrangements. Our developed route network, pricing philosophy, advertising, and product offerings built around relationships with premier leisure companies, are all intended to appeal to leisure travelers and make it attractive for them to purchase air travel and related services and products from us. Most recently, and in conjunction with our leisure travel focus, we are developing Sunseeker Resort in Florida, operating a golf course near the resort location, managing a golf course management solution and beginning to open family entertainment centers in cities in our route network. Below is a brief description of the travel services and products we provide to our customers: Scheduled service air transportation. We provide scheduled air transportation on limited-frequency, nonstop flights predominantly between under-served cities and popular leisure destinations. As of that date, we were selling travel on 450 routes to 122 cities. We provide unbundled air-related services and products in conjunction with air transportation for an additional cost to customers. These optional air-related services and products include baggage fees, advance seat assignments, our own travel protection product, change fees, use of our call center for purchases, priority 4 boarding, a customer convenience fee, food and beverage purchases on board, and other air-related services. The revenue for ancillary air-related products and services is reflected in the Passenger revenue income statement line item, along with scheduled service air transportation revenue. We offer third party travel products such as hotel rooms and ground transportation (rental cars and hotel shuttle products) for sale to our passengers. The marketing component of revenue related to our co-branded credit card is also accounted for in this category. We provide air transportation through fixed fee agreements and charter service on a year-round and ad-hoc basis. We may choose to temporarily act as a lessor as an avenue to opportunistically acquire aircraft and/or engines. We are also currently leasing spare engines to a third party and may choose to act as lessor temporarily in the future on an opportunistic basis. This line item also includes revenue from our golf course acquired in 2018 and our management solution to golf courses around the country. We have developed a unique business model that focuses on leisure travelers in small and medium-sized cities. The business model has evolved as our experienced management team has looked differently at the traditional way business has been conducted in the airline and travel industries. Our focus on the leisure customer allows us to eliminate the significant costs associated with serving a wide variety of customers and to concentrate our product appeal on a customer base which is under-served by traditional airlines. Unbundled pricing of air-related services and products By unbundling our air-related services and products such as baggage fees, advance seat assignments, travel protection, change fees, priority boarding, and food and beverage purchases , we are able to lower our airfares and target leisure travelers who are more concerned with price and the ability to customize their experience with us by only purchasing the additional conveniences they value. We have established a route network with a national footprint, providing service on 405 routes (and currently selling 450 routes) between 99 origination cities and 23 leisure destinations, and serving 42 states and Puerto Rico as of February 15, 2019.", - "id": "918723c3-bf93-458d-8309-29b7a091783c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on imposing sanctions on foreign traffickers of illicit opioids and does not directly intersect with the banking activities or business model of Allegiance Bancshares, Inc., which focuses on providing commercial banking services to local businesses in Texas. The sanctions are unlikely to impact their operations or business strategies.", - "index": "135", - "bill_title": "To impose sanctions with respect to foreign traffickers of illicit opioids, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Fentanyl Sanctions Act \n\nThis bill establishes programs to address illicit opioid trafficking and imposes sanctions on foreign individuals and entities involved in such activities.\n\nThe President shall impose sanctions on foreign individuals and entities identified as opioid traffickers or those that own, control, or supply opioid precursors. The sanctions include bans on (1) receiving loans, (2) foreign exchange transactions, (3) property transactions, and (4) certain investments that fall under U.S. jurisdiction. The President may waive sanctions on certain parties for national security and humanitarian concerns.\n\nThe President shall report to Congress about the implementation of such sanctions and also on cooperative efforts with Mexico and China to combat illicit opioid trafficking.\n\nThe bill establishes the Commission on Synthetic Opioid Trafficking, which shall develop a strategy to combat the flow of synthetic opioids into the United States. The commission shall report on various topics including the scope of illicit trafficking in other countries and the deficiencies in other countries' regulation of pharmaceutical and chemical production.\n\nThe Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) shall establish a program to assist in enforcement efforts and sanctions against illicit opioid traffickers, with a focus on illicit finance. ODNI shall periodically report to Congress about the intelligence community's counter-narcotics efforts.", - "company_name": "Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. (Texas)", - "company_description": "Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. is a Texas corporation and registered bank holding company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Allegiance Bank, we provide a diversified range of commercial banking services primarily to small to medium-sized businesses within the Houston region, professionals and individual customers. Our super-community banking strategy, which is described in more detail below, is designed to foster strong customer relationships while benefitting from a platform and scale that is competitive with larger regional and national banks. As of December 31, 2018, we operated 28 full-service banking locations, with 27 bank offices and one loan production office in the Houston metropolitan area and one bank office location in Beaumont, just outside of the Houston metropolitan area. We have experienced significant growth since we began banking operations in 2007, resulting from both organic growth, including de novo branching, and three whole-bank acquisitions, most recently Post Oak Bancshares, The Company's objective is to grow and strengthen its community banking franchise by deploying its super-community banking strategy and by pursuing select strategic acquisitions in the Houston region. We are positioned to be a leading provider of personalized commercial banking services by emphasizing the strength and capabilities of local bank office management and by providing superior customer service. Super-community banking strategy. Our super-community banking strategy emphasizes local delivery of the excellent customer service associated with community banking combined with the products, efficiencies and scale associated with larger banks. We operate full-service bank offices and employ bankers with strong underwriting credentials who are authorized to make loan and underwriting decisions up to prescribed limits at the bank office level. We support bank office operations with a centralized credit approval process for larger credit relationships, loan operations, information technology, core data processing, accounting, finance, treasury and treasury management support, deposit operations and executive and board oversight. We emphasize lending to and banking with small to medium-sized businesses, with which we believe we can establish stronger relationships through excellent service and provide lending that can be priced on terms that are more attractive to the Company than would be achieved by lending to larger businesses. We believe this approach produces a clear competitive advantage by delivering an extraordinary customer experience and fostering a culture dedicated to achieving both superior external and internal service levels. increasing the productivity of existing bankers, as measured by loans, deposits and fee income per banker, while enhancing profitability by leveraging our existing operating platform; focusing on local and individualized decision-making, allowing us to provide customers with rapid decisions on loan requests, which we believe allows us to effectively compete with larger financial institutions; identifying and hiring additional seasoned bankers in the Houston region who will thrive within our super-community banking model, and opening additional branches where we are able to attract seasoned bankers; and developing new products designed to serve the increasingly diversified Houston economy, while preserving our strong culture of risk management. We intend to continue to expand our market position in the Houston region through organic growth, the development of de novo branch locations and a disciplined acquisition strategy. On January 31, 2016, the Company completed the sale of two of the acquired branches of Farmers & Merchants, Inc. Our senior management team has a demonstrated track record of managing profitable organic growth, improving operating efficiencies, maintaining a strong risk management culture, implementing a community and service-focused approach to banking and successfully executing and integrating acquisitions. Scalable banking and operational platform designed to foster and accommodate significant growth. We have built a capable and knowledgeable staff by utilizing the significant prior experience of our management team and employees. We have made extensive investments in the technology and systems necessary to build a scalable corporate infrastructure with the capacity to support continued growth. We are focused on delivering a wide variety of high-quality, relationship-driven commercial and community-oriented banking products and services tailored to meet the needs of small to medium-sized businesses, professionals and individuals in the Houston region. We actively solicit the deposit business of our consumer and commercial loan customers and seek to further leverage these relationships by broadening customer relationships with additional products and services. ", - "id": "6a426f34-bb35-4ae1-bd92-9b1c8c23a0fd" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill mandates non-discrimination policies for passengers with disabilities in air transportation, requiring air carriers like Sky West, Inc. to comply with new accessibility standards and to facilitate a complaint process for affected individuals. This is directly relevant to Sky West's operations as they provide regional airline services and must adhere to such legal requirements to ensure compliance with the law and uphold the rights of disabled passengers.", - "index": "136", - "bill_title": "A bill to protect the rights of passengers with disabilities in air transportation, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Air Carrier Access Amendments Act of 2019\n\nThis bill expands provisions prohibiting discrimination against disabled individuals by an air carrier. Specifically, it enumerates certain actions that an air carrier must take or may not take with respect to a disabled individual. It also requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to ensure that disabled individuals traveling in air transportation are able to file complaints with DOT in response to disability-related discrimination and receive assistance from DOT through a hotline or comparable electronic means.\n\nThe bill authorizes an aggrieved individual and the Department of Justice to bring a civil action for discrimination.\n\nThe Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board shall prescribe regulations setting forth minimum standards for aircraft with new or existing type certificates to ensure the accessibility of individuals with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs. The standards shall address, among other things, boarding and deplaning equipment, seatng accommodations, lavatories, visually accessible announcements, and proper stowage of assistive devices in the cargo hold to prevent damage.", - "company_name": "Sky West, Inc.", - "company_description": "On January 22, 2019, we completed the sale of ExpressJet. Inc. (\"Alaska\") (each, a \"major airline partner\") and any potential impact of their financial condition on our operations; fluctuations in flight schedules, which are determined by the major airline partners for whom SkyWest conducts flight operations; variations in market and economic conditions; significant aircraft lease and debt commitments; realization of manufacturer residual value guarantees on applicable SkyWest aircraft; residual aircraft values and related impairment charges; the impact of global instability; labor relations and costs; potential fluctuations in fuel costs, and potential fuel shortages; the impact of weather-related or other natural disasters on air travel and airline costs; new aircraft deliveries; and the ability to attract and retain qualified pilots, as well as the other factors described below in Item 1A. Risk Factors. We offer scheduled passenger service with approximately 2,770 daily departures to destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Substantially all of our flights are operated as Delta Connection, United Express, American Eagle or Alaska Airlines flights under code\u2011share arrangements (commercial agreements between airlines that, among other things, allow one airline to use another airline's flight designator codes on its flights) with Delta, United, American or Alaska, respectively. Under these fixed\u2011fee agreements, our major airline partners generally pay us fixed rates for operating the aircraft primarily based on the number of completed flights, flight time and the number of aircraft under contract. The major airline partners also reimburse us for specified direct operating expenses (including fuel expense). During our long operating history, we have developed an industry\u2011leading reputation for providing quality regional airline service. As of December 31, 2018, we had 596 aircraft in scheduled service consisting of the following (which included 100 Embraer ERJ145 regional jet (\"ERJ145\") aircraft and 16 Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet (\"CRJ200\") aircraft that ExpressJet operated for United, and 10 Canadair CRJ700 regional jet (\"CRJ700\") aircraft that ExpressJet operated for American): CRJ200 CRJ700 As of December 31, 2018, these aircraft have been removed from service and are in the process of being returned under the applicable leasing arrangement or are aircraft transitioning between code-share agreements with our major airline partners. As of December 31, 2018, our fleet scheduled for service consisted of aircraft manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace (\"Bombardier\") and Embraer S.A. (\"Embraer\") summarized as follows: Manufacturer 50 Bombardier and Embraer are the primary manufacturers of regional jets operated in the United States and offer many of the amenities of larger commercial jet aircraft, including flight attendant service, a stand\u2011up cabin, overhead and under seat storage, lavatories and in\u2011flight snack and beverage service. The speed of Bombardier and Embraer regional jets is comparable to larger aircraft operated by major airlines, and they have a range of approximately 1,600 miles and 2,100 miles, respectively. We provide regional jet service to airports throughout the United States, as well as Mexico and Canada. As of December 31, 2018, we offered approximately 2,170 daily departures, of which approximately 820 were United Express flights, 920 were Delta Connection flights, 290 were American Eagle flights and 140 were Alaska Airlines flights. Our operations are conducted principally from airports located in Chicago (O'Hare), Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, 4 Minneapolis, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Seattle. As of December 31, 2018, we operated a fleet of 470 aircraft consisting of the following: CRJ200 CRJ700 Prior to our sale of ExpressJet in January 2019, ExpressJet provided regional jet service to airports primarily located in the Eastern and Midwestern United States, as well as Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean. ExpressJet's operations were conducted principally from airports located in Atlanta, Chicago (O'Hare), Houston, Newark and New York. During the year ended December 31, 2018, ExpressJet offered approximately 600 daily departures, of which approximately 90 were Delta Connection flights, 440 were United Express flights and 70 were American Eagle flights. As of December 31, 2018, ExpressJet operated a fleet of 126 aircraft consisting of the following: CRJ200 SkyWest Leasing The SkyWest Leasing segment includes revenue attributed to our Embraer E175 dual-class regional jet aircraft (\"E175\") ownership cost earned under the applicable fixed-fee contracts, and the depreciation and interest expense of our E175 aircraft. The SkyWest Leasing segment additionally includes the income from CRJ200 aircraft leased to a third-party. The airline industry is highly competitive. SkyWest competes principally with other regional airlines.", - "id": "74af47a2-0921-45a9-8d7d-55749a6661cd" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to military appropriations and activities, which are not directly related to the core operations of Alta Mesa Resources Inc, an exploration and production company focused on oil and natural gas reserves. The legal consequences of the bill, which regards defense funding and military personnel, do not intersect with the company's business model, structure, or activities in the energy sector.", - "index": "137", - "bill_title": "An original bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020\n\nThis bill authorizes FY2020 appropriations and sets forth policies for Department of Defense (DOD) programs and activities, including military personnel strengths. It does not provide budget authority, which is provided in subsequent appropriations legislation.\n\nThe bill authorizes appropriations to DOD for\n\n Procurement, including aircraft, weapons and tracked combat vehicles, shipbuilding and conversion, missiles, and space procurement; Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation; Operation and Maintenance; Working Capital Funds; Chemical Agents and Munitions Destruction; Drug Interdiction and Counter-Drug Activities; the Defense Inspector General; the Defense Health Program; the Armed Forces Retirement Home; Overseas Contingency Operations; and Military Construction. The bill authorizes the FY2020 personnel strengths for active duty and reserve forces and sets forth policies regarding\n\n military personnel; acquisition policy and management; international programs; National Guard and Reserve Forces facilities; compensation and other personnel benefits; health care; DOD organization and management; civilian personnel matters; matters relating to foreign nations; and strategic programs, cyber, and intelligence matters. The bill authorizes appropriations for base realignment and closure activities, and maritime matters.\n\nThe bill also authorizes appropriations and sets forth policies for Department of Energy national security programs, including the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.\n\nThe bill sets forth policies for\n\n North Korea nuclear sanctions, paid family leave for federal personnel, limiting the use of criminal history in federal hiring and contracting, defense equipment sales to foreign countries or international organizations, matters relating to Burma, Saudi Arabia human rights and accountability, measures to combat illicit trafficking that finances Al-Shabaab, sanctions with respect to foreign traffickers of illicit synthetic opioids, and a Cable Security Fleet to meet national security requirements.", - "company_name": "Alta Mesa Resources Inc", - "company_description": "We were originally formed in November 2016 as a special purpose acquisition company under the name Silver Run Acquisition Corporation II for the purpose of effecting an initial business combination. Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we completed the private sale of 15,133,333 warrants (the \u0093Private Placement Warrants\u0094) to Silver Run Sponsor II, LLC (the \u0093Sponsor\u0094) generating gross proceeds to us of $22,700,000. A total of $1.035 billion (including approximately $36.2 million in deferred underwriting commissions to the underwriters of the IPO), which represents $1.0143 billion of the proceeds from the IPO after deducting upfront underwriting commissions of $20.7 million, and the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were placed in the Trust Account (the \u0093Trust Account\u0094) to be used to fund an initial business combination. \u00b7 SRII Opco distributed to the Kingfisher Contributor cash in the amount of approximately $814.8 million in partial payment for the ownership interests in Kingfisher contributed by the Kingfisher Contributor; and \u00b7 SRII Opco entered into a voting agreement with the owners of the remaining 10% voting interests in Alta Mesa GP whereby such other owners agreed to vote their interests in Alta Mesa GP as directed by SRII Opco. Following the completion of the Business Combination, the size of our board of directors was expanded from four directors to 11, including one director appointed by Bayou City and its affiliates, one director appointed by HPS and its affiliates and two directors appointed by AM Management and its affiliates, as the holders of our Series A Preferred Stock, and three directors appointed by the Riverstone Contributor and its affiliates, as the holder of our Series B Preferred Stock. Founded in 1987, Alta Mesa, the predecessor to our E & P Business, was an independent exploration and production company focused on the development and acquisition of unconventional oil and natural gas reserves in the eastern portion of the Anadarko Basin referred to as the STACK. The STACK is an acronym describing both its location\u0097Sooner Trend Anadarko Basin Canadian and Kingfisher County\u0097and the multiple, stacked productive formations present in the area. The STACK is a prolific hydrocarbon system with high oil and liquids-rich natural gas content, multiple horizontal target horizons, extensive production history and historically high drilling success rates. As of December 31, 2017, we had assembled a highly contiguous position of approximately 130,000 net acres largely in the up-dip, naturally-fractured oil portion of the STACK in eastern Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. Our drilling locations are in our primary target formations comprised of the Osage, Meramec and Oswego. We are currently operating seven horizontal drilling rigs in the STACK with plans to increase that number of rigs to eight at the end of 2018. Our Midstream Business was started by Kingfisher on January 30, 2015 for the purpose of acquiring, developing and operating midstream oil and gas assets. We primarily focus on providing crude oil gathering, gas gathering and processing and marketing to producers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and condensate in the STACK play. Our midstream energy asset network includes approximately 308 miles of existing low and high pressure pipelines, a 60 MMcf/d cryogenic natural gas processing plant, 10 MMcf/d in offtake processing, compression facilities, crude storage, NGL storage and purchasing and marketing capabilities. Our goal is to build a premier development and acquisition company focused on horizontal drilling and gas gathering in the STACK. As an emerging growth company, we may, for up to five years, take advantage of specified exemptions from reporting and other regulatory requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. the date on which we are deemed to be a \u0093large accelerated filer,\u0094 as defined in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the \u0093Exchange Act\u0094).", - "id": "11fc41e7-35bd-43f8-98df-9de043a23118" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily targets the regulation of assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices, which is unrelated to Microsoft Corp.'s business in technology, software development, and cloud-based solutions. The legal consequences outlined in the bill do not intersect with the company's operations or industry.", - "index": "138", - "bill_title": "A bill to regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Assault Weapons Ban of 2019\n\nThis bill makes it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD).\n\nThe prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model.\n\nThe bill also exempts from the prohibition the following, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD:\n\n importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties.\n\nThe bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD.\n\nNewly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture.\n\n The bill also allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.", - "company_name": "Microsoft Corp.", - "company_description": "Microsoft is a technology company whose mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our platforms and tools help drive small business productivity, large business competitiveness, and public-sector efficiency. They also support new startups, improve educational and health outcomes, and empower human ingenuity. We bring technology and products together into experiences and solutions that unlock value for our customers. In this next phase of innovation, computing is more powerful and ubiquitous from the cloud to the edge. Artificial intelligence (\"AI\") capabilities are rapidly advancing, fueled by data and knowledge of the world. Physical and virtual worlds are coming together to create richer experiences that understand the context surrounding people, the things they use, the places they go, and their activities and relationships. A person's experience with technology spans a multitude of devices and has become increasingly more natural and multi-sensory with voice, ink, and gaze interactions. What We Offer Founded in 1975, we develop and support software, services, devices, and solutions that deliver new value for customers and help people and businesses realize their full potential. Our products include operating systems; cross-device productivity applications; server applications; business solution applications; desktop and server management tools; software development tools; and video games. We also design, manufacture, and sell devices, including PCs, tablets, gaming and entertainment consoles, other intelligent devices, and related accessories. We offer an array of services, including cloud-based solutions that provide customers with software, services, platforms, and content, and we provide solution support and consulting services. We also deliver relevant online advertising to a global audience. The A mbitions T hat D rive U s To achieve our vision, our research and development efforts focus on three interconnected ambitions: \u2022 Computing experiences are evolving, no longer bound to one device at a time. Instead, experiences are expanding to many devices as people move from home to work to on the go. These modern needs, habits, and expectations of our customers are motivating us to bring Microsoft Office 365, Windows platform, devices, including Microsoft Surface, and third-party applications into a more cohesive Microsoft 365 experience. Our growth depends on securely delivering continuous innovation and advancing our leading productivity and collaboration tools and services, including Office, Microsoft Dynamics, and LinkedIn. Microsoft 365 brings together Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility + Security to help organizations empower their employees with AI-backed tools that unlock creativity, increase teamwork, and fuel innovation, all the while enabling compliance coverage and data protection. Microsoft Teams is core to our vision for the modern workplace as the digital hub that creates a single canvas for teamwork, conversations, meetings, and content. Dynamics 365 for Talent with LinkedIn Recruiter and Learning gives human resource professionals a complete solution to compete for talent. These scenarios represent a move to unlock creativity and inspire teamwork, while simplifying security and management. Organizations of all sizes can now digitize business-critical functions, redefining what customers can expect from their business applications. This creates an opportunity for us to reach new customers and increase usage and engagement with existing customers. the Intelligent Cloud Platform Companies are looking to use digital technology to fundamentally reimagine how they empower their employees, engage customers, optimize their operations, and change the very core of their products and services.", - "id": "21fa0d70-391f-4a4f-9a39-db6eda799994" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace, which is relevant for Acceleron Pharma as it employs more than 15 people and must adopt a comprehensive nondiscrimination policy as outlined in the bill. Additionally, the bill's provisions regarding discrimination based on sex, gender identity, and pregnancy can impact the company's workplace practices and overall employee relations.", - "index": "139", - "bill_title": "A bill to prevent discrimination and harassment in employment.", - "bill_summary": "Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination in the Workplace Act or the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace and raises the minimum wage for tipped employees.\n\nSpecifically, the bill (1) makes it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against an individual in the workplace based on sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, and a sex stereotype; (2) prohibits employers from entering into contracts or agreements with workers that contain certain nondisparagement or nondisclosure clauses; (3) prohibits predispute arbitration agreements and postdispute agreements with certain exceptions, and (4) establishes grant programs to prevent and respond to workplace discrimination and harassment, provide legal assistance for low-income workers related to employment discrimination, and establish a system of legal advocacy in states to protect the rights of workers.\n\nAdditionally, the bill, among other things\n\n requires employers who have 15 or more employees to adopt a comprehensive nondiscrimination policy; requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to provide specified training and resource materials, establish and convene a harassment prevention task force, and establish an Office of Education and Outreach with regard to prohibited discrimination and harassment in employment; requires specified studies, reports, and research on prohibited harassment in employment; and grants employees the right to retain their tips.", - "company_name": "Acceleron Pharma, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a leading biopharmaceutical company in the discovery and development of TGF-beta superfamily therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases. Our research focuses on key natural regulators of cellular growth and repair, particularly the Transforming Growth Factor-Beta, or TGF-beta, protein superfamily. By combining our discovery and development expertise, including our proprietary knowledge of the TGF-beta superfamily, and our internal protein engineering and manufacturing capabilities, we have generated several innovative therapeutic candidates, all of which encompass novel potential first-in-class mechanisms of action. We have focused and prioritized our research and development activities within three key therapeutic areas: hematologic, neuromuscular and pulmonary. If successful, these candidates could have the potential to significantly improve clinical outcomes for patients across these areas of high, unmet need. Luspatercept, our lead program, and sotatercept, are partnered with Celgene Corporation, or Celgene. Luspatercept is an investigational erythroid maturation agent designed to promote red blood cell production through a novel mechanism, and is being developed to treat chronic anemia and associated complications in myelodysplastic syndromes, or MDS, beta-thalassemia, and myelofibrosis. In 2018, we and Celgene announced positive results for two Phase 3 clinical trials with luspatercept; one for the treatment of patients with lower-risk MDS with ring sideroblasts, known as the MEDALIST trial, and another for the treatment of patients with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, also known as the BELIEVE trial. In the MEDALIST trial, luspatercept achieved a highly statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion independence of at least 8 consecutive weeks during the first 24 weeks compared to placebo. In the BELIEVE trial, luspatercept achieved a highly statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of erythroid response, which was defined as at least a 33 percent reduction from baseline in red blood cell (RBC) transfusion burden with a reduction of at least 2 units during the protocol-defined period of 12 consecutive weeks, from week 13 to week 24, compared to placebo. Results from the MEDALIST and BELIEVE trials were then presented during plenary and oral sessions, respectively, at the 60th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in December 2018, and we expect to submit these results for publication during 2019. \"Best of ASH,\" chosen from among the thousands of meeting abstracts as \"the biggest breakthroughs from the meeting's scientific presentations. We and Celgene are planning regulatory application submissions for luspatercept in both MDS and beta-thalassemia in the United States in April 2019 and in Europe in the first half of 2019. In addition to the MEDALIST and BELIEVE Phase 3 clinical trials with luspatercept, Celgene is currently conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial in non-transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia patients, referred to as the BEYOND trial, with preliminary top-line results currently expected in 2020. Celgene has also initiated a Phase 3 clinical trial, the COMMANDS trial, in first-line, lower-risk MDS patients and enrollment is ongoing. Enrollment is also currently ongoing in a Phase 2 clinical trial being conducted by Celgene for the treatment of patients with myelofibrosis, a rare bone marrow disorder, with preliminary top-line results currently expected in the second half of 2019. If luspatercept were to receive regulatory approval for each of these indications in the United States and Europe, we believe that there is an annual peak sales opportunity for luspatercept in excess of $2 billion across the indications in the BEYOND trial and the luspatercept Phase 3 clinical trials, and an annual peak sales opportunity for luspatercept in excess of $1 billion in myelofibrosis. We and Celgene are also evaluating further research of luspatercept for the treatment of anemia in potential new indications that could provide additional sales opportunities. For sotatercept, we have the rights to fund, develop, and lead the global commercialization of sotatercept in pulmonary hypertension, which we refer to as the PH field, including pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH. PAH is a rare and chronic, rapidly progressing disorder characterized by the constriction of small pulmonary arteries, resulting in abnormally high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries. We are currently enrolling the PULSAR Phase 2 clinical trial of sotatercept for the treatment of patients with PAH with preliminary results expected in the first half of 2020, and we recently initiated an exploratory study, called SPECTRA, in the first quarter of 2019 to provide us with further understanding of sotatercept's impact on PAH. If sotatercept is commercialized to treat PAH and we recognize such revenue, then Celgene will be eligible to receive a royalty in the low 20% range on global net sales. For luspatercept and, outside of the PH field, sotatercept, Celgene is responsible for paying 100% of the development costs for all clinical trials. ACE-083 is designed for the treatment of focal muscle disorders, and we are currently conducting Phase 2 clinical trials with ACE-083 in patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD, as well as in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, or CMT.", - "id": "6b7edf2f-3f3f-44d4-bed5-2bee9a76afbe" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Alta Mesa Resources Inc. as it pertains to funding for freight infrastructure, which may impact logistics and transportation relating to the company's oil and gas activities in the STACK region. The imposition of a 1% excise tax on ground transportation costs could affect the company's operational expenses and profitability, particularly as they manage their midstream oil and gas assets.", - "index": "140", - "bill_title": "To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a Multimodal Freight Funding Formula Program and a National Freight Infrastructure Competitive Grant Program to improve the efficiency and reliability of freight movement in the United States, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "National Multimodal and Sustainable Freight Infrastructure Act\n\nThis bill directs the Department of Transportation to improve the efficiency and reliability of freight movement in the United States by establishing (1) a Multimodal Freight Formula Program to distribute funds to each state based on the amount of existing infrastructure within the state; and (2) a National Freight Competitive Grant Program to provide grants to certain entities, including local governments and metropolitan planning organizations.\n\nNational and state freight plans must include strategies and goals to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, local air pollution, water runoff, and wildlife habitat loss.\n\nThe bill imposes a 1% excise tax upon the ground transportation cost of property and requires the deposit of such tax revenues into a Freight Trust Fund to finance the Multimodal Freight Formula Program and the National Freight Competitive Grant Program.", - "company_name": "Alta Mesa Resources Inc", - "company_description": "We were originally formed in November 2016 as a special purpose acquisition company under the name Silver Run Acquisition Corporation II for the purpose of effecting an initial business combination. Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we completed the private sale of 15,133,333 warrants (the \u0093Private Placement Warrants\u0094) to Silver Run Sponsor II, LLC (the \u0093Sponsor\u0094) generating gross proceeds to us of $22,700,000. A total of $1.035 billion (including approximately $36.2 million in deferred underwriting commissions to the underwriters of the IPO), which represents $1.0143 billion of the proceeds from the IPO after deducting upfront underwriting commissions of $20.7 million, and the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were placed in the Trust Account (the \u0093Trust Account\u0094) to be used to fund an initial business combination. \u00b7 SRII Opco distributed to the Kingfisher Contributor cash in the amount of approximately $814.8 million in partial payment for the ownership interests in Kingfisher contributed by the Kingfisher Contributor; and \u00b7 SRII Opco entered into a voting agreement with the owners of the remaining 10% voting interests in Alta Mesa GP whereby such other owners agreed to vote their interests in Alta Mesa GP as directed by SRII Opco. Following the completion of the Business Combination, the size of our board of directors was expanded from four directors to 11, including one director appointed by Bayou City and its affiliates, one director appointed by HPS and its affiliates and two directors appointed by AM Management and its affiliates, as the holders of our Series A Preferred Stock, and three directors appointed by the Riverstone Contributor and its affiliates, as the holder of our Series B Preferred Stock. Founded in 1987, Alta Mesa, the predecessor to our E & P Business, was an independent exploration and production company focused on the development and acquisition of unconventional oil and natural gas reserves in the eastern portion of the Anadarko Basin referred to as the STACK. The STACK is an acronym describing both its location\u0097Sooner Trend Anadarko Basin Canadian and Kingfisher County\u0097and the multiple, stacked productive formations present in the area. The STACK is a prolific hydrocarbon system with high oil and liquids-rich natural gas content, multiple horizontal target horizons, extensive production history and historically high drilling success rates. As of December 31, 2017, we had assembled a highly contiguous position of approximately 130,000 net acres largely in the up-dip, naturally-fractured oil portion of the STACK in eastern Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. Our drilling locations are in our primary target formations comprised of the Osage, Meramec and Oswego. We are currently operating seven horizontal drilling rigs in the STACK with plans to increase that number of rigs to eight at the end of 2018. Our Midstream Business was started by Kingfisher on January 30, 2015 for the purpose of acquiring, developing and operating midstream oil and gas assets. We primarily focus on providing crude oil gathering, gas gathering and processing and marketing to producers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and condensate in the STACK play. Our midstream energy asset network includes approximately 308 miles of existing low and high pressure pipelines, a 60 MMcf/d cryogenic natural gas processing plant, 10 MMcf/d in offtake processing, compression facilities, crude storage, NGL storage and purchasing and marketing capabilities. Our goal is to build a premier development and acquisition company focused on horizontal drilling and gas gathering in the STACK. As an emerging growth company, we may, for up to five years, take advantage of specified exemptions from reporting and other regulatory requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. the date on which we are deemed to be a \u0093large accelerated filer,\u0094 as defined in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the \u0093Exchange Act\u0094).", - "id": "ec2d3003-6ad0-4cd5-96d4-b9288df99ac2" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill requires the Government Publishing Office to maintain a website for federal congressionally mandated reports, which is primarily related to government transparency and record-keeping. It does not impose any direct requirements or changes that would affect Walmart's business operations, financial performance, or strategic initiatives. The focus of the bill is unrelated to Walmart's core retail and eCommerce functions, making it irrelevant to the company's business model.", - "index": "141", - "bill_title": "A bill to require the Director of the Government Publishing Office to establish and maintain a website accessible to the public that allows the public to obtain electronic copies of all congressionally mandated reports in one place, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act\n\nThis bill requires the Government Publishing Office (GPO) to establish and maintain a publicly available website containing copies of all congressionally mandated reports. A federal agency must submit a congressionally mandated report and specified information about the report to the GPO concurrently with submission of the report to Congress.\n\nFederally chartered organizations and the Government Accountability Office are excluded from the requirements of this bill.\n\nThe Office of Management and Budget must issue guidance to federal agencies on the bill's requirement for agencies to submit copies of congressionally mandated reports and related information to the GPO.\n\nAt least annually by April 1, the Library of Congress must submit to the GPO a list of all congressionally mandated reports from the previous year.", - "company_name": "Walmart, Inc.", - "company_description": "the amount, number, growth or increase, in or over certain periods, of or in certain financial items or measures or operating measures, including our earnings per share, including as adjusted for certain items, net sales, comparable store and club sales, our Walmart U.S. operating segment's eCommerce sales, liabilities, expenses of certain categories, expense leverage, returns, capital and operating investments or expenditures of particular types, new store openings and investments in particular formats; our plans to increase investments in eCommerce, technology, store remodels and other customer initiatives, such as online grocery locations; volatility in currency exchange rates and fuel prices affecting our or one of our segments' results of operations; \u2022 the Company continuing to provide returns to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends, the use of share repurchase authorization over a certain period or the source of funding of a certain portion of our share repurchases; changes in the size of various markets, including eCommerce markets; \u2022 unemployment levels; \u2022 inflation or deflation, generally and in certain product categories; \u2022 transportation, energy and utility costs; \u2022 commodity prices, including the prices of oil and natural gas; \u2022 consumer confidence, disposable income, credit availability, spending levels, shopping patterns, debt levels, and demand for certain merchandise; \u2022 trends in consumer shopping habits around the world and in the markets in which Walmart operates; \u2022 consumer enrollment in health and drug insurance programs and such programs' reimbursement rates and drug formularies; and initiatives of competitors, competitors' entry into and expansion in Walmart's markets, and competitive pressures; Operating Factors \u2022 the financial performance of Walmart and each of its segments, including the amounts of Walmart's cash flow during various periods; \u2022 customer traffic and average ticket in Walmart's stores and clubs and on its eCommerce platforms; the mix of merchandise Walmart sells and its customers purchase; the availability of goods from suppliers and the cost of goods acquired from suppliers; \u2022 the effectiveness of the implementation and operation of Walmart's strategies, plans, programs and initiatives; \u2022 \u2022 consumer acceptance of and response to Walmart's stores and clubs, digital platforms, programs, merchandise offerings and delivery methods; \u2022 Walmart's gross profit margins, including pharmacy margins and margins of other product categories; the selling prices of gasoline and diesel fuel; \u2022 disruption of seasonal buying patterns in Walmart's markets; \u2022 Walmart's expenditures for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (\"FCPA\") and other compliance-related matters including the adequacy of our accrual for the FCPA matter; \u2022 Walmart's labor costs, including healthcare and other benefit costs; \u2022 Walmart's casualty and accident-related costs and insurance costs; the size of and turnover in Walmart's workforce and the number of associates at various pay levels within that workforce; the availability of necessary personnel to staff Walmart's stores, clubs and other facilities; 5 developments in, and the outcome of, legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations to which Walmart is a party or is subject, and the liabilities, obligations and expenses, if any, that Walmart may incur in connection therewith; \u2022 changes in the credit ratings assigned to the Company's commercial paper and debt securities by credit rating agencies; \u2022 changes in existing tax, labor and other laws and changes in tax rates, including the enactment of laws and the adoption and interpretation of administrative rules and regulations; \u2022 adoption or creation of new, and modification of existing, governmental policies, programs and initiatives in the markets in which Walmart operates and elsewhere and actions with respect to such policies, programs and initiatives; \u2022 the possibility of the imposition of new taxes on imports and new tariffs and trade restrictions and changes in tariff rates and trade restrictions; changes in the level of public assistance payments; ", - "id": "07e4e474-7156-43fe-a31f-efb1dc508d3d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on the conservation of lands and management of natural resources in Colorado, with legal implications for environmental protection and land use. Aerie Pharmaceuticals, as an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company, is not directly impacted by such legislation since its business revolves around the development and commercialization of eye care therapies, which does not involve land use or environmental conservation in the context outlined by the bill.", - "index": "142", - "bill_title": "A bill to provide for the designation of certain wilderness areas, recreation management areas, and conservation areas in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act\n\nThis bill provides for the conservation of specified lands in Colorado.\n\nSpecifically, the bill designates\n\n specified federal lands within the White River National Forest as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, the proposed Williams Fork Wilderness as a potential wilderness area, the Tenmile Recreation Management Area, the Porcupine Gulch Wildlife Conservation Area, the Williams Fork Wildlife Conservation Area, the Camp Hale National Historic Landscape, the Sheep Mountain and Liberty Bell East Special Management Areas, and the Curecanti National Recreation Area. The bill adjusts the boundary of the White River National Forest, the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness, and the Arapaho National Forest.\n\n The bill directs the Department of Agriculture to permit by special use authorization nonmotorized access and use of the Bolts Ditch headgate and the Bolts Ditch within the Holy Cross Wilderness for the diversion of water and use, maintenance, and repair of the ditch and headgate by the town of Minturn.\n\nThe bill provides for the inclusion of additional federal lands in the National Wilderness Preservation System.\n\nThe bill provides for the cancellation of all Thompson Divide oil or gas leases.\n\nThe Department of the Interior shall carry out a program to lease federal methane from coal mines leaking methane in the North Fork Valley.", - "company_name": "Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class therapies for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma and other diseases of the eye. Our strategy is to commercialize Rhopressa \u00ae, approved by the FDA on December 18, 2017, in North American markets and advance our product candidate, Roclatan TM, to regulatory approval. We are in the process of hiring a commercial team that will include approximately 100 sales representatives to target approximately 12,000 high prescribing eye-care professionals throughout the United States. If we obtain regulatory approval, we currently expect to commercialize Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM in Europe on our own, and likely partner for commercialization in Japan. Subsequent to December 31, 2017, we issued and sold approximately 2.3 million additional shares of our common stock, for which we received net proceeds of approximately $136.2 million, after deducting fees and expenses, upon the completion of the \"at-the-market\" offering that commenced in December 2017 and pursuant to an underwriting agreement, dated January 23, 2018, related to a registered public offering. Our FDA-approved product, Rhopressa \u00ae, is a once-daily eye drop designed to reduce elevated intraocular pressure (\"IOP\") in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The active ingredient in Rhopressa \u00ae, netarsudil, is a Rho kinase inhibitor. We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae represents the first of a new drug class for reducing IOP in patients with glaucoma in over 20 years. Based on clinical data, we expect that Rhopressa\u00ae will have the potential to compete with non-PGA (prostaglandin analog) products as a preferred adjunctive therapy to prostaglandin analogs (\"PGAs\"), due to its targeting of the diseased tissue known as the trabecular meshwork (\"TM\"), its demonstrated ability to reduce IOP at consistent levels across tested baselines, and its preferred once-daily dosing relative to currently marketed non-PGA products. Adjunctive therapies currently represent nearly one-half of the glaucoma prescription market in the United States, according to IQVIA (formerly known as IMS Health). We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae may also become a preferred therapy where PGAs are contraindicated, for patients who do not respond to PGAs and for patients who choose to avoid the cosmetic issues associated with PGA products. Our advanced-stage product candidate, Roclatan TM, is a once-daily, fixed-dose combination of Rhopressa\u00ae and latanoprost, the most commonly prescribed drug for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma. We plan to submit a New Drug Application (\"NDA\") for Roclatan TM to the FDA in the second quarter of 2018. We believe, based on our clinical data, that Roclatan TM has the potential to provide a greater IOP-reducing effect than any currently marketed glaucoma medication. Therefore, we believe that Roclatan TM, if approved, could compete with both PGA and non-PGA therapies and become the product of choice for patients requiring maximal IOP reduction, including those with higher IOPs and those who present with significant disease progression despite use of the currently available therapies. We own the worldwide rights to all indications for Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM. We have patent protection for Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM in the United States through at least 2030 and internationally through dates ranging from 2030 to 2037. Our intellectual property portfolio contains patents and pending patent applications related to composition of matter, pharmaceutical compositions, methods of use, and synthetic methods. Our collaboration with DSM, a global science-based company headquartered in the Netherlands, provides access to their bio-erodible polymer technology, and our acquisition of assets from Envisia Therapeutics Inc. (\"Envisia\"), which includes the right to use PRINT\u00ae manufacturing technology for ophthalmology, are designed to 1 advance our progress in developing potential future product candidates to treat retinal diseases. Aided by these technologies, we are developing two preclinical molecules focused on retinal disease. AR-13503, for which we expect to submit an Investigational New Drug application (\"IND\") in 2019, is an Aerie-owned Rho kinase and Protein kinase C inhibitor with potential in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (\"AMD\"), diabetic retinopathy and related diseases of the retina, such as diabetic macular edema (\"DME\"). As the active metabolite of AR-13154(S), AR-13503 has shown lesion size decreases in an in vivo preclinical model of wet AMD at levels similar to the current market-leading wet AMD anti-VEGF product. Also preclinically, when used in combination with the market leading anti-VEGF product, AR-13503 produced greater lesion size reduction than the anti-VEGF product alone in a model of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Additionally, through the Envisia asset acquisition, we are also developing AR-1105, a preclinical dexamethasone steroid implant with potential in the treatment of DME, and currently expect to submit an IND in late 2018. Further, we are evaluating our owned library of Rho kinase inhibitors for potential indications beyond ophthalmology.", - "id": "6e5663e9-7e47-4426-abc2-597f8efb1b5d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to supplemental appropriations for disaster assistance and continuing appropriations related to government operations, which do not directly impact EchoStar Corp.'s business model or services related to satellite operations, video delivery solutions, or broadband internet services. Therefore, the bill is not relevant to the company's activities.", - "index": "143", - "bill_title": "Making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2019 \n\nThis bill provides FY2019 appropriations to federal agencies, including supplemental appropriations for disaster assistance and continuing appropriations for agencies that are included in the seven FY2019 appropriations bills that have not been enacted.\n\nThe bill provides $14.2 billion in FY2019 supplemental appropriations for expenses related to the consequences of recent wildfires, hurricanes, volcanos, earthquakes, typhoons, and other natural disasters. The bill designates the spending as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits.\n\nThe bill includes supplemental appropriations for\n\n the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, the Department of Education, the Government Accountability Office, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The bill also provides continuing FY2019 appropriations to several federal agencies through the earlier of February 8, 2019, or the enactment of the applicable appropriations legislation.\n\nThis is known as a continuing resolution (CR) and ends the partial government shutdown that began after the existing CR expired on December 21, 2018, because seven of the remaining FY2019 appropriations bills have not been enacted.\n\n(Five of the FY2019 appropriations bills were enacted last year, including the\n\n Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2019; the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2019; and the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019.) Additionally, the CR has the effect of extending through February 8, 2019, several authorities and programs that were extended in prior CRs, including\n\n the Violence Against Women Act, the authority for the Environmental Protection Agency to collect and spend certain fees related to pesticides, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and several authorities related to immigration.", - "company_name": "EchoStar Corp.", - "company_description": "We are a global provider of satellite service operations, video delivery solutions, broadband satellite technologies and broadband internet services for home and small office customers. We also deliver innovative network technologies, managed services, and various communications solutions for aeronautical, enterprise and government customers. \u2014 which provides broadband satellite technologies and broadband internet services to domestic and international home and small office customers and broadband network technologies, managed services, equipment, hardware, satellite services and communication solutions to domestic and international consumers and aeronautical, enterprise and government customers. The Hughes segment also designs, provides and installs gateway and terminal equipment to customers for other satellite systems. In addition, our Hughes segment provides satellite ground segment systems and terminals to mobile system operators. EchoStar Satellite Services (\"ESS\") \u2014 which uses certain of our owned and leased in-orbit satellites and related licenses to provide satellite service operations and video delivery solutions on a full-time and occasional-use basis primarily to DISH Network Corporation and its subsidiaries (\"DISH Network\"), Dish Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V., a joint venture we entered into in 2008 (\"Dish Mexico\"), United States (\"U.S.\") government service providers, internet service providers, broadcast news organizations, programmers, and private enterprise customers. ESS also manages satellite operations for certain satellites owned by DISH Network. Our operations also include various corporate departments (primarily Executive, Strategic Development, Human Resources, IT, Finance, Real Estate and Legal) as well as other activities that have not been assigned to our operating segments, including costs incurred in certain satellite development programs and other business development activities, our centralized treasury operations, and gains (losses) from certain of our investments. In 2008, DISH Network completed its distribution to us of its digital set-top box business, certain infrastructure, and other assets and related liabilities, including certain of its satellites, uplink and satellite transmission assets, and real estate (the \"Spin-off\"). (\"HSS\") issued the Tracking Stock (as defined below) to subsidiaries of DISH in exchange for five satellites (EchoStar I, EchoStar VII, EchoStar X, EchoStar XI, and EchoStar XIV) (including the assumption of related in-orbit incentive obligations) and approximately $11.4 million in cash; and (ii) DISH and certain of its subsidiaries began receiving certain satellite services on these five satellites from us. The Tracking Stock tracked the economic performance of the residential retail satellite broadband business of our Hughes segment, including certain operations, assets and liabilities attributed to such business (collectively, the \"Hughes Retail Group\" or \"HRG\"), and represented an aggregate 80.0% economic interest in HRG (the Hughes Retail Preferred Tracking Stock issued by EchoStar Corporation (the \"EchoStar Tracking Stock\") represented a 51.89% economic interest in HRG and the Hughes Retail Preferred Tracking Stock issued by HSS (the \"HSS Tracking Stock\", together with the EchoStar Tracking Stock, the \"Tracking Stock\") represented a 28.11% economic interest in HRG). In addition to the remaining 20.0% economic interest in HRG, EchoStar retained all economic interest in the wholesale satellite broadband business and other businesses of EchoStar. Our former EchoStar Technologies businesses designed, developed and distributed secure end-to-end video technology solutions including digital set-top boxes and related products and technology, primarily for satellite TV service providers and telecommunication companies and provided digital broadcast operations, including satellite uplinking/downlinking, transmission services, signal processing, conditional access management, and other services. Under the revised allocation methodology, these costs are now reported and analyzed as part of \"Corporate and Other\" BUSINESS STRATEGIES Capitalize on domestic and international demand for broadband services. We intend to capitalize on the domestic and international demand for satellite-delivered broadband internet services and enterprise solutions by utilizing, among other things, our industry expertise, technology leadership, increased satellite capacity, access to spectrum resources, and high-quality, reliable service to drive growth in consumer subscribers and enterprise customers. Expand satellite capacity and related infrastructure. During 2017, we significantly increased our satellite capacity in North America and certain Central and South American countries and added capability for aeronautical, enterprise and international broadband internet services. We also commenced the design and construction of a new, next-generation, high throughput geostationary satellite, with a planned 2021 launch, that is primarily intended to provide additional capacity for our HughesNet service in North, Central and South America as well as aeronautical and enterprise services. We currently provide satellite broadband internet service in Brazil and Colombia and expect to launch similar services in other Central and South American countries in 2018. We believe market opportunities exist that will facilitate the acquisition or leasing of additional satellite capacity which will enable us to provide services to a broader customer base, including providers of pay-TV services, satellite-delivered broadband, corporate communications, and government services. Continue development of S-band and other hybrid spectrum resources. Commercial service has been available to customers on our EchoStar XXI satellite since the fourth quarter of 2017, and we believe we remain in a unique position to deploy a European wide mobile satellite service (\"MSS\")/complementary ground component (\"CGC\") network and maximize the long-term value of our S-band spectrum, in Europe and other regions within the scope of our licenses. Our engineering capabilities provide us with the opportunity to develop and deploy cutting edge technologies, license our technologies to others, and maintain a leading technological position in the industries in which we are active. Continue to selectively explore new domestic and international strategic initiatives.", - "id": "35cb3fe7-91d5-4a70-aa19-4658f0334018" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on security and energy partnerships in the Eastern Mediterranean, specifically regarding defense articles and energy cooperation between the U.S. and countries like Israel, Greece, and Cyprus. Although Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) operates in the technology and semiconductor sector, it does not directly engage in defense or energy cooperation activities, nor does it have operations in the Eastern Mediterranean. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill do not impact AMD's business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "144", - "bill_title": "A bill to promote security and energy partnerships in the Eastern Mediterranean, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019\n\nThis bill authorizes the Department of State to enter into cooperative agreements to enhance cooperation on energy matters between the United States and Israel, Greece, and Cyprus. The Department of Energy may establish a joint U.S.-Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center in the United States to further dialogue and academic cooperation in energy innovation technology, water science, and technology transfer.\n\nAn existing ban on transferring defense articles and services on the U.S. Munitions List to Cyprus is modified to allow for such transfers if Cyprus is the end user of the articles or services. Specifically, the State Department shall not deny exports, reexports or transfers of defense articles and services to or from Cyprus if the request is made by or on behalf of Cyprus and if Cyprus is the end user of such articles or services.\n\nNo funds may be obligated or expended to facilitate the transfer of an F-35 aircraft (or to provide any related items or data) to Turkey unless the President certifies to Congress that Turkey does not plan to accept delivery of the S-400 air defense system from Russia.\n\nThe State Department shall report on (1) a strategy for enhancing security and energy cooperation with Eastern Mediterranean countries, (2) malign Russian influence in the region, and (3) violations of Cyprus's exclusive economic zone and Greece's airspace.", - "company_name": "Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.", - "company_description": "any amounts in addition to what has been already accrued by AMD for future remediation costs under clean-up orders will not be material; we expect to file future patent applications in both the United States and abroad on significant inventions, as we deem appropriate; anticipated increase in costs related to enhancing, implementing and monitoring information security controls, remediating any data security breaches and addressing related litigation, mitigating reputational harm and compliance with external regulations related to our IT assets; we expect to receive $448.5 million upon the exercise of a warrant by West Coast Hitech L.P. (WCH) and issue 75 million shares of our common stock to WCH; revenue allocated to remaining performance obligations that are unsatisfied which will be recognized over the next 12 months; and a small number of customers will continue to account for a substantial part of AMD's revenue in the future. Material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: Intel Corporation's dominance of the microprocessor market and its aggressive business practices may limit AMD's ability to compete effectively; AMD has a wafer supply agreement with GF with obligations to purchase all of its microprocessor and APU product requirements, and a certain portion of its GPU product requirements, manufactured at process nodes larger than 7 nanometer (nm) from GF with limited exceptions. is dependent upon its technology being designed into third-party products and the success of those products 1 to operate its business; the markets in which AMD's products are sold are highly competitive; AMD's worldwide operations are subject to political, legal and economic risks and natural disasters, which could have a material adverse effect on it; AMD's issuance to West Coast Hitech L.P. (WCH) of warrants to purchase 75 million shares of its common stock, if and when exercised, will dilute the ownership interests of AMD's existing stockholders, and the conversion of the 2.125% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 (2.125% Notes) may dilute the ownership interest of AMD's existing stockholders, or may otherwise depress the price of its common stock; uncertainties involving the ordering and shipment of AMD's products could materially adversely affect it; the demand for AMD's products depends in part on the market conditions in the industries into which they are sold. We are a global semiconductor company primarily offering: \u2022x86 microprocessors, as standalone devices or as incorporated into an accelerated processing unit (APU), chipsets; discrete and integrated graphics processing units (GPUs), and professional GPUs; and \u2022 server and embedded processors and semi-custom System-on-Chip (SoC) products and technology for game consoles. We are a global semiconductor company. Semiconductors are components used in a variety of electronic products and systems. An integrated circuit (IC) is a semiconductor device that consists of many interconnected transistors on a single chip. Since the invention of the transistor in 1948, improvements in IC process and design technologies have led to the development of smaller, more complex and more reliable ICs at a lower cost-per-function. A microprocessor is an IC that serves as the CPU of a computer. It generally consists of hundreds of millions or billions of transistors that process data in a serial fashion and control other devices in the system, acting as the \"brain\" of the computer. The performance of a microprocessor is a critical factor impacting the performance of computing and entertainment platforms, such as desktop PCs, notebooks and workstations. The principal elements used to measure CPU performance are work-per-cycle (or how many instructions are executed per cycle), clock speed (representing the rate at which a CPU's internal logic operates, measured in units of gigahertz, or billions of cycles per second) and power consumption. Other factors impacting microprocessor performance include the process technology used in its manufacture, the number and type of cores, the ability of the cores to process multi-thread or process multiple 3 instructions simultaneously, the bit size of its instruction set (e.g., 32-bit vs 16-bit), memory size and data access speed. Developments in IC design and manufacturing process technologies have resulted in significant advances in microprocessor performance. Since businesses and consumers require greater performance from their computer systems due to the growth of digital data and increasingly sophisticated software applications, multi-core microprocessors offer enhanced overall system performance and efficiency because computing tasks can be spread across two or more processing cores, each of which can execute a task at full speed. Multi-core microprocessors can simultaneously increase performance of a computer system without greatly increasing the total amount of power consumed and the total amount of heat emitted. Businesses and consumers also require computer systems with improved power management technology, which helps them to reduce the power consumption of their computer systems, enables smaller and more portable form factors, and can lower the total cost of ownership. A GPU is a programmable logic chip that helps render images, animations and video and is increasingly being used to handle general computing tasks. GPUs are located in plug-in cards, as a discrete processor or in a chip on the motherboard, or in the same chip as the CPU as part of an accelerated processing unit (APU) or System-on-Chip (SoC). GPUs on stand-alone cards or discrete GPUs on the motherboard typically access their own memory, while GPUs in the chipset or CPU chip share main memory with the CPU. GPUs perform parallel operations on data to render images for a video display and are essential to presenting computer generated images on that display, decoding and rendering animations and displaying video. The more sophisticated the GPU, the higher the resolution and the faster and smoother moving objects can be displayed on video display or in a virtual environment (virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)). In addition to graphics processing, GPUs are used to perform parallel operations on multiple sets of data and are increasingly used to perform vector processing for non-graphics applications that require repetitive computations such as supercomputing, deep learning, artificial and machine intelligence, blockchain and various other applications (e.g., cryptocurrency mining, autonomous driving). ", - "id": "e72ec736-a4bd-4e83-9a5c-0e0ee28670b6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill requires negotiation of prescription drug prices under Medicare, which directly impacts pharmaceutical companies like Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. that produce drugs for conditions treated under Medicare, such as those targeting CNS diseases (like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's). The negotiation could affect the pricing and sales of their products, placing direct relevance to their business model.", - "index": "145", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices of prescription drugs furnished under part D of the Medicare program.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies regarding prices for drugs covered under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Current law prohibits the CMS from doing so.)\n\nThe CMS must take certain factors into account during negotiations, including the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the drug, the financial burden on patients, and unmet patient needs. If the CMS is unable to negotiate the price of a drug, such drug is subject to competitive licensing in order to further its sale under Medicare, notwithstanding existing government-granted exclusivities.\n\nAdditionally, for one year after a drug is provided under a competitive license, such drug is also subject to specified price limitations; if the drug is not offered at such prices, the drug is\u00a0subject to additional licensing that furthers its sale under any federal program (e.g., Medicaid).", - "company_name": "Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "At Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., we seek to redefine the treatment experience for patients suffering from chronic neurological diseases. Our vision is grand, our goal bold: to create and commercialize a new generation of medicines intended to lessen the burden of disease on patients, caregivers and society. With a new commercial medicine and robust pipeline of investigational programs focused on meaningfully differentiated treatment options for patients, we believe we are well on our way. Our therapeutic targets include a broad range of neurologic diseases, including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. Our treatment innovations stem from a deep scientific understanding of time-dependent biology \u2013 the deliberate mapping of disease patterns and drug activity \u2013 along with a goal to meaningfully increase the efficacy of known molecules without compromising tolerability. This approach is designed to ensure that our medicines fit within, rather than define, people's daily lives. Our goal is to develop medicines that are timed for the benefit of patients. Our understanding of time-dependent biological processes informs our every innovation, targeting advancement in treatment of chronic neurologic disorders. (amantadine) extended release capsules, formerly referred to as ADS-5102, for the treatment of dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease receiving levodopa-based therapy, with or without concomitant dopaminergic medications. GOCOVRI was approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on August 24, 2017, with seven years of orphan exclusivity and additional patent protections, and we fully launched GOCOVRI with a deployed sales force in January 2018. Potential Additional Indications for GOCOVRI (amantadine) ADS-5102 in development for the treatment of walking impairment in patients with multiple sclerosis. We expect the start of our Phase 3 pivotal study in this supplemental indication to occur early in the second quarter of 2018. ADS-5102 in research and potential development for additional indications, including the treatment of wearing OFF and delaying motor complications in Parkinson's disease, tardive dyskinesia, Huntington's chorea, Tourette syndrome, and non-motor disorders, including depression, and anti-psychotic induced weight gain. We expect to select additional indications for ADS-5102 by first quarter 2019. ADS-4101 (lacosamide) modified release capsules in development for the treatment of partial onset seizures in patients with epilepsy. We have requested a meeting with the FDA in the first half of 2018, with the start of a Phase 3 pivotal study planned for 2019, depending on FDA feedback. Additional product candidates in research based on potential new discoveries in Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, as well as new research programs in psychiatry. (memantine hydrochloride extended release and donepezil hydrochloride) capsules for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of an Alzheimer's type, marketed in the United States by Allergan plc under an exclusive license agreement between us and Forest Laboratories Holdings Limited (\"Forest\"), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Allergan plc. (memantine hydrochloride) extended release capsules for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of an Alzheimer's type, marketed in the United States by Allergan plc under the Forest license agreement. 3 Products in our wholly-owned portfolio, potential additional indications for these products, and our product candidates, are protected by an array of intellectual property, including robust and diversified patent claims, and regulatory exclusivities. For example, GOCOVRI is protected by seven-year orphan drug exclusivity, three-year new product exclusivity, and issued patents and pending patent applications out to at least 2035. We also received $160.0 million in upfront and milestone payments and $4.1 million in development funding from our partnership with Allergan plc. We estimate that approximately 36 million people in the United States suffer from chronic central nervous system, or CNS, disorders such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, psychosis, depression, and Alzheimer' CNS diseases are frequently treated with multiple medications having different mechanisms of action with the goal of maximizing symptomatic benefits for patients.", - "id": "704692a8-dd0a-4ea7-af80-c0d64d407ef0" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses the confidentiality of substance use disorder patient records, aligning them with HIPAA standards, and has a focus on legal protections and penalties related to such records. Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc. is an in vitro diagnostics company that focuses on the rapid diagnosis of infections and antibiotic susceptibility testing, which does not intersect with the specific legal implications or the target patient population associated with substance use disorder records. Therefore, the bill is not relevant to the company's operations or business model.", - "index": "146", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to protect the confidentiality of substance use disorder patient records.", - "bill_summary": "Protecting Jessica Grubb's Legacy Act\n\nThis bill more closely aligns the federal privacy standards for substance use disorder (SUD) patient records with the standards under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Specifically, the bill authorizes the disclosure of SUD patient records without a patient's written consent to: (1) a covered entity for the purposes of treatment, payment, and health care operations, as long as the disclosure is made in accordance with HIPAA; and (2) a public health authority, as long as the content of the disclosure meets HIPAA standards regarding de-identified information. Current law authorizes disclosure of SUD patient records without a patient's written consent only to medical personnel in a medical emergency, to specified personnel for research or program evaluations, or pursuant to a court order.\n\nThe bill also repeals and replaces criminal penalties for certain violations involving SUD patient records with the HIPAA civil penalty structure. It also applies HIPAA criminal penalties to wrongful disclosures of SUD patient records. In addition, the bill expands the current prohibition against using SUD patient records in criminal proceedings to include any use in specified federal, state, and local criminal and civil actions.\n\nThe bill prohibits certain discrimination based on the release of SUD information under this bill.", - "company_name": "Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc.", - "company_description": "Inc. (\"Accelerate\") is an in vitro diagnostics company dedicated to providing solutions that improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs through the fast diagnosis of serious infections. Microbiology laboratories are in need of new tools to address what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the \"CDC\") calls one of the most serious healthcare threats of our time, antibiotic resistance. A significant contributing factor to the rise of resistance is the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, which is exacerbated by a lack of timely diagnostic results. The delay of identification and antibiotic susceptibility results is often due to the reliance by microbiology laboratories on traditional culture-based tests that often take two to three days to complete. Our technology platform is built to address these challenges by delivering significantly faster testing of infectious pathogens in various patient sample types. Our first system to address these challenges is the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system. The Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system utilizes genotypic technology to identify (ID) infectious pathogens and phenotypic technology to conduct antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST), which determines whether live bacterial and fungal cells are resistant or susceptible to a particular antimicrobial. The Accelerate PhenoTest\u2122 BC Kit, which is the first test kit for the system, provides ID and AST results for patients suspected of bacteremia or fungemia, both life-threatening conditions with high morbidity and mortality risk. This information is used to rapidly modify antibiotic therapy to lessen side-affects, improve clinical outcomes, and help preserve the useful life of antibiotics. In Vitro Diagnostic Directive 98/79/EC and applied a CE Mark to the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system and the Accelerate PhenoTest\u2122 BC Kit for in vitro diagnostic use. On February 23, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (\"FDA\") granted our de novo request to market our Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system and Accelerate PhenoTest\u2122 BC Kit. In 2017, we began selling the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system in hospitals in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. Consistent with the Company's \"razor\" / \"razor-blade\" business model, revenues to date have principally been generated from the sale of the instruments and the sale of single use consumable test kits. From 2001 to 2012, we focused primarily upon furthering the research and development of the OpTest portfolio of technologies (\"OpTest\") that we acquired from DDx, Inc. in 2001 and the development of revenue producing products related to that technology. The purchase of OpTest provided us with a proprietary surface chemistry formulation, which led to our OptiChem and other surface chemistry products, and quantitative bio-analytical measurement instruments. In 2012, our Board of Directors and management team established a new strategic direction for the Company, which was (1) to focus on the internal development, manufacture, and commercialization of the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system and (2) to discontinue efforts to develop and actively market OptiChem and our other surface chemistry products. Since the adoption of the new strategic direction in 2012, we have made significant investments in research and development personnel, facilities, equipment, and consumables to support the internal development of the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system. The Company has also invested in the hiring of regulatory, manufacturing, quality, sales, and marketing personnel experienced in the manufacture and commercialization of medical devices. This strategic direction required the Company to raise additional capital, including through the following transactions: 4 In August 2013, the Company completed a rights offering that raised gross proceeds of $20.0 million. This strategic direction coupled with various investments permitted the development, clinical trial and FDA registration, and commercialization of the Accelerate Pheno\u2122 system and the Accelerate PhenoTest\u2122 BC Kit. Accelerate has expanded the strategic direction it took in 2012 to include the development of additional test kits, systems, and geographic expansion to advance its mission to improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs through the rapid diagnosis of serious infections globally. Antibiotic resistance poses a significant impact to healthcare, costing the U.S. an estimated $55 billion per year in healthcare and productivity costs. This estimate includes $20 billion in direct costs and $35 billion in indirect costs, such as lost productivity and sick days. Increasing infection rates and misuse of antibiotics results in serious treatment complications.", - "id": "25403a8a-95e1-4b26-b206-08af7f33e09a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on child care and early learning funding and programs, which are unrelated to Aerie Pharmaceuticals' business in ophthalmic pharmaceuticals and eye therapies. The legal consequences pertain to child care services for low- to moderate-income families, having no direct impact on the company's activities in developing and commercializing eye medications.", - "index": "147", - "bill_title": "To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 and the Head Start Act to promote child care and early learning, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Child Care for Working Families Act\n\nThis bill provides funds and otherwise revises certain child care and early learning programs for low- to moderate-income families.\n\nSpecifically, the bill provides funds for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program and reestablishes it as a child care and development assistance program. It also allocates program funds for states to provide services and support to infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities.\n\nFurther, it revises the program to require each state to, among other things\n\n create a tiered and transparent system for measuring the quality of child care providers, which must include evidence-based standards and payment rates that are based on a certain cost estimation model; assure that copayments are based on a sliding scale and that no family receiving assistance pays more than 7% of their household income on child care; and use quality child care amounts for certain activities, such as improving the supply of child care providers who provide care to infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities (e.g., professional development). It also provides funds and establishes grants for states to create preschool programs for low- to moderate-income children between the ages of three and five years.\n\nFinally, the Department of Health and Human Services must make grants to Head Start agencies to (1) provide children with access to full-school-year and full-school-day services, (2) provide access to additional service hours for migrant and seasonal agencies, or (3) enhance the quality of existing services.", - "company_name": "Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class therapies for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma and other diseases of the eye. Our strategy is to commercialize Rhopressa \u00ae, approved by the FDA on December 18, 2017, in North American markets and advance our product candidate, Roclatan TM, to regulatory approval. We are in the process of hiring a commercial team that will include approximately 100 sales representatives to target approximately 12,000 high prescribing eye-care professionals throughout the United States. If we obtain regulatory approval, we currently expect to commercialize Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM in Europe on our own, and likely partner for commercialization in Japan. Subsequent to December 31, 2017, we issued and sold approximately 2.3 million additional shares of our common stock, for which we received net proceeds of approximately $136.2 million, after deducting fees and expenses, upon the completion of the \"at-the-market\" offering that commenced in December 2017 and pursuant to an underwriting agreement, dated January 23, 2018, related to a registered public offering. Our FDA-approved product, Rhopressa \u00ae, is a once-daily eye drop designed to reduce elevated intraocular pressure (\"IOP\") in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The active ingredient in Rhopressa \u00ae, netarsudil, is a Rho kinase inhibitor. We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae represents the first of a new drug class for reducing IOP in patients with glaucoma in over 20 years. Based on clinical data, we expect that Rhopressa\u00ae will have the potential to compete with non-PGA (prostaglandin analog) products as a preferred adjunctive therapy to prostaglandin analogs (\"PGAs\"), due to its targeting of the diseased tissue known as the trabecular meshwork (\"TM\"), its demonstrated ability to reduce IOP at consistent levels across tested baselines, and its preferred once-daily dosing relative to currently marketed non-PGA products. Adjunctive therapies currently represent nearly one-half of the glaucoma prescription market in the United States, according to IQVIA (formerly known as IMS Health). We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae may also become a preferred therapy where PGAs are contraindicated, for patients who do not respond to PGAs and for patients who choose to avoid the cosmetic issues associated with PGA products. Our advanced-stage product candidate, Roclatan TM, is a once-daily, fixed-dose combination of Rhopressa\u00ae and latanoprost, the most commonly prescribed drug for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma. We plan to submit a New Drug Application (\"NDA\") for Roclatan TM to the FDA in the second quarter of 2018. We believe, based on our clinical data, that Roclatan TM has the potential to provide a greater IOP-reducing effect than any currently marketed glaucoma medication. Therefore, we believe that Roclatan TM, if approved, could compete with both PGA and non-PGA therapies and become the product of choice for patients requiring maximal IOP reduction, including those with higher IOPs and those who present with significant disease progression despite use of the currently available therapies. We own the worldwide rights to all indications for Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM. We have patent protection for Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM in the United States through at least 2030 and internationally through dates ranging from 2030 to 2037. Our intellectual property portfolio contains patents and pending patent applications related to composition of matter, pharmaceutical compositions, methods of use, and synthetic methods. Our collaboration with DSM, a global science-based company headquartered in the Netherlands, provides access to their bio-erodible polymer technology, and our acquisition of assets from Envisia Therapeutics Inc. (\"Envisia\"), which includes the right to use PRINT\u00ae manufacturing technology for ophthalmology, are designed to 1 advance our progress in developing potential future product candidates to treat retinal diseases. Aided by these technologies, we are developing two preclinical molecules focused on retinal disease. AR-13503, for which we expect to submit an Investigational New Drug application (\"IND\") in 2019, is an Aerie-owned Rho kinase and Protein kinase C inhibitor with potential in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (\"AMD\"), diabetic retinopathy and related diseases of the retina, such as diabetic macular edema (\"DME\"). As the active metabolite of AR-13154(S), AR-13503 has shown lesion size decreases in an in vivo preclinical model of wet AMD at levels similar to the current market-leading wet AMD anti-VEGF product. Also preclinically, when used in combination with the market leading anti-VEGF product, AR-13503 produced greater lesion size reduction than the anti-VEGF product alone in a model of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Additionally, through the Envisia asset acquisition, we are also developing AR-1105, a preclinical dexamethasone steroid implant with potential in the treatment of DME, and currently expect to submit an IND in late 2018. Further, we are evaluating our owned library of Rho kinase inhibitors for potential indications beyond ophthalmology.", - "id": "6952bfe7-8dd2-4a18-8aee-f91c7e5a738a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving mental health care for veterans, including provisions for suicide prevention programs, mental health services, and operational updates within the Department of Veterans Affairs. These legal consequences do not pertain to Public Storage\u2019s core business of providing self-storage facilities, which primarily focuses on leasing storage space and related services. Therefore, the bill does not have any direct relevance to the company's business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "148", - "bill_title": "A bill to improve mental health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019\n\nThis bill makes updates related to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) transition assistance, mental health care, care for women veterans, and telehealth care.\n\nTITLE I--IMPROVEMENT OF TRANSITION OF INDIVIDUALS TO SERVICES FROM DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS\n\n(Sec. 101) This section requires the VA to submit a plan for the provision of VA health care to any veteran during the one-year period following the discharge or release from active military, naval, or air service.\n\n(Sec. 102) The Department of Defense (DOD) and the VA must jointly review and report on the records of each former member of the Armed Forces who died by suicide within one year of separation from the Armed Forces during the five-year period preceding the enactment of this bill.\n\n(Sec. 103) The VA must report on the Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health\u2014Veterans Enhanced Treatment (REACH VET) program to assess, among other elements, the impact of the program on rates of suicide among veterans.\n\n(Sec. 104) This section updates reporting requirements related to the mental and behavioral health care provided by the VA to former members of the Armed Forces with other than honorable discharge.\n\nTITLE II--SUICIDE PREVENTION\n\n(Sec. 201) This section establishes the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, under which the VA must award grants for a period of three years to eligible entities for the provision of suicide prevention services to veterans and their families. A nongovernmental entity must conduct a study on the provision of such grants to evaluate the effectiveness.\n\nIn certain circumstances, entities receiving grants must refer eligible individuals for additional care at the VA. If it is clinically appropriate, the VA must provide an individual receiving suicide prevention services through a grant with a mental health care assessment or services. If an individual refuses such care, ongoing clinical services provided by a grantee must be at the expense of the grantee.\n\n(Sec. 202) The VA must complete a study and report on the feasibility and advisability of providing complementary and integrative health treatments, such as acupuncture, at all VA medical facilities.\n\n(Sec. 203) After the Creating Options for Veterans' Expedited Recovery Commission submits its final report, the VA must conduct a three-year pilot program to provide complementary and integrative health services (e.g., animal therapy) to certain veterans from the VA or non-VA entities for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, or anxiety. The VA is authorized to extend the duration based on the results of the implementation.\n\n(Sec. 204) The VA must seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study the effects of opioids and benzodiazepine on all-cause mortality of veterans, including suicide, regardless of whether information relating to such deaths has been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nThe Government Accountability Office (GAO) must conduct a review of the staffing levels for mental health professionals of the VA.\n\n(Sec. 205) This section requires the GAO to report on the VA's efforts to manage veterans at high risk for suicide.\n\nTITLE III--PROGRAMS, STUDIES, AND GUIDELINES ON MENTAL HEALTH\n\n(Sec. 301) This section requires the VA to conduct a study on the connection between living at high altitude and the risk of developing depression or dying by suicide among veterans. Depending on the results, a follow-up study may be required to identify biological causes and effective treatments.\n\n(Sec. 302) The VA must develop a clinical provider treatment toolkit and training materials for the evidence-based management of comorbid mental health conditions, comorbid mental health and substance use disorders, and a comorbid mental health condition and chronic pain.\n\n(Sec. 303) The VA and DOD (through the Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide Work Group) must issue an update to the VA/DOD Clinical Practice Guideline for Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide that (1) considers gender-specific factors; and (2) includes guidance with respect to the efficacy of certain alternative therapies, such as meditation and animal therapy.\n\n(Sec. 304) This section requires the VA to complete the development of a clinical practice guideline or guidelines for the treatment of serious mental illness. Under this section, such guidelines must address the treatment of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and persistent mood disorder (including bipolar disorder I and II).\n\nThe VA must establish the Serious Mental Illness Work Group with DOD and the Department of Health and Human Services to develop such clinical practice guideline or guidelines.\n\nAdditionally, the VA must complete an assessment of the 2016 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Major Depressive Disorders to determine if an update is necessary.\n\n(Sec. 305) The VA must implement the Precision Medicine for Veterans Initiative to identify and validate brain and mental health biomarkers among veterans, with specific consideration for depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and traumatic brain injury. The VA must develop data privacy and security measures to ensure the information of veterans participating in the initiative is kept private and secure. The VA must also coordinate efforts of the initiative with the Million Veterans Program.\n\n(Sec. 306) This section authorizes the VA to contract with academic institutions or other qualified entities to carry out any statistical analyses and data evaluation as required by law.\n\nTITLE IV--OVERSIGHT OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE AND RELATED SERVICES\n\n(Sec. 401) The VA must enter into an agreement with a nonfederal government entity that has expertise in conducting and evaluating research-based studies to conduct a study on the effectiveness of the VA's suicide prevention and mental health outreach materials and campaigns.\n\n(Sec. 402) The VA must establish measurable goals to evaluate the effectiveness of the VA's mental health and suicide prevention media outreach campaigns.\n\n(Sec. 403) This section requires the GAO to conduct a management review of the mental health and suicide prevention services provided by the VA.\n\n(Sec. 404) The GAO must report on the VA's efforts to integrate (1) mental health care into VA primary care clinics, and (2) community-based mental health care (care provided by a non-VA provider but paid for by the VA) into the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).\n\n(Sec. 405) The VA and DOD must report on their mental health programs, including joint programs of the departments. The VA must establish a joint VA/DOD Intrepid Spirit Center to serve active duty members of the Armed Forces, members of the reserve components, and veterans for mutual benefit and growth in treatment and care for PTSD and traumatic brain injury.\n\nTITLE V--IMPROVEMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH MEDICAL WORKFORCE\n\n(Sec. 501) The VA must submit a plan to address the staffing of mental health providers at its facilities. Additionally, the VA must develop an occupational series for its licensed professional mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists.\n\n(Sec. 502) This section requires the VA to carry out the Department of Veterans Affairs Readjustment Counseling Service Scholarship Program under the Educational Assistance Program.\n\n(Sec. 503) The GAO must report on the VA's Readjustment Counseling Service. Such report must include, among other elements, an assessment of barriers to care at Vet Centers.\n\n(Sec. 504) This section expands the annual reporting requirement on the activities of the Readjustment Counseling Service to include additional elements.\n\n(Sec. 505) The VA must conduct a survey on the attitudes of veterans toward the VA offering appointments outside the usual operating hours of VA facilities, including via telehealth appointments. The VA must also study the feasibility and advisability of offering appointments outside the usual operating hours\n\n(Sec. 506) The VA must ensure each of its medical centers is staffed with at least one suicide prevention coordinator. In addition, the VA must conduct a study to determine the feasibility and advisability of the realignment and reorganization of suicide prevention coordinators within the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and the creation of a suicide prevention coordinator program office.\n\n(Sec. 507) This section requires the VA to report on its efforts to implement a suicide prevention program for veterans presenting to an emergency department or urgent care center of the VHA who are assessed to be at risk for suicide and are safe to be discharged home.\n\nTITLE VI--IMPROVEMENT OF CARE AND SERVICES FOR WOMEN VETERANS\n\n(Sec. 601) This section requires the VA to expand the capabilities of the Women Veterans Call Center by including a text messaging capability.\n\n(Sec. 602) The VA must publish a website providing information for women veterans about the benefits and services available to them.\n\nTITLE VII--OTHER MATTERS\n\n(Sec. 701) This section requires the VA to award grants to entities for the expansion of telehealth capabilities and provision of telehealth services to veterans. An entity seeking to establish a telehealth access point for veterans without grant funding is authorized to enter into an agreement with the VA to establish such access point.\n\nThe VA must assess and report on the barriers veterans face in accessing telehealth services.\n\n(Sec. 702) This section authorizes the VA to enter partnerships with nonfederal government entities to provide hyperbaric oxygen treatment to veterans to research the effectiveness of such therapy in treating certain conditions (e.g., PTSD).\n\nThe VA must conduct a systematic review of published research literature on off-label use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat PTSD and traumatic brain injury among veterans and nonveterans. Additionally, the VA must conduct a study on all individuals receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy through the VA's current pilot program to determine the efficacy and effectiveness for treating PTSD and traumatic brain injury.\n\n(Sec. 703) The VA must prescribe specified technical qualifications for appointment as a licensed hearing aid specialist in the VHA. Under this section, at least one licensed hearing aid specialist must be appointed at each VA medical center.\n\n(Sec. 704) This section requires the VA to complete policy revisions within the internal directive titled Requirements for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research to allow sponsored clinical research of the VA to use accredited commercial institutional review boards to review VA research proposal protocols.\n\nThe VA must (1) identify accredited commercial institutional review boards for use in connection with sponsored clinical research of the VA, and (2) establish a process to modify existing approvals if a board loses its accreditation during an ongoing clinical trial.\n\n(Sec. 705) This section also requires the VA to establish an Office of Research Reviews within the VA's Office of Information and Technology to perform centralized security reviews and complete security processes for approved research sponsored outside the VA, among other purposes.", - "company_name": "Public Storage", - "company_description": "could adversely impact our operations or our business , customer, and employee relationships or result in fraudulent payments; \uf0b7 risks associated with the self-insurance of certain business risks, including property and casualty insurance, employee health insurance and workers compensation liabilities; \uf0b7 difficulties in raising capital at a reasonable cost; \uf0b7 delays and cost overruns on our projects to develop or expand our facilities; \uf0b7 ongoing litigation and other legal and regulatory actions that may divert management's time and attention, require us to pay damages and expenses or restrict the operation of our business; and \uf0b7 economic uncertainty due to the impact of war or terrorism. We acquire, develop, own and operate self-storage facilities, which offer storage spaces for lease on a month-to-month basis, for personal and business use. We are the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in the U.S. At December 31, 2019, we have direct and indirect equity interests in 2,483 self-storage facilities that we consolidate (an aggregate of 169 million net rentable square feet of space) located in 38 states within the U.S. operating under the \"Public Storage\" brand name. (ii) Ancillary Operations : We reinsure policies against losses to goods stored by customers in our self-storage facilities and sell merchandise, primarily locks and cardboard boxes, at our self-storage facilities. Inc. (\"PSB\"), a publicly held REIT that owns, operates, acquires and develops commercial properties, primarily multi-tenant flex, office, and industrial parks. At December 31, 2019, PSB owns and operates 27.6 million rentable square feet of commercial space. We have a 35% equity interest in Shurgard Self Storage SA (\"Shurgard\"), a public company traded on Euronext Brussels under the \"SHUR\" symbol, which owns 234 self-storage facilities (13 million net rentable square feet) located in seven countries in Western Europe operated under the \"Shurgard\" brand name. We believe Shurgard is the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in Western Europe. In order to further increase our economies of scale and leverage our brand, in 2018 we began an effort to expand the number of facilities we manage, through a dedicated internal sales, administration, and implementation team. At December 31, 2019, we are under contract to manage 27 additional facilities, currently under construction, following their completion. We also own 0.9 million net rentable square feet of commercial space which is managed primarily by PSB. For all periods presented herein, we have elected to be treated as a REIT, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the \"Code\"). and we expect to continue to elect and qualify as a REIT. We believe that our customers generally store their goods within a three to five mile radius of their home or business. Our facilities compete with nearby self-storage facilities owned by other operators using marketing channels similar to ours, including Internet advertising, signage, and banners and offer services similar to ours. As a result, competition is significant and affects the occupancy levels, rental rates, rental income and operating expenses of our facilities. In the last three years, there has been a marked increase in development of new self-storage facilities in many of the markets where we operate, due to the favorable economics of developing new properties. These newly developed facilities compete with many of the facilities we own, negatively impacting our occupancies, rental rates, and rental growth. This increase in supply has been most notable in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Miami, New York, and Portland. Ownership and operation of self-storage facilities is highly fragmented. As the largest owner of self-storage facilities, we believe that we own approximately 7% of the self-storage square footage in the U.S. and that collectively the five largest self-storage owners in the U.S. own approximately 16%, with the remaining 84% owned by regional and local operators. The high level of ownership fragmentation in the industry is partially attributable to the relative simplicity of managing a local self-storage facility, such that small-scale owners can operate self-storage facilities at a basic level of profitability without significant managerial or operational infrastructure. However, we believe that the economies of scale inherent in this business result in our being able to operate self-storage facilities at a materially higher level 6 of cash flow per square foot than other operators without our scale.", - "id": "38464f90-a8f4-458e-b825-e03e848298d8" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill waives the 24-month waiting period for Medicare eligibility for individuals diagnosed with Huntington's disease. Adamas Pharmaceuticals is involved in the development of treatments for various neurological disorders, including Huntington\u2019s chorea. Thus, the bill is relevant to the company as it could increase access to treatments for patients suffering from Huntington's disease, aligning with their focus on chronic neurological diseases.", - "index": "149", - "bill_title": "A bill to waive the 24-month waiting period for Medicare eligibility for individuals disabled by Huntington's disease.", - "bill_summary": "Huntington's Disease Parity Act of 2019\n\nThis bill waives, for individuals diagnosed with Huntington's Disease, the 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage.\u00a0Current law generally applies this waiting period\u00a0to individuals deemed eligible for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits.", - "company_name": "Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "At Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., we seek to redefine the treatment experience for patients suffering from chronic neurological diseases. Our vision is grand, our goal bold: to create and commercialize a new generation of medicines intended to lessen the burden of disease on patients, caregivers and society. With a new commercial medicine and robust pipeline of investigational programs focused on meaningfully differentiated treatment options for patients, we believe we are well on our way. Our therapeutic targets include a broad range of neurologic diseases, including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. Our treatment innovations stem from a deep scientific understanding of time-dependent biology \u2013 the deliberate mapping of disease patterns and drug activity \u2013 along with a goal to meaningfully increase the efficacy of known molecules without compromising tolerability. This approach is designed to ensure that our medicines fit within, rather than define, people's daily lives. Our goal is to develop medicines that are timed for the benefit of patients. Our understanding of time-dependent biological processes informs our every innovation, targeting advancement in treatment of chronic neurologic disorders. (amantadine) extended release capsules, formerly referred to as ADS-5102, for the treatment of dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease receiving levodopa-based therapy, with or without concomitant dopaminergic medications. GOCOVRI was approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on August 24, 2017, with seven years of orphan exclusivity and additional patent protections, and we fully launched GOCOVRI with a deployed sales force in January 2018. Potential Additional Indications for GOCOVRI (amantadine) ADS-5102 in development for the treatment of walking impairment in patients with multiple sclerosis. We expect the start of our Phase 3 pivotal study in this supplemental indication to occur early in the second quarter of 2018. ADS-5102 in research and potential development for additional indications, including the treatment of wearing OFF and delaying motor complications in Parkinson's disease, tardive dyskinesia, Huntington's chorea, Tourette syndrome, and non-motor disorders, including depression, and anti-psychotic induced weight gain. We expect to select additional indications for ADS-5102 by first quarter 2019. ADS-4101 (lacosamide) modified release capsules in development for the treatment of partial onset seizures in patients with epilepsy. We have requested a meeting with the FDA in the first half of 2018, with the start of a Phase 3 pivotal study planned for 2019, depending on FDA feedback. Additional product candidates in research based on potential new discoveries in Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, as well as new research programs in psychiatry. (memantine hydrochloride extended release and donepezil hydrochloride) capsules for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of an Alzheimer's type, marketed in the United States by Allergan plc under an exclusive license agreement between us and Forest Laboratories Holdings Limited (\"Forest\"), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Allergan plc. (memantine hydrochloride) extended release capsules for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of an Alzheimer's type, marketed in the United States by Allergan plc under the Forest license agreement. 3 Products in our wholly-owned portfolio, potential additional indications for these products, and our product candidates, are protected by an array of intellectual property, including robust and diversified patent claims, and regulatory exclusivities. For example, GOCOVRI is protected by seven-year orphan drug exclusivity, three-year new product exclusivity, and issued patents and pending patent applications out to at least 2035. We also received $160.0 million in upfront and milestone payments and $4.1 million in development funding from our partnership with Allergan plc. We estimate that approximately 36 million people in the United States suffer from chronic central nervous system, or CNS, disorders such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, psychosis, depression, and Alzheimer' CNS diseases are frequently treated with multiple medications having different mechanisms of action with the goal of maximizing symptomatic benefits for patients.", - "id": "90c0ec2a-5ba2-49cc-a7d7-596e7eca2e8d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill reauthorizes and revises the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System, which includes NOAA's authority related to storm assessments and hydrologic analyses. This is relevant to AeroVironment, Inc. as a technology solutions provider in the UAS sector, particularly if they are involved in providing services or products to NOAA or related agencies for environmental monitoring, disaster response, or geophysical assessment technologies. The data and capabilities provided by such observation systems could complement AeroVironment's offerings in government contracts, thereby enhancing their operational effectiveness.", - "index": "150", - "bill_title": "A bill to reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009, to clarify the authority of the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with respect to post-storm assessments, and to require the establishment of a National Water Center, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Coordinated Ocean Observations and Research Act of 2019\n\nThis bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System (IOOS), which is a network of federal and regional entities that provide information about the nation's coasts, oceans, and Great Lakes, as well as new tools and forecasts to improve safety, enhance the economy, and protect the environment.\n\nThe bill revises the authority of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to conduct scientific assessments related to storms, including to (1) direct NOAA to seek public input before the Named Storm Event Model (the official meteorological and oceanographic computerized model which utilizes data to replicate the magnitude, timing, and spatial variations of winds, rainfall, and storm surges associated with named storms for which post-storm assessments are conducted) takes effect, and (2) allow NOAA to deploy sensors to areas in coastal states that are at the highest risk of experiencing geophysical events that would cause indeterminate losses.\n\nThe bill provides statutory authority for NOAA's National Water Center. (The center currently exists at NOAA as the research and operational center of excellence for hydrologic analyses, forecasting, and related decision support services.)", - "company_name": "AeroVironment, Inc.", - "company_description": "\u25cf unexpected technical and marketing difficulties inherent in major research and product development efforts; \u200b \u25cf availability of U.S. government and allied government funding for defense procurement and research and development programs; \u200b \u25cf our reliance on certain customers, including the U.S. government and HAPSMobile, Inc., for a significant portion of our revenues; \u200b \u25cf the extensive regulatory requirements governing our contracts with the U.S. government and the results of any audit or investigation of our compliance therewith; \u200b \u25cf our ability to remain a market innovator and to create new market opportunities; \u25cf increased competition, including from firms that have substantially greater resources than we have and in the UAS business from lower-cost consumer drone manufacturers who may seek to enhance their systems' capabilities over time; \u200b \u25cf the complexities and uncertainty of obtaining and conducting international business, including export compliance and other reporting requirements; On June 29, 2018, we completed the sale of substantially all of the assets and related liabilities of its efficient energy systems business segment (\"the EES Business\") to Webasto Charging Systems, As of April 30, 2018, we determined that the EES Business met the criterion for classification as an asset held for sale and represented a strategic shift in our operations. We design, develop, produce and support a technologically-advanced portfolio of products and services for government agencies and businesses. We supply unmanned aircraft systems (\"UAS\") and related services primarily to organizations within the U.S. Department of Defense (\"DoD\") and to international allied governments, and tactical missile systems and related services to organizations within the U.S. government. Our success with current products and services stems from our investment in research and development and our ability to invent and deliver advanced solutions, utilizing proprietary and commercially available technologies, to help our government and commercial customers operate more effectively and efficiently. We develop these highly innovative solutions by working very closely with our key customers to solve their most important challenges related to our areas of expertise. Our core technological capabilities, developed through more than 45 years of innovation, include robotics and robotics systems autonomy; sensor design, development, miniaturization and integration; embedded software and firmware; miniature, low power wireless digital communications; lightweight aerostructures; high-altitude systems design, integration and operations; machine vision, machine learning and autonomy; low SWaP (Size, Weight and Power) system design and integration; manned-unmanned teaming and unmanned-unmanned teaming; power electronics and electric propulsion systems; efficient electric power conversion, storage systems and high density energy packaging; controls and systems integration; vertical takeoff and landing flight, fixed wing flight and hybrid aircraft flight; image stabilization and target tracking; advanced flight control systems; fluid dynamics; human-machine interface development; and integrated mission solutions for austere environments. Our business focuses primarily on the design, development, production, marketing, support and operation of innovative UAS and tactical missile systems that provide situational awareness, remote sensing, multi-band 3 communications, force protection and other information and mission effects to increase the safety and effectiveness of our customers' operations. As a technology solutions provider, our strategy is to grow our business by developing and acquiring innovative, safe and reliable new solutions that provide customers with valuable capabilities. Delivering these capabilities will enable us to create new markets or market segments, gain market share and grow as market adoption increases. We believe that by introducing new solutions that provide customers with compelling value we are able to create new markets or market segments and then grow our positions within those markets or market segments profitably, instead of entering established, existing markets and competing directly against large, incumbent competitors that may possess advantages in scope, scale, resources and relationships. Our small UAS and tactical missile systems enjoy leading positions in their respective markets. We intend to increase the penetration of our small UAS products and services within the U.S. military, the military forces of allied nations, other government agencies and non-government organizations, including commercial entities, and to increase the penetration of our tactical missile systems within the U.S. military and within the military forces of allied nations. We believe that the broad adoption of our small UAS by the U.S. military will continue to spur demand by allied nations, and that our efforts to pursue new applications are creating opportunities beyond the early adopter military market. Customer-focused innovation is the primary driver of our growth. We view strategic partnerships as a means by which to further the reach of our innovative solutions through access to new markets, customers and complementary capabilities. We also consider the acquisition of third-party assets as a potential method to obtain valuable products or technologies that can enable our growth strategy. Our company culture encourages innovation and entrepreneurialism, which helps to attract and retain highly-skilled professionals. We believe that our values help to guide the behavior of our people and serve to maintain a positive work environment that inspires loyalty among our employees and customers. ", - "id": "fb01aed2-f200-43ec-887c-20866b4f8bb4" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill addresses maritime security, which directly pertains to the transport and logistics sector that Air Transport Services Group, Inc. operates within. Since the company provides services to airlines and freight forwarders, improvements in maritime policy and security could impact their operations, particularly in how goods and services are transported and regulated in connection with maritime logistics.", - "index": "151", - "bill_title": "A bill to reauthorize activities of the Maritime Administration, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Maritime Administration Authorization and Enhancement Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses (1) several aspects of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD); (2) illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing); and (3) maritime security.\n\nAmong other things, the bill\n\n reauthorizes MARAD programs, including programs associated with maintaining the U.S. Merchant Marine; promotes transparency and traceability in the seafood supply chain; promotes the use of technology to combat IUU fishing; establishes an interagency working group on maritime security, IUU fishing, and seafood fraud; and establishes a sub-working group to address IUU fishing within the U.S. exclusive economic zone in the Gulf of Mexico.", - "company_name": "Air Transport Services Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "leases aircraft and provides airline operations, ground services, aircraft modification and maintenance services, and other support services to the air transportation and logistics industries. Through the Company's subsidiaries, we offer a range of complementary services to delivery businesses, freight forwarders, airlines and government customers. We offer standalone services along with bundled, customized solutions, scalable to our customers' needs. : We lease aircraft through the Company's leasing subsidiary, Cargo Aircraft Management, CAM's fleet consists of Boeing 737, 757 and 767 cargo aircraft, Boeing 767 and 777 passenger aircraft and Boeing 757 \"combi\" aircraft which simultaneously carry passengers and cargo on the main deck. CAM services global demand for cargo airlift by offering Boeing 767, 757 and 737 aircraft leases. CAM is able to provide competitive lease rates by converting passenger aircraft into cargo freighters. CAM monitors the market for available passenger aircraft, typically 15 to 20 years beyond their original manufacture date. After evaluation of an aircraft's condition and technical specifications, CAM acquires passenger aircraft that meet its requirements for projected into-service costs and rate of return targets. After conversion to freighter configuration, CAM's aircraft can be deployed into markets more economically than newly built freighters. CAM's aircraft leases are typically under multi-year agreements. : We offer combinations of aircraft, crews, maintenance and insurance services to provide customized transportation capacity to our customers. Inc. (\"ATI\"), and Omni Air International, LLC (\"OAI\") which are each independently certificated by the U.S. Department of Transportation and separately offer services to customers. ABX operates Boeing 767 freighter aircraft, ATI operates Boeing 767 and 757 freighter and Boeing 757 combi aircraft and OAI operates Boeing 767 and 777 passenger aircraft. We provide transportation related services such as aircraft maintenance, crew training and ground handling to delivery companies, freight forwarders and other airlines. Customers who lease our aircraft often need related support services. Offering support services provides us with a competitive advantage for diversification and incremental revenues. : We provide load transfer and sorting services, as well as related maintenance services for material handling equipment, ground equipment and facilities through our LGSTX Services, LGSTX also rents ground equipment and sells aviation fuel in Ohio. Aircraft maintenance and modification services: We provide airframe modification and maintenance, component repairs, engineering services and aircraft line maintenance through our subsidiaries Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services, Inc. Inc. (\"AMS\") resells and brokers aircraft parts. We provide line maintenance services at certain airports. Flight support services: We also offer flight crew training. AGS markets the various services and products offered by our subsidiaries by bundling solutions that leverage the entire portfolio of our subsidiaries", - "id": "995e4771-b912-4cc0-b47b-9db97f4eb7f2" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on restricting missile procurement and deployment in relation to international arms agreements, which primarily concerns defense and military sectors. Plexus Corp operates in the Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) industry, focusing on complex product manufacturing across various sectors (Healthcare, Industrial, Communications, Aerospace/Defense) but does not primarily engage in missile-related activities. Although it operates in Aerospace/Defense, this bill does not directly impact Plexus's core business or operations.", - "index": "152", - "bill_title": "A bill to prevent a nuclear arms race resulting from weakened international restrictions on the proliferation of intermediate- and shorter-range missiles, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Prevention of Arms Race Act of 2019\n\nThis bill restricts the appropriation of funds for the procurement, flight testing, or deployment of missiles banned by the Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty). Before such funds may be appropriated, the Department of Defense shall submit a report to Congress that includes\u00a0(1) a memorandum of understanding from a North Atlantic Treaty Organization or Indo-Pacific ally committing to hosting the deployment of such a missile, (2) confirmation that the United States has not rejected any diplomatic offer to resolve Russia's violation of the INF Treaty, (3) discussion of the ramifications of a collapse of the treaty and of a U.S. withdrawal from the agreement, (4) discussion of\u00a0the mission requirements with respect to Russia and China that would be met by weapons systems covered by the INF, and (5) discussion of the degree to which INF-compliant weapons can meet such mission requirements.", - "company_name": "Plexus Corp.", - "company_description": "we\") participate in the Electronic Manufacturing Services (\"EMS\") industry. We partner with our customers to create the products that build a better world. Since 1979, Plexus has been partnering with companies to transform concepts into branded products and deliver them to the market. From idea to aftermarket and everything in between, Plexus is a global leader in providing support for all the facets of the product realization process - Design and Development, Supply Chain Solutions, New Product Introduction, Manufacturing, and Aftermarket Services. Plexus delivers comprehensive end-to-end solutions in the Americas (\"AMER\"), Europe, Middle East, and Africa (\"EMEA\") and Asia-Pacific (\"APAC\") regions for our customers. We specialize in working in industries with highly complex products and demanding regulatory requirements. Plexus has partnerships with approximately 140 customers in the Healthcare/Life Sciences, Industrial/Commercial, Communications, and Aerospace/Defense market sectors. We leverage our expertise to understand the unique needs of our customers' markets and have aligned our processes to provide flexibility, create efficiency and deliver superior quality. Our customers have stringent quality, reliability and regulatory requirements, requiring exceptional production and supply chain agility. Their products require complex configuration management, direct order fulfillment (to end customers), global logistics management and aftermarket services. To service the complexities that our customers' products demand, we utilize our full suite of solution offerings to support our customers' products from concept to end of life. Plexus is passionate about being the leading EMS company in the world at servicing mid-to-low volume, higher complexity customer programs, characterized by unique flexibility, technology, quality and regulatory requirements. A high performance, accountable organization with a talented workforce that is deeply passionate about driving growth through customer service excellence; \u2022 Strategic growth by using customer driven, sector based go-to-market strategies; and \u2022 Execution driven by a collaborative, customer centric culture that continuously evaluates and optimizes our business processes to strive to create shareholder value. We operate flexible manufacturing facilities and design our processes to accommodate customers with multiple product lines and configurations. One or more uniquely configured \"focus factories,\" supported by a tailored supply chain and logistics solution, are designed to meet the flexibility and responsiveness needed to support customer fulfillment requirements. Each sector has a market sector vice president and a business development and customer management leader who together oversee and provide leadership to teams that include business development directors, customer directors or managers, supply chain and manufacturing subject matter experts, and market sector analysts. These teams maintain expertise related to each market sector and execute sector strategies aligned to that market's unique quality and regulatory requirements. Our market sector teams help define Plexus' strategy for growth with a particular emphasis on expanding the value-added solutions we offer customers. Our primary focus is to earn a return on invested capital (\"ROIC\") Plexus measures economic profit by taking the difference between ROIC and WACC and multiplying it by invested capital. 4 Relative to our competition, overriding factors such as lower manufacturing volumes, flexibility and fulfillment requirements, and complex regulatory requirements typically result in higher investments in inventory and selling and administrative costs for us. The cost variance from our competitors is especially evident relative to those that provide EMS services for high-volume, less complex products, with less stringent requirements (e.g., consumer electronics). Plexus serves a diverse customer landscape that includes industry-leading, branded product companies, along with many other technology pioneering start-ups or emerging companies that may or may not maintain manufacturing capabilities. As a result of serving market sectors that rely on advanced electronics technology, our business is influenced by critical technological trends such as the level and rate of development of wired and wireless telecommunications infrastructure, communications data and data bandwidth growth, and internet usage.", - "id": "c2398eaa-09c1-4e99-83d3-b9c6a9bd0aae" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on amending the Small Business Act to enhance contracting opportunities for small businesses, particularly those owned by disadvantaged groups. Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. is a large, integrated manufacturer not directly aligned with the target audience of the bill, and thus the legal changes would not impact its business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "153", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Small Business Act to eliminate the inclusion of option years in the award price for sole source contracts, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Expanding Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses Act of 2019\n\nThis bill modifies provisions regarding the inclusion of option years in the award price for certain sole source contracts (i.e., contracts awarded without a competitive process) by requiring the base and each of the option years of the award, if any, to be of similar value. Under current law, option years in the award price for such contracts limit their dollar award threshold.\n\nSpecifically, the bill revises requirements for the award of these contracts to (1) qualified Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small businesses, (2) small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, (3) economically disadvantaged small businesses owned and controlled by women, (4) small businesses owned and controlled by women in substantially underrepresented industries, and (5) qualified socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses.\n\nThe Government Accountability Office must evaluate the policies and practices used by the Small Business Administration and other federal agencies to ensure that contracting officers are properly classifying sole source contracts under procurement programs for businesses owned by women and disabled veterans in the Federal Procurement Data System.", - "company_name": "Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc.", - "company_description": "Inc. (\"HYG\"), is a leading, globally integrated, full-line lift truck manufacturer. The Company offers a broad array of solutions aimed at meeting the specific materials handling needs of its customers, including attachments and hydrogen fuel cell power products, telematics, automation and fleet management services, as well as a variety of other power options for its lift trucks. The Company, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, through HYG, designs, engineers, manufactures, sells and services a comprehensive line of lift trucks, attachments and aftermarket parts marketed globally primarily under the Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae brand names, mainly to independent Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae retail dealerships. Lift trucks and component parts are manufactured in the United States, China, Northern Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Italy, Vietnam, Japan and Brazil. Bolzoni is a leading worldwide producer and distributor of attachments, forks and lift tables marketed under the Bolzoni \u00ae, Auramo\u00ae and Bolzoni products are manufactured in Italy, China, Germany, Finland and the United States. Through the design, production and distribution of a wide range of attachments, Bolzoni has a strong presence in the market niche of lift-truck attachments and industrial material handling. In 2018, the Company announced, as part of a plan to expand Bolzoni's capabilities in the United States, Bolzoni's North America attachment manufacturing will be moved into HYG's Sulligent, Alabama manufacturing facility over the course of 2019. The Company will reclassify the historical results of the Sulligent facility for 2019 reporting beginning with the first quarter 2019 Nuvera is an alternative-power technology company focused on hydrogen fuel cell stacks and engines. Maximal is a Chinese manufacturer of utility and standard lift trucks and specialized material handling equipment involved in the design, manufacture, service and distribution of Class 1 electric and Class 5 internal combustion engine counterbalance utility and standard platforms, and Class 2 and Class 3 electric warehouse products for both the local China and global markets under the Maximal brand. Maximal also designs and produces specialized products in the port equipment and rough terrain forklift markets. The Company manufactures components, such as frames, masts and transmissions, and assembles lift trucks in the market of sale whenever practical to minimize freight cost and balance currency mix. In some instances, however, it utilizes one worldwide location to manufacture specific components or assemble specific lift trucks. Additionally, components and assembled lift trucks are exported when it is advantageous to meet demand in certain markets. The Company operates thirteen lift truck manufacturing and assembly facilities worldwide with five plants in the Americas, three in EMEA and five in JAPIC, including joint venture operations. In addition, the Company operates seven Bolzoni manufacturing facilities worldwide. Sales of lift trucks represented approximately 77% of the Company's annual revenues in 2018 (approximately 49% internal combustion engine units and approximately 28% electric units), and 77% in 2017 and 2016, respectively. During 2018 , the Company's retail shipments of lift trucks in North America by end market were approximately 22% to the food and beverage market, approximately 15% to the logistics market, approximately 13% to the natural resource and materials market, approximately 13% to the consumer and business trade market, approximately 13% to the manufacturing market, approximately 13% to the rental market and approximately 11% to the durable goods market. The Company offers a line of aftermarket parts to service its large installed base of lift trucks currently in use in the industry. The Company offers online technical reference databases specifying the required aftermarket parts to service lift trucks and an aftermarket parts ordering system. -branded aftermarket parts to dealers for Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae The Company also sells aftermarket parts under the UNISOURCE\u2122 and PREMIER\u2122 brands to Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae dealers for the service of competitor lift trucks. The Company has a contractual relationship with a third-party, multi-brand, aftermarket parts wholesaler in the Americas and EMEA whereby orders from the Company's dealers for parts for lift trucks are fulfilled by the third party who then pays the Company a commission. ", - "id": "d9c61039-fc8b-46a0-bc21-930633c2c532" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill enhances the energy security of NATO member countries and allows for expedited export of natural gas, which directly aligns with Alta Mesa Resources Inc.'s business of natural gas and oil production, making it relevant to their operations.", - "index": "154", - "bill_title": "A bill to enhance the security of the United States and its allies, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Energy Security Cooperation with Allied Partners in Europe Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes and modifies\u00a0provisions related to U.S. international energy strategy.\n\nApplications to export natural gas to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries, Japan, and certain other countries shall be granted on an expedited basis without modification or delay.\n\nThe Department of State shall report to Congress on a strategy to enhance the energy security of NATO member countries and increase U.S. energy exports to such countries.", - "company_name": "Alta Mesa Resources Inc", - "company_description": "We were originally formed in November 2016 as a special purpose acquisition company under the name Silver Run Acquisition Corporation II for the purpose of effecting an initial business combination. Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we completed the private sale of 15,133,333 warrants (the \u0093Private Placement Warrants\u0094) to Silver Run Sponsor II, LLC (the \u0093Sponsor\u0094) generating gross proceeds to us of $22,700,000. A total of $1.035 billion (including approximately $36.2 million in deferred underwriting commissions to the underwriters of the IPO), which represents $1.0143 billion of the proceeds from the IPO after deducting upfront underwriting commissions of $20.7 million, and the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were placed in the Trust Account (the \u0093Trust Account\u0094) to be used to fund an initial business combination. \u00b7 SRII Opco distributed to the Kingfisher Contributor cash in the amount of approximately $814.8 million in partial payment for the ownership interests in Kingfisher contributed by the Kingfisher Contributor; and \u00b7 SRII Opco entered into a voting agreement with the owners of the remaining 10% voting interests in Alta Mesa GP whereby such other owners agreed to vote their interests in Alta Mesa GP as directed by SRII Opco. Following the completion of the Business Combination, the size of our board of directors was expanded from four directors to 11, including one director appointed by Bayou City and its affiliates, one director appointed by HPS and its affiliates and two directors appointed by AM Management and its affiliates, as the holders of our Series A Preferred Stock, and three directors appointed by the Riverstone Contributor and its affiliates, as the holder of our Series B Preferred Stock. Founded in 1987, Alta Mesa, the predecessor to our E & P Business, was an independent exploration and production company focused on the development and acquisition of unconventional oil and natural gas reserves in the eastern portion of the Anadarko Basin referred to as the STACK. The STACK is an acronym describing both its location\u0097Sooner Trend Anadarko Basin Canadian and Kingfisher County\u0097and the multiple, stacked productive formations present in the area. The STACK is a prolific hydrocarbon system with high oil and liquids-rich natural gas content, multiple horizontal target horizons, extensive production history and historically high drilling success rates. As of December 31, 2017, we had assembled a highly contiguous position of approximately 130,000 net acres largely in the up-dip, naturally-fractured oil portion of the STACK in eastern Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. Our drilling locations are in our primary target formations comprised of the Osage, Meramec and Oswego. We are currently operating seven horizontal drilling rigs in the STACK with plans to increase that number of rigs to eight at the end of 2018. Our Midstream Business was started by Kingfisher on January 30, 2015 for the purpose of acquiring, developing and operating midstream oil and gas assets. We primarily focus on providing crude oil gathering, gas gathering and processing and marketing to producers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and condensate in the STACK play. Our midstream energy asset network includes approximately 308 miles of existing low and high pressure pipelines, a 60 MMcf/d cryogenic natural gas processing plant, 10 MMcf/d in offtake processing, compression facilities, crude storage, NGL storage and purchasing and marketing capabilities. Our goal is to build a premier development and acquisition company focused on horizontal drilling and gas gathering in the STACK. As an emerging growth company, we may, for up to five years, take advantage of specified exemptions from reporting and other regulatory requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. the date on which we are deemed to be a \u0093large accelerated filer,\u0094 as defined in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the \u0093Exchange Act\u0094).", - "id": "3945af4f-8229-4f09-bdac-a9f83ab5b896" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Monster Beverage Corp. because it modifies the approval process for over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, creating regulatory implications for nonprescription products. Given that Monster Beverage develops and markets energy drinks that may fall into the category of consumer health products, the statutory authority provided to the FDA to regulate certain OTC drugs could impact how energy drinks are classified and marketed. Additionally, the bill's focus on public health preparedness might influence consumer perceptions and regulatory frameworks surrounding energy drinks sold in emergency situations or public health crises.", - "index": "155", - "bill_title": "To reauthorize certain programs under the Public Health Service Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to public health security and all-hazards preparedness and response, to clarify the regulatory framework with respect to certain nonprescription drugs that are marketed without an approved drug application, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2019\n\nThis bill (1) reauthorizes, revises, and establishes several programs and entities relating to public-health emergency preparedness and response; and (2) addresses the approval process for over-the counter (OTC) drugs.\n\nAmong other programs, the bill reauthorizes through FY2023 and revises\n\n the Public Health Emergency Preparedness cooperative-agreement program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Hospital Preparedness Program, the CDC situational-awareness and biosurveillance program, the Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals, the National Disaster Medical System, the Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps, the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters, the Strategic National Stockpile, and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. In addition, the bill provides statutory authority for existing programs, including the CDC's Children's Preparedness Unit and the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise. The bill also establishes new programs and entities, including a trauma-center grant program to support military trauma teams.\n\nThe bill further modifies the approval process for OTC drugs by providing statutory authority for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to (1) regulate certain OTC drugs that are marketed without an approved new-drug application, and (2) issue administrative orders specifying the conditions under which an OTC drug may be deemed safe and effective and not subject to approval as a new drug. The FDA must assess and collect user fees for OTC drugs, including OTC-drug facility and OTC-drug order-request fees.", - "company_name": "Monster Beverage Corp.", - "company_description": "The Company\u0092s subsidiaries primarily develop and market energy drinks as well as Mutant\u00ae Super Soda drinks. Drinks segment (\u0093Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks\u0094), which is comprised of our Monster Energy\u00ae drinks, Monster Hydro\u00ae energy drinks and Mutant\u00ae Super Soda drinks, (ii) Strategic Brands segment (\u0093Strategic Brands\u0094), which is comprised of the various energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company (\u0093TCCC\u0094) in 2015 (the \u0093TCCC Transaction\u0094) (see Note 2 \u0093Acquisitions and Divestitures\u0094 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements) and (iii) Other segment (\u0093Other\u0094), the principal products of which include the non-energy brands disposed of as a result of the TCCC Transaction (effectively from January 1, 2015 to June 12, 2015), as well as certain products, acquired as part of our American Fruits & Flavors (\u0093AFF\u0094) asset acquisition in 2016 (the \u0093AFF Transaction\u0094) (see Note 2 \u0093Acquisitions and Divestitures\u0094 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements), that are sold by AFF to independent third-party customers (the \u0093AFF Third-Party Products\u0094) (effectively from April 1, 2016). Corporate and unallocated amounts that do not specifically relate to a reportable segment have been allocated to \u0093Corporate Drinks segment generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks primarily to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. In some cases, we sell directly to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, drug stores, food service customers and the military. Our Strategic Brands segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling \u0093concentrates\u0094 and/or \u0093beverage bases\u0094 to authorized bottling and canning operations. Such bottlers generally combine the concentrates and/or beverage bases with sweeteners, water and other ingredients to produce ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks. The ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks are then sold to other bottlers and full service distributors and to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, food service customers, drug stores and the military. To a lesser extent, our Strategic Brands segment generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. Generally, the Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks segment generates higher per case net operating revenues, but lower per case gross profit margins than the Strategic Brands segment. We develop, market, sell and distribute energy drink beverages, sodas and/or concentrates for energy drink beverages, primarily under the following brand names: \u00b7 \u00b7 NOS\u00ae \u00b7 Monster Energy Ultra\u00ae \u00b7 Full Throttle\u00ae \u00b7 brand energy drinks, which represented 90.1%, 90.1% and 92.5% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, primarily include the following energy drinks 1 : \u00b7 Monster Energy\u00ae Monster Rehab\u00ae Tea + Orangeade + Energy \u00b7 Monster Energy Ultra Red The \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category combines non-carbonated, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters (flavored, unflavored and enhanced) with \u0093new age\u0094 beverages, including sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices and flavored sparkling beverages. According to Beverage Marketing Corporation, domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2017 for the \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category of the market are estimated at approximately $52.6 billion, representing an increase of approximately 5.6% over estimated domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2016 of approximately $49.8 billion. On April 1, 2016, we completed the AFF Transaction resulting in our acquisition of flavor supplier and long-time business partner AFF, in an asset acquisition that brought our primary flavor supplier in-house, secured the intellectual property of our most important flavors in perpetuity and further enhanced our flavor development and global flavor footprint capabilities. On June 12, 2015, we completed the TCCC Transaction contemplated by the definitive agreements entered into with TCCC on August 14, 2014, which provided for a long-term strategic relationship in the global energy drink category. In the 1930s, Hubert Hansen and his sons started a business selling fresh non-pasteurized juices in Los Angeles, California. FJC retained the right to market and sell fresh non-pasteurized juices under the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae trademark. In 1977, Tim Hansen, one of the grandsons of Hubert Hansen, perceived a demand for shelf stable pasteurized natural juices and juice blends and formed Hansen Foods, HFI expanded its product line from juices to include Hansen\u0092s Natural Soda\u00ae brand sodas. In 1990, California Co-Packers Corporation (d/b/a Hansen Beverage Company) (\u0093CCC\u0094) acquired certain assets of HFI, including the right to market the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand name. In 1992, Hansen Natural Corporation acquired the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand natural soda and apple juice business from CCC.", - "id": "07eb1e8c-849d-4262-846f-23f7c936d20b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on self-governance for Indian Tribes, primarily affecting their ability to manage federal programs, governance, and funding related to educational and social services. The company, 2U, Inc., is a provider of education technology for nonprofit colleges and universities, with no direct connection to tribal governance or the specific provisions of the bill. Therefore, the legal consequences outlined do not impact the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "156", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to provide further self-governance by Indian Tribes, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Practical Reforms and Other Goals To Reinforce the Effectiveness of Self-Governance and Self-Determination for Indian Tribes Act of 2019 or the PROGRESS for Indian Tribes Act\n\nThis bill replaces the Tribal Self-Governance Demonstration Project with the Tribal Self-Governance Program. Under the program, Native American tribes or organizations may receive grants to plan for participation in self-governance and to negotiate the terms of participation.\n\nIn addition, the bill revises the Department of the Interior's process for approving self-governance compacts and funding agreements with tribes. Interior must negotiate contracts and funding agreements to maximize implementation of the self-governance policy. The bill sets forth requirements for tribes participating in self-governance with respect to conflicts of interest, audits, redesign and consolidation of programs, retrocession of programs, non-duplication\u00a0of funding, and records.\n\nFunding agreements must include provisions for Interior to monitor the performance of trust functions by the tribe and to reassume a program and funding under specified circumstances.\n\nTribes participating in self-governance may elect to assume some federal responsibilities with respect to certain construction projects.\n\nThe bill prohibits\u00a0obligating a tribe\u00a0to continue performance of a compact or funding agreement that provides insufficient funding.", - "company_name": "2U, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a leading provider of education technology for nonprofit colleges and universities. We build, deliver, and support more than 400 digital and in-person educational offerings, including graduate degrees, undergraduate degrees, professional certificates, boot camps, and short courses, across the career curriculum continuum. Our comprehensive platform of tightly integrated technology and services provides the digital infrastructure that universities need to attract, enroll, educate and support students at scale. With our platform, students can pursue their education anytime, anywhere, without quitting their jobs or moving; and university clients can provide broader access to their educational offerings, thereby improving outcomes, skills attainment, and career prospects for a greater number of students. We are leading the way in helping nonprofit colleges and universities succeed in the digital age and we have become a trusted partner and brand steward to 73 leading institutions. In addition, our platform allows our university clients to extend their brands and fulfill their missions by delivering high quality education offerings to students anywhere in the world, while maintaining their academic rigor and admissions standards. In our Graduate Program Segment, we provide the technology and services to nonprofit colleges and universities to enable the online delivery of degree programs. In our Alternative Credential Segment, we provide premium online short courses and technical, skills-based boot camps through relationships with nonprofit colleges and universities. Our platform, or 2UOS, consists of a seamlessly integrated ecosystem of technology, people and data. Through 2UOS, we provide front-end and back-end cloud-based SaaS technology and technology-enabled services, which are tightly integrated and optimized with data analysis and machine learning techniques. Our 2UOS platform includes the following technology and services: Data-Driven Approach to Selecting Offerings Through our experience launching and operating educational offerings, we have developed a proprietary algorithm to drive the process for identifying new offerings, which enables us to systematically identify offerings that we believe have the highest probability of success. Our algorithm draws on a wide variety of data, including the operating history of our existing offerings, and is based on key market variables, such as the existing market size of an offering, potential student demographics and university characteristics. The algorithm not only enables us to deploy capital with greater confidence, but it also provides our university clients with greater assurance of, and visibility into, the success of the offering. 2UOS provides the following before launching an offering: We use a variety of proprietary technologies to unify our suite of applications and automate the setup of technology infrastructure for new degree programs. We also have proprietary technology that translates school-specific code into a common language to streamline launching new degree programs with multiple schools. We use data analytics and proprietary algorithms to develop digital marketing campaigns to engage prospective students efficiently. Our marketing services include the following: 4 \u25e6 Our marketing team uses best-in-class digital marketing strategies to attract prospective students, including Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Optimization. Our brand marketing team works with each university client to develop offering-specific content and ensure that the right message is presented to the consumer. Data Analysis - Using data analytics and machine learning techniques, we focus our marketing efforts on finding prospective students for appropriate offerings at times when conversion is more likely. We also believe that our continuously expanding selection of educational offerings increases our marketing efficiency across our portfolio. Many of our degree programs are subject to authorization requirements in states in which students reside. We typically work with our university clients to identify and comply with a complex array of state authorization requirements to ensure that students can enroll in our degree programs no matter where they live. ", - "id": "6891a9f2-1088-4d26-94b0-c7313b8e1fa0" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Climate Solutions Act of 2019 sets targets for renewable energy generation and energy savings that are directly applicable to DTE Energy's operations as both DTE Electric and DTE Gas are impacted by these emissions reduction regulations and the push for increased renewable energy sources. Given DTE Energy's role in supplying electricity and natural gas in Michigan, the company must align its strategies and operations with the mandates of the bill to ensure compliance, which makes the bill highly relevant to its business model.", - "index": "157", - "bill_title": "To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the climate.", - "bill_summary": "Climate Solutions Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes renewable energy standards, energy saving targets, and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.\n\nSpecifically, the Department of Energy (DOE) must promulgate regulations to increase the percentage of electricity sold in the United States that is generated from renewable sources. By 2035, 100% of electricity must be generated from renewable sources.\n\nDOE must also promulgate regulations that set cumulative energy savings targets for retail electric energy and natural gas suppliers. The savings must be achieved through energy efficiency improvements. For electric energy suppliers, the targets must increase from .25% of sales in 2020 to 1.5% of sales in 2025 and each year thereafter through 2030. For natural gas suppliers, the target must increase from .25% of sales in 2020 to .5% of sales in 2025 and each year thereafter through 2030. Each year's savings must be in addition to the previous years' savings. DOE must allow suppliers to achieve the targets through a market-based trading system.\n\nThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must promulgate annual emission reduction targets for each of 2030 through 2050 to ensure that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (1) in 2035 are at least 40% below those in 1990, and (2) in 2050 are at least 80% below those in 1990. The EPA must promulgate final regulations to implement those targets within seven years and review them at least every five years thereafter.", - "company_name": "DTE Energy Co.", - "company_description": "DTE Energy's utility operations consist primarily of DTE Electric and DTE Gas. DTE Energy also has three other segments that are engaged in a variety of energy-related businesses. DTE Electric is a Michigan corporation organized in 1903 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of DTE Energy. DTE Electric is a public utility engaged in the generation, purchase, distribution, and sale of electricity to approximately 2.2 million customers in southeastern Michigan. DTE Gas is a Michigan corporation organized in 1898 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of DTE Energy. DTE Gas is a public utility engaged in the purchase, storage, transportation, distribution, and sale of natural gas to approximately 1.3 million customers throughout Michigan and the sale of storage and transportation capacity. DTE Energy's other businesses are involved in 1) natural gas pipelines, gathering, and storage; 2) power and industrial projects; and 3) energy marketing and trading operations. DTE Electric and DTE Gas are regulated by the MPSC. Certain activities of DTE Electric and DTE Gas, as well as various other aspects of businesses under DTE Energy are regulated by the FERC. In addition, the Registrants are regulated by other federal and state regulatory agencies including the NRC, the EPA, the MDEQ, and for DTE Energy, the CFTC. The Electric segment consists principally of DTE Electric, which is engaged in the generation, purchase, distribution, and sale of electricity to approximately 2.2 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in southeastern Michigan. The Gas segment consists principally of DTE Gas, which is engaged in the purchase, storage, transportation, distribution, and sale of natural gas to approximately 1.3 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers throughout Michigan and the sale of storage and transportation capacity. Gas Storage and Pipelines consists of natural gas pipeline, gathering, transportation, and storage businesses. Power and Industrial Projects is comprised primarily of projects that deliver energy and utility-type products and services to industrial, commercial, and institutional customers, produce reduced emissions fuel, and sell electricity from renewable energy projects. Energy Trading consists of energy marketing and trading operations. Corporate and Other \u2022 Corporate and Other includes various holding company activities, holds certain non-utility debt, and holds energy-related investments. DTE Energy's Electric segment consists principally of DTE Electric, an electric utility engaged in the generation, purchase, distribution, and sale of electricity to approximately 2.2 million customers in southeastern Michigan. DTE Electric is regulated by numerous federal and state governmental agencies, including, but not limited to, the MPSC, the FERC, the NRC, the EPA, and the MDEQ. Electricity is generated from fossil-fuel plants, a hydroelectric pumped storage plant, a nuclear plant, wind and other renewable assets and is supplemented with purchased power. The electricity is sold, or distributed through the retail access program, to three major classes of customers: residential, commercial, and industrial, throughout southeastern Michigan. Includes revenue associated with the under or over recoveries of tracking mechanisms and for 2015 deferred gain amortization of the previously reversed RDM liability. 8 Weather, economic factors, competition, energy efficiency initiatives, and electricity prices affect sales levels to customers. DTE Electric's peak load and highest total system sales generally occur during the third quarter of the year, driven by air conditioning and other cooling-related demands. Fuel Supply and Purchased Power DTE Electric's power is generated from a variety of fuels and is supplemented with purchased power. DTE Electric expects to have an adequate supply of fuel and purchased power to meet its obligation to serve customers.", - "id": "3f243c3a-1128-445d-bdf4-d5a934e00cd9" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill restricts funding for missile procurement and deployment that could affect AeroVironment's business, as it designs and produces unmanned aircraft systems and tactical missile systems primarily for the U.S. military and allies. Compliance with the bill's provisions would directly impact their operations and market opportunities.", - "index": "158", - "bill_title": "A bill to prevent a nuclear arms race resulting from weakened international restrictions on the proliferation of intermediate- and shorter-range missiles, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Prevention of Arms Race Act of 2019\n\nThis bill restricts the appropriation of funds for the procurement, flight testing, or deployment of missiles banned by the Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty). Before such funds may be appropriated, the Department of Defense shall submit a report to Congress that includes\u00a0(1) a memorandum of understanding from a North Atlantic Treaty Organization or Indo-Pacific ally committing to hosting the deployment of such a missile, (2) confirmation that the United States has not rejected any diplomatic offer to resolve Russia's violation of the INF Treaty, (3) discussion of the ramifications of a collapse of the treaty and of a U.S. withdrawal from the agreement, (4) discussion of\u00a0the mission requirements with respect to Russia and China that would be met by weapons systems covered by the INF, and (5) discussion of the degree to which INF-compliant weapons can meet such mission requirements.", - "company_name": "AeroVironment, Inc.", - "company_description": "each party's compliance with its covenants and agreements contained in the Purchase Agreement (subject to customary materiality qualifiers), (iii) the execution by the parties of certain ancillary agreements and (iv) other customary closing conditions. As of April 30, 2018, we determined that the EES Business met the criterion for classification as an asset held for sale and represents a strategic shift in in our operations. We design, develop, produce, support and operate a technologically\u2011advanced portfolio of products and services for government agencies and businesses. We supply unmanned aircraft systems (\"UAS\") and related services primarily to organizations within the U.S. Department of Defense (\"DoD\") and to international allied governments, and tactical missile systems and related services to organizations within the U.S. Government. Our success with current products and services stems from our investment in research and development and our ability to invent and deliver advanced solutions, utilizing proprietary and commercially available technologies, to help our government, commercial and consumer customers operate more effectively and efficiently. We develop these highly innovative solutions by working very closely with our key customers to solve their most important challenges related to our areas of expertise. Our core technological capabilities, developed through more than 45 years of innovation, include lightweight aerostructures; power electronics; electric propulsion systems; efficient electric power conversion, and storage systems; high\u2011density energy packaging; miniaturization; digital data links (\"DDL\"); sensors; controls integration; systems integration; engineering optimization; vertical takeoff fixed wing flight and autonomy, each coupled with professional field service capabilities. Our UAS business focuses primarily on the design, development, production, marketing, support and operation of innovative UAS and tactical missile systems and the delivery of UAS\u2011related services that provide situational awareness, remote sensing, multi\u2011band communications, force protection and other information and mission effects to increase the safety and effectiveness of our customers' operations. As a technology solutions provider, our strategy is to develop innovative, safe and reliable new solutions that provide customers with valuable benefits and enable us to create new markets or market segments, gain market share and grow as market adoption increases. We believe that by introducing new solutions that provide customers with compelling value we are able to create new markets or market segments and then grow our positions within those 3 markets or market segments profitably, instead of entering existing markets and competing directly against large, incumbent competitors that may possess advantages in scope, scale, resources and relationships. We intend to grow our business by preserving a leadership position in the UAS and tactical missile system markets, and by creating new solutions that enable us to create and establish leadership positions in new markets. Our small UAS and tactical missile systems enjoy leading positions in their respective markets. We intend to increase the penetration of our small UAS products and services within the U.S. military, the military forces of allied nations, other government agencies and non\u2011government organizations, including commercial entities, and to increase the penetration of our tactical missile systems within the U.S. military and allied nations. We believe that the broad adoption of our small UAS by the U.S. military will continue to spur demand by allied nations, and that our efforts to pursue new applications are creating opportunities beyond the early adopter military market. Deliver innovative new solutions for existing and new markets. Customer\u2011focused innovation is the primary driver of our growth. We view strategic partnerships as a means by which to further the reach of our innovative solutions through access to new markets, customers and complementary capabilities. Our company culture encourages innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit, which helps to attract and retain highly\u2011skilled professionals. A core component of our culture is our intent to demonstrate trust and integrity in all of our interactions, contributing to a positive work environment and engendering loyalty among our employees and customers. We respond rapidly to evolving markets, solve complicated customer problems, and strive to deliver new products, services and capabilities quickly, efficiently and affordably relative to available alternatives. Effectively manage our growth portfolio for long\u2011term value creation. Our production and development programs and services position us for investment opportunities that we believe will deliver long\u2011term growth by providing our customers with valuable new capabilities. We sell the majority of our UAS and services to organizations within the DoD, including the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Special Operations Command, Air Force and Navy, and increasingly to allied governments. We sell our tactical missile systems to organizations within the U.S. government. We also develop High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (\"HAPS\") systems for a commercial customer based in Japan. ", - "id": "1c3a5f4b-7940-4745-945e-8da3c8c436ec" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on conservation, recreation, and renewable energy development in the California Desert Conservation Area, which does not directly relate to the bedding product manufacturing and marketing business of Tempur Sealy International, Inc. Its activities are primarily in mattress and bedding sales, and there is no connection to environmental legislation or land management that's outlined in the bill.", - "index": "159", - "bill_title": "To provide for conservation, enhanced recreation opportunities, and development of renewable energy in the California Desert Conservation Area, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "California Desert Protection and Recreation Act of 2019\n\nThis bill provides for conservation, additional recreational opportunities, and renewable energy development in the California Desert Conservation Area.\n\nSpecifically, the bill, among other things\n\n establishes or designates wilderness areas, a special management area, off-highway vehicle recreation areas, and a national scenic area; releases specified wilderness study areas; adjusts national park and preserve boundaries; and specifies land withdrawals, transfers, and conveyances. Specified federal land shall be taken into trust for the Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Tribe.\n\nLands and interests in land, including improvements, outside the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park in California may be acquired for the purpose of operating a visitor center.\n\nThe bill makes amendments to the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 regarding the California State School lands and designates specified segments of rivers and creeks as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.", - "company_name": "Tempur Sealy International, Inc.", - "company_description": "We develop, manufacture and market bedding products, which we sell globally. Our brand portfolio includes many highly recognized brands in the industry, including TEMPUR\u00ae, Tempur-Pedic\u00ae, Sealy\u00ae featuring Posturepedic\u00ae Technology, and Stearns & Foster\u00ae. Our comprehensive suite of bedding products offers a variety of products to consumers across a broad range of channels. We operate in two segments: North America and International. Our North America segment consists of Tempur and Sealy manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries, joint ventures and licensees located in the U.S. and Canada. Our International segment consists of Tempur and Sealy manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries, joint ventures and licensees located in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. In the first quarter of 2017, we updated our primary selling channels to Wholesale and Direct. Wholesale includes all third party retailers, including third party distribution, hospitality and healthcare. Direct includes company-owned stores, e-commerce, and call centers. Retail included furniture and bedding retailers, department stores, specialty retailers and warehouse clubs. Other included direct-to-consumer, third party distributors, hospitality and healthcare customers. Our goal is to improve the sleep of more people, every night, all around the world. Our Products and Brands We have a comprehensive offering of products that appeal to a broad range of consumers, some of which are covered by one or more patents and/or patent applications. In order to achieve our goal to improve the sleep of more people, every night, all around the world, one of our strategic initiatives is to leverage and strengthen our comprehensive portfolio of iconic brands and products. Our brand portfolio includes many highly recognized brands, including TEMPUR\u00ae, Tempur-Pedic\u00ae, Sealy\u00ae featuring Posturepedic\u00ae Technology and Stearns & Foster\u00ae, which are described below: \u00ae - Founded in 1991, the Tempur brand is our specialty innovation category leader designed to provide life changing sleep for our wellness-seeking consumers. Our proprietary Tempur material precisely adapts to the shape, weight and temperature of the consumer and creates fewer pressure points, reduces motion transfer and provides personalized comfort and support. The Stearns & Foster brand offers our consumers high quality mattresses built by certified craftsmen who have been specially trained. Founded in 1846, the brand is designed and built with precise engineering and relentless attention to detail and fuses new innovative technologies with time-honored techniques, creating supremely comfortable beds. The Sealy brand originated in 1881 in Sealy, Texas, and for over a century has focused on offering trusted comfort, durability and excellent value while maintaining contemporary styles and great support. The Sealy Posturepedic brand, introduced in 1950, was engineered to provide all-over support and body alignment to allow full relaxation and deliver a comfortable night's sleep. In 2017, Sealy Posturepedic no longer represented its own separate brand as we united all of our Sealy products under one masterbrand, which features the Posturepedic Technology\u2122 in the Sealy Performance The Cocoon by Sealy brand, introduced in 2016, is our offering in the below $1,000 e-commerce space, made with the high quality materials that consumers expect from Sealy, sold online at www.cocoonbysealy.com and delivered in a box directly to consumers' doorsteps. In North America, we united all of our Sealy products under one masterbrand. Product introductions included new Sealy products in two distinct lines: Response and Conform.", - "id": "e7932b7d-deee-4733-982f-5cbbedf0a69f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill mainly deals with financial services, government appropriations, and regulatory provisions related to various federal agencies. It does not directly impact Alkermes Plc's biopharmaceutical operations, which focus on drug development and commercialization for central nervous system disorders and addiction treatments. There are no significant legal consequences for a biopharmaceutical company in this bill.", - "index": "160", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for financial services and general government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": " The Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2019 provides FY2019 appropriations to agencies responsible for regulating the financial, telecommunications, and consumer products industries; collecting taxes and assisting taxpayers; managing federal buildings and the federal workforce; and operating the Executive Office of the President, the judiciary, and the District of Columbia. It also includes provisions related to IRS employee training, safeguarding taxpayer information, 1-800 help line service, video production, address changes, offers-in-compromise, First Amendment rights, regulatory scrutiny, conference spending, employee bonuses, and confidentiality of tax returns. It also provides appropriations to independent agencies, including the Administrative Conference of the United States, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Election Assistance Commission, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Election Commission, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the General Services Administration (GSA), the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, the Merit Systems Protection Board, Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of Government Ethics, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Office", - "company_name": "Alkermes Plc", - "company_description": "Alkermes plc is a fully integrated, global biopharmaceutical company that applies its scientific expertise and proprietary technologies to research, develop and commercialize, both with partners and on its own, pharmaceutical products that are designed to address unmet medical needs of patients in major therapeutic areas. Alkermes has a diversified portfolio of marketed drug products and a clinical pipeline of products that address central nervous system (\"CNS\") disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, addiction and multiple sclerosis (\"MS\"). Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Alkermes has a research and development (\"R & D\") center in Waltham, Massachusetts; an R & D and manufacturing facility in Athlone, Ireland; and a manufacturing facility in Wilmington, Ohio. The key marketed products discussed below are expected to generate significant revenues for us. None Commercialized by Alkermes in the U.S. Alcohol dependence and Opioid dependence Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (\"CIS\") 5 Summary information regarding products that use our proprietary technologies: Product Indication(s) Treatment to improve walking in patients with MS, as demonstrated by an increase in walking speed We develop and commercialize products designed to address the unmet needs of patients suffering from addiction and schizophrenia. ARISTADA ARISTADA (aripiprazole lauroxil) is an extended-release intramuscular injectable suspension approved in the U.S. for the treatment of schizophrenia. ARISTADA is the first of our products to utilize our proprietary LinkeRx technology. ARISTADA is a prodrug; once in the body, ARISTADA is likely converted by enzyme-mediated hydrolysis to N-hydroxymethyl aripiprazole, which is then hydrolyzed to aripiprazole. ARISTADA is the first atypical antipsychotic with once-monthly, once-every-six-weeks and once-every-two-months dosing options to deliver and maintain therapeutic levels of medication in the body. ARISTADA has four dosing options (441 mg, 662 mg, 882 mg and 1064 mg) and is packaged in a ready-to-use, pre-filled product format. ARISTADA 1064 mg, our two-month dosing option, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the \"FDA\") in June 2017. We developed ARISTADA and manufacture and commercialize it in the U.S. Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder. The disease is marked by positive symptoms (hallucinations and delusions) and negative symptoms (depression, blunted emotions and social withdrawal), as well as by disorganized thinking. An estimated 2.4 million Americans over the age of 18 have schizophrenia in a given year, with men and women affected equally. Worldwide, it is estimated that one person in every 100 develops schizophrenia. Studies have demonstrated that as many as 75% of patients with schizophrenia have difficulty taking their oral medication on a regular basis, which can lead to worsening of symptoms. VIVITROL VIVITROL (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) is a once-monthly, non-narcotic, injectable medication approved in the U.S., Russia and certain countries of the CIS for the treatment of alcohol dependence and for the prevention of relapse to opioid dependence, following opioid detoxification. VIVITROL uses our polymer-based microsphere injectable extended-release technology to deliver and maintain therapeutic medication levels in the body through one intramuscular injection every four weeks. We developed and exclusively manufacture VIVITROL. What are opioid dependence and alcohol dependence? Opioid dependence is a serious and chronic brain disease characterized by compulsive, prolonged self-administration of opioid substances that are not used for a medical purpose.", - "id": "a0b6e102-25b1-4caa-9a7a-71a6bd06d82f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Transparent Drug Pricing Act of 2019 directly impacts the pharmaceutical industry by establishing requirements for drug pricing transparency, which is relevant to Aerie Pharmaceuticals as it mandates disclosure of costs and pricing information for prescription medications. This could affect Aerie's pricing strategies and market positioning for its glaucoma medications, Rhopressa\u00ae and Rocklatan\u2122, particularly in terms of competitive pricing and patient access.", - "index": "161", - "bill_title": "A bill to address the high cost of prescription drugs.", - "bill_summary": "Transparent Drug Pricing Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes several requirements relating to the prices of prescription drugs.\n\nFor example, state Medicaid drug-use review programs must require pharmacists to disclose an individual's out-of-pocket cost for a prescription drug, and the price without health insurance, at the point-of-sale. Additionally, health insurers must publish the co-payment amount for each covered prescription drug prior to the annual open-enrollment period.\n\nThe bill also temporarily prohibits the retail list price of drugs and biologics from exceeding the lowest retail list price among Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, or Germany.", - "company_name": "Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class therapies for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma, retinal diseases and other diseases of the eye. Our strategy is to successfully commercialize our U.S. Food and Drug Administration (\"FDA\") approved product, Rhopressa\u00ae (netarsudil ophthalmic solution) 0.02% (\"Rhopressa \u00ae Rocklatan TM has a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (\"PDUFA\") goal date of March 14, 2019. TM (named Rhokiinsa\u00ae and Roclanda TM, respectively, in Europe) for regulatory approval in Europe and Japan and expect to commercialize on our own in Europe and likely partner for commercialization of their equivalents in Japan, if approved. We are also focused on furthering the development of our preclinical molecules and technologies focused on retinal diseases and expect to have two preclinical implants, AR-1105 and AR-13503, commence clinical trials in 2019. Further, we are screening our owned library of Rho kinase (\"ROCK\") inhibitors for indications beyond glaucoma. Rhopressa\u00ae is a once-daily eye drop designed to reduce elevated intraocular pressure (\"IOP\") in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The active ingredient in Rhopressa \u00ae, netarsudil, is an Aerie-owned ROCK inhibitor. We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae represents the first of a new drug class for reducing IOP in patients with glaucoma in over 20 years. Early indications point to healthcare professionals prescribing Rhopressa\u00ae as a concomitant therapy to prostaglandins or non-PGA (prostaglandin analog) medications when additional IOP reduction is desired. We believe Rhopressa\u00ae is primarily competing with other non-PGA products, due to its targeting of the diseased trabecular meshwork (\"TM\"), its demonstrated ability to reduce IOP at consistent levels across tested baselines, its preferred once-daily dosing relative to other currently marketed non-PGA products and its safety profile. Adjunctive therapies currently represent nearly one-half of the glaucoma prescription market in the United States, according to IQVIA. We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae may also become a preferred therapy where PGAs are contraindicated, for patients who do not respond to PGAs and for patients who choose to avoid the cosmetic issues associated with PGA products. We launched Rhopressa\u00ae in the United States at the end of April 2018. Rhopressa\u00ae is now being sold to national and regional U.S. pharmaceutical distributors, and patients have access to Rhopressa\u00ae through pharmacies across the United States. In the glaucoma market in the United States, approximately half of the dispensed volumes are covered under commercial plans and half under Medicare Part D. We have obtained formulary coverage for Rhopressa\u00ae for approximately 90% of lives covered under commercial plans and approximately 40% of lives covered under Medicare Part D plans. We expect Medicare Part D Tier 2 equivalent coverage to increase to over 70% by the end of the first quarter of 2019. Our advanced-stage product candidate, Rocklatan TM, is a once-daily fixed-dose combination of Rhopressa\u00ae and latanoprost, the most commonly prescribed drug for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma. We believe, based on our clinical data, that Rocklatan TM has the potential to provide a greater IOP-reducing effect than any currently marketed glaucoma medication. Therefore, we believe that Rocklatan TM, if approved and formulary coverage is obtained, could compete with both PGA and non-PGA therapies and become the product of choice for patients requiring maximal IOP reduction, including those with higher IOPs and those who present with significant disease progression despite using currently available therapies. We submitted a New Drug Application (\"NDA\") for Rocklatan TM to the FDA in May 2018 under Section 505(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (the \"FDCA\"), which provides for an abbreviated approval pathway, since Rocklatan TM is a fixed dose combination of two FDA-approved drugs in the United States. In July 2018, we announced that the NDA was accepted for review by the FDA and the PDUFA goal date was set for March 14, 2019. Our strategy also includes developing our business outside the United States, including obtaining regulatory approval in Europe and Japan on our own for Rhopressa\u00ae and Rocklatan TM. If we obtain regulatory approval, we currently expect to commercialize Rhopressa\u00ae and Rocklatan TM in Europe on our own, and likely partner for commercialization of their equivalents in Japan.", - "id": "3ff5b6c7-2364-4cfb-8254-7273d433bd00" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Medical Nutrition Equity Act of 2019 focuses on expanding coverage for foods, vitamins, and amino acids for certain medical conditions under federal health programs and private insurance. Align Technology, Inc. is primarily involved in orthodontic and dental devices (Invisalign), which are not directly related to medical nutrition, food, or vitamin coverage. Therefore, the bill does not impact Align's business model or activities.", - "index": "162", - "bill_title": "To provide for the coverage of medically necessary food and vitamins and individual amino acids for digestive and inherited metabolic disorders under Federal health programs and private health insurance, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Medical Nutrition Equity Act of 2019\n\nThis bill expands coverage under Medicare, Medicaid, other specified federal health-care programs, and private health insurance\u00a0to include foods, vitamins, and individual amino acids that are medically necessary for the management of\u00a0certain digestive and metabolic disorders\u00a0and conditions.", - "company_name": "Align Technology, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"Align\") is a global medical device company engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of Invisalign\u00ae clear aligners and iTero\u00ae intraoral scanners and services for orthodontics, and restorative and aesthetic dentistry. Align's products are intended primarily for the treatment of malocclusion or the misalignment of teeth and are designed to help dental professionals achieve the clinical outcomes that they expect. We sell the vast majority of our products directly to our customers: orthodontists and general practitioner dentists (\"GPs\"), as well as to restorative and aesthetic dentists, including prosthodontists, periodontists, and oral surgeons. In addition, we sell directly to Dental Support Organizations (DSOs) who contract with dental practices to provide critical business management and support including non-clinical operations, and we sell directly to dental laboratories who manufacture or customize a variety of products to assist in the provision of oral health care by a licensed dentist. We received 510(k) clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (\"FDA\") to market the Invisalign System in 1998. The Invisalign System is regulated by the FDA as a Class II medical device. In order to provide Invisalign treatment to their patients, orthodontists and GPs must initially complete an Invisalign training course. Our iTero scanner is used by dental professionals and/or labs and service providers for restorative and orthodontic digital procedures as well as Invisalign case submission. We received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market iTero software for expanded indications in 2013. Scanners and computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (\"CAD/CAM\") services are primarily sold through our direct sales force and a few distributors in North America, Europe and certain Asia Pacific countries, and through distribution partners in smaller non-core international country markets. Clear Aligner Segment Malocclusion and Traditional Orthodontic Treatment Malocclusion, or the misalignment of teeth, is one of the most prevalent clinical dental conditions, affecting billions of people, or approximately 60% to 75% of the population. Annually, approximately 12 million people in major developed countries elect treatment by orthodontists worldwide. Most orthodontic patients are treated with the use of traditional methods such as metal arch wires and brackets, referred to as braces, and may be augmented with elastics, metal expanders, headgear or functional appliances, and other ancillary devices as needed. Upon completion of the treatment, the dental professional may, at his or her discretion, have the patient use a retainer appliance. In addition, approximately 300 million people with malocclusion could benefit from straightening their teeth but are unlikely to seek treatment through a doctor's office. This represents an incremental opportunity for us as we expand the market for orthodontics by educating more consumers about the benefits of straighter teeth using Invisalign clear aligners and connect them with an Invisalign doctor of their choice. The Invisalign System The Invisalign System is a proprietary method for treating malocclusion based on a proprietary computer-simulated virtual treatment plan and a series of doctor-prescribed, custom manufactured, clear plastic, removable aligners. The Invisalign System offers a range of treatment options, specialized services, and proprietary software for treatment visualization and is comprised of the following phases: Orthodontic diagnosis and transmission of treatment data to us. The Invisalign-trained dental professional prepares and sends us a patient's treatment data package which consists of a prescription form, a digital scan or a polyvinyl-siloxane (or \"PVS\") impression of the relevant dental arches, photographs of the patient and, at the dental professional's election, x-rays of the patient's dentition. Intraoral digital scans may be submitted through either Align's iTero scanner or a few qualified third-party scanners. See \"Third Party Scanners and Digital scans for Invisalign treatment submission. \" More than 63% of Invisalign case submissions are submitted via digital scan instead of a physical PVS impression. Using propriety software which we do not sell, we generate a proposed custom, three-dimensional treatment plan, called a ClinCheck treatment plan. Attachments are tooth-colored \"buttons\" that are sometimes used to increase the biomechanical force on a specific tooth or teeth in order to effect the desired movement(s). Review and approval of the treatment plan by an Invisalign-trained doctor. ", - "id": "af7c8bc8-40ac-43af-b491-28facf114f63" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing an alternative dispute resolution program for copyright issues, which primarily addresses copyright infringement claims and related issues. ADTRAN, Inc., as a provider of networking and communications equipment, operates in technology and telecommunications, with no direct link to copyright disputes. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill are not relevant to ADTRAN's business model or activities.", - "index": "163", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title 17, United States Code, to establish an alternative dispute resolution program for copyright small claims, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 or the CASE Act of 2019\n\nThis bill creates the Copyright Claims Board, a body within the U.S. Copyright Office, to decide copyright disputes. Damages awarded by the board are capped at $30,000.\n\nParticipation in board proceedings is voluntary with an opt-out procedure for defendants, and parties may choose instead to have a dispute heard in court. If the parties agree to have their dispute heard by the board, they shall forego the right to be heard before a court and the right to a jury trial. Board proceedings shall have no effect on class actions.\n\nThe board shall be authorized to hear copyright infringement claims, actions for a declaration of noninfringement, claims that a party knowingly sent false takedown notices, and related counterclaims.\n\nThe bill provides for various procedures, including with respect to requests for information from the other party and requests for the board to reconsider a decision.\n\nThe board may issue monetary awards based on actual or statutory damages.\n\nThe parties shall bear their own attorneys' fees and costs except where there is bad faith misconduct.\n\nA board's final determination precludes relitigating the claims in court or at the board. Parties may challenge a board decision in federal district court only if (1) the decision was a result of fraud, corruption, or other misconduct; (2) the board exceeded its authority or failed to render a final determination; or (3) in a default ruling or failure to prosecute, the default or failure was excusable.", - "company_name": "ADTRAN, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview ADTRAN is a leading global provider of networking and communications equipment, serving a diverse domestic and international customer base in 68 countries that includes Tier 1, 2 and 3 service providers, cable/MSOs and distributed enterprises. Our innovative solutions and services enable voice, data, video and internet communications across a variety of network infrastructures and are currently in use by millions of users worldwide. Our success depends upon our ability to increase unit volume and market share through the introduction of new products and succeeding generations of products having lower selling prices and increased functionality as compared to both the prior generation of a product and to the products of competitors. In order to service our customers and build revenue, we are constantly conducting research and development of new products addressing customer needs and testing those products for the particular specifications of the particular customers. In addition to our corporate headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama, we have research and development (R & D) facilities in strategic global locations. We are focused on being a top global supplier of access infrastructure and related value-added solutions from the cloud edge to the subscriber edge. We offer a broad portfolio of flexible software and hardware network solutions and services that enable service providers to meet today's service demands, while enabling them to transition to the fully converged, scalable, highly automated, cloud-controlled voice, data, internet and video network of the future. Our business operates under two reportable segments: Network Solutions and Services & Support. We also report revenue across three categories \u2013 Access & Aggregation, Subscriber Solutions & Experience (formerly Customer Devices) and Traditional & Other Products. Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, ADTRAN anchors Cummings Research Park\u2014the second largest high-tech center in the U.S. and fourth largest in the world. Revenue Segments Our business operates under two reportable segments: Network Solutions and Services & Support. Our Network Solutions software and hardware products provide solutions supporting fiber-, copper- and coaxial-based infrastructures and a growing number of wireless solutions, lowering the overall cost to deploy advanced services across a wide range of applications for Carrier and Cable/MSO networks. We are accelerating the industry's transition to open, programmable and scalable networks. ADTRAN offers both chassis-based networks solutions, such as our Total Access 5000 (TA5000) and hiX families, as well as disaggregated network solutions which leverage ADTRAN's Software Defined Access (SD-Access) architecture which combines modern web-scale technologies with open-source platforms to facilitate rapid innovation in multi-technology, multi-vendor environments. The Mosaic cloud platform and Mosaic OS, combined with programmable network elements, provide operators with a highly agile, open-services architecture. This enables operators to better compete with web-scale companies by reducing the time and cost to onboard new services, technologies, and supply partners as they strive to reduce operational costs. Also included in this category are our subscriber solutions that terminate the broadband access in the home and/or business . These include open-source connected home and enterprise platforms, cloud services, Wi-Fi and software applications and services . To complement our Network Solutions portfolio and to enable our service provider customers to accelerate time to market, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction, we offer a complete portfolio of services. These include consulting, managed services, solutions integration, network implementation and maintenance services. ADTRAN's consulting services allow service providers to leverage ADTRAN's 30 plus years of network engineering expertise to build and deploy best of breed networks. Our ADTRAN NetAssure Program offers a variety of ways to leverage ADTRAN networking expertise applied to networks. One aspect, the resident engineering services, provides an on-site ADTRAN engineer, whose goal is to drive customer success by serving as the single point of contact for product knowledge, on-going network troubleshooting, and technical expertise, enabling service providers to gain a strategic competitive advantage from our products. 's integration services enable operators to architect and build the open distributed access networks of the future. Our solutions integration offerings include our SD-Access Accelerator.", - "id": "32d1b941-6406-4b4b-8bd5-896088ffc86e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to prohibiting forced arbitration for disputes related to security breaches. Chase Corp., primarily involved in manufacturing protective materials for various industries, may not directly engage with arbitration issues or data breaches in its primary business model. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill are not relevant to its operations.", - "index": "164", - "bill_title": "To prohibit entities from requiring individuals to submit to arbitration for disputes arising from a security breach, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Ending Forced Arbitration for Victims of Data Breaches Act of 2019\n\nThis bill prohibits an entity from requiring, as part of a customer agreement or other similar agreement, that an individual agree to submit to arbitration a dispute related to a security breach. With respect to this prohibition, the bill establishes a private right to action as well as provides for enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission and by states.", - "company_name": "Chase Corp.", - "company_description": "Item 1 \u2013 Busines s Primary Operating Divisions and Facilities and Industry Segments Chase Corporation, a global specialty chemicals company founded in 1946, is a leading manufacturer of protective materials for high-reliability applications. The segments are distinguished by the nature of the products we manufacture and how they are delivered to their respective markets. The Industrial Materials segment includes specified products that are used in, or integrated into, another company's product, with demand typically dependent upon general economic conditions. The Construction Materials segment is principally composed of project-oriented product offerings that are primarily sold and used as \"Chase\" branded products. Our manufacturing facilities are distinct to their respective segments with the exception of our O'Hara Township, PA and Blawnox, PA facilities, which produce products related to both operating segments. Background/History Specialty tapes and related products for the electronic and telecommunications industries using the brand name Chase & Sons\u00ae. Insulating and conducting materials for the manufacture of electrical and telephone wire and cable, electrical splicing, and terminating and repair tapes, which are marketed to wire and cable manufacturers selling into energy-oriented and communication markets, and to public utilities. PaperTyger\u00ae, a trademark for laminated durable papers sold to the envelope converting and commercial printing industries. In August 2011, we relocated our manufacturing processes that had been previously conducted at our Webster, MA facility to this location. In December 2012, we relocated the majority of our manufacturing processes that had been previously conducted at our Randolph, MA facility to this location. Our Randolph facility was one of our first operating facilities, and had been producing products for the wire and cable industry for more than fifty years. Chase BLH2OCK\u00ae, a water-blocking compound sold to the wire and cable industry. In September 2012, we relocated our Chase BLH2OCK\u00ae manufacturing processes that had been previously conducted at our Randolph, MA facility to this location. Protective conformal coatings under the brand name HumiSeal\u00ae, moisture protective electronic coatings sold to the electronics industry including circuitry used in automobiles, industrial controls and home appliances. Advanced adhesives, sealants, and coatings for automotive and industrial applications that require specialized bonding, encapsulating, environmental protection, or thermal management functionality. In September 2016, we acquired certain assets and the operations of Resin Designs, LLC, and entered leases in their existing manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts and California. Laminated film foils for the electronics and cable industries and cover tapes essential to delivering semiconductor components via tape and reel packaging. Pulling and detection tapes used in the installation, measurement and location of fiber optic cables, and water and natural gas lines. Cover tapes essential to delivering semiconductor components via tape and reel packaging. In October 2013, we moved the majority of our manufacturing processes that had been conducted at our Taylorsville, NC facility to our Lenoir, NC location. 3 Key Products & Services Primary Manufacturing Locations Background/History Protective conformal coatings under the brand name HumiSeal\u00ae, moisture protective electronic coatings sold to the electronics industry including circuitry used in automobiles, industrial controls and home appliances. In March 2007, we expanded our international presence with the formation of HumiSeal Europe SARL in France. HumiSeal Europe SARL operates a sales/technical service office and warehouse near Paris, France. In June 2016, we further expanded our international presence through the purchase of Spray Products (India) Private Limited, located in Pune, India. This business enhances the Company's ability to provide technical, sales, manufacturing, chemical handling and packaging services in the region and works closely with our HumiSeal manufacturing operation in Winnersh, Wokingham, England.", - "id": "9a55c44f-88a7-4feb-85e0-9b639b4de3bc" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The STRONG Act is focused on ensuring national resilience to extreme weather events, involving a strategic vision, analysis of federal activities, and compliance with regulations related to public safety and disaster management. Paylocity, as a provider of payroll and human capital management software, primarily focuses on the administration of human resource functions and does not engage in activities directly related to resilience against extreme weather. Therefore, the bill's consequences do not align with Paylocity's business model or structure.", - "index": "165", - "bill_title": "To minimize the economic and social costs resulting from losses of life, property, well-being, business activity, and economic growth associated with extreme weather events by ensuring that the United States is more resilient to the impacts of extreme weather events in the short- and long-term, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Strengthening The Resiliency of Our Nation on the Ground Act or the STRONG Act\n\nThis bill requires the Office of Science and Technology Policy of the Executive Office of the President to establish an interagency working group to (1) provide a strategic vision of extreme weather resilience; (2) conduct an analysis of current and planned federal activities related to achieving short- and long-term resilience to extreme weather and its impacts on the United States, such as flooding, drought, and wildfires; and (3) develop a National Extreme Weather Resilience Action Plan.\n\nThe plan must include (1) the establishment of an online portal that directs users to key data and tools to inform resilience-enhancing efforts; and (2) the identification of a coordinating entity to establish and maintain such portal and to coordinate the implementation of the plan and track its progress.", - "company_name": "Paylocity Holding Corp.", - "company_description": "We are a cloud-based provider of payroll and human capital management, or HCM, software solutions for medium-sized organizations, which we define as those having between 20 and 1,000 employees. Our comprehensive and easy-to-use solutions enable our clients to manage their workforces more effectively. Excluding clients acquired as part of the BeneFLEX acquisition, as of June 30, 2018, we provided our payroll and HCM software solutions to approximately 16,700 clients across the U.S., which on average had over 100 employees. Our solutions help drive strategic human capital decision-making and improve employee engagement by enhancing the human resource, payroll and finance capabilities of our clients. Our multi-tenant software platform is highly configurable and includes a unified suite of payroll and HCM applications, such as time and labor tracking, benefits and talent management. Our solutions have been organically developed from our core payroll solution, which we believe is the most critical system of record for medium-sized organizations and an essential gateway to other HCM functionality. Our payroll and HCM applications use a unified database and provide robust on-demand reporting and analytics. Our platform provides intuitive self-service functionality for employees and managers combined with seamless integration across all our solutions. We supplement our comprehensive software platform with an integrated implementation and client service organization, all of which are designed to meet the needs of medium-sized organizations. Effective management of human capital is a core function in all organizations and requires a significant commitment of resources. Organizations are faced with complex and ever-changing requirements, including diverse federal, state and local regulations across multiple jurisdictions. In addition, the workplace operating environment is rapidly changing as employees increasingly become mobile, work remotely and expect an end user experience similar to 1 that of consumer-oriented Internet applications. Existing solutions offered by third-party payroll service providers can have limited capabilities and configurability while enterprise-focused software vendors can be expensive and time-consuming to implement and manage. We believe that medium-sized organizations are better served by solutions designed to meet their unique needs. \u00b7 Comprehensive cloud-based platform optimized to meet the payroll and HCM needs of medium-sized organizations; \u00b7 Modern, intuitive user experience and self-service capabilities that significantly increase employee engagement; \u00b7 Flexible and configurable platform that aligns with business processes and centralizes payroll and HCM data; \u00b7 Software as a service, or SaaS, delivery model that reduces total cost of ownership for our clients; and \u00b7 Seamless data integration with our extensive partner ecosystem that saves time and expense and reduces the risk of errors. We market and sell our products primarily through our direct sales force. We generate sales leads through a variety of focused marketing initiatives and from our extensive referral network of 401(k) advisors, benefits administrators, insurance brokers, third-party administrators and HR consultants. We derive revenue from a client based on the solutions purchased by the client, the number of client employees and the amount, type and timing of services provided with respect to those client employees. Effective management of human capital is a core function for all organizations and requires a significant commitment of resources. In today's increasingly complex business and regulatory environment, organizations are being pressured to manage critical payroll and HCM functions more effectively, automate manual processes and decrease their operating costs. The tax and regulatory environment in the United States is complex and dynamic. Organizations are subject to a myriad of tax, benefit, workers compensation, healthcare and other rules, regulations and reporting obligations. In addition to U.S. federal taxing and regulatory authorities, there are more than 10,000 state and local tax codes in the United States. Further, federal, state and local government agencies continually enact and amend the rules, regulations and reporting requirements with which organizations must comply. This trend increases the demand for advanced and intuitive solutions that improve 2 collaboration and foster employee engagement, such as remote self-service access to payroll and timesheet reporting, HR and benefits portals and other talent management applications.", - "id": "d69ed9e1-49d3-44fa-a650-864a4dd7219f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily targets oil and gas leasing activities in specific marine areas off the coast of Florida, aiming to prohibit such activities. As Alliant Energy Corp. is focused on providing regulated electric and natural gas services primarily in the Midwest, and its activities are primarily grounded in electricity and natural gas distribution rather than oil and gas production, the legal consequences of this bill are not relevant to Alliant Energy's core business operations.", - "index": "166", - "bill_title": "To amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit oil and gas preleasing, leasing, and related activities in certain areas of the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Florida, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Florida Coastal Protection Act\n\nThis bill prohibits the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management from offering any tract for oil and gas leasing or preleasing in the following areas:\n\n the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area that is within 125 miles of the coastline of Florida, the South Atlantic Planning Area that is south of 30 degrees 43 minutes North Latitude, or the Straits of Florida Planning Area.", - "company_name": "Alliant Energy Corp.", - "company_description": "Alliant Energy operates as a regulated investor-owned public utility holding company. Alliant Energy's primary focus is to provide regulated electric and natural gas service to approximately 960,000 electric and approximately 410,000 natural gas customers in the Midwest through its two public utility subsidiaries, IPL and WPL. The primary first tier wholly-owned subsidiaries of Alliant Energy are as follows: IPL is a public utility engaged principally in the generation and distribution of electricity and the distribution and transportation of natural gas to retail customers in select markets in Iowa. IPL provides utility services to incorporated communities as directed by the IUB and utilizes non-exclusive franchises, which cover the use of public right-of-ways for utility facilities in incorporated communities for a maximum term of 25 years. At December 31, 2017 , IPL supplied electric and natural gas service to approximately 490,000 and 220,000 retail customers, respectively, in Iowa. IPL also sells electricity to wholesale customers in Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa. IPL is also engaged in the generation and distribution of steam for two customers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In 2017 , 2016 and 2015, IPL had no single customer for which electric, gas, steam and/or other sales accounted for 10% or more of IPL's consolidated revenues. WPL is a public utility engaged principally in the generation and distribution of electricity and the distribution and transportation of natural gas to retail customers in select markets in Wisconsin. WPL operates in municipalities pursuant to permits of indefinite duration and state statutes authorizing utility operation in areas annexed by a municipality. At December 31, 2017 , WPL supplied electric and natural gas service to approximately 470,000 and 190,000 retail customers, respectively. WPL also sells electricity to wholesale customers in Wisconsin. In 2017 , 2016 and 2015, WPL had no single customer for which electric, gas and/or other sales accounted for 10% or more of WPL's consolidated revenues. Alliant Energy's non-utility investments are organized under AEF. Corporate Services provides administrative services to Alliant Energy, IPL, WPL and AEF. The majority of IPL's bargaining unit employees are covered by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 204 (Cedar Rapids) collective bargaining agreement, which expires on August 31, 2020. All of WPL's bargaining unit employees are covered by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 965 collective bargaining agreement, which expires on May 31, 2019. 2) CAPITAL EXPENDITURE AND INVESTMENT PLANS - Refer to \"Liquidity and Capital Resources\" in MDA for discussion of anticipated construction and acquisition expenditures for 2018 through 2021. 3) REGULATION - Alliant Energy, IPL and WPL are subject to regulation by various federal, state and local agencies. The following includes the primary regulations impacting Alliant Energy's, IPL's and WPL's businesses. FERC - Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 - Alliant Energy is registered with FERC as a public utility holding company, pursuant to the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, and is required to maintain certain records and to report certain transactions involving its public utilities, service company and other entities regulated by FERC. Corporate Services, IPL and WPL are subject to regulation by FERC under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 for various matters including, but not limited to, affiliate transactions, public utility mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, and books, records and accounting requirements. The Energy Policy Act requires creation of an Electric Reliability Organization to provide oversight by FERC. FERC designated North American Electric Reliability Corporation as the overarching Electric Reliability Organization.", - "id": "1dfea6d0-b1db-475b-9f96-2d6fe0bb4253" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill related to prohibiting mandatory checkoff programs specifically addresses agricultural commodity regulations, which have no connection to the dating products and services provided by Match Group, Inc. There are no legal consequences for the company's business model or activities regarding consumer dating products.", - "index": "167", - "bill_title": "A bill to prohibit mandatory or compulsory checkoff programs.", - "bill_summary": "Voluntary Checkoff Program Participation Act \n\nThis bill prohibits mandatory or compulsory checkoff programs and requires producer participation in the programs to be voluntary at the point of sale. (A checkoff program is a program to promote and provide research and information for a particular agricultural commodity without reference to specific producers or brands. The Department of Agriculture oversees the programs, which are requested and funded by industry.)", - "company_name": "Match Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "Match Group, Inc. is a leading provider of dating products available in over 40 languages to our users all over the world through applications and websites we own and operate. We operate a portfolio of brands, including Tinder, Match, PlentyOfFish, Meetic, OkCupid, OurTime, Pairs and Hinge, as well as a number of other brands, each designed to increase our users' likelihood of finding a meaningful connection. Through our portfolio of trusted brands, we provide tailored products to meet the varying preferences of our users. As a result, the market for dating products is fragmented, and no single product has been able to effectively serve the dating category as a whole. Given these wide-ranging consumer preferences, our strategy focuses on a brand portfolio approach, through which we attempt to offer dating products that collectively appeal to the broadest spectrum of consumers. We work to apply a centralized discipline to learnings, by sharing best practices and technologies across our brands in order to increase growth, reduce costs and maximize profitability. Additionally, we centralize certain other administrative functions, such as legal, human resources, finance, tax, and others. Enabling dating in a digital world Prior to the proliferation of mobile devices and computers, human connections traditionally were limited by social circles, geography and time. Today, the adoption of mobile technology and the internet has significantly expanded the ways in which people can build relationships, create new interactions and develop romantic connections. Additionally, the ongoing adoption of technology into more aspects of daily life continues to further erode biases and stigmas that previously prevented individuals from using technology to help find and develop those connections. We believe that dating products serve as a natural extension of the traditional means of meeting people and provide a number of benefits for their users, including: \u2022 : Dating products provide users access to a large number of like-minded people they otherwise would not have a chance to meet. : The search and matching features, as well as the profile information available on dating products, allow users to filter a large number of options in a short period of time, increasing the likelihood that users will make a connection with someone. : Compared to the traditional ways that people meet, dating products provide an environment that reduces the awkwardness around the process of reaching out to new people. : The nature of the internet and the proliferation of mobile devices allow users to connect with new people at any time, regardless of where they are. Depending on a person's circumstances at any given time, dating products can act as a supplement to, or substitute for, traditional means of meeting people. When selecting a dating product, we believe that users consider the following attributes: Users generally associate strong dating brands with a higher likelihood of success and a higher level of security. Generally, successful dating brands depend on large, 3 active communities of users, strong algorithmic filtering technology and awareness of successful usage among similar users. : Demonstrated success of other users attracts new users through word-of-mouth recommendations. : Users typically look for dating products that offer a community or communities with which the user can associate. By selecting a dating product that is focused on a particular demographic, religion, geography or intent (for example, casual dating or more serious relationships), users can increase the likelihood that they will make a connection with someone with whom they identify. : Users tend to gravitate towards dating products that offer features and user experiences that resonate with them, such as question-based matching algorithms, location-based features, offline events or search capabilities. User experience is also driven by the type of user interface (for example, swiping versus scrolling), a particular mix of free and paid features, ease of use, privacy and security. Users expect every interaction with a dating product to be seamless and intuitive. ", - "id": "c47dbc3f-41e9-4463-988a-482355fb72cf" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on federal appropriations for various departments and agencies, which primarily relate to government funding and programs. Verso Corp. operates in the coated paper manufacturing sector and its business model is not directly impacted by government appropriations for the fiscal year. Therefore, the legal consequences outlined in the bill do not affect the company's structure or activities, making it not relevant for Verso Corp.", - "index": "168", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 \n\nThis bill provides FY2019 appropriations for several federal departments and agencies. It includes 6 of the 12 regular FY2019 appropriations bills:\n\n the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2019; the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2019; and the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019. The departments and agencies funded in the bill include\n\n the Department of Agriculture; the Food and Drug Administration; the Department of Commerce; the Department of Justice; science-related agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); the Department of the Treasury, the judiciary; the Executive Office of the President; the District of Columbia; the Department of the Interior; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Forest Service; the Department of State; the Department of Transportation; the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and several related and independent agencies. The bill also extends several authorities and programs, including\n\n the National Flood Insurance Program, the authority for the Environmental Protection Agency to collect and spend certain fees related to pesticides, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and several Medicaid provisions.", - "company_name": "Verso Corp.", - "company_description": "After the Internal Reorganization, Verso is the sole member of Verso Holding LLC, which is the sole member of Verso Paper Holding LLC. As used in this report, the term \"Verso Holding\" refers to Verso Holding LLC, and the term \"Verso Paper\" refers to Verso Paper Holding LLC. Prior to the Internal Reorganization, Verso was the sole member of Verso Paper Finance Holdings One LLC, which was the sole member of Verso Paper Finance Holdings LLC, which was the sole member of Verso Paper Holdings LLC. As used in this report, the term \"Verso Finance\" refers to Verso Paper Finance Holdings LLC; and the term \"VPH\" refers to Verso Paper Holdings LLC. The term \"NewPage\" refers to NewPage Holdings Inc., which was an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Verso prior to the Internal Reorganization; the term \"NewPage Corp\" refers to NewPage Corporation, which was an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of NewPage prior to the Internal Reorganization. Each of Verso Finance, VPH, NewPage and NewPage Corp were either merged into other subsidiaries of Verso, converted into limited liability corporations, and/or renamed in the Internal Reorganization and do not exist on and after the Internal Reorganization. We are the leading North American producer of coated papers, which are used primarily in commercial print, magazines, catalogs, high-end advertising brochures and annual reports, among other media and marketing publications. We produce a wide range of products, ranging from coated freesheet and coated groundwood, to specialty papers, to inkjet and digital paper, supercalendered papers and uncoated freesheet. We also produce and sell market kraft pulp, which is used to manufacture printing and writing paper grades and tissue products. The mills have an aggregate annual production capacity of approximately 2,870,000 tons of paper, including coated papers and specialty papers which excludes pulp. In February 2018, we announced plans to upgrade the shuttered No. 3 paper machine at our Androscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine, enabling this equipment to restart for the manufacture of packaging products. This paper machine was previously idled beginning in January 2017 and shut down in July 2017. We anticipate completion of this upgrade in the third quarter of 2018 and expect the No. 3 paper machine to increase annual paper production capacity by approximately 200,000 tons. We sell and market our products to approximately 300 customers which comprise approximately 1,700 end-user accounts. We have long-standing relationships with many leading magazine and catalog publishers, commercial printers, specialty retail merchandisers and paper merchants. We reach our end-users through several distribution channels, including direct sales, commercial printers, paper merchants and brokers. \" Verso and substantially all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, or the \"Debtors,\" filed voluntary petitions for relief, or the \"Chapter 11 Filings,\" under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, or the \"Bankruptcy Code,\" in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, or the \"Bankruptcy Court. ,\" were consolidated for procedural purposes only and administered jointly under the caption In accordance with the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board, or \"FASB,\" Accounting Standards Codification, or \"ASC\" 852, Reorganizations, the Debtors adopted fresh-start accounting upon emergence from the Chapter 11 Cases and became a new entity for financial reporting purposes as of July 15, 2016. The Internal Reorganization involved several separate, but related, actions consisting of mergers between subsidiaries to reduce their numbers, the conversion of corporate subsidiaries to limited liability companies, the re-domestication of subsidiaries under Delaware law to provide for a uniform and enlightened regulatory framework, the formation of new holding companies to create separate \"branches\" for Verso's paper-making and energy operations, and name changes of subsidiaries to more appropriately reflect the nature of their assets and operations. In September 2017, we announced the formation of a Strategic Alternatives Committee, comprised solely of independent directors. Based on 2017 sales, the size of the global coated paper industry is estimated to be approximately $32 billion, or 38 million tons of coated paper shipments, including approximately $5 billion, or 6 million tons of coated paper shipments, in North America. Coated paper is used primarily in media and marketing applications, including catalogs, magazines and commercial printing applications, which include high-end advertising brochures, annual reports and direct mail advertising. Demand is generally driven by North American advertising and print media trends, which in turn have historically been correlated with growth in Gross Domestic Product, or \"GDP.", - "id": "aa6b9206-9c89-47ce-bcc0-6ad296d6edf4" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on imposing sanctions against foreign individuals responsible for conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence, and changes to reporting requirements related to human rights. Ralph Lauren Corp.'s business model primarily revolves around the design, marketing, and distribution of lifestyle products, which does not encompass involvement in human rights violations or the activities targeted by the bill. Therefore, the legal consequences outlined in the bill are not relevant to Ralph Lauren's operations.", - "index": "169", - "bill_title": "To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include in the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices a section on conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence, to amend the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to authorize the President to impose economic sanctions and a visa ban on the leader of an organization that commits sexual or gender-based violence.", - "bill_summary": "Accountability for Sexual and Gender-based Violence as a Tool in Conflict Act of 2019\n\nThis bill provides for sanctions against foreign persons responsible for conflict-related acts of sexual and gender-based violence.\n\nThe President may impose property- and visa-blocking sanctions on foreign persons responsible for sexual and gender-based violence against individuals seeking human rights or attempting to expose illegal activity by government officials.\n\nForeign government officials and their immediate family members who have been involved in significant corruption involving sexual or gender-based violence shall be ineligible to enter the United States.\n\nThe bill also expands existing foreign-assistance-related reporting requirements to include information on conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence.", - "company_name": "Ralph Lauren Corp.", - "company_description": "General Founded in 1967 by Mr. Ralph Lauren, we are a global leader in the design, marketing, and distribution of premium lifestyle products, including apparel, footwear, accessories, home furnishings, and other licensed product categories. Our long-standing reputation and distinctive image have been developed across an expanding number of products, brands, sales channels, and international markets. We believe that our global reach, breadth of product offerings, and multi-channel distribution are unique among luxury and apparel companies. Our wholesale sales are made principally to major department stores and specialty stores around the world, as well as to certain third party-owned stores to which we have licensed the right to operate in defined geographic territories using our trademarks. We also sell directly to consumers through our integrated retail channel, which includes our retail stores, concession-based shop-within-shops, and digital commerce operations around the world. manufacture and sale of designated products, such as certain apparel, eyewear, fragrances, and home furnishings. In addition to these reportable segments, we also have other non-reportable segments. Our global reach is extensive, with merchandise available through our wholesale distribution channels at over 12,000 doors worldwide, the majority in specialty stores, as well as through the digital commerce sites of many of our wholesale customers. We also sell directly to customers throughout the world via our 501 retail stores and 653 concession-based shop-within-shops, as well as through our own digital commerce sites and those of various third-party digital partners. In addition to our directly-operated stores and shops, our international licensing partners operate 108 Ralph Lauren stores, 39 Ralph Lauren concession shops, and 138 We believe that our size and the global scope of our operations provide us with design, sourcing, and distribution synergies across our different businesses. Our core strengths include a portfolio of global premium lifestyle brands, a well-diversified global multi-channel distribution network, an investment philosophy supported by a strong balance sheet, and an experienced management team. The Fiscal 2019 Restructuring Plan includes the following restructuring-related activities: (i) rightsizing and consolidation of our global distribution network and corporate offices; (ii) targeted severance-related actions; and (iii) closure of certain of our stores and shop-within-shops. Actions associated with the Fiscal 2019 Restructuring Plan were largely completed during Fiscal 2019, with certain activities shifting into Fiscal 2020. On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law new tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the \"TCJA\"), which became effective January 1, 2018. The TCJA significantly revised U.S. tax law by, among other provisions, lowering the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate from 35% to 21%, creating a territorial tax system that includes a one-time mandatory transition tax on previously deferred foreign earnings, and eliminating or reducing certain income tax deductions. We are refocusing on our core brands and evolving our product, marketing, and shopping experience to increase desirability and relevance. We are also evolving our operating model to enable sustainable, profitable sales growth by significantly improving quality of sales, reducing supply chain lead times, improving our sourcing, and executing a disciplined multi-channel distribution and expansion strategy. The Way Forward Plan includes strengthening our leadership team and creating a more nimble organization by moving from an average of nine to six layers of management. The Way Forward Plan also includes the discontinuance of our Denim & Supply brand and the integration of our denim product offerings into our Polo Ralph Lauren brand. Collectively, these actions, which were substantially completed during Fiscal 2017, resulted in a reduction in workforce and the closure of certain stores and shop-within-shops, as well as gross annualized expense savings of approximately $200 million. (i) the restructuring of our in-house global digital commerce platform which was in development and shifting to a more cost-effective, flexible platform through a new agreement with Salesforce's Commerce Cloud, formerly known as Demandware; (ii) the closure of our Polo store at 711 Fifth Avenue in New York City; and (iii) the further streamlining of the organization and the execution of other key corporate actions in line with the Way Forward Plan. These additional restructuring-related activities were largely completed during Fiscal 2018 and resulted in a further reduction in workforce and the closure of certain corporate office and store locations, as well as gross annualized expense savings of approximately $140 million. ", - "id": "646198e8-08af-4e65-b9a3-bf8308d2d2d0" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Hospital Competition Act of 2019 primarily addresses regulations related to hospital costs, Medicare participation, and healthcare competition, which do not directly relate to the operations or business model of Monster Beverage Corp., a company focused on developing and marketing energy drinks. As such, the bill's provisions have no direct legal consequences for the beverage industry or for Monster Beverage specifically.", - "index": "170", - "bill_title": "To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to increase hospital competition, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Hospital Competition Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a series of programs and requirements relating to hospital costs, payments, and infrastructure.\n\nAmong other things, the bill requires hospitals, as a condition of Medicare participation, to (1) in the case of hospitals that meet specified market concentration thresholds, apply Medicare reimbursement rates regardless of whether the individual receiving services is entitled to or enrolled in Medicare; and (2) publish the prices charged for specified services that are highly utilized.\n\nThe bill also repeals (1) performance incentives under the Medicare Shared Savings Program for accountable care organizations, and (2) provisions under the Stark law (i.e., the Physician Self-Referral Law) that prohibit physician-owned hospitals from expanding facility capacity.", - "company_name": "Monster Beverage Corp.", - "company_description": "The Company\u0092s subsidiaries primarily develop and market energy drinks as well as Mutant\u00ae Super Soda drinks. Drinks segment (\u0093Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks\u0094), which is comprised of our Monster Energy\u00ae drinks, Monster Hydro\u00ae energy drinks and Mutant\u00ae Super Soda drinks, (ii) Strategic Brands segment (\u0093Strategic Brands\u0094), which is comprised of the various energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company (\u0093TCCC\u0094) in 2015 (the \u0093TCCC Transaction\u0094) (see Note 2 \u0093Acquisitions and Divestitures\u0094 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements) and (iii) Other segment (\u0093Other\u0094), the principal products of which include the non-energy brands disposed of as a result of the TCCC Transaction (effectively from January 1, 2015 to June 12, 2015), as well as certain products, acquired as part of our American Fruits & Flavors (\u0093AFF\u0094) asset acquisition in 2016 (the \u0093AFF Transaction\u0094) (see Note 2 \u0093Acquisitions and Divestitures\u0094 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements), that are sold by AFF to independent third-party customers (the \u0093AFF Third-Party Products\u0094) (effectively from April 1, 2016). Corporate and unallocated amounts that do not specifically relate to a reportable segment have been allocated to \u0093Corporate Drinks segment generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks primarily to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. In some cases, we sell directly to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, drug stores, food service customers and the military. Our Strategic Brands segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling \u0093concentrates\u0094 and/or \u0093beverage bases\u0094 to authorized bottling and canning operations. Such bottlers generally combine the concentrates and/or beverage bases with sweeteners, water and other ingredients to produce ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks. The ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks are then sold to other bottlers and full service distributors and to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, food service customers, drug stores and the military. To a lesser extent, our Strategic Brands segment generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. Generally, the Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks segment generates higher per case net operating revenues, but lower per case gross profit margins than the Strategic Brands segment. We develop, market, sell and distribute energy drink beverages, sodas and/or concentrates for energy drink beverages, primarily under the following brand names: \u00b7 \u00b7 NOS\u00ae \u00b7 Monster Energy Ultra\u00ae \u00b7 Full Throttle\u00ae \u00b7 brand energy drinks, which represented 90.1%, 90.1% and 92.5% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, primarily include the following energy drinks 1 : \u00b7 Monster Energy\u00ae Monster Rehab\u00ae Tea + Orangeade + Energy \u00b7 Monster Energy Ultra Red The \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category combines non-carbonated, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters (flavored, unflavored and enhanced) with \u0093new age\u0094 beverages, including sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices and flavored sparkling beverages. According to Beverage Marketing Corporation, domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2017 for the \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category of the market are estimated at approximately $52.6 billion, representing an increase of approximately 5.6% over estimated domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2016 of approximately $49.8 billion. On April 1, 2016, we completed the AFF Transaction resulting in our acquisition of flavor supplier and long-time business partner AFF, in an asset acquisition that brought our primary flavor supplier in-house, secured the intellectual property of our most important flavors in perpetuity and further enhanced our flavor development and global flavor footprint capabilities. On June 12, 2015, we completed the TCCC Transaction contemplated by the definitive agreements entered into with TCCC on August 14, 2014, which provided for a long-term strategic relationship in the global energy drink category. In the 1930s, Hubert Hansen and his sons started a business selling fresh non-pasteurized juices in Los Angeles, California. FJC retained the right to market and sell fresh non-pasteurized juices under the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae trademark. In 1977, Tim Hansen, one of the grandsons of Hubert Hansen, perceived a demand for shelf stable pasteurized natural juices and juice blends and formed Hansen Foods, HFI expanded its product line from juices to include Hansen\u0092s Natural Soda\u00ae brand sodas. In 1990, California Co-Packers Corporation (d/b/a Hansen Beverage Company) (\u0093CCC\u0094) acquired certain assets of HFI, including the right to market the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand name. In 1992, Hansen Natural Corporation acquired the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand natural soda and apple juice business from CCC.", - "id": "d76dbefa-6a54-4882-a3a2-4c16cd86bee3" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The California Desert Protection and Recreation Act of 2019 primarily focuses on environmental conservation, land management, and recreational opportunities in the California Desert Conservation Area. These initiatives do not directly align with Plexus Corp.'s business model centered around electronic manufacturing services (EMS), which involves product realization in sectors like healthcare, aerospace, and industrial markets. Since the bill does not pertain to their industry or operations, it is deemed irrelevant.", - "index": "171", - "bill_title": "To provide for conservation, enhanced recreation opportunities, and development of renewable energy in the California Desert Conservation Area, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "California Desert Protection and Recreation Act of 2019\n\nThis bill provides for conservation, additional recreational opportunities, and renewable energy development in the California Desert Conservation Area.\n\nSpecifically, the bill, among other things\n\n establishes or designates wilderness areas, a special management area, off-highway vehicle recreation areas, and a national scenic area; releases specified wilderness study areas; adjusts national park and preserve boundaries; and specifies land withdrawals, transfers, and conveyances. Specified federal land shall be taken into trust for the Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Tribe.\n\nLands and interests in land, including improvements, outside the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park in California may be acquired for the purpose of operating a visitor center.\n\nThe bill makes amendments to the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 regarding the California State School lands and designates specified segments of rivers and creeks as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.", - "company_name": "Plexus Corp.", - "company_description": "we\") participate in the Electronic Manufacturing Services (\"EMS\") industry. We partner with our customers to create the products that build a better world. Since 1979, Plexus has been partnering with companies to transform concepts into branded products and deliver them to the market. From idea to aftermarket and everything in between, Plexus is a global leader in providing support for all the facets of the product realization process - Design and Development, Supply Chain Solutions, New Product Introduction, Manufacturing, and Aftermarket Services. Plexus delivers comprehensive end-to-end solutions in the Americas (\"AMER\"), Europe, Middle East, and Africa (\"EMEA\") and Asia-Pacific (\"APAC\") regions for our customers. We specialize in working in industries with highly complex products and demanding regulatory requirements. Plexus has partnerships with approximately 140 customers in the Healthcare/Life Sciences, Industrial/Commercial, Communications, and Aerospace/Defense market sectors. We leverage our expertise to understand the unique needs of our customers' markets and have aligned our processes to provide flexibility, create efficiency and deliver superior quality. Our customers have stringent quality, reliability and regulatory requirements, requiring exceptional production and supply chain agility. Their products require complex configuration management, direct order fulfillment (to end customers), global logistics management and aftermarket services. To service the complexities that our customers' products demand, we utilize our full suite of solution offerings to support our customers' products from concept to end of life. Plexus is passionate about being the leading EMS company in the world at servicing mid-to-low volume, higher complexity customer programs, characterized by unique flexibility, technology, quality and regulatory requirements. A high performance, accountable organization with a talented workforce that is deeply passionate about driving growth through customer service excellence; \u2022 Strategic growth by using customer driven, sector based go-to-market strategies; and \u2022 Execution driven by a collaborative, customer centric culture that continuously evaluates and optimizes our business processes to strive to create shareholder value. We operate flexible manufacturing facilities and design our processes to accommodate customers with multiple product lines and configurations. One or more uniquely configured \"focus factories,\" supported by a tailored supply chain and logistics solution, are designed to meet the flexibility and responsiveness needed to support customer fulfillment requirements. Each sector has a market sector vice president and a business development and customer management leader who together oversee and provide leadership to teams that include business development directors, customer directors or managers, supply chain and manufacturing subject matter experts, and market sector analysts. These teams maintain expertise related to each market sector and execute sector strategies aligned to that market's unique quality and regulatory requirements. Our market sector teams help define Plexus' strategy for growth with a particular emphasis on expanding the value-added solutions we offer customers. Our primary focus is to earn a return on invested capital (\"ROIC\") Plexus measures economic profit by taking the difference between ROIC and WACC and multiplying it by invested capital. 4 Relative to our competition, overriding factors such as lower manufacturing volumes, flexibility and fulfillment requirements, and complex regulatory requirements typically result in higher investments in inventory and selling and administrative costs for us. The cost variance from our competitors is especially evident relative to those that provide EMS services for high-volume, less complex products, with less stringent requirements (e.g., consumer electronics). Plexus serves a diverse customer landscape that includes industry-leading, branded product companies, along with many other technology pioneering start-ups or emerging companies that may or may not maintain manufacturing capabilities. As a result of serving market sectors that rely on advanced electronics technology, our business is influenced by critical technological trends such as the level and rate of development of wired and wireless telecommunications infrastructure, communications data and data bandwidth growth, and internet usage.", - "id": "25fe0dba-258b-4752-8d7d-af95e5d6df53" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to lower prescription drug prices and increase transparency regarding drug pricing, which directly impacts Alder Biopharmaceuticals, as they develop and seek to commercialize prescription medications (eptinezumab) for migraine treatment. The potential for price regulation and disclosure requirements could affect their pricing strategy and market access, making the bill highly relevant to their business.", - "index": "172", - "bill_title": "To significantly lower prescription drug prices for patients in the United States by ending government-granted monopolies for manufacturers who charge drug prices that are higher than the median prices at which the drugs are available in other countries.", - "bill_summary": "Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a series of oversight and disclosure requirements relating to the prices of brand-name drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review at least annually all brand-name drugs for excessive pricing; HHS must also review prices upon petition. If any such drugs are found to be excessively priced, HHS must (1) void any government-granted exclusivity; (2) issue open, nonexclusive licenses for the drugs; and (3) expedite the review of corresponding applications for generic drugs and biosimilar biological products. HHS must also create a public database with its determinations for each drug.\n\nUnder the bill, a price is considered excessive if the domestic average manufacturing price exceeds the median price for the drug in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. If a price does not meet this criteria, or if pricing information is unavailable in at least three of the aforementioned countries, the price is still considered excessive if it is higher than reasonable in light of specified factors, including cost, revenue, and the size of the affected patient population.\n\nThe bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified financial information for brand-name drugs, including research and advertising expenditures.", - "company_name": "Alder Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and seeks to commercialize therapeutic antibodies with the potential to meaningfully transform the treatment paradigm in migraine. All of our product candidates were discovered and developed by Alder scientists using our proprietary antibody technology platform coupled with a deliberate approach to design and select candidates with properties that we believe optimize the therapeutic potential for patients and commercial competitiveness. Eptinezumab is being evaluated in a pivotal trial program for the prevention of migraine, with a Biologics License Application (BLA) submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) planned for the second half of 2018. Of that number, approximately 13 million people in the United States are candidates for a migraine prevention therapeutic. Of these candidates for migraine prevention, we estimate that there are between five million to seven million people living with episodic and chronic migraine who are the most highly impacted patients, and they typically experience eight or more migraine days per month. Current preventative migraine treatment options, available in the market today, are challenged by safety, efficacy and tolerability limitations. Epidemiologic studies suggest that approximately 38% of migraineurs would benefit from preventive therapies, but only 11% currently receive them. As a result, we believe there is a significant, unmet need for new treatment and prevention options. Eptinezumab is a genetically engineered monoclonal antibody inhibiting calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a small protein and a validated target that is understood to drive migraine initiation, maintenance and chronification. Designed to deliver a competitively differentiated approach to migraine prevention, we believe eptinezumab holds the potential to be a transformative therapeutic and meet a profound medical need, changing the migraine prevention treatment paradigm for physicians and patients living with migraine. Our deliberate approach to engineering and developing eptinezumab is designed to provide a unique clinical profile that, after a single administration via an infusion procedure, provides rapid, effective and sustained migraine prevention. We believe that this clinical profile, as supported by data from our clinical trials, will present a potentially compelling value proposition for patients, physicians, payors and our stakeholders. Eptinezumab is the only potent and selective anti-CGRP monoclonal antibody in clinical development delivered by infusion. We believe that eptinezumab's design, coupled with the infusion mode of administration, provides the following key benefits: \u2022 High specificity and strong binding for rapid and sustained suppression of CGRP biology; \u2022 Allows for the total dose to be immediately active to inhibit CGRP with 100% bioavailability; and 3 Supervised medication administration has the potential to promote patient adherence while maximizing product control and consistency of delivery . In our first Phase 3 pivotal trial, PRevention Of Migraine via Intravenous ALD403 Safety and Efficacy 1 (PROMISE 1) for the prevention of frequent episodic migraine, and our second Phase 3 pivotal trial, PRevention Of Migraine via Intravenous ALD403 Safety and Efficacy 2 (PROMISE 2) for the prevention of chronic migraine, eptinezumab has demonstrated: 1. On Day 1 post infusion, the risk of having a migraine was reduced by >50% versus baseline following a single administration 2. Significant days of migraine freedom attained within 1 month following a single administration Approximately 1 in 3 patients had a \u226575% reduction in migraine days within 1 month \u2022 More than half of patients had a \u226550% reduction in migraine days within 1 month 3. Sustained: Migraine free days sustained for 3 months following a single administration \u226550% and \u226575% reductions in migraine days sustained through 3 months Average 15-17% of patients had no migraines for months 1 to 3 4. ", - "id": "ab839df2-03e0-420b-85ae-6f9796feb81d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on the scoring of preventive health savings and how the Congressional Budget Office assesses potential spending reductions from preventive health services. Acorda Therapeutics, which is centered on developing therapies for neurological disorders and selling a specific medication for Parkinson's disease, does not directly align with the preventive health focus of the bill. The consequences of this bill are more related to health policy and budgetary assessments rather than specific drug development or commercialization efforts undertaken by Acorda.", - "index": "173", - "bill_title": "To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 respecting the scoring of preventive health savings.", - "bill_summary": "This bill requires the Congressional Budget Office, upon receiving a request from Congress, to determine if legislation would reduce spending outside of the 10-year budget window through the use of preventive health and preventive health services.", - "company_name": "Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies that restore function and improve the lives of people with neurological disorders. We are preparing for our launch of commercial sales of Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder), which is approved for intermittent treatment of OFF episodes, also known as OFF periods, in people with Parkinson's disease treated with carbidopa/levodopa. Inbrija is an on-demand treatment that utilizes our innovative ARCUS pulmonary delivery system, a technology platform designed to deliver medication through inhalation that we believe has potential to be used in the development of a variety of inhaled medicines. Our New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on December 21, 2018. The approval is for a single dose of 84 mg, with no titration required. We expect Inbrija to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2019 and to be distributed through a network of specialty pharmacies. Our preparations for the commercial sale of Inbrija continue, including sales force training and education, managed care discussions, market research and social media initiatives. We are seeking approval to market Inbrija in the European Union, and accordingly we filed a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in March 2018. After the adoption of a Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, opinion, we expect a final decision regarding the MAA from the European Commission before the end of 2019. We currently derive substantially all of our revenue from the sale of Ampyra. We have been engaged in litigation with certain generic drug manufacturers relating to our five initial Orange Book-listed Ampyra patents. In 2017, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the \"District Court\") issued a ruling that upheld our Ampyra Orange Book-listed patent that expired on July 30, 2018, but invalidated our four other Orange Book-listed patents pertaining to Ampyra that were set to expire between 2025 and 2027. Under this decision, our patent exclusivity with respect to Ampyra terminated on July 30, 2018. We appealed the District Court decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the \"Federal Circuit\"), which issued a ruling on September 10, 2018 upholding the District Court's decision (the \"Appellate Decision\"). In January 2019, the Federal Circuit denied our petition for rehearing en banc. We have experienced a significant decline in Ampyra sales due to competition from generic versions of Ampyra that are being marketed following the Appellate Decision. We expect that additional manufacturers will market generic versions of Ampyra, which may accelerate the decline in our Ampyra sales. Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder) : Launching the commercial sale of Inbrija in the U.S.; obtaining approval of our European MAA for Inbrija; and continuing with potential partnering discussions for commercialization outside of the U.S. ARCUS Platform : Advancing our efforts to develop additional therapeutics based on our proprietary ARCUS pulmonary drug delivery technology, looking at central nervous system, or CNS, as well as non-CNS opportunities, including our program to develop an ARCUS-based treatment for acute migraine. Company Highlights Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder)/Parkinson's Disease Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder) is the first and only inhaled levodopa, or L-dopa, for intermittent treatment of OFF episodes, also known as OFF periods, in people with Parkinson's disease treated with carbidopa/levodopa regimen. Our New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on December 21, 2018. The approval is for a single dose of 84 mg, with no titration required. We expect Inbrija to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2019 and to be distributed through a network of specialty pharmacies. We are seeking approval to market Inbrija in the European Union, and accordingly we filed a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in March 2018. After the adoption of a Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, opinion, we expect a final decision regarding the MAA from the European Commission before the end of 2019.", - "id": "3f8136b7-1831-4c82-bddd-884b30dfc532" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill promotes energy efficiency and addresses the use of energy-efficient technologies in federal data centers. Acacia Communications specializes in high-speed optical interconnect products that connect data centers and network infrastructures, impacting energy consumption. Compliance with the bill may lead to increased demand for their energy-efficient optical interconnect solutions as federal agencies adopt these technologies.", - "index": "174", - "bill_title": "To amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to promote energy efficiency via information and computing technologies, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Energy Efficient Government Technology Act \n\nThis bill sets forth requirements with respect to increasing the energy efficiency of information technologies and data centers within the federal government.\n\n Specifically, this bill requires each federal agency to coordinate with the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Environmental Protection Agency to develop an implementation strategy for the maintenance, purchase, and use of energy-efficient and energy-saving information technologies at or for federally owned and operated facilities.\n\nDOE must (1) maintain a data center energy practitioner program that leads to the certification of energy practitioners qualified to evaluate the energy usage and efficiency opportunities in federally owned and operated data centers; and (2) establish an open data initiative to make information about federal data center energy usage available and accessible in a manner that encourages data center innovation, optimization, and consolidation.", - "company_name": "Acacia Communications, Inc.", - "company_description": "Our mission is to deliver high-speed coherent optical interconnect products that transform communications networks, relied upon by cloud infrastructure operators and content and communication service providers, through improvements in performance and capacity and reductions in associated costs. By implementing optical interconnect technology in a silicon-based platform, a process we refer to as the siliconization of optical interconnect, we believe we are leading a disruption that is analogous to the computing industry's integration of multiple functions into a microprocessor. Our products fall into three product groups: embedded modules, pluggable modules and semiconductors. Our embedded module and pluggable module product groups consist of optical interconnect modules with transmission speeds ranging from 100 to 1,200 gigabits per second, or Gbps, for use in long-haul, metro and inter-data center markets. Our semiconductor product group consists of our low-power coherent digital signal processor application-specific integrated circuits, or DSP ASICs, and our silicon photonic integrated circuits, or silicon PICs, which are either integrated into our embedded and pluggable modules or sold to customers on a standalone basis for integration into internally developed or other merchant modules. We are also developing a 400ZR module that will expand our pluggable module product group, and enable inter-data center transmission capacity of 400 Gbps in the same compact pluggable form factors used for 400G client optics, including QSFP-DD and OSFP. Our modules perform a majority of the digital signal processing and optical functions in optical interconnects and offer low power consumption, high density and high speeds at attractive price points. Through the use of standard interfaces, our modules can be easily integrated with customers' network equipment. The advanced software in our modules enables increased configurability and automation, provides insight into network and connection point characteristics and helps identify network performance problems, all of which increase flexibility and reduce operating costs. Our modules are rooted in our low-power coherent DSP ASICs and/or silicon PICs, which we have specifically developed for our target markets. Our coherent DSP ASICs and silicon PICs are manufactured using complementary metal oxide semiconductor, or CMOS. CMOS is a widely-used and cost-effective semiconductor process technology. Using CMOS to siliconize optical interconnect technology enables us to integrate increasing functionality into our products, benefit from higher yields and reliability associated with CMOS, capitalize on regular improvements in CMOS performance and density, and reduce costs. Our use of CMOS also enables us to use outsourced foundry services rather than requiring custom fabrication to manufacture our products. In addition, our use of CMOS and CMOS-compatible processes enables us to take advantage of the technology, manufacturing and integration improvements driven by other computer and communications markets that rely on CMOS. Our engineering and management teams have extensive experience in optical systems and networking, digital signal processing, large-scale ASIC design and verification, silicon photonic design and integration, system software development, hardware design and high-speed electronics design. This broad expertise in a range of advanced technologies, methodologies and processes enhances our innovation, design and development capabilities, and has enabled us, and we believe will continue to enable us, to develop and introduce state-of-the-art optical interconnect modules, coherent DSP ASICs and silicon PICs. In the course of our product development cycles, we engage with our customers as they design their current and next-generation network equipment in order to gauge current and future market needs. We sell our products through a direct sales force to leading network equipment manufacturers, network operators and cloud service providers. Industry Background Growing Demand for Bandwidth and Network Capacity Global Internet Protocol, or IP, traffic is projected to more than triple from 4.1 exabytes per day in 2017 to 13.2 exabytes per day in 2022, representing a projected 26% compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, according to Cisco's Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Trends, 2017-2022, dated November 2018, or the VNI Report. This projected rapid growth in IP traffic is the result of several factors, including: \u2022 Over the last decade, the proliferation of new technologies, applications, Web 2.0-based services and Internet-connected devices has led to increasing levels of Internet traffic and congestion and the need for greater bandwidth. Video traffic, in particular, is growing rapidly, and placing significant strains on network capacity. The VNI Report estimates that by 2022, video traffic will represent 82% of all global consumer IP traffic, forecast to be 293 exabytes per month in 2022, up from 77 exabytes per month in 2017. According to the 2 VNI Report, from 2017 to 2022, video traffic and all global consumer IP traffic are expected to increase by projected 34% and 31% CAGRs, respectively. ", - "id": "45817829-03e4-46a7-884f-7a66ad32d512" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill requires federal agencies to consider the impacts of federal mandates on state and local governments and establishes accountability for costs associated with federal regulations. Since KapStone Paper & Packaging Corp operates in the manufacturing and distribution of packaging materials, it may be subject to federal regulations affecting costs and business operations. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill are relevant to their business model and activities.", - "index": "175", - "bill_title": "To provide for additional safeguards with respect to imposing Federal mandates, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires federal agencies to consider the effects of federal regulations on state and local governments.\n\nThe bill\n\n requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), at the request of the chairman or ranking member of a congressional committee, to conduct an assessment comparing the authorized level of funding in legislation to the costs of carrying out any changes to a condition of federal assistance being imposed on state, local, or tribal governments participating in the federal assistance program; requires the CBO, in accounting for the costs of federal mandates, to consider forgone business profits, costs passed onto consumers and other entities, and behavioral changes; applies reporting requirements under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) to independent regulatory agencies, except the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Open Market Committee, or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; and makes the raising of points of order in the consideration of congressional legislation applicable to legislation that would increase the direct cost of private sector mandates beyond limits established by UMRA. The bill requires an agency, at the request of the chairman or ranking member of a congressional committee, to conduct a retrospective analysis of an existing regulation.", - "company_name": "KapStone Paper & Packaging Corp.", - "company_description": "KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation was formed in Delaware as a special purpose acquisition corporation on April 15, 2005 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition or other similar business combination with an unidentified operating business in the paper, packaging, forest products, and related industries. (the \"Effective Time\"), change its name to \"WestRock Company,\" and (ii) KapStone will merge with and into Company Merger Sub, with KapStone surviving such merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Holdco (the \"Merger\"). The KPB assets consisted of an unbleached kraft paper manufacturing facility in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, Ride Rite\u00ae Converting, an inflatable dunnage bag manufacturer located in Fordyce, Arkansas, trade accounts receivable and inventories. We subsequently paid an aggregate of $53.7 million additional purchase price pursuant to contingent earn-out payments based upon achieving certain EBITDA targets. The CKD assets consisted of an unbleached kraft paper manufacturing facility in North Charleston, South Carolina (including a cogeneration facility), chip mills located in Elgin, Hampton, Andrews and Kinards, South Carolina, a lumber mill located in Summerville, South Carolina, trade accounts receivable and inventories. USC owned, at the time of the merger, a recycled containerboard paper mill in Cowpens, South Carolina and fourteen corrugated packaging plants across the Eastern and Midwestern United States. Longview is a leading manufacturer of high quality containerboard, kraft papers and corrugated products. Longview's operations include a paper mill located in Longview, Washington equipped with five paper machines which have the capacity to produce approximately 1.3 million tons of containerboard and kraft paper annually. Longview also owns seven converting facilities located in the Pacific Northwest. Victory, headquartered in Houston, TX, provides its customers comprehensive packaging solutions and services and is one of the largest North American distributors of packaging materials. Victory's operations include approximately 60 distribution and fulfillment facilities in the United States, Mexico and Canada. On April 8, 2016, the Company's board of directors approved the plan to expand its geographical footprint into Southern California with a new sheet plant with a total estimated cost of approximately $14.0 million. In conjunction with this, the Company signed a 10-year lease agreement with a total commitment of approximately $9.8 million. The new sheet plant started manufacturing boxes in 4 February 2017 and is intended to primarily supply the Company's Victory distribution operations in Southern California as well as other KapStone customers. On July 1, 2016, the Company acquired 100 percent of the common stock of Central Florida Box Corporation (\"CFB\"), a corrugated products manufacturer located near Orlando, Florida, for $15.4 million, net of cash acquired. On September 1, 2016, the Company made a $10.6 million investment for a 49 percent equity interest in a sheet feeder operation located in Florida. In April of 2016, the Company made a $1.25 million investment for a 20 percent equity interest in a sheet feeder operation located in California. API provides corrugated packaging and digital production needs serving a diverse customer base, including an emphasis on fulfillment and kitting for the automotive and consumer products industries. Our Paper and Packaging segment manufactures and sells a wide variety of containerboard, corrugated products and specialty paper for industrial and consumer markets. The Distribution segment, through Victory, a North American distributor of packaging materials, with approximately 60 distribution centers located in the United States, Mexico and Canada, provides packaging materials and related products to a wide variety of customers. Our Paper and Packaging segment produces containerboard, corrugated products and specialty paper. In 2017, we produced 2.8 million tons, nearly 86 percent of which was sold to third party converters or shipped to our corrugated products manufacturing plants based in the United States, and 14 percent of which was sold to foreign based customers. In 2017, our corrugated products manufacturing plants sold about 912 thousand tons or 14.4 billion square feet (\"BSF\") of corrugated products in the U.S.", - "id": "7c752ab4-0ad8-4f41-aac5-6ec35338e213" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The National Landslide Preparedness Act focuses on addressing landslide hazards through geological research and emergency preparedness, which does not directly impact Acacia Communications, Inc., whose business is centered on optical interconnect technology for high-speed communications networks. The company primarily operates in telecommunications and data transmission, not in geological or environmental risk management.", - "index": "176", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish a national program to identify and reduce losses from landslide hazards, to establish a national 3D Elevation Program, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "National Landslide Preparedness Act\n\nThis bill directs the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to establish a National Landslide Hazards Reduction Program to identify and understand landslide hazards and risks, reduce losses from landslides, protect communities at risk of landslide hazards, and help improve communication and emergency preparedness.\n\nThe USGS shall, among other things\n\n develop and publish a national strategy for landslide hazards, risk reduction, and response in the United States (including territories); develop and maintain a publicly accessible national landslide hazard and risk inventory database; expand the early warning system for debris flow; and establish emergency response procedures for the rapid deployment of federal scientists, equipment, and services to areas impacted by a significant landslide event. The USGS may provide grants to research, map, assess, and collect data on landslide hazards.\n\nThe National Science Foundation may provide grants to eligible entities for landslide research.\n\nThe USGS (1) shall establish the 3D Elevation Program and the 3D Elevation Federal Interagency Coordinating Committee, and (2) may make grants and enter into cooperative agreements to facilitate the improvement of nationwide coverage of 3D elevation data.", - "company_name": "Acacia Communications, Inc.", - "company_description": "Our mission is to deliver high-speed coherent optical interconnect products that transform communications networks, relied upon by cloud infrastructure operators and content and communication service providers, through improvements in performance and capacity and reductions in associated costs. By implementing optical interconnect technology in a silicon-based platform, a process we refer to as the siliconization of optical interconnect, we believe we are leading a disruption that is analogous to the computing industry's integration of multiple functions into a microprocessor. Our products fall into three product groups: embedded modules, pluggable modules and semiconductors. Our embedded module and pluggable module product groups consist of optical interconnect modules with transmission speeds ranging from 100 to 1,200 gigabits per second, or Gbps, for use in long-haul, metro and inter-data center markets. Our semiconductor product group consists of our low-power coherent digital signal processor application-specific integrated circuits, or DSP ASICs, and our silicon photonic integrated circuits, or silicon PICs, which are either integrated into our embedded and pluggable modules or sold to customers on a standalone basis for integration into internally developed or other merchant modules. We are also developing a 400ZR module that will expand our pluggable module product group, and enable inter-data center transmission capacity of 400 Gbps in the same compact pluggable form factors used for 400G client optics, including QSFP-DD and OSFP. Our modules perform a majority of the digital signal processing and optical functions in optical interconnects and offer low power consumption, high density and high speeds at attractive price points. Through the use of standard interfaces, our modules can be easily integrated with customers' network equipment. The advanced software in our modules enables increased configurability and automation, provides insight into network and connection point characteristics and helps identify network performance problems, all of which increase flexibility and reduce operating costs. Our modules are rooted in our low-power coherent DSP ASICs and/or silicon PICs, which we have specifically developed for our target markets. Our coherent DSP ASICs and silicon PICs are manufactured using complementary metal oxide semiconductor, or CMOS. CMOS is a widely-used and cost-effective semiconductor process technology. Using CMOS to siliconize optical interconnect technology enables us to integrate increasing functionality into our products, benefit from higher yields and reliability associated with CMOS, capitalize on regular improvements in CMOS performance and density, and reduce costs. Our use of CMOS also enables us to use outsourced foundry services rather than requiring custom fabrication to manufacture our products. In addition, our use of CMOS and CMOS-compatible processes enables us to take advantage of the technology, manufacturing and integration improvements driven by other computer and communications markets that rely on CMOS. Our engineering and management teams have extensive experience in optical systems and networking, digital signal processing, large-scale ASIC design and verification, silicon photonic design and integration, system software development, hardware design and high-speed electronics design. This broad expertise in a range of advanced technologies, methodologies and processes enhances our innovation, design and development capabilities, and has enabled us, and we believe will continue to enable us, to develop and introduce state-of-the-art optical interconnect modules, coherent DSP ASICs and silicon PICs. In the course of our product development cycles, we engage with our customers as they design their current and next-generation network equipment in order to gauge current and future market needs. We sell our products through a direct sales force to leading network equipment manufacturers, network operators and cloud service providers. Completion of the Merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including (i) obtaining certain foreign antitrust approvals, including in China, (ii) the absence of governmental injunctions or other legal restraints prohibiting the Merger or imposing certain antitrust restraints and (iii) the absence of a \"Material Adverse Effect,\" as defined in the Merger Agreement. We and the Parent have already received antitrust clearance for the Merger in the United States, Austria and Germany. Industry Background Growing Demand for Bandwidth and Network Capacity Global Internet Protocol, or IP, traffic is projected to more than triple from 4.1 exabytes per day in 2017 to 13.2 exabytes per day in 2022, representing a projected 26% compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, according to Cisco's Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Trends, 2017-2022, dated February 2019, or the VNI Report. This projected rapid growth in IP traffic is the result of several factors, including: \u2022 Over the last decade, the proliferation of new technologies, applications, Web 2.0-based services and Internet-connected devices has led to increasing levels of Internet traffic and congestion and the need for greater bandwidth. Video traffic, in particular, is growing rapidly, and placing significant strains on network capacity.", - "id": "fb35a4a2-3712-4467-ad31-412da68bd2e6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill provides grants for law enforcement agencies to purchase chemical screening devices and train personnel, which directly aligns with Waters Corp.'s business of designing and manufacturing analytical instruments, including liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry systems. These technologies can be essential for law enforcement activities related to drug identification and analysis, making the bill relevant to the company's strategic interests in these markets.", - "index": "177", - "bill_title": "To provide grants to State, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies to purchase chemical screening devices and train personnel to use chemical screening devices in order to enhance law enforcement efficiency and protect law enforcement officers.", - "bill_summary": "Providing Officers With Electronic Resources Act or the POWER Act\n\nThis bill authorizes the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services within the Department of Justice to make grants to law enforcement agencies to purchase a chemical screening device and to train personnel to use, and interpret data collected by, such device.", - "company_name": "Waters Corp.", - "company_description": "Business General Waters Corporation (the \u0093Company,\u0094 \u0093we,\u0094 \u0093our,\u0094 or \u0093us\u0094) is a specialty measurement company that operates with a fundamental underlying purpose to advance the science that enables our customers to enhance human health and well-being. The Company has pioneered analytical workflow solutions involving liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis innovations serving the life, materials and food sciences for more than 60 years. The Company primarily designs, manufactures, sells and services high performance liquid chromatography (\u0093HPLC\u0094), ultra performance liquid chromatography (\u0093UPLC TM \u0094 and together with HPLC, referred to as \u0093LC\u0094) and mass spectrometry (\u0093MS\u0094) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products and comprehensive post-warranty service plans. These systems are complementary products that are frequently employed together (\u0093LC-MS\u0094) and sold as integrated instrument systems using common software platforms. In addition, the Company designs, manufactures, sells and services thermal analysis, rheometry and calorimetry instruments through its TA TM product line. The Company is also a developer and supplier of advanced software-based products that interface with the Company\u0092s instruments, as well as other manufacturers\u0092 instruments. The Company\u0092s products are used by pharmaceutical, biochemical, industrial, nutritional safety, environmental, academic and governmental customers working in research and development, quality assurance and other laboratory applications. LC is a standard technique and is utilized in a broad range of industries to detect, identify, monitor and measure the chemical, physical and biological composition of materials, and to purify a full range of compounds. MS technology, principally in conjunction with chromatography, is employed in drug discovery and development, including clinical trial testing, the analysis of proteins in disease processes (known as \u0093proteomics\u0094), nutritional safety analysis and environmental testing. LC-MS instruments combine a liquid phase sample introduction and separation system with mass spectrometric compound identification and quantification. The Company\u0092s thermal analysis, rheometry and calorimetry instruments are used in predicting the suitability and stability of fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, water, polymers, metals and viscous liquids for various industrial, consumer goods and healthcare products, as well as for life science research. Since the IPO, the Company has added two significant and complementary technologies to its range of products with the acquisitions of TA Instruments in May 1996 and Micromass Limited in September 1997. The Waters operating segment is primarily in the business of designing, manufacturing, selling and servicing LC and MS instrument systems, columns and other precision chemistry consumables that can be integrated and used along with other analytical instruments. The TA operating segment is primarily in the business of designing, manufacturing, selling and servicing thermal analysis, rheometry and calorimetry instruments. Waters Products and Markets High Performance and Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography HPLC is a standard technique used to identify and analyze the constituent components of a variety of chemicals and other materials. The Company believes that HPLC\u0092s performance capabilities enable it to separate, identify and quantify a high proportion of all known chemicals. As a result, HPLC is used to analyze substances in a wide variety of industries for research and development purposes, quality control and process engineering applications. The most significant end-use markets for HPLC are those served by the pharmaceutical and life science industries. In these markets, HPLC is used extensively to understand diseases, identify new drugs, develop manufacturing methods and assure the potency and purity of new pharmaceuticals. HPLC is also used in a variety of other applications, such as analyses of foods and beverages for nutritional labeling and compliance with safety regulations and the testing of water and air purity within the environmental testing industry, as well as applications in other industries, such as chemical and consumer products. HPLC is also used by universities, research institutions and governmental agencies, such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (\u0093FDA\u0094) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (\u0093EPA\u0094) and their foreign counterparts that mandate safety and efficacy testing. In 2004, Waters introduced a novel technology that the Company describes as ultra performance liquid chromatography that utilizes a packing material with small, uniform diameter particles and a specialized instrument, the ACQUITY UPLC TM , to accommodate the increased pressure and narrower chromatographic bands that are generated by these small and tightly packed particles. By using the ACQUITY UPLC, researchers and analysts are able to achieve more comprehensive chemical separations and faster analysis times in comparison with many analyses previously performed by HPLC. In addition, in using the ACQUITY UPLC, researchers have the potential to extend the range of applications beyond that of HPLC, enabling them to uncover more levels of scientific information. While offering significant performance advantages, the ACQUITY UPLC is also compatible with the Company\u0092s software products and the general operating protocols of HPLC.", - "id": "88396940-cac5-4973-81b3-a74d642d61cb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes a framework for the mandatory licensing and registration of handguns, which directly impacts American Outdoor Brands Corp.'s business as a manufacturer and provider of handguns and firearm-related products. Compliance with new licensing and registration requirements could affect their operations, sales, and market dynamics in the firearms industry.", - "index": "178", - "bill_title": "To provide for the mandatory licensing and registration of handguns, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Handgun Licensing and Registration Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a statutory framework for the licensing and registration of all handguns owned, possessed, or controlled in the United States.", - "company_name": "American Outdoor Brands Corp.", - "company_description": "We are a leading manufacturer, designer, and provider of consumer products for the shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor enthusiast. We are one of the largest manufacturers of handguns, modern sporting rifles, and handcuffs in the United States and an active participant in the hunting rifle and suppressor markets. We are also a leading provider of shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor products and accessories, including knives and cutting tools, sighting lasers, shooting supplies, tree saws, and survival gear. The Wesson family sold Smith & Wesson Corp. to Bangor Punta Corp. in 1965. Lear Siegler Corporation purchased Bangor Punta in 1984, thereby acquiring ownership of Smith & Wesson Corp. Forstmann Little & Co. purchased Lear Siegler in 1986 and sold Smith & Wesson Corp. shortly thereafter to Tomkins Corporation, an affiliate of U.K.-based Tomkins PLC. We purchased Smith & Wesson Corp. from Tomkins in May 2001 and renamed our company Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation. In January 2017, we changed the name of our company from Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation to American Outdoor Brands Corporation to better reflect our expanding strategic focus on the growing markets for shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor enthusiasts. We have two reporting segments: (1) Firearms (which includes the Firearms and Manufacturing Services divisions) and (2) Outdoor Products & Accessories (which includes the Outdoor Products & Accessories and Electro-Optics divisions). In our Firearms segment, we manufacture a wide array of handguns (including revolvers and pistols), long guns (including modern sporting rifles, bolt action rifles, and muzzleloaders), handcuffs, suppressors, and other firearm-related products for sale to a wide variety of customers, including gun enthusiasts, collectors, hunters, sportsmen, competitive shooters, individuals desiring home and personal protection, law enforcement and security agencies and officers, and military agencies in the United States and throughout the world. We sell our firearm products under the Smith & Wesson, M & P, Performance Center, Thompson/Center Arms, and Gemtech brands. We manufacture our firearm products at our facilities in Springfield, Massachusetts, Houlton, Maine, and Deep River, Connecticut. We perform research and development activities for our suppressors and accessories products at our facility located in Meridian, Idaho. We also sell our manufacturing services to other businesses in order to level-load our factories. We sell those services under our Smith & Wesson and Smith & Wesson Precision Components (formerly known as Deep River Plastics) brands. In our Outdoor Products & Accessories segment, we design, source, distribute, and manufacture reloading, gunsmithing, and gun cleaning supplies; high-quality stainless steel cutting tools and accessories; flashlights; tree saws and related trimming accessories; shooting supplies, rests, and other related accessories; apparel; vault accessories; laser grips and laser sights; and a full range of products for survival and emergency preparedness. We sell our outdoor products and accessories under the following brands: Caldwell, Wheeler, Tipton, Frankford Arsenal, Lockdown, Hooyman, BOG-POD, Golden Rod, Non-Typical, Crimson Trace, Imperial, Schrade, Old Timer, Uncle Henry, Bubba Blade, Smith & Wesson, M & P, Thompson/Center, UST, and KeyGear. We develop and market our outdoor products and accessories at our facilities in Columbia, Missouri; Our objective is to continue to enhance our position as one of the world's leading firearm manufacturers and expand our po sition as a provider of high-quality and innovative outdoor products and accessories for the shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor markets. \u2022 design, produce, and market high-quality, innovative firearms, firearms and hunting accessories, and rugged outdoor products that meet the needs and desires of our consumer and professional customers; \u2022 increase market share in markets in which we participate; \u2022 expand into adjacent and complementary markets; \u2022 streamline and standardize our business operations, including optimizing product distribution; \u2022 emphasize customer satisfaction and loyalty; and \u2022 pursue acquisitions that are synergistic with our current business. We estimate that the annual domestic non-military firearm market based on industry shipments is approximately $2.2 billion for handguns and $1.9 billion for long guns, excluding shotguns, with our market share in calendar 2016 being approximately 16.7% and 7.6%, respectively. According to 2016 reports by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, the U.S. firearm manufacturing industry has grown at a 12.0% compound annual growth rate in units from 2011 through 2016. The 2015 report issued by the Outdoor Industry Association, a leading trade organization for the outdoor industry, estimates that the annual U.S. domestic hunting and shooting market is approximately $16 billion, while the annual U.S. domestic outdoor recreation market is approximately $90 billion to $100 billion, which includes hunting and shooting, as well as camping, fishing, trail sports, and wildlife watching. (Subsequently relocated production of hunting products to Springfield, Massachusetts facility in fiscal 2011) ", - "id": "47e1c346-569a-45cf-b96a-be5b00572df5" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily deals with humanitarian aid and sanctions related to Burma's military and human rights violations. It does not directly pertain to BJ's Restaurants, Inc., which operates in the casual dining sector in the U.S., focusing on consumer dining experiences, operation regulations, and market competition. The legal consequences of the bill are unlikely to impact BJ's business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "179", - "bill_title": "A bill to promote democracy and human rights in Burma, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 2019\n\nThis bill authorizes aid to address the humanitarian crisis in Burma (Myanmar). It also calls for sanctions and reports related to the issue.\n\nSpecifically, the bill authorizes aid\u00a0for humanitarian assistance\u00a0and reconciliation activities in Burma and other countries in the region, including assistance to help targeted ethnic minority groups and support voluntary resettlement.\n\nThe President may not provide security assistance for Burma's armed forces until the Department of State certifies that the Burmese military has made significant progress in abiding by international human rights standards.\n\nThe bill reinstates trade restrictions on rubies and jadeite from Burma until the President certifies that Burma has passed certain reforms relating to transparency in the gemstone industry.\n\nThe President shall report to Congress a list of (1) senior military officials known to be directly and significantly involved in gross human rights violations in Burma, and (2) entities owned or controlled by such individuals. The State Department shall deny such individuals visas, and the Department of the Treasury shall impose various property-blocking sanctions against listed entities and individuals.\n\nThe State Department shall report to Congress a strategy to promote economic development in Burma.\n\nThe bill also requires reports on\n\n Burma's military, Burma's eligibility for preferential duty treatment, whether certain Burmese military officials should be on the list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. diplomatic efforts to impose coordinated sanctions related to Burma, and crimes against humanity in Burma.", - "company_name": "BJ's Restaurants, Inc.", - "company_description": "the total domestic capacity for our restaurants; expectations for consumer spending on casual dining restaurant occasions; \u2022 the availability and cost of key commodities and labor used in our restaurants and brewing operations; menu price increases and their effect, if any, on revenue and results of operations; projected revenues, operating costs, including commodities, labor and other expenses; Any inability to open new restaurants on schedule in accordance with our targeted capacity growth or problems associated with securing suitable restaurant locations, leases and licenses, recruiting and training qualified 1 managers and hourly employees and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and difficult to forecast accurately may adversely affect our operations. Our corporate office is located in California and a significant number of our restaurants are located in California, Texas and Florida which makes us particularly sensitive to economic, regulatory, weather and other risk factors and conditions that are more prevalent in those states. Any negative publicity about us, our restaurants, other restaurants, or others across the food supply chain, due to food borne illness or other reasons, whether or not accurate may adversely affect the reputation and popularity of our restaurants and our results of operations. Any adverse changes in the supply of food, labor, brewing, energy and other expenses, including those resulting from climate change, may adversely affect our operating results. Periodic reviews and audits of our internal brewing, independent third party brewing and beer distribution arrangements by various federal, state and local governmental and regulatory agencies may adversely affect our operations and our operating results. Government laws and regulations affecting the operation of our restaurants, including but not limited to those that apply to the acquisition and maintenance of our brewing and retail liquor licenses, minimum wages, federal or state exemption rules, health insurance coverage, or other employment benefits such as paid time off, consumer health and safety, nutritional disclosures, and employment eligibility-related documentation requirements may cause disruptions to our operations, adversely affect our operating costs and restrict our growth. The first BJ's restaurant, which opened in 1978 in Orange County, California, was a small sit down pizzeria that featured Chicago style deep-dish pizza with a unique California twist. Our goal then and still today, is to be the best casual dining concept ever by focusing on high quality menu options, at a compelling value, a dining experience that exceeds customers' expectations for service, hospitality and enjoyment, and an atmosphere that is always welcoming and approachable. In 1996, we introduced our initial proprietary craft beers and expanded the BJ's concept from its beginnings as a small pizzeria to a full-service, high energy casual dining restaurant when we opened our first large format restaurant featuring a brewing operations in Brea, California. Today our restaurants feature over 140 menu offerings including: slow roasted entrees, such as, prime rib; EnLIGHTened Entrees\u00ae such as our Cherry Chipotle Glazed Salmon; our original signature deep-dish pizza; the often imitated, but never replicated world-famous Pizookie\u00ae dessert; and our award-winning BJ's proprietary craft beers. As of February 25, 2019, we own and operate 202 restaurants located in 27 states, and our proprietary craft beer is produced at several of our locations, our Temple, Texas brewpub locations and by independent third party brewers using our proprietary recipes. We compete in the casual dining segment of the restaurant industry, which is a large, highly fragmented segment with estimated annual sales in the $100+ billion range. We believe that the BJ's restaurant concept offers consumers a higher quality, more contemporary and approachable \"casual plus,\" \"premium casual,\" or \"polished casual\" dining experience than the more mature, mass market casual dining concepts. Our Gold Standard of Operational Excellence is our genuine commitment to take pride in passionately connecting with every customer on every visit, through flawless and relentless execution of every detail, during every shift \u2013 to create and keep fanatical fans of BJ' Our Gold Standard of Operational Excellence is focused on the following key areas that help to differentiate BJ's from other casual dining restaurants: Over the years we have expanded the BJ's concept to include menu options that meet our customers ' preferences for any dining occasion.", - "id": "9233ff06-66e7-475c-a012-d9c5b97c7f2b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to improving the mapping and verification of wireless broadband coverage by the FCC, which primarily affects telecommunications and internet service providers. Groupon, Inc. is focused on local commerce and online marketplaces for goods and services, with no direct connection to broadband mapping or wireless coverage issues. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill do not impact Groupon's business model or activities.", - "index": "180", - "bill_title": "A bill to improve the mapping of wireless broadband coverage.", - "bill_summary": "Improving Broadband Mapping Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to establish a process that uses broadband coverage data reported by consumers and government entities to verify coverage data reported by wireless carriers.\n\nIn addition, the FCC must consider (1) including a mechanism to incorporate such data; and (2) implementing other measures, such as an evidence-based challenge process, to verify reported coverage data.", - "company_name": "Groupon, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Groupon is a global leader in local commerce, making it easy for people around the world to search and discover great businesses and merchandise. Our vision is to connect local commerce, increasing consumer buying power while driving more business to merchants through price and discovery. We want Groupon to be the destination that consumers check first when they are out and about; the place they start when they are looking to buy just about anything, anywhere, anytime. We provide consumers with savings and help them discover what to do, eat, see, buy and where to travel. By bringing the brick and mortar world of local commerce onto the Internet, Groupon is helping local merchants to attract customers and sell goods and services. Groupon operates online local commerce marketplaces throughout the world that connect merchants to consumers by offering goods and services, generally at a discount. Consumers access those marketplaces through our websites, primarily localized groupon.com sites in many countries, and our mobile applications. Our operations are organized into two segments: North America and International. W e offer goods and services through our online marketplaces in three primary categories: We earn product revenue from direct sales of merchandise inventory through our Goods category. We primarily earn service revenue from transactions in which we earn commissions by selling goods or services on behalf of third-party merchants. Those transactions generally involve a customer's purchase of a voucher through one of our online marketplaces that can be redeemed with a third-party merchant for specified goods or services (or for discounts on specified goods or services). Service revenue also includes commissions that we earn when customers make purchases with retailers using digital coupons accessed through our websites and mobile applications and from voucherless merchant offerings in which customers earn cash back on their credit card statements when they transact with third-party merchants. The substantial majority of our service revenue transactions is comprised of sales of vouchers and similar transactions in which we collect the transaction price from the customer and remit a portion of the transaction price to the third-party merchant who will provide the related goods or services. Our goal is to continue to build marketplaces that our customers rely on to discover and save on amazing things to do, eat, see, buy and where to travel. With a mobile-first strategy, we intend to improve the customer experience by continuing to invest in innovative, frictionless products and differentiated local supply coupled with strong national brands. As we build out our marketplaces, we want our customers to have a superior, frictionless experience when they use our product whether finding, booking, buying or redeeming an offer. For merchants, this includes providing capabilities to manage demand for their goods and services and improving their ability to acquire customers. For consumers, this includes easily finding offers and accessing features that augment the overall experience, as well as seamlessly purchasing and redeeming offers. We are currently investing in initiatives to improve the purchase and redemption experience, such as enhancing our mobile applications, testing offerings with voucherless redemption resulting in cash back directly to customers' credit cards, and adding direct booking capabilities. We ultimately want Groupon to become a daily habit for our customers and believe that significantly increasing the offerings available through our online local commerce marketplaces is critical to this goal. Our initiatives to grow our inventory of deal offerings include entering into commercial agreements with third parties that enable us to feature additional merchant offerings through our marketplaces, identifying new distribution channels through which to sell our marketplace offerings, and continuing to optimize the activities performed by our sales teams. Additionally, we believe that our efforts to increase our customer value may improve the health of our marketplaces, making our marketing and promotional services more effective for the merchants who feature offerings on our platform. Our initiatives to grow International gross profit include increasing our international marketing spending and leveraging enhanced marketing analytics, prioritizing more technology resources in order to expand and advance its product and service offerings, growing our inventory of deal offerings by entering into commercial agreements with third parties that enable us to feature additional merchant offerings through our marketplaces, and other initiatives. We earn revenue from transactions in which we provide marketing services primarily by selling vouchers through our online local marketplaces that can be redeemed for goods or services with third-party merchants.", - "id": "72658da4-562f-4248-a14c-56c85c99cf8d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing the Western Riverside County National Wildlife Refuge and mandates the conservation of natural resources, which does not align with the company's business model or activities related to coal and mineral resource extraction.", - "index": "181", - "bill_title": "To provide for the establishment of the Western Riverside County Wildlife Refuge.", - "bill_summary": "This bill directs the Department of the Interior to establish the Western Riverside County National Wildlife Refuge in California.\n\n Interior must include within the boundaries of the refuge the lands and waters within the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan Area that are owned by the federal government, a state, or a political subdivision of a state upon the establishment of the refuge.\n\nInterior may enter into cooperative agreements with the State of California, any of its political subdivisions, or any other persons to (1) manage lands that are owned by California, the subdivision, or the other person and located within the refuge; and (2) promote public awareness of the natural resources of the conservation area; or (3) encourage participation by the public in the conservation of such resources.\n\nInterior may acquire by donation, purchase, or exchange the lands and waters or interests in them (including conservation easements) within the refuge, except those which are owned by California and its political subdivisions may be acquired by donation only.\n\n Federal property in the refuge must be assessed for inclusion in the refuge and must be transferred to Interior if deemed suitable for inclusion.", - "company_name": "Alliance Resource Partners LP", - "company_description": "We are a diversified natural resource company that generates income from coal production and oil & gas mineral interests located in strategic producing regions across the United States. We are currently the second largest coal producer in the eastern United States with eight underground mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia as well as a coal loading terminal in Indiana. We market our coal production to major domestic and international utilities and industrial users. We have grown historically primarily through expansion of our coal operations by adding and developing mines and coal reserves in these regions. In addition, we generate royalty income from mineral interests we own in premier oil & gas producing regions in the United States, primarily the Anadarko, Permian, Williston and Appalachian basins. Pursuant to that transaction, which closed on the same date, MGP contributed to ARLP all of its incentive distribution rights (\"IDRs\") and its 0.99% managing general partner interest in ARLP in exchange for 56,100,000 ARLP common units and a non-economic general partner interest in ARLP. AHGP would become a wholly owned subsidiary of ARLP, ii. The remaining AHGP common units held by the Owners of SGP were canceled and converted into the right to receive 29,188,997 ARLP common units which equaled (i) the product of the number of certain AHGP common units held by the Owners of SGP multiplied by 1.4782, minus (ii) 1,322,388 ARLP common units. In addition, ARLP issued 1,322,388 ARLP common units to the Owners of SGP in exchange for causing SGP to contribute to ARLP its remaining limited partner interest in AHGP, which included AHGP's indirect ownership of a 1.0001% general partner interest in the Intermediate Partnership and a 0.001% managing member interest in Alliance Coal, resulting in an overall exchange ratio to the Owners of SGP equal to that of the other AHGP unitholders. Upon the issuance of ARLP common units to the Owners of SGP in exchange for the limited partner interest in AHGP, ARLP became a) the sole limited partner of AHGP and b) through AHGP, the indirect owner of a 1.0001% general partner interest in the Intermediate Partnership and a 0.001% managing member interest in Alliance Coal. ARLP indirectly owns a 96.0% non-managing member interest and a non-economic managing member interest in Cavalier Minerals. On January 26, 2019, Kodiak Gas Services, LLC (\"Kodiak\") provided notification that it intended to redeem our preferred interest for $135.0 million, which is inclusive of an early redemption premium. We produce a diverse range of steam and metallurgical coal with varying sulfur and heat contents, which enables us to satisfy the broad range of specifications required by our customers. In 2018, we sold a record 40.4 million tons of coal and produced 40.3 million tons. The coal we sold in 2018 was approximately 28.1% low-sulfur coal, 40.1% medium-sulfur coal and 31.8% high-sulfur coal. Based on market expectations, we classify low-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of less than 1.5%, medium-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of 1.5% to 3%, and high-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of greater than 3%. In 2018, approximately 68.2% of our tons sold were purchased by United States electric utilities and 27.8% were sold into the international markets through brokered transactions. The balance of our tons sold were to third-party resellers and industrial consumers. For tons sold to United 3 States electric utilities, 100% were sold to utility plants with installed pollution control devices. The BTU content of our coal ranges from 11,400 to 13,200. The following map shows the location of our coal mining operations: Illinois Basin Operations: 4. Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Transportation: Barge & Truck Transportation: Barge & Railroad Coal Type: Medium/High-Sulfur METTIKI COMPLEX & Truck & Truck 8. Mining Access: Slope & Shaft & Continuous Miner ", - "id": "2d6aa805-2e21-4aec-985b-5444c00a5461" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Digital GAP Act focuses on promoting Internet access in developing countries and enhancing U.S. foreign policy related to the Internet. It emphasizes investments in secure Internet infrastructure and does not have direct implications for BMC Stock Holdings, Inc., which operates in the residential construction market by providing building products and services. The activities outlined in the bill are unrelated to the company's core business model, structure, or operations.", - "index": "182", - "bill_title": "To promote Internet access in developing countries and update foreign policy toward the Internet, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Digital Global Access Policy Act of 2019 or the Digital GAP Act\n\nThis bill directs the Department of State to advance U.S. policy to promote public and private investments in secure Internet infrastructure and increase Internet access around the world. The U.S. Agency for International Development and the Peace Corps shall\u00a0also make efforts to advance such policy.\n\nThe President shall report to Congress about U.S. efforts to implement the policy, including government efforts to provide technical and regulatory assistance to developing countries and close the gender gap in Internet access.", - "company_name": "BMC Stock Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "BMC Stock Holdings, Inc. is one of the leading providers of diversified building products and services in the U.S. residential construction market. Our objective is to provide best-in-class customer service and value-added products to our customers, which are primarily single- and multi-family home builders and professional remodelers. Our product offerings include lumber and lumber sheet goods and an array of value-added products, including millwork, doors, windows and structural components such as engineered wood products (\"EWP\"), floor and roof trusses and wall panels. Our whole-house framing solution, Ready-Frame \u00ae, which is one of our fastest growing product offerings, saves builders both time and money and improves job site safety. We also offer our customers important services, such as design, product specification, installation and installation management. The 19 states in which we operate accounted for approximately 67% of 2018 U.S. single-family housing permits according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Our primary operating regions include the South and West regions of the United States (as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau), with a significant portion of our net sales derived from markets within Texas, California and Georgia. Given the local nature of our business, we locate our facilities in close proximity to our key customers and often co-locate multiple operations in one facility to increase customer service and efficiency. 45 metropolitan areas in 19 states that includes a mix of large-scale production homebuilders, custom homebuilders, multi-family builders and professional repair and remodeling contractors. Our largest 10 customers accounted for approximately 21% of our 2018 net sales, with no single customer accounting for more than 6% of our 2018 net sales. Our largest customers comprise primarily large production homebuilders, including publicly traded companies such as D.R. Horton, Inc., Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., Lennar Corporation, PulteGroup, Inc., Toll Brothers, Inc. and TRI Pointe Group, Inc. In addition to these large production homebuilders, we also service and supply regional and local custom homebuilders. We also serve professional residential remodeling contractors and multi-family and light commercial contractors in most of our markets. Our Products and Services We provide a wide variety of building products and services directly to homebuilder and professional contractor customers. We offer a broad range of products sourced through a network of suppliers with whom we have strategic supplier agreements. These products are available through our distribution locations and eCommerce platform and, in most instances, are delivered to the job site. We manufacture floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels, stairs, specialty millwork, windows and pre-hung doors. We have developed several proprietary capabilities to design, pre-cut, label and bundle lumber and lumber sheet goods into customized framing packages, which we have branded Ready-Frame \u00ae. We also provide an extensive range of installation services and special order products. We group our building products and services into four product categories: (i) structural components, (ii) lumber and lumber sheet goods, (iii) millwork, doors and windows, and (iv) other building products and services. For the year ended December 31, 2018 , our sales of structural components and millwork, doors and windows products represented 43% of net sales. Each of these categories includes both manufactured and distributed products. Products in these categories typically carry a higher gross margin than lumber and lumber sheet goods and other building products and services, and provide us with opportunities to cross-sell other products and services. Structural components are factory-built substitutes for job-site framing and include floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels and EWP that in many cases we design and cut for each home. Roof trusses, floor trusses and wall panels are built in a factory controlled environment.", - "id": "ecec3480-835d-499b-a647-edc17f74ca36" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on improving manufacturing innovation programs and workforce skills in advanced manufacturing, which does not directly impact Groupon's business model centered around local commerce and digital vouchers.", - "index": "183", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to improve the Network for Manufacturing Innovation Program, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Global Leadership in Advanced Manufacturing Act of 2019\n\nThis bill expands the scope of the Network for Manufacturing Innovation program, makes changes to the funding design for the centers for manufacturing innovation, and directs interagency collaboration to develop national certifications for advanced manufacturing workforce skills.\n\nThe Network for Manufacturing Innovation program established a nationwide network of centers for manufacturing innovation, each of which has a unique technological concentration. The bill expands the definition of a center for manufacturing innovation to make eligible for inclusion in the program a center that has a predominant focus on innovative sectors (e.g., food manufacturing, superconductors, and quantum information science).\n\nThe bill also strikes provisions that progressively decrease the amount of financial assistance provided to a center over a term of years and subsequently cut the center's funding entirely after seven years, replacing them with a continuing five-year, metrics-based review of a center. Additionally, the bill directs the Department of Commerce to collaborate with relevant federal departments and agencies when awarding financial assistance.\n\nThe bill also authorizes Commerce to collaborate with stakeholders for the development of national certifications for advanced manufacturing workforce skills in the respective technology area of each center.", - "company_name": "Groupon, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Groupon is a global leader in local commerce, making it easy for people around the world to search and discover great businesses and merchandise. Our vision is to connect local commerce, increasing consumer buying power while driving more business to merchants through price and discovery. We want Groupon to be the destination that consumers check first when they are out and about; the place they start when they are looking to buy just about anything, anywhere, anytime. We provide consumers with savings and help them discover what to do, eat, see, buy and where to travel. By bringing the brick and mortar world of local commerce onto the Internet, Groupon is helping local merchants to attract customers and sell goods and services. Groupon operates online local commerce marketplaces throughout the world that connect merchants to consumers by offering goods and services, generally at a discount. Consumers access those marketplaces through our websites, primarily localized groupon.com sites in many countries, and our mobile applications. Our operations are organized into two segments: North America and International. W e offer goods and services through our online marketplaces in three primary categories: We earn product revenue from direct sales of merchandise inventory through our Goods category. We primarily earn service revenue from transactions in which we earn commissions by selling goods or services on behalf of third-party merchants. Those transactions generally involve a customer's purchase of a voucher through one of our online marketplaces that can be redeemed with a third-party merchant for specified goods or services (or for discounts on specified goods or services). Service revenue also includes commissions that we earn when customers make purchases with retailers using digital coupons accessed through our websites and mobile applications and from voucherless merchant offerings in which customers earn cash back on their credit card statements when they transact with third-party merchants. The substantial majority of our service revenue transactions is comprised of sales of vouchers and similar transactions in which we collect the transaction price from the customer and remit a portion of the transaction price to the third-party merchant who will provide the related goods or services. Our goal is to continue to build marketplaces that our customers rely on to discover and save on amazing things to do, eat, see, buy and where to travel. With a mobile-first strategy, we intend to improve the customer experience by continuing to invest in innovative, frictionless products and differentiated local supply coupled with strong national brands. As we build out our marketplaces, we want our customers to have a superior, frictionless experience when they use our product whether finding, booking, buying or redeeming an offer. For merchants, this includes providing capabilities to manage demand for their goods and services and improving their ability to acquire customers. For consumers, this includes easily finding offers and accessing features that augment the overall experience, as well as seamlessly purchasing and redeeming offers. We are currently investing in initiatives to improve the purchase and redemption experience, such as enhancing our mobile applications, testing offerings with voucherless redemption resulting in cash back directly to customers' credit cards, and adding direct booking capabilities. We ultimately want Groupon to become a daily habit for our customers and believe that significantly increasing the offerings available through our online local commerce marketplaces is critical to this goal. Our initiatives to grow our inventory of deal offerings include entering into commercial agreements with third parties that enable us to feature additional merchant offerings through our marketplaces, identifying new distribution channels through which to sell our marketplace offerings, and continuing to optimize the activities performed by our sales teams. Additionally, we believe that our efforts to increase our customer value may improve the health of our marketplaces, making our marketing and promotional services more effective for the merchants who feature offerings on our platform. Our initiatives to grow International gross profit include increasing our international marketing spending and leveraging enhanced marketing analytics, prioritizing more technology resources in order to expand and advance its product and service offerings, growing our inventory of deal offerings by entering into commercial agreements with third parties that enable us to feature additional merchant offerings through our marketplaces, and other initiatives. We earn revenue from transactions in which we provide marketing services primarily by selling vouchers through our online local marketplaces that can be redeemed for goods or services with third-party merchants.", - "id": "1caf6776-8539-45f8-bad5-88cdf499908f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on the wrongful detainment of U.S. nationals abroad and establishes entities and sanctions related to hostage recovery. While Tetra Tech, Inc. operates globally in consulting and engineering services, particularly in water and environmental sectors, the specific legal consequences and focus areas of this bill do not directly impact their business model or activities.", - "index": "184", - "bill_title": "A bill to provide assistance for United States nationals taken hostage or unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act\n\nThis bill establishes various entities and procedures to address the wrongful detainment of U.S. nationals abroad.The President shall appoint a Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. The envoy's duties shall include leading diplomatic engagement on U.S. hostage policy and coordinating diplomatic engagements in support of hostage recovery efforts.\n\nThe President shall establish an interagency Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, which shall assess and track all hostage cases of U.S. nationals and coordinate agency efforts to safely recover hostages. The President shall also establish the Hostage Recovery Group, which shall make recommendations regarding hostage recovery options and coordinate the development and implementation of U.S. hostage recovery policies.\n\nThe President is authorized to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions against any foreign person responsible for or complicit in the unlawful or wrongful detention of a U.S. national abroad.\n\nThe Department of State shall review cases where U.S. nationals are detained abroad and refer instances of wrongful or unlawful detainment to the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.", - "company_name": "Tetra Tech, Inc.", - "company_description": "Tetra Tech, Inc. is a leading global provider of consulting and engineering services that focuses on water, environment, infrastructure, resource management, energy, and international development. We are a global company that is Leading with Science\u00ae to provide innovative solutions for our public and private clients. We typically begin at the earliest stage of a project by identifying technical solutions and developing execution plans tailored to our clients' needs and resources. Record\\(\"ENR\"), the leading trade journal for our industry, has ranked us the number one water services firm for the past 16 years, most recently in its May 2019 In 2019, we were also ranked number one in water treatment/desalination, water treatment and supply, environmental management, environmental science, consulting/studies, solid waste, hydro plants, and wind power. ENR ranks us among the largest 10 firms in numerous other service lines, including engineering/design, chemical and soil remediation, site assessment and compliance, dams and reservoirs, power, transmission and distribution plants, and hazardous waste. Our reputation for high-end consulting and engineering services and our ability to develop solutions for water and environmental management has supported our growth for more than 50 years. 's lives worldwide through broad consulting, engineering, and technology service offerings. We are Leading with Science throughout our operations, with domain experts across multiple disciplines supported by advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (\"AI\"), machine learning, and digital technology. Our ability to provide innovation and first-of-kind solutions is enhanced by partnerships with our forward-thinking clients. We are diverse and inclusive, embracing the breadth of experience across our talent force worldwide with a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. In supporting our clients, we seek to add value and provide long-term sustainable consulting, engineering, and technology solutions. By combining ingenuity and practical experience, our mission is to be the world's leading consulting and engineering firm solving global challenges in water and the environment that make a positive difference in people needs and deliver smart, cost-effective solutions that meet their needs. We develop and implement sustainable solutions that are innovative, efficient and practical. We bring superior technical capability, disciplined project management, and excellence in safety and quality to all of our services. Opportunity means new technical challenges that provide advancement within our company, encourage an inclusive and diverse workforce, and ensure a safe workplace. Our client-focused project management is supported by strong fiscal management and financial tools. We use a disciplined approach to monitoring, managing, and improving 3 our return on investment in each of our business areas through our efforts to negotiate appropriate contract terms, manage our contract performance to minimize schedule delays and cost overruns, and promptly bill and collect accounts receivable. We believe that proximity to our clients is also instrumental to integrating global experience and resources with an understanding of our local clients' needs. Over the past year, we worked in more than 100 countries, helping our clients address complex water, environment, energy and related infrastructure needs. Institutional knowledge is often a significant factor in winning competitive proposals and providing cost-effective solutions tailored to our clients' These might be a new water reuse technology, a unique solution to addressing new regulatory requirements, a new monitoring approach for assessing infrastructure assets or a computer model for real time management of water resources. We combine interdisciplinary capabilities, technical resources, and institutional knowledge to implement complex projects that are at the leading edge of policy and technology development. We use this suite of technologies and analytical tools to provide value engineering and cost efficiencies for our clients, while enhancing the effectiveness and responsiveness of our solutions. ", - "id": "535f0088-0826-454a-a9e5-1e66c417d41d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on promoting democracy and human rights in Burma, including sanctions and aid for humanitarian purposes. ANSYS, Inc. operates globally in engineering simulation software and services across various industries, but there are no direct legal consequences or implications from this bill that would impact ANSYS's business model or operations. Therefore, the bill is not relevant to ANSYS, Inc.", - "index": "185", - "bill_title": "A bill to promote democracy and human rights in Burma, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 2019\n\nThis bill authorizes aid to address the humanitarian crisis in Burma (Myanmar). It also calls for sanctions and reports related to the issue.\n\nSpecifically, the bill authorizes aid\u00a0for humanitarian assistance\u00a0and reconciliation activities in Burma and other countries in the region, including assistance to help targeted ethnic minority groups and support voluntary resettlement.\n\nThe President may not provide security assistance for Burma's armed forces until the Department of State certifies that the Burmese military has made significant progress in abiding by international human rights standards.\n\nThe bill reinstates trade restrictions on rubies and jadeite from Burma until the President certifies that Burma has passed certain reforms relating to transparency in the gemstone industry.\n\nThe President shall report to Congress a list of (1) senior military officials known to be directly and significantly involved in gross human rights violations in Burma, and (2) entities owned or controlled by such individuals. The State Department shall deny such individuals visas, and the Department of the Treasury shall impose various property-blocking sanctions against listed entities and individuals.\n\nThe State Department shall report to Congress a strategy to promote economic development in Burma.\n\nThe bill also requires reports on\n\n Burma's military, Burma's eligibility for preferential duty treatment, whether certain Burmese military officials should be on the list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. diplomatic efforts to impose coordinated sanctions related to Burma, and crimes against humanity in Burma.", - "company_name": "ANSYS, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS ANSYS, a Delaware corporation formed in 1994, develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services widely used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a broad spectrum of industries and academia, including aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, semiconductors, energy, materials and chemical processing, turbomachinery, consumer products, healthcare, and sports. The Company focuses on the development of open and flexible solutions that enable users to analyze designs directly on the desktop, providing a common platform for fast, efficient and cost-conscious product development, from design concept to final-stage testing and validation. The Company distributes its ANSYS\u00ae suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in strategic, global locations. The Company operates and reports as one segment. ANSYS Workbench\u2122 ANSYS Workbench is the framework upon which the Company's suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The innovative project schematic view ties together the entire simulation process, guiding the user through complex multiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop simplicity. With bi-directional computer-aided design (CAD) connectivity, powerful highly-automated meshing, a project-level update mechanism, pervasive parameter management and integrated optimization tools, the ANSYS Workbench platform enables Pervasive Engineering Simulation\u2122. The Company's Workbench framework allows engineers and designers to incorporate the compounding effects of multiple physics into a virtual prototype of their design and simulate its operation under real-world conditions. As product architectures become smaller, lighter and more complex, companies must be able to accurately predict how products will behave in real-world environments where multiple types of physics interact in a coupled way. ANSYS multiphysics software enables engineers to simulate the interactions between structures, heat transfer, fluids and electronics all within a single, unified engineering simulation environment. ANSYS Workbench enables companies to create a customized simulation environment to deploy specialized simulation best practices and automations unique to their product development process or industry. With ANSYS ACT\u2122, end users or ANSYS partners can modify the user interface, process simulation data or embed third-party applications to create specialized tools based on ANSYS Workbench. The Company's high-performance computing (HPC) product suite enables enhanced insight into product performance and improves the productivity of the design process. The HPC product suite delivers cross-physics parallel processing capabilities for the full spectrum of the Company's simulation software by supporting structures, fluids, thermal and electronics simulations. This product suite decreases turnaround time for individual simulations, allowing users to consider multiple design ideas and make the right design decisions early in the design cycle. The Company's structural analysis product suite offers simulation tools for product design and optimization that increase productivity, minimize physical prototyping and help to deliver better and more innovative products in less time. These tools tackle real-world analysis problems by making product development less costly and more reliable. In addition, these tools have capabilities that cover a broad range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities, all targeted toward understanding and solving complex design problems. The Company also provides comprehensive topology optimization tools that engineers use to design structural components to meet loading requirements with minimal material and component weight. The Company offers a complete simulation workflow for additive manufacturing that allows reliable 3D printing by simulating the laser sintering process and delivering compensated CAD geometries that ensure reliable printed parts. The Company's fluids product suite enables modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design and optimize new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications. The Company's electromagnetics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance of mobile communication and internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment, all prior to building a prototype. ", - "id": "f10dc6a2-1de6-4465-a10d-9436bddc42ba" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill proposes changes to merger requirements that shift the burden of proof to merging companies to demonstrate that their consolidations won't harm competition. Given BMC Stock Holdings, Inc.'s role in the building products industry and its operations across multiple states, changes in merger regulations could directly impact its market strategies, competitive position, and potential consolidation activities. Additionally, as a top supplier to large homebuilders, any consolidation in the sector may affect BMC's business dynamics and customer relationships.", - "index": "186", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Clayton Act to modify the standard for an unlawful acquisition, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Consolidation Prevention and Competition Promotion Act of 2019\n\nThis bill amends the Clayton Act to revise merger requirements. Specifically, the bill\n\n prohibits a merger that materially (currently, substantially) lessens competition in more than a de minimis amount or tends to create a monopsony (a market situation in which there is only one buyer); shifts the burden of proof to the merging companies to show that their consolidation will not harm competition; requires companies that enter into a settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or Department of Justice regarding a merger to report information that allows the agencies to assess the competitive impact of the merger, and establishes the Office of the Competition Advocate within the FTC.", - "company_name": "BMC Stock Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "BMC Stock Holdings, Inc. is one of the leading providers of diversified building products and services in the U.S. residential construction market. Our objective is to provide best-in-class customer service and value-added products to our customers, which are primarily single- and multi-family home builders and professional remodelers. Our product offerings include lumber and lumber sheet goods and an array of value-added products, including millwork, doors, windows and structural components such as engineered wood products (\"EWP\"), floor and roof trusses and wall panels. Our whole-house framing solution, Ready-Frame \u00ae, which is one of our fastest growing product offerings, saves builders both time and money and improves job site safety. We also offer our customers important services, such as design, product specification, installation and installation management. The 18 states in which we operate accounted for approximately 65% of 2017 U.S. single-family housing permits according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Our primary operating regions include the South and West regions of the United States (as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau), with a significant portion of our net sales derived from markets within Texas, California and Georgia. Given the local nature of our business, we locate our facilities in close proximity to our key customers and often co-locate multiple operations in one facility to increase customer service and efficiency. (the \"Merger Agreement\"), pursuant to which BMHC merged with and into SBS (the \"Merger\"). Under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, the Merger was treated as a \"reverse merger\" under the acquisition method of accounting. 43 metropolitan areas in 18 states that includes a mix of large-scale production homebuilders, custom homebuilders, multi-family builders and professional repair and remodeling contractors. Our largest 10 customers accounted for approximately 20% of our 2017 net sales, with no single customer accounting for more than 6% of our 2017 net sales. Our largest customers are comprised primarily of the large production homebuilders, including publicly traded companies such as D.R. Horton, Inc., Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., Lennar Corporation, PulteGroup, Inc. and Toll Brothers, Inc. In addition to these large production homebuilders, we also service and supply regional and local custom homebuilders. We also serve professional residential remodeling contractors and multi-family and light commercial contractors in most of our markets. Our Products and Services We provide a wide variety of building products and services directly to homebuilder and professional contractor customers. We offer a broad range of products sourced through a network of suppliers with whom we have strategic supplier agreements. These products are available through our distribution locations and, in most instances, delivered to the job site. We manufacture floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels, stairs, specialty millwork, windows and pre-hung doors. We have developed several proprietary capabilities to design, pre-cut, label and bundle lumber and lumber sheet goods into customized framing packages, which we have branded Ready-Frame \u00ae. We also provide an extensive range of installation services and special order products. We group our building products and services into four product categories: (i) structural components, (ii) lumber & lumber sheet goods, (iii) millwork, doors & windows, and (iv) other building products & services. For the year ended December 31, 2017 , our sales of structural components and millwork, doors & windows products represented 42% of net sales. Each of these categories includes both manufactured and distributed products. Structural components are factory-built substitutes for job-site framing and include floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels and EWP that in many cases we design and cut for each home.", - "id": "50763ecc-da3e-496b-bf3c-d7bb972bb8e0" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving the geriatric healthcare workforce and programs related to elderly care, which does not directly align with the business operations of International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. (IFF). IFF specializes in sensory experiences primarily in food and beverage, cosmetics, and household products, with no direct involvement in healthcare services or geriatric education. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill are not relevant to IFF's business model or activities.", - "index": "187", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title VII of the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize programs that support interprofessional geriatric education and training to develop a geriatric-capable workforce, improving health outcomes for a growing and diverse aging American population and their families, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act\n\nThis bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises several programs relating to geriatric-care training and workforce development, including a Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program to support the development of a health care workforce that integrates geriatrics with primary care and other appropriate specialties.", - "company_name": "International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.", - "company_description": "When used in this report, the terms \"IFF,\" \"the Company,\" We are a leading innovator of sensory experiences that move the world. We co-create unique products that consumers taste, smell, or feel in fine fragrances and beauty, detergents and household goods, and food and beverages. Our approximately 7,300 team members globally take advantage of our capabilities in consumer insights, research and product development (\"R & D\"), creative expertise and customer intimacy to partner with our customers in developing innovative and differentiated offerings for consumer products. Our international presence positions us to serve both our global customers and the increasing number of regional and high-end and middle-market specialty consumer goods producers. We operate thirty-seven manufacturing facilities and sixty-nine creative centers and application laboratories located in thirty-seven different countries. We partner with our customers to develop over 46,000 products that are provided to customers in approximately 162 countries. We principally compete in the flavors and fragrances market, which is part of a larger market that supplies a wide variety of ingredients and compounds used in consumer products. The broader market includes large multi-national companies and smaller regional and local participants that supply products such as seasonings, texturizers, spices, enzymes, certain food-related commodities, fortified products and cosmetic ingredients. The global market for flavors and fragrances has expanded consistently, primarily as a result of an increase in demand for, and an increase in the variety of, consumer products containing flavors and fragrances. Management estimates that in 2017 t he flavors and fragrances market was approximately $24.8 billion, and forecasted to grow approximately 2-3% by 2021, primarily driven by expected growth in emerging markets. In 2017, we achieved sales of approximately $3.4 billion, making us one of the top four companies in the global flavors and fragrances sub-segment of the broader consumer products ingredients and compounds market. As our customers seek to grow their businesses in emerging markets, we provide them the ability to leverage our long-standing international presence and extensive market knowledge to help drive their brands in these markets. During 2017 , our 25 largest customers accounted for 50% of our sales. In 2017, we launched three captive fragrance molecules and We also launched Re-Imagine, a program to accelerate flavor innovation and increase agility to capture unmet opportunities in the changing food and beverage market. We also created Tastepoint by IFF, designed to leverage our expertise in and to service the middle-market customer in North America, and opened an expanded facility in Cairo, Egypt to support our regional focus on growth in the Middle East and Africa. Our goal is to attain commercial excellence by providing our customers with in-depth, local consumer understanding, industry-leading innovation, outstanding service and the highest quality products. In 2017, we introduced IFF Taste Design, a combination of artisanal, handcrafted techniques and proprietary technologies that drive consumer preference and market differentiation. In addition, we were rated gold by EcoVadis for sustainability, received an \"A\" rating and were awarded leadership status for our climate change and an \"A-\" for water management strategy by CDP. We prioritize opportunities that provide (i) access to new technologies, (ii) the ability to increase our market share in key markets and with key customers or (iii) access to adjacent products or services that will position us to leverage our expertise in science and technology and our customer base. During 2017, we acquired Fragrance Resources to further improve our market position with regional customers in specialty fine fragrances, and PowderPure to further expand product offerings of clean label flavors solutions. We also became the first sensorial innovator of flavors, fragrances and cosmetic actives to join the MIT Media Lab, a leader in research and technologies that transform the everyday for consumers around the world. Our Product Offerings Flavors Flavors are the key building blocks that impart taste experiences in food and beverage products and, as such, play a significant role in determining consumer preference for the end products in which they are used. As a leading creator of flavor compounds, we help our customers deliver on the promise of delicious and healthy foods and drinks that appeal to consumers.", - "id": "cc591cc4-5468-43e9-818f-6d2a79c47bdb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill requires the Department of Defense to promote digital engineering as a core competency, which aligns with Altair Engineering's focus on simulation, data intelligence, and high-performance computing. Given the company's expertise in engineering software that enhances product design and development, the initiatives outlined in the bill could lead to opportunities for Altair to provide solutions to the Armed Forces, thereby making the bill relevant to the company.", - "index": "188", - "bill_title": "A bill to require digital engineering as a core competency of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Armed Forces Digital Advantage Act\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to promote and maintain digital engineering as a core competency of the Armed Forces.\n\nIn addition, DOD must (1) create the position of Chief Digital Engineering Recruitment and Management Officer, which shall expire on September 30, 2029; (2) develop and enhance recruitment and training programs for digital engineering talent; and (3) annually report on the readiness of digital forces and progress toward achieving digital engineering policies.", - "company_name": "Altair Engineering, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"our\") is a global technology company providing software and cloud solutions in the areas of product design and development, high performance cloud computing, and data intelligence. Our simulation-driven approach to innovation is powered by our broad portfolio of high-fidelity and high-performance physics solvers. Our integrated suite of software optimizes design performance across multiple disciplines encompassing structures, motion, fluids, thermal management, electromagnetics, system modeling, and embedded systems, while also providing data intelligence and true-to-life visualization and rendering. Our high-performance cloud computing solutions maximize the efficient utilization of complex compute resources and streamline the workflow management of compute-intensive tasks for applications including data intelligence, modeling and simulation, and visualization. Our data intelligence products include market leading data preparation, data science and visualization solutions that fuel engineering, scientific, and business decisions. This culture is important because it helps attract and retain top people, encourages innovation and teamwork, and enhances our focus on achieving Altair's corporate objectives. Products Rising expectations of end-market customers are causing expansion of the application of simulation and data intelligence across many industry verticals. Our engineering, simulation, and data intelligence software enables customers to enhance product performance, compress development time, and reduce costs. We believe we are unique in the industry for the depth and breadth of our engineering application software offerings combined with our domain expertise and proprietary technology for harnessing high-performance computing, or HPC and cloud infrastructures along with data intelligence. Altair is a leading provider of modeling, visualization, and physics solver solutions with a broad portfolio of best-in-class technology across many engineering disciplines. Our simulation software offers manufacturing companies opportunities to achieve better, lower cost products with fewer physical prototypes and tests, and reduces the time required to bring products to market. We are a leading provider of data intelligence technology for data preparation, management and analysis. Financial services organization, such as banks, credit unions, and health care companies, as well as finance departments in various industries, including manufacturing, use our software to capture disparate data streams and apply analytics to make more informed business decisions. We are a leading provider of high-performance and cloud computing workflow tools which empower customers to explore designs and analyze data in ways not possible in traditional computing environments. Our customers include Universities, government agencies, manufacturers, pharmaceutical firms, weather prediction agencies, and electronics design companies. Software Products Altair's software products represent a comprehensive, open architecture solution for simulation, data intelligence and cloud computing to empower decision making for improved product design and development, manufacturing, energy management and exploration, financial services, health care, and retail operations. We believe our products offer a comprehensive set of technologies to design and optimize high performance, efficient, innovative and sustainable products and processes in an increasingly connected world. Our products are categorized by: \u2022 Design, Modeling & Visualization ; \u2022 Physics Simulation; \u2022 Data Intelligence; \u2022 High Performance Cloud Computing ; and 3 Design, Modeling & Visualization Altair's design, modeling & visualization tools under the HyperWorks and solidThinking brands allow for advanced physics attributes to be modeled and rendered on top of object geometry in high fidelity. Our industrial & concept design tools generate early concepts to address requirements for ergonomics, aesthetics, performance, manufacturing feasibility, and cost. These tools are all driven by simulation and machine learning algorithms. At the core of Altair's simulation software portfolios under the HyperWorks and solidThinking brands are mathematical software \"solvers\" that use advanced computational algorithms to predict physical performance. Optimization leverages these solvers to derive the most efficient solutions to meet desired complex multi-objective requirements. Altair's solvers are a comprehensive set of fast, scalable and reliable physics algorithms for complex problems in linear and non-linear mechanics, fluid dynamics, electromagnetics, motion, systems and manufacturing simulation. Altair's optimization technology combined with superior multi-physics and multi-domain simulation is a key differentiator and spans our product offering.", - "id": "0c87c871-7fda-4ec1-aa10-1e3c71638700" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Climate Security Act of 2019 focuses on establishing positions and policies related to climate change and international security, which do not directly impact Foot Locker, Inc., a retailer of shoes and athletic apparel. The bill addresses national security and environmental policy, lacking specific implications for the retail sector or the company's operations.", - "index": "189", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish the position of Climate Security Envoy within the Department of State, who shall develop policies to address security concerns with climate change and serve as a liaison with other Federal agencies and international partners on climate security issues, to express concern with, and improved preparedness for, growing security issues in the Arctic, to establish the position of Special Representative for the Arctic, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Climate Security Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes various positions and duties related to climate change in the foreign policy context.\n\nThe President shall appoint a Climate Security Envoy within the Department of State. The envoy shall develop, implement, and encourage other countries to support a climate security policy to (1) enhance resilience to the effects of climate change to reduce the risk of conflict and instability, (2) evaluate the risks to regions and countries that are vulnerable to climate change and are strategically significant to the United States, and (3) coordinate the integration of climate risk assessments into foreign-assistance decisions.\n\nThe President shall periodically evaluate global climate disruptions, including\u00a0by analyzing\u00a0(1) the intensity and frequency of natural disasters, (2) the scarcity of resources including fresh water, (3) food and energy insecurities, and (4) how such conditions contribute to conflict and instability.\n\nThe State Department shall designate a Special Representative for the Arctic, whose duties shall include (1) formulating U.S. policy related to resolving international disputes in the Arctic, and (2) acting as the U.S. representative in discussions with other countries on Arctic-related issues.\n\nThe bill establishes that whistleblower protections shall apply to individuals reporting on what they reasonably believe to be a deliberate manipulation, removal, or misjudgment of information critical to national security assessment and planning.\n\nThe President shall ensure that drafts and final reports related to federal climate security research are publicly available.", - "company_name": "Foot Locker, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business General Foot Locker, Inc., incorporated under the laws of the State of New York in 1989, is a leading global retailer of athletically inspired shoes and apparel . A s of February 3, 2018 , the Company operat ed 3,310 primarily mall-based stores, as well as stores in high-traffic urban retail areas and high streets, in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. \" Information regarding sales, operating results, and identifiable assets of the Company by business segment and by geographic area is contained under the Segment Information note in \"Item 8. Merchandise Purchases Financial information concerning merchandise purchases is contained under the \"Liquidity\" section in \"Item 7.", - "id": "8f257a6e-019b-46c6-bc3a-6e2c99177c6f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on comprehensive sex education and funding for sexual health programs, which do not align with the core focus of Allakos, Inc., a biotechnology company developing treatments for eosinophil and mast cell related diseases. The legal consequences of the bill pertain specifically to health education rather than biotechnology or pharmaceutical regulations.", - "index": "190", - "bill_title": "To provide for the overall health and well-being of young people, including the promotion of lifelong sexual health and healthy relationships, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Real Education for Healthy Youth Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in coordination with certain HHS components, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Education, to award grants for comprehensive sex education for adolescents. It also awards grants for comprehensive sex education provided by institutions of higher education and for training faculty and staff to teach comprehensive sex education to adolescents. Comprehensive sex education programs may include, among other things, instruction that addresses the physical, mental, emotional, and social dimensions of human sexuality and approaches designed to motivate and assist students to maintain and improve their sexual health, prevent disease and reduce sexual health-related risk behaviors.\n\nGrant funds generally may not be used for specified purposes, including to (1) withhold specified health information related to HIV, (2) provide medically inaccurate information, or (3) promote gender or racial stereotypes.\n\nThe bill also\n\n revises requirements and eliminates prohibitions regarding the content of educational programs funded through the HIV/AIDS prevention program, repeals the prohibition on using funds for materials or programs that promote or encourage sexual activity and contraceptive distribution in school, and repeals the Abstinence Only Until Marriage program.", - "company_name": "Allakos, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a clinical stage biotechnology company developing AK002, our wholly owned monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of various eosinophil and mast cell related diseases. AK002 selectively targets both eosinophils and mast cells, white blood cells that are widely distributed in the body and play a central role in the inflammatory response. Inappropriately activated eosinophils and mast cells have been identified as key drivers in a number of severe diseases affecting the gastrointestinal tract, eyes, skin, lungs and other organs. AK002 has demonstrated activity in clinical trials. In these trails, AK002 depleted blood eosinophils and improved symptoms in patients with three forms of chronic urticaria (\"CU\") and indolent systemic mastocytosis (\"ISM\"), all mast cell driven diseases. The activity observed in ISM and CU suggest that AK002 could provide significant benefit to patients suffering from these diseases and highlight AK002's potential to broadly inhibit mast cells in different disease settings. We are developing AK002 for the treatment of eosinophilic gastritis (\"EG\"), eosinophilic gastroenteritis (\"EGE\"), and eosinophilic esophagitis (\"EoE\"). In addition, we have or are currently conducting studies in ISM, CU, and severe allergic conjunctivitis (\"SAC\") and are evaluating additional indications for future development. : We are focusing our development efforts on AK002 for the treatment of the diseases shown in bold and are evaluating additional indications for future development. Despite the knowledge that eosinophils and mast cells drive many pathological conditions, there are no approved therapies that selectively target both eosinophils and mast cells. AK002 binds to Siglec-8, an inhibitory receptor found on eosinophils and mast cells, which represents a novel way to selectively deplete or inhibit these important immune cells and thereby resolve inflammation. We believe AK002 is the only Siglec-8 targeting 1 antibody currently in clinical development and has the potential to have advantages over current treatments for the diseases we are pursuing. AK002 has demonstrated activity in 3 forms of CU and ISM, and additional studies are currently being conducted in EG/EGE and SAC. CU is a group of inflammatory skin diseases characterized by hives and severe itching resulting from the inappropriate activation of mast cells in the skin. In a phase 2 open-label six month multiple dose study of 47 antihistamine refractory patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria, cholinergic urticaria or dermatographic urticaria, patients reported high levels of disease control and many patients experienced complete resolution of symptoms while receiving AK002. Importantly, AK002 also produced high levels of response in patients that were refractory to the only approved biologic treatment option, Xolair, suggesting that AK002, if approved, could be the treatment of choice for antihistamine refractory CU patients. ISM is a disorder caused by the release of mast cell derived inflammatory mediators throughout the body resulting in severe symptoms in the skin, gastrointestinal tract, central nervous system, joints, and muscles. In a Phase 1 open-label six month multiple dose study in 11 patients with ISM, patients reported significant improvements in symptoms and improved quality of life measures. suggest that AK002 could provide significant benefit to patients suffering from these diseases and highlight AK002's potential to broadly inhibit mast cells in different disease settings. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1 trial in 51 healthy volunteers, all doses of AK002 resulted in complete depletion of blood eosinophils within one hour after administration. The duration of depletion was dose-dependent, with a single dose of 1.0 mg/kg of AK002 suppressing eosinophils for up to 84 days. Depletion of blood eosinophils was also observed in the AK002 ISM and CU clinical studies. We are currently testing AK002 in a double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial in patients with EG and/or EGE. EG and EGE are severe eosinophilic inflammatory diseases of the stomach and small intestine, respectively.", - "id": "67f500bb-4eee-4080-8ab6-a3c6340e398f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The PROTECT Students Act of 2019 is relevant to Ciena Corp. because it addresses aspects of accountability and oversight in educational programs, particularly those related to technology and networking in education. Given Ciena's involvement in providing network solutions for educational institutions, any changes in regulations affecting funding, accountability, and operational standards of higher education institutions could impact Ciena's potential market and business opportunities in the education sector.", - "index": "191", - "bill_title": "A bill to protect students of institutions of higher education and the taxpayer investment in institutions of higher education by improving oversight and accountability of institutions of higher education, particularly for-profit colleges, improving protections for students and borrowers, and ensuring the integrity of postsecondary education programs, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Preventing Risky Operations from Threatening the Education and Career Trajectories of Students Act of 2019 or the PROTECT Students Act of 2019\n\nThis bill provides additional oversight of postsecondary education programs, including for-profit institutions of higher education\u00a0(IHEs), and addresses protections for students and student loan borrowers from fraudulent or predatory practices.\n\nThe bill sets forth a variety of provisions concerning oversight of for-profit IHEs. Specifically, the bill decreases the cap on the amount of revenue for-profit IHEs may receive from federal sources, including funds from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. In addition, it establishes (1) a process for reviewing for-profit IHEs that convert to nonprofit or public status, and (2) a For-Profit Education Oversight Coordination Committee.\n\nThe bill also sets forth provisions to address predatory practices in higher education. For instance, the bill requires career education programs to prepare students for gainful employment. In addition, it requires the Office of Federal Student Aid to have a unit that enforces compliance with laws governing student financial assistance programs. The office must also maintain a system that tracks reports of suspicious activity of IHEs or student loan servicers, including anonymous complaints. Lastly, the bill allows borrowers of student loans to seek loan forgiveness if IHEs mislead the students or engage in other misconduct.\n\nFinally, the bill prohibits IHEs that receive federal funding from limiting students' legal actions, providing incentive compensation, and using educational assistance funds for recruiting and marketing activities.", - "company_name": "Ciena Corp.", - "company_description": "our ability to forecast accurately demand for our products for purposes of inventory purchase practices; the impact of pricing pressure and price erosion that we regularly encounter in our markets; \u2022 the continued availability, on commercially reasonable terms, of software and other technology under third-party licenses; \u2022 the potential failure to maintain the security of confidential, proprietary or otherwise sensitive business information or systems or to protect against cyber attacks; \u2022 the performance of our third-party contract manufacturers; changes or disruption in components or supplies provided by third parties, including sole and limited source suppliers; \u2022 our ability to grow and maintain our new distribution relationships under which we will make available certain technology as a component; our ability to commercialize and grow our software business and address networking strategies including software-defined networking and network function virtualization; changes in, and the impact of, government regulations, including with respect to: the communications industry generally; the business of our customers; the use, import or export of products; and the environment, potential climate change and other social initiatives; the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, changes in tax regulations and related accounting, and changes in our effective tax rates; future legislation or executive action in the U.S. relating to tax policy or trade regulation; the write-down of goodwill, long-lived assets, or our deferred tax assets; We are a networking systems, services and software company, providing solutions that enable a wide range of network operators to deploy and manage next-generation networks that deliver services to businesses and consumers. We provide network hardware, software and services that support the transport, switching, aggregation, service delivery and management of video, data and voice traffic on communications networks. Our solutions are used by communications service providers, cable and multiservice operators, Web-scale providers, submarine network operators, governments, enterprises, research and education (R & E) institutions and other emerging network operators. Our solutions include a diverse portfolio of high-capacity Networking Platform products, which can be applied from the network core to network access points, and which allow network operators to scale capacity, increase transmission speeds, allocate traffic and adapt dynamically to changing end-user service demands. We also offer Platform Software that provides management and domain control of our next-generation packet and optical platforms and automates network lifecycle operations, including provisioning equipment and services. In addition, through our comprehensive suite of Blue Planet Automation Software, we enable network operators to use network data and analytics to drive enhanced automation across multi-vendor and multi-domain network environments, accelerate service delivery and enable an increasingly predictive and autonomous network infrastructure. To complement our hardware and software solutions, we offer a broad range of attached and software-related services that help our customers design, optimize, integrate, deploy, manage and maintain their networks and associated operational environments. Through our complete portfolio of solutions, we enable our customers to transform their network into a dynamic, programmable environment driven by automation and analytics, which we refer to as the Adaptive Network. Our solutions for the Adaptive Network create business and operational value for our customers, enabling them to introduce new revenue-generating services, reduce costs and maximize the return on their network infrastructure investment. In particular, optical networks \u2013 which carry video, data and voice traffic by encoding digital information on multiple wavelengths of light traveling across fiber optic cables \u2013 have experienced strong traffic growth for several years. This growth, and the resulting requirements for increased network capacity and transmission speed, is being driven by an increasingly diverse set of communications services and applications. These services and applications, including those set forth below, are increasing the bandwidth and service demands placed upon networks and are challenging the business models of many network operators. Enterprises and consumers continue to replace locally-housed computing and storage by adopting a broad array of innovative cloud-based models \u2013 including Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service ( IaaS) \u2013 and an expanding range of cloud-based services that host key applications, store data, enable the viewing and downloading of content and utilize on-demand computing resources. ", - "id": "33dd8863-6629-477d-aebd-3d7a38f3c9b4" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily deals with appropriations for foreign operations and the Department of State, which are related to international affairs and not directly relevant to Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.'s focus on immuno-oncology and CAR T cell therapy development. The company's activities are centered around cancer treatment and biopharmaceuticals rather than foreign aid or international commissions, making the legal implications of the bill irrelevant to its business model.", - "index": "192", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020\n\nThis bill provides FY2020 appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs.\n\nThe bill provides appropriations to the State Department for\n\n Administration of Foreign Affairs, International Organizations, and International Commissions. The bill provides appropriations for Related Agencies and Related Programs, including\n\n the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the Asia Foundation, the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue Trust Fund, the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship Program, the Israeli Arab Scholarship Program, the East-West Center, and the National Endowment for Democracy. The bill provides appropriations for Other Commissions, including\n\n the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Congressional-Executive Commission on the People's Republic of China, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, and the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission. The bill provides appropriations to\n\n the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the State Department and the President for International Security Assistance, the President and International Financial Institutions for Multilateral Assistance, and specified accounts for Overseas Contingency Operations/ Global War on Terrorism. The bill provides appropriations for Bilateral Economic Assistance to\n\n the President; the State Department; Independent Agencies, including the Peace Corps, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Inter-American Foundation, and the U.S. African Development Foundation; and the Department of the Treasury. The bill provides appropriations for Export and Investment Assistance to\n\n the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. The bill sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.", - "company_name": "Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a clinical stage immuno-oncology company pioneering the development and commercialization of genetically engineered allogeneic T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. We are developing a pipeline of off-the-shelf T cell product candidates that are designed to target and kill cancer cells. Our engineered T cells are allogeneic, meaning they are derived from healthy donors for intended use in any patient, rather than from an individual patient for that patient's use, as in the case of autologous T cells. In collaboration with Servier, we are developing UCART19 and ALLO-501, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell product candidates targeting CD19. Servier is sponsoring two Phase 1 clinical trials of UCART19 in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), one for adult patients (the CALM trial) and one for pediatric patients (the PALL trial). In January 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared our investigational new drug application (IND) for ALLO-501, and we plan to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial (the ALPHA trial) in the first half of 2019 for the treatment of R/R non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). In addition, we have a deep pipeline of allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates targeting multiple promising antigens in a host of hematological malignancies and solid tumors. For example, we plan to submit an IND and initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial in 2019 for ALLO-715, an allogeneic CAR T cell product candidate targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) for the treatment of R/R multiple myeloma. We believe our management team's experience in immuno-oncology and specifically in CAR T cell therapy will help drive the rapid development and, if approved, the commercialization of these potentially curative therapies for patients with aggressive cancer. CAR T cell therapy, a form of cancer immunotherapy, has recently emerged as a revolutionary and potentially curative therapy for patients with hematologic cancers, including refractory cancers. In 2017, two autologous anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapies, Kymriah, developed by Novartis International AG (Novartis), and Yescarta, developed by Kite Pharma, Inc. (Kite), were approved by the FDA for the treatment of R/R B-cell precursor ALL (Kymriah) and R/R large B-cell lymphoma (Yescarta). Autologous CAR T cell therapies are manufactured individually for the patient's use by modifying the patient's own T cells outside the body, causing the T cells to express CARs. The entire manufacturing process is dependent on the viability of each patient's T cells and takes approximately two to four weeks. As seen in the registrational trials for Kymriah and Yescarta, up to 31% of intended patients ultimately did not receive treatment primarily due to interval complications from the underlying disease during manufacturing or manufacturing failures. Our allogeneic approach involves engineering healthy donor T cells, which we believe will allow for the creation of an inventory of off-the-shelf products that can be delivered to a larger portion of eligible patients throughout the world. Our allogeneic T cell development strategy has four key pillars: (1) developing product candidates to minimize the risk of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a condition where allogeneic T cells can recognize the patient's normal tissue as foreign and cause damage, (2) creating a window of persistence that may enable allogeneic T cells to expand in patients, (3) building a leading manufacturing platform and (4) leveraging next generation technologies to improve the functionality of allogeneic CAR T cells. We use Cellectis, S.A. (Cellectis), TALEN gene-editing technology with the goal of limiting the risk of GvHD by engineering T cells to lack functional T cell receptors (TCRs) that are no longer capable of recognizing a patient's normal tissue as foreign. With the goal of enhancing the expansion and persistence of our engineered allogeneic T cells, we use TALEN to inactivate the CD52 gene in donor T cells and an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody to deplete CD52 expressing T cells in patients while sparing the therapeutic allogeneic T cells. We believe this enables a window of persistence for the infused allogeneic T cells to actively target and destroy cancer cells. Our off-the-shelf approach is dependent on state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, and we are building a technical operations organization with fully integrated in-house expertise in clinical and commercial engineered T cell manufacturing. In February 2019, we entered into a lease to build our own cell therapy manufacturing facility in Newark, California. Finally, we plan to leverage next generation technologies to improve the functionality of our product candidates and to develop more potent product candidates. We believe next generation technologies will also allow us to develop allogeneic T cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumors, which to date have been difficult to treat because of the lack of validated targets and tumor microenvironments that can impair the activity of T cells. We are currently developing a pipeline of multiple allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates utilizing protein engineering, gene editing, gene insertion and advanced proprietary T cell manufacturing technologies.", - "id": "cb8726bc-37be-4899-8e43-65f41f5512ae" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses the budgetary accountability of Members of Congress and does not have direct implications for Plexus Corp.'s business in electronics manufacturing services. The legal consequences relate to governmental budgetary processes, which do not impact Plexus's operations in the manufacturing or supply chain sectors.", - "index": "193", - "bill_title": "A bill to reduce a portion of the annual pay of Members of Congress for the failure to adopt a concurrent resolution on the budget which does not provide for a balanced budget, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Balanced Budget Accountability Act\n\nThis bill requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), upon adoption by a chamber of Congress of a concurrent budget resolution for a fiscal year, to certify to the Speaker of the House of Representatives or the President pro tempore of the Senate whether that chamber has adopted a balanced budget.\n\nBalanced budget means a concurrent budget resolution providing that for FY2027 and each succeeding fiscal year to which the resolution applies total outlays do not exceed total receipts and are not more than 18% of the projected domestic product for such fiscal year.\n\nThe bill requires the salary of Members of Congress to be held in escrow if OMB determines a chamber has not adopted a balanced budget for FY2020 before April 16, 2019, and for FY2021 before April 16, 2020. The bill also provides for the release of such funds to the Members.\n\nBeginning in FY2022, if OMB does not certify that a chamber has adopted a balanced budget before April 16 of the prior fiscal year, each Member of that chamber shall be paid at the rate of $1 annually for pay periods after that date in the same calendar year.\n\n This bill requires legislation in either chamber that increases revenue to be agreed upon only by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members of that chamber.", - "company_name": "Plexus Corp.", - "company_description": "we\") participate in the Electronic Manufacturing Services (\"EMS\") industry. We partner with our customers to create the products that build a better world. Since 1979, Plexus has been partnering with companies to transform concepts into branded products and deliver them to the market. From idea to aftermarket and everything in between, Plexus is a global leader in providing support for all the facets of the product realization process - Design and Development, Supply Chain Solutions, New Product Introduction, Manufacturing, and Aftermarket Services. Plexus delivers comprehensive end-to-end solutions in the Americas (\"AMER\"), Europe, Middle East, and Africa (\"EMEA\") and Asia-Pacific (\"APAC\") regions for our customers. We specialize in working in industries with highly complex products and demanding regulatory requirements. Plexus has partnerships with approximately 140 customers in the Healthcare/Life Sciences, Industrial/Commercial, Communications, and Aerospace/Defense market sectors. We leverage our expertise to understand the unique needs of our customers' markets and have aligned our processes to provide flexibility, create efficiency and deliver superior quality. Our customers have stringent quality, reliability and regulatory requirements, requiring exceptional production and supply chain agility. Their products require complex configuration management, direct order fulfillment (to end customers), global logistics management and aftermarket services. To service the complexities that our customers' products demand, we utilize our full suite of solution offerings to support our customers' products from concept to end of life. Plexus is passionate about being the leading EMS company in the world at servicing mid-to-low volume, higher complexity customer programs, characterized by unique flexibility, technology, quality and regulatory requirements. A high performance, accountable organization with a talented workforce that is deeply passionate about driving growth through customer service excellence; \u2022 Strategic growth by using customer driven, sector based go-to-market strategies; and \u2022 Execution driven by a collaborative, customer centric culture that continuously evaluates and optimizes our business processes to strive to create shareholder value. We operate flexible manufacturing facilities and design our processes to accommodate customers with multiple product lines and configurations. One or more uniquely configured \"focus factories,\" supported by a tailored supply chain and logistics solution, are designed to meet the flexibility and responsiveness needed to support customer fulfillment requirements. Each sector has a market sector vice president and a business development and customer management leader who together oversee and provide leadership to teams that include business development directors, customer directors or managers, supply chain and manufacturing subject matter experts, and market sector analysts. These teams maintain expertise related to each market sector and execute sector strategies aligned to that market's unique quality and regulatory requirements. Our market sector teams help define Plexus' strategy for growth with a particular emphasis on expanding the value-added solutions we offer customers. Our primary focus is to earn a return on invested capital (\"ROIC\") Plexus measures economic profit by taking the difference between ROIC and WACC and multiplying it by invested capital. 4 Relative to our competition, overriding factors such as lower manufacturing volumes, flexibility and fulfillment requirements, and complex regulatory requirements typically result in higher investments in inventory and selling and administrative costs for us. The cost variance from our competitors is especially evident relative to those that provide EMS services for high-volume, less complex products, with less stringent requirements (e.g., consumer electronics). Plexus serves a diverse customer landscape that includes industry-leading, branded product companies, along with many other technology pioneering start-ups or emerging companies that may or may not maintain manufacturing capabilities. As a result of serving market sectors that rely on advanced electronics technology, our business is influenced by critical technological trends such as the level and rate of development of wired and wireless telecommunications infrastructure, communications data and data bandwidth growth, and internet usage.", - "id": "fd2fff12-bb51-4a91-b0ee-53a9c4cc4bfb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on the implementation of call authentication technologies and the enforcement of robocall regulations, which are highly relevant to ADTRAN's business model as a provider of networking and communications equipment. The requirement for voice service providers to enhance call authentication aligns with ADTRAN's offerings in network solutions and services, making compliance with such regulations pertinent for their customers and business operations.", - "index": "194", - "bill_title": "A bill to deter criminal robocall violations and improve enforcement of section 227(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act or the TRACED Act\n\nThis bill implements a forfeiture penalty for violations (with or without intent) of the prohibition on certain robocalls. The bill also removes an annual reporting requirement for enforcement relating to unsolicited facsimile advertisements.\n\nThe bill requires voice service providers to develop call authentication technologies.\n\n The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) shall promulgate rules establishing when a provider may block a voice call based on information provided by the call authentication framework, but also must establish a process to permit a calling party adversely affected by the framework to verify the authenticity of their calls. The FCC shall also initiate a rulemaking to help protect a subscriber from receiving unwanted calls or texts from a caller using an unauthenticated number.\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Justice and the FCC to assemble an interagency working group to study and report to Congress on the enforcement of the prohibition of certain robocalls. Specifically, the working group will look into how to better enforce against robocalls by examining issues like the types of laws, policies, or constraints that could be inhibiting enforcement.\n\nThe bill requires the FCC to initiate a proceeding to determine whether its policies regarding access to number resources could be modified to help reduce access to numbers by potential robocall violators.", - "company_name": "ADTRAN, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview ADTRAN is a leading global provider of networking and communications equipment, serving a diverse domestic and international customer base in 68 countries that includes Tier 1, 2 and 3 service providers, cable/MSOs and distributed enterprises. Our innovative solutions and services enable voice, data, video and internet communications across a variety of network infrastructures and are currently in use by millions of users worldwide. Our success depends upon our ability to increase unit volume and market share through the introduction of new products and succeeding generations of products having lower selling prices and increased functionality as compared to both the prior generation of a product and to the products of competitors. In order to service our customers and build revenue, we are constantly conducting research and development of new products addressing customer needs and testing those products for the particular specifications of the particular customers. In addition to our corporate headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama, we have research and development (R & D) facilities in strategic global locations. We are focused on being a top global supplier of access infrastructure and related value-added solutions from the cloud edge to the subscriber edge. We offer a broad portfolio of flexible software and hardware network solutions and services that enable service providers to meet today's service demands, while enabling them to transition to the fully converged, scalable, highly automated, cloud-controlled voice, data, internet and video network of the future. Our business operates under two reportable segments: Network Solutions and Services & Support. We also report revenue across three categories \u2013 Access & Aggregation, Subscriber Solutions & Experience (formerly Customer Devices) and Traditional & Other Products. Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, ADTRAN anchors Cummings Research Park\u2014the second largest high-tech center in the U.S. and fourth largest in the world. Revenue Segments Our business operates under two reportable segments: Network Solutions and Services & Support. Our Network Solutions software and hardware products provide solutions supporting fiber-, copper- and coaxial-based infrastructures and a growing number of wireless solutions, lowering the overall cost to deploy advanced services across a wide range of applications for Carrier and Cable/MSO networks. We are accelerating the industry's transition to open, programmable and scalable networks. ADTRAN offers both chassis-based networks solutions, such as our Total Access 5000 (TA5000) and hiX families, as well as disaggregated network solutions which leverage ADTRAN's Software Defined Access (SD-Access) architecture which combines modern web-scale technologies with open-source platforms to facilitate rapid innovation in multi-technology, multi-vendor environments. The Mosaic cloud platform and Mosaic OS, combined with programmable network elements, provide operators with a highly agile, open-services architecture. This enables operators to better compete with web-scale companies by reducing the time and cost to onboard new services, technologies, and supply partners as they strive to reduce operational costs. Also included in this category are our subscriber solutions that terminate the broadband access in the home and/or business . These include open-source connected home and enterprise platforms, cloud services, Wi-Fi and software applications and services . To complement our Network Solutions portfolio and to enable our service provider customers to accelerate time to market, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction, we offer a complete portfolio of services. These include consulting, managed services, solutions integration, network implementation and maintenance services. ADTRAN's consulting services allow service providers to leverage ADTRAN's 30 plus years of network engineering expertise to build and deploy best of breed networks. Our ADTRAN NetAssure Program offers a variety of ways to leverage ADTRAN networking expertise applied to networks. One aspect, the resident engineering services, provides an on-site ADTRAN engineer, whose goal is to drive customer success by serving as the single point of contact for product knowledge, on-going network troubleshooting, and technical expertise, enabling service providers to gain a strategic competitive advantage from our products. 's integration services enable operators to architect and build the open distributed access networks of the future. Our solutions integration offerings include our SD-Access Accelerator.", - "id": "0e7d3915-2a0f-46e9-a98e-a00b5c43fa4f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses copyright disputes and the establishment of a Copyright Claims Board, which is not directly related to the operations of Alliance Resource Partners LP, a company focused on coal production and oil & gas interests. The interests of the company in natural resources do not intersect with copyright law regarding creative works or intellectual property.", - "index": "195", - "bill_title": "To amend title 17, United States Code, to establish an alternative dispute resolution program for copyright small claims, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 or the CASE Act of 2019\n\nThis bill creates the Copyright Claims Board, a body within the U.S. Copyright Office, to decide copyright disputes. Damages awarded by the board are capped at $30,000.\n\nParticipation in board proceedings is voluntary with an opt-out procedure for defendants, and parties may choose instead to have a dispute heard in court. If the parties agree to have their dispute heard by the board, they shall forego the right to be heard before a court and the right to a jury trial. Board proceedings shall have no effect on class actions.\n\nThe board shall be authorized to hear copyright infringement claims, actions for a declaration of noninfringement, claims that a party knowingly sent false takedown notices, and related counterclaims.\n\nThe bill provides for various procedures, including with respect to requests for information from the other party and requests for the board to reconsider a decision.\n\nThe board may issue monetary awards based on actual or statutory damages.\n\nThe parties shall bear their own attorneys' fees and costs except where there is bad faith misconduct.\n\nA board's final determination precludes relitigating the claims in court or at the board. Parties may challenge a board decision in federal district court only if (1) the decision was a result of fraud, corruption, or other misconduct; (2) the board exceeded its authority or failed to render a final determination; or (3) in a default ruling or failure to prosecute, the default or failure was excusable.", - "company_name": "Alliance Resource Partners LP", - "company_description": "We are a diversified natural resource company that generates income from coal production and oil & gas mineral interests located in strategic producing regions across the United States. We are currently the second largest coal producer in the eastern United States with eight underground mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia as well as a coal loading terminal in Indiana. We market our coal production to major domestic and international utilities and industrial users. We have grown historically primarily through expansion of our coal operations by adding and developing mines and coal reserves in these regions. In addition, we generate royalty income from mineral interests we own in premier oil & gas producing regions in the United States, primarily the Anadarko, Permian, Williston and Appalachian basins. Pursuant to that transaction, which closed on the same date, MGP contributed to ARLP all of its incentive distribution rights (\"IDRs\") and its 0.99% managing general partner interest in ARLP in exchange for 56,100,000 ARLP common units and a non-economic general partner interest in ARLP. AHGP would become a wholly owned subsidiary of ARLP, ii. The remaining AHGP common units held by the Owners of SGP were canceled and converted into the right to receive 29,188,997 ARLP common units which equaled (i) the product of the number of certain AHGP common units held by the Owners of SGP multiplied by 1.4782, minus (ii) 1,322,388 ARLP common units. In addition, ARLP issued 1,322,388 ARLP common units to the Owners of SGP in exchange for causing SGP to contribute to ARLP its remaining limited partner interest in AHGP, which included AHGP's indirect ownership of a 1.0001% general partner interest in the Intermediate Partnership and a 0.001% managing member interest in Alliance Coal, resulting in an overall exchange ratio to the Owners of SGP equal to that of the other AHGP unitholders. Upon the issuance of ARLP common units to the Owners of SGP in exchange for the limited partner interest in AHGP, ARLP became a) the sole limited partner of AHGP and b) through AHGP, the indirect owner of a 1.0001% general partner interest in the Intermediate Partnership and a 0.001% managing member interest in Alliance Coal. ARLP indirectly owns a 96.0% non-managing member interest and a non-economic managing member interest in Cavalier Minerals. On January 26, 2019, Kodiak Gas Services, LLC (\"Kodiak\") provided notification that it intended to redeem our preferred interest for $135.0 million, which is inclusive of an early redemption premium. We produce a diverse range of steam and metallurgical coal with varying sulfur and heat contents, which enables us to satisfy the broad range of specifications required by our customers. In 2018, we sold a record 40.4 million tons of coal and produced 40.3 million tons. The coal we sold in 2018 was approximately 28.1% low-sulfur coal, 40.1% medium-sulfur coal and 31.8% high-sulfur coal. Based on market expectations, we classify low-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of less than 1.5%, medium-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of 1.5% to 3%, and high-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of greater than 3%. In 2018, approximately 68.2% of our tons sold were purchased by United States electric utilities and 27.8% were sold into the international markets through brokered transactions. The balance of our tons sold were to third-party resellers and industrial consumers. For tons sold to United 3 States electric utilities, 100% were sold to utility plants with installed pollution control devices. The BTU content of our coal ranges from 11,400 to 13,200. The following map shows the location of our coal mining operations: Illinois Basin Operations: 4. Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Transportation: Barge & Truck Transportation: Barge & Railroad Coal Type: Medium/High-Sulfur METTIKI COMPLEX & Truck & Truck 8. Mining Access: Slope & Shaft & Continuous Miner ", - "id": "59d7735c-cd22-4279-b5e9-9f516a001450" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily concerns appropriations for transportation and housing agencies, which do not directly align with Altus Midstream Company's focus on midstream oil and gas operations. The legal consequences of the bill are related to transportation and housing funding, whereas Altus operates in the oil and gas sector, making the bill irrelevant to its business model and activities.", - "index": "196", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020\n\nThis bill provides FY2020 appropriations to the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and several related agencies.\n\nThe bill provides appropriations to DOT for\n\n the Office of the Secretary, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, the Maritime Administration, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and the Office of Inspector General. The bill provides appropriations to HUD for\n\n Management and Administration, Public and Indian Housing, Community Planning and Development, Housing Programs, the Federal Housing Administration, the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), Policy Development and Research, Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes, the Cybersecurity and Information Technology Fund, and the Office of Inspector General. The bill also provides appropriations to several related agencies, including\n\n the Access Board, the Federal Maritime Commission, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) Office of Inspector General, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, the Surface Transportation Board, and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. Additionally, the bill sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.", - "company_name": "Altus Midstream Co.", - "company_description": "The Alpine High Entities comprise four Delaware limited partnerships (collectively, \"Alpine High Midstream\") and their general partner (Alpine High Subsidiary GP LLC, a Delaware limited liability company), formed by Apache between May 2016 and January 2017 for the purpose of acquiring, developing, and operating midstream oil and gas assets in the Alpine High resource play and surrounding areas (\"Alpine High\"). (the \"Closing Date\") and pursuant to the terms of that certain Contribution Agreement , we acquired from Apache the entire equity interests of the Alpine High Entities and options to acquire equity interests in five separate third-party pipeline projects (the \"Pipeline Options\"). Altus Midstream Company holds a 23.1 percent controlling interest in Altus Midstream; \u2022 Altus Midstream Company operates its business through Altus Midstream and its subsidiaries, which include Alpine High Midstream; and \u2022 Altus' equity structure for all periods presented. Altus Midstream owns gas gathering, processing and transmission assets in the Permian Basin of West Texas, anchored by midstream service contracts to service Apache's production from Alpine High. Additionally, we own, or have options to own, joint venture equity interests in a total of five Permian Basin pipelines, four of which go to various points along the Texas Gulf Coast, providing the Company with additional access to fully integrated, wellhead-to-water connectivity. As of December 31, 2018, Altus Midstream's assets included approximately 111 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines, approximately 52 miles of residue gas pipelines with three market connections (with a fourth market connection expected to be in-service by the end of the first quarter of 2019), and approximately 26 miles of NGL Pipelines. Additionally, we own five rich gas processing facilities consisting of approximately 77,000 horsepower with 380 MMcf/d of rich gas processing capacity and two lean gas facilities consisting of 75,000 horsepower with 400 MMcf/d of lean gas treating capacity. Other assets include an NGL truck loading terminal with six lease automatic custody transfer (\"LACT\") units and eight NGL bullet tanks with 90,000 gallon capacity per tank. Construction on the assets began in the fourth quarter of 2016, and operations commenced in the second quarter of 2017. Altus Midstream may acquire an additional 1 percent equity interest, provided that the Permian Highway Option has been exercised (as defined below) and certain other conditions are satisfied. GCX is a long-haul natural gas pipeline that, upon completion, is expected to have capacity of approximately 2.0 Bcf/d and will transport natural gas from the Waha area in northern Pecos County, Texas, to the Agua Dulce Hub near the Texas Gulf Coast. In February 2019, Altus Midstream announced the exercise of the option with EPIC Pipeline LP (the \"EPIC Option\") to acquire a 15 percent equity interest in the EPIC crude oil pipeline (the \"EPIC Pipeline\"). The transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2019. Upon completion, the long-haul crude oil pipeline will extend from the Orla area in northern Reeves County, Texas to the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, and is expected to have Permian Basin initial throughput capacity of approximately 590 MBbl/d. The project includes terminals in Orla, Pecos, Saragosa, Crane, Wink, Midland, Hobson and Gardendale, with Port of Corpus Christi connectivity and export access. These options facilitate our participation in the following third-party pipeline projects: \u2022Salt Creek NGL Pipeline; \u2022 We have an option to acquire a 50 percent equity interest in the Salt Creek NGL Pipeline - an intra-basin NGL pipeline. Upon completion, the pipeline is expected to be capable of transporting approximately 445 MBbl/d from our Diamond cryogenic processing complex in southwest Reeves County, Texas, and Salt Creek Midstream's gas processing complex located in central Reeves County, Texas. The pipeline will transport NGLs to the Waha area in northern Pecos County, Texas, and will be operated by ARM Midstream Management LLC. It is expected to be operational and in service in the first quarter of 2019 and we expect 2 to exercise this option in the fourth quarter of 2019 or the first quarter of 2020. We have an option to acquire up to a 33 percent equity interest in the Shin Oak Pipeline, a long-haul NGL pipeline that, upon completion, is expected to be capable of transporting approximately 550 MBbl/d from the Orla area in northern Reeves County, Texas, through the Waha area in northern Pecos County, Texas, and on to Mont Belvieu, Texas.", - "id": "6b01962f-0884-459f-8bc2-695bd4bf6603" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill concerns worker's compensation for federal firefighters suffering from specific illnesses due to their employment, focusing on federal fire protection activities. BMC Stock Holdings, Inc. operates in the residential construction market and provides building products and services, without direct involvement in firefighting or federal employee safety laws. Consequently, the legal consequences of the bill are not relevant to their business model or activities.", - "index": "197", - "bill_title": "To amend chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, to create a presumption that a disability or death of a Federal employee in fire protection activities caused by any of certain diseases is the result of the performance of such employee's duty, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2019\n\n This bill provides federal worker's compensation to firefighters who contract certain illnesses as a result of their service.\n\nSpecifically, the bill provides that (1) heart disease, lung disease, and specified cancers of federal employees employed in fire protection activities for at least 5 years is presumed to be proximately caused by such employment if the employee is diagnosed with the disease within 10 years of their employment in fire protection activities; and (2) the disability or death of the employee due to such disease is presumed to result from personal injury sustained in the performance of duty. These presumptions also apply to fire protection employees who contract any uncommon infectious disease, such as tuberculosis, hepatitis A, B, or C, or the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).\n\n An employee in fire protection activities is a firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician, rescue worker, ambulance personnel, or hazardous material worker, who (1) is trained in fire suppression; (2) has the legal authority and responsibility to engage in fire suppression; (3) is engaged in the prevention, control, and extinguishment of fires or response to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk; and (4) performs such activities as a primary responsibility.\n\nThe National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must examine the implementation of this bill and appropriate scientific and medical data related to the health risks of firefighting.", - "company_name": "BMC Stock Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "BMC Stock Holdings, Inc. is one of the leading providers of diversified building products and services in the U.S. residential construction market. Our objective is to provide best-in-class customer service and value-added products to our customers, which are primarily single- and multi-family home builders and professional remodelers. Our product offerings include lumber and lumber sheet goods and an array of value-added products, including millwork, doors, windows and structural components such as engineered wood products (\"EWP\"), floor and roof trusses and wall panels. Our whole-house framing solution, Ready-Frame \u00ae, which is one of our fastest growing product offerings, saves builders both time and money and improves job site safety. We also offer our customers important services, such as design, product specification, installation and installation management. The 18 states in which we operate accounted for approximately 65% of 2017 U.S. single-family housing permits according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Our primary operating regions include the South and West regions of the United States (as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau), with a significant portion of our net sales derived from markets within Texas, California and Georgia. Given the local nature of our business, we locate our facilities in close proximity to our key customers and often co-locate multiple operations in one facility to increase customer service and efficiency. (the \"Merger Agreement\"), pursuant to which BMHC merged with and into SBS (the \"Merger\"). Under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, the Merger was treated as a \"reverse merger\" under the acquisition method of accounting. 43 metropolitan areas in 18 states that includes a mix of large-scale production homebuilders, custom homebuilders, multi-family builders and professional repair and remodeling contractors. Our largest 10 customers accounted for approximately 20% of our 2017 net sales, with no single customer accounting for more than 6% of our 2017 net sales. Our largest customers are comprised primarily of the large production homebuilders, including publicly traded companies such as D.R. Horton, Inc., Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., Lennar Corporation, PulteGroup, Inc. and Toll Brothers, Inc. In addition to these large production homebuilders, we also service and supply regional and local custom homebuilders. We also serve professional residential remodeling contractors and multi-family and light commercial contractors in most of our markets. Our Products and Services We provide a wide variety of building products and services directly to homebuilder and professional contractor customers. We offer a broad range of products sourced through a network of suppliers with whom we have strategic supplier agreements. These products are available through our distribution locations and, in most instances, delivered to the job site. We manufacture floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels, stairs, specialty millwork, windows and pre-hung doors. We have developed several proprietary capabilities to design, pre-cut, label and bundle lumber and lumber sheet goods into customized framing packages, which we have branded Ready-Frame \u00ae. We also provide an extensive range of installation services and special order products. We group our building products and services into four product categories: (i) structural components, (ii) lumber & lumber sheet goods, (iii) millwork, doors & windows, and (iv) other building products & services. For the year ended December 31, 2017 , our sales of structural components and millwork, doors & windows products represented 42% of net sales. Each of these categories includes both manufactured and distributed products. Structural components are factory-built substitutes for job-site framing and include floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels and EWP that in many cases we design and cut for each home.", - "id": "c3df590a-fbfe-452e-b569-7ce75dd332e2" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The 'Medicare for America Act' establishes a national health insurance program that would likely affect home care services, particularly for dual eligible consumers who receive both Medicare and Medicaid benefits. As Addus HomeCare Corp. primarily serves this demographic, the bill's provisions regarding comprehensive health coverage and the inclusion of long-term care services are directly aligned with the company's operations. Furthermore, the emphasis on home-based care and the potential increase in demand for personal care services from Medicare Advantage beneficiaries present significant opportunities for the company.", - "index": "198", - "bill_title": "To amend the Social Security Act to establish a Medicare for America health program to provide for comprehensive health coverage for all Americans.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare for America Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes several health insurance programs and otherwise modifies certain requirements relating to health care coverage, costs, and services.\n\nIn particular, the bill establishes a national health insurance program to be\u00a0administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Among other requirements, the program must (1) cover all U.S. residents; (2) cover specified items and services, including hospital services, prescription drugs, dental services, and home- and community-based long-term care; and (3) be fully implemented in 2023. HHS must also offer a transitional public health option that provides certain minimum coverage through health insurance exchanges in 2021 and 2022.\n\nThe bill also makes a series of other changes to health care and tax provisions. For example, the bill (1) allows federal funds to be used for abortions; (2) sunsets a specified tax reform law that, among other things, repealed the penalty for failing to maintain minimum essential health coverage; and (3) prohibits excessive prices for prescription drugs and medical devices, as determined by a newly established federal regulatory board.", - "company_name": "Addus HomeCare Corp.", - "company_description": "We are a home care services provider operating in three segments: personal care; hospice; and home health. Our services are principally provided in the home under agreements with federal, state and local government agencies. Our consumers are predominantly \"dual eligible,\" meaning they are eligible to receive both Medicare and Medicaid benefits. As of December 31, 2018, we provided services to over 39,000 consumers in 24 states through 156 offices. Our payor clients include federal, state and local governmental agencies, managed care organizations, commercial insurers and private individuals. Our personal care segment also includes staffing services, with clients including assisted living facilities, nursing homes and hospice facilities. Our services and operating model address a number of crucial needs across the healthcare continuum. Care provided in the home generally costs less than facility-based care and is typically preferred by consumers and their families. By providing services in the home to the elderly and others who require long-term care and support with the activities of daily living, we lower the cost of chronic and acute care treatment by delaying or eliminating the need for care in more expensive settings. In addition, our caregivers observe and report changes in the condition of our consumers for the purpose of facilitating early intervention in the disease process, which often reduces the cost of medical services by preventing unnecessary emergency room visits and/or hospital admissions and re-admissions. We coordinate the services provided by our team with those of other healthcare providers and payors as appropriate. By providing care in the preferred setting of the home and by providing opportunities to improve the consumer's conditions and allow early intervention as indicated, our model also is designed to improve consumer outcomes and satisfaction. We believe our model provides significant value to managed care organizations. States are increasingly implementing managed care programs for Medicaid enrollees, and as a result managed care organizations have been increasingly responsible for the healthcare needs and the related healthcare costs of our consumers. Managed care organizations have an economic incentive to better manage the healthcare expenditures of their members, lower costs and improve outcomes. We believe that our model is well positioned to assist in meeting those goals while also improving consumer satisfaction, and, as a result, we expect increased referrals from managed care organizations. Beginning January 1, 2019, a final rule of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (\"CMS\"), allows Medicare Advantage insurers to offer beneficiaries more options and new benefits. Through this rule, CMS has redefined health-related supplemental benefits to include services that increase health and improve quality of life, including coverage of non-skilled in-home care. This policy change, emphasizing improving quality and reducing costs, aligns with our overall approach to care, and we believe the increased demand for personal care from the Medicare Advantage population represents a significant upside opportunity over the next three to five years. We utilize Interactive Voice Response (\"IVR\") systems and smart phone applications to communicate with the majority of our aides. Through these technologies, our aides are able to report changes in health conditions to an appropriate manager for triage and evaluation. In addition, we use these technologies to record basic information about each visit, record start and end times for a 2 scheduled shift, track milea ge reimbursement, send text messages to the aide and communicate basic payroll information. In addition to our organic growth, we have been growing through acquisitions that have expanded our presence in current markets or facilitated our entry into new ma rkets where the personal care business has primarily been moving to managed care organizations. We maintain licensure as a Medicare home health agency in Ohio and Delaware in connection with providing services in those states. With the purchase of Ambercare Corporation (\"Ambercare\"), completed in the second quarter of 2018, we now maintain licensure as a Medicare home health and hospice agency in New Mexico. ", - "id": "a18ff8b4-a828-490d-a8c3-f928967f090e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill provides supplemental appropriations primarily for disaster assistance and continuing appropriations to various federal agencies, which does not directly impact Monster Beverage Corp's core business of marketing and selling energy drinks and sodas. The company's operations and revenue generation activities are not dependent on federal appropriations or disaster relief funding, making the bill irrelevant to its business model and activities.", - "index": "199", - "bill_title": "Making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2019 \n\nThis bill provides FY2019 appropriations to federal agencies, including supplemental appropriations for disaster assistance and continuing appropriations for agencies that are included in the seven FY2019 appropriations bills that have not been enacted.\n\nThe bill provides $14.2 billion in FY2019 supplemental appropriations for expenses related to the consequences of recent wildfires, hurricanes, volcanos, earthquakes, typhoons, and other natural disasters. The bill designates the spending as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits.\n\nThe bill includes supplemental appropriations for\n\n the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, the Department of Education, the Government Accountability Office, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The bill also provides continuing FY2019 appropriations to several federal agencies through the earlier of February 8, 2019, or the enactment of the applicable appropriations legislation.\n\nThis is known as a continuing resolution (CR) and ends the partial government shutdown that began after the existing CR expired on December 21, 2018, because seven of the remaining FY2019 appropriations bills have not been enacted.\n\n(Five of the FY2019 appropriations bills were enacted last year, including the\n\n Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2019; the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2019; and the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019.) Additionally, the CR has the effect of extending through February 8, 2019, several authorities and programs that were extended in prior CRs, including\n\n the Violence Against Women Act, the authority for the Environmental Protection Agency to collect and spend certain fees related to pesticides, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and several authorities related to immigration.", - "company_name": "Monster Beverage Corp.", - "company_description": "The Company\u0092s subsidiaries primarily develop and market energy drinks as well as Mutant\u00ae Super Soda drinks. Drinks segment (\u0093Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks\u0094), which is comprised of our Monster Energy\u00ae drinks, Monster Hydro\u00ae energy drinks and Mutant\u00ae Super Soda drinks, (ii) Strategic Brands segment (\u0093Strategic Brands\u0094), which is comprised of the various energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company (\u0093TCCC\u0094) in 2015 (the \u0093TCCC Transaction\u0094) (see Note 2 \u0093Acquisitions and Divestitures\u0094 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements) and (iii) Other segment (\u0093Other\u0094), the principal products of which include the non-energy brands disposed of as a result of the TCCC Transaction (effectively from January 1, 2015 to June 12, 2015), as well as certain products, acquired as part of our American Fruits & Flavors (\u0093AFF\u0094) asset acquisition in 2016 (the \u0093AFF Transaction\u0094) (see Note 2 \u0093Acquisitions and Divestitures\u0094 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements), that are sold by AFF to independent third-party customers (the \u0093AFF Third-Party Products\u0094) (effectively from April 1, 2016). Corporate and unallocated amounts that do not specifically relate to a reportable segment have been allocated to \u0093Corporate Drinks segment generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks primarily to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. In some cases, we sell directly to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, drug stores, food service customers and the military. Our Strategic Brands segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling \u0093concentrates\u0094 and/or \u0093beverage bases\u0094 to authorized bottling and canning operations. Such bottlers generally combine the concentrates and/or beverage bases with sweeteners, water and other ingredients to produce ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks. The ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks are then sold to other bottlers and full service distributors and to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, food service customers, drug stores and the military. To a lesser extent, our Strategic Brands segment generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. Generally, the Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks segment generates higher per case net operating revenues, but lower per case gross profit margins than the Strategic Brands segment. We develop, market, sell and distribute energy drink beverages, sodas and/or concentrates for energy drink beverages, primarily under the following brand names: \u00b7 \u00b7 NOS\u00ae \u00b7 Monster Energy Ultra\u00ae \u00b7 Full Throttle\u00ae \u00b7 brand energy drinks, which represented 90.1%, 90.1% and 92.5% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, primarily include the following energy drinks 1 : \u00b7 Monster Energy\u00ae Monster Rehab\u00ae Tea + Orangeade + Energy \u00b7 Monster Energy Ultra Red The \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category combines non-carbonated, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters (flavored, unflavored and enhanced) with \u0093new age\u0094 beverages, including sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices and flavored sparkling beverages. According to Beverage Marketing Corporation, domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2017 for the \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category of the market are estimated at approximately $52.6 billion, representing an increase of approximately 5.6% over estimated domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2016 of approximately $49.8 billion. On April 1, 2016, we completed the AFF Transaction resulting in our acquisition of flavor supplier and long-time business partner AFF, in an asset acquisition that brought our primary flavor supplier in-house, secured the intellectual property of our most important flavors in perpetuity and further enhanced our flavor development and global flavor footprint capabilities. On June 12, 2015, we completed the TCCC Transaction contemplated by the definitive agreements entered into with TCCC on August 14, 2014, which provided for a long-term strategic relationship in the global energy drink category. In the 1930s, Hubert Hansen and his sons started a business selling fresh non-pasteurized juices in Los Angeles, California. FJC retained the right to market and sell fresh non-pasteurized juices under the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae trademark. In 1977, Tim Hansen, one of the grandsons of Hubert Hansen, perceived a demand for shelf stable pasteurized natural juices and juice blends and formed Hansen Foods, HFI expanded its product line from juices to include Hansen\u0092s Natural Soda\u00ae brand sodas. In 1990, California Co-Packers Corporation (d/b/a Hansen Beverage Company) (\u0093CCC\u0094) acquired certain assets of HFI, including the right to market the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand name. In 1992, Hansen Natural Corporation acquired the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand natural soda and apple juice business from CCC.", - "id": "f627369b-c09d-46e5-bd32-7dc4b1eed9b1" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on health care and Medicare options for individuals aged 50 to 64, allowing them to buy into Medicare and making changes to prescription drug pricing and health insurance market stabilization. Since Prologis, Inc. operates as a logistics real estate company and does not operate in the healthcare sector, the legal consequences of this bill do not impact its business model or activities.", - "index": "200", - "bill_title": "To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for an option for individuals who are ages 50 to 64 to buy into Medicare, to provide for health insurance market stabilization, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare Buy-In and Health Care Stabilization Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a Medicare buy-in option for certain qualifying individuals and makes a series of other changes relating to health care costs.\n\nSpecifically, the bill allows individuals aged 50 to 64 to enroll in Medicare if such individuals would otherwise qualify for Medicare at the age of 65. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must determine enrollment periods and set premiums for the buy-in option established under the bill, in accordance with specified requirements. The CMS must also award grants to states and nonprofit organizations for outreach and enrollment activities relating to the buy-in option.\n\nThe bill also (1) establishes a supplemental option under Medicare to cover cost-sharing for beneficiaries; (2) repeals provisions that prohibit the CMS from negotiating the prices of prescription drugs; and (3) establishes an individual market reinsurance program relating to coverage of high-cost individuals, as specified.", - "company_name": "Prologis, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business Prologis, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed REIT and is the sole general partner of Prologis, L.P. through which it holds substantially all of its assets. We invest in real estate through wholly owned subsidiaries and other entities through which we co-invest with partners and investors. Prologis, Inc. began operating as a fully integrated real estate company in 1997 and elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (\"Internal Revenue Code\"). We believe the current organization and method of operation will enable Prologis, Inc. to maintain its status as a REIT. We operate and evaluate our business on an owned and managed (\"O & M\") basis, including properties that we wholly-own and properties that are owned by one of our co-investment ventures. We make decisions based on the property operations, regardless of our ownership interest. Our investment consists of our wholly-owned properties and our pro rata (or ownership) share of the properties owned in ventures. THE COMPANY Prologis is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on key markets in 19 countries on four continents. We own, manage and develop well-located, high-quality logistics facilities. Our local teams actively manage our portfolio, which encompasses leasing and property management, capital deployment and opportunistic dispositions allowing us to recycle capital to self-fund our development and acquisition activities. The majority of our properties in the United States (\"U.S.\") are wholly owned, while our properties outside the U.S. are generally held in co-investment ventures, to mitigate our exposure to foreign currency movements. Our irreplaceable portfolio is focused on the world's most vibrant markets where consumption and supply chain reconfiguration drive logistics demand. In the developed markets of the U.S., Europe and Japan, key demand drivers include the reconfiguration of supply chains (strongly influenced by e-commerce trends), the demand for sustainable design features and the operational efficiencies that can be realized from high-quality logistics facilities. In emerging markets, such as Brazil, China and Mexico, growing affluence and the rise of a new consumer class have increased the need for modern distribution networks. Our strategy is to own the highest-quality logistics property portfolio in each of our target markets. These markets are characterized by what is most important for the consumption side of a logistics supply chain \u2014 large population centers with proximity to labor pools, surrounded by highways, rail service or ports. The DCT portfolio of logistics real es tate assets wa s highly complementary to our portfolio in terms of product quality, location and growth potential. As a result of the closely aligned portfolios and similar business strategies, we have integrated the properties while adding minimal property management expenses . Our results for 2018 include the DCT port folio from the date of acquisition . At December 31, 2018, we owned or had investments in properties, on a wholly-owned basis or through ventures, in the following regions (dollars in billions, based on gross book value and total expected investment (as defined below) and square feet in millions): Included in these amounts are consolidated and unconsolidated investments denominated in foreign currencies, principally the British pound sterling, euro and Japanese yen that are impacted by fluctuations in exchange rates when translated to U.S. dollars. A developed property moves into the operating portfolio when it meets our definition of stabilization, which is the earlier of one year after completion or reaching 90% occupancy. Amounts represent our total expected investment (\"TEI\"), which includes the estimated cost of development or expansion, including land, construction and leasing costs. Rental operations comprise the largest component of our operating segments and generally contribute 85% to 90% of our consolidated revenues, earnings and funds from operations (\"FFO\"). We collect rent from our customers through long-term operating leases, including reimbursements for the majority of our property operating costs.", - "id": "4e38e6d1-5397-40e8-85b1-3501246b991b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on securing 5G and next-generation telecommunications systems, which directly aligns with ADTRAN's business as a provider of networking and communications equipment, including solutions for both wired and wireless infrastructure. Given that ADTRAN is involved in developing advanced telecommunications solutions and has a vested interest in maintaining competitiveness and ensuring the security of its products in a rapidly evolving market, the implications of this bill are significant and relevant to their operations.", - "index": "201", - "bill_title": "To require the President to develop a strategy to ensure the security of next generation mobile telecommunications systems and infrastructure in the United States and to assist allies and strategic partners in maximizing the security of next generation mobile telecommunications systems, infrastructure, and software, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Secure 5G and Beyond Act of 2020\n\nThis bill requires the President, in consultation with relevant federal agencies, to develop (1) a strategy to secure and protect U.S. fifth and future generations (5G) systems and infrastructure, and (2) an implementation plan for the strategy.\n\nSuch strategy shall (1) ensure the security of 5G wireless communications systems and infrastructure within the United States; (2) assist mutual defense treaty allies, strategic partners, and other countries in maximizing the security of 5G systems and infrastructure; and (3) protect the competitiveness of U.S. companies, the privacy of U.S. consumers, and the impartiality of standards-setting bodies.", - "company_name": "ADTRAN, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview ADTRAN is a leading global provider of networking and communications equipment, serving a diverse domestic and international customer base in 68 countries that includes Tier 1, 2 and 3 service providers, cable/MSOs and distributed enterprises. Our innovative solutions and services enable voice, data, video and internet communications across a variety of network infrastructures and are currently in use by millions of users worldwide. Our success depends upon our ability to increase unit volume and market share through the introduction of new products and succeeding generations of products having lower selling prices and increased functionality as compared to both the prior generation of a product and to the products of competitors. In order to service our customers and build revenue, we are constantly conducting research and development of new products addressing customer needs and testing those products for the particular specifications of the particular customers. In addition to our corporate headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama, we have research and development (R & D) facilities in strategic global locations. We are focused on being a top global supplier of access infrastructure and related value-added solutions from the cloud edge to the subscriber edge. We offer a broad portfolio of flexible software and hardware network solutions and services that enable service providers to meet today's service demands, while enabling them to transition to the fully converged, scalable, highly automated, cloud-controlled voice, data, internet and video network of the future. Our business operates under two reportable segments: Network Solutions and Services & Support. We also report revenue across three categories \u2013 Access & Aggregation, Subscriber Solutions & Experience (formerly Customer Devices) and Traditional & Other Products. Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, ADTRAN anchors Cummings Research Park\u2014the second largest high-tech center in the U.S. and fourth largest in the world. Revenue Segments Our business operates under two reportable segments: Network Solutions and Services & Support. Our Network Solutions software and hardware products provide solutions supporting fiber-, copper- and coaxial-based infrastructures and a growing number of wireless solutions, lowering the overall cost to deploy advanced services across a wide range of applications for Carrier and Cable/MSO networks. We are accelerating the industry's transition to open, programmable and scalable networks. ADTRAN offers both chassis-based networks solutions, such as our Total Access 5000 (TA5000) and hiX families, as well as disaggregated network solutions which leverage ADTRAN's Software Defined Access (SD-Access) architecture which combines modern web-scale technologies with open-source platforms to facilitate rapid innovation in multi-technology, multi-vendor environments. The Mosaic cloud platform and Mosaic OS, combined with programmable network elements, provide operators with a highly agile, open-services architecture. This enables operators to better compete with web-scale companies by reducing the time and cost to onboard new services, technologies, and supply partners as they strive to reduce operational costs. Also included in this category are our subscriber solutions that terminate the broadband access in the home and/or business . These include open-source connected home and enterprise platforms, cloud services, Wi-Fi and software applications and services . To complement our Network Solutions portfolio and to enable our service provider customers to accelerate time to market, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction, we offer a complete portfolio of services. These include consulting, managed services, solutions integration, network implementation and maintenance services. ADTRAN's consulting services allow service providers to leverage ADTRAN's 30 plus years of network engineering expertise to build and deploy best of breed networks. Our ADTRAN NetAssure Program offers a variety of ways to leverage ADTRAN networking expertise applied to networks. One aspect, the resident engineering services, provides an on-site ADTRAN engineer, whose goal is to drive customer success by serving as the single point of contact for product knowledge, on-going network troubleshooting, and technical expertise, enabling service providers to gain a strategic competitive advantage from our products. 's integration services enable operators to architect and build the open distributed access networks of the future. Our solutions integration offerings include our SD-Access Accelerator.", - "id": "3d15964b-a975-42b7-8ecb-60d590eb3c1e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving the mental health of public safety officers and healthcare providers, which is unrelated to Match Group, Inc.'s core business of providing dating products and services. The legal consequences of the bill do not impact the company\u2019s business model, structure, or activities, as they are specifically targeted towards public safety and health, not the dating industry.", - "index": "202", - "bill_title": "To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to improve the detection, prevention, and treatment of mental health issues among public safety officers, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Act or the HERO Act\n\nThis bill establishes a series of programs relating to the behavioral health of public-safety officers (e.g., law enforcement officers, firefighters, ambulance crew members, and 9-1-1 operators) and health care providers. For example, the bill establishes (1) a public-safety officer suicide-reporting system at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (2) a grant program for peer-support behavioral health and wellness programs within fire departments and emergency medical services agencies, and (3) a grant program for behavioral health and wellness programs for health care providers.", - "company_name": "Match Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "Match Group, Inc., through its portfolio companies, is a leading provider of dating products available globally. Our portfolio of brands includes Tinder \u00ae, Match \u00ae, OkCupid \u00ae, Hinge \u00ae, Pairs\u2122, PlentyOfFish \u00ae, and OurTime \u00ae, as well as a number of other brands, Through our portfolio companies and their trusted brands, we provide tailored products to meet the varying preferences of our users. Our products are available in over 40 languages to our users all over the world. As a result, the market for dating products is fragmented, and no single product has been able to effectively serve the dating category as a whole. Given these varying consumer preferences, we have adopted a brand portfolio approach, through which we attempt to offer dating products that collectively appeal to the broadest spectrum of consumers. We work to apply a centralized discipline to our collection of brands, by sharing best practices and technologies across our brands in order to increase growth, reduce costs, improve user safety, and maximize profitability. Additionally, we centralize certain other administrative functions, such as legal, trust and safety, human resources, accounting, finance, and tax. Enabling dating in a digital world Prior to the proliferation of mobile devices and computers, human connections traditionally were limited by social circles, geography, and time. People met through work colleagues, friends and family, in school, at church, or in bars and restaurants. Today, the adoption of mobile technology and the internet has significantly expanded the ways in which people can build relationships, create new interactions, and develop romantic connections. Additionally, the ongoing adoption of technology into more aspects of daily life continues to further erode biases and stigmas across the world that previously prevented individuals from using technology to help find and develop those connections. We believe that dating products serve as a natural extension of the traditional means of meeting people and provide a number of benefits for their users, including: \u2022Expanded options: Dating products provide users access to a large number of people \u2022Efficiency: The search and matching features, as well as the profile information available on dating products, allow users to filter a large number of options in a short period of time, increasing the likelihood that users will make a connection with someone. Compared to the traditional ways that people meet, dating products provide an environment that reduces the awkwardness around the process of reaching out to new people. \u2022Convenience: The nature of the internet and the proliferation of mobile devices allow users to connect with new people at any time, regardless of where they are. Depending on a person's circumstances at any given time, dating products can act as a supplement to, or substitute for, traditional means of meeting people. When selecting a dating product, we believe that users consider the following attributes: \u2022Brand recognition: Brand is very important. Users generally associate strong dating brands with a higher likelihood of success and a higher level of safety and security. Generally, successful dating brands depend on large, active communities of users, strong algorithmic filtering technology, and awareness of successful usage among similar users. \u2022Successful experiences: Demonstrated success of other users attracts new users through word-of-mouth recommendations. : Users typically look for dating products that offer a community or communities with which the user can associate. By selecting a dating product that is focused on a particular demographic, religion, geography, or intent, users can increase the likelihood that they will make a connection with someone with whom they identify. : Users tend to gravitate towards dating products that offer features and user experiences that resonate with them, such as question-based matching algorithms, location-based features, offline events, or search capabilities.", - "id": "4bde3f38-cc74-4bf5-99a0-cb3493ce72c1" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to the importation of prescription drugs from Canada, which primarily affects the pharmaceutical distribution landscape and access to medications for consumers. Aduro BioTech, Inc. focuses on immunotherapy and developing novel cancer treatment technologies rather than being primarily involved in the importation of pharmaceuticals. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill are not relevant to the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "203", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to allow for the personal importation of safe and affordable drugs from approved pharmacies in Canada.", - "bill_summary": "Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act of 2019 \n\nThis bill requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)to promulgate regulations within 180 days permitting individuals to import a prescription drug purchased from an approved Canadian pharmacy if the drug\n\n is dispensed by a pharmacist licensed in Canada; is purchased for personal use in quantities not greater than a 90-day supply; is filled using a valid prescription issued by a physician licensed to practice in the United States; and has the same active ingredients, route of administration, dosage form, and strength as a prescription drug approved by the FDA. Under the bill, certain drugs may not be imported, including controlled substances and biological products.\n\nThe bill establishes a certification process for approving Canadian pharmacies. The FDA must publish a list of approved Canadian pharmacies.", - "company_name": "Aduro BioTech, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an immunotherapy company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies that transform the treatment of challenging diseases, including cancer. We believe our three technology platforms are uniquely positioned to recruit and direct the immune system by activating cancer-fighting immune cells and inhibiting immune suppressive cells known to allow tumor growth. Product candidates from our STING Pathway Activator, B-select monoclonal antibody, and LADD, or Live, Attenuated, Double-Deleted Listeria monocytogenes platforms are designed to stimulate and/or regulate innate and adaptive immune responses, either as single agents or in combination with conventional therapies (i.e. chemotherapy and radiation) as well as other novel immunotherapies. Our diverse technology platforms have led to a strong pipeline of clinical and preclinical candidates, which are being developed for a number of cancer indications. Additionally, our platforms have the potential to generate product candidates that address other therapeutic areas, such as autoimmune and infectious diseases. Immuno-oncology is an emerging field of cancer therapy that aims to activate the immune system in the tumor microenvironment to create and enhance anti-tumor immune responses, as well as to overcome the immuno-suppressive mechanisms that cancer cells have developed against the immune system. Recent developments in the field of immuno-oncology, including checkpoint inhibitors\u2014therapies which work to remove suppression mechanisms that prevent an immune response against cancer cells\u2014have shown the potential to provide efficacy and extended survival, even in cancers where conventional therapies, such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, have failed. The immunotherapy field is rapidly advancing with new immuno-oncology combinations that focus on strengthening therapeutic efficacy in a wide range of cancers. We intend to pursue a broad strategy of combining our technology platforms with conventional and novel therapies, based on their mechanisms of action, safety profiles and versatility. Our STING Pathway Activator platform is designed to activate the intracellular Stimulator of Interferon Genes, or STING, receptor, resulting in a potent tumor-specific immune response. ADU-S100 is the first STING Pathway Activator compound to enter the clinic and is currently being evaluated in Phase 1 studies both as a monotherapy and in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor in patients with cutaneously accessible metastatic solid tumors or lymphomas. Our B-select monoclonal antibody platform includes a proprietary ultra-selective functional screening process to identify antibodies with unique binding properties against a broad range of targets that are being designed to modulate the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. Our most advanced product candidate from the B-select platform, BION-1301, is being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial in mulitiple myeloma. In addition, the B-select platform has delivered a number of immune modulating assets currently in research and preclinical development. Our LADD technology platform is based on proprietary attenuated strains of Listeria that have been engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce specific and targeted immune responses. Our LADD program is focused on the development of personalized LADD, or pLADD, therapeutics that encode and express antigens that are based on protein sequences that result from mutations specific to an individual patient's tumor (neoantigens). These antigens can be also derived from native protein sequences that are highly expressed in patients with certain tumor types (self antigens). We are developing a pipeline of proprietary product candidates on our own and have a number of collaborations with leading global pharmaceutical companies to expand our products and technology platforms. We are developing STING Activator product candidates in oncology under our worldwide collaboration with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, or Novartis, and an anti-CD27 antibody was developed with and is exclusively licensed to, Merck Sharp and Dohme B.V., or Merck. In addition, we have developed self antigen-based LADD product candidates targeting lung and prostate cancers that are licensed to Janssen Biotech Inc., or Janssen. We believe our technology platforms \u2013 STING Pathway Activators, B-select monoclonal antibodies and LADD - represent innovative approaches in immuno-oncology. Since our product candidates act by leveraging the patient's own immune system, we believe they have the potential to deliver enhanced efficacy and to be safer and more tolerable than existing therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Based on the mechanisms of action and safety profiles of our technology platforms, we intend to build a deep pipeline of product candidates that can be readily combinable and synergistic with both conventional and novel therapies, such as checkpoint inhibitors. Our vision is to utilize our scientific expertise and understanding of the body's natural defense systems, including the interplay between the innate and adaptive immune responses, to develop safe and effective therapies for the benefit of patients. The STING receptor is known to be a central mediator of innate immunity and is critical for immune surveillance and control of cancer progression.", - "id": "cb740238-f6db-4208-9d9e-750c0ba827bb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to expand access to capital for rural-area small businesses, which aligns with 1st Source Corp.'s activities in providing commercial and small business loans. Given their focus on serving privately owned business clients in a regional market area, the bill could directly impact their lending operations and ability to support rural enterprises.", - "index": "204", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 to expand access to capital for rural-area small businesses, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act\n\nThis bill requires the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation within the Securities and Exchange Commission to report on issues encountered by rural-area small businesses.", - "company_name": "1st Source Corp.", - "company_description": "Source Corporation, an Indiana corporation incorporated in 1971, is a bank holding company headquartered in South Bend, Indiana that provides, through its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as \"1st Source\", Source Bank (\"Bank\"), its banking subsidiary, offers commercial and consumer banking services, trust and wealth advisory services, and insurance to individual and business clients through most of our 80 banking center locations in 17 counties in Indiana and Michigan and Sarasota County in Florida. Source Bank's Specialty Finance Group, with 22 locations nationwide, offers specialized financing services for new and used private and cargo aircraft, automobiles and light trucks for leasing and rental agencies, medium and heavy duty trucks and construction equipment. While our lending portfolio is concentrated in certain equipment types, we serve a diverse client base. At December 31, 2018 , we had consolidated total assets of $6.29 billion, total loans and leases of $4.84 billion, total deposits of $5.12 billion, and total shareholders' equity of $762.08 million. Source Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of 1st Source Corporation that offers a broad range of consumer and commercial banking services through its lending operations, retail branches, and fee based businesses. Source Bank provides commercial, small business, agricultural, and real estate loans to primarily privately owned business clients mainly located within our regional market area. Loans are made for a wide variety of general corporate purposes, including financing for industrial and commercial properties, financing for equipment, inventories and accounts receivable, renewable energy financing, and acquisition financing. Other services include commercial leasing, treasury management services and retirement planning services. Source Bank provides a full range of consumer banking products and services through our banking centers and at 1stsource.com. In a number of our markets, 1st Source also offers insurance products through 1st Source Insurance offices. The traditional banking services include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposits and Individual Retirement Accounts. Source offers a full line of on-line and mobile banking products which includes person-to-person payments, outside account aggregation, money management budgeting solution and bill payment. As an added convenience, a strategically located Automated Teller Machine network serves our customers and supports the debit and credit card programs of the bank. Consumers also have the ability to obtain consumer loans, real estate loans and lines of credit in any of our banking centers or on-line. Finally, 1st Source offers a variety of financial planning, financial literacy and other consultative services to our customers. Source Bank provides a wide range of trust, investment, agency, and custodial services for individual, corporate, and not-for-profit clients. These services include the administration of estates and personal trusts, as well as the management of investment accounts for individuals, employee benefit plans, and charitable foundations. Specialty Finance Group Services \u2014 1st Source Bank, through its Specialty Finance Group, provides a broad range of comprehensive equipment loan and lease products addressing the financing needs of a broad array of companies. This group can be broken down into four areas: new and used aircraft; auto and light trucks; construction equipment; and medium and heavy duty trucks. Aircraft financing consists of financings for new and used general aviation aircraft (including helicopters) for private and corporate aircraft users, aircraft distributors and dealers, air charter operators, air cargo carriers, and other aircraft operators. For many years, on a limited and selective basis, 1st Source Bank has provided international aircraft financing, primarily in Mexico and Brazil. Aircraft finance receivables generally range from $500,000 to $20 million with fixed or variable interest rates and terms of one to ten years. The auto and light truck division (including specialty vehicles such as motor coaches, shuttle buses, step vans, work trucks and funeral cars) consists of fleet financings to automobile and light truck rental companies, commercial leasing companies, and single unit to fleet financing for users of specialty vehicles. The auto and light truck finance receivables generally range from $50,000 to $25 million with fixed or variable interest rates and terms of one to eight years. ", - "id": "0ad4a757-5884-4dcf-9a58-ad359ef46046" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses election security, voter access, and campaign finance, which do not directly impact Ralph Lauren Corp's business operations in the apparel and lifestyle product industry. The company's focus on retail, marketing, and product distribution does not intersect with the legislative issues outlined in the bill.", - "index": "205", - "bill_title": "To ensure election security, enhance Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics through transparency, establish accountability and integrity measures for Congress, and strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Nonpartisan Bill For the People Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses voter registration, congressional redistricting, election security, political spending, and ethics for the three branches of government.\n\nThe bill provides for the automatic registration of eligible voters.\n\nVoters must present identification to vote.\n\nThe bill requires states to hold open primaries.\n\n\n\nThe bill provides for states to establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions.\n\nThe bill also sets forth provisions related to election security, including sharing intelligence information with state election officials, protecting the security of the voter rolls, supporting states in securing their election systems, developing a national strategy to protect the security and integrity of U.S. democratic institutions, establishing in the legislative branch the National Commission to Protect United States Democratic Institutions, and other provisions to improve the cybersecurity of election systems.\n\nThis bill addresses campaign spending, including by expanding the ban on foreign nationals contributing to or spending on elections; expanding disclosure rules pertaining to organizations spending money during elections, campaign advertisements, and online platforms; and revising disclaimer requirements for political advertising.\n\n\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions related to ethics in all three branches of government. Specifically, the bill requires a code of ethics for federal judges and justices, prohibits Members of the House from serving on the board of a for-profit entity, expands enforcement of regulations governing foreign agents, and establishes additional conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions for federal employees and the White House.\n\nThe bill also requires candidates for President, Vice President, and Congress to submit 10 years of tax returns.", - "company_name": "Ralph Lauren Corp.", - "company_description": "General Founded in 1967 by Mr. Ralph Lauren, we are a global leader in the design, marketing, and distribution of premium lifestyle products, including apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and other licensed product categories. Our long-standing reputation and distinctive image have been developed across an expanding number of products, brands, sales channels, and international markets. We believe that our global reach, breadth of product offerings, and multi-channel distribution are unique among luxury and apparel companies. Our wholesale sales are made principally to major department stores and specialty stores around the world. We also sell directly to consumers through our integrated retail channel, which includes our retail stores, concession-based shop-within-shops, and digital commerce operations around the world. In addition, we license to unrelated third parties for specified periods the right to operate retail stores and/or to use our various trademarks in connection with the manufacture and sale of designated products, such as certain apparel, eyewear, fragrances, and home furnishings. In addition to these reportable segments, we also have other non-reportable segments. Our global reach is extensive, with merchandise available through our wholesale distribution channels at over 12,000 doors worldwide, the majority in specialty stores, as well as through the digital commerce sites of many of our wholesale customers. We also sell directly to customers throughout the world via our 472 retail stores and 632 concession-based shop-within-shops, as well as through our own digital commerce sites and those of various third-party digital partners. In addition to our directly-operated stores and shops, our international licensing partners operate 88 Ralph Lauren concession shops, and 136 Club Monaco stores and shops. We believe that our size and the global scope of our operations provide us with design, sourcing, and distribution synergies across our different businesses. Our core strengths include a portfolio of global premium lifestyle brands, a well-diversified global multi-channel distribution network, an investment philosophy supported by a strong balance sheet, and an experienced management team. We have developed a long-term growth strategy with the objective of delivering sustainable, profitable growth and long-term value creation for shareholders. Our strategy includes the following key strategic initiatives: \u2022 Elevating our brand through improved quality of sales, distribution, and product; \u2022 Evolving product, marketing, and shopping experience to increase reach and appeal with new consumers; \u2022 Expanding our digital and international presence; and \u2022 On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law new tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the \"TCJA\"), which became effective January 1, 2018. The TCJA significantly revised U.S. tax law by, among other provisions, lowering the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate from 35% to 21%, creating a territorial tax system that includes a one-time mandatory transition tax on previously deferred foreign earnings, and eliminating or reducing certain income tax deductions. We are refocusing on our core brands and evolving our product, marketing, and shopping experience to increase desirability and relevance. We are also evolving our operating model to enable sustainable, profitable sales growth by significantly improving quality of sales, reducing supply chain lead times, improving our sourcing, and executing a disciplined multi-channel distribution and expansion strategy. The Way Forward Plan includes strengthening our leadership team and creating a more nimble organization by moving from an average of nine to six layers of management. The Way Forward Plan also includes the discontinuance of our Denim & Supply brand and the integration of our denim product offerings into our Polo Ralph Lauren brand. Collectively, these actions, which were substantially completed during Fiscal 2017, resulted in a reduction in workforce and the closure of certain stores and shop-within-shops, as well as gross annualized expense savings of approximately $200 million. (i) the restructuring of our in-house global digital commerce platform which was in development and shifting to a more cost-effective, flexible platform through a new agreement with Salesforce's Commerce Cloud, formerly known as Demandware; (ii) the closure of our Polo store at 711 Fifth Avenue in New York City; and (iii) the further streamlining of the organization and the execution of other key corporate actions in line with the Way Forward Plan.", - "id": "28e3bd0d-963f-489d-9db8-29668213d0e1" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on support for the creative economy and artists, which does not align with ANSYS, Inc.'s core business of developing engineering simulation software for engineering and technical industries. The bill's provisions for financial assistance and community development do not directly impact ANSYS's operations or business model in engineering simulation.", - "index": "206", - "bill_title": "To assist entrepreneurs, support development of the creative economy, and encourage international cultural exchange, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Comprehensive Resources for Entrepreneurs in the Arts to Transform the Economy Act of 2019 or the CREATE Act of 2019\n\nThis bill expands financial assistance for, and establishes measures to support, the creative economy and art entrepreneurs.\n\nSpecifically, the bill requires (1) the Small Business Administration to develop loan criteria, evaluation procedures, and technical assistance programs for small business concerns that are owned by artists and support the creative economy, (2) the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture to ensure that traditional economic development tools, such as business incubators and grant programs, support the arts industry and creative economy, and (3) the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure that expenses incurred by a self-employed worker to repair or replace needed tools because of a major disaster are eligible for disaster assistance.\n\nFurther, the recipient of a national service program grant is authorized to carry out the program through an Artist Corps that identifies and meets unmet needs in communities through artistic activities.\n\nThe bill also requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist activities that support creative placemaking through community development mechanisms and partnerships between local governments and nonprofit cultural organizations.\n\nCommerce shall establish a demonstration program to promote creative and performing arts in the economic planning of local governments.\n\nFinally, the Department of Homeland Security must adjudicate petitions for nonimmigrant visas for aliens with extraordinary ability or achievement, and artists and entertainers, within 14 days after receiving them.", - "company_name": "ANSYS, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS ANSYS, a Delaware corporation formed in 1994, develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services widely used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a broad spectrum of industries and academia, including aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, semiconductors, energy, materials and chemical processing, turbomachinery, consumer products, healthcare, and sports. The Company focuses on the development of open and flexible solutions that enable users to analyze designs directly on the desktop, providing a common platform for fast, efficient and cost-conscious product development, from design concept to final-stage testing and validation. The Company distributes its ANSYS\u00ae suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in strategic, global locations. The Company operates and reports as one segment. ANSYS Workbench\u2122 ANSYS Workbench is the framework upon which the Company's suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The innovative project schematic view ties together the entire simulation process, guiding the user through complex multiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop simplicity. With bi-directional computer-aided design (CAD) connectivity, powerful highly-automated meshing, a project-level update mechanism, pervasive parameter management and integrated optimization tools, the ANSYS Workbench platform enables Pervasive Engineering Simulation\u2122. The Company's Workbench framework allows engineers and designers to incorporate the compounding effects of multiple physics into a virtual prototype of their design and simulate its operation under real-world conditions. As product architectures become smaller, lighter and more complex, companies must be able to accurately predict how products will behave in real-world environments where multiple types of physics interact in a coupled way. ANSYS multiphysics software enables engineers to simulate the interactions between structures, heat transfer, fluids and electronics all within a single, unified engineering simulation environment. ANSYS Workbench enables companies to create a customized simulation environment to deploy specialized simulation best practices and automations unique to their product development process or industry. With ANSYS ACT\u2122, end users or ANSYS partners can modify the user interface, process simulation data or embed third-party applications to create specialized tools based on ANSYS Workbench. The Company's high-performance computing (HPC) product suite enables enhanced insight into product performance and improves the productivity of the design process. The HPC product suite delivers cross-physics parallel processing capabilities for the full spectrum of the Company's simulation software by supporting structures, fluids, thermal and electronics simulations. This product suite decreases turnaround time for individual simulations, allowing users to consider multiple design ideas and make the right design decisions early in the design cycle. The Company's structural analysis product suite offers simulation tools for product design and optimization that increase productivity, minimize physical prototyping and help to deliver better and more innovative products in less time. These tools tackle real-world analysis problems by making product development less costly and more reliable. In addition, these tools have capabilities that cover a broad range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities, all targeted toward understanding and solving complex design problems. The Company also provides comprehensive topology optimization tools that engineers use to design structural components to meet loading requirements with minimal material and component weight. The Company offers a complete simulation workflow for additive manufacturing that allows reliable 3D printing by simulating the laser sintering process and delivering compensated CAD geometries that ensure reliable printed parts. The Company's fluids product suite enables modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design and optimize new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications. The Company's electromagnetics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance of mobile communication and internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment, all prior to building a prototype. ", - "id": "4d4a5438-8bfc-4f4d-9216-9c9f274d19be" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on reducing federal restrictions on marijuana-related activities, allowing state-authorized marijuana businesses to operate more freely. However, 1st Source Corp., primarily a banking and financial services company, remains largely unrelated to the marijuana industry. The company's activities do not align with the legal changes proposed in the bill, as it does not provide direct banking services to marijuana-related businesses, and the bill's implications do not affect its core banking and finance operations.", - "index": "207", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to reduce the gap between Federal and State marijuana policy, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Responsibly Addressing the Marijuana Policy Gap Act of 2019\n\nThis bill removes federal restrictions on, and creates new protections for, marijuana-related conduct and activities that are authorized by state or tribal law (i.e., state-authorized).\n\nAmong other things, the bill does the following:\n\n eliminates regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act for state-authorized marijuana-related activities; allows businesses that sell marijuana in compliance with state or tribal law to claim certain federal tax credits and deductions; eliminates restrictions on print and broadcast advertising of state-authorized marijuana-related activities; creates protections for depository institutions that provide financial services to marijuana-related businesses; specifies that a marijuana-related business is entitled to federal bankruptcy protections; establishes a process to expunge criminal records related to certain marijuana-related convictions; reestablishes federal student aid eligibility for certain students convicted of a misdemeanor offense for marijuana possession; exempts real property from civil forfeiture due to state-authorized marijuana-related conduct; prohibits the inadmissibility or deportability of aliens for state-authorized marijuana-related conduct; specifies that drug-related criminal activity, which is prohibited in federally assisted housing, does not include state-authorized marijuana-related conduct; establishes a new, separate registration process to facilitate medical marijuana research; authorizes health care providers employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to recommend participation in state marijuana programs; and authorizes medical providers through an Indian health program to make medical recommendations regarding marijuana.", - "company_name": "1st Source Corp.", - "company_description": "Source Corporation, an Indiana corporation incorporated in 1971, is a bank holding company headquartered in South Bend, Indiana that provides, through its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as \"1st Source\", Source Bank (\"Bank\"), its banking subsidiary, offers commercial and consumer banking services, trust and wealth advisory services, and insurance to individual and business clients through most of our 79 banking center locations in 17 counties in Indiana and Michigan and Sarasota County in Florida. Source Bank's Specialty Finance Group, with 23 locations nationwide, offers specialized financing services for new and used private and cargo aircraft, automobiles and light trucks for leasing and rental agencies, medium and heavy duty trucks and construction equipment. While our lending portfolio is concentrated in certain equipment types, we serve a diverse client base. At December 31, 2017 , we had consolidated total assets of $5.89 billion, total loans and leases of $4.53 billion, total deposits of $4.75 billion, and total shareholders' equity of $718.54 million. Source Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of 1st Source Corporation that offers a broad range of consumer and commercial banking services through its lending operations, retail branches, and fee based businesses. Source Bank provides commercial, small business, agricultural, and real estate loans to primarily privately owned business clients mainly located within our regional market area. Loans are made for a wide variety of general corporate purposes, including financing for industrial and commercial properties, financing for equipment, inventories and accounts receivable, renewable energy financing, and acquisition financing. Other services include commercial leasing, treasury management services and retirement planning services. Source Bank provides a full range of consumer banking products and services through our banking centers and at 1stsource.com. In a number of our markets 1st Source also offers insurance products through 1st Source Insurance offices. The traditional banking services include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposits and Individual Retirement Accounts. Source offers a full line of on-line and mobile banking products which includes bill payment. As an added convenience, a strategically located Automated Teller Machine network serves our customers and supports the debit and credit card programs of the bank. Consumers also have the ability to obtain consumer loans, real estate loans and lines of credit in any of our banking centers or on-line. Finally, 1st Source offers a variety of financial planning, financial literacy and other consultative services to our customers. Source Bank provides a wide range of trust, investment, agency, and custodial services for individual, corporate, and not-for-profit clients. These services include the administration of estates and personal trusts, as well as the management of investment accounts for individuals, employee benefit plans, and charitable foundations. Specialty Finance Group Services \u2014 1st Source Bank, through its Specialty Finance Group, provides a broad range of comprehensive equipment loan and lease products addressing the financing needs of a broad array of companies. This group can be broken down into four areas: new and used aircraft; auto and light trucks; construction equipment; and medium and heavy duty trucks. Aircraft financing consists of financings for new and used general aviation aircraft (including helicopters) for private and corporate aircraft users, aircraft distributors and dealers, air charter operators, air cargo carriers, and other aircraft operators. For many years, on a limited and selective basis, 1st Source Bank has provided international aircraft financing, primarily in Mexico and Brazil. Aircraft finance receivables generally range from $500,000 to $20 million with fixed or variable interest rates and terms of one to ten years. The auto and light truck division (including specialty vehicles such as motor coaches, shuttle buses, step vans, work trucks and funeral cars) consists of fleet financings to automobile and light truck rental companies, commercial leasing companies, and single unit to fleet financing for users of specialty vehicles. The auto and light truck finance receivables generally range from $50,000 to $20 million with fixed or variable interest rates and terms of one to eight years. ", - "id": "d55d2d3b-8524-4f6a-9ae5-20abb47f8c56" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Walmart, Inc. because it pertains to the taxation of digital goods and services. As Walmart expands in eCommerce and offers digital goods and services, the regulation of taxes on these goods will directly affect its operating costs and pricing strategies. The bill's provisions against multiple or discriminatory taxes could provide Walmart with a clearer regulatory environment for selling digital products, thus impacting its business model.", - "index": "208", - "bill_title": "A bill to promote neutrality, simplicity, and fairness in the taxation of digital goods and digital services.", - "bill_summary": "Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act of 2019\n\nThis bill prohibits a state or local jurisdiction from imposing (1) multiple taxes on the sale of a covered electronic good or service, or (2) discriminatory taxes on the sale or use of a digital good or service.\n\nA \"digital good or service\" is delivered or transferred electronically to a customer. A \"covered electronic good or service\" is a digital good, digital service, audio or video programming service, or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service.\n\nThe bill also\n\n specifies services that are excluded from the definition of \"digital service;\" restricts taxation of a covered electronic good or service to taxation by a state or local jurisdiction whose territorial limits encompass a customer tax address, as defined by this bill; makes the seller of covered electronic goods or services responsible for obtaining and maintaining such address; and specifies rules regarding the taxation of bundled transactions, digital code, and VoIP services.", - "company_name": "Walmart, Inc.", - "company_description": "the amount, number, growth or increase, in or over certain periods, of or in certain financial items or measures or operating measures, including our earnings per share, including as adjusted for certain items, net sales, comparable store and club sales, our Walmart U.S. operating segment's eCommerce sales, liabilities, expenses of certain categories, expense leverage, returns, capital and operating investments or expenditures of particular types, new store openings and investments in particular formats; our plans to increase investments in eCommerce, technology, store remodels and other customer initiatives, such as online grocery locations; volatility in currency exchange rates and fuel prices affecting our or one of our segments' results of operations; \u2022 the Company continuing to provide returns to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends, the use of share repurchase authorization over a certain period or the source of funding of a certain portion of our share repurchases; changes in the size of various markets, including eCommerce markets; \u2022 unemployment levels; \u2022 inflation or deflation, generally and in certain product categories; \u2022 transportation, energy and utility costs; \u2022 commodity prices, including the prices of oil and natural gas; \u2022 consumer confidence, disposable income, credit availability, spending levels, shopping patterns, debt levels, and demand for certain merchandise; \u2022 trends in consumer shopping habits around the world and in the markets in which Walmart operates; \u2022 consumer enrollment in health and drug insurance programs and such programs' reimbursement rates and drug formularies; and initiatives of competitors, competitors' entry into and expansion in Walmart's markets, and competitive pressures; Operating Factors \u2022 the financial performance of Walmart and each of its segments, including the amounts of Walmart's cash flow during various periods; \u2022 customer traffic and average ticket in Walmart's stores and clubs and on its eCommerce platforms; the mix of merchandise Walmart sells and its customers purchase; the availability of goods from suppliers and the cost of goods acquired from suppliers; \u2022 the effectiveness of the implementation and operation of Walmart's strategies, plans, programs and initiatives; \u2022 \u2022 consumer acceptance of and response to Walmart's stores and clubs, digital platforms, programs, merchandise offerings and delivery methods; \u2022 Walmart's gross profit margins, including pharmacy margins and margins of other product categories; the selling prices of gasoline and diesel fuel; \u2022 disruption of seasonal buying patterns in Walmart's markets; \u2022 Walmart's expenditures for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (\"FCPA\") and other compliance-related matters including the adequacy of our accrual for the FCPA matter; \u2022 Walmart's labor costs, including healthcare and other benefit costs; \u2022 Walmart's casualty and accident-related costs and insurance costs; the size of and turnover in Walmart's workforce and the number of associates at various pay levels within that workforce; the availability of necessary personnel to staff Walmart's stores, clubs and other facilities; 5 developments in, and the outcome of, legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations to which Walmart is a party or is subject, and the liabilities, obligations and expenses, if any, that Walmart may incur in connection therewith; \u2022 changes in the credit ratings assigned to the Company's commercial paper and debt securities by credit rating agencies; \u2022 changes in existing tax, labor and other laws and changes in tax rates, including the enactment of laws and the adoption and interpretation of administrative rules and regulations; \u2022 adoption or creation of new, and modification of existing, governmental policies, programs and initiatives in the markets in which Walmart operates and elsewhere and actions with respect to such policies, programs and initiatives; \u2022 the possibility of the imposition of new taxes on imports and new tariffs and trade restrictions and changes in tariff rates and trade restrictions; changes in the level of public assistance payments; ", - "id": "db54de38-8a30-4ec6-af79-4256c74fb798" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes a telehealth service model and payments for certified enhanced telehealth services under Medicare, which is directly relevant to LHC Group, Inc.'s business model as they provide post-acute health care services including home health, hospice, and community-based services that can incorporate telehealth innovations. Compliance with the new telehealth service payment structures could influence their operational costs and service delivery formats.", - "index": "209", - "bill_title": "A bill to require the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to test the effect of including telehealth services in Medicare health care delivery reform models.", - "bill_summary": "Telehealth Innovation and Improvement Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes (1) a telehealth service model, and (2) Medicare payment\u00a0rules with respect to\u00a0certain services tested under\u00a0the model.\n\nThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shall test Medicare coverage of expanded telehealth services, as defined by the bill, in conjunction with existing models that test the use of accountable care organizations, bundled payments, and other coordinated care models under Medicare. The CMS must (1)\u00a0establish a methodology for determining the amounts of payment for such services, and (2) provide for evaluations of the service model by an independent entity.\n\nThe CMS shall expand the application of a service tested under the model if (1) the\u00a0required evaluation demonstrates that the service either reduced Medicare spending without reducing the quality of care or improved the quality of care without increasing spending, and (2) the Chief Actuary of the CMS certifies that such expansion would reduce net program spending. A service that\u00a0meets these requirements is defined by the bill as a certified enhanced telehealth service.\n\nMedicare payment for a certified enhanced telehealth service shall equal 80% of the lesser of (1) the actual charge for the service, or (2) the amount determined using the payment methodology established under the test model.\n\nThe CMS shall pay for such services without regard to a Medicare beneficiary's location or area of residence.", - "company_name": "LHC Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "our participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs; the reimbursement levels of Medicare and other third-party payors; \u2022 the prompt receipt of payments from Medicare and other third-party payors; \u2022 the outcomes of various routine and non-routine governmental reviews, audits, and investigations; \u2022 our compliance with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations; \u2022 our compliance with health care laws and regulations; \u2022 our compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission laws and regulations and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements; \u2022 the impact of federal and state government regulation on our business; We provide post-acute health care services to patients through our home nursing agencies, hospice agencies, home and community-based services agencies, long-term acute care hospitals (\"LTACHs\") and healthcare innovations services. As of December 31, 2018, through our wholly- and majority-owned subsidiaries, equity joint ventures and controlled affiliates, we operated 757 service providers in 36 states within the continental United States. We provide services through five segments: (1) home health, (2) hospice, (3) home and community-based (4) facility-based, and (5) healthcare innovations. Our home health service locations offer a wide range of services, including skilled nursing, medically-oriented social services and physical, occupational, and speech therapy. The nurses, home health aides, and therapists in our home health agencies work closely with patients and their families to design and implement individualized treatment plans in accordance with a physician-prescribed plan of care. As of December 31, 2018, we operated 543 home health service locations, of which 302 are wholly-owned by us, 232 are majority-owned by us through equity joint ventures, three are under license lease arrangements, and the operations of the remaining six locations are managed by us. Our hospices provide end-of-life care to patients with terminal illnesses through interdisciplinary teams of physicians, nurses, home health aides, counselors, and volunteers. We offer a wide range of services, including pain and symptom management, emotional and spiritual support, inpatient and respite care, homemaker services, and counseling. As of December 31, 2018, we operated 104 hospice locations, of which 57 are wholly-owned by us, 45 are majority-owned by us through equity joint ventures, and two are under license lease arrangements. Our home and community-based service locations offer assistance with activities of daily living to elderly, chronically ill, and disabled patients, performed by skilled nursing and paraprofessional personnel. Our LTACH locations provide services primarily to patients with complex medical conditions who have transitioned out of a hospital intensive care unit but whose conditions remain too severe for treatment in a non-acute setting. We operated 10 LTACHs with 12 locations, of which all but two are located within host hospitals. As part of our facility-based services segment, we also own and operate two pharmacies, a family health center, a rural health clinic, and two physical therapy clinics. The HCI segment includes (a) Imperium Health Management, LLC, an ACO enablement and management company, (b) Long Term Solutions, Inc., an in-home assessment company serving the long-term care insurance industry, (c) certain assets operated by Advance Care House Calls, which provides primary medical care for patients with chronic and acute illnesses who have difficulty traveling to a doctor's office, and (d) a cost basis investment in Care Journey (formerly NavHealth, Inc.), a population-health analytics company. These activities are intended ultimately, whether directly or indirectly, to benefit our patients and/or payors through the enhanced provision of services in our other segments. The activities all share a common goal of improving patient experiences and quality outcomes, while lowering costs. They include, but are not limited to, items such as: technology, information, population health management, risk-sharing, care-coordination and transitions, clinical advancements, enhanced patient engagement and informed clinical decision and technology enabled in-home clinical assessments. (\"Merger Sub\"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, providing for a \"merger of equals\" business combination of the Company and Almost Family (the \"Merger\").", - "id": "3b2cbe2a-3708-4dcf-9629-bed6c57b906c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on enhancing the Department of Defense's (DOD) readiness and climate resiliency, which includes mandates for energy efficiency and renewable energy investments. As a company involved in advanced manufacturing and 3D printing solutions, 3D Systems Corp. may find opportunities to engage with the DOD through contracts that require energy-efficient and sustainable technologies. Additionally, the DOD's emphasis on reducing energy consumption and evaluating climate change risks aligns with the company's innovative materials and manufacturing processes, which could be instrumental in meeting these new requirements.", - "index": "210", - "bill_title": "To require the Secretary of Defense to enhance the readiness of the Department of Defense to challenges relating to climate change and to improve the energy and resource efficiency of the Department, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Department of Defense Climate Resiliency and Readiness Act\n\n This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to provide a strategy to achieve aggregate net zero energy by non-operational sources by no later than December 31, 2029. The term \"net zero energy\" means a reduction in overall energy use, maximized energy efficiency, implementation of energy recovery and cogeneration capabilities, and an offset of the remaining demand for energy with production of energy from onsite renewable energy sources.\n\nAnnual DOD budget submissions must include an item for climate-related adaptation and mitigation, as well as an estimate of adverse impacts to readiness and costs.\n\n Regarding DOD procurement (1) contracts must contain an estimate of total projected energy consumption and a statement concerning renewable energy and energy efficiency investments; (2) contractors must evaluate climate change risks, including by describing relevant corporate governance processes; and (3) a contractor will be assessed a fee if it consumes more energy than it produces.\n\nDOD must develop a vulnerability and risk assessment tool to measure risks to systems, installations, and operational capabilities.\n\n Strategic decisions regarding an installation must consider risks associated with climate change, and DOD shall incorporate these into the National Defense Strategy, the National Military Strategy, and operational plans.\n\nDOD shall conduct a research and development program concerning hybrid microgrid systems and electric grid energy storage.\n\nWith respect to base realignment and closure activities, DOD shall consider current and potential vulnerabilities to military installations and operations resulting from climate change and their resilience.\n\n The bill establishes the position of Assistant Secretary of Defense of Energy and Climate Resiliency.", - "company_name": "3D Systems Corp.", - "company_description": "We provide comprehensive 3D printing solutions, including 3D printers for plastics and metals, materials, software, on demand manufacturing services and digital design tools. Our solutions support advanced applications in a wide range of industries and verticals, including healthcare, aerospace, automotive and durable goods. Customers can use our 3D solutions to design and manufacture complex and unique parts, eliminate expensive tooling, produce parts locally or in small batches and reduce lead times and time to market. A growing number of customers are shifting from prototyping applications to also using 3D printing for production. We believe this shift will be further driven by our continued advancement and innovation of 3D printing solutions that improve durability, repeatability, productivity and total cost of operations. Our precision healthcare capabilities include simulation; Virtual Surgical Planning (\"VSP\u2122\"); and printing of medical and dental devices, anatomical models, and surgical guides and instruments. We have over 30 years of experience and expertise which have proven vital to our development of end-to-end solutions that enable customers to optimize product designs, transform workflows, bring innovative products to market and drive new business models. We offer a comprehensive range of 3D printers, materials, software, haptic design tools, 3D scanners and virtual surgical simulators. Our 3D printers transform digital data input generated by 3D design software, CAD software or other 3D design tools, into printed parts using several unique print engines that employ proprietary, additive layer by layer building processes with a variety of materials. We offer a broad range of 3D printing technologies including Stereolithography (\"SLA\"), Selective Laser Sintering (\"SLS\"), Direct Metal Printing (\"DMP\"), Our printers utilize a wide range of materials, the majority of which are proprietary materials that we develop, blend and market. Our comprehensive range of materials includes plastic, nylon, metal, composite, elastomeric, wax, polymeric dental materials and Class IV bio-compatible materials. We augment and complement our portfolio of engineered materials with materials that we purchase or develop with third parties under private label and distribution arrangements. We work closely with our customers to optimize the performance of our materials in their applications. Our expertise in materials science and formulation, combined with our processes, software and equipment, enables us to provide unique and highly specialized materials and help our customers select the material that best meets their needs with optimal cost and performance results. As part of our solutions approach, our currently offered printers, with the exception of direct metal printers, have built-in intelligence to make them integrated, closed systems. For these integrated printers, we furnish materials specifically designed for use in those printers which are packaged in smart cartridges and utilize material delivery systems. These integrated materials are designed to enhance system functionality, productivity, reliability and materials shelf life, in addition to providing our customers with a built-in quality management system and a fully integrated workflow solution. Our SLA 3D printers cure liquid resin materials with light or a laser to produce durable plastic parts with surface smoothness, high resolution, edge definition and tolerances that rival the accuracy of machined or molded plastic parts. We offer SLA printers with a wide range of materials, sizes and price points, which are designed for prototyping, end-use part production, casting patterns, molds, tooling, fixtures and medical models. Figure 4\u2122, a light-based SLA platform, also sometimes referred to as digital light processing (\"DLP\"), is an ultra-fast additive manufacturing technology with a discrete module design. This design allows a range of products and configurations to meet customer needs from a stand-alone product to modular products to fully-automated solutions. Figure 4 is capable of manufacturing parts in hybrid materials (multi-mode polymerization) that offer toughness, durability, biocompatibility, high temperature deflection and elastomeric properties. Figure 4 is also the first additive manufacturing product which can achieve six sigma repeatability. These capabilities enable new end-use applications in healthcare, dental, durable goods, automotive, aerospace and other verticals. ", - "id": "aea81540-9677-484f-8bf8-6a53f7f1e9a8" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill allows for Medicare to provide coverage for home health services ordered by nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse-midwives, and physician assistants, expanding access to home health services. This directly impacts LHC Group, Inc.'s business as they operate in the home health services sector. The bill's provisions will likely enhance the company's ability to offer services and receive reimbursement for a broader range of patient care providers.", - "index": "211", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure more timely access to home health services for Medicare beneficiaries under the Medicare program.", - "bill_summary": "Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act of 2019\n\nThis bill allows Medicare payment for home health services ordered\u00a0by a nurse practitioner, a clinical nurse specialist, a certified nurse-midwife, or a physician assistant. Currently, coverage is provided only for services ordered by a physician.", - "company_name": "LHC Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "our participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs; the reimbursement levels of Medicare and other third-party payors; \u2022 the prompt receipt of payments from Medicare and other third-party payors; \u2022 the outcomes of various routine and non-routine governmental reviews, audits and investigations; \u2022 our compliance with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations; \u2022 our compliance with health care laws and regulations; \u2022 our compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission laws and regulations and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements; \u2022 the impact of federal and state government regulation on our business; \u2022 that the required stockholder approvals of the proposed transaction with Almost Family, We provide post-acute health care services to patients through our home nursing agencies, hospice agencies, community-based services agencies, and long-term acute care hospitals (\"LTACHs\"). As of December 31, 2017, through our wholly- and majority-owned subsidiaries, equity joint ventures and controlled affiliates, we operated 442 service providers in 27 states within the continental United States. We operate in four segments: home health services, hospice services, community-based services, and facility-based services. Our home health service locations offer a wide range of services, including skilled nursing, medically-oriented social services and physical, occupational, and speech therapy. The nurses, home health aides, and therapists in our home health agencies work closely with patients and their families to design and implement individualized treatment plans in accordance with a physician-prescribed plan of care. As of December 31, 2017, we operated 318 home health service locations, of which 159 are wholly-owned by us, 153 are majority-owned by us through equity joint ventures, three are under license lease arrangements, and the operations of the remaining three locations are managed by us. Our hospices provide end-of-life care to patients with terminal illnesses through interdisciplinary teams of physicians, nurses, home health aides, counselors, and volunteers. We offer a wide range of services, including pain and symptom management, emotional and spiritual support, inpatient and respite care, homemaker services, and counseling. As of December 31, 2017, we operated 91 hospice locations, of which 45 are wholly-owned by us, 44 are majority-owned by us through equity joint ventures, and two are under license lease arrangements. Our community-based service locations offer assistance with activities of daily living to elderly, chronically ill, and disabled patients. Our LTACH locations provide services primarily to patients with complex medical conditions who have transitioned out of a hospital intensive care unit but whose conditions remain too severe for treatment in a non-acute setting. We operated 11 LTACHs with 15 locations, of which all but one are located within host hospitals. As part of our facility-based services segment, we also own and operate two pharmacies, a family health center, a rural health clinic, and two physical therapy clinics. Of these 21 facility-based services locations, eight are wholly-owned by us, 12 are majority-owned by us through equity joint ventures, and one is managed by us. (\"Merger Sub\"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, providing for a \"merger of equals\" business combination of the Company and Almost Family. On February 22, 2018, we issued a joint press release with Almost Family announcing that the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (\"HSR Act\"), with respect to the proposed Merger, has expired, satisfying one of the important conditions to the Merger. The Merger is expected to close on April 1, 2018, subject to the approval of both companies' stockholders and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. Our objective is to become the leading provider of home health, hospice, community-based services, and LTACHs in the United States.", - "id": "197a3cda-5a49-4c6c-9b54-8892e11aa9d5" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing an office for broadband connectivity and growth, primarily targeting internet access and support for communities. Chase Corp. specializes in the manufacturing of protective materials for high-reliability applications, particularly in the electronics and telecommunications industries. While broadband infrastructure may involve some telecommunications aspects, the bill does not directly relate to Chase Corp.'s business model or operations, which do not focus on broadband services or internet provision.", - "index": "212", - "bill_title": "To establish the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Advancing Critical Connectivity Expands Service, Small Business Resources, Opportunities, Access, and Data Based on Assessed Need and Demand Act or the ACCESS BROADBAND Act\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Commerce to establish the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The office\u00a0shall connect with communities that need access to high-speed internet and hold regional workshops to share best practices and effective strategies for promoting broadband access and adoption. The bill also requires the office to (1) develop targeted broadband training and presentations for various demographic communities through media, (2) develop and distribute publications providing guidance to communities for expanding broadband access and adoption, and (3) track construction and use of and access to any broadband infrastructure built using federal support.\n\nUnder the bill, the office shall consult with any agency offering a federal broadband support program in order to streamline the application process for financial assistance or grants.\n\nThe office, any agency that offers a federal broadband support program, and the Federal Communications Commission through the Universal Service Fund shall coordinate to ensure that broadband support is being distributed in an efficient, technology-neutral, and financially sustainable manner.", - "company_name": "Chase Corp.", - "company_description": "Item 1 \u2013 Busines s Primary Operating Divisions and Facilities and Industry Segments Chase Corporation, a global specialty chemicals company founded in 1946, is a leading manufacturer of protective materials for high-reliability applications. The segments are distinguished by the nature of the products we manufacture and how they are delivered to their respective markets. The Industrial Materials segment includes specified products that are used in, or integrated into, another company's product, with demand typically dependent upon general economic conditions. The Construction Materials segment is principally composed of project-oriented product offerings that are primarily sold and used as \"Chase\" branded products. Our manufacturing facilities are distinct to their respective segments with the exception of our O'Hara Township, PA and Blawnox, PA facilities, which produce products related to both operating segments. Background/History Specialty tapes and related products for the electronic and telecommunications industries using the brand name Chase & Sons\u00ae. Insulating and conducting materials for the manufacture of electrical and telephone wire and cable, electrical splicing, and terminating and repair tapes, which are marketed to wire and cable manufacturers selling into energy-oriented and communication markets, and to public utilities. PaperTyger\u00ae, a trademark for laminated durable papers sold to the envelope converting and commercial printing industries. In August 2011, we relocated our manufacturing processes that had been previously conducted at our Webster, MA facility to this location. In December 2012, we relocated the majority of our manufacturing processes that had been previously conducted at our Randolph, MA facility to this location. Our Randolph facility was one of our first operating facilities, and had been producing products for the wire and cable industry for more than fifty years. Chase BLH2OCK\u00ae, a water-blocking compound sold to the wire and cable industry. In September 2012, we relocated our Chase BLH2OCK\u00ae manufacturing processes that had been previously conducted at our Randolph, MA facility to this location. Protective conformal coatings under the brand name HumiSeal\u00ae, moisture protective electronic coatings sold to the electronics industry including circuitry used in automobiles, industrial controls and home appliances. Advanced adhesives, sealants, and coatings for automotive and industrial applications that require specialized bonding, encapsulating, environmental protection, or thermal management functionality. In September 2016, we acquired certain assets and the operations of Resin Designs, LLC, and entered leases in their existing manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts and California. Laminated film foils for the electronics and cable industries and cover tapes essential to delivering semiconductor components via tape and reel packaging. Pulling and detection tapes used in the installation, measurement and location of fiber optic cables, and water and natural gas lines. Cover tapes essential to delivering semiconductor components via tape and reel packaging. In October 2013, we moved the majority of our manufacturing processes that had been conducted at our Taylorsville, NC facility to our Lenoir, NC location. 3 Key Products & Services Primary Manufacturing Locations Background/History Protective conformal coatings under the brand name HumiSeal\u00ae, moisture protective electronic coatings sold to the electronics industry including circuitry used in automobiles, industrial controls and home appliances. In March 2007, we expanded our international presence with the formation of HumiSeal Europe SARL in France. HumiSeal Europe SARL operates a sales/technical service office and warehouse near Paris, France. In June 2016, we further expanded our international presence through the purchase of Spray Products (India) Private Limited, located in Pune, India. This business enhances the Company's ability to provide technical, sales, manufacturing, chemical handling and packaging services in the region and works closely with our HumiSeal manufacturing operation in Winnersh, Wokingham, England.", - "id": "2803cbb2-197f-4a23-89cd-4c56930d74c4" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill requires federal employees to notify Congress about spending over $5,000 for furnishing or redecorating their offices. Tempur Sealy International, Inc. is a bedding product manufacturer and their operations do not directly involve federal employees making such expenditures. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill are not relevant to the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "213", - "bill_title": "To require certain individuals employed by the Federal Government to give 30 days written notice to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate for certain obligations or expenditures over $5,000 to furnish or redecorate the office of such individual, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Reining in Irresponsible Decorating Expenses Act\n\nThis bill requires certain federal employees to notify Congress at least 30 days before spending more than $5,000 to furnish or redecorate their offices. The bill applies to individuals who are (1) the head of a federal agency, or (2) occupy a position in the federal government that requires confirmation by the Senate.\n\nThe notice must include (1) a justification and explanation for the expenditure, and (2) an overview of the current state of agency affairs. Individuals who fail to comply with the notice requirement must repay the Treasury for the expenditures that exceed $5,000.", - "company_name": "Tempur Sealy International, Inc.", - "company_description": "We develop, manufacture and market bedding products, which we sell globally. Our brand portfolio includes many highly recognized brands in the industry, including TEMPUR\u00ae, Tempur-Pedic\u00ae, Sealy\u00ae featuring Posturepedic\u00ae Technology, and Stearns & Foster\u00ae. Our comprehensive suite of bedding products offers a variety of products to consumers across a broad range of channels. We operate in two segments: North America and International. Our North America segment consists of Tempur and Sealy manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries, joint ventures and licensees located in the U.S. and Canada. Our International segment consists of Tempur and Sealy manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries, joint ventures and licensees located in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. In the first quarter of 2017, we updated our primary selling channels to Wholesale and Direct. Wholesale includes all third party retailers, including third party distribution, hospitality and healthcare. Direct includes company-owned stores, e-commerce, and call centers. Retail included furniture and bedding retailers, department stores, specialty retailers and warehouse clubs. Other included direct-to-consumer, third party distributors, hospitality and healthcare customers. Our goal is to improve the sleep of more people, every night, all around the world. Our Products and Brands We have a comprehensive offering of products that appeal to a broad range of consumers, some of which are covered by one or more patents and/or patent applications. In order to achieve our goal to improve the sleep of more people, every night, all around the world, one of our strategic initiatives is to leverage and strengthen our comprehensive portfolio of iconic brands and products. Our brand portfolio includes many highly recognized brands, including TEMPUR\u00ae, Tempur-Pedic\u00ae, Sealy\u00ae featuring Posturepedic\u00ae Technology and Stearns & Foster\u00ae, which are described below: \u00ae - Founded in 1991, the Tempur brand is our specialty innovation category leader designed to provide life changing sleep for our wellness-seeking consumers. Our proprietary Tempur material precisely adapts to the shape, weight and temperature of the consumer and creates fewer pressure points, reduces motion transfer and provides personalized comfort and support. The Stearns & Foster brand offers our consumers high quality mattresses built by certified craftsmen who have been specially trained. Founded in 1846, the brand is designed and built with precise engineering and relentless attention to detail and fuses new innovative technologies with time-honored techniques, creating supremely comfortable beds. The Sealy brand originated in 1881 in Sealy, Texas, and for over a century has focused on offering trusted comfort, durability and excellent value while maintaining contemporary styles and great support. The Sealy Posturepedic brand, introduced in 1950, was engineered to provide all-over support and body alignment to allow full relaxation and deliver a comfortable night's sleep. In 2017, Sealy Posturepedic no longer represented its own separate brand as we united all of our Sealy products under one masterbrand, which features the Posturepedic Technology\u2122 in the Sealy Performance The Cocoon by Sealy brand, introduced in 2016, is our offering in the below $1,000 e-commerce space, made with the high quality materials that consumers expect from Sealy, sold online at www.cocoonbysealy.com and delivered in a box directly to consumers' doorsteps. In North America, we united all of our Sealy products under one masterbrand. Product introductions included new Sealy products in two distinct lines: Response and Conform.", - "id": "819ac73c-b44a-4cea-a22c-8deb6cba4322" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily targets the behavior and benefits of former Members of Congress and does not have direct implications for airlines or the business operations of Alaska Air Group, Inc. It addresses lobbying regulations and the financial disclosures of Congress members rather than any aspect of airline operations, travel policies, or the company's business model.", - "index": "214", - "bill_title": "To provide that a former Member of Congress receiving compensation as a lobbyist shall be ineligible to receive certain Federal retirement benefits or to use certain congressional benefits and services, to require each Member of Congress to post on the Member's official public website a hyperlink to the most recent annual financial disclosure report filed by the Member under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, to prohibit the use of appropriated funds to pay for the costs of travel by the spouse of a Member of Congress who accompanies the Member on official travel, to restrict the use of travel promotional awards by Members of Congress who receive such awards in connection with official air travel, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Prohibiting Perks and Privileges Act\n\nThis bill makes former Members of Congress who are lobbyists ineligible to receive certain federal retirement and health benefits or to use certain congressional benefits and services.\n\n The bill also prohibits federal funds from being used to pay the travel expenses of spouses accompanying Members of Congress on official travel, restricts the use of travel promotional awards received by Members in connection with official air travel, and requires a Member's official website to include a link to the Member's financial disclosure reports.", - "company_name": "Alaska Air Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "OUR BUSINESS Air Group operates three airlines, Alaska, Virgin America and Horizon. McGee Air Services, an aviation services provider, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alaska. Together with regional partner airlines, we fly to 118 destinations with 1,200 daily departures through an expansive network across the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Costa Rica. With global airline partners, we provide our guests with a network of more than 900 destinations worldwide. We believe our success depends on our ability to provide safe air transportation, develop relationships with guests by providing exceptional customer service and low fares, and maintain a low cost structure to compete effectively. In 2017 we focused much of our energy on integrating Virgin America. We achieved several milestones, including merging most back office functions, kicking off station co-locations and launching technology that enables our front-line employees to be agile between Alaska and Virgin America applications. In January 2018, Alaska and Virgin America obtained a single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), our most significant integration milestone to date. The acquisition of Virgin America positioned us as the fifth largest airline in the U.S., with an unparalleled ability to serve West Coast travelers. To do so, we believe we need to meet our guest's evolving needs through innovation in our onboard offerings and provide unique destinations with better schedules, while retaining the best of both the Alaska and Virgin America brand experiences. Virgin America's entire fleet; and kicking off the first of several cabin enhancements of Alaska's Boeing aircraft with expressive mood lighting. While aircraft and technology enable us to provide air transportation, we recognize this is fundamentally a people business. In 2017 , Alaska was once again named one of America's Best Employers by Forbes Magazine for the third year in a row. In that vein, in 2017, Alaska ranked highest in J.D. Power and Associates annual survey of customer satisfaction among traditional network carriers for the tenth year in a row. Virgin America was also recognized for excellent service by Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure magazine also for the tenth year in a row. Customer service matters, and we believe the combination of Alaska and Virgin America will only enhance the experience for our guests. Operationally, Alaska held the No. 1 spot in the Wall Street Journal's \"Middle Seat\" scorecard for U.S. airlines for four consecutive years and the No. 2 spot for 2017. Although we were not the leader in on-time performance in 2017, we led the industry for on-time performance among major airlines for the previous seven years. We are focused on becoming the industry leader in operational performance once again as we fully integrate Alaska and Virgin America operations and we are off to a great start in 2018. In support of the communities that we serve, we strive to be an industry leader in environmental and community stewardship. Our combined fleet is one of the youngest, most fuel-efficient fleets in North America and we look forward to further enhancements in this area. As a result of our environmental and corporate sustainability leadership, we ranked higher than any other North American airline in this year's Dow Jones Sustainability Index. We are also proud of our community stewardship - Air Group donated $14 million to over 1,300 charitable organizations, and our employees volunteered more than 32,000 hours of community service, focused on youth and education, medical research, and transportation and community outreach in 2017. ", - "id": "3cb13905-7dcf-4baa-8bff-53cd48a7aeb5" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on amending the Internal Revenue Code to encourage retirement savings and related tax provisions. While it does impact employer-provided retirement plans and small business tax credits, these provisions are not directly relevant to KapStone Paper & Packaging Corp.'s core operations, which are centered around manufacturing and distributing paper and packaging products. The bill's effects on retirement savings and tax credits do not have a direct influence on the company's manufacturing processes, product sales, or industry-related activities.", - "index": "215", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage retirement savings, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act of 2019\n\nThis bill modifies requirements for tax-favored retirement savings accounts, employer-provided retirement plans, and retirement benefits for federal judges.\n\nWith respect to employer-provided plans, the bill modifies requirements regarding\n\n multiple employer plans, automatic enrollment and nonelective contributions, loans, terminating or transferring plans, reporting and disclosure rules, nondiscrimination rules, selecting lifetime income providers, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation premiums. The bill also increases the tax credit for small employer pension plan startup costs and allows a tax credit for small employers that establish retirement plans that include automatic enrollment.\n\nWith respect to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), the bill\n\n treats taxable non-tuition fellowship and stipend payments as compensation, repeals the maximum age for traditional IRA contributions, and permits any IRA to be a shareholder of any S corporation that is a bank. The bill makes several modifications to retirement benefits for magistrate judges of the U.S. Tax Court and other federal judges.\n\nThe bill also modifies various tax provisions to\n\n reinstate and increase the tax exclusion for benefits provided to volunteer firefighters and emergency medical responders, revise the required distribution rules for pension plans, increase penalties for failing to file tax or retirement plan returns, and require the Internal Revenue Service to share returns and return information with U.S. Customs Border Protection to administer the heavy vehicle use tax.", - "company_name": "KapStone Paper & Packaging Corp.", - "company_description": "KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation was formed in Delaware as a special purpose acquisition corporation on April 15, 2005 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition or other similar business combination with an unidentified operating business in the paper, packaging, forest products, and related industries. (the \"Effective Time\"), change its name to \"WestRock Company,\" and (ii) KapStone will merge with and into Company Merger Sub, with KapStone surviving such merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Holdco (the \"Merger\"). The KPB assets consisted of an unbleached kraft paper manufacturing facility in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, Ride Rite\u00ae Converting, an inflatable dunnage bag manufacturer located in Fordyce, Arkansas, trade accounts receivable and inventories. We subsequently paid an aggregate of $53.7 million additional purchase price pursuant to contingent earn-out payments based upon achieving certain EBITDA targets. The CKD assets consisted of an unbleached kraft paper manufacturing facility in North Charleston, South Carolina (including a cogeneration facility), chip mills located in Elgin, Hampton, Andrews and Kinards, South Carolina, a lumber mill located in Summerville, South Carolina, trade accounts receivable and inventories. USC owned, at the time of the merger, a recycled containerboard paper mill in Cowpens, South Carolina and fourteen corrugated packaging plants across the Eastern and Midwestern United States. Longview is a leading manufacturer of high quality containerboard, kraft papers and corrugated products. Longview's operations include a paper mill located in Longview, Washington equipped with five paper machines which have the capacity to produce approximately 1.3 million tons of containerboard and kraft paper annually. Longview also owns seven converting facilities located in the Pacific Northwest. Victory, headquartered in Houston, TX, provides its customers comprehensive packaging solutions and services and is one of the largest North American distributors of packaging materials. Victory's operations include approximately 60 distribution and fulfillment facilities in the United States, Mexico and Canada. On April 8, 2016, the Company's board of directors approved the plan to expand its geographical footprint into Southern California with a new sheet plant with a total estimated cost of approximately $14.0 million. In conjunction with this, the Company signed a 10-year lease agreement with a total commitment of approximately $9.8 million. The new sheet plant started manufacturing boxes in 4 February 2017 and is intended to primarily supply the Company's Victory distribution operations in Southern California as well as other KapStone customers. On July 1, 2016, the Company acquired 100 percent of the common stock of Central Florida Box Corporation (\"CFB\"), a corrugated products manufacturer located near Orlando, Florida, for $15.4 million, net of cash acquired. On September 1, 2016, the Company made a $10.6 million investment for a 49 percent equity interest in a sheet feeder operation located in Florida. In April of 2016, the Company made a $1.25 million investment for a 20 percent equity interest in a sheet feeder operation located in California. API provides corrugated packaging and digital production needs serving a diverse customer base, including an emphasis on fulfillment and kitting for the automotive and consumer products industries. Our Paper and Packaging segment manufactures and sells a wide variety of containerboard, corrugated products and specialty paper for industrial and consumer markets. The Distribution segment, through Victory, a North American distributor of packaging materials, with approximately 60 distribution centers located in the United States, Mexico and Canada, provides packaging materials and related products to a wide variety of customers. Our Paper and Packaging segment produces containerboard, corrugated products and specialty paper. In 2017, we produced 2.8 million tons, nearly 86 percent of which was sold to third party converters or shipped to our corrugated products manufacturing plants based in the United States, and 14 percent of which was sold to foreign based customers. In 2017, our corrugated products manufacturing plants sold about 912 thousand tons or 14.4 billion square feet (\"BSF\") of corrugated products in the U.S.", - "id": "8992c0da-8b52-4f16-9f52-fd77e32a5591" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill prohibits retail businesses from refusing cash payments, which is relevant to Amazon's business model as it operates both online and physical retail environments. Since the bill mandates acceptance of cash payments, it directly impacts Amazon's operations in retail settings, including its physical stores and Whole Foods Market.", - "index": "216", - "bill_title": "To prohibit retail businesses from refusing cash payments, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Payment Choice Act of 2019 \n\nThis bill makes it unlawful for a person selling goods or services at retail to (1) refuse to accept U.S. cash for the goods or services, (2) post signs or notices stating that cash payment is unaccepted, or (3) charge a higher price to a customer who pays by cash.", - "company_name": "Amazon.com, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. In each of our segments, we serve our primary customer sets, consisting of consumers, sellers, developers, enterprises, and content creators. In addition, we provide services, such as advertising. We serve consumers through our online and physical stores and focus on selection, price, and convenience. We design our stores to enable hundreds of millions of unique products to be sold by us and by third parties across dozens of product categories. Customers access our offerings through our websites, mobile apps, Alexa, and physically visiting our stores. We also manufacture and sell electronic devices, including Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, Fire TVs, and Echo devices, and we develop and produce media content. In addition, we offer Amazon Prime, a membership program that includes unlimited free shipping on over 100 million items, access to unlimited streaming of thousands of movies and TV episodes, and other benefits. We fulfill customer orders in a number of ways, including through: North America and International fulfillment and delivery networks that we operate; co-sourced and outsourced arrangements in certain countries; digital delivery; and through our physical stores. We offer programs that enable sellers to grow their businesses, sell their products in our stores, and fulfill orders through us. We earn fixed fees, a percentage of sales, per-unit activity fees, interest, or some combination thereof, for our seller programs. We serve developers and enterprises of all sizes, including start-ups, government agencies, and academic institutions, through our AWS segment, which offers a broad set of global compute, storage, database, and other service offerings. We serve authors and independent publishers with Kindle Direct Publishing, an online service that lets independent authors and publishers choose a royalty option and make their books available in the Kindle Store, along with Amazon's own publishing arm, Amazon Publishing. We also offer programs that allow authors, musicians, filmmakers, skill and app developers, and others to publish and sell content. Our businesses encompass a large variety of product types, service offerings, and delivery channels. The worldwide marketplace in which we compete is evolving rapidly and intensely competitive, and we face a broad array of competitors from many different industry sectors around the world. We believe that the principal competitive factors in our retail businesses include selection, price, and convenience, including fast and reliable fulfillment. Additional competitive factors for our seller and enterprise services include the quality, speed, and reliability of our services and tools, as well as customers' ability and willingness to change business practices. They may secure better terms from suppliers, adopt more aggressive pricing, pursue restrictive distribution agreements that restrict our access to supply, direct consumers to their own offerings instead of ours, lock-in potential customers with restrictive terms, and devote more resources to technology, infrastructure, fulfillment, and marketing. Fourth quarter 2017 results include revenue attributable to Whole Foods Market, which we acquired on August 28, 2017. Competition for qualified personnel in our industry has historically been intense, particularly for software engineers, computer scientists, and other technical staff. ", - "id": "21f92ac1-8dd6-4472-8941-aca927891c44" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on advancing human spaceflight and the development of technologies related to space exploration, such as spacesuits and ISS operations. Ciena Corp.'s business centers around networking systems, services, and software for communications, which does not align with the space-focused initiatives of the bill. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill, including U.S. policy establishment for human presence in space and NASA's strategic initiatives, do not impact Ciena Corp.'s operations or business model.", - "index": "217", - "bill_title": "A bill to extend the commitment of the United States to the International Space Station, to develop advanced space suits, and to enable human space settlement, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Advancing Human Spaceflight Act\n\nThis bill addresses the establishment of U.S. policy, programs, and activities pertaining to human presence in space.\n\nThe bill declares that it is U.S. policy to permanently establish a human presence in low-Earth orbit and that such capability shall\n\n maintain U.S. global leadership and relations with partners and allies, contribute to the general welfare of the United States, and be affordable so as to not preclude a robust portfolio of other human space exploration activities. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shall ensure that the International Space Station (ISS) remains a viable and productive facility capable of potential U.S. use through at least FY2030.\n\nNASA must submit a strategy that includes how it will transition to a successor platform to the ISS.\n\nThe bill expands the objectives of NASA to include the expansion of permanent human presence beyond Earth in a way that enables human space settlement and a thriving space economy.\n\nNASA shall establish a program of developing space suits and associated technologies.", - "company_name": "Ciena Corp.", - "company_description": "our ability to forecast accurately demand for our products for purposes of inventory purchase practices; the impact of pricing pressure and price erosion that we regularly encounter in our markets; \u2022 the continued availability, on commercially reasonable terms, of software and other technology under third-party licenses; \u2022 the potential failure to maintain the security of confidential, proprietary or otherwise sensitive business information or systems or to protect against cyber attacks; \u2022 the performance of our third-party contract manufacturers; changes or disruption in components or supplies provided by third parties, including sole and limited source suppliers; \u2022 our ability to grow and maintain our new distribution relationships under which we will make available certain technology as a component; our ability to commercialize and grow our software business and address networking strategies including software-defined networking and network function virtualization; changes in, and the impact of, government regulations, including with respect to: the communications industry generally; the business of our customers; the use, import or export of products; and the environment, potential climate change and other social initiatives; the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, changes in tax regulations and related accounting, and changes in our effective tax rates; future legislation or executive action in the U.S. relating to tax policy or trade regulation; the write-down of goodwill, long-lived assets, or our deferred tax assets; We are a networking systems, services and software company, providing solutions that enable a wide range of network operators to deploy and manage next-generation networks that deliver services to businesses and consumers. We provide network hardware, software and services that support the transport, switching, aggregation, service delivery and management of video, data and voice traffic on communications networks. Our solutions are used by communications service providers, cable and multiservice operators, Web-scale providers, submarine network operators, governments, enterprises, research and education (R & E) institutions and other emerging network operators. Our solutions include a diverse portfolio of high-capacity Networking Platform products, which can be applied from the network core to network access points, and which allow network operators to scale capacity, increase transmission speeds, allocate traffic and adapt dynamically to changing end-user service demands. We also offer Platform Software that provides management and domain control of our next-generation packet and optical platforms and automates network lifecycle operations, including provisioning equipment and services. In addition, through our comprehensive suite of Blue Planet Automation Software, we enable network operators to use network data and analytics to drive enhanced automation across multi-vendor and multi-domain network environments, accelerate service delivery and enable an increasingly predictive and autonomous network infrastructure. To complement our hardware and software solutions, we offer a broad range of attached and software-related services that help our customers design, optimize, integrate, deploy, manage and maintain their networks and associated operational environments. Through our complete portfolio of solutions, we enable our customers to transform their network into a dynamic, programmable environment driven by automation and analytics, which we refer to as the Adaptive Network. Our solutions for the Adaptive Network create business and operational value for our customers, enabling them to introduce new revenue-generating services, reduce costs and maximize the return on their network infrastructure investment. In particular, optical networks \u2013 which carry video, data and voice traffic by encoding digital information on multiple wavelengths of light traveling across fiber optic cables \u2013 have experienced strong traffic growth for several years. This growth, and the resulting requirements for increased network capacity and transmission speed, is being driven by an increasingly diverse set of communications services and applications. These services and applications, including those set forth below, are increasing the bandwidth and service demands placed upon networks and are challenging the business models of many network operators. Enterprises and consumers continue to replace locally-housed computing and storage by adopting a broad array of innovative cloud-based models \u2013 including Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service ( IaaS) \u2013 and an expanding range of cloud-based services that host key applications, store data, enable the viewing and downloading of content and utilize on-demand computing resources. ", - "id": "c64b7f08-be47-47b4-8023-8de24e0f4e82" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The DIGIT Act aims to enhance the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) by addressing regulatory barriers and encouraging coordination between federal agencies. ANSYS, Inc.'s engineering simulation software is used across various industries including aerospace, automotive, and healthcare, which are increasingly adopting IoT technologies for design and operation. The bill's focus on improving IoT development directly aligns with ANSYS's interests as it could enhance the capabilities of their simulation tools in IoT contexts, making this legislation relevant to their business.", - "index": "218", - "bill_title": "A bill to ensure appropriate prioritization, spectrum planning, and interagency coordination to support the Internet of Things.", - "bill_summary": "Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things Act or the DIGIT Act\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Commerce to convene a working group of federal stakeholders to provide recommendations regarding the Internet of Things (IoT), and it establishes a steering committee composed of stakeholders outside the federal government to advise the working group. The IoT is a system of interrelated devices connected to a network and each other that exchange data without requiring human interaction (e.g., smart home devices, medical monitoring devices, and wearable fitness trackers).\n\nThe working group must (1) identify federal laws and regulations, grant practices, budgetary or jurisdictional challenges, and other sector-specific policies that inhibit IoT development; (2) consider policies or programs that encourage and improve coordination among federal agencies with relevant responsibilities; (3) consider implementing recommendations from the steering committee; (4) examine how federal agencies can benefit from, use, prepare for, and secure the IoT; and (5) consult with nongovernmental stakeholders.\n\nThe steering committee must advise the working group about laws, budgets, spectrum needs, individual privacy, security, small business challenges, and any international proceedings or negotiations affecting the IoT.\n\nLastly, the Federal Communications Commission must (1) seek public comment on the IoT's spectrum needs, regulatory barriers, and growth with licensed and unlicensed spectrum; and (2) submit a summary of those comments to Congress.", - "company_name": "ANSYS, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS ANSYS, a Delaware corporation formed in 1994, develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services widely used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a broad spectrum of industries and academia, including aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, semiconductors, energy, materials and chemical processing, turbomachinery, consumer products, healthcare, and sports. The Company focuses on the development of open and flexible solutions that enable users to analyze designs directly on the desktop, providing a common platform for fast, efficient and cost-conscious product development, from design concept to final-stage testing and validation. The Company distributes its ANSYS\u00ae suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in strategic, global locations. The Company operates and reports as one segment. ANSYS Workbench\u2122 ANSYS Workbench is the framework upon which the Company's suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The innovative project schematic view ties together the entire simulation process, guiding the user through complex multiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop simplicity. With bi-directional computer-aided design (CAD) connectivity, powerful highly-automated meshing, a project-level update mechanism, pervasive parameter management and integrated optimization tools, the ANSYS Workbench platform enables Pervasive Engineering Simulation\u2122. The Company's Workbench framework allows engineers and designers to incorporate the compounding effects of multiple physics into a virtual prototype of their design and simulate its operation under real-world conditions. As product architectures become smaller, lighter and more complex, companies must be able to accurately predict how products will behave in real-world environments where multiple types of physics interact in a coupled way. ANSYS multiphysics software enables engineers to simulate the interactions between structures, heat transfer, fluids and electronics all within a single, unified engineering simulation environment. ANSYS Workbench enables companies to create a customized simulation environment to deploy specialized simulation best practices and automations unique to their product development process or industry. With ANSYS ACT\u2122, end users or ANSYS partners can modify the user interface, process simulation data or embed third-party applications to create specialized tools based on ANSYS Workbench. The Company's high-performance computing (HPC) product suite enables enhanced insight into product performance and improves the productivity of the design process. The HPC product suite delivers cross-physics parallel processing capabilities for the full spectrum of the Company's simulation software by supporting structures, fluids, thermal and electronics simulations. This product suite decreases turnaround time for individual simulations, allowing users to consider multiple design ideas and make the right design decisions early in the design cycle. The Company's structural analysis product suite offers simulation tools for product design and optimization that increase productivity, minimize physical prototyping and help to deliver better and more innovative products in less time. These tools tackle real-world analysis problems by making product development less costly and more reliable. In addition, these tools have capabilities that cover a broad range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities, all targeted toward understanding and solving complex design problems. The Company also provides comprehensive topology optimization tools that engineers use to design structural components to meet loading requirements with minimal material and component weight. The Company offers a complete simulation workflow for additive manufacturing that allows reliable 3D printing by simulating the laser sintering process and delivering compensated CAD geometries that ensure reliable printed parts. The Company's fluids product suite enables modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design and optimize new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications. The Company's electromagnetics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance of mobile communication and internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment, all prior to building a prototype. ", - "id": "a7eb2a90-d119-4796-b1f0-842fdf7d89bb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace, which is relevant for Amarin Corp. as it has 15 or more employees and thus will need to adopt a comprehensive nondiscrimination policy. Additionally, the pharmaceutical industry, including Amarin, often requires a diverse workforce and the ability to attract and retain talent, making compliance with these anti-discrimination measures crucial for operational effectiveness.", - "index": "219", - "bill_title": "To prevent discrimination and harassment in employment.", - "bill_summary": "Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination in the Workplace Act or the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace and raises the minimum wage for tipped employees.\n\nSpecifically, the bill (1) makes it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against an individual in the workplace based on sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, and a sex stereotype; (2) prohibits employers from entering into contracts or agreements with workers that contain certain nondisparagement or nondisclosure clauses; (3) prohibits predispute arbitration agreements and postdispute agreements with certain exceptions, and (4) establishes grant programs to prevent and respond to workplace discrimination and harassment, provide legal assistance for low-income workers related to employment discrimination, and establish a system of legal advocacy in states to protect the rights of workers.\n\nAdditionally, the bill, among other things\n\n requires employers who have 15 or more employees to adopt a comprehensive nondiscrimination policy; requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to provide specified training and resource materials, establish and convene a harassment prevention task force, and establish an Office of Education and Outreach with regard to prohibited discrimination and harassment in employment; requires specified studies, reports, and research on prohibited harassment in employment; and grants employees the right to retain their tips.", - "company_name": "Amarin Corp. Plc", - "company_description": "Management estimates are derived from publicly available information released by independent industry analysts and third-party sources, as well as data from our internal research, and based on assumptions made by us based on such data and our knowledge of such industry, which we believe to be reasonable. Amarin Corporation plc was originally incorporated in England as a private limited company on March 1, 1989 under the Companies Act 1985, and re-registered in England as a public limited company on March 19, 1993. Our primary office in the United States is located at 1430 Route 206, Bedminster, NJ 07921, USA. We are a pharmaceutical company with expertise in omega-3 fatty acids and lipid science focused on the commercialization and development of therapeutics to improve cardiovascular, or CV, health. (icosapent ethyl) capsules, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, for use as an adjunct to diet to reduce triglyceride, or TG, levels in adult patients with severe (TG \u2265 500 mg/dL) hypertriglyceridemia. Triglycerides are the main constituent of body fat in humans. Hypertriglyceridemia refers to a condition in which patients have high levels of triglycerides in the bloodstream. The primary targeted clinical benefit of lowering triglycerides in adult patients with severe (TG \u2265 500 mg/dL) hypertriglyceridemia is to reduce the risk of pancreatitis. In January 2013, we began selling and marketing Vascepa in the United States based on the FDA-approved MARINE indication of patients with severely high (TG \u2265 500 mg/dL) triglyceride levels, a patient population of approximately 4 million people in the United States. Our FDA-approved indication for Vascepa, known as the MARINE indication, is based primarily on the successful results from the MARINE study of Vascepa in the approved patient population. In considering this approval, the FDA also reviewed the successful results from our study of Vascepa in patients with high triglyceride levels (TG \u2265 200 mg/dL and <500 mg/dL) who are also on statin therapy for elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or LDL-C, levels In August 2015, in addition to our FDA-approved indication, we began promoting Vascepa to healthcare professionals, or HCPs, in the United States for the lowering of triglyceride levels and other lipid and lipoprotein parameters in treatment of the patient population studied in the ANCHOR study (persistent high triglycerides after statin therapy). It is estimated that one in four adults in the United States, or more than 50 million people, have elevated (>150 mg/dL) triglyceride levels. We also educated HCPs with supportive but not conclusive early stage and Japanese cardiovascular outcomes trial research on how the unique active ingredient in Vascepa, icosapent ethyl, might reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. This HCP promotion was based on an August 2015 federal court declaration and subsequent settlement with the FDA and U.S. government that we believe permits such promotion under the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. To remain truthful and non-misleading, as part of this promotion we educated HCPs on the continued uncertainty between lowering triglycerides and cardiovascular risk reduction based on the failure of other drugs (fenofibrate and formulations of niacin) to demonstrate incremental cardiovascular benefit from adding a second lipid-altering drug on top of standard of care statin therapy, despite such drugs reducing triglyceride levels and having other favorable effects on lipid and lipoprotein parameters. Multiple primary and secondary prevention trials have shown a significant relative risk reduction, or RRR, of 25% to 35% in the risk of cardiovascular events with statin therapy, leaving significant persistent residual risk despite the achievement of target LDL-C levels. Worldwide, cardiovascular disease, or CVD, remains the number one killer of men and women. In the United States, CVD leads to one in every three deaths\u2014one death approximately every 38 seconds\u2014with annual treatment cost in excess of $500 billion. There is no FDA-approved therapy for lowering cardiovascular risk beyond therapies which target lowering of LDL-C levels. REDUCE-IT was a global study of 8,179 statin-treated adults with elevated cardiovascular risk. REDUCE-IT met its primary endpoint demonstrating a 25% relative risk reduction, or RRR, to a high degree of statistical significance (p<0.001), in first occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events, or MACE, in the intent-to-treat patient population with use of Vascepa 4 grams/day as compared to placebo. Patients who were enrolled in REDUCE-IT needed to have LDL-C between 41-100 mg/dL (median baseline LDL-C75 mg/dL) controlled by statin therapy and various cardiovascular risk factors including persistent elevated triglycerides, or TG, between 135-499 mg/dL (median baseline 216 mg/dL) and either established cardiovascular disease (secondary prevention cohort) or be at least age 50 with diabetes mellitus and at least one other CV risk factor (primary prevention cohort). Approximately 59% of the patients had diabetes at baseline, approximately 71% of the patients had established cardiovascular disease at time of enrollment and approximately 29% were primary prevention subjects at high risk for cardiovascular disease.", - "id": "d234114b-4285-4a3f-80c9-b6ee88cc12d2" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The WILD Act focuses on wildlife conservation, management of invasive species, and the protection of endangered species, which do not directly relate to EchoStar Corp.'s business model of providing satellite services and broadband technologies. There are no clear legal consequences that link the bill to EchoStar's operations, which are primarily centered around satellite communications and internet services, rather than environmental or wildlife conservation initiatives.", - "index": "220", - "bill_title": "To reauthorize the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and certain wildlife conservation funds, to establish prize competitions relating to the prevention of wildlife poaching and trafficking, wildlife conservation, the management of invasive species, and the protection of endangered species, to amend the Marine Turtle Conservation Act of 2004 to modify the protections provided by that Act, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver Act or the WILD Act\n\nThis bill reauthorizes and revises several wildlife conservation programs, establishes requirements for invasive species management, and requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to establish certain prize competitions.\n\nSpecifically, the bill reauthorizes through FY2023 (1) the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program; and (2) accounts under the Multinational Species Conservation Fund for the protection of African elephants, Asian elephants, rhinoceros, tigers, and great apes. The bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises the Marine Turtle Conservation Fund, including to expand the fund to include funding for the conservation of tortoises and freshwater turtles.\n\nIn addition, the bill requires certain federal agencies to (1) control and manage invasive species, and (2) develop strategic plans for implementing invasive species programs designed to achieve substantive annual net reductions of invasive species populations or infested acreage on land or water.\n\nFinally, the USFWS must establish Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prizes to encourage technological innovation with the potential to advance the mission of the USFWS with respect to the\n\n prevention of wildlife poaching and trafficking, promotion of wildlife conservation, management of invasive species, protection of endangered species, and nonlethal management of human-wildlife conflicts.", - "company_name": "EchoStar Corp.", - "company_description": "We are a global provider of satellite service operations, video delivery solutions, broadband satellite technologies and broadband internet services for home and small office customers. We also deliver innovative network technologies, managed services, and various communications solutions for aeronautical, enterprise and government customers. \u2014 which provides broadband satellite technologies and broadband internet services to domestic and international home and small office customers and broadband network technologies, managed services, equipment, hardware, satellite services and communication solutions to domestic and international consumers and aeronautical, enterprise and government customers. The Hughes segment also designs, provides and installs gateway and terminal equipment to customers for other satellite systems. In addition, our Hughes segment provides satellite ground segment systems and terminals to mobile system operators. EchoStar Satellite Services (\"ESS\") \u2014 which uses certain of our owned and leased in-orbit satellites and related licenses to provide satellite service operations and video delivery solutions on a full-time and occasional-use basis primarily to DISH Network Corporation and its subsidiaries (\"DISH Network\"), Dish Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V., a joint venture we entered into in 2008 (\"Dish Mexico\"), United States (\"U.S.\") government service providers, internet service providers, broadcast news organizations, programmers, and private enterprise customers. ESS also manages satellite operations for certain satellites owned by DISH Network. Our operations also include various corporate departments (primarily Executive, Strategic Development, Human Resources, IT, Finance, Real Estate and Legal) as well as other activities that have not been assigned to our operating segments, including costs incurred in certain satellite development programs and other business development activities, our centralized treasury operations, and gains (losses) from certain of our investments. In 2008, DISH Network completed its distribution to us of its digital set-top box business, certain infrastructure, and other assets and related liabilities, including certain of its satellites, uplink and satellite transmission assets, and real estate (the \"Spin-off\"). (\"HSS\") issued the Tracking Stock (as defined below) to subsidiaries of DISH in exchange for five satellites (EchoStar I, EchoStar VII, EchoStar X, EchoStar XI, and EchoStar XIV) (including the assumption of related in-orbit incentive obligations) and approximately $11.4 million in cash; and (ii) DISH and certain of its subsidiaries began receiving certain satellite services on these five satellites from us. The Tracking Stock tracked the economic performance of the residential retail satellite broadband business of our Hughes segment, including certain operations, assets and liabilities attributed to such business (collectively, the \"Hughes Retail Group\" or \"HRG\"), and represented an aggregate 80.0% economic interest in HRG (the Hughes Retail Preferred Tracking Stock issued by EchoStar Corporation (the \"EchoStar Tracking Stock\") represented a 51.89% economic interest in HRG and the Hughes Retail Preferred Tracking Stock issued by HSS (the \"HSS Tracking Stock\", together with the EchoStar Tracking Stock, the \"Tracking Stock\") represented a 28.11% economic interest in HRG). In addition to the remaining 20.0% economic interest in HRG, EchoStar retained all economic interest in the wholesale satellite broadband business and other businesses of EchoStar. Our former EchoStar Technologies businesses designed, developed and distributed secure end-to-end video technology solutions including digital set-top boxes and related products and technology, primarily for satellite TV service providers and telecommunication companies and provided digital broadcast operations, including satellite uplinking/downlinking, transmission services, signal processing, conditional access management, and other services. Under the revised allocation methodology, these costs are now reported and analyzed as part of \"Corporate and Other\" BUSINESS STRATEGIES Capitalize on domestic and international demand for broadband services. We intend to capitalize on the domestic and international demand for satellite-delivered broadband internet services and enterprise solutions by utilizing, among other things, our industry expertise, technology leadership, increased satellite capacity, access to spectrum resources, and high-quality, reliable service to drive growth in consumer subscribers and enterprise customers. Expand satellite capacity and related infrastructure. During 2017, we significantly increased our satellite capacity in North America and certain Central and South American countries and added capability for aeronautical, enterprise and international broadband internet services. We also commenced the design and construction of a new, next-generation, high throughput geostationary satellite, with a planned 2021 launch, that is primarily intended to provide additional capacity for our HughesNet service in North, Central and South America as well as aeronautical and enterprise services. We currently provide satellite broadband internet service in Brazil and Colombia and expect to launch similar services in other Central and South American countries in 2018. We believe market opportunities exist that will facilitate the acquisition or leasing of additional satellite capacity which will enable us to provide services to a broader customer base, including providers of pay-TV services, satellite-delivered broadband, corporate communications, and government services. Continue development of S-band and other hybrid spectrum resources. Commercial service has been available to customers on our EchoStar XXI satellite since the fourth quarter of 2017, and we believe we remain in a unique position to deploy a European wide mobile satellite service (\"MSS\")/complementary ground component (\"CGC\") network and maximize the long-term value of our S-band spectrum, in Europe and other regions within the scope of our licenses. Our engineering capabilities provide us with the opportunity to develop and deploy cutting edge technologies, license our technologies to others, and maintain a leading technological position in the industries in which we are active. Continue to selectively explore new domestic and international strategic initiatives.", - "id": "36cd5eae-7022-4aaa-afb9-2c59bb7c77a1" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on ensuring the independence and oversight of special counsels within the Department of Justice, which pertains to legal and judicial matters. It does not have any direct implications for Altra Industrial Motion Corp., which operates in manufacturing and industrial equipment sectors. Therefore, the legal consequences outlined in the bill are not relevant to the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "221", - "bill_title": "A bill to ensure independent investigations and judicial review of the removal of a special counsel, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act\n\nThis bill codifies certain Department of Justice (DOJ) regulations that govern the appointment, oversight, and removal of a special counsel.\n\n Additionally, the bill provides new statutory limitations and requirements with respect to the removal from office of a special counsel.\n\n Finally, the bill requires DOJ to notify Congress when a special counsel is appointed, before a special counsel is removed, and after a special counsel's investigation concludes.", - "company_name": "Altra Industrial Motion Corp.", - "company_description": "Couplings are the interface between two shafts, which enable power to be transmitted from one shaft to the other. Because shafts are often misaligned, we design our couplings with a measure of flexibility that accommodates various degrees of misalignment. Altra manufactures a diverse variety of couplings suitable for many industrial and specialty applications. Our various coupling products include: gear couplings, high performance diaphragm and disc couplings, elastomeric couplings, miniature and precision couplings, as well as universal joints, mill spindles and shaft locking devices. These products are sold into many different markets, including: food processing, oil and gas, power generation, material handling, medical, metals, mining, and mobile off-highway. Our couplings are primarily manufactured under the Ameridrives, Bibby, Lamiflex, TB Wood's, Huco Dynatork, Guardian and Stromag brands in our facilities in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, China and Mexico. Primarily utilized in heavy duty industrial, mining and energy applications, clutches are devices which use mechanical, magnetic, hydraulic, pneumatic, or friction type connections to facilitate engaging or disengaging two rotating members. Brakes are combinations of interacting parts that work to slow or stop machinery. We manufacture a variety of clutches and brakes in two main product categories: heavy duty and overrunning. Our core clutch and brake manufacturing facilities are located in Michigan, Texas, Denmark, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Brazil, India and China. Our heavy duty clutch and brake product lines serve various markets including metal forming, off-shore and land-based oil and gas drilling platforms, mining, material handling, marine, wind turbine applications and various off-highway and construction equipment segments. Our line of heavy duty pneumatic, hydraulic and caliper clutches and brakes are marketed under the Wichita Clutch, Twiflex, Industrial Clutch, Svendborg Brakes and Stromag brand names. Products include overrunning, indexing and backstopping clutches which are generally used as a mechanical means of prohibiting a shaft's rotation in one direction while enabling its rotation in the opposite direction. Primary industrial applications include conveyors, gear reducers, hoists and cranes, mining machinery, machine tools, paper machinery, and other specialty machinery. We also sell our overrunning clutch products into the aerospace and defense market for fixed and rotary wing aircraft. We market and sell these products under the Formsprag, Marland, and Stieber brand names. Belted drives incorporate both a rubber-based belt and at least two sheaves or synchronous sprockets. Belted drives typically change the speed of an electric motor or engine to the level required for a particular piece of equipment. Our belted drive line includes three types of v-belts, three types of synchronous belts, standard and made-to-order sheaves and synchronous sprockets, and split taper bushings. We sell belted drives to a wide range of end markets, including aggregate, energy, chemical and material handling. Our engineered belted drives are primarily manufactured under the TB Wood's brand in our facilities in Pennsylvania and Mexico. 6 Electromagnetic Clutches and Brakes business segment Products in this segment include brakes and clutches that are used to electronically slow, stop, engage or disengage equipment utilizing electromagnetic friction type connections. Our industrial products include clutches and brakes with specially designed controls for material handling, forklift, elevator, medical mobility, mobile off-highway, baggage handling and plant productivity applications. We also offer a line of clutch and brake products for walk-behind mowers, residential lawn tractors and commercial mowers. While industrial applications are predominant, we also manufacture products for several niche vehicular applications including on-road refrigeration compressor clutches and agricultural equipment clutches.", - "id": "cfbe655c-6188-4497-97f0-6e7da4454345" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Act of 2019 is relevant to ACI Worldwide, Inc. because it addresses issues related to trade practices, technology (including mobile networks), and potential economic risks that can impact businesses engaged in electronic payments. ACI's operations in the international payments landscape may be affected by changes in regulations, security concerns, and competition related to Chinese entities, especially in terms of technology and infrastructure that can influence their ability to provide services.", - "index": "222", - "bill_title": "A bill to implement the recommendations of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Act of 2019\n\nThis bill calls for various reports to Congress on China-related topics and revises labeling requirements under the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938.\n\nVarious agencies shall report on\n\n whether the United States should file a complaint with the World Trade Organization against China and on China's trade-distorting practices; efforts to prosecute Chinese Communist Party (CCP) affiliates who threaten or coerce U.S. residents; Chinese bases in other countries and how such bases affect freedom of navigation, sea control, and U.S. interests; the Chinese Coast Guard and whether it is being used as a coercive tool in the East China Sea and South China Sea; steps to ensure deployment of fifth generation mobile networks (5G networks) and the threats posed by Chinese 5G equipment and services; U.S.-China technical cooperation and related threats such as intellectual property theft; and China's enforcement of sanctions against North Korea. The bill also calls for annual reports on\n\n supply chain risks associated with China, in particular involving communications and mobile technologies and equipment; and CCP influence and propaganda activities in the United States. The bill also establishes that informational materials that must be labeled as distributed by a foreign principal shall be labeled as such on the first page in the languages used in the document.", - "company_name": "ACI Worldwide, Inc.", - "company_description": "We develop, market, install, and support a broad line of software products and solutions primarily focused on facilitating real-time electronic payments. Our payment capabilities, technologies, and solutions are marketed under the brand name Universal Payments, or \u0093UP,\u0094 which describes the breadth and depth of ACI\u0092s product offerings. UP defines ACI\u0092s enterprise or \u0093universal\u0094 payments capabilities targeting any channel, any network, and any payment type. ACI UP solutions empower customers to regain control, choice, and flexibility in today\u0092s complex payments environment, get to market more quickly, and reduce operational costs. These products and services are used globally by banks, financial intermediaries, merchants and corporates, such as third-party electronic payment processors, payment associations, switch interchanges and a wide range of transaction-generating endpoints, including automated teller machines (\u0093ATM\u0094), merchant point-of-sale (\u0093POS\u0094) terminals, bank branches, mobile phones, tablets, corporations, and internet commerce sites. The authentication, authorization, switching, settlement, fraud-checking, and reconciliation of electronic payments is a complex activity due to the large number of locations and variety of sources from which transactions can be generated, the large number of participants in the market, high transaction volumes, geographically dispersed networks, differing types of authorization, and varied reporting requirements. ACI combines a global perspective with local presence to tailor electronic payment solutions for our customers. We believe that we have one of the most diverse and robust electronic payment product portfolios in the industry with application software spanning the entire payments value chain. Target Markets ACI\u0092s comprehensive electronic payment solutions serve four key markets: Banks ACI provides payment solutions to large and mid-size banks globally for both retail banking, digital, and other payment services. Our solutions transform banks\u0092 complex payment environments to speed time to market, reduce costs, and deliver a consistent experience to customers across channels while enabling them to prevent 3 and rapidly react to fraudulent activity. In addition, we enable banks to meet the requirements of different real-time payment schemes and to quickly create differentiated products to meet consumer, business, and merchant demands. ACI\u0092s payment solutions support financial intermediaries, such as processors, networks, payment service providers (\u0093PSPs\u0094), and new financial technology (\u0093FinTech\u0094) entrants. We offer these customers scalable solutions that strategically position them to innovate and achieve growth and cost efficiency, while protecting them against fraud. Our solutions also allow new entrants in the digital marketplace to access innovative payment schemes, such as the U.K. Faster Payments New Access Model, ACI\u0092s support of merchants globally includes Tier 1 and Tier 2 merchants, online-only merchants and the PSPs, independent selling organizations (\u0093ISOs\u0094), value added resellers (\u0093VARs\u0094), and acquirers who service them. These customers operate in a variety of verticals, including general merchandise, grocery, hospitality, dining, transportation, and others. Our solutions provide merchants with a secure, omni-channel payments platform that gives them independence from third-party payment providers. We also offer secure solutions to online-only merchants that provide consumers with a convenient and seamless way to shop. Within the corporate segment, ACI provides electronic bill presentment and payment (\u0093EBPP\u0094) services to companies operating in the consumer finance, insurance, healthcare, higher education, tax, and utility categories. Our solutions enable these customers to support a wide range of payment options and provide a painless consumer payments experience that drives consumer loyalty and increases revenue. ACI\u0092s UP \u00ae solutions span the payments ecosystem to support the electronic payment needs of banks, intermediaries, merchants and corporates. Our six strategic solution areas include the following: Retail Payments ACI offers comprehensive consumer payment solutions ranging from core payment engines to back-office support that enable banks and financial intermediaries to compete effectively in today\u0092s real-time, open payments ecosystem. Retail Payments\u0099 solution enables banks and financial intermediaries to accept, authorize, route and secure payment transactions.", - "id": "5344ec9b-6b16-413b-b706-8621407d8a51" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on the use of innovative materials and techniques in transportation and water infrastructure, which primarily targets construction, engineering, and public works sectors. While United Airlines operates in the aviation industry, it does not engage directly in infrastructure construction or material innovation related to transportation except to the extent that any improvements might indirectly affect airport infrastructure. Therefore, the bill's consequences regarding construction materials and methodologies do not have direct relevance to United Airlines' business model or operations.", - "index": "223", - "bill_title": "A bill to encourage the research and use of innovative materials and associated techniques in the construction and preservation of the domestic transportation and water infrastructure system, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Innovative Materials for America's Growth and Infrastructure Newly Expanded Act of 2019 or the IMAGINE Act\n\nThis bill encourages the use of innovative construction materials and techniques to accelerate the deployment, extend the service life, improve the performance, and reduce the cost of domestic transportation and water infrastructure projects.\n\nAmong other things, the bill\n\n establishes an Interagency Innovative Materials Standards Task Force to assess existing standards and test methods for the use of innovative materials in infrastructure, identify key barriers in the standards area that inhibit broader market adoption, and develop new methods and protocols, as necessary, to better evaluate innovative materials; requires the Department of Transportation to enhance the development of innovative materials in the United States by providing awards to entities for establishing and operating new innovative material innovation hubs; directs the Federal Highway Administration to provide grants to states departments of transportation, tribal governments, or units of local governments for coastal and rural infrastructure bridge projects; and provides grants for the design and installation of water infrastructure projects.", - "company_name": "United Airlines Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. The Company transports people and cargo through its mainline and regional operations. With key global aviation rights in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Latin America, UAL has the world\u0092s most comprehensive global route network. UAL, through United and its regional carriers, operates more than 4,500 flights a day to 338 airports across five continents, with hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport (\u0093Newark\u0094), Chicago O\u0092Hare International Airport (\u0093Chicago O\u0092Hare\u0094), The hub and spoke system allows us to transport passengers between a large number of destinations with substantially more frequent service than if each route were served directly. The 3 hub system also allows us to add service to a new destination from a large number of cities using only one or a limited number of aircraft. As discussed under Alliances below, United is a member of Star Alliance, the world\u0092s largest alliance network. The Company has contractual relationships with various regional carriers to provide regional aircraft service branded as United Express. This regional service complements our operations by carrying traffic that connects to our mainline service and allows flights to smaller cities that cannot be provided economically with mainline aircraft. Republic Airlines (\u0093Republic\u0094), Champlain Enterprises, LLC d/b/a CommutAir (\u0093CommutAir\u0094), ExpressJet Airlines (\u0093ExpressJet\u0094), GoJet Airlines (\u0093GoJet\u0094), Mesa Airlines (\u0093Mesa\u0094), SkyWest Airlines (\u0093SkyWest\u0094), Air Wisconsin Airlines (\u0093Air Wisconsin\u0094), and Trans States Airlines (\u0093Trans States\u0094) are all regional carriers that operate with capacity contracted to United under capacity purchase agreements (\u0093CPAs\u0094). Under these CPAs, the Company pays the regional carriers contractually agreed fees (carrier costs) for operating these flights plus a variable reimbursement (incentive payment for operational performance) based on agreed performance metrics, subject to annual inflation adjustments. The fees for carrier costs are based on specific rates for various operating expenses of the regional carriers, such as crew expenses, maintenance and aircraft ownership, some of which are multiplied by specific operating statistics (e.g., block hours, departures), while others are fixed monthly amounts. Under these CPAs, the Company is responsible for all fuel costs incurred, as well as landing fees and other costs, which are either passed through by the regional carrier to the Company without any markup or directly incurred by the Company. In return, the regional carriers operate this capacity exclusively for United, on schedules determined by the Company. The Company also determines pricing and revenue management, assumes the inventory and distribution risk for the available seats and permits mileage accrual and redemption for regional flights through its MileagePlus \u00ae loyalty program. United is a member of Star Alliance, a global integrated airline network and the largest and most comprehensive airline alliance in the world. As of January 1, 2018, Star Alliance carriers served 1,300 airports in 191 countries with 18,400 daily departures. Star Alliance members, in addition to United, are Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways (\u0093ANA\u0094), Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, Avianca Brasil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI Airways International and Turkish Airlines. United has a variety of bilateral commercial alliance agreements and obligations with Star Alliance members, addressing, among other things, reciprocal earning and redemption of frequent flyer miles, access to airport lounges and, with certain Star Alliance members, codesharing of flight operations (whereby one carrier\u0092s selected flights can be marketed under the brand name of another carrier). In addition to the alliance agreements with Star Alliance members, United currently maintains independent marketing alliance agreements with other air carriers, including Aeromar, Aer Lingus, Air Dolomiti, Azul, Cape Air, Eurowings, Great Lakes Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Silver Airways. In addition to the marketing alliance agreements with air partners, United also offers a train-to-plane codeshare and frequent flyer alliance with Amtrak from Newark on select city pairs in the northeastern United States. United also participates in three passenger joint ventures, one with Air Canada and the Lufthansa Group (which includes Lufthansa and its affiliates Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and SWISS) covering transatlantic routes, one with ANA covering certain transpacific routes and one with Air New Zealand covering certain routes between the United States and New Zealand. These passenger joint ventures enable the participating carriers to integrate the services they provide in the respective regions, capturing revenue synergies and delivering highly competitive flight schedules, fares and services. United has also implemented cargo joint 4 ventures with ANA for transpacific cargo services and continues to implement a cargo joint venture with Lufthansa for transatlantic cargo services. These cargo joint ventures offer expanded and more seamless access to cargo space across the carriers\u0092 respective combined networks. ", - "id": "2188218c-2e87-4bbf-a776-c49fa0183163" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Biomass Thermal Utilization Act of 2019 primarily involves tax credits for residential energy-efficient properties and expenditures related to biomass heating appliances. Prologis, Inc. operates as a logistics real estate investment trust (REIT), focusing on logistics facilities and not residential properties. The bill's legal consequences, which include tax incentives for the use of biomass in residential heating, do not have a direct impact on Prologis' business model, structure, or operations that are centered around commercial logistics.", - "index": "224", - "bill_title": "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include biomass heating appliances for tax credits available for energy-efficient building property and energy property.", - "bill_summary": "Biomass Thermal Utilization Act of 2019 or the BTU Act of 2019\n\nThis bill expands the tax credit for residential energy efficient property to include 30% of qualified biomass fuel property expenditures for property placed in service before 2024. A qualified biomass fuel property expenditure is an expenditure for property that uses the burning of biomass fuel (a plant-derived fuel available on a renewable or recurring basis) to heat a dwelling used as a residence, or to heat water for use in such dwelling, and which has a thermal efficiency rating of at least 75%.\n\nThe bill also allows (1) a 15% energy tax credit until 2024 for investment in open-loop biomass heating property, including boilers or furnaces that operate at thermal output efficiencies of at least 65% and provide thermal energy in the form of heat, hot water, or steam for space heating, air conditioning, domestic hot water, or industrial process heat; and (2) a 30% credit until 2024 for investment in such property that operates at a thermal output efficiency of at least 80%.", - "company_name": "Prologis, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business Prologis, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed REIT and is the sole general partner of Prologis, L.P. through which it holds substantially all of its assets. We invest in real estate through wholly owned subsidiaries and other entities through which we co-invest with partners and investors. Prologis, Inc. began operating as a fully integrated real estate company in 1997 and elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (\"Internal Revenue Code\"). We believe the current organization and method of operation will enable Prologis, Inc. to maintain its status as a REIT. We operate and evaluate our business on an owned and managed (\"O & M\") basis, including properties that we wholly-own and properties that are owned by one of our co-investment ventures. We make decisions based on the property operations, regardless of our ownership interest. Our investment consists of our wholly-owned properties and our pro rata (or ownership) share of the properties owned in ventures. THE COMPANY Prologis is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on key markets in 19 countries on four continents. We own, manage and develop well-located, high-quality logistics facilities. Our local teams actively manage our portfolio, which encompasses leasing and property management, capital deployment and opportunistic dispositions allowing us to recycle capital to self-fund our development and acquisition activities. The majority of our properties in the United States (\"U.S.\") are wholly owned, while our properties outside the U.S. are generally held in co-investment ventures, to mitigate our exposure to foreign currency movements. Our irreplaceable portfolio is focused on the world's most vibrant markets where consumption and supply chain reconfiguration drive logistics demand. In the developed markets of the U.S., Europe and Japan, key demand drivers include the reconfiguration of supply chains (strongly influenced by e-commerce trends), the demand for sustainable design features and the operational efficiencies that can be realized from high-quality logistics facilities. In emerging markets, such as Brazil, China and Mexico, growing affluence and the rise of a new consumer class have increased the need for modern distribution networks. Our strategy is to own the highest-quality logistics property portfolio in each of our target markets. These markets are characterized by what is most important for the consumption side of a logistics supply chain \u2014 large population centers with proximity to labor pools, surrounded by highways, rail service or ports. The DCT portfolio of logistics real es tate assets wa s highly complementary to our portfolio in terms of product quality, location and growth potential. As a result of the closely aligned portfolios and similar business strategies, we have integrated the properties while adding minimal property management expenses . Our results for 2018 include the DCT port folio from the date of acquisition . At December 31, 2018, we owned or had investments in properties, on a wholly-owned basis or through ventures, in the following regions (dollars in billions, based on gross book value and total expected investment (as defined below) and square feet in millions): Included in these amounts are consolidated and unconsolidated investments denominated in foreign currencies, principally the British pound sterling, euro and Japanese yen that are impacted by fluctuations in exchange rates when translated to U.S. dollars. A developed property moves into the operating portfolio when it meets our definition of stabilization, which is the earlier of one year after completion or reaching 90% occupancy. Amounts represent our total expected investment (\"TEI\"), which includes the estimated cost of development or expansion, including land, construction and leasing costs. Rental operations comprise the largest component of our operating segments and generally contribute 85% to 90% of our consolidated revenues, earnings and funds from operations (\"FFO\"). We collect rent from our customers through long-term operating leases, including reimbursements for the majority of our property operating costs.", - "id": "166bae11-6309-4ea8-ab3b-237c840ab4b7" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Portable Fuel Container Safety Act of 2019 focuses on regulations for fuel containers, particularly regarding flame mitigation devices and safety education related to flammable liquids. This bill does not impact Tempur Sealy International, Inc., which operates in the bedding products industry and is not involved in the manufacture, distribution, or marketing of fuel containers or related safety devices.", - "index": "225", - "bill_title": "To require compliant flame mitigation devices to be used on portable fuel containers for flammable liquid fuels, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Portable Fuel Container Safety Act of 2019\n\nThis bill directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to require fuel containers to include devices that impede flames from entering the container. This requirement applies to flammable, liquid fuel containers of fewer than five gallons that are intended for transport. CPSC may either promulgate a rule or adopt an existing standard. Additionally, CPSC must educate consumers about dangers associated with using or storing such containers near an open flame or a source of ignition. The bill also requires child resistant caps on kerosene and diesel fuel containers. Currently, this only applies to gasoline containers.", - "company_name": "Tempur Sealy International, Inc.", - "company_description": "We develop, manufacture and market bedding products, which we sell globally. Our brand portfolio includes many highly recognized brands in the industry, including TEMPUR\u00ae, Tempur-Pedic\u00ae, Sealy\u00ae featuring Posturepedic\u00ae Technology, and Stearns & Foster\u00ae. Our comprehensive suite of bedding products offers a variety of products to consumers across a broad range of channels. We operate in two segments: North America and International. Our North America segment consists of Tempur and Sealy manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries and licensees located in the U.S. and Canada. Our International segment consists of Tempur and Sealy manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries, joint ventures and licensees located in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. We recently divested certain of our manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries in Latin America. Wholesale includes all third party retailers, including third party distribution, hospitality and healthcare. Direct includes company-owned stores, e-commerce, and call centers. Our goal is to improve the sleep of more people, every night, all around the world. In order to achieve our long-term strategy while managing the current economic and competitive environments, we will focus on developing the most innovative bedding products in all the markets we serve, making significant investments in our global brands and optimizing our worldwide distribution through all channels. Our Products and Brands We have a comprehensive offering of products that appeal to a broad range of consumers, some of which are covered by one or more patents and/or patent applications. In order to achieve our goal to improve the sleep of more people, every night, all around the world, one of our strategic initiatives is to leverage and strengthen our comprehensive portfolio of iconic brands and products. Our brand portfolio includes many highly recognized brands, including TEMPUR\u00ae, Tempur-Pedic\u00ae, Sealy\u00ae featuring Posturepedic\u00ae Technology and Stearns & Foster\u00ae, which are described below: \u00ae - Founded in 1991, the Tempur brand is our specialty innovation category leader designed to provide life changing sleep for our wellness-seeking consumers. Our proprietary Tempur material precisely adapts to the shape, weight and temperature of the consumer and creates fewer pressure points, reduces motion transfer and provides personalized comfort and support. The Stearns & Foster brand offers our consumers high quality mattresses built by certified craftsmen who have been specially trained. Founded in 1846, the brand is designed and built with precise engineering and relentless attention to detail and fuses new innovative technologies with time-honored techniques, creating supremely comfortable beds. The Sealy brand originated in 1881 in Sealy, Texas, and for over a century has focused on offering trusted comfort, durability and excellent value while maintaining contemporary styles and great support. The Sealy Posturepedic brand, introduced in 1950, was engineered to provide all-over support and body alignment to allow full relaxation and deliver a comfortable night's sleep. In 2017, Sealy Posturepedic no longer represented its own separate brand as we united all of our Sealy products under one masterbrand, which features the Posturepedic Technology\u2122 in the Sealy Performance The Cocoon by Sealy brand, introduced in 2016, is our offering in the below $1,000 e-commerce space, made with the high quality materials that consumers expect from Sealy, sold online at www.cocoonbysealy.com and delivered in a box directly to consumers' doorsteps. In 2018, we launched a new line of Tempur-Pedic products and a new Sealy Hybrid line in North America. The new Tempur-Pedic line includes the Tempur-Adapt\u00ae, Tempur-ProAdapt\u00ae, and Tempur LuxeAdapt TM series which are made from a unique combination of innovative materials that adapt and respond to the body's needs. Our Adapt TM and ProAdapt TM series feature a new advanced pressure relief TEMPUR\u00ae material called TEMPUR-APR\u2122, while our LuxeAdapt TM series features TEMPUR-APR+ TM, providing better pressure relief and higher conforming features than ever before.", - "id": "077be5b6-a0c5-4712-909c-6cf841cfab60" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act focuses on programs related to preventing and responding to domestic violence, sexual assault, and similar issues, which does not directly intersect with Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc.'s medical technology focus. Their business activities are primarily related to healthcare equipment and patient care solutions rather than legal and social support services covered by this bill.", - "index": "226", - "bill_title": "To reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2019\n\nThis bill modifies and reauthorizes through FY2024 programs and activities under the Violence Against Women Act that seek to prevent and respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.\n\nAmong other things, the bill also authorizes new programs, makes changes to federal firearms laws, and establishes new protections to promote housing stability and economic security for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.", - "company_name": "Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a leading global medical technology company with more than 10,000 employees worldwide. We partner with health care providers in more than 100 countries, across multiple care settings, by focusing on patient care solutions that improve clinical and economic outcomes in five core areas: Advancing Mobility, Wound Care and Prevention, Patient Monitoring and Diagnostics, Surgical Safety and Efficiency and Respiratory Health. Our innovations ensure caregivers have the products they need to help diagnose, treat and protect their patients; speed up recoveries; and manage conditions. Every day, around the world, we enhance outcomes for patients and their caregivers. Patient Support Systems \u2013 globally provides our med-surg and specialty bed systems and surfaces, safe patient handling equipment and mobility solutions, as well as our clinical workflow solutions that deliver software and information technologies to improve care and deliver actionable insight to caregivers and patients. \u2013 globally provides patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies, including a diversified portfolio of physical assessment tools that help diagnose, treat and manage a wide variety of illnesses and diseases, as well as a portfolio of vision care and respiratory care devices. \u2013 globally provides products that improve surgical safety and efficiency in the operating room including tables, lights, pendants, positioning devices, and various other surgical instruments and accessories. Our innovative patient support systems include a variety of specialty frames and surfaces (such as medical surgical (\"med-surg\") beds, intensive care unit beds, and bariatric patient beds), patient mobility solutions (such as lifts and other devices used to safely move patients), non-invasive therapeutic products and surfaces, and our information technologies and software solutions. These patient support systems are sold globally and can be designed for use in high, mid, and low acuity settings, depending on the specific design options, and are built to advance mobility, reduce patient falls and caregiver injuries, improve caregiver efficiency and prevent and care for pressure injuries. In addition, we also sell equipment service contracts for our capital equipment, primarily in the United States. Our Front Line Care products include our patient monitoring and diagnostics products from Welch Allyn and Mortara and our respiratory health products. Our patient monitoring and diagnostics products include blood pressure, physical assessment, vital signs monitoring, diagnostic cardiopulmonary, diabetic retinopathy screening, and thermometry products. Cardio ECG which combines the clinical excellence of Mortara technology with Welch Allyn EMR connectivity expertise. Our respiratory health products include the Vest\u00ae System, VitalCough\u00ae These products are designed to assist patients in the mobilization of retained blockages that, if not removed, may lead to increased rates of respiratory infection, hospitalization, and reduced lung function. Front Line Care products are sold globally within multiple care settings including primary care, acute care, extended care and home care (primarily respiratory health products). Approximately 34% , 32% , and 30% of our revenue in fiscal 2018 , 2017 and 2016 were derived from products within this segment. Our Surgical Solutions products include surgical tables, lights, and pendants utilized within the operating room setting. We also offer a range of positioning devices for use in shoulder, hip, spinal and lithotomy surgeries as well as platform-neutral positioning accessories for nearly every model of operating room table. In addition, we offer operating room surgical safety and accessory products such as scalpels and blades, light handle systems, skin markers and other disposable products. The products offered within this segment are both capital sales and recurring consumable revenue streams that are sold globally. Approximately 16% , 16% , and 15% of our revenue in fiscal 2018 , 2017 and 2016 were derived from products within this segment. We have extensive distribution capabilities and broad reach across all health care settings. We primarily operate in the following channels: (1) sales and rentals of products to acute and extended care facilities worldwide through both a direct sales force and distributors; (2) sales and rentals of products directly to patients in the home; and (3) sales into primary care facilities (primarily Welch Allyn and Mortara products) through distributors. Through our network of 147 North American and 30 international service centers, and approximately 1,900 service professionals, we provide technical support and services and rapidly deliver our products to customers as-needed, providing our customers flexibility to purchase or rent select products.", - "id": "3bb43d8b-a806-466d-a4b2-35202ae9a8a7" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes tax credits and grants for operating grocery stores in food deserts, which aligns with Walmart\u2019s business model of providing access to food and grocery services. Walmart could benefit from the tax credits when opening or renovating stores in underserved areas, directly impacting their operational strategy and community outreach.", - "index": "227", - "bill_title": "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a new tax credit and grant program to stimulate investment and healthy nutrition options in food deserts, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act \n\nThis bill allows tax credits and grants for activities that provide access to healthy food in food deserts, which are communities that have limited or no access to grocery stores and meet income requirements.\n\nFor entities that are certified by the Department of the Treasury as special access food providers using specified criteria, the bill allows tax credits for operating a new grocery store or renovating an existing grocery store in a food desert. The bill also authorizes grants for a portion of (1) the construction costs of building a permanent food bank in a food desert, and (2) the annual operating costs of temporary access merchants (mobile markets, farmers markets, and food banks).\n\nTreasury, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture (USDA), must annually allocate the tax credits and grants to special access food providers. Grants authorized by this bill are not considered gross income for tax purposes.\n\nThe bill also requires USDA to update the Food Access Research Atlas at least annually to account for food retailers that are placed in service during that year.", - "company_name": "Walmart, Inc.", - "company_description": "the amount, number, growth or increase, in or over certain periods, of or in certain financial items or measures or operating measures, including our earnings per share, including as adjusted for certain items, net sales, comparable store and club sales, our Walmart U.S. operating segment's eCommerce sales, liabilities, expenses of certain categories, expense leverage, returns, capital and operating investments or expenditures of particular types, new store openings and investments in particular formats; our plans to increase investments in eCommerce, technology, store remodels and other customer initiatives, such as online grocery locations; volatility in currency exchange rates and fuel prices affecting our or one of our segments' results of operations; \u2022 the Company continuing to provide returns to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends, the use of share repurchase authorization over a certain period or the source of funding of a certain portion of our share repurchases; changes in the size of various markets, including eCommerce markets; \u2022 unemployment levels; \u2022 inflation or deflation, generally and in certain product categories; \u2022 transportation, energy and utility costs; \u2022 commodity prices, including the prices of oil and natural gas; \u2022 consumer confidence, disposable income, credit availability, spending levels, shopping patterns, debt levels, and demand for certain merchandise; \u2022 trends in consumer shopping habits around the world and in the markets in which Walmart operates; \u2022 consumer enrollment in health and drug insurance programs and such programs' reimbursement rates and drug formularies; and initiatives of competitors, competitors' entry into and expansion in Walmart's markets, and competitive pressures; Operating Factors \u2022 the financial performance of Walmart and each of its segments, including the amounts of Walmart's cash flow during various periods; \u2022 customer traffic and average ticket in Walmart's stores and clubs and on its eCommerce platforms; the mix of merchandise Walmart sells and its customers purchase; the availability of goods from suppliers and the cost of goods acquired from suppliers; \u2022 the effectiveness of the implementation and operation of Walmart's strategies, plans, programs and initiatives; \u2022 \u2022 consumer acceptance of and response to Walmart's stores and clubs, digital platforms, programs, merchandise offerings and delivery methods; \u2022 Walmart's gross profit margins, including pharmacy margins and margins of other product categories; the selling prices of gasoline and diesel fuel; \u2022 disruption of seasonal buying patterns in Walmart's markets; \u2022 Walmart's expenditures for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (\"FCPA\") and other compliance-related matters including the adequacy of our accrual for the FCPA matter; \u2022 Walmart's labor costs, including healthcare and other benefit costs; \u2022 Walmart's casualty and accident-related costs and insurance costs; the size of and turnover in Walmart's workforce and the number of associates at various pay levels within that workforce; the availability of necessary personnel to staff Walmart's stores, clubs and other facilities; 5 developments in, and the outcome of, legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations to which Walmart is a party or is subject, and the liabilities, obligations and expenses, if any, that Walmart may incur in connection therewith; \u2022 changes in the credit ratings assigned to the Company's commercial paper and debt securities by credit rating agencies; \u2022 changes in existing tax, labor and other laws and changes in tax rates, including the enactment of laws and the adoption and interpretation of administrative rules and regulations; \u2022 adoption or creation of new, and modification of existing, governmental policies, programs and initiatives in the markets in which Walmart operates and elsewhere and actions with respect to such policies, programs and initiatives; \u2022 the possibility of the imposition of new taxes on imports and new tariffs and trade restrictions and changes in tariff rates and trade restrictions; changes in the level of public assistance payments; ", - "id": "959c91b0-aa75-44c5-b531-e82e23514d15" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Pinnacle Foods, Inc. because it establishes tax credits and grants for entities that enhance access to healthy food in underserved areas, directly aligning with the company's focus on high-quality food products. As a manufacturer and distributor of food products, Pinnacle Foods could benefit from the potential tax credits or grants for operating or renovating grocery stores in food deserts. Furthermore, the bill supports initiatives to increase healthy food access, which aligns with the company's efforts to encourage vegetable consumption and promote nutritious food choices.", - "index": "228", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a new tax credit and grant program to stimulate investment and healthy nutrition options in food deserts, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act \n\nThis bill allows tax credits and grants for activities that provide access to healthy food in food deserts, which are communities that have limited or no access to grocery stores and meet income requirements.\n\nFor entities that are certified by the Department of the Treasury as special access food providers using specified criteria, the bill allows tax credits for operating a new grocery store or renovating an existing grocery store in a food desert. The bill also authorizes grants for a portion of (1) the construction costs of building a permanent food bank in a food desert, and (2) the annual operating costs of temporary access merchants (mobile markets, farmers markets, and food banks).\n\nTreasury, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture (USDA), must annually allocate the tax credits and grants to special access food providers. Grants authorized by this bill are not considered gross income for tax purposes.\n\nThe bill also requires USDA to update the Food Access Research Atlas at least annually to account for food retailers that are placed in service during that year.", - "company_name": "Pinnacle Foods, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of high-quality, branded food products in North America, with annual net sales of approximately $3.1 billion in fiscal 2017. Our brand portfolio enjoys strong household penetration in the United States (\"U.S.\"), where our products can be found in over 85% of U.S. households. Our products are sold through supermarkets, grocery wholesalers and distributors, mass merchandisers, super centers, convenience stores, dollar stores, natural and organic food stores, drug stores, e-commerce websites and warehouse clubs in the United States and Canada, as well as in military channels and foodservice locations. Pinnacle Foods Inc. is a holding company whose sole asset is 100% ownership of Peak Finance Holdings LLC (\"PFH\"). PFH is a holding company whose sole asset is 100% ownership of Pinnacle Foods Finance LLC. The Company's business is organized into the following four reportable segments: The Frozen segment, The Grocery segment, The Boulder segment and The Specialty segment Frozen Segment Birds Eye is the largest brand in the $3.3 billion frozen vegetables category, with a 31.9% market share. Government programs, such as the USDA's My Plate program, and nutrition and health professionals continue to identify increased vegetable consumption as a key to better health. We believe that enhancing the taste of vegetables and making them exceptionally convenient are keys to driving more vegetable consumption. Birds Eye has taken a leadership role in increasing vegetable consumption, including encouraging children to eat more vegetables. We are supporters of the USDA's My Plate program and have engaged in breakthrough marketing efforts with major multi-media family entertainment partners to encourage children to eat more vegetables. We also compete in the frozen complete bagged meals category with our Birds Eye Voila! frozen bagged meals provide consumers with a high quality complete meal, including protein, starch, and vegetables, that can be prepared in a skillet in just minutes. Our Frozen segment also includes Hungry-Man frozen entr\u00e9es, Van de Kamp's and frozen prepared seafood, Lender's frozen and refrigerated bagels and Celeste frozen pizza. Grocery Segment Included in the Grocery segment is our Duncan Hines portfolio, which includes cake mixes, ready-to-serve frostings, brownie mixes, and cookie mixes. In addition to our traditional cake mix offerings, our cake mix portfolio also includes premium offerings under the Duncan Hines Decadent and Duncan Hines Perfect Size brands. Duncan Hines is the #2 brand with a 28.9% market share in the $1.1 billion cake/brownie mix and frostings We compete in the shelf-stable salad dressings category with our Wish-Bone and Western brands, including our Wish-Bone E.V.O.O., Wish-Bone Ristorante Italiano and Wish-Bone Avocado Oil lines. We hold the #4 position in the $2.0 billion salad dressings category, with a combined share of 11.0%, and Wish-Bone holds the #1 position in the branded Italian segment of the category. Our Grocery segment also includes Armour, Nalley and Brooks canned meat, Mrs. Butterworth's and Log Cabin table syrups, Smart Balance premium margarine/spread, Comstock and Wilderness pie and pastry fruit fillings and Open Pit barbecue sauce. The Grocery segment also includes a diversified portfolio of shelf-stable and refrigerated products including a complete line of shelf-stable pickle products, primarily under the nationally-distributed Vlasic brand, and the regional brands under the Milwaukee's and Wiejske Wyroby brands. Our Vlasic brand, represented by its trademark Vlasic stork, has the highest consumer awareness and quality ratings in the pickle category. Vlasic is the #1 brand in the $790 million shelf-stable pickle category and Pinnacle pickle brands collectively hold a 34.3% market share. We offer a portfolio of gluten-free products under the ", - "id": "60ad042b-31ba-4202-8770-a1205cb92386" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Energy Efficient Government Technology Act mandates federal agencies to adopt energy-efficient technologies, which aligns with Altair Engineering's focus on high-performance cloud computing and data intelligence solutions that optimize resource utilization and efficiency. This bill could create opportunities for Altair to provide software solutions that help federal entities meet these energy efficiency mandates.", - "index": "229", - "bill_title": "To amend the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to promote energy efficiency via information and computing technologies, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Energy Efficient Government Technology Act \n\nThis bill sets forth requirements with respect to increasing the energy efficiency of information technologies and data centers within the federal government.\n\n Specifically, this bill requires each federal agency to coordinate with the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Environmental Protection Agency to develop an implementation strategy for the maintenance, purchase, and use of energy-efficient and energy-saving information technologies at or for federally owned and operated facilities.\n\nDOE must (1) maintain a data center energy practitioner program that leads to the certification of energy practitioners qualified to evaluate the energy usage and efficiency opportunities in federally owned and operated data centers; and (2) establish an open data initiative to make information about federal data center energy usage available and accessible in a manner that encourages data center innovation, optimization, and consolidation.", - "company_name": "Altair Engineering, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"our\") is a global technology company providing software and cloud solutions in the areas of product design and development, high performance cloud computing, and data intelligence. Our simulation-driven approach to innovation is powered by our broad portfolio of high-fidelity and high-performance physics solvers. Our integrated suite of software optimizes design performance across multiple disciplines encompassing structures, motion, fluids, thermal management, electromagnetics, system modeling, and embedded systems, while also providing data intelligence and true-to-life visualization and rendering. Our high-performance cloud computing solutions maximize the efficient utilization of complex compute resources and streamline the workflow management of compute-intensive tasks for applications including data intelligence, modeling and simulation, and visualization. Our data intelligence products include market leading data preparation, data science and visualization solutions that fuel engineering, scientific, and business decisions. This culture is important because it helps attract and retain top people, encourages innovation and teamwork, and enhances our focus on achieving Altair's corporate objectives. Products Rising expectations of end-market customers are causing expansion of the application of simulation and data intelligence across many industry verticals. Our engineering, simulation, and data intelligence software enables customers to enhance product performance, compress development time, and reduce costs. We believe we are unique in the industry for the depth and breadth of our engineering application software offerings combined with our domain expertise and proprietary technology for harnessing high-performance computing, or HPC and cloud infrastructures along with data intelligence. Altair is a leading provider of modeling, visualization, and physics solver solutions with a broad portfolio of best-in-class technology across many engineering disciplines. Our simulation software offers manufacturing companies opportunities to achieve better, lower cost products with fewer physical prototypes and tests, and reduces the time required to bring products to market. We are a leading provider of data intelligence technology for data preparation, management and analysis. Financial services organization, such as banks, credit unions, and health care companies, as well as finance departments in various industries, including manufacturing, use our software to capture disparate data streams and apply analytics to make more informed business decisions. We are a leading provider of high-performance and cloud computing workflow tools which empower customers to explore designs and analyze data in ways not possible in traditional computing environments. Our customers include Universities, government agencies, manufacturers, pharmaceutical firms, weather prediction agencies, and electronics design companies. Software Products Altair's software products represent a comprehensive, open architecture solution for simulation, data intelligence and cloud computing to empower decision making for improved product design and development, manufacturing, energy management and exploration, financial services, health care, and retail operations. We believe our products offer a comprehensive set of technologies to design and optimize high performance, efficient, innovative and sustainable products and processes in an increasingly connected world. Our products are categorized by: \u2022 Design, Modeling & Visualization ; \u2022 Physics Simulation; \u2022 Data Intelligence; \u2022 High Performance Cloud Computing ; and 3 Design, Modeling & Visualization Altair's design, modeling & visualization tools under the HyperWorks and solidThinking brands allow for advanced physics attributes to be modeled and rendered on top of object geometry in high fidelity. Our industrial & concept design tools generate early concepts to address requirements for ergonomics, aesthetics, performance, manufacturing feasibility, and cost. These tools are all driven by simulation and machine learning algorithms. At the core of Altair's simulation software portfolios under the HyperWorks and solidThinking brands are mathematical software \"solvers\" that use advanced computational algorithms to predict physical performance. Optimization leverages these solvers to derive the most efficient solutions to meet desired complex multi-objective requirements. Altair's solvers are a comprehensive set of fast, scalable and reliable physics algorithms for complex problems in linear and non-linear mechanics, fluid dynamics, electromagnetics, motion, systems and manufacturing simulation. Altair's optimization technology combined with superior multi-physics and multi-domain simulation is a key differentiator and spans our product offering.", - "id": "a2b182ed-8090-4963-8640-60f05da4efe6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving the handling of crimes related to domestic violence and is primarily aimed at law enforcement and victim services organizations. It does not have direct implications for Acceleron Pharma, Inc., which operates in the biopharmaceutical sector focusing on TGF-beta therapeutics for rare diseases. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill do not intersect with the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "230", - "bill_title": "To authorize the Office on Violence Against Women to improve the handling of crimes of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by incorporating a trauma-informed approach into the initial response to and investigation of such crimes.", - "bill_summary": "Abby Honold Act\n\nThis bill directs the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women to make competitive grants to law enforcement agencies and victim services organizations to implement evidence-based, trauma-informed approaches in responding to and investigating domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.", - "company_name": "Acceleron Pharma, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a leading biopharmaceutical company in the discovery and development of TGF-beta therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases. Our research focuses on key natural regulators of cellular growth and repair, particularly the Transforming Growth Factor-Beta, or TGF-beta, protein superfamily. By combining our discovery and development expertise, including our proprietary knowledge of the TGF-beta superfamily, and our internal protein engineering and manufacturing capabilities, we have generated several innovative therapeutic candidates, all of which encompass novel potential first-in-class mechanisms of action. We have focused and prioritized our research and development activities within three key therapeutic areas: hematologic, neuromuscular and pulmonary. If successful, these candidates could have the potential to significantly improve clinical outcomes for patients across these areas of high, unmet need. Luspatercept, our lead program, and sotatercept, are partnered with Celgene Corporation, or Celgene. Luspatercept is an erythroid maturation agent designed to promote red blood cell production through a novel mechanism, and is being developed to treat chronic anemia and associated complications in myelodysplastic syndromes, or MDS, beta-thalassemia, and myelofibrosis. Celgene is currently conducting two Phase 3 clinical trials with luspatercept; one for the treatment of patients with lower-risk MDS, known as the \"MEDALIST\" trial, and another for the treatment of patients with beta-thalassemia, also known as the \"BELIEVE\" trial. Celgene has recently initiated a Phase 2 trial in non-transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia patients, referred to as the \"BEYOND\" trial. We further expect Celgene to initiate a Phase 3 clinical trial, the \"COMMANDS\" trial, in first-line, lower-risk MDS patients in the first half of 2018. Enrollment is also currently ongoing in a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of patients with myelofibrosis, a rare bone marrow disorder. If luspatercept were to receive regulatory approval for each of these indications in the United States and Europe, we believe that there is an aggregate sales opportunity for this product in excess of $2 billion. For sotatercept, we announced in September 2017 that Celgene granted us the rights to fund, develop, and lead the global commercialization of sotatercept in pulmonary hypertension, including pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH. PAH is a rare and chronic, rapidly progressing disorder characterized by the constriction of small pulmonary arteries, resulting in abnormally high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries. If sotatercept is commercialized to treat PAH and we recognize such revenue, then Celgene will be eligible to receive a royalty in the low 20% range on global net sales. We expect to initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of patients with PAH in the first half of 2018. For luspatercept and, outside of pulmonary hypertension, sotatercept, Celgene is responsible for paying 100% of the development costs for all clinical trials. ACE-083 is designed for the treatment of focal muscle disorders, and we are currently conducting Phase 2 clinical trials with ACE-083 in patients with facioscapulohumeral dystrophy, or FSHD, as well as in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, or CMT. In January 2018, we announced preliminary results for the first two cohorts in part 1 of the Phase 2 clinical trial with ACE-083 in patients with FSHD showing marked increases in the mean total muscle volume of the muscles treated with ACE-083 measured using magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI. We expect to initiate part 2 of the ACE-083 FSHD Phase 2 trial during the second quarter of this year, and we expect to report preliminary results from all dose-escalation cohorts of part 1 in our FSHD and CMT Phase 2 clinical trials with ACE-083 in the second half of this year. In addition to our mid- to late-stage clinical programs, we initiated a Phase 1 healthy volunteer study in early 2018 with ACE-2494, our wholly-owned systemic muscle agent from our proprietary platform technology, IntelliTrap\u2122, and we expect to report initial results from this healthy volunteer study in the first half of 2019. We are also conducting research within our three focused disease areas\u2014hematologic, neuromuscular and pulmonary\u2014in order to identify new therapeutic candidates to advance into clinical trials. As of December 31, 2017 our operations have been funded primarily by $105.1 million in equity investments from venture investors, $539.7 million from public investors, $123.7 million in equity investments from our collaboration partners and $273.7 million in upfront payments, milestones, and net research and development payments from our collaboration partners. Announce MEDALIST Phase 3 clinical trial top-line results in mid-2018. Initiate the COMMANDS Phase 3 clinical trial in the first half of 2018. ", - "id": "7597936a-24fe-499c-a3d7-af91e6820dd0" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses defense and security assistance to Israel and Jordan, sanctions related to Syria, and measures against boycotts of Israel. Alta Mesa Resources Inc. is an exploration and production company focused on oil and natural gas, and does not appear to have direct involvement in defense, security, or foreign policy activities that would be impacted by this legislation.", - "index": "231", - "bill_title": "To make improvements to certain defense and security assistance provisions and to authorize theappropriation of funds to Israel, to reauthorize the United States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act of 2015, and to halt the wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act of 2019\n\nThis bill authorizes assistance and weapons transfers to Israel, and extends defense cooperation with Jordan. It establishes additional sanctions related to the conflict in Syria, and allows states to divest from entities boycotting Israel.\n\nIleana Ros-Lehtinen United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2019\n\nThe bill reauthorizes through\u00a0FY2028 Foreign Military Financing to Israel. It extends loan guarantees to Israel through FY2023, and authorizes the President to transfer precision-guided munitions to the country.\n\nThe bill\u00a0directs the President to report on steps taken to help Israel secure a strategic trade authorization exception.\n\nUnited States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Extension Act\n\nThe bill\u00a0extends through 2022 arrangements that allow certain defense articles to be transferred to Jordan on an expedited basis. The bill\u00a0also directs the President to submit a report to Congress assessing the costs and benefits of establishing a fund to support private investment in Jordan.\n\nCaesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019\n\nThe bill\u00a0directs the Department of the Treasury to determine whether the Central Bank of Syria is a primary money-laundering concern and, if so, impose special measures on transactions involving the bank. The bill also imposes sanctions on individuals providing support for the Syrian government.\n\nCombating BDS Act of 2019\n\nThe bill allows a state or\u00a0local government to\u00a0adopt measures to divest its assets from entities using boycotts, divestments, or sanctions to influence Israel's policies. Such measures shall meet various requirements, including those related to written notice and comment.", - "company_name": "Alta Mesa Resources Inc", - "company_description": "We were originally formed in November 2016 as a special purpose acquisition company under the name Silver Run Acquisition Corporation II for the purpose of effecting an initial business combination. Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we completed the private sale of 15,133,333 warrants (the \u0093Private Placement Warrants\u0094) to Silver Run Sponsor II, LLC (the \u0093Sponsor\u0094) generating gross proceeds to us of $22,700,000. A total of $1.035 billion (including approximately $36.2 million in deferred underwriting commissions to the underwriters of the IPO), which represents $1.0143 billion of the proceeds from the IPO after deducting upfront underwriting commissions of $20.7 million, and the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were placed in the Trust Account (the \u0093Trust Account\u0094) to be used to fund an initial business combination. \u00b7 SRII Opco distributed to the Kingfisher Contributor cash in the amount of approximately $814.8 million in partial payment for the ownership interests in Kingfisher contributed by the Kingfisher Contributor; and \u00b7 SRII Opco entered into a voting agreement with the owners of the remaining 10% voting interests in Alta Mesa GP whereby such other owners agreed to vote their interests in Alta Mesa GP as directed by SRII Opco. Following the completion of the Business Combination, the size of our board of directors was expanded from four directors to 11, including one director appointed by Bayou City and its affiliates, one director appointed by HPS and its affiliates and two directors appointed by AM Management and its affiliates, as the holders of our Series A Preferred Stock, and three directors appointed by the Riverstone Contributor and its affiliates, as the holder of our Series B Preferred Stock. Founded in 1987, Alta Mesa, the predecessor to our E & P Business, was an independent exploration and production company focused on the development and acquisition of unconventional oil and natural gas reserves in the eastern portion of the Anadarko Basin referred to as the STACK. The STACK is an acronym describing both its location\u0097Sooner Trend Anadarko Basin Canadian and Kingfisher County\u0097and the multiple, stacked productive formations present in the area. The STACK is a prolific hydrocarbon system with high oil and liquids-rich natural gas content, multiple horizontal target horizons, extensive production history and historically high drilling success rates. As of December 31, 2017, we had assembled a highly contiguous position of approximately 130,000 net acres largely in the up-dip, naturally-fractured oil portion of the STACK in eastern Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. Our drilling locations are in our primary target formations comprised of the Osage, Meramec and Oswego. We are currently operating seven horizontal drilling rigs in the STACK with plans to increase that number of rigs to eight at the end of 2018. Our Midstream Business was started by Kingfisher on January 30, 2015 for the purpose of acquiring, developing and operating midstream oil and gas assets. We primarily focus on providing crude oil gathering, gas gathering and processing and marketing to producers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and condensate in the STACK play. Our midstream energy asset network includes approximately 308 miles of existing low and high pressure pipelines, a 60 MMcf/d cryogenic natural gas processing plant, 10 MMcf/d in offtake processing, compression facilities, crude storage, NGL storage and purchasing and marketing capabilities. Our goal is to build a premier development and acquisition company focused on horizontal drilling and gas gathering in the STACK. As an emerging growth company, we may, for up to five years, take advantage of specified exemptions from reporting and other regulatory requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. the date on which we are deemed to be a \u0093large accelerated filer,\u0094 as defined in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the \u0093Exchange Act\u0094).", - "id": "e13a9847-841c-474e-864b-fea0c03a0388" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill addresses insurance coverage for treatment of congenital anomalies and birth defects, which is not related to Acorda Therapeutics' focus on therapies for neurological disorders, particularly Parkinson's disease. Acorda's products, including Inbrija, are aimed at addressing OFF episodes in Parkinson's patients rather than congenital anomalies, making the legal consequences of the bill not relevant to the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "232", - "bill_title": "To amend the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require that group and individual health insurance coverage and group health plans provide coverage for treatment of a congenital anomaly or birth defect.", - "bill_summary": "Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act\n\nThis bill requires private health insurance plans to cover diagnosis and treatment services for congenital anomalies and birth defects, such as reconstructive services and prosthetics. Coverage must include services that functionally improve, repair, or restore any body part that is medically necessary for normal bodily functions or appearance, as determined by the treating physician.", - "company_name": "Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies that restore function and improve the lives of people with neurological disorders. We are preparing for our launch of commercial sales of Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder), which is approved for intermittent treatment of OFF episodes, also known as OFF periods, in people with Parkinson's disease treated with carbidopa/levodopa. Inbrija is an on-demand treatment that utilizes our innovative ARCUS pulmonary delivery system, a technology platform designed to deliver medication through inhalation that we believe has potential to be used in the development of a variety of inhaled medicines. Our New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on December 21, 2018. The approval is for a single dose of 84 mg, with no titration required. We expect Inbrija to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2019 and to be distributed through a network of specialty pharmacies. Our preparations for the commercial sale of Inbrija continue, including sales force training and education, managed care discussions, market research and social media initiatives. We are seeking approval to market Inbrija in the European Union, and accordingly we filed a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in March 2018. After the adoption of a Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, opinion, we expect a final decision regarding the MAA from the European Commission before the end of 2019. We currently derive substantially all of our revenue from the sale of Ampyra. We have been engaged in litigation with certain generic drug manufacturers relating to our five initial Orange Book-listed Ampyra patents. In 2017, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the \"District Court\") issued a ruling that upheld our Ampyra Orange Book-listed patent that expired on July 30, 2018, but invalidated our four other Orange Book-listed patents pertaining to Ampyra that were set to expire between 2025 and 2027. Under this decision, our patent exclusivity with respect to Ampyra terminated on July 30, 2018. We appealed the District Court decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the \"Federal Circuit\"), which issued a ruling on September 10, 2018 upholding the District Court's decision (the \"Appellate Decision\"). In January 2019, the Federal Circuit denied our petition for rehearing en banc. We have experienced a significant decline in Ampyra sales due to competition from generic versions of Ampyra that are being marketed following the Appellate Decision. We expect that additional manufacturers will market generic versions of Ampyra, which may accelerate the decline in our Ampyra sales. Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder) : Launching the commercial sale of Inbrija in the U.S.; obtaining approval of our European MAA for Inbrija; and continuing with potential partnering discussions for commercialization outside of the U.S. ARCUS Platform : Advancing our efforts to develop additional therapeutics based on our proprietary ARCUS pulmonary drug delivery technology, looking at central nervous system, or CNS, as well as non-CNS opportunities, including our program to develop an ARCUS-based treatment for acute migraine. Company Highlights Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder)/Parkinson's Disease Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder) is the first and only inhaled levodopa, or L-dopa, for intermittent treatment of OFF episodes, also known as OFF periods, in people with Parkinson's disease treated with carbidopa/levodopa regimen. Our New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on December 21, 2018. The approval is for a single dose of 84 mg, with no titration required. We expect Inbrija to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2019 and to be distributed through a network of specialty pharmacies. We are seeking approval to market Inbrija in the European Union, and accordingly we filed a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in March 2018. After the adoption of a Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, opinion, we expect a final decision regarding the MAA from the European Commission before the end of 2019.", - "id": "e1f42abe-e3ac-4caa-abaa-1fea8a10435f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill concerns appropriations for financial services and government operations, focusing on regulatory agencies and federal operations. It does not directly impact Alliance Resource Partners LP, which is a coal producer and marketer. The company's activities are primarily related to mining and coal production, which are not addressed in this bill. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill are irrelevant to the company's business model and activities.", - "index": "233", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for financial services and general government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": " The Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2019 provides FY2019 appropriations to agencies responsible for regulating the financial, telecommunications, and consumer products industries; collecting taxes and assisting taxpayers; managing federal buildings and the federal workforce; and operating the Executive Office of the President, the judiciary, and the District of Columbia. It also includes provisions related to IRS employee training, safeguarding taxpayer information, 1-800 help line service, video production, address changes, offers-in-compromise, First Amendment rights, regulatory scrutiny, conference spending, employee bonuses, and confidentiality of tax returns. It also provides appropriations to independent agencies, including the Administrative Conference of the United States, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Election Assistance Commission, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Election Commission, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the General Services Administration (GSA), the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, the Merit Systems Protection Board, Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of Government Ethics, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Office", - "company_name": "Alliance Resource Partners LP", - "company_description": "We are a diversified producer and marketer of coal primarily to major United States (\"U.S.\") utilities and industrial users. We began mining operations in 1971 and, since then, have grown through acquisitions and internal development to become the second-largest coal producer in the eastern U.S. In 2017, we sold 37.8 million tons of coal and produced 37.6 million tons of coal, of which 25.4% was low-sulfur coal, 39.9% was medium-sulfur coal and 34.7% was high-sulfur coal. In 2017, we sold 80.0% of our total tons to electric utilities, of which 100% was sold to utility plants with installed pollution control devices. These devices, also known as scrubbers, eliminate substantially all emissions of sulfur dioxide. Based on market expectations, we classify low-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of less than 1.5%, medium-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of 1.5% to 3%, and high-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of greater than 3%. The BTU content of our coal ranges from 11,400 to 13,200. We operate eight underground mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia. We also operate a coal loading terminal on the Ohio River at Mt. Vernon, Indiana. In addition, we own equity interests in various oil and gas mineral interests and gas compression services in various geographic locations within producing basins in the continental U.S. Our mining activities are conducted in two geographic regions commonly referred to in the coal industry as the Illinois Basin and Appalachian regions. We have grown historically primarily through expansion of our operations by adding and developing mines and coal reserves in these regions. AHGP is a Delaware limited partnership that was formed to become the owner and controlling member of MGP. We produce a diverse range of steam and metallurgical coal with varying sulfur and heat contents, which enables us to satisfy the broad range of specifications required by our customers. The following map shows the location of our coal mining operations: Illinois Basin Operations: 4. Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Railroad Transportation: Railroad, Truck & Barge & Barge Truck & Barge 7. Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Transportation: Railroad, Truck & Barge Truck & Barge 1 Gibson North Mine is currently non-producing but is expected to resume production in 2018. Our Illinois Basin mining operations are located in western Kentucky, southern Illinois and southern Indiana. As of January 25, 2018, we had 2,086 employees, and we operate five mining complexes in the Illinois Basin. In July 2015, we acquired the remaining equity interest in White Oak Resources LLC (\"White Oak\"), thereby gaining complete ownership and control of the White Oak Mine No. 1 (now known as the Hamilton mine), located near the city of McLeansboro, Illinois (\"White Oak Acquisition\"). Our subsidiary, Hamilton County Coal, 5 LLC (\"Hamilton\"), operates the Hamilton mine, which is an underground longwall mining operation producing medium/high-sulfur coal from the Herrin No. 6 seam.", - "id": "2d0a1d0b-41ed-44af-aa90-edec5447a663" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill concerns the negotiation of prescription drug prices under Medicare and does not pertain to the paper manufacturing and production activities of Verso Corp., which operates in the coated paper industry. There are no direct legal consequences from this bill that impact Verso's business model or activities.", - "index": "234", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices of prescription drugs furnished under part D of the Medicare program.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies regarding prices for drugs covered under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Current law prohibits the CMS from doing so.)\n\nThe CMS must take certain factors into account during negotiations, including the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the drug, the financial burden on patients, and unmet patient needs. If the CMS is unable to negotiate the price of a drug, such drug is subject to competitive licensing in order to further its sale under Medicare, notwithstanding existing government-granted exclusivities.\n\nAdditionally, for one year after a drug is provided under a competitive license, such drug is also subject to specified price limitations; if the drug is not offered at such prices, the drug is\u00a0subject to additional licensing that furthers its sale under any federal program (e.g., Medicaid).", - "company_name": "Verso Corp.", - "company_description": "After the Internal Reorganization, Verso is the sole member of Verso Holding LLC, which is the sole member of Verso Paper Holding LLC. As used in this report, the term \"Verso Holding\" refers to Verso Holding LLC, and the term \"Verso Paper\" refers to Verso Paper Holding LLC. Prior to the Internal Reorganization, Verso was the sole member of Verso Paper Finance Holdings One LLC, which was the sole member of Verso Paper Finance Holdings LLC, which was the sole member of Verso Paper Holdings LLC. As used in this report, the term \"Verso Finance\" refers to Verso Paper Finance Holdings LLC; and the term \"VPH\" refers to Verso Paper Holdings LLC. The term \"NewPage\" refers to NewPage Holdings Inc., which was an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Verso prior to the Internal Reorganization; the term \"NewPage Corp\" refers to NewPage Corporation, which was an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of NewPage prior to the Internal Reorganization. Each of Verso Finance, VPH, NewPage and NewPage Corp were either merged into other subsidiaries of Verso, converted into limited liability corporations, and/or renamed in the Internal Reorganization and do not exist on and after the Internal Reorganization. We are the leading North American producer of coated papers, which are used primarily in commercial print, magazines, catalogs, high-end advertising brochures and annual reports, among other media and marketing publications. We produce a wide range of products, ranging from coated freesheet and coated groundwood, to specialty papers, to inkjet and digital paper, supercalendered papers and uncoated freesheet. We also produce and sell market kraft pulp, which is used to manufacture printing and writing paper grades and tissue products. The mills have an aggregate annual production capacity of approximately 2,870,000 tons of paper, including coated papers and specialty papers which excludes pulp. In February 2018, we announced plans to upgrade the shuttered No. 3 paper machine at our Androscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine, enabling this equipment to restart for the manufacture of packaging products. This paper machine was previously idled beginning in January 2017 and shut down in July 2017. We anticipate completion of this upgrade in the third quarter of 2018 and expect the No. 3 paper machine to increase annual paper production capacity by approximately 200,000 tons. We sell and market our products to approximately 300 customers which comprise approximately 1,700 end-user accounts. We have long-standing relationships with many leading magazine and catalog publishers, commercial printers, specialty retail merchandisers and paper merchants. We reach our end-users through several distribution channels, including direct sales, commercial printers, paper merchants and brokers. \" Verso and substantially all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, or the \"Debtors,\" filed voluntary petitions for relief, or the \"Chapter 11 Filings,\" under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, or the \"Bankruptcy Code,\" in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, or the \"Bankruptcy Court. ,\" were consolidated for procedural purposes only and administered jointly under the caption In accordance with the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board, or \"FASB,\" Accounting Standards Codification, or \"ASC\" 852, Reorganizations, the Debtors adopted fresh-start accounting upon emergence from the Chapter 11 Cases and became a new entity for financial reporting purposes as of July 15, 2016. The Internal Reorganization involved several separate, but related, actions consisting of mergers between subsidiaries to reduce their numbers, the conversion of corporate subsidiaries to limited liability companies, the re-domestication of subsidiaries under Delaware law to provide for a uniform and enlightened regulatory framework, the formation of new holding companies to create separate \"branches\" for Verso's paper-making and energy operations, and name changes of subsidiaries to more appropriately reflect the nature of their assets and operations. In September 2017, we announced the formation of a Strategic Alternatives Committee, comprised solely of independent directors. Based on 2017 sales, the size of the global coated paper industry is estimated to be approximately $32 billion, or 38 million tons of coated paper shipments, including approximately $5 billion, or 6 million tons of coated paper shipments, in North America. Coated paper is used primarily in media and marketing applications, including catalogs, magazines and commercial printing applications, which include high-end advertising brochures, annual reports and direct mail advertising. Demand is generally driven by North American advertising and print media trends, which in turn have historically been correlated with growth in Gross Domestic Product, or \"GDP.", - "id": "601933d6-9c31-4120-a708-bab7b6077a95" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on anti-hunger initiatives, specifically reducing administrative barriers to accessing SNAP and providing grants to community-based nonprofits. It does not have legal consequences or implications relevant to Monster Beverage Corp's business model, which involves the development and marketing of energy drinks. The measures in the bill do not affect the beverage industry or Monster's operations directly.", - "index": "235", - "bill_title": "To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to provide greater access to the supplemental nutrition assistance program by reducing duplicative and burdensome administrative requirements, authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to award grants to certain community-based nonprofit feeding and anti-hunger groups for the purpose of establishing and implementing a Beyond the Soup Kitchen Pilot Program for certain socially and economically disadvantaged populations, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Anti-hunger Empowerment Act of 2019\n\nThis bill reduces administrative requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program), authorizes funding to increase access to SNAP offices, and authorizes grants for community-based nonprofits to expand anti-hunger activities.\n\nThe bill repeals existing provisions regarding administrative costs and authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to pay 75% of the administrative costs for state agencies to carry out new activities to increase the operating hours of SNAP offices, reduce wait times, accept online applications, upgrade technology, and provide a checklist of required documents.\n\nIf a state agency believes that information provided by a SNAP applicant is incorrect or incomplete, the agency must notify the applicant in writing and include instructions for providing the required information. A state may not require an appplicant to appear in person unless the information is not provided in response to the request or cannot be verified. State agencies may not require fingerprints for any member of a household to participate in SNAP or receive benefits.\n\nUSDA must report annually to Congress on the comparative progress of states in improving access to SNAP.\n\n\n\nThe bill also establishes a Beyond the Soup Kitchen Pilot Program to provide grants to community-based nonprofit feeding and anti-hunger groups for programs and technical assistance to reduce hunger, increase the use of nutrition assistance and anti-poverty programs, bolster food security, assist individuals and families to develop assets, promote economic independence, improve nutrition, and reduce obesity.", - "company_name": "Monster Beverage Corp.", - "company_description": "The Company\u0092s subsidiaries primarily develop and market energy drinks. We develop, market, sell and distribute energy drink beverages and concentrates for energy drink beverages, primarily under the following brand names: \u00b7 Our Monster Energy\u00ae brand energy drinks, which represented 91.7%, 90.1% and 90.1% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively, primarily include the following energy drinks 1 : \u00b7 Monster Energy\u00ae \u00b7 Monster Rehab\u00ae Tea + Orangeade + Energy \u00b7 Monster Rehab\u00ae The \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category combines non-carbonated, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters (flavored, unflavored and enhanced) with \u0093new age\u0094 beverages, including sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices and flavored sparkling beverages. According to Beverage Marketing Corporation, domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2018 for the \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category of the market are estimated at approximately $55.5 billion, representing an increase of approximately 6.7% over estimated domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2017 of approximately $52.0 billion. Drinks segment (\u0093Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks\u0094), which is comprised of our Monster Energy\u00ae drinks, (ii) Strategic Brands segment (\u0093Strategic Brands\u0094), which is comprised primarily of the various energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company (\u0093TCCC\u0094) in 2015 as well as Other segment (\u0093Other\u0094), which is comprised of certain products sold by American Fruits and Flavors LLC (\u0093AFF\u0094) (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company) to independent third-party customers (\u0093AFF Third-Party Products\u0094). Corporate and unallocated amounts that do not specifically relate to a reportable segment have been allocated to \u0093Corporate Drinks segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks primarily to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. In some cases, we sell directly to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, drug stores, foodservice customers and the military. Our Strategic Brands segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling \u0093concentrates\u0094 and/or \u0093beverage bases\u0094 to authorized bottling and canning operations. Such bottlers generally combine the concentrates and/or beverage bases with sweeteners, water and other ingredients to produce ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks. The ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks are then sold to other bottlers, full service distributors or retailers, including, retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, foodservice customers, drug stores and the military. To a lesser extent, our Strategic Brands segment generates net operating revenues by selling certain ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. Generally, the Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks segment generates higher per case net operating revenues, but lower per case gross profit margin percentages than the Strategic Brands segment. In the 1930s, Hubert Hansen and his sons started a business selling fresh non-pasteurized juices in Los Angeles, California. In 1977, Tim Hansen, one of the grandsons of Hubert Hansen, perceived a demand for shelf stable pasteurized natural juices and juice blends and formed Hansen Foods, HFI expanded its product line from juices to include Hansen\u0092s Natural Soda\u00ae brand sodas. In 1990, California Co-Packers Corporation (d/b/a Hansen Beverage Company) (\u0093CCC\u0094) acquired certain assets of HFI, including the right to market the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand name. In 1992, Hansen Natural Corporation acquired the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand natural soda and apple juice business from CCC. Under our ownership, the Hansen\u0092s \u00ae beverage business significantly expanded to include a wide range of beverages within the growing \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category including, in particular, energy drinks. During 2018, we continued to expand our existing portfolio of drinks and further develop our distribution markets. During 2018, we introduced the following products: \u00b7 BPM \u00ae \u00b7 Live+ Persist \u00ae \u00b7 Monster Cuba Libre TM (Japan) \u00b7 Monster Hydro \u00ae", - "id": "029e160d-f825-422d-b8a8-ce8f8d7dd86e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on federal appropriations related to disaster assistance and government funding, which does not directly connect to the operations of Tempur Sealy International, Inc., a company that manufactures and markets bedding products. The funding provided in the bill is not pertinent to their business model or product offerings.", - "index": "236", - "bill_title": "Making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2019 \n\nThis bill provides FY2019 appropriations to federal agencies, including supplemental appropriations for disaster assistance and continuing appropriations for agencies that are included in the seven FY2019 appropriations bills that have not been enacted.\n\nThe bill provides $14.2 billion in FY2019 supplemental appropriations for expenses related to the consequences of recent wildfires, hurricanes, volcanos, earthquakes, typhoons, and other natural disasters. The bill designates the spending as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits.\n\nThe bill includes supplemental appropriations for\n\n the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, the Department of Education, the Government Accountability Office, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The bill also provides continuing FY2019 appropriations to several federal agencies through the earlier of February 8, 2019, or the enactment of the applicable appropriations legislation.\n\nThis is known as a continuing resolution (CR) and ends the partial government shutdown that began after the existing CR expired on December 21, 2018, because seven of the remaining FY2019 appropriations bills have not been enacted.\n\n(Five of the FY2019 appropriations bills were enacted last year, including the\n\n Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2019; the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2019; and the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019.) Additionally, the CR has the effect of extending through February 8, 2019, several authorities and programs that were extended in prior CRs, including\n\n the Violence Against Women Act, the authority for the Environmental Protection Agency to collect and spend certain fees related to pesticides, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and several authorities related to immigration.", - "company_name": "Tempur Sealy International, Inc.", - "company_description": "We develop, manufacture and market bedding products, which we sell globally. Our brand portfolio includes many highly recognized brands in the industry, including TEMPUR\u00ae, Tempur-Pedic\u00ae, Sealy\u00ae featuring Posturepedic\u00ae Technology, and Stearns & Foster\u00ae. Our comprehensive suite of bedding products offers a variety of products to consumers across a broad range of channels. We operate in two segments: North America and International. Our North America segment consists of Tempur and Sealy manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries, joint ventures and licensees located in the U.S. and Canada. Our International segment consists of Tempur and Sealy manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries, joint ventures and licensees located in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. In the first quarter of 2017, we updated our primary selling channels to Wholesale and Direct. Wholesale includes all third party retailers, including third party distribution, hospitality and healthcare. Direct includes company-owned stores, e-commerce, and call centers. Retail included furniture and bedding retailers, department stores, specialty retailers and warehouse clubs. Other included direct-to-consumer, third party distributors, hospitality and healthcare customers. Our goal is to improve the sleep of more people, every night, all around the world. Our Products and Brands We have a comprehensive offering of products that appeal to a broad range of consumers, some of which are covered by one or more patents and/or patent applications. In order to achieve our goal to improve the sleep of more people, every night, all around the world, one of our strategic initiatives is to leverage and strengthen our comprehensive portfolio of iconic brands and products. Our brand portfolio includes many highly recognized brands, including TEMPUR\u00ae, Tempur-Pedic\u00ae, Sealy\u00ae featuring Posturepedic\u00ae Technology and Stearns & Foster\u00ae, which are described below: \u00ae - Founded in 1991, the Tempur brand is our specialty innovation category leader designed to provide life changing sleep for our wellness-seeking consumers. Our proprietary Tempur material precisely adapts to the shape, weight and temperature of the consumer and creates fewer pressure points, reduces motion transfer and provides personalized comfort and support. The Stearns & Foster brand offers our consumers high quality mattresses built by certified craftsmen who have been specially trained. Founded in 1846, the brand is designed and built with precise engineering and relentless attention to detail and fuses new innovative technologies with time-honored techniques, creating supremely comfortable beds. The Sealy brand originated in 1881 in Sealy, Texas, and for over a century has focused on offering trusted comfort, durability and excellent value while maintaining contemporary styles and great support. The Sealy Posturepedic brand, introduced in 1950, was engineered to provide all-over support and body alignment to allow full relaxation and deliver a comfortable night's sleep. In 2017, Sealy Posturepedic no longer represented its own separate brand as we united all of our Sealy products under one masterbrand, which features the Posturepedic Technology\u2122 in the Sealy Performance The Cocoon by Sealy brand, introduced in 2016, is our offering in the below $1,000 e-commerce space, made with the high quality materials that consumers expect from Sealy, sold online at www.cocoonbysealy.com and delivered in a box directly to consumers' doorsteps. In North America, we united all of our Sealy products under one masterbrand. Product introductions included new Sealy products in two distinct lines: Response and Conform.", - "id": "63332450-ccc2-4b06-838d-ae146acb894c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill provides appropriations for the FDA, which is critical for ACADIA Pharmaceuticals as it develops and commercializes CNS drugs. Funding for healthcare and regulatory agencies can support processes that are vital for drug approval and market access, directly impacting the company's operations.", - "index": "237", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 \n\nThis bill provides FY2019 appropriations for several federal departments and agencies. It includes 6 of the 12 regular FY2019 appropriations bills:\n\n the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2019; the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2019; and the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019. The departments and agencies funded in the bill include\n\n the Department of Agriculture; the Food and Drug Administration; the Department of Commerce; the Department of Justice; science-related agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); the Department of the Treasury, the judiciary; the Executive Office of the President; the District of Columbia; the Department of the Interior; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Forest Service; the Department of State; the Department of Transportation; the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and several related and independent agencies. The bill also extends several authorities and programs, including\n\n the National Flood Insurance Program, the authority for the Environmental Protection Agency to collect and spend certain fees related to pesticides, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and several Medicaid provisions.", - "company_name": "ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative medicines to address unmet medical needs in central nervous system, or CNS, disorders. We have a portfolio of product opportunities led by our novel drug, NUPLAZID (pimavanserin), which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on April 29, 2016 for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis, or PD Psychosis, and is the only drug approved in the United States for this condition. NUPLAZID is a selective serotonin inverse agonist, or SSIA, preferentially targeting 5-HT 2A receptors. Through this novel mechanism, NUPLAZID demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing the hallucinations and delusions associated with PD Psychosis in our Phase 3 pivotal trial and has the potential to avoid many of the debilitating side effects of existing antipsychotics, none of which are approved by the FDA in the treatment of PD Psychosis. We hold worldwide commercialization rights to pimavanserin. We believe that pimavanserin has the potential to address important unmet medical needs in neurological and psychiatric disorders in addition to PD Psychosis and we plan to continue to study the use of pimavanserin in multiple disease states. For example, we believe dementia-related psychosis represents one of our most important opportunities for further exploration. In December 2016, we announced positive top-line results from our Phase 2 study exploring the utility of pimavanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease psychosis, or AD Psychosis, a disorder for which no drug is currently approved by the FDA. Following our End-of-Phase 2 Meeting with the FDA and agreement with the agency on our clinical development plan, we initiated 1 our Phase 3 HARMONY relapse prevention study in October 2017, which allows us to evaluate pimavanserin for a broader indication than AD Psychosis alone. More specifically, HARMONY will evaluate pimavanserin for the treatment of hal lucinations and delusions associated with dementia-related psychosis, which includes psychosis in patients with Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease dementia, vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. Furthermore, in Oc tober 2017, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to pimavanserin for dementia-related psychosis. As a result of potential overlap of clinical sites and study participants between the HARMONY study and our Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease agitation and aggression, which we refer to as SERENE, we decided to discontinue enrollment of new patients in that study. We also believe schizophrenia represents a disease with multiple unmet or ill-served needs and we are currently exploring the utility of pimavanserin in this area. Despite a large number of FDA-approved therapies for schizophrenia, current drugs do not adequately address some very important symptoms of schizophrenia, such as the inadequate response to current antipsychotic treatment of psychotic symptoms and negative symptoms. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we initiated two studies evaluating the adjunctive use of pimavanserin in patients with schizophrenia. ENHANCE-1 is a Phase 3 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment of schizophrenia in patients with an inadequate response to their current antipsychotic therapy. ADVANCE is a Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment in patients with negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Depression is another disorder with a high unmet need that we believe represents an attractive development opportunity for pimavanserin. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that patients with depression often do not receive adequate relief from an antidepressant medication, and, due to side effects of currently available therapies, many patients discontinue their medication, significantly increasing their chance of relapse. Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests 5-HT 2A antagonism may be an effective adjunctive therapy to currently prescribed antidepressants. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we initiated CLARITY, a Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment in patients with major depressive disorder, or MDD, who have an inadequate response to standard antidepressant therapy. Our strategy is to discover, develop and commercialize innovative small molecule drugs that address unmet medical needs in CNS disorders. We have assembled a management team with significant industry experience to lead the discovery, development, and commercialization of our product opportunities. We complement our management team with scientific and clinical advisors, including recognized experts in the fields of PD Psychosis, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, depression, and other CNS disorders.", - "id": "54b57c14-b075-4fca-a4d3-e00d3e510733" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Consumers First Act includes provisions that affect consumer financial products and services, which are directly relevant to ACI Worldwide, Inc.'s business model as a provider of electronic payment solutions. The bill reinstates rules regarding arbitration in consumer contracts and requires reporting on consumer complaints and investigations, impacting how ACI's clients, such as banks and financial intermediaries, interact with consumers and manage compliance. Additionally, the establishment of the Office of Students and Young Consumers may influence ACI's offerings related to payment solutions for educational institutions, making the bill pertinent to their operations.", - "index": "238", - "bill_title": "To require the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to meet its statutory purpose, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Consumers First Act \n\nThis bill revises provisions related to the administration of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).\n\n(Sec. 3) The bill amends all statutory references to the \"Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection\" to refer instead to the \"Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.\"\n\n(Sec. 5) Specified units, offices, and boards of the CFPB must perform their assigned duties and may not be renamed or reorganized. The bill establishes requirements for staffing levels, political appointees, and the publication of consumer complaints regarding consumer financial products or services.\n\nThe bill reinstates specified agreements between the CFPB and the Department of Education regarding the sharing of information and oversight related to federal student loans.\n\nThe CFPB rule regarding the use of arbitration agreements in contracts for specific consumer financial products and services is reinstated. This rule prohibits the use of a predispute arbitration agreement to prevent a consumer from filing or participating in certain class action suits. The rule also requires consumer financial product and service providers to furnish the CFPB with particular information regarding arbitrations.\n\n(Sec. 6) The bill specifically states the duties of the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity (under current law, these are delegated by the CFPB Director). It also adds the duty to implement enforcement and supervisory authority regarding the fair lending laws.\n\nThe Office of Students and Young Consumers is established in the CFPB.\n\n(Sec. 7) Membership requirements for the Consumer Advisory Board are revised, including by requiring representatives of service members and veterans. Board meeting requirements are also revised, including by requiring in person meetings and extending the terms of certain board members.\n\n(Sec. 8) The bill also decreases the cap on the surplus funds of the Federal Reserve banks. (Amounts exceeding this cap are deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.)\n\n(Sec. 9) The bill revises the required public disclosures made by a depository institution or a credit union regarding mortgages and home equity lines of credit. Specifically, institutions originating fewer than 500 mortgage loans or open-end lines of credit are no longer exempt from certain financial reporting.\n\n(Sec. 10) The bill limits available exemptions from certain housing mortgage disclosures and prohibits the CFPB from modifying or discontinuing certain mortgage reporting tools.\n\n(Sec. 13) The CFPB must report monthly on fair lending investigations and enforcement actions.\n\n(Sec. 14) The CFPB must report quarterly on debt collection complaints and enforcement actions.\n\n(Sec. 15) The bill provides for free annual consumer credit scores.\n\n(Sec. 16) The CFPB must report annually on consumer complaints by senior consumers and provide recommendations to improve protections for these consumers.\n\n(Sec. 17) The CFPB must report quarterly on payday loan and car title loan investigations and enforcement actions.", - "company_name": "ACI Worldwide, Inc.", - "company_description": "We develop, market, install, and support a broad line of software products and solutions primarily focused on facilitating real-time electronic payments. Our payment capabilities, technologies, and solutions are marketed under the brand name Universal Payments, or \u0093UP,\u0094 which describes the breadth and depth of ACI\u0092s product offerings. UP defines ACI\u0092s enterprise or \u0093universal\u0094 payments capabilities targeting any channel, any network, and any payment type. ACI UP solutions empower customers to regain control, choice, and flexibility in today\u0092s complex payments environment, get to market more quickly, and reduce operational costs. These products and services are used globally by banks, financial intermediaries, merchants and corporates, such as third-party electronic payment processors, payment associations, switch interchanges and a wide range of transaction-generating endpoints, including automated teller machines (\u0093ATM\u0094), merchant point-of-sale (\u0093POS\u0094) terminals, bank branches, mobile phones, tablets, corporations, and internet commerce sites. The authentication, authorization, switching, settlement, fraud-checking, and reconciliation of electronic payments is a complex activity due to the large number of locations and variety of sources from which transactions can be generated, the large number of participants in the market, high transaction volumes, geographically dispersed networks, differing types of authorization, and varied reporting requirements. ACI combines a global perspective with local presence to tailor electronic payment solutions for our customers. We believe that we have one of the most diverse and robust electronic payment product portfolios in the industry with application software spanning the entire payments value chain. Target Markets ACI\u0092s comprehensive electronic payment solutions serve four key markets: Banks ACI provides payment solutions to large and mid-size banks globally for both retail banking, digital, and other payment services. Our solutions transform banks\u0092 complex payment environments to speed time to market, reduce costs, and deliver a consistent experience to customers across channels while enabling them to prevent 3 and rapidly react to fraudulent activity. In addition, we enable banks to meet the requirements of different real-time payment schemes and to quickly create differentiated products to meet consumer, business, and merchant demands. ACI\u0092s payment solutions support financial intermediaries, such as processors, networks, payment service providers (\u0093PSPs\u0094), and new financial technology (\u0093FinTech\u0094) entrants. We offer these customers scalable solutions that strategically position them to innovate and achieve growth and cost efficiency, while protecting them against fraud. Our solutions also allow new entrants in the digital marketplace to access innovative payment schemes, such as the U.K. Faster Payments New Access Model, ACI\u0092s support of merchants globally includes Tier 1 and Tier 2 merchants, online-only merchants and the PSPs, independent selling organizations (\u0093ISOs\u0094), value added resellers (\u0093VARs\u0094), and acquirers who service them. These customers operate in a variety of verticals, including general merchandise, grocery, hospitality, dining, transportation, and others. Our solutions provide merchants with a secure, omni-channel payments platform that gives them independence from third-party payment providers. We also offer secure solutions to online-only merchants that provide consumers with a convenient and seamless way to shop. Within the corporate segment, ACI provides electronic bill presentment and payment (\u0093EBPP\u0094) services to companies operating in the consumer finance, insurance, healthcare, higher education, tax, and utility categories. Our solutions enable these customers to support a wide range of payment options and provide a painless consumer payments experience that drives consumer loyalty and increases revenue. ACI\u0092s UP \u00ae solutions span the payments ecosystem to support the electronic payment needs of banks, intermediaries, merchants and corporates. Our six strategic solution areas include the following: Retail Payments ACI offers comprehensive consumer payment solutions ranging from core payment engines to back-office support that enable banks and financial intermediaries to compete effectively in today\u0092s real-time, open payments ecosystem. Retail Payments\u0099 solution enables banks and financial intermediaries to accept, authorize, route and secure payment transactions.", - "id": "78959c1c-ce14-487b-9ed8-b796404de6e0" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The BLUE GLOBE Act emphasizes data collection and monitoring related to the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts. Microsoft Corp.'s focus on cloud solutions, data management, and AI technologies aligns with the needs outlined in the bill, particularly in terms of advancing data collection and analysis technologies. Microsoft could play a significant role in supporting federal initiatives for improving data interoperability and innovation related to environmental monitoring, making the bill highly relevant to their business model that leverages technology for data-driven insights.", - "index": "239", - "bill_title": "A bill to improve data collection and monitoring of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Bolstering Long-Term Understanding and Exploration of the Great Lakes, Oceans, Bays, and Estuaries Act or the BLUE GLOBE Act \n\nThis bill addresses data collection and monitoring of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts.\n\nSpecifically, the bill\n\n increases domestic and international coordination to enhance data management and monitoring of the Great Lakes, oceans bays, estuaries, and coasts; creates the Interagency Ocean Exploration Committee to promote the exploration and improved understanding of the oceans; revises the Ocean Policy Committee to the Committee on Ocean Policy; establishes a technology innovation task force to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop a workforce development program, including to support undergraduate and graduate education in fields related to the advancement of the monitoring, collection, synthesis, and analysis of data regarding the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts; requires NOAA to ensure that a goal of its cooperative institutes is to advance or apply emerging technologies; requires NOAA to establish opportunities to engage indigenous, subsistence, and fishing communities to better understand their needs; institutes an ocean innovation prize to catalyze the rapid development and deployment of data collection and monitoring technology; reauthorizes several NOAA programs, including the Ocean Exploration Program; directs relevant federal agencies to measure the value and impact of industries related to the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts on the U.S. economy; and requires the National Academy of Sciences to assess the potential for an Advanced Research Projects Agency-Oceans.", - "company_name": "Microsoft Corp.", - "company_description": "Microsoft is a technology company whose mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our platforms and tools help drive small business productivity, large business competitiveness, and public-sector efficiency. They also support new startups, improve educational and health outcomes, and empower human ingenuity. We bring technology and products together into experiences and solutions that unlock value for our customers. In this next phase of innovation, computing is more powerful and ubiquitous from the cloud to the edge. Artificial intelligence (\"AI\") capabilities are rapidly advancing, fueled by data and knowledge of the world. Physical and virtual worlds are coming together with the Internet of Things (\"IoT\") and mixed reality to create richer experiences that understand the context surrounding people, the things they use, the places they go, and their activities and relationships. A person's experience with technology spans a multitude of devices and has become increasingly more natural and multi-sensory with voice, ink, and gaze interactions. What We Offer Founded in 1975, we develop and support software, services, devices, and solutions that deliver new value for customers and help people and businesses realize their full potential. We offer an array of services, including cloud-based solutions that provide customers with software, services, platforms, and content, and we provide solution support and consulting services. We also deliver relevant online advertising to a global audience. Our products include operating systems; cross-device productivity applications; server applications; business solution applications; desktop and server management tools; software development tools; and video games. We also design, manufacture, and sell devices, including PCs, tablets, gaming and entertainment consoles, other intelligent devices, and related accessories. The A mbitions T hat D rive U s To achieve our vision, our research and development efforts focus on three interconnected ambitions: \u2022 Build the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge platform. Computing experiences are evolving, no longer bound to one device at a time. Instead, experiences are expanding to many devices as people move from home to work to on the go. These modern needs, habits, and expectations of our customers are motivating us to bring Microsoft Office 365, Windows platform, devices, including Microsoft Surface, and third-party applications into a more cohesive Microsoft 365 experience. Our growth depends on securely delivering continuous innovation and advancing our leading productivity and collaboration tools and services, including Office, Microsoft Dynamics, and LinkedIn. Microsoft 365 brings together Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility + Security to help organizations empower their employees with AI-backed tools that unlock creativity, increase teamwork, and fuel innovation, all the while enabling compliance coverage and data protection. Microsoft Teams is core to our vision for the modern workplace as the digital hub that creates a single canvas for teamwork, conversations, meetings, and content. Dynamics 365 for Talent with LinkedIn Recruiter and Learning gives human resource professionals a complete solution to compete for talent. Microsoft Power Platform empowers employees to build custom applications, automate workflow, and analyze data no matter their technical expertise. These scenarios represent a move to unlock creativity and inspire teamwork, while simplifying security and management. Organizations of all sizes can now digitize business-critical functions, redefining what customers can expect from their business applications.", - "id": "c404dbaf-42d1-4c8e-a521-15c125c3b7ca" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on public health security, emergency preparedness, and medical countermeasures, which are not directly relevant to the coal production and natural resource business of Alliance Resource Partners LP. The company's activities center around coal production and mineral interests, which do not intersect with the public health, emergency response, or health service domains outlined in the bill.", - "index": "240", - "bill_title": "A bill to reauthorize certain programs under the Public Health Service Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to public health security and all-hazards preparedness and response, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2019\n\nThis bill reauthorizes, revises, and establishes several programs and entities relating to public health emergency preparedness and response.\n\nTITLE I--STRENGTHENING THE NATIONAL HEALTH SECURITY STRATEGY (Sec. 101) This section expands the National Health Security Strategy requirements to address the prevention of plant and animal disease and evaluate potential health security threats from abroad.\n\nTITLE II--IMPROVING PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE (Sec. 201) This section reauthorizes through FY2023 and revises the Public Health Emergency Preparedness cooperative-agreement program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to include evaluations using evidence-based benchmarks and objective standards. (Sec. 202) This section reauthorizes through FY2023 and revises the Hospital Preparedness Program administered by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to require applicants for cooperative agreements under the program to describe the applicant's approach for coordinating services and integrating health data. (Sec. 203) This section establishes federal guidelines for regional health care facilities' response to public health emergencies. (Sec. 204) This section establishes a grant program for eligible trauma centers to train and support military trauma care providers at such centers. (Sec. 205) This section reauthorizes through FY2023 and revises the CDC situational awareness and biosurveillance programs to, among other things, coordinate among agencies, convene a public meeting, develop and implement a strategic plan, and appoint highly-qualified professionals to carry out such programs. (Sec. 206) This section expands the available uses of the Public Health Emergency Fund to anticipate and respond to public health emergencies. (Sec. 207) This section reauthorizes through FY2023 and revises the Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP), including requiring the ASPR to make available information about state mechanisms for waiving the licensing requirements for applicable health professionals during a public health emergency.\n\n(Sec. 208) This section limits the liability of certain health professionals to the state laws in which the alleged liable act or omission occurred. The section also requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the availability of health care providers under the ESAR-VHP. (Sec. 209) This section requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to report about the adequacy of the national blood supply in the case of a public health emergency, the recruitment of blood donors, and other procedures related to the safety and reliability of the national blood supply. (Sec. 210) This section requires HHS to contract with an appropriate entity to evaluate and report on the public health preparedness and response capabilities of medical and health care facilities nationwide.\n\nTITLE III--REACHING ALL COMMUNITIES (Sec. 301) This section reauthorizes through FY2023 and revises the National Disaster Medical System to include a review of the system's medical surge capacity, the available workforce, the capacity of the workforce to respond to public health emergencies and other hazards, the effectiveness of recruiting, and other potential gaps in the workforce. The section also provides specified death benefits for individuals performing official duties under the National Disaster Medical System in response to a public health emergency or other hazardous activity.\n\nAdditionally, the section reauthorizes through FY2023 the Epidemic Intelligence Service fellowship program and reduces the term of service under the program from three to two years.\n\n(Sec. 302) This section addresses the logistical support requirements of the ASPR and permits the ASPR to study factors related to the delivery of medical countermeasures, such as vaccines, during a public health emergency. (Sec. 303) This section addresses provisions related to the consideration of at-risk individuals in developing medical countermeasures and the coordination in implementing the biosurveillance network for emerging public health threats.\n\n(Sec. 304) This section provides statutory authority for the Children's Preparedness Unit within the CDC.\n\n(Sec. 305) This section reauthorizes through FY2023 and revises the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters to require specified nonfederal members, expand the permissible total number of members from 15 to 25, and establish specific terms of appointment, among other changes. The section also establishes the National Advisory Committee on Seniors and Disasters and the National Advisory Committee on Individuals with Disabilities and Disasters. (Sec. 306) This section requires HHS to issue guidance for specified public health workforce participation in operational exercises related to all-hazards medical and public health preparedness and response.\n\nTITLE IV--PRIORITIZING A THREAT-BASED APPROACH\n\n(Sec. 401) This section requires the ASPR to coordinate with relevant federal agencies to maintain a current assessment of national security threats and inform preparedness and response capabilities based on the range of threats that could result in a public health emergency. (Sec. 402) This section provides statutory authority for the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise, which supports the research, development, procurement, and distribution of countermeasures against public health threats. (Sec. 403) This section reauthorizes through FY2023 the Strategic National Stockpile and expands HHS's annual threat-based review process to include, among other things, submitting such review to specified congressional committees and providing explanations for modifications to the procurement of countermeasures for the stockpile. (Sec. 404) This section provides for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the ASPR to develop strategic initiatives to address national security threats.\n\n(Sec. 405) This section requires HHS to report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Federal Experts Security Advisory Panel with respect to biological agents and toxins that pose a threat to public health.\n\nTITLE V--INCREASING COMMUNICATION IN MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURE ADVANCED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (Sec. 501) This section expands the requirements of the ASPR with respect to the annual countermeasure budget plan. (Sec. 502) This section requires the Department of Homeland Security to annually notify specified congressional committees about current material threat determinations. (Sec. 503) This section requires the Food and Drug Administration to publish information on its website about regulatory management plans with respect to countermeasures. (Sec. 504) This section reauthorizes through FY2028 the BioShield Special Reserve Fund, which supports the research and development of countermeasures. The section also reauthorizes through FY2023 the Biodefense Medical Countermeasure Development Fund, which supports BARDA. (Sec. 505) This section provides statutory authority for the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.\n\nTITLE VI--ADVANCING TECHNOLOGIES FOR MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES (Sec. 601) This section modifies administrative procedures related to medical countermeasures and vaccine development. (Sec. 602) This section expands the authority of BARDA to enter into certain transactions to carry out projects. (Sec. 603) This section specifies procedures related to a master file containing information relevant to the development, authorization, and manufacture of countermeasures or qualified pandemic or epidemic products. (Sec. 604) This section requires the GAO to study and report on the requirements related to the use of animal models in the development of medical countermeasures.\n\n(Sec. 605) This section requires HHS to convene relevant representatives to discuss and report on, among other things, the potential role of genomic engineering technologies in advancing national health security. (Sec. 606) This section requires HHS to report on international coordination during recent public health emergencies to develop qualifies pandemic or epidemic products.\n\n(Sec. 607) This section reauthorizes and modifies the Mosquito Abatement for Safety and Health Program. The section also reauthorizes the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Grant Program and expands such program to include surveillance of, and response to, diseases transmitted by mosquitos and other living organisms.\n\nTITLE VII--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS (Sec. 701) This section extends through FY2023 specified programs including the Department of Veterans Affairs emergency preparedness program and the tracking and distribution of vaccines during an influenza pandemic. (Sec. 702) This section amends the disclosure requirements for information relating to the National Strategic Stockpile of medical countermeasures. (Sec. 703) This section requires HHS to develop a strategy to address cybersecurity threats to national health security. (Sec. 704) This section requires HHS and other relevant agencies to develop a strategy and report about efforts to reunify with their parents children located in HHS facilities after separation at the U.S.-Mexico border as a result of the changes in immigration enforcement policy announced by the Department of Justice on April 6, 2018.", - "company_name": "Alliance Resource Partners LP", - "company_description": "We are a diversified natural resource company that generates income from coal production and oil & gas mineral interests located in strategic producing regions across the United States. We are currently the second largest coal producer in the eastern United States with eight underground mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia as well as a coal loading terminal in Indiana. We market our coal production to major domestic and international utilities and industrial users. We have grown historically primarily through expansion of our coal operations by adding and developing mines and coal reserves in these regions. In addition, we generate royalty income from mineral interests we own in premier oil & gas producing regions in the United States, primarily the Anadarko, Permian, Williston and Appalachian basins. Pursuant to that transaction, which closed on the same date, MGP contributed to ARLP all of its incentive distribution rights (\"IDRs\") and its 0.99% managing general partner interest in ARLP in exchange for 56,100,000 ARLP common units and a non-economic general partner interest in ARLP. AHGP would become a wholly owned subsidiary of ARLP, ii. The remaining AHGP common units held by the Owners of SGP were canceled and converted into the right to receive 29,188,997 ARLP common units which equaled (i) the product of the number of certain AHGP common units held by the Owners of SGP multiplied by 1.4782, minus (ii) 1,322,388 ARLP common units. In addition, ARLP issued 1,322,388 ARLP common units to the Owners of SGP in exchange for causing SGP to contribute to ARLP its remaining limited partner interest in AHGP, which included AHGP's indirect ownership of a 1.0001% general partner interest in the Intermediate Partnership and a 0.001% managing member interest in Alliance Coal, resulting in an overall exchange ratio to the Owners of SGP equal to that of the other AHGP unitholders. Upon the issuance of ARLP common units to the Owners of SGP in exchange for the limited partner interest in AHGP, ARLP became a) the sole limited partner of AHGP and b) through AHGP, the indirect owner of a 1.0001% general partner interest in the Intermediate Partnership and a 0.001% managing member interest in Alliance Coal. ARLP indirectly owns a 96.0% non-managing member interest and a non-economic managing member interest in Cavalier Minerals. On January 26, 2019, Kodiak Gas Services, LLC (\"Kodiak\") provided notification that it intended to redeem our preferred interest for $135.0 million, which is inclusive of an early redemption premium. We produce a diverse range of steam and metallurgical coal with varying sulfur and heat contents, which enables us to satisfy the broad range of specifications required by our customers. In 2018, we sold a record 40.4 million tons of coal and produced 40.3 million tons. The coal we sold in 2018 was approximately 28.1% low-sulfur coal, 40.1% medium-sulfur coal and 31.8% high-sulfur coal. Based on market expectations, we classify low-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of less than 1.5%, medium-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of 1.5% to 3%, and high-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of greater than 3%. In 2018, approximately 68.2% of our tons sold were purchased by United States electric utilities and 27.8% were sold into the international markets through brokered transactions. The balance of our tons sold were to third-party resellers and industrial consumers. For tons sold to United 3 States electric utilities, 100% were sold to utility plants with installed pollution control devices. The BTU content of our coal ranges from 11,400 to 13,200. The following map shows the location of our coal mining operations: Illinois Basin Operations: 4. Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Transportation: Barge & Truck Transportation: Barge & Railroad Coal Type: Medium/High-Sulfur METTIKI COMPLEX & Truck & Truck 8. Mining Access: Slope & Shaft & Continuous Miner ", - "id": "4e681555-4b02-48ce-941c-e7d065ad20da" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Skills Investment Act of 2019 primarily focuses on expanding educational savings accounts and tax credits related to skills and education, which pertains to individual beneficiaries and employers in the context of education and workforce development. HCP, Inc., as a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on healthcare properties, does not have direct legal or business implications concerning educational savings or employee training funds. The bill's implications around educational funding are not aligned with HCP's investment strategy and operational model, which centers on real estate and healthcare services.", - "index": "241", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for lifelong learning accounts, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Skills Investment Act of 2019\n\nThis bill expands tax-favored Coverdell education savings accounts to allow the accounts to be used for educational or skill development expenses such as training services, career and technical education activities, career services, youth workforce investment activities, and adult education and literacy activities.\n\nThe bill also\n\n renames the accounts \"Coverdell lifelong learning accounts,\" increases contribution limits, modifies the age-based contribution restrictions, allows a tax credit for a portion of an employer's contributions to an employee's account, and allows beneficiaries to deduct contributions made by or on behalf of the beneficiary.", - "company_name": "HCP, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business General Overview HCP, an S & P 500 company, invests primarily in real estate serving the healthcare industry in the United States (\"U.S.\"). We are a Maryland corporation organized in 1985 and qualify as a self-administered real estate investment trust (\"REIT\"). Our diverse portfolio is comprised of investments in the following reportable healthcare segments: (i) senior housing triple-net, (ii) senior housing operating portfolio (\"SHOP\"), (iii) life science and (iv) medical office. The Spin-Off included 338 properties, primarily comprised of the HCR ManorCare, direct financing lease (\"DFL\") investments and an equity investment in HCRMC. QCP is an independent, publicly-traded, self-managed and self-administrated REIT. We invest and manage our real estate portfolio for the long-term to maximize the benefit to our stockholders and support the growth of our dividends. The core elements of our strategy are: (i) to acquire, develop, lease, own and manage a diversified portfolio of quality healthcare properties across multiple geographic locations and business segments including senior housing, medical office, and life science, among others; (ii) to align ourselves with leading healthcare companies, operators and service providers which, over the long-term, should result in higher relative rental rates, net operating cash flows and appreciation of property values; and (iii) to maintain an investment grade balance sheet with adequate liquidity and long-term fixed rate debt financing with staggered maturities, which supports the longer-term nature of our investments, while reducing our exposure to interest rate volatility and refinancing risk at any point in the interest rate or credit cycles. Our strategy for maximizing the benefits from these opportunities is to: (i) work with new or existing tenants and operators to address their space and capital needs; and (ii) provide high-quality property management services in order to motivate tenants to renew, expand or relocate into our properties. Build and maintain long-term leasing and management relationships with quality tenants and operators. In choosing locations for our properties, we focus on their physical environment, adjacency to established businesses (e.g., hospital systems) and educational centers, proximity to sources of business growth and other local demographic factors. Replace tenants and operators at the best available market terms and lowest possible transaction costs. We believe that we are well-positioned to attract new tenants and operators and achieve attractive rental rates and operating cash flow as a result of the location, design and maintenance of our properties, together with our reputation for high-quality building services and responsiveness to tenants, and our ability to offer space alternatives within our portfolio. We structure lease extensions, early renewals or modifications, which reduce the cost associated with lease downtime or the re-investment risk resulting from the exercise of tenants' purchase options, while securing the tenancy and relationship of our high quality tenants and operators on a long-term basis. The delivery of healthcare services requires real estate and, as a result, tenants and operators depend on real estate, in part, to maintain and grow their businesses. We believe that the healthcare real estate market provides investment opportunities due to the: (i) compelling long-term demographics driving the demand for healthcare services; (ii) specialized nature of healthcare real estate investing; and (iii) ongoing consolidation of the fragmented healthcare real estate sector. While we emphasize healthcare real estate ownership, we may also provide real estate secured financing to, or invest in equity or debt securities of, healthcare operators or other entities engaged in healthcare real estate ownership. We monitor, but do not limit, our investments based on the percentage of our total assets that may be invested in any one property type, investment vehicle or geographic location, the number of properties that may be leased to a single tenant or operator, or loans that may be made to a single borrower. In allocating capital, we target opportunities with the most attractive risk/reward profile for our portfolio as a whole. We may take additional measures to mitigate risk, including diversifying our investments (by sector, geography, tenant or operator), structuring transactions as master leases, requiring tenant or operator insurance and indemnifications, and obtaining credit enhancements in the form of guarantees, letters of credit or security deposits. our relationships with leading healthcare operators and systems, investment banks and other market intermediaries, corporations, private equity firms, non-profits and public institutions seeking to monetize existing assets or develop new facilities; our relationships with institutional buyers and sellers of high-quality healthcare real estate; \u2022 our track record and reputation for executing acquisitions responsively and efficiently, which provides confidence to domestic and foreign institutions and private investors who seek to sell healthcare real estate in our market areas; \u2022 our relationships with nationally recognized financial institutions that provide capital to the healthcare and real estate industries; and \u2022 our control of sites (including assets under contract with radius restrictions). Our REIT qualification requires us to distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (excluding net capital gains); therefore, we don", - "id": "fca8c917-57ea-4e7e-a71e-c80f408b78a5" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on encouraging the purchase of automobiles made in the U.S. through a voucher system and addresses tax deductions for foreign subsidiaries of U.S. automakers. ACI Worldwide, Inc. is a company specializing in electronic payment solutions and does not manufacture automobiles or engage in automotive sales or manufacturing. Therefore, the legal consequences outlined in the bill do not pertain to ACI's business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "242", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish a voluntary program in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to encourage consumers to purchase or lease new automobiles made in the United States, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "American Cars, American Jobs Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration the American Cars, American Jobs Program. Under the program, the Department of Transportation must issue vouchers of $3,500 to offset the purchase or lease price of a new automobile made in the United States if at least 45% of the automobile's parts come from the United States or Canada and assembly of the automobile occurs in the United States. The amount of the voucher for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles is $4,500.\n\nThe bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to disallow a tax deduction for the global low-tax income of certain foreign subsidiaries of U.S. automakers whose profits exceed a specified percentage of their value.", - "company_name": "ACI Worldwide, Inc.", - "company_description": "We develop, market, install, and support a broad line of software products and solutions primarily focused on facilitating real-time electronic payments. Our payment capabilities, technologies, and solutions are marketed under the brand name Universal Payments, or \u0093UP,\u0094 which describes the breadth and depth of ACI\u0092s product offerings. UP defines ACI\u0092s enterprise or \u0093universal\u0094 payments capabilities targeting any channel, any network, and any payment type. ACI UP solutions empower customers to regain control, choice, and flexibility in today\u0092s complex payments environment, get to market more quickly, and reduce operational costs. These products and services are used globally by banks, financial intermediaries, merchants and corporates, such as third-party electronic payment processors, payment associations, switch interchanges and a wide range of transaction-generating endpoints, including automated teller machines (\u0093ATM\u0094), merchant point-of-sale (\u0093POS\u0094) terminals, bank branches, mobile phones, tablets, corporations, and internet commerce sites. The authentication, authorization, switching, settlement, fraud-checking, and reconciliation of electronic payments is a complex activity due to the large number of locations and variety of sources from which transactions can be generated, the large number of participants in the market, high transaction volumes, geographically dispersed networks, differing types of authorization, and varied reporting requirements. ACI combines a global perspective with local presence to tailor electronic payment solutions for our customers. We believe that we have one of the most diverse and robust electronic payment product portfolios in the industry with application software spanning the entire payments value chain. Target Markets ACI\u0092s comprehensive electronic payment solutions serve four key markets: Banks ACI provides payment solutions to large and mid-size banks globally for both retail banking, digital, and other payment services. Our solutions transform banks\u0092 complex payment environments to speed time to market, reduce costs, and deliver a consistent experience to customers across channels while enabling them to prevent 3 and rapidly react to fraudulent activity. In addition, we enable banks to meet the requirements of different real-time payment schemes and to quickly create differentiated products to meet consumer, business, and merchant demands. ACI\u0092s payment solutions support financial intermediaries, such as processors, networks, payment service providers (\u0093PSPs\u0094), and new financial technology (\u0093FinTech\u0094) entrants. We offer these customers scalable solutions that strategically position them to innovate and achieve growth and cost efficiency, while protecting them against fraud. Our solutions also allow new entrants in the digital marketplace to access innovative payment schemes, such as the U.K. Faster Payments New Access Model, ACI\u0092s support of merchants globally includes Tier 1 and Tier 2 merchants, online-only merchants and the PSPs, independent selling organizations (\u0093ISOs\u0094), value added resellers (\u0093VARs\u0094), and acquirers who service them. These customers operate in a variety of verticals, including general merchandise, grocery, hospitality, dining, transportation, and others. Our solutions provide merchants with a secure, omni-channel payments platform that gives them independence from third-party payment providers. We also offer secure solutions to online-only merchants that provide consumers with a convenient and seamless way to shop. Within the corporate segment, ACI provides electronic bill presentment and payment (\u0093EBPP\u0094) services to companies operating in the consumer finance, insurance, healthcare, higher education, tax, and utility categories. Our solutions enable these customers to support a wide range of payment options and provide a painless consumer payments experience that drives consumer loyalty and increases revenue. ACI\u0092s UP \u00ae solutions span the payments ecosystem to support the electronic payment needs of banks, intermediaries, merchants and corporates. Our six strategic solution areas include the following: Retail Payments ACI offers comprehensive consumer payment solutions ranging from core payment engines to back-office support that enable banks and financial intermediaries to compete effectively in today\u0092s real-time, open payments ecosystem. Retail Payments\u0099 solution enables banks and financial intermediaries to accept, authorize, route and secure payment transactions.", - "id": "7c8b942e-fa20-41ac-a424-8761bdaa14d9" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill provides tax incentives for businesses operating in economically distressed zones, which could benefit ANSYS, Inc. as it could potentially reduce their tax liabilities if they expand or establish operations in designated areas. Given ANSYS's extensive range of activities across various industries, particularly in sectors that may be supported in economically distressed zones, the bill aligns with the company's interests in cost-effective product development and market expansion.", - "index": "243", - "bill_title": "To provide tax incentives to promote economic development in economically distressed zones.", - "bill_summary": "Economic Development Act for Distressed Zones of 2019\n\nThis bill provides various tax credits related to economically distressed zones and establishes a procedure for state and local governments to apply for such zone designation.\n\nSpecifically, the bill provides credits to taxpayers in an economically distressed zone based on the amount of (1) wages paid by an employer to employees, (2) depreciation and amortization allowances for business property, and (3) trade or business payments made for purchases of services or property.\n\nThe bill also allows state and local governments to apply for a population census tract under their ambit to be designated as an economically distressed zone", - "company_name": "ANSYS, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS ANSYS, a Delaware corporation formed in 1994, develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services widely used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a broad spectrum of industries and academia, including aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, semiconductors, energy, materials and chemical processing, turbomachinery, consumer products, healthcare, and sports. The Company focuses on the development of open and flexible solutions that enable users to analyze designs directly on the desktop, providing a common platform for fast, efficient and cost-conscious product development, from design concept to final-stage testing and validation. The Company distributes its ANSYS\u00ae suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in strategic, global locations. The Company operates and reports as one segment. ANSYS Workbench\u2122 ANSYS Workbench is the framework upon which the Company's suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The innovative project schematic view ties together the entire simulation process, guiding the user through complex multiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop simplicity. With bi-directional computer-aided design (CAD) connectivity, powerful highly-automated meshing, a project-level update mechanism, pervasive parameter management and integrated optimization tools, the ANSYS Workbench platform enables Pervasive Engineering Simulation\u2122. The Company's Workbench framework allows engineers and designers to incorporate the compounding effects of multiple physics into a virtual prototype of their design and simulate its operation under real-world conditions. As product architectures become smaller, lighter and more complex, companies must be able to accurately predict how products will behave in real-world environments where multiple types of physics interact in a coupled way. ANSYS multiphysics software enables engineers to simulate the interactions between structures, heat transfer, fluids and electronics all within a single, unified engineering simulation environment. ANSYS Workbench enables companies to create a customized simulation environment to deploy specialized simulation best practices and automations unique to their product development process or industry. With ANSYS ACT\u2122, end users or ANSYS partners can modify the user interface, process simulation data or embed third-party applications to create specialized tools based on ANSYS Workbench. The Company's high-performance computing (HPC) product suite enables enhanced insight into product performance and improves the productivity of the design process. The HPC product suite delivers cross-physics parallel processing capabilities for the full spectrum of the Company's simulation software by supporting structures, fluids, thermal and electronics simulations. This product suite decreases turnaround time for individual simulations, allowing users to consider multiple design ideas and make the right design decisions early in the design cycle. The Company's structural analysis product suite offers simulation tools for product design and optimization that increase productivity, minimize physical prototyping and help to deliver better and more innovative products in less time. These tools tackle real-world analysis problems by making product development less costly and more reliable. In addition, these tools have capabilities that cover a broad range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities, all targeted toward understanding and solving complex design problems. The Company also provides comprehensive topology optimization tools that engineers use to design structural components to meet loading requirements with minimal material and component weight. The Company offers a complete simulation workflow for additive manufacturing that allows reliable 3D printing by simulating the laser sintering process and delivering compensated CAD geometries that ensure reliable printed parts. The Company's fluids product suite enables modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design and optimize new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications. The Company's electromagnetics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance of mobile communication and internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment, all prior to building a prototype. ", - "id": "f60f9fb4-345a-4388-a926-96fd94fbf621" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill allows for individuals to carry concealed handguns across state lines, which is directly relevant to Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. as it pertains to firearm sales and the usage of the firearms manufactured by the company. Increased mobility for concealed carry could potentially lead to higher demand for their products.", - "index": "244", - "bill_title": "A bill to allow reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms.", - "bill_summary": "Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2019 This bill allows a qualified individual to carry a concealed handgun into or possess a concealed handgun in another state that allows its residents to carry concealed firearms.\n\nA qualified individual must (1) be eligible to possess, transport, or receive a firearm under federal law; (2) carry a valid photo identification document; and (3) carry a valid state-issued concealed carry permit, or be eligible to carry a concealed firearm in his or her state of residence.", - "company_name": "Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.", - "company_description": "Overview Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. and Subsidiary (the \"Company\") is principally engaged in the design, manufacture, and sale of firearms to domestic customers. The Company's design and manufacturing operations are located in the United States and almost all product content is domestic. The Company primarily offers products in three industry product categories \u2013 rifles, pistols, and revolvers. The Company's firearms are sold through independent wholesale distributors, principally to the commercial sporting market. The Company manufactures and sells investment castings made from steel alloys and metal injection molding (\"MIM\") parts for internal use in the firearms segment and has minimal sales to outside customers. The Company presently manufactures firearm products, under the \"Ruger\" name and trademark, in the following industry categories: Rifles Most firearms are available in several models based upon caliber, finish, barrel length, and other features. A rifle is a long gun with spiral grooves cut into the interior of the barrel to give the bullet a stabilizing spin after it leaves the barrel. Net sales of rifles by the Company accounted for $243.0 million, $264.9 million, and $208.5 million of total net sales for the years 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. A pistol is a handgun in which the ammunition chamber is an integral part of the barrel and which typically is fed ammunition from a magazine contained in the grip. Net sales of pistols by the Company accounted for $176.2 million, $250.0 million, and $192.2 million of revenues for the years 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. A revolver is a handgun that has a cylinder that holds the ammunition in a series of chambers which are successively aligned with the barrel of the gun during each firing cycle. To fire a single-action revolver, the hammer is pulled back to cock the gun and align the cylinder before the trigger is pulled. To fire a double-action revolver, a single trigger pull advances the cylinder and cocks and releases the hammer. Net sales of revolvers by the Company accounted for $74.6 million, $104.9 million, and $113.3 million of revenues for the years 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. The Company also manufactures and sells accessories and replacement parts for its firearms. Net sales attributable to the Company's casting operations (excluding intercompany transactions) accounted for $4.6 million, $5.9 million, and $6.2 million, for 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. The Company produces one model of pistol, all of its revolvers and most of its rifles at the Newport, New Hampshire facility. Some rifle models and two pistol models are produced at the Mayodan, North Carolina facility. Many of the basic metal component parts of the firearms manufactured by the Company are produced by the Company's castings segment through processes known as precision investment casting. The Company believes that investment castings and MIM parts provide greater design flexibility and result in component parts which are generally close to their ultimate shape and, therefore, require less machining than processes requiring machining a solid billet of metal to obtain a part. Through the use of investment castings and MIM parts, the Company endeavors to produce durable and less costly component parts for its firearms. All assembly, inspection, and testing of firearms manufactured by the Company are performed at the Company's manufacturing facilities. Every firearm, including every chamber of every revolver manufactured by the Company, is test-fired prior to shipment. ", - "id": "545704b9-778d-4179-aa33-bc2ad62734f2" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The National Full Employment Trust Fund aims to create employment opportunities, which aligns with Ciena Corp.'s potential market in providing networking solutions for sectors that may benefit from increased employment, such as education and government projects. The bill encourages funding that could enhance infrastructure, thereby likely increasing demand for Ciena's networking products and services used in these sectors.", - "index": "245", - "bill_title": "To establish a National Full Employment Trust Fund to create employment opportunities for the unemployed, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Humphrey-Hawkins 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act of 2019 or the Jobs for All Act\n\nThis bill creates the National Full Employment Trust Fund to fund employment opportunity grants for the purpose of achieving full employment. The grant program is to be administered by the Department of Labor and funded by a tax on securities transactions and loans from the Federal Reserve System. Labor shall make grants to public and nonprofit entities to create employment opportunities and free-standing job-training programs. Grant funds may be used for, among other things, (1) affordable housing, (2) employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth, (3) repair of schools and parks, (4) expansion of emergency food programs, and (5) the expansion of work-study opportunities for secondary and post-secondary students.", - "company_name": "Ciena Corp.", - "company_description": "our ability to forecast accurately demand for our products for purposes of inventory purchase practices; the impact of pricing pressure and price erosion that we regularly encounter in our markets; \u2022 the continued availability, on commercially reasonable terms, of software and other technology under third-party licenses; \u2022 the potential failure to maintain the security of confidential, proprietary or otherwise sensitive business information or systems or to protect against cyber attacks; \u2022 the performance of our third-party contract manufacturers; changes or disruption in components or supplies provided by third parties, including sole and limited source suppliers; \u2022 our ability to grow and maintain our new distribution relationships under which we will make available certain technology as a component; our ability to commercialize and grow our software business and address networking strategies including software-defined networking and network function virtualization; changes in, and the impact of, government regulations, including with respect to: the communications industry generally; the business of our customers; the use, import or export of products; and the environment, potential climate change and other social initiatives; the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, changes in tax regulations and related accounting, and changes in our effective tax rates; future legislation or executive action in the U.S. relating to tax policy or trade regulation; the write-down of goodwill, long-lived assets, or our deferred tax assets; We are a networking systems, services and software company, providing solutions that enable a wide range of network operators to deploy and manage next-generation networks that deliver services to businesses and consumers. We provide network hardware, software and services that support the transport, switching, aggregation, service delivery and management of video, data and voice traffic on communications networks. Our solutions are used by communications service providers, cable and multiservice operators, Web-scale providers, submarine network operators, governments, enterprises, research and education (R & E) institutions and other emerging network operators. Our solutions include a diverse portfolio of high-capacity Networking Platform products, which can be applied from the network core to network access points, and which allow network operators to scale capacity, increase transmission speeds, allocate traffic and adapt dynamically to changing end-user service demands. We also offer Platform Software that provides management and domain control of our next-generation packet and optical platforms and automates network lifecycle operations, including provisioning equipment and services. In addition, through our comprehensive suite of Blue Planet Automation Software, we enable network operators to use network data and analytics to drive enhanced automation across multi-vendor and multi-domain network environments, accelerate service delivery and enable an increasingly predictive and autonomous network infrastructure. To complement our hardware and software solutions, we offer a broad range of attached and software-related services that help our customers design, optimize, integrate, deploy, manage and maintain their networks and associated operational environments. Through our complete portfolio of solutions, we enable our customers to transform their network into a dynamic, programmable environment driven by automation and analytics, which we refer to as the Adaptive Network. Our solutions for the Adaptive Network create business and operational value for our customers, enabling them to introduce new revenue-generating services, reduce costs and maximize the return on their network infrastructure investment. In particular, optical networks \u2013 which carry video, data and voice traffic by encoding digital information on multiple wavelengths of light traveling across fiber optic cables \u2013 have experienced strong traffic growth for several years. This growth, and the resulting requirements for increased network capacity and transmission speed, is being driven by an increasingly diverse set of communications services and applications. These services and applications, including those set forth below, are increasing the bandwidth and service demands placed upon networks and are challenging the business models of many network operators. Enterprises and consumers continue to replace locally-housed computing and storage by adopting a broad array of innovative cloud-based models \u2013 including Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service ( IaaS) \u2013 and an expanding range of cloud-based services that host key applications, store data, enable the viewing and downloading of content and utilize on-demand computing resources. ", - "id": "3fd6d5c3-b545-4d5d-ab88-316434f16118" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Cancer Drug Parity Act of 2019 requires health plans to provide equal cost sharing for orally administered anticancer medications compared to those administered by healthcare providers. As Walmart operates in the healthcare and pharmacy sectors, this bill is relevant to their business model as it may affect pharmacy operations, pricing strategies, and the overall pharmacy service offering to customers, particularly those undergoing cancer treatment. Ensuring compliance with these regulations would be essential for Walmart's pharmacy services.", - "index": "246", - "bill_title": "To amend the Public Health Service Act to require group and individual health insurance coverage and group health plans to provide for cost sharing for oral anticancer drugs on terms no less favorable than the cost sharing provided for anticancer medications administered by a health care provider.", - "bill_summary": "Cancer Drug Parity Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires health plans that cover anticancer medications administered by a health care provider to provide no less favorable cost sharing for patient-administered anticancer medications. This requirement applies to medications that are (1) approved by the Food and Drug Administration; (2) medically necessary for the cancer treatment; and (3) clinically appropriate in terms of type, frequency, extent site, and duration.\n\nTo comply with this requirement, health plans may not,\u00a0with respect to\u00a0anticancer medications (1) change or replace benefits to increase out-of-pocket costs, (2) reclassify benefits to increase costs, or (3) apply more restrictive limitations to orally administered medications than to intravenously administered or injected medications.", - "company_name": "Walmart, Inc.", - "company_description": "the amount, number, growth or increase, in or over certain periods, of or in certain financial items or measures or operating measures, including our earnings per share, including as adjusted for certain items, net sales, comparable store and club sales, our Walmart U.S. operating segment's eCommerce sales, liabilities, expenses of certain categories, expense leverage, returns, capital and operating investments or expenditures of particular types, new store openings and investments in particular formats; our plans to increase investments in eCommerce, technology, store remodels and other customer initiatives, such as online grocery locations; volatility in currency exchange rates and fuel prices affecting our or one of our segments' results of operations; \u2022 the Company continuing to provide returns to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends, the use of share repurchase authorization over a certain period or the source of funding of a certain portion of our share repurchases; changes in the size of various markets, including eCommerce markets; \u2022 unemployment levels; \u2022 inflation or deflation, generally and in certain product categories; \u2022 transportation, energy and utility costs; \u2022 commodity prices, including the prices of oil and natural gas; \u2022 consumer confidence, disposable income, credit availability, spending levels, shopping patterns, debt levels, and demand for certain merchandise; \u2022 trends in consumer shopping habits around the world and in the markets in which Walmart operates; \u2022 consumer enrollment in health and drug insurance programs and such programs' reimbursement rates and drug formularies; and initiatives of competitors, competitors' entry into and expansion in Walmart's markets, and competitive pressures; Operating Factors \u2022 the financial performance of Walmart and each of its segments, including the amounts of Walmart's cash flow during various periods; \u2022 customer traffic and average ticket in Walmart's stores and clubs and on its eCommerce platforms; the mix of merchandise Walmart sells and its customers purchase; the availability of goods from suppliers and the cost of goods acquired from suppliers; \u2022 the effectiveness of the implementation and operation of Walmart's strategies, plans, programs and initiatives; \u2022 \u2022 consumer acceptance of and response to Walmart's stores and clubs, digital platforms, programs, merchandise offerings and delivery methods; \u2022 Walmart's gross profit margins, including pharmacy margins and margins of other product categories; the selling prices of gasoline and diesel fuel; \u2022 disruption of seasonal buying patterns in Walmart's markets; \u2022 Walmart's expenditures for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (\"FCPA\") and other compliance-related matters including the adequacy of our accrual for the FCPA matter; \u2022 Walmart's labor costs, including healthcare and other benefit costs; \u2022 Walmart's casualty and accident-related costs and insurance costs; the size of and turnover in Walmart's workforce and the number of associates at various pay levels within that workforce; the availability of necessary personnel to staff Walmart's stores, clubs and other facilities; 5 developments in, and the outcome of, legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations to which Walmart is a party or is subject, and the liabilities, obligations and expenses, if any, that Walmart may incur in connection therewith; \u2022 changes in the credit ratings assigned to the Company's commercial paper and debt securities by credit rating agencies; \u2022 changes in existing tax, labor and other laws and changes in tax rates, including the enactment of laws and the adoption and interpretation of administrative rules and regulations; \u2022 adoption or creation of new, and modification of existing, governmental policies, programs and initiatives in the markets in which Walmart operates and elsewhere and actions with respect to such policies, programs and initiatives; \u2022 the possibility of the imposition of new taxes on imports and new tariffs and trade restrictions and changes in tariff rates and trade restrictions; changes in the level of public assistance payments; ", - "id": "09cf8092-e140-4421-b139-240cc73ee83d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on amending Medicaid services for coordinated care for children with complex medical conditions, which is unrelated to Monster Beverage Corp.'s business model of marketing energy drinks and sodas. The legal consequences of this bill pertain to healthcare provisions and do not impact or pertain to the beverage industry.", - "index": "247", - "bill_title": "To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to provide States with the option of providing coordinated care for children with complex medical conditions through a health home.", - "bill_summary": "Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act of 2019 or the ACE Kids Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a state Medicaid option to provide for medical assistance with respect to coordinated care provided through a health home (i.e., a designated provider or team of health-care professionals) for children with medically complex conditions. States must determine payment methodologies in accordance with specified requirements; payments also temporarily qualify for an enhanced federal matching rate.", - "company_name": "Monster Beverage Corp.", - "company_description": "The Company\u0092s subsidiaries primarily develop and market energy drinks as well as Mutant\u00ae Super Soda drinks. Drinks segment (\u0093Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks\u0094), which is comprised of our Monster Energy\u00ae drinks, Monster Hydro\u00ae energy drinks and Mutant\u00ae Super Soda drinks, (ii) Strategic Brands segment (\u0093Strategic Brands\u0094), which is comprised of the various energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company (\u0093TCCC\u0094) in 2015 (the \u0093TCCC Transaction\u0094) (see Note 2 \u0093Acquisitions and Divestitures\u0094 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements) and (iii) Other segment (\u0093Other\u0094), the principal products of which include the non-energy brands disposed of as a result of the TCCC Transaction (effectively from January 1, 2015 to June 12, 2015), as well as certain products, acquired as part of our American Fruits & Flavors (\u0093AFF\u0094) asset acquisition in 2016 (the \u0093AFF Transaction\u0094) (see Note 2 \u0093Acquisitions and Divestitures\u0094 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements), that are sold by AFF to independent third-party customers (the \u0093AFF Third-Party Products\u0094) (effectively from April 1, 2016). Corporate and unallocated amounts that do not specifically relate to a reportable segment have been allocated to \u0093Corporate Drinks segment generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks primarily to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. In some cases, we sell directly to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, drug stores, food service customers and the military. Our Strategic Brands segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling \u0093concentrates\u0094 and/or \u0093beverage bases\u0094 to authorized bottling and canning operations. Such bottlers generally combine the concentrates and/or beverage bases with sweeteners, water and other ingredients to produce ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks. The ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks are then sold to other bottlers and full service distributors and to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, food service customers, drug stores and the military. To a lesser extent, our Strategic Brands segment generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. Generally, the Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks segment generates higher per case net operating revenues, but lower per case gross profit margins than the Strategic Brands segment. We develop, market, sell and distribute energy drink beverages, sodas and/or concentrates for energy drink beverages, primarily under the following brand names: \u00b7 \u00b7 NOS\u00ae \u00b7 Monster Energy Ultra\u00ae \u00b7 Full Throttle\u00ae \u00b7 brand energy drinks, which represented 90.1%, 90.1% and 92.5% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, primarily include the following energy drinks 1 : \u00b7 Monster Energy\u00ae Monster Rehab\u00ae Tea + Orangeade + Energy \u00b7 Monster Energy Ultra Red The \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category combines non-carbonated, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters (flavored, unflavored and enhanced) with \u0093new age\u0094 beverages, including sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices and flavored sparkling beverages. According to Beverage Marketing Corporation, domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2017 for the \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category of the market are estimated at approximately $52.6 billion, representing an increase of approximately 5.6% over estimated domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2016 of approximately $49.8 billion. On April 1, 2016, we completed the AFF Transaction resulting in our acquisition of flavor supplier and long-time business partner AFF, in an asset acquisition that brought our primary flavor supplier in-house, secured the intellectual property of our most important flavors in perpetuity and further enhanced our flavor development and global flavor footprint capabilities. On June 12, 2015, we completed the TCCC Transaction contemplated by the definitive agreements entered into with TCCC on August 14, 2014, which provided for a long-term strategic relationship in the global energy drink category. In the 1930s, Hubert Hansen and his sons started a business selling fresh non-pasteurized juices in Los Angeles, California. FJC retained the right to market and sell fresh non-pasteurized juices under the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae trademark. In 1977, Tim Hansen, one of the grandsons of Hubert Hansen, perceived a demand for shelf stable pasteurized natural juices and juice blends and formed Hansen Foods, HFI expanded its product line from juices to include Hansen\u0092s Natural Soda\u00ae brand sodas. In 1990, California Co-Packers Corporation (d/b/a Hansen Beverage Company) (\u0093CCC\u0094) acquired certain assets of HFI, including the right to market the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand name. In 1992, Hansen Natural Corporation acquired the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand natural soda and apple juice business from CCC.", - "id": "0d835fa6-124e-4264-9063-80c790eff3fb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on granting funds to manufacturers for training purposes, specifically targeting small- and medium-sized manufacturers as they face the challenge of retiring employees transferring skills. As Foot Locker, Inc. is primarily a retailer of shoes and apparel, not involved in manufacturing, the bill does not have legal consequences relevant to its business model or activities.", - "index": "248", - "bill_title": "A bill to allow State manufacturing extension partnerships to award grants to small- and medium-sized manufacturers for the purpose of training new workers to replace departing experienced workers.", - "bill_summary": "Retain Innovation and Manufacturing Excellence (RIME) Act of 2019\n\nThis bill directs the Department of Commerce to establish a pilot grant program to help eligible manufacturers retain retiring employees for up to 90 days\u00a0for the purpose of\u00a0transferring\u00a0job-specific skills and training to other employees.", - "company_name": "Foot Locker, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business General Foot Locker, Inc., incorporated under the laws of the State of New York in 1989, is a leading global retailer of athletically inspired shoes and apparel . A s of February 3, 2018 , the Company operat ed 3,310 primarily mall-based stores, as well as stores in high-traffic urban retail areas and high streets, in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. \" Information regarding sales, operating results, and identifiable assets of the Company by business segment and by geographic area is contained under the Segment Information note in \"Item 8. Merchandise Purchases Financial information concerning merchandise purchases is contained under the \"Liquidity\" section in \"Item 7.", - "id": "b7e8964a-6573-4260-867e-7d26fcf7093b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on designating land as wilderness and managing federal land use in California. It includes provisions about access for Indian tribes and preservation of natural resources. EchoStar Corp's business involves broadband satellite technologies and services, which are unrelated to wilderness conservation or federal land management. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill do not impact the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "249", - "bill_title": "To designate certain Federal land in the State of California as wilderness, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Central Coast Heritage Protection Act\n\nThis bill designates specified land within the Bakersfield Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management and in the Los Padres National Forest in California as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.\n\nThe bill designates certain land in the Los Padres National Forest as\n\n the Machesna Mountain Potential Wilderness Area, to be incorporated into the Machesna Mountain Wilderness Area; the Fox Mountain Potential Wilderness Area, to be incorporated into the San Rafael Wilderness; the Condor Ridge Scenic Area; the Black Mountain Scenic Area; and the Condor National Scenic Trail. The bill also designates specified segments of the Indian, Mono, Matilija, Sespe, and Piru Creeks and Sisquoc River in California as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System and requires studies of new trails for recreation opportunities in California.\n\nIndian tribes shall be assured access to the wilderness areas, scenic areas, and potential wilderness areas designated by this bill for traditional cultural and religious purposes.", - "company_name": "EchoStar Corp.", - "company_description": "and/or \"our\") is a holding company that was organized in October 2007 as a corporation under the laws of the State of Nevada and has operated as a separately traded public company from Dish Network Corporation (\"DISH\") since 2008. We are a global provider of broadband satellite technologies, broadband internet services for home and small office customers, satellite operations and satellite services. We also deliver innovative network technologies, managed services and various communications solutions for aeronautical, enterprise and government customers. Our industry continues to evolve with the increasing worldwide demand for broadband internet access for information, entertainment and commerce. In addition to fiber and wireless systems, other technologies such as geostationary high throughput satellites, low-earth orbit (\"LEO\") networks, medium-earth orbit (\"MEO\") systems, balloons and High Altitude Platform Systems are playing significant roles in enabling global broadband access, networks and services. We intend to use our expertise, technologies, capital, investments, global presence, relationships and other capabilities to continue to provide broadband internet systems, equipment, networks and services for information, the internet-of-things, entertainment and commerce in North America and internationally for consumers as well as aeronautical, enterprise and government customers. We are closely tracking the developments in next-generation satellite businesses, and we are seeking to utilize our services, technologies and expertise to find new commercial opportunities for our business. We, and certain of our subsidiaries, received all of the shares of the Hughes Retail Preferred Tracking Stock previously issued by us and one of our subsidiaries (together, the \"Tracking Stock\") in exchange for 100% of the equity interests of certain of our subsidiaries that held substantially all of our former EchoStar Technologies businesses and certain other assets (collectively, the \"Share Exchange\"). BUSINESS STRATEGIES Capitalize on domestic and international demand for broadband services. We intend to capitalize on the domestic and international demand for satellite-delivered broadband internet services and enterprise solutions by utilizing, among other things, our industry expertise, technology leadership, increased satellite capacity, access to spectrum resources, and high-quality, reliable service to drive growth in consumer subscribers and enterprise customers. 1 Expand satellite capacity and related infrastructure. During 2018, we continued the design and construction of a new, next-generation, high throughput geostationary satellite, with a planned 2021 launch, that is primarily intended to provide additional capacity for our HughesNet satellite internet service (the \"HughesNet service\") in North, Central and South America as well as aeronautical and enterprise services. We also continued to increase our satellite capacity in certain Central and South American countries and added capability for aeronautical, enterprise and international broadband internet services. We currently provide satellite broadband internet service in several Central and South American countries, and expect to continue to launch similar services in other Central and South American countries. We believe market opportunities exist that will facilitate the acquisition or leasing of additional satellite capacity which will enable us to provide services to a broader customer base, including providers of pay-TV services, satellite-delivered broadband, corporate communications, and government services. Continue to selectively explore new domestic and international strategic initiatives. For example, our current agreement with WorldVu Satellites Limited (\"OneWeb\"), a global LEO satellite service company, enables us to provide certain equipment and services in connection with the ground network system for OneWeb's LEO satellites. Continue development of S-band and other hybrid spectrum resources. Commercial service has been available to customers on our EchoStar XXI satellite since the fourth quarter of 2017, and we believe we remain in a unique position to deploy a European wide mobile satellite service (\"MSS\")/complementary ground component (\"CGC\") network and maximize the long-term value of our S-band spectrum in Europe and other regions within the scope of our licenses. Additionally, we intend to seek additional licenses in the S-band spectrum and opportunities to align ourselves with other licensees for a coordinated development of the spectrum. Our engineering capabilities provide us with the opportunity to develop and deploy cutting edge technologies, license our technologies to others, and maintain a leading technological position in the industries in which we are active. BUSINESS SEGMENTS HUGHES SEGMENT Our Products and Services Our Hughes segment is a global provider of broadband satellite technologies and broadband internet services to home and small office customers and broadband network technologies, managed services, equipment, hardware, satellite services and communications solutions to consumers, aeronautical, enterprise and government customers. The Hughes segment also designs, provides and installs gateway and terminal equipment to customers for other satellite systems. In addition, our Hughes segment designs, develops, constructs and provides telecommunication networks comprising satellite ground segment systems and terminals to mobile system operators and our enterprise customers. We incorporate advances in technology to reduce costs and to increase the functionality and reliability of our products and services.", - "id": "c9673d05-6321-439f-9e37-0785ca7fcc0f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on human rights and foreign assistance related to Vietnam, which does not directly impact Ralph Lauren Corp.'s business model of designing and distributing lifestyle products. The company's operations and market strategies are not closely connected to the provisions of this legislation.", - "index": "250", - "bill_title": "To advance United States national interests by prioritizing the protection of internationally recognized human rights and development of the rule of law in relations between the United States and Vietnam, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Vietnam Human Rights Act\n\nThis bill amends various reporting requirements related to foreign assistance and human rights. It also authorizes various aid programs related to Vietnam.\n\nIn its annual reports to Congress on human rights in foreign countries and U.S. security assistance programs, the Department of State shall include assessments of online freedom of expression in each country, including efforts by governments to censor information, punish individuals for their speech, and monitor communications.\n\nThe State Department's annual report on human rights in Vietnam shall include information regarding the country's progress in various areas, including with respect to ending torture and violence against religious groups and returning property improperly confiscated by the Vietnamese government.\n\nThe bill authorizes the State Department to establish programs to (1) monitor and halt sex trafficking of women from Vietnam and other Asian countries, and (2) address Vietnam's growing sex-ratio disparity. It authorizes the President to provide assistance for ethnic minority groups in Vietnam affected by human rights violations and directs the State Department to report on such efforts.", - "company_name": "Ralph Lauren Corp.", - "company_description": "General Founded in 1967 by Mr. Ralph Lauren, we are a global leader in the design, marketing, and distribution of premium lifestyle products, including apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and other licensed product categories. Our long-standing reputation and distinctive image have been developed across an expanding number of products, brands, sales channels, and international markets. We believe that our global reach, breadth of product offerings, and multi-channel distribution are unique among luxury and apparel companies. Our wholesale sales are made principally to major department stores and specialty stores around the world. We also sell directly to consumers through our integrated retail channel, which includes our retail stores, concession-based shop-within-shops, and digital commerce operations around the world. In addition, we license to unrelated third parties for specified periods the right to operate retail stores and/or to use our various trademarks in connection with the manufacture and sale of designated products, such as certain apparel, eyewear, fragrances, and home furnishings. In addition to these reportable segments, we also have other non-reportable segments. Our global reach is extensive, with merchandise available through our wholesale distribution channels at over 12,000 doors worldwide, the majority in specialty stores, as well as through the digital commerce sites of many of our wholesale customers. We also sell directly to customers throughout the world via our 472 retail stores and 632 concession-based shop-within-shops, as well as through our own digital commerce sites and those of various third-party digital partners. In addition to our directly-operated stores and shops, our international licensing partners operate 88 Ralph Lauren concession shops, and 136 Club Monaco stores and shops. We believe that our size and the global scope of our operations provide us with design, sourcing, and distribution synergies across our different businesses. Our core strengths include a portfolio of global premium lifestyle brands, a well-diversified global multi-channel distribution network, an investment philosophy supported by a strong balance sheet, and an experienced management team. We have developed a long-term growth strategy with the objective of delivering sustainable, profitable growth and long-term value creation for shareholders. Our strategy includes the following key strategic initiatives: \u2022 Elevating our brand through improved quality of sales, distribution, and product; \u2022 Evolving product, marketing, and shopping experience to increase reach and appeal with new consumers; \u2022 Expanding our digital and international presence; and \u2022 On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law new tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the \"TCJA\"), which became effective January 1, 2018. The TCJA significantly revised U.S. tax law by, among other provisions, lowering the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate from 35% to 21%, creating a territorial tax system that includes a one-time mandatory transition tax on previously deferred foreign earnings, and eliminating or reducing certain income tax deductions. We are refocusing on our core brands and evolving our product, marketing, and shopping experience to increase desirability and relevance. We are also evolving our operating model to enable sustainable, profitable sales growth by significantly improving quality of sales, reducing supply chain lead times, improving our sourcing, and executing a disciplined multi-channel distribution and expansion strategy. The Way Forward Plan includes strengthening our leadership team and creating a more nimble organization by moving from an average of nine to six layers of management. The Way Forward Plan also includes the discontinuance of our Denim & Supply brand and the integration of our denim product offerings into our Polo Ralph Lauren brand. Collectively, these actions, which were substantially completed during Fiscal 2017, resulted in a reduction in workforce and the closure of certain stores and shop-within-shops, as well as gross annualized expense savings of approximately $200 million. (i) the restructuring of our in-house global digital commerce platform which was in development and shifting to a more cost-effective, flexible platform through a new agreement with Salesforce's Commerce Cloud, formerly known as Demandware; (ii) the closure of our Polo store at 711 Fifth Avenue in New York City; and (iii) the further streamlining of the organization and the execution of other key corporate actions in line with the Way Forward Plan.", - "id": "8c9c8379-bf8d-45e0-bedf-8a475075f5d5" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill requires the Federal Trade Commission to establish regulations regarding sensitive personal information, which is directly relevant to IAC/InterActiveCorp's business model. The company operates numerous online services, including dating applications and home services platforms, which collect and handle sensitive personal information from consumers. Compliance with the anticipated regulations on privacy policies, affirmative consent, and annual audits will significantly impact their operations and potentially influence their data processing practices.", - "index": "251", - "bill_title": "To require the Federal Trade Commission to promulgate regulations related to sensitive personal information, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Information Transparency & Personal Data Control ActThis bill requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish requirements for entities providing services to the public that collect, store, process, use, or otherwise control sensitive personal information. Information relating to an identifiable individual is generally considered sensitive personal information. However, information that is publicly available is not considered sensitive.The FTC must require controllers of sensitive personal information to (1) provide consumers with a privacy and data use policy, (2) obtain affirmative consent to collect or use consumers' sensitive data, and (3) obtain an annual privacy audit that evaluates the sufficiency of the controller's data privacy and security controls.", - "company_name": "IAC/InterActiveCorp.", - "company_description": "IAC has majority ownership of both Match Group, which includes Tinder, Match, PlentyOfFish and OkCupid, and ANGI Homeservices, which includes HomeAdvisor, Angie's List and Handy, and also operates Vimeo, Dotdash and The Daily Beast, among many other online businesses. Inc. After several name changes (first to HSN, Inc., then to USA Networks, Inc., USA Interactive and InterActiveCorp, and finally, to IAC/InterActiveCorp) and the completion of a number of significant corporate transactions over the years, the Company transformed itself into a leading media and Internet company. From 1997 to 2005, we acquired a number of e-commerce companies, including Ticketmaster Group, Hotel Reservations Network (later renamed Hotels.com), Expedia.com, Match.com, LendingTree, Hotwire, TripAdvisor and AskJeeves. In 2005, we completed the separation of our travel and travel\u2011related businesses and investments into an independent public company called Expedia, Inc. (now known as Expedia Group, Inc.). (now part of Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation), Ticketmaster (now part of Live Nation, Inc.) and Tree.com, Inc. From 2008 to 2014, we continued to invest in and acquire e-commerce companies, including Meetic, About.com (now known as Dotdash), Dictionary.com and Investopedia. (\"ANGI Homeservices\"), as well as acquired controlling interests in MyHammer Holding AG, HomeStars Inc. and MyBuilder Limited, leading home services platforms in Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada, respectively. Through Vimeo, we acquired VHX, a platform for premium over-the-top (OTT) subscription video channels, and Livestream Inc., a leading live video solution. In 2018, through ANGI Homeservices, we acquired Handy Technologies, Inc., a leading platform in the United States for connecting consumers looking for household services (primarily cleaning and handyman services) with top-quality, pre-screened independent service professionals. We also acquired a controlling interest in BlueCrew, an on-demand staffing platform that connects temporary workers with traditional blue-collar jobs in areas like warehouse, delivery and moving, data entry and customer service. Through Match Group, we operate a portfolio of dating brands, including Tinder, Match, PlentyOfFish, Meetic, OkCupid, OurTime, Pairs and Hinge, as well as a number of other brands, each designed to increase user likelihood of finding a meaningful connection. Through Match Group, we are a leading provider of dating products all over the world through applications and websites that we own and operate. As of December 31, 2018, there were approximately 7.9 million Average Subscribers to our dating products (calculated by summing the total number of users who purchased one of our subscription-based dating products at the end of each day in the year ended December 31, 2018, divided by the number of calendar days in such year). Dating is a highly personal endeavor and consumers have a wide variety of preferences that determine what type of dating product they choose. Our brands are collectively available in 40 languages to users all over the world. Tinder was launched in 2012, and has since risen to scale and popularity faster than any other product in the online dating category with limited marketing spend, growing to over 4.3 million subscribers today. swipe\" feature has led to significant adoption among the millennial generation, previously underserved by the online dating category. Tinder employs a freemium model, through which users can enjoy many of the core features of Tinder for free, including limited use of the \"swipe right\" feature with unlimited communication with other users. However, to enjoy premium features, such as unlimited use of the \"swipe right\" feature, a Tinder user must subscribe to either Tinder Plus, launched in early 2015, or Tinder Gold, which was launched in late summer 2017. Tinder users and subscribers may also pay for certain premium features, such as Super Likes and Boosts, on a pay-per-use basis. Match was launched in 1995 and helped create the online dating category. Among its distinguishing features are the ability to search profiles, receive algorithmic matches and attend live events (promoted by Match) with other subscribers. Additionally, new features, such as Missed Connections, which uses location-based technology to enable users to connect with other users with whom they have crossed paths in the past, engage users into more meaningful connections. Match is a brand that focuses on users with a high level of intent to enter into a relationship and its product and marketing are designed to reinforce that approach. Match relies heavily on word-of-mouth traffic, repeat usage and paid marketing. ", - "id": "4e31371c-207f-45cd-9072-28d3c010ee65" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses the legalization and regulation of marijuana at the federal level, which does not directly pertain to the operations of Ciena Corp., a networking systems, services, and software company. Ciena's focus is on telecommunications and networking technology rather than marijuana-related activities or regulations.", - "index": "252", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to reduce the gap between Federal and State marijuana policy, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Responsibly Addressing the Marijuana Policy Gap Act of 2019\n\nThis bill removes federal restrictions on, and creates new protections for, marijuana-related conduct and activities that are authorized by state or tribal law (i.e., state-authorized).\n\nAmong other things, the bill does the following:\n\n eliminates regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act for state-authorized marijuana-related activities; allows businesses that sell marijuana in compliance with state or tribal law to claim certain federal tax credits and deductions; eliminates restrictions on print and broadcast advertising of state-authorized marijuana-related activities; creates protections for depository institutions that provide financial services to marijuana-related businesses; specifies that a marijuana-related business is entitled to federal bankruptcy protections; establishes a process to expunge criminal records related to certain marijuana-related convictions; reestablishes federal student aid eligibility for certain students convicted of a misdemeanor offense for marijuana possession; exempts real property from civil forfeiture due to state-authorized marijuana-related conduct; prohibits the inadmissibility or deportability of aliens for state-authorized marijuana-related conduct; specifies that drug-related criminal activity, which is prohibited in federally assisted housing, does not include state-authorized marijuana-related conduct; establishes a new, separate registration process to facilitate medical marijuana research; authorizes health care providers employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to recommend participation in state marijuana programs; and authorizes medical providers through an Indian health program to make medical recommendations regarding marijuana.", - "company_name": "Ciena Corp.", - "company_description": "our ability to forecast accurately demand for our products for purposes of inventory purchase practices; the impact of pricing pressure and price erosion that we regularly encounter in our markets; \u2022 the continued availability, on commercially reasonable terms, of software and other technology under third-party licenses; \u2022 the potential failure to maintain the security of confidential, proprietary or otherwise sensitive business information or systems or to protect against cyber attacks; \u2022 the performance of our third-party contract manufacturers; changes or disruption in components or supplies provided by third parties, including sole and limited source suppliers; \u2022 our ability to grow and maintain our new distribution relationships under which we will make available certain technology as a component; our ability to commercialize and grow our software business and address networking strategies including software-defined networking and network function virtualization; changes in, and the impact of, government regulations, including with respect to: the communications industry generally; the business of our customers; the use, import or export of products; and the environment, potential climate change and other social initiatives; the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, changes in tax regulations and related accounting, and changes in our effective tax rates; future legislation or executive action in the U.S. relating to tax policy or trade regulation; the write-down of goodwill, long-lived assets, or our deferred tax assets; We are a networking systems, services and software company, providing solutions that enable a wide range of network operators to deploy and manage next-generation networks that deliver services to businesses and consumers. We provide network hardware, software and services that support the transport, switching, aggregation, service delivery and management of video, data and voice traffic on communications networks. Our solutions are used by communications service providers, cable and multiservice operators, Web-scale providers, submarine network operators, governments, enterprises, research and education (R & E) institutions and other emerging network operators. Our solutions include a diverse portfolio of high-capacity Networking Platform products, which can be applied from the network core to network access points, and which allow network operators to scale capacity, increase transmission speeds, allocate traffic and adapt dynamically to changing end-user service demands. We also offer Platform Software that provides management and domain control of our next-generation packet and optical platforms and automates network lifecycle operations, including provisioning equipment and services. In addition, through our comprehensive suite of Blue Planet Automation Software, we enable network operators to use network data and analytics to drive enhanced automation across multi-vendor and multi-domain network environments, accelerate service delivery and enable an increasingly predictive and autonomous network infrastructure. To complement our hardware and software solutions, we offer a broad range of attached and software-related services that help our customers design, optimize, integrate, deploy, manage and maintain their networks and associated operational environments. Through our complete portfolio of solutions, we enable our customers to transform their network into a dynamic, programmable environment driven by automation and analytics, which we refer to as the Adaptive Network. Our solutions for the Adaptive Network create business and operational value for our customers, enabling them to introduce new revenue-generating services, reduce costs and maximize the return on their network infrastructure investment. In particular, optical networks \u2013 which carry video, data and voice traffic by encoding digital information on multiple wavelengths of light traveling across fiber optic cables \u2013 have experienced strong traffic growth for several years. This growth, and the resulting requirements for increased network capacity and transmission speed, is being driven by an increasingly diverse set of communications services and applications. These services and applications, including those set forth below, are increasing the bandwidth and service demands placed upon networks and are challenging the business models of many network operators. Enterprises and consumers continue to replace locally-housed computing and storage by adopting a broad array of innovative cloud-based models \u2013 including Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service ( IaaS) \u2013 and an expanding range of cloud-based services that host key applications, store data, enable the viewing and downloading of content and utilize on-demand computing resources. ", - "id": "3b8c2fc7-a837-42d7-95c9-ef677a5766c6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to the reauthorization of activities related to the U.S. Maritime Administration and issues surrounding illegal fishing and maritime security. It does not directly impact or relate to Allogene Therapeutics, Inc., which focuses on the development of immuno-oncology therapies and CAR T cell treatments for cancer. The company's activities are in the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector, with no connection to maritime administration or fishing issues.", - "index": "253", - "bill_title": "A bill to reauthorize activities of the Maritime Administration, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Maritime Administration Authorization and Enhancement Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses (1) several aspects of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD); (2) illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing); and (3) maritime security.\n\nAmong other things, the bill\n\n reauthorizes MARAD programs, including programs associated with maintaining the U.S. Merchant Marine; promotes transparency and traceability in the seafood supply chain; promotes the use of technology to combat IUU fishing; establishes an interagency working group on maritime security, IUU fishing, and seafood fraud; and establishes a sub-working group to address IUU fishing within the U.S. exclusive economic zone in the Gulf of Mexico.", - "company_name": "Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a clinical stage immuno-oncology company pioneering the development and commercialization of genetically engineered allogeneic T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. We are developing a pipeline of off-the-shelf T cell product candidates that are designed to target and kill cancer cells. Our engineered T cells are allogeneic, meaning they are derived from healthy donors for intended use in any patient, rather than from an individual patient for that patient's use, as in the case of autologous T cells. In collaboration with Servier, we are developing UCART19 and ALLO-501, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell product candidates targeting CD19. Servier is sponsoring two Phase 1 clinical trials of UCART19 in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), one for adult patients (the CALM trial) and one for pediatric patients (the PALL trial). In January 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared our investigational new drug application (IND) for ALLO-501, and we plan to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial (the ALPHA trial) in the first half of 2019 for the treatment of R/R non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). In addition, we have a deep pipeline of allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates targeting multiple promising antigens in a host of hematological malignancies and solid tumors. For example, we plan to submit an IND and initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial in 2019 for ALLO-715, an allogeneic CAR T cell product candidate targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) for the treatment of R/R multiple myeloma. We believe our management team's experience in immuno-oncology and specifically in CAR T cell therapy will help drive the rapid development and, if approved, the commercialization of these potentially curative therapies for patients with aggressive cancer. CAR T cell therapy, a form of cancer immunotherapy, has recently emerged as a revolutionary and potentially curative therapy for patients with hematologic cancers, including refractory cancers. In 2017, two autologous anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapies, Kymriah, developed by Novartis International AG (Novartis), and Yescarta, developed by Kite Pharma, Inc. (Kite), were approved by the FDA for the treatment of R/R B-cell precursor ALL (Kymriah) and R/R large B-cell lymphoma (Yescarta). Autologous CAR T cell therapies are manufactured individually for the patient's use by modifying the patient's own T cells outside the body, causing the T cells to express CARs. The entire manufacturing process is dependent on the viability of each patient's T cells and takes approximately two to four weeks. As seen in the registrational trials for Kymriah and Yescarta, up to 31% of intended patients ultimately did not receive treatment primarily due to interval complications from the underlying disease during manufacturing or manufacturing failures. Our allogeneic approach involves engineering healthy donor T cells, which we believe will allow for the creation of an inventory of off-the-shelf products that can be delivered to a larger portion of eligible patients throughout the world. Our allogeneic T cell development strategy has four key pillars: (1) developing product candidates to minimize the risk of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a condition where allogeneic T cells can recognize the patient's normal tissue as foreign and cause damage, (2) creating a window of persistence that may enable allogeneic T cells to expand in patients, (3) building a leading manufacturing platform and (4) leveraging next generation technologies to improve the functionality of allogeneic CAR T cells. We use Cellectis, S.A. (Cellectis), TALEN gene-editing technology with the goal of limiting the risk of GvHD by engineering T cells to lack functional T cell receptors (TCRs) that are no longer capable of recognizing a patient's normal tissue as foreign. With the goal of enhancing the expansion and persistence of our engineered allogeneic T cells, we use TALEN to inactivate the CD52 gene in donor T cells and an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody to deplete CD52 expressing T cells in patients while sparing the therapeutic allogeneic T cells. We believe this enables a window of persistence for the infused allogeneic T cells to actively target and destroy cancer cells. Our off-the-shelf approach is dependent on state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, and we are building a technical operations organization with fully integrated in-house expertise in clinical and commercial engineered T cell manufacturing. In February 2019, we entered into a lease to build our own cell therapy manufacturing facility in Newark, California. Finally, we plan to leverage next generation technologies to improve the functionality of our product candidates and to develop more potent product candidates. We believe next generation technologies will also allow us to develop allogeneic T cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumors, which to date have been difficult to treat because of the lack of validated targets and tumor microenvironments that can impair the activity of T cells. We are currently developing a pipeline of multiple allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates utilizing protein engineering, gene editing, gene insertion and advanced proprietary T cell manufacturing technologies.", - "id": "96f512ca-89c9-44de-b108-3d5207d12630" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill requires a study on the implementation of the Current Expected Credit Losses (CECL) accounting standard, which directly impacts financial institutions like Allegiance Bancshares, Inc., concerning credit availability and capital requirements. As a bank holding company, Allegiance is directly influenced by financial regulations and accounting standards that affect its operations, lending practices, and financial reporting.", - "index": "254", - "bill_title": "A bill to require the Securities and Exchange Commission and certain Federal agencies to carry out a study relating to accounting standards, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Continued Encouragement for Consumer Lending Act \n\nThis bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission and federal financial regulators to report on the implementation of the Current Expected Credit Losses (CECL) accounting standard and its impact on credit availability, capital requirements, and financial institutions. Required compliance with the CECL standard is delayed until one year after submission of this report.", - "company_name": "Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. (Texas)", - "company_description": "Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. is a Texas corporation and registered bank holding company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Allegiance Bank, we provide a diversified range of commercial banking services primarily to small to medium-sized businesses within the Houston region, professionals and individual customers. Our super-community banking strategy, which is described in more detail below, is designed to foster strong customer relationships while benefitting from a platform and scale that is competitive with larger regional and national banks. As of December 31, 2018, we operated 28 full-service banking locations, with 27 bank offices and one loan production office in the Houston metropolitan area and one bank office location in Beaumont, just outside of the Houston metropolitan area. We have experienced significant growth since we began banking operations in 2007, resulting from both organic growth, including de novo branching, and three whole-bank acquisitions, most recently Post Oak Bancshares, The Company's objective is to grow and strengthen its community banking franchise by deploying its super-community banking strategy and by pursuing select strategic acquisitions in the Houston region. We are positioned to be a leading provider of personalized commercial banking services by emphasizing the strength and capabilities of local bank office management and by providing superior customer service. Super-community banking strategy. Our super-community banking strategy emphasizes local delivery of the excellent customer service associated with community banking combined with the products, efficiencies and scale associated with larger banks. We operate full-service bank offices and employ bankers with strong underwriting credentials who are authorized to make loan and underwriting decisions up to prescribed limits at the bank office level. We support bank office operations with a centralized credit approval process for larger credit relationships, loan operations, information technology, core data processing, accounting, finance, treasury and treasury management support, deposit operations and executive and board oversight. We emphasize lending to and banking with small to medium-sized businesses, with which we believe we can establish stronger relationships through excellent service and provide lending that can be priced on terms that are more attractive to the Company than would be achieved by lending to larger businesses. We believe this approach produces a clear competitive advantage by delivering an extraordinary customer experience and fostering a culture dedicated to achieving both superior external and internal service levels. increasing the productivity of existing bankers, as measured by loans, deposits and fee income per banker, while enhancing profitability by leveraging our existing operating platform; focusing on local and individualized decision-making, allowing us to provide customers with rapid decisions on loan requests, which we believe allows us to effectively compete with larger financial institutions; identifying and hiring additional seasoned bankers in the Houston region who will thrive within our super-community banking model, and opening additional branches where we are able to attract seasoned bankers; and developing new products designed to serve the increasingly diversified Houston economy, while preserving our strong culture of risk management. We intend to continue to expand our market position in the Houston region through organic growth, the development of de novo branch locations and a disciplined acquisition strategy. On January 31, 2016, the Company completed the sale of two of the acquired branches of Farmers & Merchants, Inc. Our senior management team has a demonstrated track record of managing profitable organic growth, improving operating efficiencies, maintaining a strong risk management culture, implementing a community and service-focused approach to banking and successfully executing and integrating acquisitions. Scalable banking and operational platform designed to foster and accommodate significant growth. We have built a capable and knowledgeable staff by utilizing the significant prior experience of our management team and employees. We have made extensive investments in the technology and systems necessary to build a scalable corporate infrastructure with the capacity to support continued growth. We are focused on delivering a wide variety of high-quality, relationship-driven commercial and community-oriented banking products and services tailored to meet the needs of small to medium-sized businesses, professionals and individuals in the Houston region. We actively solicit the deposit business of our consumer and commercial loan customers and seek to further leverage these relationships by broadening customer relationships with additional products and services. ", - "id": "020255f7-6c9a-4171-a0d0-7bd774840f8f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to prohibit anticompetitive behaviors in the pharmaceutical industry, which directly impacts drug manufacturers like Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Adamas, focusing on innovative treatments for neurological diseases, may face increased scrutiny regarding its patent practices, especially since it has multiple products under various patents. The bill's provisions on patent thicketing and product hopping are particularly relevant as they address potential challenges Adamas could encounter in commercializing its drugs while also facing competition from generic manufacturers.", - "index": "255", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Federal Trade Commission Act to prohibit anticompetitive behaviors by drug product manufacturers, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act of 2019 This bill prohibits patent thicketing and product hopping by drug manufacturers. In general, patent thicketing occurs when a drug manufacturer obtains new patents related to a previously-patented drug, biological product, or underlying chemical composition that extends the manufacturer\u2019s market exclusivity for that drug without demonstrating that the new patents serve a meaningful purpose other than limiting competition from generic drug manufacturers. Product hopping is presumed when a drug manufacturer obtains removal of a drug from the Food and Drug Administration\u2019s approved drug list, discontinues a drug, or markets a reformulation of an already-approved drug during a certain period after which the manufacturer has been notified that a competing drug manufacturer has applied for generic drug approval. These practices are not considered product hopping if the manufacturer demonstrates that the drug was removed from the approved-drug list for safety reasons. Or, in the case of a drug reformulation, the manufacturer shows that the modified product provides a significant health benefit, is the option least likely to reduce competition, and is based on substantial financial considerations unrelated to limiting competition. The Federal Trade Commission may penalize violating manufacturers and bring claims in federal court to prohibit the conduct and provide restitution.", - "company_name": "Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "At Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., we seek to redefine the treatment experience for patients suffering from chronic neurological diseases. Our vision is grand, our goal bold: to create and commercialize a new generation of medicines intended to lessen the burden of disease on patients, caregivers and society. With a new commercial medicine and robust pipeline of investigational programs focused on meaningfully differentiated treatment options for patients, we believe we are well on our way. Our therapeutic targets include a broad range of neurologic diseases, including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. Our treatment innovations stem from a deep scientific understanding of time-dependent biology \u2013 the deliberate mapping of disease patterns and drug activity \u2013 along with a goal to meaningfully increase the efficacy of known molecules without compromising tolerability. This approach is designed to ensure that our medicines fit within, rather than define, people's daily lives. Our goal is to develop medicines that are timed for the benefit of patients. Our understanding of time-dependent biological processes informs our every innovation, targeting advancement in treatment of chronic neurologic disorders. (amantadine) extended release capsules, formerly referred to as ADS-5102, for the treatment of dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease receiving levodopa-based therapy, with or without concomitant dopaminergic medications. GOCOVRI was approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on August 24, 2017, with seven years of orphan exclusivity and additional patent protections, and we fully launched GOCOVRI with a deployed sales force in January 2018. Potential Additional Indications for GOCOVRI (amantadine) ADS-5102 in development for the treatment of walking impairment in patients with multiple sclerosis. We expect the start of our Phase 3 pivotal study in this supplemental indication to occur early in the second quarter of 2018. ADS-5102 in research and potential development for additional indications, including the treatment of wearing OFF and delaying motor complications in Parkinson's disease, tardive dyskinesia, Huntington's chorea, Tourette syndrome, and non-motor disorders, including depression, and anti-psychotic induced weight gain. We expect to select additional indications for ADS-5102 by first quarter 2019. ADS-4101 (lacosamide) modified release capsules in development for the treatment of partial onset seizures in patients with epilepsy. We have requested a meeting with the FDA in the first half of 2018, with the start of a Phase 3 pivotal study planned for 2019, depending on FDA feedback. Additional product candidates in research based on potential new discoveries in Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, as well as new research programs in psychiatry. (memantine hydrochloride extended release and donepezil hydrochloride) capsules for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of an Alzheimer's type, marketed in the United States by Allergan plc under an exclusive license agreement between us and Forest Laboratories Holdings Limited (\"Forest\"), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Allergan plc. (memantine hydrochloride) extended release capsules for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of an Alzheimer's type, marketed in the United States by Allergan plc under the Forest license agreement. 3 Products in our wholly-owned portfolio, potential additional indications for these products, and our product candidates, are protected by an array of intellectual property, including robust and diversified patent claims, and regulatory exclusivities. For example, GOCOVRI is protected by seven-year orphan drug exclusivity, three-year new product exclusivity, and issued patents and pending patent applications out to at least 2035. We also received $160.0 million in upfront and milestone payments and $4.1 million in development funding from our partnership with Allergan plc. We estimate that approximately 36 million people in the United States suffer from chronic central nervous system, or CNS, disorders such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, psychosis, depression, and Alzheimer' CNS diseases are frequently treated with multiple medications having different mechanisms of action with the goal of maximizing symptomatic benefits for patients.", - "id": "28525231-0944-453e-ada2-fffcc20324fd" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Election Security Act of 2019 focuses on improving election security and accessibility, with no direct implications for Altra Industrial Motion Corp., whose operations revolve around industrial machinery, automation, and related components. The bill does not impact their business model or activities.", - "index": "256", - "bill_title": "To protect elections for public office by providing financial support and enhanced security for the infrastructure used to carry out such elections, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Election Security Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses election security through grant programs and requirements for voting systems and paper ballots.\n\nThe bill establishes requirements for voting systems, including that systems (1) use individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots; (2) make a voter's marked ballot available for inspection and verification by the voter before the vote is cast; (3) ensure that individuals with disabilities are given an equivalent opportunity to vote, including with privacy and independence, in a manner that produces a voter-verified paper ballot; and (4) be manufactured in the United States.\n\nThe National Science Foundation must award grants to study, test, and develop accessible voter-verified paper ballot voting and best practices to enhance the accessibility of such voting for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose primary language is not English, and for voters with difficulties in literacy.\n\nThe Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must award grants to states to (1) replace certain voting systems, carry out voting system security improvements, and implement and model best practices for ballot design, ballot instructions, and the testing of ballots; and (2) conduct risk-limiting audits.\n\n The bill provides for information sharing with states regarding threats to election infrastructure.\n\nThe Department of Homeland Security must issue a national strategy to protect against cyberattacks, influence operations, disinformation campaigns, and other activities that could undermine the security and integrity of democratic institutions.\n\nThe EAC must provide for the testing of voting system hardware and software and decertify such technology that does not meet guidelines.", - "company_name": "Altra Industrial Motion Corp.", - "company_description": "Our company consists of two business segments: Power Transmission Technologies (\"PTT\") and Automation & Specialty (\"A & S\"). Couplings are the interfaces which enable power to be transmitted from one shaft to another. Our various coupling products include gear couplings, high performance diaphragm and disc couplings, elastomeric couplings, miniature and precision couplings, as well as universal joints, mill spindles 7 and shaft locking devices. These products are used in conveyor, energy, marine, medical, metals, mining, and other industrial machinery applications. Our key brands which provide couplin gs include Ameridrives, Bibby, Guardian, Huco, Lamiflex, Stromag and TB Wood' Clutches are devices which use mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, or friction connections to facilitate the engagement or disengagement of at least two rotating parts. These pro ducts are used in aerospace and defense, conveyor, energy, mining and other industrial machinery applications. Brakes are a combination of interacting parts that work to slow or stop moving machine parts. These products are used in heavy-duty industrial, m ining, metals and energy applications. Our key brands which provide clutches and brakes include Industrial Clutch, Formsprag, Stieber, Stromag, Svendborg, Twiflex and Wichita. Electromagnetic clutches and brakes use electromagnetic friction connections to slow, stop, engage, or disengage equipment. These products are used in baggage handling, elevator, forklift, material handling, medical, lawn mower, mobile off-highway and other niche applications. Our key brands which provide electromagnetic clutches and brakes include Inertia Dynamics, Matrix, Stromag and Warner Electric. Gears reduce the output speed and increase the torque of an electric motor or engine to the level required to drive a particular piece of equipment. These products are used in various industrial, material handling, mixing, transportation, food processing and other specialty niche applications. Our key brands which provide gears include Bauer Gear Motor, Boston Gear, Delroyd, and Nuttall. Automation and Specialty \u2013 A & S. Our Automation and Specialty segment consists of four key brands: Provides rotary precision motion solutions, including servo motors, stepper motors, high performance electronic drives and motion controllers and related software, and precision linear actuators. These products are used in advanced material handling, aerospace and defense, factory automation, medical, packaging, printing, semiconductor, robotic and other applications. Provides high-efficiency miniature motors and motion control products, including brush and brushless DC motors, can stack motors and disc magnet motors. These products are used in medical, industrial power tool and general industrial equipment applications. Provides systems that enable and support the transition of rotary motion to linear motion. Products include linear bearings, guides, glides, lead and ball screws, industrial linear actuators, resolvers and inductors. These products are used in factory automation, medical, mobile off-highway, material handling, food processing and other niche applications. Jacobs Vehicle Systems (JVS): Provides heavy-duty diesel engine brake systems and valve actuation mechanisms for the commercial vehicle market, including compression release, bleeder and exhaust brakes, including the \"Jake Brake\" engine braking system.", - "id": "8a65558e-f2e1-43b5-a1f2-789d25e34000" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on appropriations for financial services, general government operations, and various regulatory and tax-related activities. It does not directly impact or relate to the bedding industry or the company's operations, which are centered around manufacturing and marketing bedding products. Therefore, it is not relevant to Tempur Sealy International, Inc.", - "index": "257", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for financial services and general government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": " The Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2019 provides FY2019 appropriations to agencies responsible for regulating the financial, telecommunications, and consumer products industries; collecting taxes and assisting taxpayers; managing federal buildings and the federal workforce; and operating the Executive Office of the President, the judiciary, and the District of Columbia. It also includes provisions related to IRS employee training, safeguarding taxpayer information, 1-800 help line service, video production, address changes, offers-in-compromise, First Amendment rights, regulatory scrutiny, conference spending, employee bonuses, and confidentiality of tax returns. It also provides appropriations to independent agencies, including the Administrative Conference of the United States, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Election Assistance Commission, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Election Commission, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the General Services Administration (GSA), the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, the Merit Systems Protection Board, Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of Government Ethics, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Office", - "company_name": "Tempur Sealy International, Inc.", - "company_description": "We develop, manufacture and market bedding products, which we sell globally. Our brand portfolio includes many highly recognized brands in the industry, including TEMPUR\u00ae, Tempur-Pedic\u00ae, Sealy\u00ae featuring Posturepedic\u00ae Technology, and Stearns & Foster\u00ae. Our comprehensive suite of bedding products offers a variety of products to consumers across a broad range of channels. We operate in two segments: North America and International. Our North America segment consists of Tempur and Sealy manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries, joint ventures and licensees located in the U.S. and Canada. Our International segment consists of Tempur and Sealy manufacturing and distribution subsidiaries, joint ventures and licensees located in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. In the first quarter of 2017, we updated our primary selling channels to Wholesale and Direct. Wholesale includes all third party retailers, including third party distribution, hospitality and healthcare. Direct includes company-owned stores, e-commerce, and call centers. Retail included furniture and bedding retailers, department stores, specialty retailers and warehouse clubs. Other included direct-to-consumer, third party distributors, hospitality and healthcare customers. Our goal is to improve the sleep of more people, every night, all around the world. Our Products and Brands We have a comprehensive offering of products that appeal to a broad range of consumers, some of which are covered by one or more patents and/or patent applications. In order to achieve our goal to improve the sleep of more people, every night, all around the world, one of our strategic initiatives is to leverage and strengthen our comprehensive portfolio of iconic brands and products. Our brand portfolio includes many highly recognized brands, including TEMPUR\u00ae, Tempur-Pedic\u00ae, Sealy\u00ae featuring Posturepedic\u00ae Technology and Stearns & Foster\u00ae, which are described below: \u00ae - Founded in 1991, the Tempur brand is our specialty innovation category leader designed to provide life changing sleep for our wellness-seeking consumers. Our proprietary Tempur material precisely adapts to the shape, weight and temperature of the consumer and creates fewer pressure points, reduces motion transfer and provides personalized comfort and support. The Stearns & Foster brand offers our consumers high quality mattresses built by certified craftsmen who have been specially trained. Founded in 1846, the brand is designed and built with precise engineering and relentless attention to detail and fuses new innovative technologies with time-honored techniques, creating supremely comfortable beds. The Sealy brand originated in 1881 in Sealy, Texas, and for over a century has focused on offering trusted comfort, durability and excellent value while maintaining contemporary styles and great support. The Sealy Posturepedic brand, introduced in 1950, was engineered to provide all-over support and body alignment to allow full relaxation and deliver a comfortable night's sleep. In 2017, Sealy Posturepedic no longer represented its own separate brand as we united all of our Sealy products under one masterbrand, which features the Posturepedic Technology\u2122 in the Sealy Performance The Cocoon by Sealy brand, introduced in 2016, is our offering in the below $1,000 e-commerce space, made with the high quality materials that consumers expect from Sealy, sold online at www.cocoonbysealy.com and delivered in a box directly to consumers' doorsteps. In North America, we united all of our Sealy products under one masterbrand. Product introductions included new Sealy products in two distinct lines: Response and Conform.", - "id": "72bf5bf8-adcc-4a5c-ae16-da37318b6532" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily concerns pesticide registration and fees, which are not directly related to Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.'s business focused on the development of engineered T cell therapies for cancer treatment. The company's activities and regulatory concerns are centered around biology and clinical research rather than pesticide regulations.", - "index": "258", - "bill_title": "A bill to enact into law a bill by reference.", - "bill_summary": "Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2018\n\nThis bill revises requirements for pesticide registration applications and their corresponding maintenance fees and registration service fees.\n\n(Sec. 2) The bill extends the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to collect annual fees to maintain the registration of pesticides (maintenance fees) through FY2023.\n\nAdditionally, the bill increases the maximum (1) amount that the EPA may collect in total maintenance fees from $27.8 million per fiscal year to $31 million for each of FY2019-FY2023; and (2) annual maintenance fees for pesticide registrants, including small business registrants.\n\nThe bill extends until the end of FY2025 a prohibition on levying pesticide registration fees not otherwise authorized as maintenance or registration service fees. The bill extends the prohibition on levying fees for applications involving pesticide chemical residues (tolerance fees) until the end of FY2023. (Sec. 3) The bill expands the permissible uses of the fees collected and deposited in the Reregistration and Expedited Processing Fund, including by allowing the fees to be used for any review under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 required as part of the pesticide registration review.\n\nThe bill also establishes set-asides of funds for (1) the development and implementation of performance data requirements for products claiming efficacy against certain invertebrate pests of significant public importance, such as bed bugs; and (2) monitoring good laboratory practices with respect to inspections and data audits conducted in support of pesticide product registrations.\n\nThe set-aside of funds for review of inert ingredients is extended through FY2023.\n\n(Sec. 4) Applications for an experimental use permit must conform to the requirements governing pesticide registration applications.\n\n(Sec. 5) The bill extends through FY2025 the authority of the EPA to collect pesticide registration service fees, with a two-year phaseout period in FY2024 and FY2025. The EPA must increase by 5% the application fees for covered applications of pesticides that are received in FY2020 and FY2021. After that, the EPA must increase the application fee by an additional 5%.\n\nNo waiver or fee reduction may be provided for a letter of certification of registration, which is commonly referred to as a Gold Seal letter. The set-asides of funds for worker protection, partnership grants, and pesticide safety education are extended until FY2023. Funds for worker protection must emphasize field workers. The EPA must also evaluate the application review process, including identifying opportunities for streamlining the review of a new active ingredient in a pesticide or a new use of a pesticide.\n\nThe bill extends and revises reporting requirements, including by requiring the EPA to provide additional information about pesticide cases it reviewed and the number of registration review decisions it completed.\n\n(Sec. 6) The bill revises the fee requirements for pesticide registration applications and their registration service fees. This includes revision of existing fees, the addition of new fee categories, and the revision of time frames in which the EPA is required to complete review of a requested action.\n\n(Sec. 7) The bill directs the EPA to implement specified final rules without revision by the end of FY2021. Specifically, the EPA must implement the final rules titled (1) \"Pesticides; Agricultural Worker Protection Standard Revisions\" published on November 2, 2015, and (2) \"Pesticides; Certification of Pesticide Applicators\" published on January 4, 2017.\n\nThe Government Accountability Office must report on the effectiveness of workplace requirements for providing pesticide safety information to employees.", - "company_name": "Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a clinical stage immuno-oncology company pioneering the development and commercialization of genetically engineered allogeneic T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. We are developing a pipeline of off-the-shelf T cell product candidates that are designed to target and kill cancer cells. Our engineered T cells are allogeneic, meaning they are derived from healthy donors for intended use in any patient, rather than from an individual patient for that patient's use, as in the case of autologous T cells. In collaboration with Servier, we are developing UCART19 and ALLO-501, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell product candidates targeting CD19. Servier is sponsoring two Phase 1 clinical trials of UCART19 in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), one for adult patients (the CALM trial) and one for pediatric patients (the PALL trial). In January 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared our investigational new drug application (IND) for ALLO-501, and we plan to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial (the ALPHA trial) in the first half of 2019 for the treatment of R/R non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). In addition, we have a deep pipeline of allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates targeting multiple promising antigens in a host of hematological malignancies and solid tumors. For example, we plan to submit an IND and initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial in 2019 for ALLO-715, an allogeneic CAR T cell product candidate targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) for the treatment of R/R multiple myeloma. We believe our management team's experience in immuno-oncology and specifically in CAR T cell therapy will help drive the rapid development and, if approved, the commercialization of these potentially curative therapies for patients with aggressive cancer. CAR T cell therapy, a form of cancer immunotherapy, has recently emerged as a revolutionary and potentially curative therapy for patients with hematologic cancers, including refractory cancers. In 2017, two autologous anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapies, Kymriah, developed by Novartis International AG (Novartis), and Yescarta, developed by Kite Pharma, Inc. (Kite), were approved by the FDA for the treatment of R/R B-cell precursor ALL (Kymriah) and R/R large B-cell lymphoma (Yescarta). Autologous CAR T cell therapies are manufactured individually for the patient's use by modifying the patient's own T cells outside the body, causing the T cells to express CARs. The entire manufacturing process is dependent on the viability of each patient's T cells and takes approximately two to four weeks. As seen in the registrational trials for Kymriah and Yescarta, up to 31% of intended patients ultimately did not receive treatment primarily due to interval complications from the underlying disease during manufacturing or manufacturing failures. Our allogeneic approach involves engineering healthy donor T cells, which we believe will allow for the creation of an inventory of off-the-shelf products that can be delivered to a larger portion of eligible patients throughout the world. Our allogeneic T cell development strategy has four key pillars: (1) developing product candidates to minimize the risk of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a condition where allogeneic T cells can recognize the patient's normal tissue as foreign and cause damage, (2) creating a window of persistence that may enable allogeneic T cells to expand in patients, (3) building a leading manufacturing platform and (4) leveraging next generation technologies to improve the functionality of allogeneic CAR T cells. We use Cellectis, S.A. (Cellectis), TALEN gene-editing technology with the goal of limiting the risk of GvHD by engineering T cells to lack functional T cell receptors (TCRs) that are no longer capable of recognizing a patient's normal tissue as foreign. With the goal of enhancing the expansion and persistence of our engineered allogeneic T cells, we use TALEN to inactivate the CD52 gene in donor T cells and an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody to deplete CD52 expressing T cells in patients while sparing the therapeutic allogeneic T cells. We believe this enables a window of persistence for the infused allogeneic T cells to actively target and destroy cancer cells. Our off-the-shelf approach is dependent on state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, and we are building a technical operations organization with fully integrated in-house expertise in clinical and commercial engineered T cell manufacturing. In February 2019, we entered into a lease to build our own cell therapy manufacturing facility in Newark, California. Finally, we plan to leverage next generation technologies to improve the functionality of our product candidates and to develop more potent product candidates. We believe next generation technologies will also allow us to develop allogeneic T cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumors, which to date have been difficult to treat because of the lack of validated targets and tumor microenvironments that can impair the activity of T cells. We are currently developing a pipeline of multiple allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates utilizing protein engineering, gene editing, gene insertion and advanced proprietary T cell manufacturing technologies.", - "id": "0757b243-e69a-4dac-bd00-257bcf448558" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains specifically to security requirements for federally licensed firearms importers, manufacturers, and dealers. Legg Mason, Inc. operates in the asset management and investment services sector, with no direct connection to firearms or the associated regulations outlined in the bill. Therefore, the consequences of the bill are not relevant to Legg Mason's business model or activities.", - "index": "259", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to require federally licensed firearms importers, manufacturers, and dealers to meet certain requirements with respect to securing their firearms inventory, business records, and business premises.", - "bill_summary": "Safety Enhancements for Communities Using Reasonable and Effective Firearm Storage Act or the SECURE Firearm Storage Act\n\nThis bill establishes security requirements for the business premises of a licensed firearms importer, manufacturer, or dealer.\n\nSpecifically, when the premises are closed for business, an importer, manufacturer, or dealer must secure the firearms inventory and securely store paper business records.\n\nA violator is subject to penalties\u2014a civil fine, suspension or revocation of a license, or both a civil fine and suspension or revocation of a license.", - "company_name": "Legg Mason, Inc.", - "company_description": "Legg Mason, Inc. is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides investment management and related services to company-sponsored mutual funds and other investment vehicles including pension funds, foundations, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, private banks, family offices, individuals, as well as to global, institutional, and retail clients. It launches and manages equity, fixed income, and multi-asset customized portfolios through its subsidiaries. The firm also launches and manages mutual funds and exchange traded funds for its clients through its subsidiaries. It invests in private and public equity, fixed income, and multi asset markets across the globe through its subsidiaries. Through its subsidiaries, the firm also invests in alternative markets. It also employs a combination of fundamental and quantitative research to make its investments through its subsidiaries. Legg Mason, Inc. was founded in 1899 and is based in Baltimore, Maryland. General Legg Mason is a global asset management firm that operates through nine independent asset management subsidiaries. Acting through our asset management subsidiaries, each of which generally markets its products and services under its own brand name, we provide investment management and related products and services to institutional and individual clients, company-sponsored mutual funds and other investment vehicles. The predecessor companies to Legg Mason trace back to Legg & Co., a Maryland-based broker-dealer formed in 1899. Our subsequent growth occurred primarily through internal expansion and the acquisition of asset management and broker-dealer firms. In December 2005, Legg Mason completed a transaction in which it sold its primary broker-dealer businesses to concentrate on the asset management industry. The asset management industry continues to experience disruption and challenges, including a shift to lower-fee passively managed products, increased fee pressure (including pressure arising from the shift to lower-fee passive products), regulatory changes, an increasing and changing role of technology in asset management services, the constant introduction of new products and services and the consolidation of financial services firms through mergers and acquisition. During fiscal year 2018, our focus on investing to improve lives and expanding client choice continued to drive strong sales, despite the ongoing trend of investor movement to passive strategies in certain portions of the industry. During the course of this fiscal year, we expanded our investment offerings in response to demand for choice by: offering new next generation products such as multi-asset class solutions and new vehicles, including the launch of six new exchange traded funds (\"ETFs\"); completing a bolt-on acquisition adding new capabilities at Clarion Partners; commercializing alternative products offered by our most recently acquired asset managers; 2 expanding our Alternative Distribution Strategies and Alternative Product teams with strategic hires; and investing in technology to enhance our capabilities and expand choice for global investors. Business Overview Acting through our subsidiaries, we provide investment management and related services to institutional and individual clients, company-sponsored investment funds and retail separately managed account programs. Our corporate structure combines our nine asset managers, each with diverse perspectives and specialized expertise across asset classes and strategies, with a centralized global distribution platform focusing on retail distribution and additional distribution capabilities focused on institutional distribution at each of our asset managers. We help investors globally achieve better financial outcomes by expanding choice across investment strategies, vehicles and investor access through independent investment managers with diverse expertise in equity, fixed income, alternative and liquidity investments. Operating from asset management offices located in the United States, the United Kingdom and a number of other countries worldwide, we deliver our investment capabilities through varied products and vehicles and via multiple points of access, including directly and through various financial intermediaries.", - "id": "5981e2d1-8b66-4959-b061-7cd748f46e7d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving diversity and inclusion within national security agencies, which does not directly relate to Pool Corp.'s business operations in the swimming pool and irrigation distribution industries. The legal consequences pertain to national security employment practices and reporting, which are not applicable to a wholesale distribution company like Pool Corp.", - "index": "260", - "bill_title": "A bill to improve diversity and inclusion in the workforce of national security agencies, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "National Security Diversity and Inclusion Workforce Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires each national security agency to report on its diversity and inclusion efforts. The bill defines \"diversity\" as diversity of persons based on gender, race, ethnicity, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, and other demographic categories.\n\nIt also requires each such agency to develop a system to collect and analyze applicant employment data to identify areas for improvement in attracting diverse talent, with emphasis on senior and management positions; conduct periodic interviews with a representative cross-section of the national security workforce to obtain workplace information; sponsor workforce members to participate in a Senior Executive Service candidate development program or similar program; implement performance and advancement requirements for the workforce; create opportunities for senior personnel to participate in outreach events and to discuss issues relating to diversity and inclusion; and expand training on bias in the workplace and flexible work policies. The bill encourages agencies to expand professional development and career advancement opportunities that support their mission and to seek a diverse and talented pool of employment applicants by reaching out to educational organizations and professional associations.", - "company_name": "Pool Corp.", - "company_description": "Business General Pool Corporation (the Company, which may be referred to as we, us or our) is the world's largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products and is one of the top three distributors of irrigation and related products in the United States. Our industry is highly fragmented, and as such, we add considerable value to the industry by purchasing products from a large number of manufacturers and then distributing the products to our customer base on conditions that are more favorable than our customers could obtain on their own. As of December 31, 2017, we operated 351 sales centers in North America, Europe, South America and Australia through our four distribution networks: We believe that the swimming pool industry is relatively young, with room for continued growth from the increased penetration of new pools. Significant growth opportunities also reside with pool remodel and pool equipment replacement activities due to the aging of the installed base of swimming pools, technological advancements and the development of energy-efficient and more aesthetically attractive products. Additionally, the desire for consumers to enhance their outdoor living spaces with hardscapes, lighting and outdoor kitchens also promotes growth in this market area. The irrigation industry shares many characteristics with the pool industry, and we believe that it will realize long\u2011term growth rates similar to the pool industry. As irrigation system installations and landscaping often occur in tandem with new single-family home construction, we believe the continued trend in increased housing starts also offers significant growth opportunities for the irrigation industry. These favorable trends include the following: \u2022 long-term growth in housing units in warmer markets due to the population migration toward the southern United States, which contributes to the growing installed base of pools that homeowners must maintain; \u2022 increased homeowner spending on outdoor living spaces for relaxation and entertainment; \u2022 consumers bundling the purchase of a swimming pool and other products, with new irrigation systems, landscaping and improvements to outdoor living spaces often being key components to both pool installations and remodels; and \u2022 consumers using more automation and control products, higher quality materials and other pool features that add to our sales opportunities over time. Almost 60% of consumer spending in the pool industry is for maintenance and minor repair of existing swimming pools. Maintaining proper chemical balance and the related upkeep and repair of swimming pool equipment, such as pumps, heaters, filters and safety equipment, creates a non-discretionary demand for pool chemicals, equipment and other related parts and supplies. We also believe cosmetic considerations such as a pool's appearance and the overall look of backyard environments create an ongoing demand for other maintenance-related goods and certain discretionary products. This characteristic, along with relatively consistent annual inflationary price increases of 1% to 2% on average passed on by manufacturers and distributors, has helped cushion the negative impact on revenues in periods when unfavorable economic conditions and softness in the housing market adversely impacted pool construction and major replacement and refurbishment activities. The following table reflects growth in the domestic installed base of in-ground swimming pools over the past 11 years (based on Company estimates and information from 2016 P.K. Data, Inc. reports): The replacement and refurbishment market currently accounts for close to 25% of consumer spending in the pool industry. The activity in this market, which includes major swimming pool remodeling, is driven by the aging of the installed base of pools. The timing of these types of expenditures is more sensitive to economic factors that impact consumer spending compared to the maintenance and minor repair market. New swimming pool construction comprises just over 15% of consumer spending in the pool industry. The demand for new pools is driven by the perceived benefits of pool ownership including relaxation, entertainment, family activity, exercise and convenience. The industry competes for new pool sales against other discretionary consumer purchases such as kitchen and bathroom remodeling, boats, motorcycles, recreational vehicles and vacations. The industry is also affected by other factors including, but not limited to, consumer preferences or attitudes toward pool, outdoor living and irrigation products for aesthetic, environmental, safety or other reasons. The irrigation distribution business is split between residential and commercial markets, with the majority of sales related to the residential market. Irrigation activities account for approximately 50% of total spending in the irrigation industry, with the remaining 50% of spending related to power equipment, landscape and specialty outdoor products and accessories. Over the last five years, our irrigation business has benefited from the continued slow recovery of single-family home construction as irrigation system installations and landscape projects typically correlate with, but lag, new home construction. ", - "id": "9c196c76-d266-4e39-b818-ca3bf6947b2b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill mandates negotiation of drug prices for Medicare, which directly affects Aduro BioTech, Inc. as it seeks to commercialize cancer therapies and may rely on Medicare for reimbursement. Changes in drug pricing policies will impact their sales strategy and financial performance.", - "index": "261", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices of prescription drugs furnished under part D of the Medicare program.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies regarding prices for drugs covered under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Current law prohibits the CMS from doing so.)\n\nThe CMS must take certain factors into account during negotiations, including the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the drug, the financial burden on patients, and unmet patient needs. If the CMS is unable to negotiate the price of a drug, such drug is subject to competitive licensing in order to further its sale under Medicare, notwithstanding existing government-granted exclusivities.\n\nAdditionally, for one year after a drug is provided under a competitive license, such drug is also subject to specified price limitations; if the drug is not offered at such prices, the drug is\u00a0subject to additional licensing that furthers its sale under any federal program (e.g., Medicaid).", - "company_name": "Aduro BioTech, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an immunotherapy company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies that transform the treatment of challenging diseases, including cancer. We believe our three technology platforms are uniquely positioned to recruit and direct the immune system by activating cancer-fighting immune cells and inhibiting immune suppressive cells known to allow tumor growth. Product candidates from our STING Pathway Activator, B-select monoclonal antibody, and LADD, or Live, Attenuated, Double-Deleted Listeria monocytogenes platforms are designed to stimulate and/or regulate innate and adaptive immune responses, either as single agents or in combination with conventional therapies (i.e. chemotherapy and radiation) as well as other novel immunotherapies. Our diverse technology platforms have led to a strong pipeline of clinical and preclinical candidates, which are being developed for a number of cancer indications. Additionally, our platforms have the potential to generate product candidates that address other therapeutic areas, such as autoimmune and infectious diseases. Immuno-oncology is an emerging field of cancer therapy that aims to activate the immune system in the tumor microenvironment to create and enhance anti-tumor immune responses, as well as to overcome the immuno-suppressive mechanisms that cancer cells have developed against the immune system. Recent developments in the field of immuno-oncology, including checkpoint inhibitors\u2014therapies which work to remove suppression mechanisms that prevent an immune response against cancer cells\u2014have shown the potential to provide efficacy and extended survival, even in cancers where conventional therapies, such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, have failed. The immunotherapy field is rapidly advancing with new immuno-oncology combinations that focus on strengthening therapeutic efficacy in a wide range of cancers. We intend to pursue a broad strategy of combining our technology platforms with conventional and novel therapies, based on their mechanisms of action, safety profiles and versatility. Our STING Pathway Activator platform is designed to activate the intracellular Stimulator of Interferon Genes, or STING, receptor, resulting in a potent tumor-specific immune response. ADU-S100 is the first STING Pathway Activator compound to enter the clinic and is currently being evaluated in Phase 1 studies both as a monotherapy and in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor in patients with cutaneously accessible metastatic solid tumors or lymphomas. Our B-select monoclonal antibody platform includes a proprietary ultra-selective functional screening process to identify antibodies with unique binding properties against a broad range of targets that are being designed to modulate the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. Our most advanced product candidate from the B-select platform, BION-1301, is being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial in mulitiple myeloma. In addition, the B-select platform has delivered a number of immune modulating assets currently in research and preclinical development. Our LADD technology platform is based on proprietary attenuated strains of Listeria that have been engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce specific and targeted immune responses. Our LADD program is focused on the development of personalized LADD, or pLADD, therapeutics that encode and express antigens that are based on protein sequences that result from mutations specific to an individual patient's tumor (neoantigens). These antigens can be also derived from native protein sequences that are highly expressed in patients with certain tumor types (self antigens). We are developing a pipeline of proprietary product candidates on our own and have a number of collaborations with leading global pharmaceutical companies to expand our products and technology platforms. We are developing STING Activator product candidates in oncology under our worldwide collaboration with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, or Novartis, and an anti-CD27 antibody was developed with and is exclusively licensed to, Merck Sharp and Dohme B.V., or Merck. In addition, we have developed self antigen-based LADD product candidates targeting lung and prostate cancers that are licensed to Janssen Biotech Inc., or Janssen. We believe our technology platforms \u2013 STING Pathway Activators, B-select monoclonal antibodies and LADD - represent innovative approaches in immuno-oncology. Since our product candidates act by leveraging the patient's own immune system, we believe they have the potential to deliver enhanced efficacy and to be safer and more tolerable than existing therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Based on the mechanisms of action and safety profiles of our technology platforms, we intend to build a deep pipeline of product candidates that can be readily combinable and synergistic with both conventional and novel therapies, such as checkpoint inhibitors. Our vision is to utilize our scientific expertise and understanding of the body's natural defense systems, including the interplay between the innate and adaptive immune responses, to develop safe and effective therapies for the benefit of patients. The STING receptor is known to be a central mediator of innate immunity and is critical for immune surveillance and control of cancer progression.", - "id": "80bec567-e832-408a-b593-0f2864bf7852" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on environmental studies related to oil or hazardous liquid spills in the Great Lakes, which primarily concerns the Department of Transportation and environmental assessments. AeroVironment, Inc. specializes in unmanned aircraft systems and tactical missile systems for government and military use, which does not directly align with the environmental compliance or assessment processes outlined in this bill. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill do not impact AeroVironment's business operations, making it irrelevant to the company.", - "index": "262", - "bill_title": "To require the Secretary of Transportation to conduct a study on the economic and environmental risks to the Great Lakes of spills or leaks of oil, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Preserve Our Lakes and Keep Our Environment Safe Act\n\nThis bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to conduct a study to determine the economic and environmental risks to the Great Lakes of oil or hazardous liquids spills or leaks from onshore, underwater pipeline facilities in the Straits of Mackinac.\n\nIn addition, DOT must evaluate the condition and structural integrity of the facilities.\n\nDOT shall terminate operations of a facility upon a determination, based on such studies, that risk of hazard to life, property, or the environment warrants termination.", - "company_name": "AeroVironment, Inc.", - "company_description": "each party's compliance with its covenants and agreements contained in the Purchase Agreement (subject to customary materiality qualifiers), (iii) the execution by the parties of certain ancillary agreements and (iv) other customary closing conditions. As of April 30, 2018, we determined that the EES Business met the criterion for classification as an asset held for sale and represents a strategic shift in in our operations. We design, develop, produce, support and operate a technologically\u2011advanced portfolio of products and services for government agencies and businesses. We supply unmanned aircraft systems (\"UAS\") and related services primarily to organizations within the U.S. Department of Defense (\"DoD\") and to international allied governments, and tactical missile systems and related services to organizations within the U.S. Government. Our success with current products and services stems from our investment in research and development and our ability to invent and deliver advanced solutions, utilizing proprietary and commercially available technologies, to help our government, commercial and consumer customers operate more effectively and efficiently. We develop these highly innovative solutions by working very closely with our key customers to solve their most important challenges related to our areas of expertise. Our core technological capabilities, developed through more than 45 years of innovation, include lightweight aerostructures; power electronics; electric propulsion systems; efficient electric power conversion, and storage systems; high\u2011density energy packaging; miniaturization; digital data links (\"DDL\"); sensors; controls integration; systems integration; engineering optimization; vertical takeoff fixed wing flight and autonomy, each coupled with professional field service capabilities. Our UAS business focuses primarily on the design, development, production, marketing, support and operation of innovative UAS and tactical missile systems and the delivery of UAS\u2011related services that provide situational awareness, remote sensing, multi\u2011band communications, force protection and other information and mission effects to increase the safety and effectiveness of our customers' operations. As a technology solutions provider, our strategy is to develop innovative, safe and reliable new solutions that provide customers with valuable benefits and enable us to create new markets or market segments, gain market share and grow as market adoption increases. We believe that by introducing new solutions that provide customers with compelling value we are able to create new markets or market segments and then grow our positions within those 3 markets or market segments profitably, instead of entering existing markets and competing directly against large, incumbent competitors that may possess advantages in scope, scale, resources and relationships. We intend to grow our business by preserving a leadership position in the UAS and tactical missile system markets, and by creating new solutions that enable us to create and establish leadership positions in new markets. Our small UAS and tactical missile systems enjoy leading positions in their respective markets. We intend to increase the penetration of our small UAS products and services within the U.S. military, the military forces of allied nations, other government agencies and non\u2011government organizations, including commercial entities, and to increase the penetration of our tactical missile systems within the U.S. military and allied nations. We believe that the broad adoption of our small UAS by the U.S. military will continue to spur demand by allied nations, and that our efforts to pursue new applications are creating opportunities beyond the early adopter military market. Deliver innovative new solutions for existing and new markets. Customer\u2011focused innovation is the primary driver of our growth. We view strategic partnerships as a means by which to further the reach of our innovative solutions through access to new markets, customers and complementary capabilities. Our company culture encourages innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit, which helps to attract and retain highly\u2011skilled professionals. A core component of our culture is our intent to demonstrate trust and integrity in all of our interactions, contributing to a positive work environment and engendering loyalty among our employees and customers. We respond rapidly to evolving markets, solve complicated customer problems, and strive to deliver new products, services and capabilities quickly, efficiently and affordably relative to available alternatives. Effectively manage our growth portfolio for long\u2011term value creation. Our production and development programs and services position us for investment opportunities that we believe will deliver long\u2011term growth by providing our customers with valuable new capabilities. We sell the majority of our UAS and services to organizations within the DoD, including the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Special Operations Command, Air Force and Navy, and increasingly to allied governments. We sell our tactical missile systems to organizations within the U.S. government. We also develop High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (\"HAPS\") systems for a commercial customer based in Japan. ", - "id": "a4ae6108-2ea1-4da7-9b51-c4df80236b9c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes strict new regulations on firearms sales, including background checks and restrictions on semiautomatic assault weapons, which directly impact American Outdoor Brands Corp.'s core business of manufacturing and selling firearms. The company's business model revolves around firearms production, and the bill's implications on sales and compliance requirements are highly relevant to its operations.", - "index": "263", - "bill_title": "To improve public safety through sensible reforms to firearms regulations.", - "bill_summary": "Safer America for Everyone Right Now Act or the SAFER Now Act\n\nThis bill establishes new restrictions and requirements regarding the sale, transfer, and possession of firearms. Specifically, it does the following:\n\n prohibits a licensed gun dealer from transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person prior to the completion of a background check; generally prohibits the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD); requires a gun dealer to conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties; requires law enforcement agencies to be notified when a prohibited person attempts to purchase a grandfathered SAW; allows Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to be used to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program; requires a person who operates a gun show to meet certain requirements (e.g., minimum age and registration); makes trafficking in firearms a stand-alone criminal offense; prohibits firearm sale or disposition to or receipt or possession by a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking; and prohibits the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of a trigger crank, a bump-fire device, or any part, combination of parts, component, device, attachment, or accessory that is designed or functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle but not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machine gun.", - "company_name": "American Outdoor Brands Corp.", - "company_description": "We are a leading manufacturer, designer, and provider of consumer products for the shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor enthusiast. We are one of the largest manufacturers of handguns, modern sporting rifles, and handcuffs in the United States and an active participant in the hunting rifle and suppressor markets. We are also a leading provider of shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor products and accessories, including knives and cutting tools, sighting lasers, shooting supplies, tree saws, and survival gear. The Wesson family sold Smith & Wesson Corp. to Bangor Punta Corp. in 1965. Lear Siegler Corporation purchased Bangor Punta in 1984, thereby acquiring ownership of Smith & Wesson Corp. Forstmann Little & Co. purchased Lear Siegler in 1986 and sold Smith & Wesson Corp. shortly thereafter to Tomkins Corporation, an affiliate of U.K.-based Tomkins PLC. We purchased Smith & Wesson Corp. from Tomkins in May 2001 and renamed our company Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation. In January 2017, we changed the name of our company from Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation to American Outdoor Brands Corporation to better reflect our expanding strategic focus on the growing markets for shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor enthusiasts. We have two reporting segments: (1) Firearms (which includes the Firearms and Manufacturing Services divisions) and (2) Outdoor Products & Accessories (which includes the Outdoor Products & Accessories and Electro-Optics divisions). In our Firearms segment, we manufacture a wide array of handguns (including revolvers and pistols), long guns (including modern sporting rifles, bolt action rifles, and muzzleloaders), handcuffs, suppressors, and other firearm-related products for sale to a wide variety of customers, including gun enthusiasts, collectors, hunters, sportsmen, competitive shooters, individuals desiring home and personal protection, law enforcement and security agencies and officers, and military agencies in the United States and throughout the world. We sell our firearm products under the Smith & Wesson, M & P, Performance Center, Thompson/Center Arms, and Gemtech brands. We manufacture our firearm products at our facilities in Springfield, Massachusetts, Houlton, Maine, and Deep River, Connecticut. We perform research and development activities for our suppressors and accessories products at our facility located in Meridian, Idaho. We also sell our manufacturing services to other businesses in order to level-load our factories. We sell those services under our Smith & Wesson and Smith & Wesson Precision Components (formerly known as Deep River Plastics) brands. In our Outdoor Products & Accessories segment, we design, source, distribute, and manufacture reloading, gunsmithing, and gun cleaning supplies; high-quality stainless steel cutting tools and accessories; flashlights; tree saws and related trimming accessories; shooting supplies, rests, and other related accessories; apparel; vault accessories; laser grips and laser sights; and a full range of products for survival and emergency preparedness. We sell our outdoor products and accessories under the following brands: Caldwell, Wheeler, Tipton, Frankford Arsenal, Lockdown, Hooyman, BOG-POD, Golden Rod, Non-Typical, Crimson Trace, Imperial, Schrade, Old Timer, Uncle Henry, Bubba Blade, Smith & Wesson, M & P, Thompson/Center, UST, and KeyGear. We develop and market our outdoor products and accessories at our facilities in Columbia, Missouri; Our objective is to continue to enhance our position as one of the world's leading firearm manufacturers and expand our po sition as a provider of high-quality and innovative outdoor products and accessories for the shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor markets. \u2022 design, produce, and market high-quality, innovative firearms, firearms and hunting accessories, and rugged outdoor products that meet the needs and desires of our consumer and professional customers; \u2022 increase market share in markets in which we participate; \u2022 expand into adjacent and complementary markets; \u2022 streamline and standardize our business operations, including optimizing product distribution; \u2022 emphasize customer satisfaction and loyalty; and \u2022 pursue acquisitions that are synergistic with our current business. We estimate that the annual domestic non-military firearm market based on industry shipments is approximately $2.2 billion for handguns and $1.9 billion for long guns, excluding shotguns, with our market share in calendar 2016 being approximately 16.7% and 7.6%, respectively. According to 2016 reports by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, the U.S. firearm manufacturing industry has grown at a 12.0% compound annual growth rate in units from 2011 through 2016. The 2015 report issued by the Outdoor Industry Association, a leading trade organization for the outdoor industry, estimates that the annual U.S. domestic hunting and shooting market is approximately $16 billion, while the annual U.S. domestic outdoor recreation market is approximately $90 billion to $100 billion, which includes hunting and shooting, as well as camping, fishing, trail sports, and wildlife watching. (Subsequently relocated production of hunting products to Springfield, Massachusetts facility in fiscal 2011) ", - "id": "2dfa4eed-868c-41c4-9cb9-bd8d54f727bf" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes a Senior Scams Prevention Advisory Council which aims to create educational materials targeted at preventing scams that affect seniors. Given that Gannett Co., Inc. operates in the media and marketing sector, producing content that includes local news, community events, and educational resources, the relevance of this bill to the company's business model is significant. The company can utilize the advisory council's materials to produce and distribute content that educates seniors on scam prevention. Furthermore, helping the community aligns with their commitment to foster relationships with local businesses and communities, making this initiative relevant to their operational goals.", - "index": "264", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish a Senior Scams Prevention Advisory Council.", - "bill_summary": "Stop Senior Scams Act\n\nThis bill establishes a Senior Scams Prevention Advisory Group, which shall create\u00a0model educational materials to\u00a0educate\u00a0employees of\u00a0retailers, financial-services companies,\u00a0and wire-transfer companies on how to identify and prevent scams that affect seniors.", - "company_name": "Gannett Co., Inc.", - "company_description": "\"our\", or \"the Company\") is an innovative, digitally focused media and marketing solutions company committed to fostering the communities in our network and helping them build relationships with their local businesses. Our current portfolio of media assets includes USA TODAY, local media organizations in 46 states in the U.S. and Guam, and Newsquest, a wholly owned subsidiary operating in the United Kingdom Gannett also owns the digital marketing services companies ReachLocal, USA TODAY, our local property network, and Newsquest , Gannett delivers high-quality, trusted content where and when consumers want to engage with it on virtually any device or platform. The Company reports in two operating segments, Publishing and Marketing Solutions, plus a corporate and other category. The Company has made both internal and external investments to align with the shift in spending habits to digital products by both consumers and marketers. In 2019 , total digital advertising and marketing services revenues were $263.0 million, or 14% of total company revenues. Our U.S. media network, which includes USA TODAY and our local properties, has more than 3,850 journalists and approximately 150.0 million (a) unique visitors as of January 2020 who access content through desktops, smartphones, and tablets. In the U.K., Newsquest is a publishing and digital leader with approximately 800 journalists and a network of web sites that attracts over 26.2 million (b) unique visitors monthly. daily newspapers, including USA TODAY and our local property network in the U.S. and Guam, with total paid circulation of over 2.5 million and Sunday circulation of 3.3 million ; 383 locally-focused websites, which extend our businesses onto digital platforms; \u2022 USA TODAY Group, which includes USATODAY.com and its mobile applications, our sports network (owned and operated and affiliate), and Reviewed.com, an affiliate marketing business; \u2022 143 daily and weekly newspapers and 32 magazines in the U.K. and related digital platforms; \u2022 In addition to our core products, we also opportunistically produce niche publications that address specific local market interests such as recreation, sports, healthcare, and real estate. Many of our publications are located in small and mid-size markets where we are often the primary provider of comprehensive local market news and information. Our content is primarily devoted to topics we believe are highly relevant and of interest to our audiences such as local news and politics, community and regional events, youth sports, opinion and editorial pages, local schools, obituaries, weddings, and police reports. Since its introduction in 1982, USA TODAY has been a cornerstone of the national news landscape under its recognizable and respected brand. It also serves as the foundation for our newsroom network, the USA TODAY NETWORK, which allows for content sharing capabilities across our local and national markets. We are the leading newspaper publisher in the U.S. in terms of circulation and have the fifth largest digital audience in the News and Information category based on January 2020 (a) unique visitors in January 2020. At USA TODAY, print readership averages around 2.5 million daily Monday to Friday, while the digital audience reached approximately 98.3 million (a) unique visitors in January 2020. While our print audience tends to skew to an older demographic, our digital audience skews younger as evidenced by 53% (a) of the total U.S. digital millennial audience (ages 18 - 34) accessing our local property network and USA TODAY NETWORK content monthly. ", - "id": "b508470d-fc9a-48b0-98ba-16c5d2bd0d60" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Honest Ads Act is relevant to Groupon, Inc. as it introduces requirements for transparency and accountability in online political advertising, which aligns with Groupon's operations in online marketplaces. Groupon hosts advertisements and operates digital platforms, thus any implications regarding foreign national involvement and transparency in advertisements could directly impact their business practices and compliance obligations.", - "index": "265", - "bill_title": "To enhance transparency and accountability for online political advertisements by requiring those who purchase and publish such ads to disclose information about the advertisements to the public, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Honest Ads Act\n\nThis bill applies requirements, limitations, and protections regarding political advertising in traditional media to internet or digital political advertising. The bill sets forth special rules for disclosure statements for certain internet or digital ads.\n\nEach television or radio station, provider of cable or satellite television, or online platform must ensure that the political advertising it hosts is not directly or indirectly purchased by a foreign national.\n\nOnline platforms must publish a record of requests to purchase political advertising.", - "company_name": "Groupon, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Groupon is a global leader in local commerce, making it easy for people around the world to search and discover great businesses and merchandise. Our vision is to connect local commerce, increasing consumer buying power while driving more business to merchants through price and discovery. We want Groupon to be the destination that consumers check first when they are out and about; the place they start when they are looking to buy just about anything, anywhere, anytime. We provide consumers with savings and help them discover what to do, eat, see, buy and where to travel. By bringing the brick and mortar world of local commerce onto the Internet, Groupon is helping local merchants to attract customers and sell goods and services. Groupon operates online local commerce marketplaces throughout the world that connect merchants to consumers by offering goods and services, generally at a discount. Consumers access those marketplaces through our websites, primarily localized groupon.com sites in many countries, and our mobile applications. Our operations are organized into two segments: North America and International. W e offer goods and services through our online marketplaces in three primary categories: We earn product revenue from direct sales of merchandise inventory through our Goods category. We primarily earn service revenue from transactions in which we earn commissions by selling goods or services on behalf of third-party merchants. Those transactions generally involve a customer's purchase of a voucher through one of our online marketplaces that can be redeemed with a third-party merchant for specified goods or services (or for discounts on specified goods or services). Service revenue also includes commissions that we earn when customers make purchases with retailers using digital coupons accessed through our websites and mobile applications and from voucherless merchant offerings in which customers earn cash back on their credit card statements when they transact with third-party merchants. The substantial majority of our service revenue transactions is comprised of sales of vouchers and similar transactions in which we collect the transaction price from the customer and remit a portion of the transaction price to the third-party merchant who will provide the related goods or services. Our goal is to continue to build marketplaces that our customers rely on to discover and save on amazing things to do, eat, see, buy and where to travel. With a mobile-first strategy, we intend to improve the customer experience by continuing to invest in innovative, frictionless products and differentiated local supply coupled with strong national brands. As we build out our marketplaces, we want our customers to have a superior, frictionless experience when they use our product whether finding, booking, buying or redeeming an offer. For merchants, this includes providing capabilities to manage demand for their goods and services and improving their ability to acquire customers. For consumers, this includes easily finding offers and accessing features that augment the overall experience, as well as seamlessly purchasing and redeeming offers. We are currently investing in initiatives to improve the purchase and redemption experience, such as enhancing our mobile applications, testing offerings with voucherless redemption resulting in cash back directly to customers' credit cards, and adding direct booking capabilities. We ultimately want Groupon to become a daily habit for our customers and believe that significantly increasing the offerings available through our online local commerce marketplaces is critical to this goal. Our initiatives to grow our inventory of deal offerings include entering into commercial agreements with third parties that enable us to feature additional merchant offerings through our marketplaces, identifying new distribution channels through which to sell our marketplace offerings, and continuing to optimize the activities performed by our sales teams. Additionally, we believe that our efforts to increase our customer value may improve the health of our marketplaces, making our marketing and promotional services more effective for the merchants who feature offerings on our platform. Our initiatives to grow International gross profit include increasing our international marketing spending and leveraging enhanced marketing analytics, prioritizing more technology resources in order to expand and advance its product and service offerings, growing our inventory of deal offerings by entering into commercial agreements with third parties that enable us to feature additional merchant offerings through our marketplaces, and other initiatives. We earn revenue from transactions in which we provide marketing services primarily by selling vouchers through our online local marketplaces that can be redeemed for goods or services with third-party merchants.", - "id": "075fcbf8-4076-4b3d-8482-1cdec6a67bd6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily pertains to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Commissioned Officer Corps and involves regulations concerning military personnel management including training, recruitment, and retirement. Acacia Communications, Inc. operates in the telecommunications and optical interconnect technology sectors, focusing on providing products for internet infrastructure and cloud services. As such, the legal consequences outlined in the bill do not impact Acacia's business operations or strategic goals.", - "index": "266", - "bill_title": "To amend the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Act of 2002 to make certain changes to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's commissioned officer corps, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Amendments Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps.\n\nThe bill sets forth new requirements for the corps, including requirements concerning commissioned grades and operational strength numbers, obligated service, training and physical fitness, education loan assistance, recruitment, hiring and promotions, retirement and separation, and other workforce issues.", - "company_name": "Acacia Communications, Inc.", - "company_description": "Our mission is to deliver high-speed coherent optical interconnect products that transform communications networks, relied upon by cloud infrastructure operators and content and communication service providers, through improvements in performance and capacity and reductions in associated costs. By implementing optical interconnect technology in a silicon-based platform, a process we refer to as the siliconization of optical interconnect, we believe we are leading a disruption that is analogous to the computing industry's integration of multiple functions into a microprocessor. Our products fall into three product groups: embedded modules, pluggable modules and semiconductors. Our embedded module and pluggable module product groups consist of optical interconnect modules with transmission speeds ranging from 100 to 1,200 gigabits per second, or Gbps, for use in long-haul, metro and inter-data center markets. Our semiconductor product group consists of our low-power coherent digital signal processor application-specific integrated circuits, or DSP ASICs, and our silicon photonic integrated circuits, or silicon PICs, which are either integrated into our embedded and pluggable modules or sold to customers on a standalone basis for integration into internally developed or other merchant modules. We are also developing a 400ZR module that will expand our pluggable module product group, and enable inter-data center transmission capacity of 400 Gbps in the same compact pluggable form factors used for 400G client optics, including QSFP-DD and OSFP. Our modules perform a majority of the digital signal processing and optical functions in optical interconnects and offer low power consumption, high density and high speeds at attractive price points. Through the use of standard interfaces, our modules can be easily integrated with customers' network equipment. The advanced software in our modules enables increased configurability and automation, provides insight into network and connection point characteristics and helps identify network performance problems, all of which increase flexibility and reduce operating costs. Our modules are rooted in our low-power coherent DSP ASICs and/or silicon PICs, which we have specifically developed for our target markets. Our coherent DSP ASICs and silicon PICs are manufactured using complementary metal oxide semiconductor, or CMOS. CMOS is a widely-used and cost-effective semiconductor process technology. Using CMOS to siliconize optical interconnect technology enables us to integrate increasing functionality into our products, benefit from higher yields and reliability associated with CMOS, capitalize on regular improvements in CMOS performance and density, and reduce costs. Our use of CMOS also enables us to use outsourced foundry services rather than requiring custom fabrication to manufacture our products. In addition, our use of CMOS and CMOS-compatible processes enables us to take advantage of the technology, manufacturing and integration improvements driven by other computer and communications markets that rely on CMOS. Our engineering and management teams have extensive experience in optical systems and networking, digital signal processing, large-scale ASIC design and verification, silicon photonic design and integration, system software development, hardware design and high-speed electronics design. This broad expertise in a range of advanced technologies, methodologies and processes enhances our innovation, design and development capabilities, and has enabled us, and we believe will continue to enable us, to develop and introduce state-of-the-art optical interconnect modules, coherent DSP ASICs and silicon PICs. In the course of our product development cycles, we engage with our customers as they design their current and next-generation network equipment in order to gauge current and future market needs. We sell our products through a direct sales force to leading network equipment manufacturers, network operators and cloud service providers. Industry Background Growing Demand for Bandwidth and Network Capacity Global Internet Protocol, or IP, traffic is projected to more than triple from 4.1 exabytes per day in 2017 to 13.2 exabytes per day in 2022, representing a projected 26% compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, according to Cisco's Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Trends, 2017-2022, dated November 2018, or the VNI Report. This projected rapid growth in IP traffic is the result of several factors, including: \u2022 Over the last decade, the proliferation of new technologies, applications, Web 2.0-based services and Internet-connected devices has led to increasing levels of Internet traffic and congestion and the need for greater bandwidth. Video traffic, in particular, is growing rapidly, and placing significant strains on network capacity. The VNI Report estimates that by 2022, video traffic will represent 82% of all global consumer IP traffic, forecast to be 293 exabytes per month in 2022, up from 77 exabytes per month in 2017. According to the 2 VNI Report, from 2017 to 2022, video traffic and all global consumer IP traffic are expected to increase by projected 34% and 31% CAGRs, respectively. ", - "id": "7dd6a0ec-e9d7-49ed-98fc-62b2bdf30174" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to ANSYS, Inc. as it focuses on promoting innovation and the growth of new businesses, which aligns with ANSYS's mission to support engineers and designers in product development and optimization through advanced engineering simulation software. Additionally, the bill provides conditional visas for STEM graduates and entrepreneurs, which could benefit ANSYS by allowing access to a broader talent pool in the engineering and technology sectors, essential for maintaining innovation and competitiveness.", - "index": "267", - "bill_title": "A bill to jump-start economic recovery through the formation and growth of new businesses, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Startup Act\n\nThis bill provides conditional visas to certain immigrants with advanced educational credentials. It also establishes a grant program to promote innovation and imposes requirements on certain rulemaking activities.\n\nThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may provide conditional permanent resident status to up to 50,000 aliens with advanced science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) degrees. Such aliens may remain in the country for up to one year after the expiration of a student visa to find employment, or indefinitely if already engaged in a STEM field.\n\nDHS may issue conditional immigrant visas for up to 75,000 qualified alien entrepreneurs. The bill imposes various requirements on such entrepreneurs, such as creating a number of full-time jobs for a period of time, after which the alien shall receive permanent resident status.\n\nThe bill increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from 7% of the total number of such visas available that year to 15%, and eliminates the 7% cap for employment-based immigrant visas. It also removes an offset that reduced the number of visas for individuals from China.\n\nThe bill establishes a grant program to support the commercialization of federally-funded research. It also extends funding authorization through FY2024 for an existing regional innovation grant program and amends the program's provisions.\n\nThis bill requires federal agencies, before proposing a rule that may have a significant economic effect, to publish an analysis of the rule, including the problem the rule intends to address and a cost-benefit analysis.", - "company_name": "ANSYS, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS ANSYS, a Delaware corporation formed in 1994, develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services widely used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a broad spectrum of industries and academia, including aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, semiconductors, energy, materials and chemical processing, turbomachinery, consumer products, healthcare, and sports. The Company focuses on the development of open and flexible solutions that enable users to analyze designs directly on the desktop, providing a common platform for fast, efficient and cost-conscious product development, from design concept to final-stage testing and validation. The Company distributes its ANSYS\u00ae suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in strategic, global locations. ANSYS Workbench\u2122 ANSYS Workbench is the framework upon which the Company's suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The innovative project schematic view ties together the entire simulation process, guiding the user through complex multiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop simplicity. With bi-directional computer-aided design (CAD) connectivity, powerful highly-automated meshing, a project-level update mechanism, pervasive parameter management and integrated optimization tools, the ANSYS Workbench platform enables Pervasive Engineering Simulation\u2122. The Company's Workbench framework allows engineers and designers to incorporate the compounding effects of multiple physics into a virtual prototype of their design and simulate its operation under real-world conditions. As product architectures become smaller, lighter and more complex, companies must be able to accurately predict how products will behave in real-world environments where multiple types of physics interact in a coupled way. ANSYS multiphysics software enables engineers to simulate the interactions between structures, heat transfer, fluids and electronics all within a single, unified engineering simulation environment. The Company's structural analysis product suite offers simulation tools for product design and optimization that increase productivity, minimize physical prototyping and help to deliver better and more innovative products in less time. These tools tackle real-world analysis problems by making product development less costly and more reliable. In addition, these tools have capabilities that cover a broad range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities, all targeted toward understanding and solving complex design problems. The Company's fluids product suite enables modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design and optimize new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications. The Company's electronics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance of mobile communication and internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment, all prior to building a prototype. Semiconductors Advancements in semiconductor design and manufacturing enable smaller electronic architectures. Shrinking geometries, especially in the emerging 3D IC, FinFET and stacked-die architectures, reveal design challenges related to power and reliability. The Company's power analysis and optimization software suite manages the power budget, power delivery integrity and power-induced noise in an electronic design, from initial prototyping to system sign-off. These solutions deliver accuracy with correlation to silicon measurement; the capacity to handle an entire electronic system, including IC, package and PCB, efficiently for ease-of-debug and fast turnaround time; and comprehensiveness to facilitate cross-domain communications and electronic ecosystem enablement. The Company's SCADE\u00ae product suite is a comprehensive solution for embedded software simulation, code production and automated certification. It has been developed specifically for use in critical systems with high dependability requirements, including aerospace, rail transportation, nuclear, industrial and, more recently, automotive applications. SCADE software supports the entire development workflow, from requirements analysis and design, through verification, implementation and deployment. SCADE solutions easily integrate with each other and the rest of the ANSYS product suite, allowing for development optimization and increased communication among team members. ", - "id": "7a466825-9641-4a39-a716-afb3dd595143" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2019 mandates increased cybersecurity measures for IoT devices, which is directly relevant to Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc., as their medical technology products involve several IoT devices for patient monitoring and diagnostics. Compliance with these regulations could be essential for their operations and market access.", - "index": "268", - "bill_title": "A bill to leverage Federal Government procurement power to encourage increased cybersecurity for Internet of Things devices, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2019 or the IoT Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to take specified steps to increase cybersecurity for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. IoT is the extension of Internet connectivity into physical devices and everyday objects.\n\nThe bill establishes September 30, 2019, as the deadline for the completion of NIST's efforts regarding considerations for managing IoT cybersecurity risks, especially regarding examples of possible cybersecurity capabilities of IoT devices. By March 31, 2020, NIST must develop recommendations for the appropriate use and management of IoT devices owned or controlled by the government, including minimum information security requirements for managing cybersecurity risks.\n\nThe OMB shall then issue guidelines for each agency that are consistent with such recommendations.\n\nNIST and the OMB shall publish guidance on policies and procedures for the reporting, coordinating, publishing, and receiving of information about a security vulnerability relating to an IoT device used by the government and the resolution of such security vulnerability.", - "company_name": "Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a leading global medical technology company with more than 10,000 employees worldwide. We partner with health care providers in more than 100 countries, across multiple care settings, by focusing on patient care solutions that improve clinical and economic outcomes in five core areas: Advancing Mobility, Wound Care and Prevention, Patient Monitoring and Diagnostics, Surgical Safety and Efficiency and Respiratory Health. Our innovations ensure caregivers have the products they need to help diagnose, treat and protect their patients; speed up recoveries; and manage conditions. Every day, around the world, we enhance outcomes for patients and their caregivers. Patient Support Systems \u2013 globally provides our med-surg and specialty bed systems and surfaces, safe patient handling equipment and mobility solutions, as well as our clinical workflow solutions that deliver software and information technologies to improve care and deliver actionable insight to caregivers and patients. \u2013 globally provides patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies, including a diversified portfolio of physical assessment tools that help diagnose, treat and manage a wide variety of illnesses and diseases, as well as a portfolio of vision care and respiratory care devices. \u2013 globally provides products that improve surgical safety and efficiency in the operating room including tables, lights, pendants, positioning devices, and various other surgical instruments and accessories. Our innovative patient support systems include a variety of specialty frames and surfaces (such as medical surgical (\"med-surg\") beds, intensive care unit beds, and bariatric patient beds), patient mobility solutions (such as lifts and other devices used to safely move patients), non-invasive therapeutic products and surfaces, and our information technologies and software solutions. These patient support systems are sold globally and can be designed for use in high, mid, and low acuity settings, depending on the specific design options, and are built to advance mobility, reduce patient falls and caregiver injuries, improve caregiver efficiency and prevent and care for pressure injuries. In addition, we also sell equipment service contracts for our capital equipment, primarily in the United States. Our Front Line Care products include our patient monitoring and diagnostics products from Welch Allyn and Mortara and our respiratory health products. Our patient monitoring and diagnostics products include blood pressure, physical assessment, vital signs monitoring, diagnostic cardiopulmonary, diabetic retinopathy screening, and thermometry products. Cardio ECG which combines the clinical excellence of Mortara technology with Welch Allyn EMR connectivity expertise. Our respiratory health products include the Vest\u00ae System, VitalCough\u00ae These products are designed to assist patients in the mobilization of retained blockages that, if not removed, may lead to increased rates of respiratory infection, hospitalization, and reduced lung function. Front Line Care products are sold globally within multiple care settings including primary care, acute care, extended care and home care (primarily respiratory health products). Approximately 34% , 32% , and 30% of our revenue in fiscal 2018 , 2017 and 2016 were derived from products within this segment. Our Surgical Solutions products include surgical tables, lights, and pendants utilized within the operating room setting. We also offer a range of positioning devices for use in shoulder, hip, spinal and lithotomy surgeries as well as platform-neutral positioning accessories for nearly every model of operating room table. In addition, we offer operating room surgical safety and accessory products such as scalpels and blades, light handle systems, skin markers and other disposable products. The products offered within this segment are both capital sales and recurring consumable revenue streams that are sold globally. Approximately 16% , 16% , and 15% of our revenue in fiscal 2018 , 2017 and 2016 were derived from products within this segment. We have extensive distribution capabilities and broad reach across all health care settings. We primarily operate in the following channels: (1) sales and rentals of products to acute and extended care facilities worldwide through both a direct sales force and distributors; (2) sales and rentals of products directly to patients in the home; and (3) sales into primary care facilities (primarily Welch Allyn and Mortara products) through distributors. Through our network of 147 North American and 30 international service centers, and approximately 1,900 service professionals, we provide technical support and services and rapidly deliver our products to customers as-needed, providing our customers flexibility to purchase or rent select products.", - "id": "20e972e4-c036-4586-91b1-369c6cb40807" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on amending pension plan protections and improving financial literacy for women, which is mainly relevant to retirement planning and employee benefits. IAC/InterActiveCorp, as a media and internet company primarily involved in online services like dating apps and e-commerce, does not directly engage in pension plan management or related employee benefits that would be impacted by this legislation. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill do not bear relevance to IAC's business model or activities.", - "index": "269", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide for greater spousal protection under defined contribution plans, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Women's Retirement Protection Act\n\nThis bill modifies the requirements for pension plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to (1) extend spousal consent requirements that currently apply to defined benefit pension plans to defined contribution pension plans, and (2) allow certain long-term part-time workers to participate in pension plans that include either a qualified cash or deferred arrangement or a salary reduction agreement.\n\nFinancial product or service providers who sell retirement financial products or services must provide purchasers of their products or services an easily accessible link to the website of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to obtain information relating to retirement planning or later life economic security.\n\nThe Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor shall award grants to certain community-based organizations to (1) improve the financial literacy of women who are working age or in retirement, and (2) assist low-income women and survivors of domestic violence in obtaining qualified domestic relations orders and the benefits they are entitled to through the orders.", - "company_name": "IAC/InterActiveCorp.", - "company_description": "IAC has majority ownership of both Match Group, which includes Tinder, Match, PlentyOfFish and OkCupid, and ANGI Homeservices, which includes HomeAdvisor, Angie's List and Handy, and also operates Vimeo, Dotdash and The Daily Beast, among many other online businesses. Inc. After several name changes (first to HSN, Inc., then to USA Networks, Inc., USA Interactive and InterActiveCorp, and finally, to IAC/InterActiveCorp) and the completion of a number of significant corporate transactions over the years, the Company transformed itself into a leading media and Internet company. From 1997 to 2005, we acquired a number of e-commerce companies, including Ticketmaster Group, Hotel Reservations Network (later renamed Hotels.com), Expedia.com, Match.com, LendingTree, Hotwire, TripAdvisor and AskJeeves. In 2005, we completed the separation of our travel and travel\u2011related businesses and investments into an independent public company called Expedia, Inc. (now known as Expedia Group, Inc.). (now part of Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation), Ticketmaster (now part of Live Nation, Inc.) and Tree.com, Inc. From 2008 to 2014, we continued to invest in and acquire e-commerce companies, including Meetic, About.com (now known as Dotdash), Dictionary.com and Investopedia. (\"ANGI Homeservices\"), as well as acquired controlling interests in MyHammer Holding AG, HomeStars Inc. and MyBuilder Limited, leading home services platforms in Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada, respectively. Through Vimeo, we acquired VHX, a platform for premium over-the-top (OTT) subscription video channels, and Livestream Inc., a leading live video solution. In 2018, through ANGI Homeservices, we acquired Handy Technologies, Inc., a leading platform in the United States for connecting consumers looking for household services (primarily cleaning and handyman services) with top-quality, pre-screened independent service professionals. We also acquired a controlling interest in BlueCrew, an on-demand staffing platform that connects temporary workers with traditional blue-collar jobs in areas like warehouse, delivery and moving, data entry and customer service. Through Match Group, we operate a portfolio of dating brands, including Tinder, Match, PlentyOfFish, Meetic, OkCupid, OurTime, Pairs and Hinge, as well as a number of other brands, each designed to increase user likelihood of finding a meaningful connection. Through Match Group, we are a leading provider of dating products all over the world through applications and websites that we own and operate. As of December 31, 2018, there were approximately 7.9 million Average Subscribers to our dating products (calculated by summing the total number of users who purchased one of our subscription-based dating products at the end of each day in the year ended December 31, 2018, divided by the number of calendar days in such year). Dating is a highly personal endeavor and consumers have a wide variety of preferences that determine what type of dating product they choose. Our brands are collectively available in 40 languages to users all over the world. Tinder was launched in 2012, and has since risen to scale and popularity faster than any other product in the online dating category with limited marketing spend, growing to over 4.3 million subscribers today. swipe\" feature has led to significant adoption among the millennial generation, previously underserved by the online dating category. Tinder employs a freemium model, through which users can enjoy many of the core features of Tinder for free, including limited use of the \"swipe right\" feature with unlimited communication with other users. However, to enjoy premium features, such as unlimited use of the \"swipe right\" feature, a Tinder user must subscribe to either Tinder Plus, launched in early 2015, or Tinder Gold, which was launched in late summer 2017. Tinder users and subscribers may also pay for certain premium features, such as Super Likes and Boosts, on a pay-per-use basis. Match was launched in 1995 and helped create the online dating category. Among its distinguishing features are the ability to search profiles, receive algorithmic matches and attend live events (promoted by Match) with other subscribers. Additionally, new features, such as Missed Connections, which uses location-based technology to enable users to connect with other users with whom they have crossed paths in the past, engage users into more meaningful connections. Match is a brand that focuses on users with a high level of intent to enter into a relationship and its product and marketing are designed to reinforce that approach. Match relies heavily on word-of-mouth traffic, repeat usage and paid marketing. ", - "id": "15906953-4013-4d01-b5bc-9c3a033ebbe7" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to United Airlines Holdings, Inc. because it establishes a process for excluding certain articles imported from China from duties, which could affect operational costs related to importing equipment, parts, and supplies necessary for airline operations. As an airline, United may rely on imported materials and equipment that could be subject to duties, impacting its cost structure and ticket pricing.", - "index": "270", - "bill_title": "A bill to require the establishment of a process for excluding articles imported from the People's Republic of China from certain duties imposed under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Import Tax Relief Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the President to establish a process by which certain articles imported from China may be excluded from duties.\n\nSpecifically, the bill requires the creation of a process whereby U.S. entities may request that articles imported from China be excluded from duties imposed under the Trade Act of 1974. Such an exclusion must be based on a determination that the article can easily be excluded by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and that\u00a0(1) the article is not commercially available outside of China or produced at a cost-competitive price, (2) a duty on the article would increase consumer prices for everyday items consumed by low- or middle-income families in the United States, or (3) the article does not directly benefit from nonmarket-based policies of China.\n\nFurther, this exclusion applies retroactively to recently imported articles that would have been subject to a lower rate under this bill.", - "company_name": "United Airlines Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. The Company transports people and cargo through its mainline and regional operations. With key global aviation rights in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Latin America, UAL has the world\u0092s most comprehensive global route network. UAL, through United and its regional carriers, operates more than 4,500 flights a day to 338 airports across five continents, with hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport (\u0093Newark\u0094), Chicago O\u0092Hare International Airport (\u0093Chicago O\u0092Hare\u0094), The hub and spoke system allows us to transport passengers between a large number of destinations with substantially more frequent service than if each route were served directly. The 3 hub system also allows us to add service to a new destination from a large number of cities using only one or a limited number of aircraft. As discussed under Alliances below, United is a member of Star Alliance, the world\u0092s largest alliance network. The Company has contractual relationships with various regional carriers to provide regional aircraft service branded as United Express. This regional service complements our operations by carrying traffic that connects to our mainline service and allows flights to smaller cities that cannot be provided economically with mainline aircraft. Republic Airlines (\u0093Republic\u0094), Champlain Enterprises, LLC d/b/a CommutAir (\u0093CommutAir\u0094), ExpressJet Airlines (\u0093ExpressJet\u0094), GoJet Airlines (\u0093GoJet\u0094), Mesa Airlines (\u0093Mesa\u0094), SkyWest Airlines (\u0093SkyWest\u0094), Air Wisconsin Airlines (\u0093Air Wisconsin\u0094), and Trans States Airlines (\u0093Trans States\u0094) are all regional carriers that operate with capacity contracted to United under capacity purchase agreements (\u0093CPAs\u0094). Under these CPAs, the Company pays the regional carriers contractually agreed fees (carrier costs) for operating these flights plus a variable reimbursement (incentive payment for operational performance) based on agreed performance metrics, subject to annual inflation adjustments. The fees for carrier costs are based on specific rates for various operating expenses of the regional carriers, such as crew expenses, maintenance and aircraft ownership, some of which are multiplied by specific operating statistics (e.g., block hours, departures), while others are fixed monthly amounts. Under these CPAs, the Company is responsible for all fuel costs incurred, as well as landing fees and other costs, which are either passed through by the regional carrier to the Company without any markup or directly incurred by the Company. In return, the regional carriers operate this capacity exclusively for United, on schedules determined by the Company. The Company also determines pricing and revenue management, assumes the inventory and distribution risk for the available seats and permits mileage accrual and redemption for regional flights through its MileagePlus \u00ae loyalty program. United is a member of Star Alliance, a global integrated airline network and the largest and most comprehensive airline alliance in the world. As of January 1, 2018, Star Alliance carriers served 1,300 airports in 191 countries with 18,400 daily departures. Star Alliance members, in addition to United, are Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways (\u0093ANA\u0094), Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, Avianca Brasil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI Airways International and Turkish Airlines. United has a variety of bilateral commercial alliance agreements and obligations with Star Alliance members, addressing, among other things, reciprocal earning and redemption of frequent flyer miles, access to airport lounges and, with certain Star Alliance members, codesharing of flight operations (whereby one carrier\u0092s selected flights can be marketed under the brand name of another carrier). In addition to the alliance agreements with Star Alliance members, United currently maintains independent marketing alliance agreements with other air carriers, including Aeromar, Aer Lingus, Air Dolomiti, Azul, Cape Air, Eurowings, Great Lakes Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Silver Airways. In addition to the marketing alliance agreements with air partners, United also offers a train-to-plane codeshare and frequent flyer alliance with Amtrak from Newark on select city pairs in the northeastern United States. United also participates in three passenger joint ventures, one with Air Canada and the Lufthansa Group (which includes Lufthansa and its affiliates Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and SWISS) covering transatlantic routes, one with ANA covering certain transpacific routes and one with Air New Zealand covering certain routes between the United States and New Zealand. These passenger joint ventures enable the participating carriers to integrate the services they provide in the respective regions, capturing revenue synergies and delivering highly competitive flight schedules, fares and services. United has also implemented cargo joint 4 ventures with ANA for transpacific cargo services and continues to implement a cargo joint venture with Lufthansa for transatlantic cargo services. These cargo joint ventures offer expanded and more seamless access to cargo space across the carriers\u0092 respective combined networks. ", - "id": "d2004ffc-52c5-4b3c-90eb-67b527368b14" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on creating competitive integrated employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities and phasing out special certificates allowing subminimum wage payments. It is aimed at modifying employment practices within companies that employ disabled individuals. ANSYS, Inc. is an engineering simulation software company and does not primarily engage in activities related to employment practices or hiring of disabled individuals that would be impacted by the provisions of this bill. Therefore, it is not directly relevant to ANSYS, Inc.'s business model or operations.", - "index": "271", - "bill_title": "To assist employers providing employment under special certificates issued under section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to transform their business and program models, to support individuals with disabilities to transition to competitive integrated employment, to phase out the use of such special certificates, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Transformation to Competitive Employment Act\n\nThis bill addresses employment standards for individuals with disabilities.\n\nThe bill directs the Department of Labor to award grants to states and certain eligible entities to assist them in transforming their business and program models to support individuals with disabilities by\n\n operating competitive integrated employment businesses, assisting disabled individuals in finding and retaining work in such employment, and providing integrated employment and integrated community participation and wraparound services for such individuals. The bill prohibits the issuance of new special certificates that allow payment of subminimum wages to disabled individuals and phases out existing certificates over a six year period.\n\nThe bill directs the Office of Disability Employment of Labor to award grants to provide technical assistance to employers transitioning from special certificates to competitive integrated employment for disabled individuals.\n\nLabor must contract with a nonprofit entity to conduct an evaluation of the impact of the transitioning requirements of this bill.", - "company_name": "ANSYS, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS ANSYS, a Delaware corporation formed in 1994, develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services widely used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a broad spectrum of industries and academia, including aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, semiconductors, energy, materials and chemical processing, turbomachinery, consumer products, healthcare, and sports. The Company focuses on the development of open and flexible solutions that enable users to analyze designs directly on the desktop, providing a common platform for fast, efficient and cost-conscious product development, from design concept to final-stage testing and validation. The Company distributes its ANSYS\u00ae suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in strategic, global locations. ANSYS Workbench\u2122 ANSYS Workbench is the framework upon which the Company's suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The innovative project schematic view ties together the entire simulation process, guiding the user through complex multiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop simplicity. With bi-directional computer-aided design (CAD) connectivity, powerful highly-automated meshing, a project-level update mechanism, pervasive parameter management and integrated optimization tools, the ANSYS Workbench platform enables Pervasive Engineering Simulation\u2122. The Company's Workbench framework allows engineers and designers to incorporate the compounding effects of multiple physics into a virtual prototype of their design and simulate its operation under real-world conditions. As product architectures become smaller, lighter and more complex, companies must be able to accurately predict how products will behave in real-world environments where multiple types of physics interact in a coupled way. ANSYS multiphysics software enables engineers to simulate the interactions between structures, heat transfer, fluids and electronics all within a single, unified engineering simulation environment. The Company's structural analysis product suite offers simulation tools for product design and optimization that increase productivity, minimize physical prototyping and help to deliver better and more innovative products in less time. These tools tackle real-world analysis problems by making product development less costly and more reliable. In addition, these tools have capabilities that cover a broad range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities, all targeted toward understanding and solving complex design problems. The Company's fluids product suite enables modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design and optimize new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications. The Company's electronics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance of mobile communication and internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment, all prior to building a prototype. Semiconductors Advancements in semiconductor design and manufacturing enable smaller electronic architectures. Shrinking geometries, especially in the emerging 3D IC, FinFET and stacked-die architectures, reveal design challenges related to power and reliability. The Company's power analysis and optimization software suite manages the power budget, power delivery integrity and power-induced noise in an electronic design, from initial prototyping to system sign-off. These solutions deliver accuracy with correlation to silicon measurement; the capacity to handle an entire electronic system, including IC, package and PCB, efficiently for ease-of-debug and fast turnaround time; and comprehensiveness to facilitate cross-domain communications and electronic ecosystem enablement. The Company's SCADE\u00ae product suite is a comprehensive solution for embedded software simulation, code production and automated certification. It has been developed specifically for use in critical systems with high dependability requirements, including aerospace, rail transportation, nuclear, industrial and, more recently, automotive applications. SCADE software supports the entire development workflow, from requirements analysis and design, through verification, implementation and deployment. SCADE solutions easily integrate with each other and the rest of the ANSYS product suite, allowing for development optimization and increased communication among team members. ", - "id": "a3a24ca2-bfe7-4468-9862-f899ce822c4e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses human rights issues and foreign aid related to Vietnam, including monitoring of human rights practices and support for human rights affected populations. Boston Scientific Corp. is focused on medical device manufacturing and healthcare innovation rather than political or human rights advocacy, making the bill's implications largely irrelevant to their business model and activities.", - "index": "272", - "bill_title": "To advance United States national interests by prioritizing the protection of internationally recognized human rights and development of the rule of law in relations between the United States and Vietnam, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Vietnam Human Rights Act\n\nThis bill amends various reporting requirements related to foreign assistance and human rights. It also authorizes various aid programs related to Vietnam.\n\nIn its annual reports to Congress on human rights in foreign countries and U.S. security assistance programs, the Department of State shall include assessments of online freedom of expression in each country, including efforts by governments to censor information, punish individuals for their speech, and monitor communications.\n\nThe State Department's annual report on human rights in Vietnam shall include information regarding the country's progress in various areas, including with respect to ending torture and violence against religious groups and returning property improperly confiscated by the Vietnamese government.\n\nThe bill authorizes the State Department to establish programs to (1) monitor and halt sex trafficking of women from Vietnam and other Asian countries, and (2) address Vietnam's growing sex-ratio disparity. It authorizes the President to provide assistance for ethnic minority groups in Vietnam affected by human rights violations and directs the State Department to report on such efforts.", - "company_name": "Boston Scientific Corp.", - "company_description": "Our Company Boston Scientific Corporation is a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices that are used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties. Our mission is to transform lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world. As a medical technology leader for nearly 40 years, we advance science for life by providing a broad range of high performance solutions to address unmet patient needs and reduce the cost of healthcare. Our history began in the late 1960s when our co-founder, John Abele, acquired an equity interest in Medi-tech, Inc., a research and development company focused on developing alternatives to surgery. In 1969, Medi-tech introduced a family of steerable catheters used in some of the world's first less-invasive procedures. In 1979, John Abele joined with Pete Nicholas to form Boston Scientific Corporation, which indirectly acquired Medi-tech. Since then, we have advanced the practice of less-invasive medicine by helping physicians and other medical professionals diagnose and treat a wide range of diseases and medical conditions and improve patients ' quality of life by providing alternatives to surgery and other medical procedures that are typically traumatic to the body. Our growth has been fueled in part by strategic acquisitions designed to improve our ability to take advantage of growth opportunities in the medical device industry and to build depth of portfolio within our core businesses. We believe that the depth and breadth of our product portfolio has also enabled us to compete more effectively in the current healthcare environment that seeks to improve outcomes and lower costs. Our strategy of category leadership also enables us to compete in a changing, contracting landscape and position our products with physicians, managed care, large buying groups, governments and hospitals, while also expanding internationally and managing the complexities of the global healthcare market. Our research and development efforts are focused largely on the development of next-generation and novel technology offerings across multiple programs and divisions. In 2018 , our products were offered for sale by seven core businesses: Interventional Cardiology, Cardiac Rhythm Management, Endoscopy, Urology and Pelvic Health, Peripheral Interventions, Neuromodulation and Electrophysiology. 20 percent from our Cardiac Rhythm Management business, 18 percent from our Endoscopy business, 13 percent from our Urology and Pelvic Health business, 12 percent from our Peripheral Interventions business, eight percent from our Neuromodulation business and three percent from our Electrophysiology business. Effective January 1, 2018, following organizational changes to align the structure of our business with our focus on active implantable devices, we revised our reportable segments, in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Our Endoscopy business develops and manufactures devices to diagnose and treat a broad range of gastrointestinal (GI) and pulmonary conditions with innovative, less invasive technologies. Our product offerings include: \u2022 our SpyGlass\u2122 DS System, which brings digital imaging, a wider field of view and a simpler set-up (compared to our legacy SpyGlass System), thus enabling cholangioscopy to play a greater role in the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatico-biliary diseases, \u2022 our Resolution 360\u2122 Clip, a hemostatic clipping technology designed to stop and help prevent bleeding during endoscopic procedures, \u2022 our Epic\u2122 Biliary Endoscopic Stent System, indicated for the palliation of malignant strictures, is our first laser cut self-expanding metal stent and complements our braided metal stent portfolio, \u2122 Endoscopic Ultrasound Fine Needle Biopsy Device, which is designed to obtain larger tissue specimens for histological assessment and is useful when diagnosing diseases such as pancreatic cancer, liver cancer and stomach lesions, \u2022 our AXIOS\u2122 Stent and Electrocautery Enhanced Delivery System, the first, and currently only, stent in the U.S. indicated for endoscopic drainage of pancreatic pseudocysts, \u2022 our infection prevention portfolio, which includes a customizable Compliance EndoKit\u2122 and single-use Orca\u2122 Valves, designed to minimize the risk of infection transmission and improve operational efficiencies by streamlining manual cleaning or eliminating the need for cleaning and tracking, and \u2122 Tissue Retractor System, designed to enable tissue retraction and countertraction during en bloc colonic tissue resection procedures and ORISE\u2122 Gel, designed to be used for submucosal lift of polyps, adenomas, early-stage cancers or other gastrointestinal mucosal lesions prior to excision with a snare or other endoscopic device. Our Urology and Pelvic Health business develops and manufactures devices to treat various urological and pelvic conditions for both male and female anatomies, including kidney stones, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction, male incontinence, pelvic floor disorders, abnormal uterine bleeding and uterine fibroids and polyps.", - "id": "e5b69f70-578c-4004-b97b-fd5e23728e36" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill addresses discrimination and required services for individuals with disabilities, particularly in the context of healthcare and community services rather than water, environment, and engineering solutions, which are the primary focus of Tetra Tech, Inc. As such, it is not directly relevant to the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "273", - "bill_title": "A bill to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities who need long-term services and supports, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Disability Integration Act of 2019\n\nThis bill prohibits government entities and insurance providers from denying community-based services to individuals with disabilities that require long-term service or support that would enable such individuals to live in the community and lead an independent life.\n\nSpecifically, these entities may not discriminate against such individuals in the provision of community-based services by such actions as imposing prohibited eligibility criteria, cost caps, or waiting lists or failing to provide a specific community-based service. Additionally, community-based services must be offered to individuals with such disabilities prior to institutionalization. Institutionalized individuals must be notified regularly of community-based alternatives.\n\nThe bill requires the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue regulations requiring government entities and insurance providers to offer community-based long-term services to individuals with such disabilities who would otherwise qualify for institutional placement. Government entities must ensure sufficient availability of affordable, accessible, and integrated housing that is not a disability-specific residential setting or a setting where services are tied to tenancy.\n\nRegulations shall also (1) require government entities and insurance providers to perform self-evaluation on current services, policies, and practices and concerning compliance with requirements of this bill; and (2) require government entities to submit a transition plan. HHS must determine annually whether each government entity is complying with the transition plan and must increase funding for those in compliance.\n\nThe bill allows civil actions by individuals subjected to, or about to be subjected to, a violation of its requirements.", - "company_name": "Tetra Tech, Inc.", - "company_description": "Tetra Tech, Inc. is a leading global provider of consulting and engineering services that focuses on water, environment, infrastructure, resource management, energy, and international development. We are a global company that leads with science and is renowned for our expertise in providing water-related solutions for public and private clients. We typically begin at the earliest stage of a project by identifying technical solutions and developing execution plans tailored to our clients' needs and resources. Our solutions may span the entire life cycle of consulting and engineering projects and include applied science, data analytics, research, engineering, design, construction management, and operations and maintenance. Engineering News-Record (\"ENR\"), the leading trade journal for our industry, has ranked us the number one water services firm for the past 15 years, most recently in its May 2018 \" In 2018, Tetra Tech was also ranked number one in water treatment/desalination, water treatment and supply, environmental management, environmental science, consulting/studies, solid waste, hydro plants, and wind power. ENR ranks Tetra Tech among the largest 10 firms in numerous other service lines, including engineering/design, chemical and soil remediation, site assessment and compliance, dams/reservoirs, power transmission and distribution, and hazardous waste. Our reputation for high-end consulting and engineering services and our ability to apply our skills to develop solutions for water and environmental management has supported our growth for over 50 years since the founding of our predecessor company. By combining ingenuity and practical experience, we have helped to advance sustainable solutions for managing water, protecting the environment, providing energy, and engineering the infrastructure for our cities and communities. Our mission is to be the premier worldwide consulting and engineering firm, focusing on water, environment, infrastructure, resource management, energy, and international development services. needs and deliver smart, cost-effective solutions that meet their needs. We develop and implement sustainable solutions that are innovative, efficient and practical. We bring superior technical capability, disciplined project management, and excellence in safety and quality to all of our services. Opportunity means new technical challenges that provide advancement within our company, encourage a diverse workforce, and ensure a safe workplace. Our approach is to Lead with Science\u00ae and provide high-end solutions Since our inception, we have provided innovative consulting and engineering services, with a focus on providing solutions that integrate innovation with practical experience. Adaptation of emerging science and technology in the development of high-end consulting and engineering solutions is central to our approach to Leading with Science We believe that proximity to our clients is also instrumental to integrating global experience and resources with an understanding of our local clients' needs. Over the past year, we worked in over 100 countries, helping government and private sector clients address complex water, environment, energy and related infrastructure needs. Institutional knowledge is often a significant factor in providing competitive proposals and cost-effective solutions tailored to our clients' These might be a new water reuse technology, a unique solution to addressing new regulatory requirements, a new monitoring approach for assessing infrastructure assets or a computer model for real time management of water resources. We are constantly evolving and adding to our intellectual property, including a wide range of computer models, algorithms, analytical software, and environmental treatment approaches and instrumentation, often in collaboration with our forward-thinking clients. Bringing our one-of-a-kind solutions to real world problems is a differentiator in expanding our services and growing our business. Complex projects for the public and private sectors, at the leading edge of policy and technology development, often require innovative solutions that combine multiple aspects of our interdisciplinary capabilities, technical resources and institutional knowledge. Our strategy leverages our five differentiators to drive growth in our water, environment, infrastructure, resource management, energy, and international development markets.", - "id": "1d0baee8-9e71-47b7-8e41-fe9c35008da3" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on the importation of prescription drugs, which pertains primarily to pharmaceutical distribution and retail sectors. Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc specializes in cell therapies and clinical trials for cancer treatments, not in the importation or distribution of prescription medications. Thus, this bill is not relevant to their business model or activities.", - "index": "274", - "bill_title": "To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to allow for the importation of affordable and safe drugs by wholesale distributors, pharmacies, and individuals.", - "bill_summary": "Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act\n\nThis bill addresses the importation of drugs from Canada and other foreign countries.\n\nThe bill requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to promulgate regulations within 180 days permitting wholesalers, pharmacies, and individuals to import certain prescription drugs from Canada. After two years, The FDA, may permit the importation of prescription drugs from other countries.\n\nThe bill establishes a process for certifying foreign sellers\u2014a licensed foreign pharmacy or foreign wholesale distributor.", - "company_name": "Adaptimmune Therapeutics Plc", - "company_description": "We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on providing novel cell therapies to patients, particularly in solid tumors. (Specific Peptide Enhanced Affinity Receptor) T-cell platform enables us to identify cancer targets, find and genetically engineer T-cell receptors (\u0093TCRs\u0094), and produce therapeutic candidates for administration to patients. Using our affinity engineered TCRs, we aim to become a fully integrated cell therapy company and to be the first company to have a TCR T-cell approved for a solid tumor indication. We have four SPEAR T-cells in clinical trials, MAGE-A10, MAGE-A4, AFP and NY-ESO. Phase 1/2 clinical trials are ongoing in patients with various cancer tumor types including urothelial, melanoma, head and neck, ovarian, esophageal, gastric, multiple myeloma, hepatocellular cancers and in synovial sarcoma, myxoid round cell liposarcoma (\u0093MRCLS\u0094) and non small cell lung cancer (\u0093NSCLC\u0094). Our MAGE-A10 SPEAR T-cells have shown promising tolerability profiles with no evidence of off-target toxicities observed. The MAGE-A10 triple tumor study dose escalation to 1 billion transduced cells, which is the dose previously observed to provide responses with our NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell, has been recommended by the Safety Review Committee (\u0093SRC\u0094). In the MAGE-A10 NSCLC study, the SRC has recommended modification of the protocol to permit escalation of the patient dose to 1 billion transduced cells with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide preconditioning in the next treatment cohort. In the MAGE-A4 trial patient enrollment has started in bladder, melanoma, head and neck, ovarian, NSCLC, esophageal and gastric cancers. Our NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell has shown promising initial results in clinical trials with a 50% response rate and a median projected overall survival of 120 weeks (~28 months) in Cohort 1 of synovial sarcoma (a solid tumor) and 76% overall response rate at day 100 in multiple myeloma. We have also now seen three partial responses (two confirmed and one to be confirmed) and one stable disease in the first four patients dosed in a second solid tumor indication, MRCLS. Our NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell therapy has breakthrough therapy designation in the United States and has also received orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (\u0093FDA\u0094), and European Commission for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma. The European Medicines Agency (\u0093EMA\u0094) has also granted PRIME regulatory access for our NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell therapy for the synovial sarcoma indication. In September 2017, GlaxoSmithKline (\u0093GSK\u0094) exercised its option to obtain an exclusive global license to the NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell program. Upon transition of the NY-ESO program to GSK which is anticipated to occur during 2018, GSK will assume full responsibility for all development, manufacturing and commercialization activities for the NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell including progression of the SPEAR T-cell into further clinical trials. In January 2018, we announced that we had successfully manufactured the first SPEAR T-cells for a patient at our Navy Yard facility in Philadelphia. We intend to use the facility to manufacture SPEAR T-cells for all three of our wholly owned programs. In addition in January 2018 we also announced an agreement with Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult for vector production in the U.K., which is intended to ensure vector supply for our ongoing and future clinical studies. Our SPEAR T-cell platform is being utilized with the aim of maximizing both patient and disease indication coverage in a number of different ways. \u00b7 We are using our platform to identify and validate cancer targets for development of SPEAR T-cells in multiple indications. As a result, we are developing multiple SPEAR T-cells to different target antigens within selected disease indications to increase treatment potential for any given disease. For example the NY-ESO-1, MAGE-A4 and MAGE-A10 SPEAR T-cells address targets expressed in NSCLC, melanoma, urothelial (bladder) cancers and head and neck cancers, with each of these indications being addressed by at least two of the SPEAR T-cells. \u00b7 We are also developing SPEAR T-cells directed to targets which are closely related to a specific disease indication. Further targets closely associated with other cancers are also being validated. 1 \u00b7 Finally, we are identifying peptides to different Human Leukocyte Antigen (\u0093HLA\u0094) types ensuring that for any given target, for example NY-ESO, MAGE-A10, MAGE-A4 or AFP, we can address patient populations with different HLA types. ", - "id": "31e3f1fb-5b4d-4525-a8b3-7555ea80924a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill amends the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, expanding privacy protections for minors, which could impact Ralph Lauren Corp. as they engage in digital commerce that may include minors. Given their extensive digital sales operations and likely target demographics, the legal requirements for consent and data collection outlined in the bill would be relevant to ensure compliance and avoid potential legal repercussions.", - "index": "275", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 to strengthen protections relating to the online collection, use, and disclosure of personal information of children and minors, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "This bill extends to minors (ages 12\u201316) privacy protections previously applicable only to children (ages 0\u201312) and otherwise establishes greater online privacy protections for children and minors.\n\nSpecifically, the bill prohibits an operator of a website, online service, online application, or mobile application directed to a child or minor with constructive knowledge the user is a child or minor from collecting the user's personal information without\n\n providing notice and obtaining consent, providing a parent or minor with certain information upon request, conditioning participation by a user on the provision of personal information, establishing and maintaining reasonable procedures to protect the personal information collected from users. The bill also prohibits targeted marketing directed to a child or directed to a minor without the minor's consent.\n\nThe bill further outlines a set of principles governing how operators should collect and use personal information, as well as provide information to a parent or minor. A parent or minor must be able to challenge the accuracy of personal information, and an operator must provide for the erasure or correction of inaccurate personal information. Operators must also implement mechanisms for the erasure or elimination of personal information at the request of users and make users aware of such mechanisms.\n\nMoreover, the bill prohibits the sale of internet-connected devices targeted to children and minors unless they meet certain cybersecurity and data security standards, and it requires manufacturers of such devices to display a privacy dashboard detailing how personal information is collected and used.", - "company_name": "Ralph Lauren Corp.", - "company_description": "General Founded in 1967 by Mr. Ralph Lauren, we are a global leader in the design, marketing, and distribution of premium lifestyle products, including apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and other licensed product categories. Our long-standing reputation and distinctive image have been developed across an expanding number of products, brands, sales channels, and international markets. We believe that our global reach, breadth of product offerings, and multi-channel distribution are unique among luxury and apparel companies. Our wholesale sales are made principally to major department stores and specialty stores around the world. We also sell directly to consumers through our integrated retail channel, which includes our retail stores, concession-based shop-within-shops, and digital commerce operations around the world. In addition, we license to unrelated third parties for specified periods the right to operate retail stores and/or to use our various trademarks in connection with the manufacture and sale of designated products, such as certain apparel, eyewear, fragrances, and home furnishings. In addition to these reportable segments, we also have other non-reportable segments. Our global reach is extensive, with merchandise available through our wholesale distribution channels at over 12,000 doors worldwide, the majority in specialty stores, as well as through the digital commerce sites of many of our wholesale customers. We also sell directly to customers throughout the world via our 472 retail stores and 632 concession-based shop-within-shops, as well as through our own digital commerce sites and those of various third-party digital partners. In addition to our directly-operated stores and shops, our international licensing partners operate 88 Ralph Lauren concession shops, and 136 Club Monaco stores and shops. We believe that our size and the global scope of our operations provide us with design, sourcing, and distribution synergies across our different businesses. Our core strengths include a portfolio of global premium lifestyle brands, a well-diversified global multi-channel distribution network, an investment philosophy supported by a strong balance sheet, and an experienced management team. We have developed a long-term growth strategy with the objective of delivering sustainable, profitable growth and long-term value creation for shareholders. Our strategy includes the following key strategic initiatives: \u2022 Elevating our brand through improved quality of sales, distribution, and product; \u2022 Evolving product, marketing, and shopping experience to increase reach and appeal with new consumers; \u2022 Expanding our digital and international presence; and \u2022 On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law new tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the \"TCJA\"), which became effective January 1, 2018. The TCJA significantly revised U.S. tax law by, among other provisions, lowering the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate from 35% to 21%, creating a territorial tax system that includes a one-time mandatory transition tax on previously deferred foreign earnings, and eliminating or reducing certain income tax deductions. We are refocusing on our core brands and evolving our product, marketing, and shopping experience to increase desirability and relevance. We are also evolving our operating model to enable sustainable, profitable sales growth by significantly improving quality of sales, reducing supply chain lead times, improving our sourcing, and executing a disciplined multi-channel distribution and expansion strategy. The Way Forward Plan includes strengthening our leadership team and creating a more nimble organization by moving from an average of nine to six layers of management. The Way Forward Plan also includes the discontinuance of our Denim & Supply brand and the integration of our denim product offerings into our Polo Ralph Lauren brand. Collectively, these actions, which were substantially completed during Fiscal 2017, resulted in a reduction in workforce and the closure of certain stores and shop-within-shops, as well as gross annualized expense savings of approximately $200 million. (i) the restructuring of our in-house global digital commerce platform which was in development and shifting to a more cost-effective, flexible platform through a new agreement with Salesforce's Commerce Cloud, formerly known as Demandware; (ii) the closure of our Polo store at 711 Fifth Avenue in New York City; and (iii) the further streamlining of the organization and the execution of other key corporate actions in line with the Way Forward Plan.", - "id": "3433a571-ab54-435d-931b-2e67f165c84e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. because it regulates the use of facial recognition technology, which could impact their video monitoring and security solutions. The company must ensure compliance with the bill's requirements for consent and data usage regarding facial recognition, thus influencing their business operations.", - "index": "276", - "bill_title": "A bill to prohibit certain entities from using facial recognition technology to identify or track an end user without obtaining the affirmative consent of the end user, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Commercial Facial Recognition Privacy Act of 2019 This bill prohibits entities from collecting, processing, storing, or controlling facial recognition data unless such entities (1) provide documentation that explains the capabilities and limitations of facial-recognition technology, and (2) obtain explicit affirmative consent from end users to use such technology after providing notice about the reasonably foreseeable uses of the collected facial-recognition data. Facial-recognition data includes attributes or features of the face that permit facial-recognition technology to uniquely and consistently identify a specific individual. Controllers of facial recognition data also are prohibited from (1) using such data to discriminate against end users, (2) using such data for a purpose that is not reasonably foreseeable to the end user, (3) sharing such data with a third party without the additional affirmative consent of the end user, or (4) conditioning the use of a product on an end user providing affirmative consent.", - "company_name": "Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview Alarm.com is the leading platform for the intelligently connected property. We offer a comprehensive suite of cloud-based solutions for smart residential and commercial properties, including interactive security, video monitoring, intelligent automation, energy management and wellness solutions. Millions of property owners depend on our technology to intelligently secure, monitor and manage their residential and commercial properties. In the last year alone, our platforms processed more than 200 billion data points generated by over 90 million connected devices. We believe that this scale of subscribers, connected devices and data operations makes us the leader in the connected property market. Our solutions are delivered through an established network of over 8,000 trusted service providers, who are experts at selling, installing and supporting our solutions. We primarily generate Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS, and license revenue through our service provider partners, who resell these services and pay us monthly fees. We also generate hardware and other revenue, primarily from our service provider partners and distributors. Our hardware sales include connected devices that enable our services, such as video cameras, gateway modules and smart thermostats. We enter into contracts with our service provider partners that establish pricing for access to our platform solutions and for the sale of hardware. These contracts typically have an initial term of one year, with subsequent renewal terms of one year. Our service provider partners typically enter into contracts with our subscribers, which our service provider partners have indicated range from three to five years in length. Our service provider partners are free to market and sell our products under their own guidelines at prices to the consumer that they establish independently. We believe that the length of the service relationship with residential and commercial property owners, combined with our robust SaaS platforms and over 15 years of operating experience, contribute to a compelling business model. See footnote 4 to the table contained in the section of this Annual Report titled \" Selected Financial Data \" for a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income, the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP. Our technology platforms are designed to make connected properties safer, smarter and more efficient. Our solutions are used in both smart residential and commercial properties, which we refer to as the connected property market and we have designed our technology platforms for all market participants. This includes not only the residential and commercial property owners who subscribe to our services, but also the hardware partners who manufacture devices that integrate with our platforms and the service provider partners who install and maintain our solutions. Our service provider partners can deploy our interactive security, video monitoring, intelligent automation and energy management solutions as stand-alone offerings or as combined solutions to address the needs of a broad range of customers. Our technology enables subscribers to seamlessly connect to their property through our family of mobile apps, websites, and new engagement platforms like voice control through Amazon Echo and Google Home, wearable devices like the Apple Watch, and TV platforms such as Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. Subscriber Solutions Interactive Security Interactive security is the entry point for most of our smart home and business subscribers. Our dedicated, two-way cellular connection between the property and our platforms is designed to be tamper resistant and to meet the high reliability standards for life safety services. Our solution integrates monitoring 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with emergency response through trusted and integrated central monitoring stations. Subscribers can use our services to control and monitor their security systems, as well as connected security devices including motion sensors, door locks, garage doors, thermostats and video cameras. The capabilities associated with this solution include: 3 \u25e6 ", - "id": "4c1ebd31-bf68-4296-95b9-9ae30151ce13" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill restricts funding for missile systems linked to the INF Treaty, which directly impacts AeroVironment's business of supplying unmanned aircraft systems and tactical missile systems to the U.S. Department of Defense and allied nations. Given that the company's offerings include products related to tactical missile systems, the legal consequences of potential funding restrictions are significantly relevant to their business model and operations.", - "index": "277", - "bill_title": "To prevent a nuclear arms race resulting from weakened international restrictions on the proliferation of intermediate- and short-range missiles, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Prevention of Arms Race Act of 2019\n\nThis bill restricts the appropriation of funds for the procurement, flight testing, or deployment of missiles banned by the Treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty). Before such funds may be appropriated, the Department of Defense shall submit a report to Congress that includes\u00a0(1) a memorandum of understanding from a North Atlantic Treaty Organization or Indo-Pacific ally committing to hosting the deployment of such a missile, (2) confirmation that the United States has not rejected any diplomatic offer to resolve Russia's violation of the INF Treaty, (3) discussion of the ramifications of a collapse of the treaty and of a U.S. withdrawal from the agreement, (4) discussion of\u00a0the mission requirements with respect to Russia and China that would be met by weapons systems covered by the INF, and (5) discussion of the degree to which INF-compliant weapons can meet such mission requirements.", - "company_name": "AeroVironment, Inc.", - "company_description": "each party's compliance with its covenants and agreements contained in the Purchase Agreement (subject to customary materiality qualifiers), (iii) the execution by the parties of certain ancillary agreements and (iv) other customary closing conditions. As of April 30, 2018, we determined that the EES Business met the criterion for classification as an asset held for sale and represents a strategic shift in in our operations. We design, develop, produce, support and operate a technologically\u2011advanced portfolio of products and services for government agencies and businesses. We supply unmanned aircraft systems (\"UAS\") and related services primarily to organizations within the U.S. Department of Defense (\"DoD\") and to international allied governments, and tactical missile systems and related services to organizations within the U.S. Government. Our success with current products and services stems from our investment in research and development and our ability to invent and deliver advanced solutions, utilizing proprietary and commercially available technologies, to help our government, commercial and consumer customers operate more effectively and efficiently. We develop these highly innovative solutions by working very closely with our key customers to solve their most important challenges related to our areas of expertise. Our core technological capabilities, developed through more than 45 years of innovation, include lightweight aerostructures; power electronics; electric propulsion systems; efficient electric power conversion, and storage systems; high\u2011density energy packaging; miniaturization; digital data links (\"DDL\"); sensors; controls integration; systems integration; engineering optimization; vertical takeoff fixed wing flight and autonomy, each coupled with professional field service capabilities. Our UAS business focuses primarily on the design, development, production, marketing, support and operation of innovative UAS and tactical missile systems and the delivery of UAS\u2011related services that provide situational awareness, remote sensing, multi\u2011band communications, force protection and other information and mission effects to increase the safety and effectiveness of our customers' operations. As a technology solutions provider, our strategy is to develop innovative, safe and reliable new solutions that provide customers with valuable benefits and enable us to create new markets or market segments, gain market share and grow as market adoption increases. We believe that by introducing new solutions that provide customers with compelling value we are able to create new markets or market segments and then grow our positions within those 3 markets or market segments profitably, instead of entering existing markets and competing directly against large, incumbent competitors that may possess advantages in scope, scale, resources and relationships. We intend to grow our business by preserving a leadership position in the UAS and tactical missile system markets, and by creating new solutions that enable us to create and establish leadership positions in new markets. Our small UAS and tactical missile systems enjoy leading positions in their respective markets. We intend to increase the penetration of our small UAS products and services within the U.S. military, the military forces of allied nations, other government agencies and non\u2011government organizations, including commercial entities, and to increase the penetration of our tactical missile systems within the U.S. military and allied nations. We believe that the broad adoption of our small UAS by the U.S. military will continue to spur demand by allied nations, and that our efforts to pursue new applications are creating opportunities beyond the early adopter military market. Deliver innovative new solutions for existing and new markets. Customer\u2011focused innovation is the primary driver of our growth. We view strategic partnerships as a means by which to further the reach of our innovative solutions through access to new markets, customers and complementary capabilities. Our company culture encourages innovation and an entrepreneurial spirit, which helps to attract and retain highly\u2011skilled professionals. A core component of our culture is our intent to demonstrate trust and integrity in all of our interactions, contributing to a positive work environment and engendering loyalty among our employees and customers. We respond rapidly to evolving markets, solve complicated customer problems, and strive to deliver new products, services and capabilities quickly, efficiently and affordably relative to available alternatives. Effectively manage our growth portfolio for long\u2011term value creation. Our production and development programs and services position us for investment opportunities that we believe will deliver long\u2011term growth by providing our customers with valuable new capabilities. We sell the majority of our UAS and services to organizations within the DoD, including the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Special Operations Command, Air Force and Navy, and increasingly to allied governments. We sell our tactical missile systems to organizations within the U.S. government. We also develop High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (\"HAPS\") systems for a commercial customer based in Japan. ", - "id": "065ceed0-f1c5-4faf-a301-796ea92ab4e1" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Pipeline Fairness and Transparency Act addresses eminent domain and environmental reviews specifically related to interstate natural gas pipelines. These issues are directly relevant to Alta Mesa Resources, which is involved in natural gas production and midstream operations including gas gathering and processing. Therefore, changes to regulations affecting pipeline construction and operation would impact their business activities.", - "index": "278", - "bill_title": "To amend the Natural Gas Act to bolster fairness and transparency in consideration of interstate natural gas pipelines, to provide for greater public input opportunities, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Pipeline Fairness and Transparency Act\n\nThis bill addresses eminent domain, environmental review for interstate natural gas pipeline projects, and the visual impacts of natural gas pipeline projects on national scenic trails.\n\nThe bill revises the process for environmental reviews of natural gas projects. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)must prepare a supplement to a draft or final environmental impact statement if (1)FERC makes a substantial change in the proposed action that is relevant to environmental concerns, or (2) there are significant new circumstances relevant to environmental concerns.FERC must also hold public meetings in each county (or equivalent subdivision) in which a project is to be located.\n\nAdditionally, in an environmental impact statement, an evaluation of the visual impacts of a project on a national scenic trail must include a cumulative analysis of the visual impacts of the project and similar proposed projects.", - "company_name": "Alta Mesa Resources Inc", - "company_description": "We were originally formed in November 2016 as a special purpose acquisition company under the name Silver Run Acquisition Corporation II for the purpose of effecting an initial business combination. Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we completed the private sale of 15,133,333 warrants (the \u0093Private Placement Warrants\u0094) to Silver Run Sponsor II, LLC (the \u0093Sponsor\u0094) generating gross proceeds to us of $22,700,000. A total of $1.035 billion (including approximately $36.2 million in deferred underwriting commissions to the underwriters of the IPO), which represents $1.0143 billion of the proceeds from the IPO after deducting upfront underwriting commissions of $20.7 million, and the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were placed in the Trust Account (the \u0093Trust Account\u0094) to be used to fund an initial business combination. \u00b7 SRII Opco distributed to the Kingfisher Contributor cash in the amount of approximately $814.8 million in partial payment for the ownership interests in Kingfisher contributed by the Kingfisher Contributor; and \u00b7 SRII Opco entered into a voting agreement with the owners of the remaining 10% voting interests in Alta Mesa GP whereby such other owners agreed to vote their interests in Alta Mesa GP as directed by SRII Opco. Following the completion of the Business Combination, the size of our board of directors was expanded from four directors to 11, including one director appointed by Bayou City and its affiliates, one director appointed by HPS and its affiliates and two directors appointed by AM Management and its affiliates, as the holders of our Series A Preferred Stock, and three directors appointed by the Riverstone Contributor and its affiliates, as the holder of our Series B Preferred Stock. Founded in 1987, Alta Mesa, the predecessor to our E & P Business, was an independent exploration and production company focused on the development and acquisition of unconventional oil and natural gas reserves in the eastern portion of the Anadarko Basin referred to as the STACK. The STACK is an acronym describing both its location\u0097Sooner Trend Anadarko Basin Canadian and Kingfisher County\u0097and the multiple, stacked productive formations present in the area. The STACK is a prolific hydrocarbon system with high oil and liquids-rich natural gas content, multiple horizontal target horizons, extensive production history and historically high drilling success rates. As of December 31, 2017, we had assembled a highly contiguous position of approximately 130,000 net acres largely in the up-dip, naturally-fractured oil portion of the STACK in eastern Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. Our drilling locations are in our primary target formations comprised of the Osage, Meramec and Oswego. We are currently operating seven horizontal drilling rigs in the STACK with plans to increase that number of rigs to eight at the end of 2018. Our Midstream Business was started by Kingfisher on January 30, 2015 for the purpose of acquiring, developing and operating midstream oil and gas assets. We primarily focus on providing crude oil gathering, gas gathering and processing and marketing to producers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and condensate in the STACK play. Our midstream energy asset network includes approximately 308 miles of existing low and high pressure pipelines, a 60 MMcf/d cryogenic natural gas processing plant, 10 MMcf/d in offtake processing, compression facilities, crude storage, NGL storage and purchasing and marketing capabilities. Our goal is to build a premier development and acquisition company focused on horizontal drilling and gas gathering in the STACK. As an emerging growth company, we may, for up to five years, take advantage of specified exemptions from reporting and other regulatory requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. the date on which we are deemed to be a \u0093large accelerated filer,\u0094 as defined in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the \u0093Exchange Act\u0094).", - "id": "c00d2e17-e0b7-4f73-bd4e-5f7243beadba" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Aegion Corp. because it involves infrastructure projects related to the construction and maintenance of diplomatic posts (embassies and consulates). Aegion specializes in maintaining and rehabilitating infrastructure, including pipelines, which aligns with the requirements outlined in the bill for improved construction and performance evaluation by the State Department. The company's expertise in infrastructure protection, along with its focus on innovative construction methods and reporting requirements, suggests that it could play a key role in complying with the new regulations and fulfilling project needs related to the bill.", - "index": "279", - "bill_title": "To improve the design and construction of diplomatic posts, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Improving Embassy Design and Security Act\n\nThis bill amends procedures related to Department of State overseas construction to reduce costs.\n\nFor any new embassy or consulate compound construction projects, the State Department may use a non-standard design only after consulting Congress. The State Department shall justify the choice to use such a design and provide documentation of the full lifecycle costs and the project's completion date, compared to the project if it used a standard design.\n\nThe State Department shall report to Congress quarterly on overseas capital construction projects; currently it is required to report annually on embassy construction costs. The bill also expands the required information for such reports, including the value of all requests to adjust the contract amount (such as a request for equitable adjustment or a certified claim).\n\nThe bill also directs the State Department to complete all contractor performance evaluations by October 1, 2021.\n\nThe State Department shall use the design-build project delivery method (where a single firm is responsible for both designing and construction) for all diplomatic posts and shall notify Congress if it seeks to use a different method for a project.\n\nThe bill directs the State Department to report to Congress on various topics, including a six-year Long-Range Overseas Building Plan, a Long-Range Overseas Maintenance Plan, and a report detailing steps to expand the embassy construction contractor base to increase competition.", - "company_name": "Aegion Corp.", - "company_description": "Aegion combines innovative technologies with market leading expertise to maintain, rehabilitate and strengthen pipelines and other infrastructure around the world. Since 1971, we have played a pioneering role in finding transformational solutions to rehabilitate aging infrastructure, primarily pipelines in the wastewater, water, energy, mining and refining industries. We also maintain the efficient operation of refineries and other industrial facilities and provide innovative solutions for the strengthening of buildings, bridges and other structures. We believe the depth and breadth of our products and services make us a leading provider for the world's infrastructure rehabilitation and protection needs. Our Company premise is to use technology to extend the structural design life and maintain, if not improve, the performance of infrastructure, mostly related to pipelines and piping systems. We have proved this expertise can be applied in a variety of markets to protect pipelines in oil, gas, nuclear, mining, wastewater and water applications and can be extended to the rehabilitation and maintenance of commercial structures and the provision of professional services in energy-related industries. Many types of infrastructure must be protected from the corrosive and abrasive materials that pass through or near them. Our expertise in non-disruptive corrosion engineering and abrasion protection is wide-ranging. We manufacture many of the engineered solutions we offer to customers as well as the specialized equipment required to install them. Finally, decades of experience give us an advantage in understanding municipal, energy, mining, industrial and commercial customers. CIPP process served as the first trenchless technology for rehabilitating wastewater pipelines and has enabled municipalities and private industry to avoid the extraordinary expense and extreme disruption that can result from conventional \"dig-and-replace\" methods. We have maintained our leadership position in the CIPP market from manufacturing to technological innovations and market share for over 45 years. We embarked on a diversification strategy in 2009 to expand not only our geographic reach but also our product and service portfolio into the oil and gas markets. Through a series of strategic initiatives and key acquisitions, we possess a broad portfolio of cost-effective solutions for rehabilitating and maintaining aging or deteriorating infrastructure, protecting new infrastructure from corrosion and providing integrated professional services in engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance and turnaround services for oil companies, primarily in the downstream market. Today, our long-term strategy is to invest in our core end markets for organic growth and acquire innovative technologies to enhance our competitive position. We have three operating segments, which are also our reportable segments: Infrastructure Solutions, Corrosion Protection and Energy Services. The majority of our work is performed in the municipal water and wastewater pipeline sector and, while the pace of growth is primarily driven by government funding and spending, overall demand due to required infrastructure improvements in our core markets should result in a long-term stable growth opportunity for our market leading products, Insituform\u00ae Corrosion Protection is positioned to capture the benefits of continued oil and natural gas pipeline infrastructure developments across North America and internationally, as producers and midstream pipeline companies transport their product from onshore and offshore oil and gas fields to regional demand centers both domestically and internationally. The segment has a broad portfolio of technologies, products and services to protect, maintain, rehabilitate, assess and monitor pipelines from the effects of corrosion, including cathodic protection, interior pipe linings, interior and exterior pipe coatings and insulation, as well as an increasing offering of inspection and repair capabilities. We provide solutions to customers to enhance the safety, environmental integrity, reliability and compliance of their pipelines in the oil and gas markets. We offer a unique value proposition based on our world-class safety and labor productivity programs, which allow us to provide cost-effective construction, maintenance, turnaround and specialty services at customers' refineries, chemical and other industrial facilities. We understand the demands and the level of critical planning required to ensure a successful turnaround or shutdown and offer a full range of services as part of our facility maintenance solutions, while maintaining a reputation for being safe and professional and providing predictable value. We are committed to being a valued partner to our customers, with a constant focus on expanding those relationships by solving complex infrastructure problems, enhancing our capabilities and improving execution while also developing or acquiring innovative technologies and comprehensive services. The fundamental driver in the global municipal pipeline rehabilitation market is the growing gap between the need and current spend. While we do not expect the spending gap to close any time soon, the increasing need for pipeline rehabilitation supports a long-term sustainable market for the technologies and services offered by our Infrastructure Solutions segment.", - "id": "72c35252-b46c-4936-8932-0a763fa74afe" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on defense, military assistance, and sanctions related to Israel, Jordan, and Syria, none of which directly impacts Acacia Communications, Inc.'s business model centered on high-speed optical interconnect products for communications networks. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill are not relevant to the company's operations.", - "index": "280", - "bill_title": "A bill to make improvements to certain defense and security assistance provisions and to authorize the appropriation of funds to Israel, to reauthorize the United States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act of 2015, and to halt the wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act of 2019\n\nThis bill authorizes assistance and weapons transfers to Israel, extends defense cooperation with Jordan, establishes additional sanctions related to the conflict in Syria, and allows states to divest from entities boycotting Israel.\n\nIleana Ros-Lehtinen United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2019\n\nThe bill reauthorizes through\u00a0FY2028 Foreign Military Financing to Israel. It extends loan guarantees to Israel through FY2023 and authorizes the President to transfer precision-guided munitions to the country.\n\nThe bill\u00a0directs the President to report on steps taken to help Israel secure a strategic trade authorization exception.\n\nThe bill directs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to continue working with the Israel Space Agency to pursue peaceful space exploration, and authorizes the Department of State to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Israel to coordinate assistance efforts for developing nations.\n\nThe President is authorized to enter into a cooperative project agreement with Israel to develop technology to counter unmanned aerial vehicles.\n\nUnited States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Extension Act\n\nThe bill\u00a0extends through 2022 arrangements that allow certain defense articles to be transferred to Jordan on an expedited basis. The bill\u00a0also directs the President to submit a report to Congress assessing the costs and benefits of establishing a fund to support private investment in Jordan.\n\nCaesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019\n\nThe bill\u00a0directs the Department of the Treasury to determine whether the Central Bank of Syria is a primary money-laundering concern and, if so, impose special measures on transactions involving the bank. The bill also imposes sanctions on foreign individuals providing support for the Syrian government, or the military forces or contractors acting on behalf of Syria, Russia, or Iran.\n\nThe sanctions include blocking of financial and property transactions and barring of entry into the United States. Such sanctions shall not apply to various nongovernmental organizations and activities related to providing humanitarian aid or supporting democratic institutions in Syria.\n\nThe President may suspend the sanctions under certain conditions, including if it is in the United States' national security interests. Combating BDS Act of 2019\n\nThe bill allows a state or\u00a0local government to\u00a0adopt measures to divest its assets from entities using boycotts, divestments, or sanctions to influence Israel's policies. Such measures shall meet various requirements, including those related to written notice and comment. It also bars lawsuits against investment companies based solely on a company's decision to divest from entities that use boycotts, divestments, or sanctions to influence Israel's policies.\n\nThe bill expresses the sense of the Senate that, before any significant withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria or Afghanistan, the President should certify that the conditions for the enduring defeat of al Qaeda and ISIS have been met.", - "company_name": "Acacia Communications, Inc.", - "company_description": "Our mission is to deliver high-speed coherent optical interconnect products that transform communications networks, relied upon by cloud infrastructure operators and content and communication service providers, through improvements in performance and capacity and reductions in associated costs. By converting optical interconnect technology to a silicon-based technology, a process we refer to as the siliconization of optical interconnect, we believe we are leading a disruption that is analogous to the computing industry's integration of multiple functions into a microprocessor. Our products include a family of low-power coherent digital signal processor application-specific integrated circuits, or DSP ASICs, and silicon photonic integrated circuits, or silicon PICs, which we have integrated into families of optical interconnect modules with transmission speeds ranging from 100 to 400 gigabits per second, or Gbps, for use in long-haul, metro and inter-data center markets. We are also developing our AC1200 module that will enable, across dual wavelengths, transmission capacity of 1.2 terabits per second (1,200 Gbps). Our modules perform a majority of the digital signal processing and optical functions in optical interconnects and offer low power consumption, high density and high speeds at attractive price points. Through the use of standard interfaces, our modules can be easily integrated with customers' network equipment. The advanced software in our modules enables increased configurability and automation, provides insight into network and connection point characteristics and helps identify network performance problems, all of which increase flexibility and reduce operating costs. Our modules are rooted in our low-power coherent DSP ASICs and/or silicon PICs, which we have specifically developed for our target markets. Our coherent DSP ASICs and silicon PICs are manufactured using complementary metal oxide semiconductor, or CMOS. CMOS is a widely-used and cost-effective semiconductor process technology. Using CMOS to siliconize optical interconnect technology enables us to continue to integrate increasing functionality into our products, benefit from higher yields and reliability associated with CMOS and capitalize on regular improvements in CMOS performance, density and cost. Our use of CMOS also enables us to use outsourced foundry services rather than requiring custom fabrication to manufacture our products. In addition, our use of CMOS and CMOS-compatible processes enables us to take advantage of the technology, manufacturing and integration improvements driven by other computer and communications markets that rely on CMOS. Our engineering and management teams have extensive experience in optical systems and networking, digital signal processing, large-scale ASIC design and verification, silicon photonic design and integration, system software development, hardware design and high-speed electronics design. This broad expertise in a range of advanced technologies, methodologies and processes enhances our innovation, design and development capabilities, and has enabled us, and we believe will continue to enable us, to develop and introduce state-of-the-art optical interconnect modules, coherent DSP ASICs and silicon PICs. In the course of our product development cycles, we engage with our customers as they design their current and next-generation network equipment in order to gauge current and future market needs. We sell our products through a direct sales force to leading network equipment manufacturers, network operators and cloud service providers. The number of customers who have purchased and deployed our products has increased from eight in 2011 to more than 30 during 2017. Industry Background Growing Demand for Bandwidth and Network Capacity Global Internet Protocol, or IP, traffic is projected to nearly triple from 3.2 exabytes per day in 2016 to 9.1 exabytes per day in 2021, representing a 24% compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, according to Cisco's Visual Networking Index Complete Forecast Highlights, dated June 2017, or the VNI Report. This rapid growth in IP traffic is the result of several factors, including: \u2022 Over the last decade, the proliferation of new technologies, applications, Web 2.0-based services and Internet-connected devices has led to increasing levels of Internet traffic and congestion and the need for greater bandwidth. Video traffic, in particular, is growing rapidly, and placing significant strains on network capacity. The VNI Report estimates that video traffic will represent 82% of all global consumer IP traffic by 2021, reaching 232.7 exabytes per month, up from 78.2 exabytes per month in 2016. The increasing demand for data- and video-intensive content and applications on mobile devices is driving significant growth in mobile data and video traffic and has led to the 2 proliferation of advanced wireless communication technologies, such as 4G/LTE, which depend on wired networks to function. According to Cisco's Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2016-2021 White Paper, dated February 2017, global mobile data traffic grew 63% in 2016 from the prior year and is expected to increase nearly seven-fold from 2016 to 2021, a 47% CAGR. ", - "id": "98228323-e4c9-4b76-85b6-8c537a219f56" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The REFUND Act imposes requirements on drug manufacturers to provide rebates for discarded amounts of single-dose vial drugs under Medicare, which directly impacts Alexion Pharmaceuticals as they manufacture and sell therapies that may fall under this category. Given the emphasis on compliance and potential civil penalties for non-compliance, this legislation is highly relevant to Alexion's business operations and pricing strategy.", - "index": "281", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require manufacturers of certain single-dose vial drugs payable under part B of the Medicare program to provide rebates with respect to amounts of such drugs discarded, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Recovering Excessive Funds for Unused and Needless Drugs Act of 2019 or the REFUND Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires drug manufacturers to issue rebates to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in relation to discarded amounts (i.e., amounts remaining after administration) of single-dose vial drugs that are covered under Medicare. Manufacturers that fail to comply are subject to civil penalties.\n\nThe CMS must determine rebate amounts based on payment claims from providers. (Currently, providers may receive payment under Medicare for discarded amounts of single-dose vial drugs through the use of a specific claims modifier.)", - "company_name": "Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by our management, and may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the potential benefits and commercial potential of UTLOMIRIS\u2122, SOLIRIS\u00ae, STRENSIQ\u00ae and KANUMA\u00ae for approved indications and any expanded uses, sales of our products in various markets worldwide, pricing for our products, level of insurance coverage and reimbursement for our products, timing regarding development and regulatory approvals for additional indications or in additional territories; plans for clinical trials (and proof of concept trials), status of our ongoing clinical trials for our product candidates, commencement dates for new clinical trials, clinical trial results and evaluation of our clinical trial results by regulatory agencies; potential benefits offered by product candidates, including improved dosing intervals; the medical and commercial potential of additional indications for our products; the expected timing for the completion and/or regulatory approval of our facilities and facilities of our third-party manufacturers; future expansion of our commercial organization; future governmental and regulatory decisions regarding pricing (and discounts) and the adoption, implementation and interpretation of healthcare laws and regulations (and the impact on our business); plans and prospects for future regulatory approval of products and product candidates; competitors, potential competitors and future competitive products (including biosimilars); plans to grow our product pipeline (and diversify our business, including through acquisitions) and anticipated benefits to the Company; future objective to expand business and sales; anticipated future milestone, contingent and royalty payments (and expected impact on liquidity); timing and anticipated amounts of future tax payments and benefits, as well as timing of conclusion of tax audits; the adequacy of our pharmacovigilance and drug safety reporting processes; the uncertainties involved in the drug development process and manufacturing; \u2022 performance and reliance on third party service providers; 3 \u2022 our future research and development activities, plans for acquired programs, our ability to develop and commercialize products with our collaborators; \u2022 periods of patent, regulatory and market exclusivity for our products; \u2022 Overview Alexion is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on serving patients and families affected by rare diseases through the innovation, development and commercialization of life-changing therapies. We are the global leader in complement inhibition and have developed and commercialize t he only two approved complement inhibitors to treat patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), as well as the first and only approved complement inhibitor to treat atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) and anti-acetylcholine receptor (AchR) antibody-positive generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG). In addition, Alexion has two highly innovative enzyme replacement therapies for patients with life-threatening and ultra-rare metabolic disorders, hypophosphatasia (HPP) and lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (LAL-D). As the leader in complement biology for over 20 years, Alexion focuses its research efforts on novel molecules and targets in the complement cascade, and its development efforts on the core therapeutic areas of hematology, nephrology, neurology, and metabolic disorders. We focus our products and development programs on life-transforming therapeutics for rare diseases for which we believe the current treatments are either non-existent or inadequate. We have developed or are developing innovative products for the following indications: Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) ", - "id": "e8ba33b7-4815-43c8-8b8a-7aa254bf215e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill addresses workplace discrimination and harassment, requiring employers with 15 or more employees to adopt nondiscrimination policies and provide training. As Allogene Therapeutics has more than 15 employees and operates in a heavily regulated clinical environment, ensuring compliance with such laws is critical for maintaining a positive workplace culture and avoiding legal repercussions, thus making this bill relevant to the company.", - "index": "282", - "bill_title": "To prevent discrimination and harassment in employment.", - "bill_summary": "Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination in the Workplace Act or the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace and raises the minimum wage for tipped employees.\n\nSpecifically, the bill (1) makes it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against an individual in the workplace based on sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, and a sex stereotype; (2) prohibits employers from entering into contracts or agreements with workers that contain certain nondisparagement or nondisclosure clauses; (3) prohibits predispute arbitration agreements and postdispute agreements with certain exceptions, and (4) establishes grant programs to prevent and respond to workplace discrimination and harassment, provide legal assistance for low-income workers related to employment discrimination, and establish a system of legal advocacy in states to protect the rights of workers.\n\nAdditionally, the bill, among other things\n\n requires employers who have 15 or more employees to adopt a comprehensive nondiscrimination policy; requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to provide specified training and resource materials, establish and convene a harassment prevention task force, and establish an Office of Education and Outreach with regard to prohibited discrimination and harassment in employment; requires specified studies, reports, and research on prohibited harassment in employment; and grants employees the right to retain their tips.", - "company_name": "Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a clinical stage immuno-oncology company pioneering the development and commercialization of genetically engineered allogeneic T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. We are developing a pipeline of off-the-shelf T cell product candidates that are designed to target and kill cancer cells. Our engineered T cells are allogeneic, meaning they are derived from healthy donors for intended use in any patient, rather than from an individual patient for that patient's use, as in the case of autologous T cells. In collaboration with Servier, we are developing UCART19 and ALLO-501, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell product candidates targeting CD19. Servier is sponsoring two Phase 1 clinical trials of UCART19 in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), one for adult patients (the CALM trial) and one for pediatric patients (the PALL trial). In January 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared our investigational new drug application (IND) for ALLO-501, and we plan to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial (the ALPHA trial) in the first half of 2019 for the treatment of R/R non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). In addition, we have a deep pipeline of allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates targeting multiple promising antigens in a host of hematological malignancies and solid tumors. For example, we plan to submit an IND and initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial in 2019 for ALLO-715, an allogeneic CAR T cell product candidate targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) for the treatment of R/R multiple myeloma. We believe our management team's experience in immuno-oncology and specifically in CAR T cell therapy will help drive the rapid development and, if approved, the commercialization of these potentially curative therapies for patients with aggressive cancer. CAR T cell therapy, a form of cancer immunotherapy, has recently emerged as a revolutionary and potentially curative therapy for patients with hematologic cancers, including refractory cancers. In 2017, two autologous anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapies, Kymriah, developed by Novartis International AG (Novartis), and Yescarta, developed by Kite Pharma, Inc. (Kite), were approved by the FDA for the treatment of R/R B-cell precursor ALL (Kymriah) and R/R large B-cell lymphoma (Yescarta). Autologous CAR T cell therapies are manufactured individually for the patient's use by modifying the patient's own T cells outside the body, causing the T cells to express CARs. The entire manufacturing process is dependent on the viability of each patient's T cells and takes approximately two to four weeks. As seen in the registrational trials for Kymriah and Yescarta, up to 31% of intended patients ultimately did not receive treatment primarily due to interval complications from the underlying disease during manufacturing or manufacturing failures. Our allogeneic approach involves engineering healthy donor T cells, which we believe will allow for the creation of an inventory of off-the-shelf products that can be delivered to a larger portion of eligible patients throughout the world. Our allogeneic T cell development strategy has four key pillars: (1) developing product candidates to minimize the risk of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a condition where allogeneic T cells can recognize the patient's normal tissue as foreign and cause damage, (2) creating a window of persistence that may enable allogeneic T cells to expand in patients, (3) building a leading manufacturing platform and (4) leveraging next generation technologies to improve the functionality of allogeneic CAR T cells. We use Cellectis, S.A. (Cellectis), TALEN gene-editing technology with the goal of limiting the risk of GvHD by engineering T cells to lack functional T cell receptors (TCRs) that are no longer capable of recognizing a patient's normal tissue as foreign. With the goal of enhancing the expansion and persistence of our engineered allogeneic T cells, we use TALEN to inactivate the CD52 gene in donor T cells and an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody to deplete CD52 expressing T cells in patients while sparing the therapeutic allogeneic T cells. We believe this enables a window of persistence for the infused allogeneic T cells to actively target and destroy cancer cells. Our off-the-shelf approach is dependent on state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, and we are building a technical operations organization with fully integrated in-house expertise in clinical and commercial engineered T cell manufacturing. In February 2019, we entered into a lease to build our own cell therapy manufacturing facility in Newark, California. Finally, we plan to leverage next generation technologies to improve the functionality of our product candidates and to develop more potent product candidates. We believe next generation technologies will also allow us to develop allogeneic T cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumors, which to date have been difficult to treat because of the lack of validated targets and tumor microenvironments that can impair the activity of T cells. We are currently developing a pipeline of multiple allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates utilizing protein engineering, gene editing, gene insertion and advanced proprietary T cell manufacturing technologies.", - "id": "1ebf4080-dc3a-4562-8285-0e1d36dec632" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses immigration issues related to lawful permanent residency for certain alien individuals, which does not directly impact BJ's Restaurants, Inc. or its operations related to casual dining, restaurant management, or brewing activities. The company's business model is not influenced by immigration laws focusing on family reunification.", - "index": "283", - "bill_title": "To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide lawful permanent resident status to previously removed alien parents and spouses of citizens of the United States, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Reentry and Reunification Act\n\nThis bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to admit certain aliens for lawful permanent residence, if the alien is the spouse, parent, or guardian of a U.S. citizen.\n\nQualifying aliens shall be those who were removed from the United States before the bill's enactment, or subject to a removal order or in removal proceedings on the bill's enactment date. A qualifying alien shall also (1) be of good moral character; (2) not be deportable or inadmissible for various grounds, including those related to health or having been convicted of certain crimes; (3) not have participated in the persecution of any person on account of characteristics such as race, religion, or nationality; and (4) not have been convicted for a crime under federal or state law where the maximum sentence was more than one year. DHS may waive the requirement relating to a conviction for a state or federal crime for humanitarian, family unity, or public interest purposes.\n\nFor an alien subject to a removal order or under removal proceedings, the alien must have been continuously physically present in the United States for the four years before the bill's enactment date.", - "company_name": "BJ's Restaurants, Inc.", - "company_description": "the total domestic capacity for our restaurants; expectations for consumer spending on casual dining restaurant occasions; \u2022 the availability and cost of key commodities used in our restaurants and brewing operations; menu price increases and their effect, if any, on revenue and our results of operations; Any inability to open new restaurants on schedule in accordance with our targeted capacity growth or problems associated with securing suitable restaurant locations, leases and licenses, recruiting and training qualified managers and hourly employees and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and difficult to forecast accurately may adversely affect our operations. Our concentration of a significant number of our restaurants in California, Texas and Florida makes us particularly sensitive to economic, regulatory, weather and other risk factors and conditions that are more prevalent in those states. Any negative publicity about us, our restaurants, other restaurants, or others across the food supply chain, due to food borne illness or other reasons, whether or not accurate may adversely affect the reputation and popularity of our restaurants and our results of operations. Any adverse changes in the cost of food, labor and related employee benefits (including, but not limited to, group health insurance coverage for our employees), brewing and energy may adversely affect our operating results. Periodic reviews and audits of our internal brewing, independent third party brewing and beer distribution arrangements by various federal, state and local governmental and regulatory agencies may adversely affect our operations and our operating results. Government laws and regulations affecting the operation of our restaurants, including but not limited to those that apply to the acquisition and maintenance of our brewing and retail liquor licenses, minimum wages, federal or state exemption rules, health insurance coverage, or other employment benefits such as paid time off, consumer health and safety, nutritional disclosures, and employment eligibility-related documentation requirements may cause disruptions to our operations, adversely affect our operating costs and restrict our growth. o r how they may affect us. As of February 26, 2018, we owned and operated 197 restaurants located in the 26 states of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Each of our restaurants is operated either as a BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse\u00ae, a BJ's Restaurant & Brewery\u00ae, a BJ's Pizza & Grill\u00ae, or Currently, the BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse\u00ae format represents our primary expansion vehicle. Our BJ's Restaurant & Brewery locations are similar in size to our BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse locations, except that they have a brewing operations attached to the restaurant. restaurants are smaller format, full-service restaurants which reflect the original format of the BJ's restaurant concept that was first introduced in 1978. restaurant is a slightly smaller footprint restaurant than our BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse\u00ae format, but still features all the amenities of our Brewhouse locations. Our proprietary craft beer is available in all of our restaurants and produced at several of our BJ's Restaurant & Brewery\u00ae locations, our Temple, Texas brewpub locations and by independent third party brewers using our proprietary recipes. The first BJ's restaurant opened in 1978 in Orange County, California, featuring Chicago style deep-dish pizza with a unique California twist. Over the years we expanded the BJ's concept from its beginnings as a small pizzeria to a full-service, high energy casual dining restaurant with a broad menu including our BJ's award\u2011winning, signature deep-dish pizza, our proprietary craft and other beers, as well as a large selection of appetizers, entr\u00e9es, pastas, burgers and sandwiches, specialty salads and desserts, including our made to order, warm pizza cookie dessert, the Pizookie\u00ae. In 1996, we introduced our proprietary craft beers when we opened our first BJ's Restaurant & Brewery\u00ae in Brea, California. Today all of our restaurants feature our award-winning, proprietary craft beers, which we believe showcases the quality and care of the ingredients we use at BJ' Our high-quality, craft beers further differentiates BJ's from many other restaurant concepts and complements our signature deep-dish pizza and other menu items. Our beers have earned over 180 medals at different beer festivals and events, including 34 medals at the Great American Beer Festival and 10 medals at the World Beer Cup. We also offer as many as 30 \"guest\" domestic and imported craft beers on tap, in addition to a selection of bottled beers in our restaurants.", - "id": "47eceb5c-99c0-4227-8be8-79547664fc3f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on funding for public school facilities and improvements, which primarily involves construction, grants, and energy efficiency projects aimed at educational institutions. Legg Mason, Inc. is an asset management company that provides investment management services and does not directly engage in activities related to school infrastructure or public education funding. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill do not align with Legg Mason's business model or operations.", - "index": "284", - "bill_title": "To provide for the long-term improvement of public school facilities, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Rebuild America's Schools Act of 2019\n\nThis bill provides financial assistance in FY2020-FY2029 for long-term improvements to public school facilities by allocating funds to states for school improvements, awarding need-based grants to local education agencies, and restoring school infrastructure tax credit bonds.\n\nThe bill specifies allowable uses of grant funds, including making major repairs of public school facilities and making public school facilities accessible to disabled individuals.\n\n The bill requires local education agencies to adopt certain green practices (environmental standards) and use products made in the United States (Buy America).\n\nThe Department of Education must establish a clearinghouse to disseminate information to assist schools in initiating, developing, and financing energy efficiency projects, distributed generation projects, and energy retrofitting projects.\n\nThe bill increases funding through FY2023 for the Impact Aid Construction program under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.", - "company_name": "Legg Mason, Inc.", - "company_description": "Legg Mason, Inc. is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides investment management and related services to company-sponsored mutual funds and other investment vehicles including pension funds, foundations, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, private banks, family offices, individuals, as well as to global, institutional, and retail clients. It launches and manages equity, fixed income, and multi-asset customized portfolios through its subsidiaries. The firm also launches and manages mutual funds and exchange traded funds for its clients through its subsidiaries. It invests in private and public equity, fixed income, and multi asset markets across the globe through its subsidiaries. Through its subsidiaries, the firm also invests in alternative markets. It also employs a combination of fundamental and quantitative research to make its investments through its subsidiaries. Legg Mason, Inc. was founded in 1899 and is based in Baltimore, Maryland. General Legg Mason is a global asset management firm that operates through nine independent asset management subsidiaries. Acting through our asset management subsidiaries, each of which generally markets its products and services under its own brand name, we provide investment management and related products and services to institutional and individual clients, company-sponsored mutual funds and other investment vehicles. The predecessor companies to Legg Mason trace back to Legg & Co., a Maryland-based broker-dealer formed in 1899. Our subsequent growth occurred primarily through internal expansion and the acquisition of asset management and broker-dealer firms. In December 2005, Legg Mason completed a transaction in which it sold its primary broker-dealer businesses to concentrate on the asset management industry. The asset management industry continues to experience disruption and challenges, including a shift to lower-fee passively managed products, increased fee pressure (including pressure arising from the shift to lower-fee passive products), regulatory changes, an increasing and changing role of technology in asset management services, the constant introduction of new products and services and the consolidation of financial services firms through mergers and acquisition. During fiscal year 2018, our focus on investing to improve lives and expanding client choice continued to drive strong sales, despite the ongoing trend of investor movement to passive strategies in certain portions of the industry. During the course of this fiscal year, we expanded our investment offerings in response to demand for choice by: offering new next generation products such as multi-asset class solutions and new vehicles, including the launch of six new exchange traded funds (\"ETFs\"); completing a bolt-on acquisition adding new capabilities at Clarion Partners; commercializing alternative products offered by our most recently acquired asset managers; 2 expanding our Alternative Distribution Strategies and Alternative Product teams with strategic hires; and investing in technology to enhance our capabilities and expand choice for global investors. Business Overview Acting through our subsidiaries, we provide investment management and related services to institutional and individual clients, company-sponsored investment funds and retail separately managed account programs. Our corporate structure combines our nine asset managers, each with diverse perspectives and specialized expertise across asset classes and strategies, with a centralized global distribution platform focusing on retail distribution and additional distribution capabilities focused on institutional distribution at each of our asset managers. We help investors globally achieve better financial outcomes by expanding choice across investment strategies, vehicles and investor access through independent investment managers with diverse expertise in equity, fixed income, alternative and liquidity investments. Operating from asset management offices located in the United States, the United Kingdom and a number of other countries worldwide, we deliver our investment capabilities through varied products and vehicles and via multiple points of access, including directly and through various financial intermediaries.", - "id": "4d3437b5-4cfd-4fac-a491-e1eb16d90d0f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on online privacy protections for children and minors, which is not directly relevant to United Airlines' business model, as it operates in the airline industry and does not primarily engage in online services directed at children. While potential implications for data handling and privacy exist, they do not impact the core operations or business activities of United Airlines.", - "index": "285", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 to strengthen protections relating to the online collection, use, and disclosure of personal information of children and minors, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "This bill extends to minors (ages 12\u201316) privacy protections previously applicable only to children (ages 0\u201312) and otherwise establishes greater online privacy protections for children and minors.\n\nSpecifically, the bill prohibits an operator of a website, online service, online application, or mobile application directed to a child or minor with constructive knowledge the user is a child or minor from collecting the user's personal information without\n\n providing notice and obtaining consent, providing a parent or minor with certain information upon request, conditioning participation by a user on the provision of personal information, establishing and maintaining reasonable procedures to protect the personal information collected from users. The bill also prohibits targeted marketing directed to a child or directed to a minor without the minor's consent.\n\nThe bill further outlines a set of principles governing how operators should collect and use personal information, as well as provide information to a parent or minor. A parent or minor must be able to challenge the accuracy of personal information, and an operator must provide for the erasure or correction of inaccurate personal information. Operators must also implement mechanisms for the erasure or elimination of personal information at the request of users and make users aware of such mechanisms.\n\nMoreover, the bill prohibits the sale of internet-connected devices targeted to children and minors unless they meet certain cybersecurity and data security standards, and it requires manufacturers of such devices to display a privacy dashboard detailing how personal information is collected and used.", - "company_name": "United Airlines Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. The Company transports people and cargo throughout North America and to destinations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. UAL, through United and its regional carriers, operates more than 4,800 flights a day to 353 airports across five continents, with hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport (\"Newark\"), Chicago O'Hare International Airport (\"Chicago O'Hare\"), Denver International Airport (\"Denver\"), George Bush Intercontinental Airport The hub and spoke system allows us to transport passengers between a large number of destinations with substantially more frequent service than if each route were served directly. The hub system also allows us to add service to a new destination from a large number of cities using only one or a limited number of aircraft. As discussed under Alliances below, United is a member of Star Alliance, the world's largest alliance network. The Company has contractual relationships with various regional carriers to provide regional aircraft service branded as United Express. This regional service complements our operations by carrying traffic that connects to our hubs and allows flights to smaller cities that cannot be provided economically with mainline aircraft. a CommutAir (\"CommutAir\"), ExpressJet Airlines (\"ExpressJet\"), GoJet Airlines (\"GoJet\"), Mesa Airlines (\"Mesa\"), SkyWest Airlines (\"SkyWest\"), Air Wisconsin Airlines (\"Air Wisconsin\"), and Trans States Airlines (\"Trans States\") are all regional carriers that operate with capacity contracted to United under capacity purchase agreements (\"CPAs\"). Under these CPAs, the Company pays the regional carriers contractually agreed fees (carrier costs) for operating these flights plus a variable reimbursement (incentive payment for operational performance) based on agreed performance metrics, subject 3 to annual adjustments. The fees for carrier costs are based on specific rates for various operating expenses of the regional carriers, such as crew expenses, maintenance and aircraft ownership, some of which are multiplied by specific operating statistics (e.g., block hours, departures), while others are fixed monthly amounts. Under these CPAs, the Company is responsible for all fuel costs incurred, as well as landing fees and other costs, which are either passed through by the regional carrier to the Company without any markup or directly incurred by the Company, and, in some cases, the Company owns or leases some or all of the aircraft subject to the CPA, and leases or subleases, as applicable, such aircraft to the regional carrier. In return, the regional carriers operate the capacity of the aircraft included within the scope of such CPA exclusively for United, on schedules determined by the Company. The Company also determines pricing and revenue management, assumes the inventory and distribution risk for the available seats and permits mileage accrual and redemption for regional flights through its MileagePlus\u00ae loyalty program. United is a member of Star Alliance, a global integrated airline network and the largest and most comprehensive airline alliance in the world. As of January 1, 2019 , Star Alliance carriers served over 1,300 airports in 193 countries with 18,800 daily departures. Star Alliance members, in addition to United, are Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways In addition to its members, Star Alliance includes Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines as a connecting partner. United has a variety of bilateral commercial alliance agreements and obligations with Star Alliance members, addressing, among other things, reciprocal earning and redemption of frequent flyer miles, access to airport lounges and, with certain Star Alliance members, codesharing of flight operations (whereby one carrier's selected flights can be marketed under the brand name of another carrier). In addition to the alliance agreements with Star Alliance members, United currently maintains independent marketing alliance agreements with other air carriers, including Aeromar, Aer Lingus, Air Dolomiti, Azul Linhas A\u00e9reas Brasileiras S.A. In addition to the marketing alliance agreements with air partners, United also offers a train-to-plane codeshare and frequent flyer alliance with Amtrak from Newark on select city pairs in the northeastern United States. United also participates in four passenger joint business arrangements (\"JBAs\"): one with Air Canada and the Lufthansa Group (which includes Lufthansa and its affiliates Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and SWISS) covering transatlantic routes, one with ANA covering certain transpacific routes, one with Air New Zealand covering certain routes between the United States and New Zealand and one with Avianca and Copa Airlines, which, upon receipt of regulatory approvals will cover routes between the United States and Central and South America, excluding Brazil. These passenger JBAs enable the participating carriers to integrate the services they provide in the respective regions, capturing revenue synergies and delivering enhanced customer benefits, such as highly competitive flight schedules, fares and services. United also participates in cargo JBAs with ANA for transpacific cargo services and with Lufthansa for transatlantic cargo services. These cargo JBAs offer expanded and more seamless access to cargo space across the carriers' respective combined networks. ", - "id": "5fbbaae3-a38a-4fcd-a9d7-ccfebc12d723" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on tax reform by repealing income taxes and implementing a national sales tax, which impacts individual consumers and businesses at a financial level. However, Qorvo, Inc. operates as a technology and semiconductor company, specializing in RF solutions and mobile connectivity, which is largely unaffected by changes in tax policy. The company's core operations and markets are not related to taxation matters, making this bill not directly relevant to its business model or activities.", - "index": "286", - "bill_title": "To promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national sales tax to be administered primarily by the States.", - "bill_summary": "FairTax Act of 2019\n\nThis bill imposes a national sales tax on the use or consumption in the United States of taxable property or services in lieu of the current income taxes, payroll taxes, and estate and gift taxes. The rate of the sales tax will be 23% in 2021, with adjustments to the rate in subsequent years. There are exemptions from the tax for used and intangible property; for property or services purchased for business, export, or investment purposes; and for state government functions.\n\nUnder the bill, family members who are lawful U.S. residents receive a monthly sales tax rebate (Family Consumption Allowance) based upon criteria related to family size and poverty guidelines.\n\nThe states have the responsibility for administering, collecting, and remitting the sales tax to the Treasury.\n\nTax revenues are to be allocated among (1) the general revenue, (2) the old-age and survivors insurance trust fund, (3) the disability insurance trust fund, (4) the hospital insurance trust fund, and (5) the federal supplementary medical insurance trust fund.\n\nNo funding is authorized for the operations of the Internal Revenue Service after FY2023.\n\nFinally, the bill terminates the national sales tax if the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution (authorizing an income tax) is not repealed within seven years after the enactment of this bill.", - "company_name": "Qorvo, Inc.", - "company_description": "(\"TriQuint\") entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization as subsequently amended on July 15, 2014 (the \"Merger Agreement\"), providing for the combination of RFMD and TriQuint in a merger of equals (the \"Business Combination\") under a new holding company named Company Overview Qorvo\u00ae is a product and technology leader at the forefront of the growing global demand for always-on broadband connectivity. We combine a broad portfolio of radio frequency (\"RF\") solutions, highly differentiated semiconductor technologies, deep systems-level expertise and scale manufacturing to supply a diverse group of customers in expanding markets, including smartphones and other mobile devices, defense and aerospace, Wi-Fi customer premises equipment (\"CPE\"), cellular base stations, optical networks, automotive connectivity and smart home applications. Within these markets, our products enable a broad range of leading-edge applications \u2013 from very-high-power wired and wireless infrastructure solutions to ultra-low-power smart home solutions. Our products and technologies help transform how people around the world access their data, transact commerce and interact with their communities. We have world-class manufacturing facilities, and our fabrication facility in Richardson, Texas, is a United States Department of Defense (\"DoD\") (Category 1A) for gallium arsenide (\"GaAs\"), gallium nitride (\"GaN\") and bulk acoustic wave Our design and manufacturing expertise covers many semiconductor process technologies, which we source both internally and through external suppliers. Our primary wafer fabrication facilities are in Florida, North Carolina, Oregon and Texas, and our primary assembly and test facilities are in China, Costa Rica, Germany and Texas. We also operate design, sales and other manufacturing facilities throughout Asia, Europe and North America. We design, develop, manufacture and market our products to leading U.S. and international original equipment manufacturers (\"OEMs\") and original design manufacturers (\"ODMs\") in the following operating segments: \u2022 Mobile Products (MP) - MP is a leading global supplier of cellular RF and Wi-Fi solutions into a variety of mobile devices, including smartphones, notebook computers, wearables, tablets, and cellular-based applications for the Internet of Things (\"IoT\"). Mobile device manufacturers and mobile network operators are adopting new technologies to address the growing demand for data-intensive, increasingly cloud-based distributed applications and for mobile devices with smaller form factors, improved signal quality, less heat and longer talk and standby times. New wireless communications standards are being deployed to utilize available spectrum more efficiently. Carrier aggregation (\"CA\") is being implemented to support wider bandwidths, increase data rates and improve network performance. MP offers a comprehensive product portfolio of BAW and surface acoustic wave (\"SAW\") filters, power amplifiers (\"PAs\"), low noise amplifiers (\"LNAs\"), switches, multimode multi-band PAs and transmit modules, RF power management integrated circuits (\"ICs\"), diversity receive modules, antenna switch modules, antenna tuning and control solutions, modules incorporating PAs and duplexers (\"PADs\") and modules incorporating switches, PAs and duplexers (\"S-PADs\"). Infrastructure and Defense Products (IDP) - IDP is a leading global supplier of RF solutions with a diverse portfolio of solutions that \"connect and protect,\" spanning communications and defense applications. These applications include high performance defense systems such as radar, electronic warfare and communication systems, Wi-Fi CPE for home and work, high speed connectivity in Long-Term Evolution (\"LTE\") and 5G base stations, cloud connectivity via data center communications and telecom transport, automotive connectivity and other IoT, including smart home solutions. IDP products include GaAs and GaN PAs, LNAs, switches, complementary metal oxide semiconductor (\"CMOS\") system-on-a-chip (\"SoC\") solutions, premium BAW and SAW filter solutions and various multi-chip and hybrid assemblies. Our business is diversified primarily across seven strategic end markets: mobile devices, defense and aerospace, CPE Wi-Fi, cellular base stations, optical, automotive connectivity and smart home. In our largest market, mobile devices, the most significant trend today is the increasing demand for ubiquitous broadband mobile data. This is driven primarily by video, with data traffic for video exceeding data traffic for web browsing and voice. Compounding this, consumers want higher resolution screens and access to streaming media, real-time traffic/navigation, GPS, Bluetooth\u00ae connectivity and Wi-Fi. In response, leading smartphone providers are adding 4G LTE and 5G bands of coverage to their flagship devices to reduce development costs and enable larger, more concentrated marketing budgets in support of fewer models.", - "id": "dc5f1e6c-313c-46d1-b7c5-600ecd137113" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to the taxation and regulation of marijuana products, which does not have a direct connection to Verso Corp.'s business model of producing coated papers and pulp. Since Verso's operations and market do not involve marijuana products or related activities, the legal consequences of this bill do not impact the company.", - "index": "287", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the taxation and regulation of marijuana products, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Marijuana Revenue and Regulation Act \n\nThis bill removes marijuana from the list of controlled substances and establishes requirements for the taxation and regulation of marijuana products.\n\nThe bill imposes (1) an excise tax on marijuana products produced in or imported into the United States, and (2) an occupational tax on marijuana production facilities and export warehouses.\n\nThe term \"marijuana product\" does not include (1) any article containing marijuana that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for sale for therapeutic purposes and is marketed and sold solely for such purpose, or (2) industrial hemp.\n\nThe excise tax includes exemptions for (1) products used for research or by government entities for nonconsumption purposes; and (2) the transfer of products between production, import, and export facilities.\n\nThe Department of Justice must remove marijuana from all schedules of controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act. The bill prohibits marijuana from being shipped or transported into any state or jurisdiction where it is illegal.\n\n Producers, importers, and exporters of marijuana products must (1) obtain a permit from the Department of the Treasury, and (2) comply with certain requirements regarding recordkeeping, packaging, labeling, and advertising.\n\nThe bill also\n\n establishes penalties for violations of marijuana laws; prohibits the sale of more than one ounce of marijuana in any single retail transaction; and provides specified authorities to the FDA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with respect to marijuana.", - "company_name": "Verso Corp.", - "company_description": "After the Internal Reorganization, Verso is the sole member of Verso Holding LLC, which is the sole member of Verso Paper Holding LLC. As used in this report, the term \"Verso Holding\" refers to Verso Holding LLC, and the term \"Verso Paper\" refers to Verso Paper Holding LLC. Prior to the Internal Reorganization, Verso was the sole member of Verso Paper Finance Holdings One LLC, which was the sole member of Verso Paper Finance Holdings LLC, which was the sole member of Verso Paper Holdings LLC. As used in this report, the term \"Verso Finance\" refers to Verso Paper Finance Holdings LLC; and the term \"VPH\" refers to Verso Paper Holdings LLC. The term \"NewPage\" refers to NewPage Holdings Inc., which was an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Verso prior to the Internal Reorganization; the term \"NewPage Corp\" refers to NewPage Corporation, which was an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of NewPage prior to the Internal Reorganization. Each of Verso Finance, VPH, NewPage and NewPage Corp were either merged into other subsidiaries of Verso, converted into limited liability corporations, and/or renamed in the Internal Reorganization and do not exist on and after the Internal Reorganization. We are the leading North American producer of coated papers, which are used primarily in commercial print, magazines, catalogs, high-end advertising brochures and annual reports, among other media and marketing publications. We produce a wide range of products, ranging from coated freesheet and coated groundwood, to specialty papers, to inkjet and digital paper, supercalendered papers and uncoated freesheet. We also produce and sell market kraft pulp, which is used to manufacture printing and writing paper grades and tissue products. The mills have an aggregate annual production capacity of approximately 2,870,000 tons of paper, including coated papers and specialty papers which excludes pulp. In February 2018, we announced plans to upgrade the shuttered No. 3 paper machine at our Androscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine, enabling this equipment to restart for the manufacture of packaging products. This paper machine was previously idled beginning in January 2017 and shut down in July 2017. We anticipate completion of this upgrade in the third quarter of 2018 and expect the No. 3 paper machine to increase annual paper production capacity by approximately 200,000 tons. We sell and market our products to approximately 300 customers which comprise approximately 1,700 end-user accounts. We have long-standing relationships with many leading magazine and catalog publishers, commercial printers, specialty retail merchandisers and paper merchants. We reach our end-users through several distribution channels, including direct sales, commercial printers, paper merchants and brokers. \" Verso and substantially all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, or the \"Debtors,\" filed voluntary petitions for relief, or the \"Chapter 11 Filings,\" under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, or the \"Bankruptcy Code,\" in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, or the \"Bankruptcy Court. ,\" were consolidated for procedural purposes only and administered jointly under the caption In accordance with the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board, or \"FASB,\" Accounting Standards Codification, or \"ASC\" 852, Reorganizations, the Debtors adopted fresh-start accounting upon emergence from the Chapter 11 Cases and became a new entity for financial reporting purposes as of July 15, 2016. The Internal Reorganization involved several separate, but related, actions consisting of mergers between subsidiaries to reduce their numbers, the conversion of corporate subsidiaries to limited liability companies, the re-domestication of subsidiaries under Delaware law to provide for a uniform and enlightened regulatory framework, the formation of new holding companies to create separate \"branches\" for Verso's paper-making and energy operations, and name changes of subsidiaries to more appropriately reflect the nature of their assets and operations. In September 2017, we announced the formation of a Strategic Alternatives Committee, comprised solely of independent directors. Based on 2017 sales, the size of the global coated paper industry is estimated to be approximately $32 billion, or 38 million tons of coated paper shipments, including approximately $5 billion, or 6 million tons of coated paper shipments, in North America. Coated paper is used primarily in media and marketing applications, including catalogs, magazines and commercial printing applications, which include high-end advertising brochures, annual reports and direct mail advertising. Demand is generally driven by North American advertising and print media trends, which in turn have historically been correlated with growth in Gross Domestic Product, or \"GDP.", - "id": "eaae4281-3ebd-47fc-a05d-b1f42f356b55" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The STRONG Act aims to enhance resilience against extreme weather events, which is directly relevant to Ciena Corp.'s operations, given the growing focus on climate change impacts. As a networking systems company, Ciena may need to adapt its technology and infrastructure to respond to the demands for resilience in communication networks during such events. Additionally, the bill's emphasis on data and analytics for resilience aligns with Ciena's focus on automation and network management solutions.", - "index": "288", - "bill_title": "To minimize the economic and social costs resulting from losses of life, property, well-being, business activity, and economic growth associated with extreme weather events by ensuring that the United States is more resilient to the impacts of extreme weather events in the short- and long-term, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Strengthening The Resiliency of Our Nation on the Ground Act or the STRONG Act\n\nThis bill requires the Office of Science and Technology Policy of the Executive Office of the President to establish an interagency working group to (1) provide a strategic vision of extreme weather resilience; (2) conduct an analysis of current and planned federal activities related to achieving short- and long-term resilience to extreme weather and its impacts on the United States, such as flooding, drought, and wildfires; and (3) develop a National Extreme Weather Resilience Action Plan.\n\nThe plan must include (1) the establishment of an online portal that directs users to key data and tools to inform resilience-enhancing efforts; and (2) the identification of a coordinating entity to establish and maintain such portal and to coordinate the implementation of the plan and track its progress.", - "company_name": "Ciena Corp.", - "company_description": "our ability to forecast accurately demand for our products for purposes of inventory purchase practices; the impact of pricing pressure and price erosion that we regularly encounter in our markets; \u2022 the continued availability, on commercially reasonable terms, of software and other technology under third-party licenses; \u2022 the potential failure to maintain the security of confidential, proprietary or otherwise sensitive business information or systems or to protect against cyber attacks; \u2022 the performance of our third-party contract manufacturers; changes or disruption in components or supplies provided by third parties, including sole and limited source suppliers; \u2022 our ability to grow and maintain our new distribution relationships under which we will make available certain technology as a component; our ability to commercialize and grow our software business and address networking strategies including software-defined networking and network function virtualization; changes in, and the impact of, government regulations, including with respect to: the communications industry generally; the business of our customers; the use, import or export of products; and the environment, potential climate change and other social initiatives; the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, changes in tax regulations and related accounting, and changes in our effective tax rates; future legislation or executive action in the U.S. relating to tax policy or trade regulation; the write-down of goodwill, long-lived assets, or our deferred tax assets; We are a networking systems, services and software company, providing solutions that enable a wide range of network operators to deploy and manage next-generation networks that deliver services to businesses and consumers. We provide network hardware, software and services that support the transport, switching, aggregation, service delivery and management of video, data and voice traffic on communications networks. Our solutions are used by communications service providers, cable and multiservice operators, Web-scale providers, submarine network operators, governments, enterprises, research and education (R & E) institutions and other emerging network operators. Our solutions include a diverse portfolio of high-capacity Networking Platform products, which can be applied from the network core to network access points, and which allow network operators to scale capacity, increase transmission speeds, allocate traffic and adapt dynamically to changing end-user service demands. We also offer Platform Software that provides management and domain control of our next-generation packet and optical platforms and automates network lifecycle operations, including provisioning equipment and services. In addition, through our comprehensive suite of Blue Planet Automation Software, we enable network operators to use network data and analytics to drive enhanced automation across multi-vendor and multi-domain network environments, accelerate service delivery and enable an increasingly predictive and autonomous network infrastructure. To complement our hardware and software solutions, we offer a broad range of attached and software-related services that help our customers design, optimize, integrate, deploy, manage and maintain their networks and associated operational environments. Through our complete portfolio of solutions, we enable our customers to transform their network into a dynamic, programmable environment driven by automation and analytics, which we refer to as the Adaptive Network. Our solutions for the Adaptive Network create business and operational value for our customers, enabling them to introduce new revenue-generating services, reduce costs and maximize the return on their network infrastructure investment. In particular, optical networks \u2013 which carry video, data and voice traffic by encoding digital information on multiple wavelengths of light traveling across fiber optic cables \u2013 have experienced strong traffic growth for several years. This growth, and the resulting requirements for increased network capacity and transmission speed, is being driven by an increasingly diverse set of communications services and applications. These services and applications, including those set forth below, are increasing the bandwidth and service demands placed upon networks and are challenging the business models of many network operators. Enterprises and consumers continue to replace locally-housed computing and storage by adopting a broad array of innovative cloud-based models \u2013 including Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service ( IaaS) \u2013 and an expanding range of cloud-based services that host key applications, store data, enable the viewing and downloading of content and utilize on-demand computing resources. ", - "id": "1a14e0f1-fc73-4f12-9421-7369218f0797" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill allows negotiation of prescription drug prices under Medicare and includes provisions for competitive licensing. As Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. develops and commercializes drugs for serious diseases, including those under Medicare, such changes could directly impact their pricing strategy, market access, and revenue potential. Since their drugs, like volanesorsen, may be included in this context, the bill's implications are highly relevant to their operations.", - "index": "289", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices of prescription drugs furnished under part D of the Medicare program.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies regarding prices for drugs covered under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Current law prohibits the CMS from doing so.)\n\nThe CMS must take certain factors into account during negotiations, including the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the drug, the financial burden on patients, and unmet patient needs. If the CMS is unable to negotiate the price of a drug, such drug is subject to competitive licensing in order to further its sale under Medicare, notwithstanding existing government-granted exclusivities.\n\nAdditionally, for one year after a drug is provided under a competitive license, such drug is also subject to specified price limitations; if the drug is not offered at such prices, the drug is\u00a0subject to additional licensing that furthers its sale under any federal program (e.g., Medicaid).", - "company_name": "Akcea Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing drugs to treat patients with serious cardiometabolic diseases caused by lipid disorders. Our goal is to become the premier company offering treatments for these inadequately treated diseases. We are advancing a mature pipeline of four novel drugs with the potential to treat multiple diseases. Our most advanced drug, volanesorsen, is currently under review by regulatory agencies in the United States, or U.S., European Union, or EU, and Canada for the treatment of people with familial chylomicronemia syndrome, or FCS. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, goal date of August 30, 2018 and scheduled advisory committee meeting for May 10, 2018. In Canada, our New Drug Submission, or NDS, was granted Priority Review by Health Canada. FCS is a severe, rare, genetically defined lipid disorder characterized by extremely elevated levels of triglycerides. FCS has life-threatening consequences such as acute pancreatitis and the lives of patients with these diseases are impacted daily by the associated symptoms. In our clinical program, we have observed consistent and substantial (>70%) decreases in triglycerides and improvements in other manifestations of FCS, including pancreatitis attacks and abdominal pain. We believe the safety and efficacy data from the volanesorsen program demonstrate a favorable risk-benefit profile for patients with FCS. We are preparing for approval and launch of volanesorsen in mid-2018. Volanesorsen is also in Phase 3 clinical development for the treatment of familial partial lipodystrophy, or FPL. Our other three drugs are currently in Phase 2 clinical development. We have made substantial progress in assembling the infrastructure to commercialize our drugs globally for rare disease indications with an initial focus on lipid specialists as the primary call point. A key element of our commercial strategy is to provide the specialized, patient-centric support required to successfully address rare disease patient populations. We believe our focus on treating patients with inadequately addressed lipid disorders will allow us to partner efficiently and effectively with the specialized medical community that supports these patients. In the future, this global infrastructure may support commercialization of additional drugs within and outside the cardiometabolic arena. To maximize the commercial potential of two of the drugs in our pipeline, we initiated a strategic collaboration with Novartis Pharma AG, or Novartis, for the development and commercialization of AKCEA-APO(a)-L We believe Novartis brings significant resources and expertise to the collaboration that can accelerate our ability to deliver these potential therapies to the large populations of patients who have high cardiovascular risk due to inadequately treated lipid disorders. Rx (data planned for 2019), and if, on a drug-by-drug basis, Novartis exercises its option to license a drug and pays us the $150.0 million license fee to do so, Novartis would conduct and pay for a Phase 3 cardiovascular outcome study in high-risk patients and, if approved, commercialize each such licensed drug worldwide. We plan to co-commercialize any licensed drug commercialized by Novartis in selected markets, under terms and conditions that we plan to negotiate with Novartis in the future, through the specialized sales force we are building to commercialize volanesorsen. Overall, we are eligible to receive license fees, milestone payments and royalties on sales of each drug Novartis licenses if and when it meets the development, regulatory and sales milestones specified in our agreement. Cardiometabolic disease, which includes cardiovascular diseases and metabolic diseases, is the number one cause of death globally. According to the American Heart Association, or AHA, cardiovascular disease, or CVD, alone accounts for 17.3 million deaths per year globally, a number that the AHA expects to grow to more than 23.6 million by 2030. Further, between 2010 and 2030, total direct medical costs of CVD in the United States alone are projected to triple from $272.5 billion to $818.1 billion, according to the AHA.", - "id": "b328c10c-d60c-4c8c-81f7-b234eded1462" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on water rights settlement for the Navajo Nation, which pertains to legal and environmental issues surrounding water use in Utah. Altra Industrial Motion Corp. operates in the industrial machinery sector, concentrating on power transmission technologies and automation. The bill's implications on water rights likely do not intersect with Altra's business model or operational activities, hence it is not relevant.", - "index": "290", - "bill_title": "To approve the settlement of the water rights claims of the Navajo Nation in Utah, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Navajo Utah Water Rights Settlement Act of 2019\n\nThis bill ratifies and modifies the Navajo Utah Water Rights Settlement Agreement negotiated between the Navajo Nation, the United States, and Utah. The agreement gives the Navajo Nation the right to use water from sources located within Utah and adjacent to or encompassed within the boundaries of the Navajo Reservation resulting in depletions not to exceed a specified amount annually.\n\nThe Navajo water rights shall be held in trust by the United States for the use and benefit of Navajo Nation and shall not be subject to forfeiture or abandonment.\n\nThe Navajo Nation shall have authority to allocate, distribute, and lease the water rights for any use on or off its reservation in accordance with the agreement.\n\nThe Department of the Interior shall establish and manage the Navajo Utah Settlement Trust Fund, with amounts available for withdrawal by the Navajo Nation for planning, designing, constructing, operating, maintaining, and replacing Navajo water development projects.\n\nThe bill also specifies waivers and releases that must be executed in order for the settlement to be binding and effective.", - "company_name": "Altra Industrial Motion Corp.", - "company_description": "Our company consists of two business segments: Power Transmission Technologies (\"PTT\") and Automation & Specialty (\"A & S\"). Couplings are the interfaces which enable power to be transmitted from one shaft to another. Our various coupling products include gear couplings, high performance diaphragm and disc couplings, elastomeric couplings, miniature and precision couplings, as well as universal joints, mill spindles 7 and shaft locking devices. These products are used in conveyor, energy, marine, medical, metals, mining, and other industrial machinery applications. Our key brands which provide couplin gs include Ameridrives, Bibby, Guardian, Huco, Lamiflex, Stromag and TB Wood' Clutches are devices which use mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, or friction connections to facilitate the engagement or disengagement of at least two rotating parts. These pro ducts are used in aerospace and defense, conveyor, energy, mining and other industrial machinery applications. Brakes are a combination of interacting parts that work to slow or stop moving machine parts. These products are used in heavy-duty industrial, m ining, metals and energy applications. Our key brands which provide clutches and brakes include Industrial Clutch, Formsprag, Stieber, Stromag, Svendborg, Twiflex and Wichita. Electromagnetic clutches and brakes use electromagnetic friction connections to slow, stop, engage, or disengage equipment. These products are used in baggage handling, elevator, forklift, material handling, medical, lawn mower, mobile off-highway and other niche applications. Our key brands which provide electromagnetic clutches and brakes include Inertia Dynamics, Matrix, Stromag and Warner Electric. Gears reduce the output speed and increase the torque of an electric motor or engine to the level required to drive a particular piece of equipment. These products are used in various industrial, material handling, mixing, transportation, food processing and other specialty niche applications. Our key brands which provide gears include Bauer Gear Motor, Boston Gear, Delroyd, and Nuttall. Automation and Specialty \u2013 A & S. Our Automation and Specialty segment consists of four key brands: Provides rotary precision motion solutions, including servo motors, stepper motors, high performance electronic drives and motion controllers and related software, and precision linear actuators. These products are used in advanced material handling, aerospace and defense, factory automation, medical, packaging, printing, semiconductor, robotic and other applications. Provides high-efficiency miniature motors and motion control products, including brush and brushless DC motors, can stack motors and disc magnet motors. These products are used in medical, industrial power tool and general industrial equipment applications. Provides systems that enable and support the transition of rotary motion to linear motion. Products include linear bearings, guides, glides, lead and ball screws, industrial linear actuators, resolvers and inductors. These products are used in factory automation, medical, mobile off-highway, material handling, food processing and other niche applications. Jacobs Vehicle Systems (JVS): Provides heavy-duty diesel engine brake systems and valve actuation mechanisms for the commercial vehicle market, including compression release, bleeder and exhaust brakes, including the \"Jake Brake\" engine braking system.", - "id": "87985f39-3350-4c02-a45f-5c918a8244bb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The RECLAIM Act of 2019 provides funding for the reclamation and restoration of lands and resources adversely affected by coal mining prior to 1977. This is relevant to Alliance Resource Partners LP, as they are a coal production company operating in regions affected by previous coal mining. The economic revitalization of these areas could positively impact their operations and community relations, aligning with their business interests in coal mining and natural resource management.", - "index": "291", - "bill_title": "To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to provide funds to States and Indian tribes for the purpose of promoting economic revitalization, diversification, and development in economically distressed communities through the reclamation and restoration of land and water resources adversely affected by coal mining carried out before August 3, 1977, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Revitalizing the Economy of Coal Communities by Leveraging Local Activities and Investing More Act of 2019 or the RECLAIM Act of 2019\n\nThis bill expands the uses of the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund to provide support for economic revitalization, diversification, and development in economically distressed mining communities through the reclamation and restoration of land and water resources adversely affected by coal mining carried out before August 3, 1977.\n\nSpecifically, it makes specified funds available to the Department of the Interior through FY2024 for distribution to states and Native American tribes for reclaiming and restoring abandoned mine lands and waters in such communities.", - "company_name": "Alliance Resource Partners LP", - "company_description": "We are a diversified natural resource company that generates income from coal production and oil & gas mineral interests located in strategic producing regions across the United States. We are currently the second largest coal producer in the eastern United States with eight underground mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia as well as a coal loading terminal in Indiana. We market our coal production to major domestic and international utilities and industrial users. We have grown historically primarily through expansion of our coal operations by adding and developing mines and coal reserves in these regions. In addition, we generate royalty income from mineral interests we own in premier oil & gas producing regions in the United States, primarily the Anadarko, Permian, Williston and Appalachian basins. Pursuant to that transaction, which closed on the same date, MGP contributed to ARLP all of its incentive distribution rights (\"IDRs\") and its 0.99% managing general partner interest in ARLP in exchange for 56,100,000 ARLP common units and a non-economic general partner interest in ARLP. AHGP would become a wholly owned subsidiary of ARLP, ii. The remaining AHGP common units held by the Owners of SGP were canceled and converted into the right to receive 29,188,997 ARLP common units which equaled (i) the product of the number of certain AHGP common units held by the Owners of SGP multiplied by 1.4782, minus (ii) 1,322,388 ARLP common units. In addition, ARLP issued 1,322,388 ARLP common units to the Owners of SGP in exchange for causing SGP to contribute to ARLP its remaining limited partner interest in AHGP, which included AHGP's indirect ownership of a 1.0001% general partner interest in the Intermediate Partnership and a 0.001% managing member interest in Alliance Coal, resulting in an overall exchange ratio to the Owners of SGP equal to that of the other AHGP unitholders. Upon the issuance of ARLP common units to the Owners of SGP in exchange for the limited partner interest in AHGP, ARLP became a) the sole limited partner of AHGP and b) through AHGP, the indirect owner of a 1.0001% general partner interest in the Intermediate Partnership and a 0.001% managing member interest in Alliance Coal. ARLP indirectly owns a 96.0% non-managing member interest and a non-economic managing member interest in Cavalier Minerals. On January 26, 2019, Kodiak Gas Services, LLC (\"Kodiak\") provided notification that it intended to redeem our preferred interest for $135.0 million, which is inclusive of an early redemption premium. We produce a diverse range of steam and metallurgical coal with varying sulfur and heat contents, which enables us to satisfy the broad range of specifications required by our customers. In 2018, we sold a record 40.4 million tons of coal and produced 40.3 million tons. The coal we sold in 2018 was approximately 28.1% low-sulfur coal, 40.1% medium-sulfur coal and 31.8% high-sulfur coal. Based on market expectations, we classify low-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of less than 1.5%, medium-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of 1.5% to 3%, and high-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of greater than 3%. In 2018, approximately 68.2% of our tons sold were purchased by United States electric utilities and 27.8% were sold into the international markets through brokered transactions. The balance of our tons sold were to third-party resellers and industrial consumers. For tons sold to United 3 States electric utilities, 100% were sold to utility plants with installed pollution control devices. The BTU content of our coal ranges from 11,400 to 13,200. The following map shows the location of our coal mining operations: Illinois Basin Operations: 4. Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Transportation: Barge & Truck Transportation: Barge & Railroad Coal Type: Medium/High-Sulfur METTIKI COMPLEX & Truck & Truck 8. Mining Access: Slope & Shaft & Continuous Miner ", - "id": "87997fd7-1b49-44c5-bdd8-5e335481ce2a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The PARTNERS Act aims to promote registered apprenticeships and on-the-job training for small and medium-sized businesses, which could benefit Altair Engineering by providing a qualified workforce in engineering and technical roles. Since Altair operates in engineering software and primarily caters to highly technical engineers, the development of a skilled workforce aligns with their business model. Enhancing the pool of simulation specialists and engineers through training programs could directly support Altair's recruitment and operational needs.", - "index": "292", - "bill_title": "A bill to promote registered apprenticeships and on-the-job training for small and medium-sized businesses within in-demand industry sectors, through the establishment and support of eligible partnerships.", - "bill_summary": "Promoting Apprenticeships through Regional Training Networks for Employers' Required Skills Act of 2019 or the PARTNERS Act\n\nThis bill establishes a grant program to promote registered apprenticeships and on-the-job training programs for small and medium-sized businesses within in-demand industry sectors, through the establishment and support of eligible partnerships.", - "company_name": "Altair Engineering, Inc.", - "company_description": "the \u0093Company,\u0094 \u0093we,\u0094 \u0093us\u0094 or \u0093our\u0094) is a leading provider of enterprise-class engineering software enabling innovation across the entire product lifecycle from concept design to in-service operation. Our vision is to transform product design and organizational decision making by applying simulation, optimization and high performance computing throughout product lifecycles. Our simulation-driven approach to innovation is powered by our broad portfolio of high-fidelity and high-performance physics solvers. Our integrated suite of software optimizes design performance across multiple disciplines encompassing structures, motion, fluids, thermal management, electromagnetics, system modeling, and embedded systems, while also providing data analytics and true-to-life visualization and rendering. This culture is important because it helps attract and retain top people, encourages innovation and teamwork, and enhances our focus on achieving Altair\u0092s corporate objectives. Our software enables customers to enhance product performance, compress development time, and reduce costs. Altair is also a leading provider of high performance computing, or HPC, workflow tools which empower our customers to explore designs in ways not possible in traditional computing environments. We believe we are unique in the industry for the depth and breadth of our engineering application software offerings combined with our domain expertise and proprietary technology for harnessing HPC and cloud infrastructures. Our primary users are highly educated and technical engineers, commonly referred to as simulation specialists. We predominantly reach customers with simulation specialists through Altair\u0092s experienced, direct sales force, especially in industries requiring highly engineered products, such as automotive, aerospace, heavy machinery, rail and ship design. To enable concept engineering driven by simulation we make our physics solvers more accessible to designers, who may be less technical and not expert in simulation, by wrapping them in powerful, yet simple interfaces. We are increasing our use of indirect channels to more efficiently address a broader set of customers in consumer products, electronics, energy and other industries. Altair pioneered a patented units-based subscription licensing model for software and other digital content. This units-based subscription licensing model allows flexible and shared access to all of our offerings, along with over 150 partner products. Our customers license a pool of units for their organizations giving individual users access to our entire portfolio of software applications as well as our growing portfolio of partner products. We believe our units-based subscription licensing model lowers barriers to adoption, creates broad engagement, encourages users to work within our ecosystem, and increases revenue. Software products Altair\u0092s software products, available under our HyperWorks, solidThinking, Altair PBS, and Carriots suites, represent a comprehensive, open architecture computer-aided engineering, or CAE, simulation platform. We believe our products offer the industry\u0092s broadest set of technologies to design and optimize high performance, efficient, and innovative products. Our products are categorized by: \u0095 Solvers & Optimization; \u0095 Modeling & Visualization; \u0095 Industrial & Concept Design; \u0095 Internet of Things; and \u0095 HPC. Solvers & optimization Solvers are mathematical software \u0093engines\u0094 that use advanced computational algorithms to predict physical performance. Optimization leverages solvers to derive the most efficient solutions to meet desired complex multi-objective requirements. Altair\u0092s solvers are a comprehensive set of fast, scalable and reliable physics solvers that can solve complex problems in linear and non-linear mechanics, fluid dynamics, electromagnetics, motion, systems and manufacturing simulation. optimization technology is a key differentiator and spans our product offering. Our focus on optimization combined with multiphysics and multi-domain simulation has changed product development, and we believe customers using our technologies can gain a sustainable competitive advantage by developing better products in less time. ", - "id": "c947e935-61d8-4f48-a2bd-7159aebd364f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on conducting a clinical trial for the effects of cannabis on veterans suffering from chronic pain and PTSD. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals is primarily involved in CNS disorders treatment with a focus on drugs like pimavanserin for conditions such as Parkinson's disease psychosis, Alzheimer's disease psychosis, and schizophrenia, which do not directly relate to cannabis. Therefore, the bill does not significantly impact ACADIA's business model or activities.", - "index": "293", - "bill_title": "A bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a clinical trial of the effects of cannabis on certain health outcomes of adults with chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct a clinical trial of the effects of medical-grade cannabis on the health outcomes of covered veterans diagnosed with chronic pain, and also those diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Covered veterans are those who are enrolled in the VA patient enrollment system for hospital care and medical services.", - "company_name": "ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative medicines to address unmet medical needs in central nervous system, or CNS, disorders. We have a portfolio of product opportunities led by our novel drug, NUPLAZID (pimavanserin), which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on April 29, 2016 for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis, or PD Psychosis, and is the only drug approved in the United States for this condition. NUPLAZID is a selective serotonin inverse agonist, or SSIA, preferentially targeting 5-HT 2A receptors. Through this novel mechanism, NUPLAZID demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing the hallucinations and delusions associated with PD Psychosis in our Phase 3 pivotal trial and has the potential to avoid many of the debilitating side effects of existing antipsychotics, none of which are approved by the FDA in the treatment of PD Psychosis. We hold worldwide commercialization rights to pimavanserin. We believe that pimavanserin has the potential to address important unmet medical needs in neurological and psychiatric disorders in addition to PD Psychosis and we plan to continue to study the use of pimavanserin in multiple disease states. For example, we believe dementia-related psychosis represents one of our most important opportunities for further exploration. In December 2016, we announced positive top-line results from our Phase 2 study exploring the utility of pimavanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease psychosis, or AD Psychosis, a disorder for which no drug is currently approved by the FDA. Following our End-of-Phase 2 Meeting with the FDA and agreement with the agency on our clinical development plan, we initiated 1 our Phase 3 HARMONY relapse prevention study in October 2017, which allows us to evaluate pimavanserin for a broader indication than AD Psychosis alone. More specifically, HARMONY will evaluate pimavanserin for the treatment of hal lucinations and delusions associated with dementia-related psychosis, which includes psychosis in patients with Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease dementia, vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. Furthermore, in Oc tober 2017, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to pimavanserin for dementia-related psychosis. As a result of potential overlap of clinical sites and study participants between the HARMONY study and our Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease agitation and aggression, which we refer to as SERENE, we decided to discontinue enrollment of new patients in that study. We also believe schizophrenia represents a disease with multiple unmet or ill-served needs and we are currently exploring the utility of pimavanserin in this area. Despite a large number of FDA-approved therapies for schizophrenia, current drugs do not adequately address some very important symptoms of schizophrenia, such as the inadequate response to current antipsychotic treatment of psychotic symptoms and negative symptoms. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we initiated two studies evaluating the adjunctive use of pimavanserin in patients with schizophrenia. ENHANCE-1 is a Phase 3 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment of schizophrenia in patients with an inadequate response to their current antipsychotic therapy. ADVANCE is a Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment in patients with negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Depression is another disorder with a high unmet need that we believe represents an attractive development opportunity for pimavanserin. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that patients with depression often do not receive adequate relief from an antidepressant medication, and, due to side effects of currently available therapies, many patients discontinue their medication, significantly increasing their chance of relapse. Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests 5-HT 2A antagonism may be an effective adjunctive therapy to currently prescribed antidepressants. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we initiated CLARITY, a Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment in patients with major depressive disorder, or MDD, who have an inadequate response to standard antidepressant therapy. Our strategy is to discover, develop and commercialize innovative small molecule drugs that address unmet medical needs in CNS disorders. We have assembled a management team with significant industry experience to lead the discovery, development, and commercialization of our product opportunities. We complement our management team with scientific and clinical advisors, including recognized experts in the fields of PD Psychosis, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, depression, and other CNS disorders.", - "id": "bbd1333d-2dc8-4bff-9205-0aad776e139e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to lower prescription drug prices and establish oversight on drug pricing, which directly impacts pharmaceutical companies like Alexion Pharmaceuticals that develop and sell brand-name drugs. Given that Alexion's business fundamentally revolves around the commercialization of therapies for rare diseases, potential changes in pricing regulation due to this bill could affect their pricing strategy, revenue, and market exclusivity for their products.", - "index": "294", - "bill_title": "A bill to significantly lower prescription drug prices for patients in the United States by ending government-granted monopolies for manufacturers who charge drug prices that are higher than the median prices at which the drugs are available in other countries.", - "bill_summary": "Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a series of oversight and disclosure requirements relating to the prices of brand-name drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review at least annually all brand-name drugs for excessive pricing; HHS must also review prices upon petition. If any such drugs are found to be excessively priced, HHS must (1) void any government-granted exclusivity; (2) issue open, nonexclusive licenses for the drugs; and (3) expedite the review of corresponding applications for generic drugs and biosimilar biological products. HHS must also create a public database with its determinations for each drug.\n\nUnder the bill, a price is considered excessive if the domestic average manufacturing price exceeds the median price for the drug in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. If a price does not meet this criteria, or if pricing information is unavailable in at least three of the aforementioned countries, the price is still considered excessive if it is higher than reasonable in light of specified factors, including cost, revenue, and the size of the affected patient population.\n\nThe bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified financial information for brand-name drugs, including research and advertising expenditures.", - "company_name": "Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "sales and marketing plans, any changes in the current or anticipated market demand or medical need for our products or our product candidates; status of our ongoing clinical trials for eculizumab, ALXN1210 and our other product candidates, commencement dates for new clinical trials, clinical trial results, evaluation of our clinical trial results by regulatory agencies, the adequacy of our pharmacovigilance and drug safety reporting processes, prospects for regulatory approval of our products and our product candidates, need for additional research and testing, the uncertainties involved in the drug development process and manufacturing; performance and reliance on third party service providers; our future research and development activities, plans for acquired programs, our ability to develop and commercialize products with our collaborators; \u2022 periods of patent, regulatory and market exclusivity for our products; \u2022 estimates of the capacity of manufacturing and other service facilities to support our products and our product candidates; and \u2022 potential costs resulting from product liability or other third party claims, the sufficiency of our existing capital resources and projected cash needs. Inc. (Alexion, the Company, we, our or us) is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on serving patients and families affected by rare diseases through the innovation, development and commercialization of life-changing therapies. We are the global leader in complement inhibition and have developed and commercialize the first and only approved complement inhibitor to treat patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), and anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody-positive generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG). In addition, Alexion has two highly innovative enzyme replacement therapies for patients with life-threatening and ultra-rare metabolic disorders, hypophosphatasia (HPP) and lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (LAL-D). As the leader in complement biology for over 20 years, Alexion focuses its research efforts on novel molecules and targets in the complement cascade, and its development efforts on the core therapeutic areas of hematology, nephrology, neurology, and metabolic disorders. We focus our product development programs on life-transforming therapeutics for rare diseases for which current treatments are either non-existent or inadequate. Our marketed products include the following: Product Soliris is designed to inhibit a specific aspect of the complement component of the immune system and thereby treat inflammation associated with chronic disorders in several therapeutic areas, including hematology, nephrology and neurology. Soliris is a humanized monoclonal antibody that effectively blocks terminal complement activity at the doses currently prescribed. The initial indication for which we received approval for Soliris is PNH. PNH is a debilitating and life-threatening, ultra-rare genetic blood disorder defined by chronic uncontrolled complement activation leading to the destruction of red blood cells (hemolysis). The chronic hemolysis in patients with PNH may be associated with life-threatening thromboses, recurrent pain, kidney disease, disabling fatigue, impaired quality of life, severe anemia, pulmonary hypertension, shortness of breath and intermittent episodes of dark-colored urine (hemoglobinuria). We continue to work with researchers to expand the base of knowledge in PNH and the utility of Soliris to treat patients with PNH. Soliris is approved for the treatment of PNH in the U.S., Europe, Japan and in several other countries. We are sponsoring a multinational registry to gather information regarding the natural history of patients with PNH and the longer term outcomes during Soliris treatment. In addition, Soliris has been granted orphan drug designation for the treatment of PNH in the U.S., Europe, Japan and several other countries. aHUS is a severe and life-threatening, ultra-rare genetic disease characterized by chronic uncontrolled complement activation and thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA), the formation of blood clots in small blood vessels throughout the body, causing a reduction in platelet count (thrombocytopenia) and life-threatening damage to the kidney, brain, heart and other vital organs. Soliris is approved for the treatment of pediatric and adult patients with aHUS in the U.S., Europe, Japan and in several other countries. We are sponsoring a multinational registry to gather information regarding the natural history of patients with aHUS and the longer-term outcomes during Soliris treatment. In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Commission (EC) have granted Soliris orphan drug designation for the treatment of patients with aHUS. ", - "id": "37fd4042-10d3-4616-92aa-3188ef2dca8a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on oversight and accountability of higher education institutions and protections for students and borrowers, particularly in the for-profit education sector. This does not directly impact BMC Stock Holdings, Inc., which operates in the residential construction market and provides building products and services to homebuilders and contractors. The legal consequences of the bill are specific to educational institutions and student loan practices, making it irrelevant to BMC's business model.", - "index": "295", - "bill_title": "A bill to protect students of institutions of higher education and the taxpayer investment in institutions of higher education by improving oversight and accountability of institutions of higher education, particularly for-profit colleges, improving protections for students and borrowers, and ensuring the integrity of postsecondary education programs, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Preventing Risky Operations from Threatening the Education and Career Trajectories of Students Act of 2019 or the PROTECT Students Act of 2019\n\nThis bill provides additional oversight of postsecondary education programs, including for-profit institutions of higher education\u00a0(IHEs), and addresses protections for students and student loan borrowers from fraudulent or predatory practices.\n\nThe bill sets forth a variety of provisions concerning oversight of for-profit IHEs. Specifically, the bill decreases the cap on the amount of revenue for-profit IHEs may receive from federal sources, including funds from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. In addition, it establishes (1) a process for reviewing for-profit IHEs that convert to nonprofit or public status, and (2) a For-Profit Education Oversight Coordination Committee.\n\nThe bill also sets forth provisions to address predatory practices in higher education. For instance, the bill requires career education programs to prepare students for gainful employment. In addition, it requires the Office of Federal Student Aid to have a unit that enforces compliance with laws governing student financial assistance programs. The office must also maintain a system that tracks reports of suspicious activity of IHEs or student loan servicers, including anonymous complaints. Lastly, the bill allows borrowers of student loans to seek loan forgiveness if IHEs mislead the students or engage in other misconduct.\n\nFinally, the bill prohibits IHEs that receive federal funding from limiting students' legal actions, providing incentive compensation, and using educational assistance funds for recruiting and marketing activities.", - "company_name": "BMC Stock Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "BMC Stock Holdings, Inc. is one of the leading providers of diversified building products and services in the U.S. residential construction market. Our objective is to provide best-in-class customer service and value-added products to our customers, which are primarily single- and multi-family home builders and professional remodelers. Our product offerings include lumber and lumber sheet goods and an array of value-added products, including millwork, doors, windows and structural components such as engineered wood products (\"EWP\"), floor and roof trusses and wall panels. Our whole-house framing solution, Ready-Frame \u00ae, which is one of our fastest growing product offerings, saves builders both time and money and improves job site safety. We also offer our customers important services, such as design, product specification, installation and installation management. The 19 states in which we operate accounted for approximately 67% of 2018 U.S. single-family housing permits according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Our primary operating regions include the South and West regions of the United States (as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau), with a significant portion of our net sales derived from markets within Texas, California and Georgia. Given the local nature of our business, we locate our facilities in close proximity to our key customers and often co-locate multiple operations in one facility to increase customer service and efficiency. 45 metropolitan areas in 19 states that includes a mix of large-scale production homebuilders, custom homebuilders, multi-family builders and professional repair and remodeling contractors. Our largest 10 customers accounted for approximately 21% of our 2018 net sales, with no single customer accounting for more than 6% of our 2018 net sales. Our largest customers comprise primarily large production homebuilders, including publicly traded companies such as D.R. Horton, Inc., Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., Lennar Corporation, PulteGroup, Inc., Toll Brothers, Inc. and TRI Pointe Group, Inc. In addition to these large production homebuilders, we also service and supply regional and local custom homebuilders. We also serve professional residential remodeling contractors and multi-family and light commercial contractors in most of our markets. Our Products and Services We provide a wide variety of building products and services directly to homebuilder and professional contractor customers. We offer a broad range of products sourced through a network of suppliers with whom we have strategic supplier agreements. These products are available through our distribution locations and eCommerce platform and, in most instances, are delivered to the job site. We manufacture floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels, stairs, specialty millwork, windows and pre-hung doors. We have developed several proprietary capabilities to design, pre-cut, label and bundle lumber and lumber sheet goods into customized framing packages, which we have branded Ready-Frame \u00ae. We also provide an extensive range of installation services and special order products. We group our building products and services into four product categories: (i) structural components, (ii) lumber and lumber sheet goods, (iii) millwork, doors and windows, and (iv) other building products and services. For the year ended December 31, 2018 , our sales of structural components and millwork, doors and windows products represented 43% of net sales. Each of these categories includes both manufactured and distributed products. Products in these categories typically carry a higher gross margin than lumber and lumber sheet goods and other building products and services, and provide us with opportunities to cross-sell other products and services. Structural components are factory-built substitutes for job-site framing and include floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels and EWP that in many cases we design and cut for each home. Roof trusses, floor trusses and wall panels are built in a factory controlled environment.", - "id": "3571c1aa-22b4-4891-83b8-d956044ab093" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The CHOICE Act's establishment of a public health insurance option directly impacts the pharmaceutical industry and companies like ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, as it could influence reimbursement rates, market access, and pricing strategies for drugs like NUPLAZID. Given that the bill involves insurance coverage for services and medications, it is relevant to ACADIA's activities in developing and commercializing treatments for CNS disorders, including potential implications for their drug pricing and patient access.", - "index": "296", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a public health insurance option, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Consumer Health Options and Insurance Competition Enhancement Act or the CHOICE Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop a public health insurance option that meets all federal plan requirements and is available on state and federal health insurance exchanges. Specifically, the CMS must offer silver and gold plans, may offer bronze plans, and must include all essential benefits, consumer protections, and cost-sharing limitations in each plan. The CMS may contract with a third party to administer the public option plans and states may establish advisory councils to make recommendations to the CMS about the operation and policies of such plans. Further, the CMS must establish geographically adjusted premiums and negotiate provider payment rates for services and prescription drugs covered the plans. If a payment rate cannot be negotiated, the CMS must pay the amount for such service as required under traditional Medicare. Medicare and Medicaid providers are automatically participants in public option plans unless they opt out, and providers not participating in Medicare or Medicaid may opt in.", - "company_name": "ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative medicines that address unmet medical needs in central nervous system, or CNS, disorders. We have a portfolio of product opportunities led by our novel drug, NUPLAZID (pimavanserin), which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, in April 2016 for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis, or PD Psychosis, and is the only drug approved in the United States for this condition. NUPLAZID is a selective serotonin inverse agonist, or SSIA, preferentially targeting 5-HT 2A receptors. Through this novel mechanism, NUPLAZID demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing the hallucinations and delusions associated with PD Psychosis in our Phase 3 pivotal trial and has the potential to avoid many of the debilitating side effects of existing antipsychotics, none of which are approved by the FDA in the treatment of PD Psychosis. We hold worldwide commercialization rights to pimavanserin. We launched NUPLAZID in the United States in May 2016 with the recommended dosing of 34 mg once a day taken as two 17 mg tablets. In June 2018, the FDA approved a 34 mg NUPLAZID capsule formulation that provides patients with the recommended 34 mg once daily dose in a single, small capsule, reducing patient pill burden compared to the previous administration of two 17 mg tablets. In addition, the FDA approved a 10 mg NUPLAZID tablet for patients concomitantly receiving strong cytochrome 3A4 inhibitors, which can inhibit the metabolizing of NUPLAZID . We believe that pimavanserin has the potential to address important unmet medical needs in neurological and psychiatric disorders in addition to PD Psychosis and we are continuing to study the use of pimavanserin in multiple disease states. For example, we believe dementia-related psychosis is one of our most important opportunities for further exploration. In December 2016, we 1 announced positive top-line results from our Phase 2 s tudy exploring the utility of pimavanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease psychosis, or AD Psychosis, a disorder for which no drug is currently approved by the FDA. Following our End-of-Phase 2 Meeting with the FDA and agreement with the agency , we initiated our Phase 3 HARMONY relapse prevention study in October 2017, which allows us to evaluate pimavanserin for a broader indication than AD Psychosis alone. More specifically, HARMONY will evaluate pimavanserin for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with dementia-related psychosis, which includes psychosis in patients with Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease dementia, vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementi Furthermore, in the fourth quarter of 2017, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to pimavanserin for dementia-related psychosis. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, major depressive disorder, or MDD, affects approximately 16 million adults in the United States, with approximately 2.5 million adults treated with adjunctive therapy. The majority of people who suffer from MDD do not respond adequately to initial antidepressant therapy. In October 2018, we announced positive top-line results from CLARITY, a Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment in 207 patients with MDD who had a confirmed inadequate response to existing first-line, SSRI or SNRI, antidepressant therapy. In the study, pimavanserin met the pre-specified primary and key secondary endpoints with statistical significance and positive results were also observed in seven additional secondary endpoints including response rate, improvement in sexual function, and a reduction in daytime sleepiness. Pimavanserin was generally well-tolerated in the study with no meaningful weight gain or impact on motor function observed. In February 2019, we conducted an End-of-Phase 2 Meeting with the FDA and we plan to initiate a Phase 3 program for pimavanserin as an adjunctive treatment for MDD in the first half of 2019. We also believe schizophrenia is a disease with multiple unmet or ill-served needs and we are currently exploring the utility of pimavanserin in this area. Despite a large number of FDA-approved therapies for schizophrenia, current drugs do not adequately address certain important symptoms of schizophrenia, such as inadequate response to current antipsychotic treatment of psychotic symptoms and negative symptoms.", - "id": "c4bc2d1a-890e-41cd-ac0b-654e44531f4e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill mandates support for stem cell research, which could be relevant to Agios Pharmaceuticals since they focus on developing transformative therapies for cancer and rare genetic diseases. Stem cell research may align with their objectives in cellular metabolism and could lead to new therapeutic avenues, impacting their business model and potential product development.", - "index": "297", - "bill_title": "To intensify stem cell research showing evidence of substantial clinical benefit to patients, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Patients First Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support stem cell research. Specifically, the NIH must conduct and support basic and applied research to develop techniques for the isolation, derivation, production, testing, and human clinical use of stem cells that may result in improved understanding of, or treatments for, diseases and other adverse health conditions. However, such techniques must not involve (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; (2) the destruction or discarding of, or risk of injury to, a human embryo; or (3) the use of any stem cell the derivation or provision of which would be inconsistent with this bill.\n\nThe NIH must also report on peer-reviewed stem cell research proposals that were not funded.", - "company_name": "Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company committed to the fundamental transformation of patients' lives through scientific leadership in the field of cellular metabolism, with the goal of making transformative, first- or best-in-class medicines. Our therapeutic areas of focus are cancer and rare genetic diseases, or RGDs, which are diseases that are directly caused by changes in genes or chromosomes, often passed from one generation to the next. The incidence of a single RGD can vary widely but is generally very infrequent, usually equal to or less than one per 100,000 births. In both areas of cancer and RGDs, we are seeking to unlock the biology of cellular metabolism as a platform to create transformative therapies. Our first commercial cancer product is IDHIFA\u00ae. In August 2017, the FDA granted our collaboration partner Celgene Corporation, or Celgene, approval of IDHIFA\u00ae for the treatment of adult patients with R/R AML, and an IDH2 mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test. IDHIFA\u00ae, an oral targeted inhibitor of the mutated IDH2 enzyme, is the first and only FDA-approved therapy for patients with R/R AML and an IDH2 mutation. Our most advanced clinical cancer product candidates are ivosidenib, which targets mutated IDH1, and AG-881, which is a brain-penetrant pan-IDH mutant inhibitor. In December 2017, we submitted a new drug application, or NDA, to the FDA for ivosidenib for the treatment of patients with R/R AML and an IDH1 mutation. We plan to submit an MAA to the EMA for ivosidenib for IDH1 mutant-positive R/R AML in the fourth quarter of 2018. Our next most advanced cancer product candidate is AG-270, an inhibitor of MAT2A. We submitted an investigational new drug application, or IND, for AG-270 in November 2017, and in December 2017 the FDA concluded that we may proceed with our planned phase 1 dose-escalation trial of AG-270 in multiple tumor types carrying a methylthioadenosine phosphorylase, or MTAP, deletion. We expect to initiate this trial in the first quarter of 2018. Our most advanced preclinical cancer product candidate is an inhibitor of the metabolic enzyme DHODH. We plan to submit an IND for our DHODH inhibitor for the treatment of hematologic malignancies in the fourth quarter of 2018. The lead product candidate in our RGD program, AG-348, targets pyruvate kinase-R for the treatment of pyruvate kinase, or PK, deficiency. PK deficiency is a rare genetic disorder that often results in severe hemolytic anemia, jaundice and lifelong conditions associated with chronic anemia and secondary complications due to inherited mutations in the pyruvate kinase enzyme within red blood cells, or RBCs. We intend to initiate two global, pivotal trials of AG-348 in PK deficiency in the first half of 2018: ACTIVATE-T, a single arm trial of approximately 20 regularly transfused patients, is expected to initiate in the first quarter of 2018, and ACTIVATE, a 1:1 randomized, placebo-controlled trial of approximately 80 patients who do not receive regular transfusions, is expected to initiate in the second quarter of 2018. We also expect to initiate a phase 2 proof of concept trial of AG-348 in thalassemia in the fourth quarter of 2018. In addition to the aforementioned development programs, we are seeking to advance a number of early-stage discovery programs in the areas of cancer metabolism, RGDs and metabolic immuno-oncology, or MIO, a developing field which aims to modulate the activity of relevant immune cells by targeting critical metabolic nodes, thereby, enhancing the immune mediated anti-tumor response. The clinical development strategy for all of our product and development candidates includes a precision approach with initial study designs that allow for genetically or biomarker defined patient populations, enabling the potential for proof of concept early in clinical development, along with the potential for accelerated approval. Our ability to identify, validate and drug novel targets is enabled by a set of core capabilities. Key proprietary aspects of our core capabilities in cellular metabolism include our ability to measure the activities of numerous metabolic pathways in cells or tissues in a high throughput fashion and our expertise in \"flux biochemistry. This refers to the dynamic analysis of how metabolites, which are intermediates or small molecule products of metabolism, accumulate or diminish as they are created or chemically altered by multiple networks of metabolic enzymes.", - "id": "254a62fc-883b-4c23-b00e-193bf367bfeb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill requires negotiation of drug prices under Medicare, which directly impacts Acorda Therapeutics as they derive significant revenue from Ampyra, a drug that may be subject to such negotiations post-patent expiration. If prices are negotiated down, it could significantly affect their revenue. Since the bill aims to allow competitive licensing if negotiation fails, this could further impact the company's market position by allowing generics to enter the market more easily, which is directly tied to their business model.", - "index": "298", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices of prescription drugs furnished under part D of the Medicare program.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies regarding prices for drugs covered under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Current law prohibits the CMS from doing so.)\n\nThe CMS must take certain factors into account during negotiations, including the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the drug, the financial burden on patients, and unmet patient needs. If the CMS is unable to negotiate the price of a drug, such drug is subject to competitive licensing in order to further its sale under Medicare, notwithstanding existing government-granted exclusivities.\n\nAdditionally, for one year after a drug is provided under a competitive license, such drug is also subject to specified price limitations; if the drug is not offered at such prices, the drug is\u00a0subject to additional licensing that furthers its sale under any federal program (e.g., Medicaid).", - "company_name": "Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies that restore function and improve the lives of people with neurological disorders. We market two U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved therapies, including Ampyra (dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10mg, a treatment to improve walking in adult patients with multiple sclerosis, or MS, as demonstrated by an increase in walking speed. We have a pipeline of novel neurological therapies addressing a range of disorders, including Parkinson's disease and MS. We currently derive substantially all our revenue from the sale of Ampyra. In March 2017, we announced a decision by the United States District Court for the District of Delaware in litigation with certain generic drug manufacturers upholding our Ampyra Orange Book-listed patent set to expire on July 30, 2018, but invalidating our four other Orange Book-listed patents pertaining to Ampyra that were set to expire between 2025 and 2027. Under this decision, we expect to maintain patent exclusivity with respect to Ampyra at least through July 30, 2018, depending on the outcome of appeal of the District Court's decision. The defendant generic drug manufacturers have appealed the District Court's decision upholding the patent that expires in July 2018, and we have appealed the ruling on the four invalidated patents. We expect to experience a rapid and significant decline in Ampyra sales beyond July 2018 due to competition from generic versions of Ampyra that may be marketed after the expiration of our remaining Ampyra patent, unless the District Court's decision on the four invalidated patents is overturned on appeal, which could include reversal or remand by the appeals court back to the District Court. If the appeals court does not overturn the District Court's decision by July 30, 2018, multiple ANDA filers may be able to launch generic versions of Ampyra absent injunctive relief. Inbrija, our most advanced development program, is a self-administered, inhaled formulation of levodopa, or L-dopa, being investigated for the treatment of OFF periods in people with Parkinson's disease who are taking a carbidopa/levodopa regimen. Inbrija is based on our proprietary ARCUS platform, a dry-powder pulmonary drug delivery technology that we believe has potential applications in multiple disease areas. We announced positive Phase 3 efficacy and safety data for this program in 2017. In June 2017, we submitted a New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija to the FDA. In August 2017, we announced that we received a Refusal to File, or RTF, letter from the FDA regarding the Inbrija NDA. Upon its preliminary review, the FDA determined that the NDA was not sufficiently complete to permit a substantive review. The FDA specified two reasons for the RTF: first, the date when the manufacturing site would be ready for inspection; and second, a question regarding the submission of the drug master production record. The resubmission addressed the two issues raised in the RTF and included all additional information requested by the FDA in the RTF. On February 20, 2018, we announced that the resubmitted NDA was accepted for filing by the FDA, and that under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, the FDA has set a target date of October 5, 2018. Our commercial preparations for the launch of Inbrija continue. We expect to file a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency in the first quarter of 2018. In November 2017, we discontinued our clinical development program for tozadenant, an investigational treatment for reduction of OFF time in people with Parkinson' We made this decision based on new information obtained from our Phase 3 clinical trials related to agranulocytosis and associated serious adverse events. In return for the payment to us, HCRP obtained the right to receive Fampyra royalties payable to us by Biogen, up to an agreed upon threshold of royalties. We believe that operating expense reductions from the restructuring, as well as additional expense reductions due to termination of the tozadenant development program, will enable us to fund operations through launch of Inbrija in the U.S., pending approval from the FDA.", - "id": "bcad93c9-a8e3-4d71-8aa6-54c030151bae" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The FAMILY Act imposes a tax on employers, which could affect Allscripts' financial operations, including its payroll, employee benefits, and overall costs. Since Allscripts is a healthcare IT company employing many individuals, the mandated paid family and medical leave could also impact their workforce management and employee relations strategies.", - "index": "299", - "bill_title": "A bill to provide paid family and medical leave benefits to certain individuals, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act or the FAMILY Act\n\n This bill establishes the Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave within the Social Security Administration.\n\n The bill entitles every individual to a family and medical leave insurance (FMLI) benefit payment for a specified benefit period and prescribes a formula for determining the individual's monthly benefit amount.\n\nAn FMLI benefit payment shall be coordinated with any periodic benefits received under a state or local temporary disability insurance or family leave program.\n\nThe bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on employers, employees, and self-employed individuals to fund FMLI benefits. It also establishes the Federal Family and Medical Leave Insurance Trust Fund to hold tax revenues.", - "company_name": "Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.", - "company_description": "(\"Allscripts\") delivers information technology (\"IT\") solutions and services to help healthcare organizations achieve optimal clinical, financial and operational results. Our portfolio, which we believe offers some of the most comprehensive solutions in our industry today, is designed to help clients advance the quality and efficiency of healthcare by providing electronic health records (\"EHR\"), financial management, population health management and precision medicine/consumer solutions. Built on an open integrated platform, Allscripts solutions enable users to exchange data, streamline workflows and leverage functionality from other software vendors. The Allscripts Developer Program focuses on nurturing partnerships with other developers to help clients optimize the value of their Allscripts investment. During 2017, we completed the acquisition of McKesson's hospital and health system business known as Enterprise Information Solutions (\"EIS\") (the \"EIS Business\"). It expands our ability to meet the strategic needs of a broader range of hospitals and health systems, ranging from critical access and community hospitals to the largest, most complex integrated delivery networks. For example, clients of the EIS Business will benefit from our numerous solutions that are designed to help them stay ahead in the increasingly competitive environment in which they operate: precision medicine, cross community care coordination, consumer solutions and financial analytics. Allscripts also completed a transaction pursuant to which Allscripts exchanged its entire holdings of the NantHealth common stock for NantHealth's provider and patient engagement solutions business, including the FusionFX solution and components of NantOS software connectivity solutions. In addition, NantHealth amended its mutual license and reseller agreement with us to, among other things, commit to deliver a minimum dollar amount of software and related services from Allscripts over a 10-year period. Our portfolio addresses a range of industry needs, with the goal of helping clients to connect communities across multiple care settings, encourage efficiency and deepen the engagement of the patient in his/her own care. Electronic Health Records Allscripts offers a suite of EHRs for hospitals and health systems, as well as physician and community practices. Built on an open platform with advanced clinical decision support, our EHRs provide analysis and insights. Each of our EHR offerings delivers a single patient record, workflows and consolidated analytics. Our innovative technology-based solutions are designed to improve patient care delivery and outcomes. Sunrise Acute EHR is a comprehensive interdisciplinary clinical solution for larger hospital facilities with a combination of services lines. The solution\u2014including Sunrise Ambulatory to support health systems on a single platform for both inpatient and outpatient care\u2014provides decision guidance, including computerized provider order entry, note and flowsheet documentation, clinical summary views and other key workflows necessary for driving quality care. Functionality is also offered on mobile devices. Allscripts Paragon EHR is an integrated clinical, financial and administrative solution tailored for community hospitals and health systems. It is part of the EIS portfolio that supports the full scope of care delivery and business processes, from patient access management and accounting through clinical assessment, documentation and treatment. It offers integration with OneContent, an enterprise content management solution, to automate workflow across the enterprise for all content types, such as documents and images. Allscripts TouchWorks EHR is designed for larger single and multispecialty practices and is built on an open platform that brings data sources together. This open platform feature, along with the ability to customize workflows, allows clinical staff to effectively coordinate and deliver both primary and specialized care. Functionality is also offered on mobile devices. Allscripts Professional EHR is for small- to mid-size physician practices. Allscripts Professional EHR works in Accountable Care Organizations (\"ACOs\"), Patient-Centered Medical Homes and Federally Qualified Health Centers, and enables practices to adhere to government initiatives like Meaningful Use and the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act. ", - "id": "4a3f881f-f60a-4aa7-987c-6c015b351539" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is highly relevant to Twitter, Inc. as it would impose stricter regulations on the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information for children and minors, which impacts Twitter's operations considering their advertising model and targeting capabilities based on user data. Twitter's services are accessible to minors, and the bill\u2019s provisions would require significant adjustments to their data privacy practices and advertising strategies, including obtaining consent and ensuring the protection of minors' data.", - "index": "300", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 to strengthen protections relating to the online collection, use, and disclosure of personal information of children and minors, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "This bill extends to minors (ages 12\u201316) privacy protections previously applicable only to children (ages 0\u201312) and otherwise establishes greater online privacy protections for children and minors.\n\nSpecifically, the bill prohibits an operator of a website, online service, online application, or mobile application directed to a child or minor with constructive knowledge the user is a child or minor from collecting the user's personal information without\n\n providing notice and obtaining consent, providing a parent or minor with certain information upon request, conditioning participation by a user on the provision of personal information, establishing and maintaining reasonable procedures to protect the personal information collected from users. The bill also prohibits targeted marketing directed to a child or directed to a minor without the minor's consent.\n\nThe bill further outlines a set of principles governing how operators should collect and use personal information, as well as provide information to a parent or minor. A parent or minor must be able to challenge the accuracy of personal information, and an operator must provide for the erasure or correction of inaccurate personal information. Operators must also implement mechanisms for the erasure or elimination of personal information at the request of users and make users aware of such mechanisms.\n\nMoreover, the bill prohibits the sale of internet-connected devices targeted to children and minors unless they meet certain cybersecurity and data security standards, and it requires manufacturers of such devices to display a privacy dashboard detailing how personal information is collected and used.", - "company_name": "Twitter, Inc.", - "company_description": "From breaking news and entertainment, to sports, politics, and everyday interests, Twitter shows every side of the story. The service can be accessed via twitter.com, an array of mobile devices via Twitter owned and operated mobile applications (e.g. Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android), and SMS. In 2018, we took important steps to increase the collective health, openness, and civility of the public conversation on Twitter, helping people see high-quality information, strengthening our sign-up and account verification processes, and preventing the abuse of Twitter data. Specific actions we took in 2018 included: strengthening account security, updating our rules to more clearly address specific types of hateful conduct, taking new behavior-based signals into account when presenting and organizing Tweets, making it easier to see when a Tweet was removed for breaking our rules, and expanding our team through increased hiring and acquisition. In 2018, our machine learning efforts continued to improve, making it harder for malicious accounts to manipulate our service through multiple accounts and evading suspension, resulting in the suspension of millions of spammy and suspicious accounts. Our primary product, Twitter, is a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time. Twitter allows people to consume, create, distribute and discover content and has democratized content creation and distribution. Periscope is a mobile application that lets anyone broadcast and watch video live with others. Periscope broadcasts can also be viewed through Twitter and on desktop or mobile web browsers. The reach of Twitter content is not limited to our logged-in users on the Twitter platform, but rather extends to a much larger global audience. The public nature of the Twitter platform allows us and others to extend the reach of Twitter content beyond our properties. Over 1 million media outlets and our platform partners distribute Tweets beyond our properties to complement their content by making it more timely, relevant and comprehensive. most trusted media outlets and publishers regularly use Twitter as a platform for content distribution. Our Promoted Products enable our advertisers to launch products and services and promote their brands, amplify their visibility and reach, and connect with our audience, while extending the conversation around their advertising campaigns. We enable our advertisers to target an audience based on a variety of factors, including a user's interest graph. The interest graph maps, among other things, interests based on users followed and actions taken on our platform, such as Tweets created and engagement with Tweets. We believe a user's interest graph produces a clear and real-time signal of a user's interests, greatly enhancing the relevance of the ads we can display for users and enhancing our targeting capabilities for advertisers. Our Promoted Products are incorporated into our platform as native advertising and are designed to be as compelling and useful to our users as organic content on our platform. Promoted Tweets appear within a user's timeline, search results or profile pages just like an ordinary Tweet regardless of device. Promoted Tweets often include images and videos, such as App Cards and Website Cards. Our goal is to enable advertisers to create and optimize successful marketing campaigns \u2014 and pay either on impressions delivered or pay only for the user actions that are aligned with their marketing objectives. As a result, we have added product features to Promoted Tweets based on advertiser objectives, which may include Tweet engagements (e.g., retweets, replies and likes), website clicks or conversions, mobile application installs or engagements, obtaining new followers, or video views. Promoted Accounts provide a way for our advertisers to grow a community of users who are interested in their business, products or services. When a user clicks on a Promoted Trend, search results for that trend are shown in a timeline and a Promoted Tweet created by our advertisers is displayed to the user at the top of those search results.", - "id": "4b029890-2586-424f-8634-19c4ef1c0d84" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving mental health care and services for veterans, specifically related to the Department of Veterans Affairs. It does not pertain to the operations, products, or services of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc., which is a manufacturing company in the lift truck and materials handling equipment sector.", - "index": "301", - "bill_title": "A bill to improve mental health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019\n\nThis bill makes updates related to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) transition assistance, mental health care, care for women veterans, and telehealth care.\n\nTITLE I--IMPROVEMENT OF TRANSITION OF INDIVIDUALS TO SERVICES FROM DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS\n\n(Sec. 101) This section requires the VA to submit a plan for the provision of VA health care to any veteran during the one-year period following the discharge or release from active military, naval, or air service.\n\n(Sec. 102) The Department of Defense (DOD) and the VA must jointly review and report on the records of each former member of the Armed Forces who died by suicide within one year of separation from the Armed Forces during the five-year period preceding the enactment of this bill.\n\n(Sec. 103) The VA must report on the Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health\u2014Veterans Enhanced Treatment (REACH VET) program to assess, among other elements, the impact of the program on rates of suicide among veterans.\n\n(Sec. 104) This section updates reporting requirements related to the mental and behavioral health care provided by the VA to former members of the Armed Forces with other than honorable discharge.\n\nTITLE II--SUICIDE PREVENTION\n\n(Sec. 201) This section establishes the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, under which the VA must award grants for a period of three years to eligible entities for the provision of suicide prevention services to veterans and their families. A nongovernmental entity must conduct a study on the provision of such grants to evaluate the effectiveness.\n\nIn certain circumstances, entities receiving grants must refer eligible individuals for additional care at the VA. If it is clinically appropriate, the VA must provide an individual receiving suicide prevention services through a grant with a mental health care assessment or services. If an individual refuses such care, ongoing clinical services provided by a grantee must be at the expense of the grantee.\n\n(Sec. 202) The VA must complete a study and report on the feasibility and advisability of providing complementary and integrative health treatments, such as acupuncture, at all VA medical facilities.\n\n(Sec. 203) After the Creating Options for Veterans' Expedited Recovery Commission submits its final report, the VA must conduct a three-year pilot program to provide complementary and integrative health services (e.g., animal therapy) to certain veterans from the VA or non-VA entities for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, or anxiety. The VA is authorized to extend the duration based on the results of the implementation.\n\n(Sec. 204) The VA must seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study the effects of opioids and benzodiazepine on all-cause mortality of veterans, including suicide, regardless of whether information relating to such deaths has been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nThe Government Accountability Office (GAO) must conduct a review of the staffing levels for mental health professionals of the VA.\n\n(Sec. 205) This section requires the GAO to report on the VA's efforts to manage veterans at high risk for suicide.\n\nTITLE III--PROGRAMS, STUDIES, AND GUIDELINES ON MENTAL HEALTH\n\n(Sec. 301) This section requires the VA to conduct a study on the connection between living at high altitude and the risk of developing depression or dying by suicide among veterans. Depending on the results, a follow-up study may be required to identify biological causes and effective treatments.\n\n(Sec. 302) The VA must develop a clinical provider treatment toolkit and training materials for the evidence-based management of comorbid mental health conditions, comorbid mental health and substance use disorders, and a comorbid mental health condition and chronic pain.\n\n(Sec. 303) The VA and DOD (through the Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide Work Group) must issue an update to the VA/DOD Clinical Practice Guideline for Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide that (1) considers gender-specific factors; and (2) includes guidance with respect to the efficacy of certain alternative therapies, such as meditation and animal therapy.\n\n(Sec. 304) This section requires the VA to complete the development of a clinical practice guideline or guidelines for the treatment of serious mental illness. Under this section, such guidelines must address the treatment of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and persistent mood disorder (including bipolar disorder I and II).\n\nThe VA must establish the Serious Mental Illness Work Group with DOD and the Department of Health and Human Services to develop such clinical practice guideline or guidelines.\n\nAdditionally, the VA must complete an assessment of the 2016 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Major Depressive Disorders to determine if an update is necessary.\n\n(Sec. 305) The VA must implement the Precision Medicine for Veterans Initiative to identify and validate brain and mental health biomarkers among veterans, with specific consideration for depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and traumatic brain injury. The VA must develop data privacy and security measures to ensure the information of veterans participating in the initiative is kept private and secure. The VA must also coordinate efforts of the initiative with the Million Veterans Program.\n\n(Sec. 306) This section authorizes the VA to contract with academic institutions or other qualified entities to carry out any statistical analyses and data evaluation as required by law.\n\nTITLE IV--OVERSIGHT OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE AND RELATED SERVICES\n\n(Sec. 401) The VA must enter into an agreement with a nonfederal government entity that has expertise in conducting and evaluating research-based studies to conduct a study on the effectiveness of the VA's suicide prevention and mental health outreach materials and campaigns.\n\n(Sec. 402) The VA must establish measurable goals to evaluate the effectiveness of the VA's mental health and suicide prevention media outreach campaigns.\n\n(Sec. 403) This section requires the GAO to conduct a management review of the mental health and suicide prevention services provided by the VA.\n\n(Sec. 404) The GAO must report on the VA's efforts to integrate (1) mental health care into VA primary care clinics, and (2) community-based mental health care (care provided by a non-VA provider but paid for by the VA) into the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).\n\n(Sec. 405) The VA and DOD must report on their mental health programs, including joint programs of the departments. The VA must establish a joint VA/DOD Intrepid Spirit Center to serve active duty members of the Armed Forces, members of the reserve components, and veterans for mutual benefit and growth in treatment and care for PTSD and traumatic brain injury.\n\nTITLE V--IMPROVEMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH MEDICAL WORKFORCE\n\n(Sec. 501) The VA must submit a plan to address the staffing of mental health providers at its facilities. Additionally, the VA must develop an occupational series for its licensed professional mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists.\n\n(Sec. 502) This section requires the VA to carry out the Department of Veterans Affairs Readjustment Counseling Service Scholarship Program under the Educational Assistance Program.\n\n(Sec. 503) The GAO must report on the VA's Readjustment Counseling Service. Such report must include, among other elements, an assessment of barriers to care at Vet Centers.\n\n(Sec. 504) This section expands the annual reporting requirement on the activities of the Readjustment Counseling Service to include additional elements.\n\n(Sec. 505) The VA must conduct a survey on the attitudes of veterans toward the VA offering appointments outside the usual operating hours of VA facilities, including via telehealth appointments. The VA must also study the feasibility and advisability of offering appointments outside the usual operating hours\n\n(Sec. 506) The VA must ensure each of its medical centers is staffed with at least one suicide prevention coordinator. In addition, the VA must conduct a study to determine the feasibility and advisability of the realignment and reorganization of suicide prevention coordinators within the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and the creation of a suicide prevention coordinator program office.\n\n(Sec. 507) This section requires the VA to report on its efforts to implement a suicide prevention program for veterans presenting to an emergency department or urgent care center of the VHA who are assessed to be at risk for suicide and are safe to be discharged home.\n\nTITLE VI--IMPROVEMENT OF CARE AND SERVICES FOR WOMEN VETERANS\n\n(Sec. 601) This section requires the VA to expand the capabilities of the Women Veterans Call Center by including a text messaging capability.\n\n(Sec. 602) The VA must publish a website providing information for women veterans about the benefits and services available to them.\n\nTITLE VII--OTHER MATTERS\n\n(Sec. 701) This section requires the VA to award grants to entities for the expansion of telehealth capabilities and provision of telehealth services to veterans. An entity seeking to establish a telehealth access point for veterans without grant funding is authorized to enter into an agreement with the VA to establish such access point.\n\nThe VA must assess and report on the barriers veterans face in accessing telehealth services.\n\n(Sec. 702) This section authorizes the VA to enter partnerships with nonfederal government entities to provide hyperbaric oxygen treatment to veterans to research the effectiveness of such therapy in treating certain conditions (e.g., PTSD).\n\nThe VA must conduct a systematic review of published research literature on off-label use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat PTSD and traumatic brain injury among veterans and nonveterans. Additionally, the VA must conduct a study on all individuals receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy through the VA's current pilot program to determine the efficacy and effectiveness for treating PTSD and traumatic brain injury.\n\n(Sec. 703) The VA must prescribe specified technical qualifications for appointment as a licensed hearing aid specialist in the VHA. Under this section, at least one licensed hearing aid specialist must be appointed at each VA medical center.\n\n(Sec. 704) This section requires the VA to complete policy revisions within the internal directive titled Requirements for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research to allow sponsored clinical research of the VA to use accredited commercial institutional review boards to review VA research proposal protocols.\n\nThe VA must (1) identify accredited commercial institutional review boards for use in connection with sponsored clinical research of the VA, and (2) establish a process to modify existing approvals if a board loses its accreditation during an ongoing clinical trial.\n\n(Sec. 705) This section also requires the VA to establish an Office of Research Reviews within the VA's Office of Information and Technology to perform centralized security reviews and complete security processes for approved research sponsored outside the VA, among other purposes.", - "company_name": "Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc.", - "company_description": "Inc. (\"HYG\"), is a leading, globally integrated, full-line lift truck manufacturer. The Company offers a broad array of solutions aimed at meeting the specific materials handling needs of its customers, including attachments and hydrogen fuel cell power products, telematics, automation and fleet management services, as well as a variety of other power options for its lift trucks. The Company, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, through HYG, designs, engineers, manufactures, sells and services a comprehensive line of lift trucks, attachments and aftermarket parts marketed globally primarily under the Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae brand names, mainly to independent Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae retail dealerships. Lift trucks and component parts are manufactured in the United States, China, Northern Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Italy, Japan, Vietnam and Brazil. Hyster-Yale Maximal is a Chinese manufacturer of low-intensity and standard lift trucks and specialized material handling equipment. Hyster-Yale Maximal also designs and produces specialized products in the port equipment and rough terrain forklift markets. Bolzoni is a leading worldwide producer and distributor of attachments, forks and lift tables marketed under the Bolzoni \u00ae, Auramo\u00ae and Bolzoni products are manufactured in the United States, Italy, China, Germany and Finland. Through the design, production and distribution of a wide range of attachments, Bolzoni has a strong presence in the market niche of lift-truck attachments and industrial material handling. In 2019, as part of a plan to expand Bolzoni's capabilities in the United States, Bolzoni's North America attachment manufacturing moved into HYG's Sulligent, Alabama manufacturing facility. Nuvera is an alternative-power technology company focused on the design, manufacture and sale of hydrogen fuel-cell stacks and engines. trucks and electric lift trucks were approximately 47% and approximately 28% of annual revenues in 2019, respectively. The Company manufactures components, such as frames, masts and transmissions, and assembles lift trucks in the market of sale whenever practical to minimize freight cost and balance currency mix. In some instances, however, it utilizes one worldwide location to manufacture specific components or assemble specific lift trucks. Additionally, components and assembled lift trucks are exported when it is advantageous to meet demand in certain markets. The Company operates twelve lift truck manufacturing and assembly facilities worldwide with four plants in the Americas, three in EMEA and five in JAPIC, including joint venture operations. In addition, the Company operates six Bolzoni manufacturing facilities worldwide. The Company offers a line of aftermarket parts to service its large installed base of lift trucks currently in use in the industry. The Company offers online technical reference databases specifying the required aftermarket parts to service lift trucks and an aftermarket parts ordering system. -branded aftermarket parts to dealers for Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae The Company also sells aftermarket parts under the UNISOURCE\u2122 and PREMIER\u2122 brands to Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae dealers for the service of competitor lift trucks. The Company has a contractual relationship with a third-party, multi-brand, aftermarket parts wholesaler in the Americas and EMEA whereby orders from the Company's dealers for parts for lift trucks are fulfilled by the third party who then pays the Company a commission. The Company's marketing organization is structured in three regional divisions by industry focus: the Americas; EMEA, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and JAPIC, which includes Japan, Asia, Pacific, India and China. In each region, certain marketing support functions for the Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae brands are carried out by shared-services teams. These activities include sales and service training, information systems support, product launch coordination, specialized sales material development, help desks, order entry, marketing strategy and field service support. ", - "id": "9a40aa42-bfb9-4a8e-936d-2734413c371f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily concerns the regulation of the renewable fuel program and ethanol content in gasoline, which is unrelated to Activision Blizzard, Inc.'s business of developing and publishing interactive entertainment content, video games, and esports. The legal consequences of the bill do not impact the company's operations or business model.", - "index": "302", - "bill_title": "To repeal certain amendments to the Clean Air Act relating to the expansion of the renewable fuel program, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Leave Ethanol Volumes at Existing Levels Act or the LEVEL Act \n\nThis bill revises the renewable fuel program, including the renewable fuel standard (RFS). Under current law, the RFS specifies the minimum volume of renewable fuel, such as ethanol, that must be contained in gasoline sold in the United States, except in noncontiguous states or territories. The RFS annually increases until 2022 when a minimum of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel must be blended into gasoline. This bill decreases the volume of renewable fuel that must be contained in gasoline to 7.5 billion gallons each year. The bill also revises the RFS to eliminate separate volume requirements for the following renewable fuel categories: advanced biofuels, cellulosic biofuel, and biomass-based diesel.\n\nPetitions for waivers from requirements under the renewable fuel program may not be brought by a person who is subject to the requirements of the program, nor by the EPA on its own motion.\n\nThe EPA may not authorize the sale of gasoline that contains greater than 10% ethanol, unless the gasoline was registered under the program and lawfully sold in the United States before this bill's enactment.\n\nThe EPA must study the effects of gasoline that contains greater than 10% ethanol, including the effects on consumer products, such as nonroad vehicles.", - "company_name": "Activision Blizzard, Inc.", - "company_description": "Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a leading global developer and publisher of interactive entertainment content and services. We develop and distribute content and services on video game consoles, personal computers (\"PC\"), and mobile devices. We also operate esports events and leagues and create film and television content based on our games. On February 23, 2016 (the \"King Closing Date\"), we acquired King Digital Entertainment, a leading interactive mobile entertainment company (\"King\"), by purchasing all of its outstanding shares (the \"King Acquisition\"). We made this acquisition because we believed that the addition of King's highly complementary mobile business positioned us as a global leader in interactive entertainment across mobile, console, and PC platforms, and aligned us for future growth. Our Strategy and Vision Our objective is to continue to be a worldwide leader in the development, publishing, and distribution of high-quality interactive entertainment content and services, as well as related media, that deliver engaging entertainment experiences on a year-round basis. In pursuit of this objective we focus on three strategic pillars: expanding audience reach; driving deep consumer engagement; and providing more opportunities for player investment. We endeavor to reach as many consumers as possible either through: (1) the purchase of our content and services; (2) engagement in our free-to-play games, which allow consumers to play games with no up-front cost but provide for player investment through sales of downloadable content or via microtransactions; or (3) engagement in other types of media based on our franchises, such as esports and film and television content. Driving deep consumer engagement. Our high-quality entertainment content not only expands our audience reach, but it also drives deep engagement with our franchises. We design our games, as well as related media, to provide a depth of content that keeps consumers engaged for a long period of time following a game's release, delivering more value to our players and additional growth opportunities for our franchises. Increasingly, our consumers are connected to our games online through consoles, PCs, and mobile devices. This allows us to offer additional digital player investment opportunities directly to our consumers on a year-round basis. In addition to purchasing full games or subscriptions, players can invest in certain of our games and franchises by purchasing incremental \"in-game\" content (including larger downloadable content or smaller content, via microtransactions). These digital revenue streams tend to be recurring and have relatively higher profit margins. Further, if executed properly, additional player investment can increase engagement as it provides more frequent and incremental content for our players. In addition, we believe there is an opportunity for advertising within certain of our franchises, as well as opportunities to drive new forms of player investment through esports, film and television, and consumer products. As such, commencing with the 3 second quarter of 2017, MLG, which was previously a separate operating segment, is now a component of the Blizzard operating segment. MLG is responsible for the operations of the Overwatch League\u0099, along with other esports events, and will also continue to serve as a multi-platform network for other Activision Blizzard esports content. Inc. (\"Activision\"), is a leading global developer and publisher of interactive software products and entertainment content, particularly for the console platform. Activision primarily delivers content through retail and digital channels, including full-game and in-game sales, as well as by licensing software to third-party or related-party companies that distribute Activision products. Activision develops, markets, and sells products based on our internally developed intellectual properties, as well as some licensed properties. We have also established a long-term alliance with Bungie to publish its game universe, Destiny. Activision's key product franchises include: Call of Duty\u00ae, a first-person shooter for the console and PC platforms, and Destiny, an online universe of first-person action gameplay (which we call a \"shared-world shooter\") for the console and PC platforms.", - "id": "e9f93e4c-e2cc-463f-983c-92ab18b644a8" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on the response of law enforcement agencies to reports of missing or murdered Native Americans and aims to improve reporting and database systems related to this issue. It does not have any direct legal consequences or implications for Allegheny Technologies, Inc., whose business is primarily in aerospace and defense manufacturing, and therefore is not relevant to their operations or strategic objectives.", - "index": "303", - "bill_title": "A bill to direct the Comptroller General of the United States to submit a report on the response of law enforcement agencies to reports of missing or murdered Indians.", - "bill_summary": "Studying the Missing and Murdered Indian Crisis Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Government Accountability Office to report on the response of law enforcement agencies to reports of missing or murdered Native Americans and to make recommendations on how to improve the utilized databases and notification systems.", - "company_name": "Allegheny Technologies, Inc.", - "company_description": "Our Business ATI is a global manufacturer of technically advanced specialty materials and complex components. Our largest market is aerospace & defense, representing approximately 50% of total sales, led by products for jet engines. Additionally, we have a strong presence in the oil & gas, electrical energy, medical, and automotive markets. ATI is a market leader in manufacturing differentiated products that require our unique manufacturing and precision machining capabilities as well as our innovative new product development competence. Our capabilities range from alloy development to final production of highly engineered finished components, as well as producing powders for use in next-generation jet engine forgings and 3D-printed aerospace products. Over 75% of 2017 HPMC segment sales were to the aerospace and defense markets, and nearly half of HPMC's total sales are products for commercial jet engines. Increasing demand for commercial aerospace products has been the main source of sales and segment operating profit growth for HPMC over the last few years. This is expected to continue to drive HPMC and overall ATI results for the next several years due to the ongoing expansion in production of next generation jet engines and airplanes. Other key HPMC end markets include medical, oil & gas, and electrical energy. HPMC produces, converts and distributes a wide range of high performance materials, including a variety of products from differentiated alloys and super alloys, and metallic powders. The oil & gas market, including chemical and hydrocarbon processing, and the automotive market, collectively represent over 40% of 2017 sales. Other major end markets for FRP include aerospace & defense, food processing equipment and appliances, construction and mining, electronics and communication equipment and computers. FRP produces, converts and distributes nickel-based alloys, specialty alloys, titanium and titanium-based alloys, and stainless steel in a variety of product forms including plate, sheet, engineered strip, and Precision Rolled Strip products. ATI's strategic vision is to be an aligned and integrated specialty materials and components company. Our strategies target the products and global growth markets that require and value ATI's technical and manufacturing capabilities. Through alloy development, internal growth efforts, and long-term supply agreements on current and next-generation jet engines and airframes, we are well positioned with a fully qualified asset base to meet the expected multi-year demand growth from the commercial aerospace market. Our HPMC segment's isothermal and hot-die forge press utilization continues to increase to meet aerospace demand growth, including new market share gains. markets for our products include: Aerospace & Defense. We are a world leader in the production of materials and components for both commercial and military jet engines and airframes supporting customer needs for initial build requirements and for spare parts. Aerospace & defense applications also require nickel-based alloys and superalloys and specialty alloys such as ours. Nickel-based alloys and superalloys remain extremely strong at high temperatures and resist degradation under extreme conditions. Typical aerospace applications for nickel-based alloys and superalloys and advanced metallic powders include jet engine shafts, discs, blades, vanes, rings and casings. The next generation and future-generation jet engines use new generations of nickel-based superalloys and advanced metallic powder alloys in large part due to increased fuel efficiency requirements that require hotter-burning engines. Our specialty alloys are used in the manufacture of aircraft landing gear and structural components, as well as jet engine components. Products and components made from titanium and titanium-based alloys, such as jet engine components including blades, vanes, discs, and casings, and airframe components such as structural members, landing gears, hydraulic systems, and fasteners, are critical in aerospace and defense applications.", - "id": "e1b7d180-241c-4b44-97d2-66a42e10737f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily targets Medicare requirements for Alzheimer's disease care and diagnostics, which does not directly align with Agios Pharmaceuticals' focus on cancer treatments and rare genetic diseases, particularly with drugs for AML and pyruvate kinase deficiency. There is no immediate relevance to Agios's business model or drug development activities.", - "index": "304", - "bill_title": "To provide better care and outcomes for Americans living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and their caregivers while accelerating progress toward prevention strategies, disease modifying treatments, and, ultimately, a cure.", - "bill_summary": "Concentrating on High-value Alzheimer's Needs to Get to an End Act of 2019 or the CHANGE Act of 2019 This bill modifies the requirements under Medicare for diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive impairments in older adults. Specifically, the bill expands the cognitive impairment detection benefit during annual wellness visits to require the use of validated detection tools and documentation of the results in the patient's medical record. Further, when a cognitive impairment is detected, the patient must be referred to an appropriate diagnostic service provider and other specified supports. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services must implement Medicare policies that increase the identification and response to patients' Alzheimer's disease risk factors and incentivize providers to utilize high-quality cognitive impairment diagnosis practices. The Government Accountability Office also must conduct a study of policies that may accelerate progress in Alzheimer's disease research and enhance the quality of care for individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.", - "company_name": "Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company committed to the fundamental transformation of patients' lives through scientific leadership in the field of cellular metabolism and adjacent areas of biology, with the goal of making transformative, first- or best-in-class medicines for the treatment of cancer and rare genetic diseases, or RGDs. To address both cancer and RGDs, we take a systems biology approach to deeply understand disease states, drive the discovery and validation of novel therapeutic targets, and define patient selection strategies, thereby increasing the probability that our experimental medicines will have the desired therapeutic effect. In July 2018, the FDA granted us approval of our wholly-owned product, TIBSOVO\u00ae (ivosidenib) for the treatment of adult patients with R/R AML with a susceptible IDH1 mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test. TIBSOVO\u00ae, an oral targeted inhibitor of the mutated IDH1 enzyme, is the first and only FDA-approved therapy for patients with R/R AML and an IDH1 mutation. In December 2018, we submitted an MAA to the EMA for TIBSOVO\u00ae for the treatment of adult patients with R/R AML. Also in December 2018, we submitted a sNDA to the FDA for TIBSOVO\u00ae for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed AML with an IDH1 mutation who are not eligible for standard treatment. Our other commercial cancer product is IDHIFA\u00ae (enasidenib). In August 2017, the FDA granted our collaboration partner Celgene approval of IDHIFA\u00ae for the treatment of adult patients with R/R AML and an IDH2 mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test. IDHIFA\u00ae, an oral targeted inhibitor of the mutated IDH2 enzyme, is the first and only FDA-approved therapy for patients with R/R AML and an IDH2 mutation. Celgene has submitted an MAA to the EMA for IDHIFA\u00ae for IDH2 mutant-positive AML. Our pre-commercial clinical cancer product candidates are vorasidenib (AG-881), AG-270, and AG-636. Vorasidenib (AG-881) is a brain-penetrant pan-IDH mutant inhibitor. We expect to initiate a registration-enabling phase 3 study of vorasidenib (AG-881) in low-grade glioma with an IDH1 mutation by the end of 2019. AG-270 is an orally available selective potent inhibitor of MAT2A. We are currently evaluating AG-270 in a phase 1 dose-escalation trial in multiple tumor types carrying a methylthioadenosine phosphorylase, or MTAP, deletion, and expect to complete dose escalation and initiate dose expansion arms of this trial in the first half of 2019. AG-636 is an inhibitor of the metabolic enzyme DHODH. In October 2018, we submitted an investigational new drug application, or IND, for AG-636 for the treatment of hematologic malignancies, which was accepted by the FDA in November 2018. We expect to initiate a phase 1 dose-escalation trial of AG-636 in lymphoma in the first half of 2019. The lead product candidate in our RGD portfolio, mitapivat, targets pyruvate kinase-R for the treatment of pyruvate kinase, or PK, deficiency. PK deficiency is a rare genetic disorder that often results in severe hemolytic anemia, jaundice and lifelong conditions associated with chronic anemia and secondary complications due to inherited mutations in the pyruvate kinase enzyme within red blood cells, or RBCs. In April 2018, we initiated ACTIVATE-T, a single arm, global, pivotal trial of mitapivat in approximately 20 regularly transfused patients with PK deficiency. In June 2018, we initiated ACTIVATE, a 1:1 randomized, placebo-controlled, global, pivotal trial of mitapivat in approximately 80 patients with PK deficiency who do not receive regular transfusions. We also initiated a phase 2 proof of concept trial of mitapivat in thalassemia in December 2018. In addition to the aforementioned development programs, we are seeking to advance a number of early-stage discovery programs in the areas of cancer metabolism, RGDs and metabolic immuno-oncology, or MIO, a developing field which aims to modulate the activity of relevant immune cells by targeting critical metabolic nodes, thereby enhancing the immune mediated anti-tumor response. ", - "id": "73f93949-a51c-463e-8065-a8d6f6d78118" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on appropriations for military construction and veterans' affairs, which do not relate to Akcea Therapeutics' business of developing and marketing biopharmaceuticals for rare diseases. There are no legal consequences from this bill that would impact the company's operations or business model.", - "index": "305", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020\n\nThis bill provides FY2020 appropriations for Military Construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and related agencies.\n\nThe bill provides appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for Military Construction for\n\n the Army; the Navy and Marine Corps; the Air Force; Defense-wide agencies and activities; the Army and Air National Guard; and the Army, Navy, and Air Force Reserves. The bill also provides appropriations to DOD for\n\n the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program; the Base Closure Account; Construction and Operation and Maintenance of Family Housing for the Army, the Navy and Marine Corps, the Air Force, and Defense-wide agencies and activities; the Family Housing Improvement Fund; and the Military Unaccompanied Housing Improvement Fund. The bill provides appropriations to the VA for\n\n the Veterans Benefits Administration, the Veterans Health Administration, the National Cemetery Administration, and Departmental Administration. The bill provides appropriations for related agencies and programs, including\n\n the American Battle Monuments Commission, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Cemeterial Expenses of the Army, and the Armed Forces Retirement Home. The bill provide appropriations to specified DOD military construction accounts for (1) Overseas Contingency Operations, and (2) Natural Disaster Relief.\n\nThe bill also sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.", - "company_name": "Akcea Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company developing and marketing drugs globally to treat patients with rare and serious diseases. We are bringing novel and transformative medicines to patients by driving clinical program execution, understanding patient and physician needs, preparing the market, creating market access, and commercializing our products on a global basis. As an affiliate of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Ionis, we have a robust portfolio of development-, registration- and commercial-stage drugs covering multiple targets and diseases using antisense therapeutics. Our immediate focus is on the commercial launch of our first commercially approved therapy, TEGSEDI in the United States, or U.S., the European Union, or E.U., and Canada. TEGSEDI treats the polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis, or hATTR amyloidosis, in adults. We estimate that there are approximately 50,000 patients globally with hATTR amyloidosis, the majority of whom have symptoms of polyneuropathy. We are also focused on commercial preparations for WAYLIVRA in the E.U. and on regulatory discussions for WAYLIVRA in the U.S. and Canada. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, of the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, has adopted a positive opinion recommending conditional marketing authorization of WAYLIVRA as an adjunct to diet in adult patients with genetically confirmed familial chylomicronemia syndrome, or FCS, who are at high risk for pancreatitis, in whom response to diet and triglyceride lowering therapy has been inadequate. The positive opinion will now be referred to the EC, which grants marketing authorization for medicines in the European Union, as well as to European Economic Area members Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. FCS is an ultra-rare, devastating hereditary disease that causes unpredictable and potentially fatal acute pancreatitis, chronic complications due to permanent organ damage, and a severe impact on daily living. We are advancing a mature pipeline of novel drugs with the potential to treat multiple diseases. APO(a)-L Rx , AKCEA-ANGPTL3-L Rx , AKCEA-APOCIII-L Rx and AKCEA-TTR-L Rx , are all based on Ionis' antisense technology platform. Ionis' advanced Ligand Conjugated Antisense, or LICA, technology, which enhances the effective uptake and activity of these drugs in particular tissues. TEGSEDI is the world's first subcutaneous, RNA-targeted therapeutic that substantially reduces the production of transthyretin, or TTR protein. Importantly, TEGSEDI is Akcea's first commercially approved drug, and our launch is underway in three regions: the U.S., the E.U. and Canada. We are continuing to build our commercial infrastructure to support TEGSEDI, and plan to use this infrastructure to support WAYLIVRA and the other drugs in our pipeline, if approved in the future as we anticipate further commercialization in serious and rare diseases. A key element of our commercial strategy is to provide the specialized, patient-centric support required to successfully address rare disease patient populations. We believe our focus on treating patients with inadequately addressed rare and serious diseases will allow us to partner efficiently and effectively with the specialized medical community that supports these underserved patient communities. For example, at approval we launched Akcea Connect TM , a drug treatment program made up of dedicated, regionally-based nurse case managers who have a wide range of medical knowledge and experience, in the United States. This program offers free, private and personalized support to patients and their caregivers and families across the country. Internationally, Akcea Connect is being rolled out in each of the countries where we launch with what we believe is the highest level of patient and physician support allowed in accordance with local regulations. Accredo to be our specialty pharmacy partner for the distribution of TEGSEDI in the U.S. We chose Express Scripts' Accredo Health Group, Inc., or Accredo because of their experience supporting the unique needs of rare disease communities and their proven track record for simplifying access to therapy. Accredo has a team of specialty clinicians, pharmacists and over 600 field-based nurses located throughout the U.S. who are augmenting the Akcea Connect team of nurse case managers to provide support and address the needs of the hATTR amyloidosis community. To further support the hATTR amyloidosis community, Akcea and Ambry Genetics Corporation, or Ambry, a Konica Minolta company, launched hATTR Compass\u2122 in the U.S. and Canada, a no-cost, confidential genetic testing and genetic counseling program for people with suspected hATTR amyloidosis.", - "id": "9b41a560-3772-47f6-9ee5-d681326c3915" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing a National Full Employment Trust Fund to create job opportunities and provide training, which primarily pertains to labor and employment sectors. Twitter, Inc., as a social media platform and advertising company, does not directly relate to employment creation or job training functions laid out in the bill. Furthermore, the company's activities are centered around digital communication and advertising rather than employment generation or public labor programs.", - "index": "306", - "bill_title": "To establish a National Full Employment Trust Fund to create employment opportunities for the unemployed, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Humphrey-Hawkins 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act of 2019 or the Jobs for All Act\n\nThis bill creates the National Full Employment Trust Fund to fund employment opportunity grants for the purpose of achieving full employment. The grant program is to be administered by the Department of Labor and funded by a tax on securities transactions and loans from the Federal Reserve System. Labor shall make grants to public and nonprofit entities to create employment opportunities and free-standing job-training programs. Grant funds may be used for, among other things, (1) affordable housing, (2) employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth, (3) repair of schools and parks, (4) expansion of emergency food programs, and (5) the expansion of work-study opportunities for secondary and post-secondary students.", - "company_name": "Twitter, Inc.", - "company_description": "Every day, instances of breaking news, entertainment, sports, politics, big events and everyday interests happen first on Twitter. Twitter is where the full story unfolds with live commentary and where live events come to life unlike anywhere else. Our primary service can be accessed on a variety of mobile devices, at twitter.com and via SMS. In 2018, we remain focused on making Twitter easier to use as well as making it easier to Tweet and discover content. We believe that our revenue priorities are leading to improvements to our core ad offerings through better performance and measurement (including ad platform improvements, self-serve measurement studies, and third-party accreditation); tapping into new channels of demand (such as online video); introducing new ways to buy ads on Twitter; and continuing to grow data and enterprise solutions revenue through our new product and channel segmented go-to-market approach. Our primary service, Twitter, is a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time. Twitter allows people to consume, create, distribute and discover content and has democratized content creation and distribution. The reach of Twitter content is not limited to our logged-in users on the Twitter platform, but rather extends to a larger global audience. The public nature of the Twitter platform allows us and others to extend the reach of Twitter content beyond our properties. Media outlets and our platform partners distribute Tweets beyond our properties to complement their content by making it more timely, relevant and comprehensive. Many of the world's most trusted media outlets, including the BBC, CNN, Bloomberg and the Associated Press, regularly use Twitter as a platform for content distribution. Periscope is a mobile application that lets anyone broadcast and watch video live with others. Periscope broadcasts can also be viewed through Twitter and on desktop or mobile web browsers. Our Promoted Products enable our advertisers to promote their brands, products and services, amplify their visibility and reach, and extend the conversation around their advertising campaigns. We enable our advertisers to target an audience based on a variety of factors, including a user's Interest Graph. The Interest Graph maps, among other things, interests based on users followed and actions taken on our platform, such as Tweets created and engagement with Tweets. We believe a user's Interest Graph produces a clear and real-time signal of a user's interests, greatly enhancing the relevance of the ads we can display for users and enhancing our targeting capabilities for advertisers. Our Promoted Products are incorporated into our platform as native advertising and are designed to be as compelling and useful to our users as organic content on our platform. Currently, our Promoted Products (all of which are labeled \"promoted\" within Twitter) consist of: \u2022 Promoted Tweets. Promoted Tweets appear within a user's timeline, search results or profile pages just like an ordinary Tweet regardless of device. Our goal is to enable advertisers to create and optimize successful marketing campaigns \u2014 and pay either on impressions delivered or pay only for the user actions that are aligned with their marketing objectives. As a result, we have added product features to Promoted Tweets based on advertiser objectives, which may include Tweet engagements (e.g., retweets, replies and likes), website clicks or conversions, mobile application installs or engagements, obtaining new followers, or video views. Promoted Accounts provide a way for our advertisers to grow a community of users who are interested in their business, products or services. When a user clicks on a Promoted Trend, search results for that trend are shown in a timeline and a Promoted Tweet created by our advertisers is displayed to the user at the top of those search results. Advertisers can also run short video ads, such as In-Stream video ads, either before or around premium video content, such as during our live athletic events or clips from a variety of interest categories.", - "id": "f4eabb03-c6e2-4916-a0e0-f6b4dd3431de" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The American Apprenticeship Act focuses on establishing grants and support for apprenticeship programs, which are primarily related to workforce development in various industries. Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. operates in the technology sector focused on smart security and automation solutions for residential and commercial properties, which does not directly relate to the workforce development initiatives outlined in the bill.", - "index": "307", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish and strengthen projects that defray the cost of related instruction associated with pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "American Apprenticeship Act\n\nThis bill directs the Department of Labor to make grants to assist states in carrying out projects that defray the cost of instruction associated with pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs.\n\nLabor shall (1) establish performance measures and an evaluation system for such grant program; and (2) identify in-demand occupations that lack the use of apprenticeships, analyze the use of the apprenticeship model in those occupations, and report on such analysis to states and Congress.", - "company_name": "Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview Alarm.com is the leading platform for the intelligently connected property. We offer a comprehensive suite of cloud-based solutions for smart residential and commercial properties, including interactive security, video monitoring, intelligent automation, energy management and wellness solutions. Millions of property owners depend on our technology to intelligently secure, monitor and manage their residential and commercial properties. In the last year alone, our platforms processed more than 200 billion data points generated by over 90 million connected devices. We believe that this scale of subscribers, connected devices and data operations makes us the leader in the connected property market. Our solutions are delivered through an established network of over 8,000 trusted service providers, who are experts at selling, installing and supporting our solutions. We primarily generate Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS, and license revenue through our service provider partners, who resell these services and pay us monthly fees. We also generate hardware and other revenue, primarily from our service provider partners and distributors. Our hardware sales include connected devices that enable our services, such as video cameras, gateway modules and smart thermostats. We enter into contracts with our service provider partners that establish pricing for access to our platform solutions and for the sale of hardware. These contracts typically have an initial term of one year, with subsequent renewal terms of one year. Our service provider partners typically enter into contracts with our subscribers, which our service provider partners have indicated range from three to five years in length. Our service provider partners are free to market and sell our products under their own guidelines at prices to the consumer that they establish independently. We believe that the length of the service relationship with residential and commercial property owners, combined with our robust SaaS platforms and over 15 years of operating experience, contribute to a compelling business model. See footnote 4 to the table contained in the section of this Annual Report titled \" Selected Financial Data \" for a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income, the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP. Our technology platforms are designed to make connected properties safer, smarter and more efficient. Our solutions are used in both smart residential and commercial properties, which we refer to as the connected property market and we have designed our technology platforms for all market participants. This includes not only the residential and commercial property owners who subscribe to our services, but also the hardware partners who manufacture devices that integrate with our platforms and the service provider partners who install and maintain our solutions. Our service provider partners can deploy our interactive security, video monitoring, intelligent automation and energy management solutions as stand-alone offerings or as combined solutions to address the needs of a broad range of customers. Our technology enables subscribers to seamlessly connect to their property through our family of mobile apps, websites, and new engagement platforms like voice control through Amazon Echo and Google Home, wearable devices like the Apple Watch, and TV platforms such as Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. Subscriber Solutions Interactive Security Interactive security is the entry point for most of our smart home and business subscribers. Our dedicated, two-way cellular connection between the property and our platforms is designed to be tamper resistant and to meet the high reliability standards for life safety services. Our solution integrates monitoring 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with emergency response through trusted and integrated central monitoring stations. Subscribers can use our services to control and monitor their security systems, as well as connected security devices including motion sensors, door locks, garage doors, thermostats and video cameras. The capabilities associated with this solution include: 3 \u25e6 ", - "id": "a770a7a4-32e9-4533-ad91-9dbaa440e37f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing measures for addressing hostage situations involving U.S. nationals. Its implications primarily affect international relations, law enforcement, and diplomatic actions. This does not align with the core business operations of Altair Engineering, which revolves around providing software and technology solutions for simulation, data analytics, and high-performance computing. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill are not relevant to Altair's business model or activities.", - "index": "308", - "bill_title": "To provide assistance for United States citizens and nationals taken hostage or unlawfully or wrongfully detained abroad, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act\n\nThis bill establishes various entities and procedures to address the wrongful detainment of U.S. nationals abroad.The President shall appoint a Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs. The envoy's duties shall include leading diplomatic engagement on U.S. hostage policy and coordinating diplomatic engagements in support of hostage recovery efforts.\n\nThe President shall establish an interagency Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, which shall assess and track all hostage cases of U.S. nationals and coordinate agency efforts to safely recover hostages. The President shall also establish the Hostage Recovery Group, which shall make recommendations regarding hostage recovery options and coordinate the development and implementation of U.S. hostage recovery policies.\n\nThe President is authorized to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions against any foreign person responsible for or complicit in the unlawful or wrongful detention of a U.S. national abroad.\n\nThe Department of State shall review cases where U.S. nationals are detained abroad and refer instances of wrongful or unlawful detainment to the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs.", - "company_name": "Altair Engineering, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"our\") is a global technology company providing software and cloud solutions in the areas of product design and development, high performance computing, and data analytics. Our simulation-driven approach to innovation is powered by our broad portfolio of high-fidelity and high-performance physics solvers. Our integrated suite of software optimizes design performance across multiple disciplines encompassing structures, motion, fluids, thermal management, electromagnetics, system modeling, and embedded systems, while also providing data analytics and true-to-life visualization and rendering. Our high performance computing solutions maximize the efficient utilization of complex compute resources and streamline the workflow management of compute-intensive tasks for applications including data analytics, modeling and simulation, and visualization. Our data analytics products include data preparation, data science and visualization solutions that fuel engineering, scientific, and business decisions. This culture is important because it helps attract and retain top people, encourages innovation and teamwork, and enhances our focus on achieving Altair's corporate objectives. Products Rising expectations of end-market customers are causing expansion of the application of simulation and data analytics across many industry verticals. Our engineering, simulation, and data analytics software enables customers to enhance product performance, compress development time, and reduce costs. We believe we are unique in the industry for the depth and breadth of our engineering application software offerings combined with our domain expertise and proprietary technology for harnessing high performance computing, or HPC and cloud infrastructures along with data analytics. Altair is a leading provider of modeling, visualization, and physics solver solutions with a broad portfolio of best-in-class technology across many engineering disciplines. Our simulation software offers manufacturing companies opportunities to achieve better, lower cost products with fewer physical prototypes and tests, and reduces the time required to bring products to market. We are a leading provider of data analytics technology for data preparation, management and analysis. Financial services organizations, such as banks, credit unions, and health care companies, as well as finance departments in various industries, including manufacturing, use our software to capture disparate data streams and apply analytics to make more informed business decisions. We are a leading provider of high-performance and cloud computing workflow tools which empower customers to explore designs and analyze data in ways not possible in traditional computing environments. Our customers include Universities, government agencies, manufacturers, pharmaceutical firms, weather prediction agencies, and electronics design companies. Software Products Altair's software products represent a comprehensive, open architecture solution for simulation, data analytics and cloud computing to empower decision making for improved product design and development, manufacturing, energy management and exploration, financial services, health care, and retail operations. We believe our products offer a comprehensive set of technologies to design and optimize high performance, efficient, innovative and sustainable products and processes in an increasingly connected world. Our products are categorized by: \u2022 Design, Modeling & Visualization ; \u2022 Physics Simulation; \u2022 Data Analytics; \u2022 High Performance Computing; and \u2022 Internet of Things , or IoT. 3 Design, Modeling & Visualization Altair' s design, modeling & visualization tools under HyperWorks allow for advanced physics attributes to be modeled and rendered on top of object geometry in high fidelity. These tools are becoming more user friendly, design-centric and relevant earlier in the development process. Addressing the large market of designers and design engineers who are not experts in simulation is important toward increasing the use of simulation in design processes. Altair has several technologies focused on this market, including Inspire and SimSolid. Our industrial and concept design tools generate early concepts to address requirements for ergonomics, aesthetics, performance, manufacturing feasibility, and cost. These tools are all driven by simulation and machine learning algorithms.", - "id": "f21d58db-9947-40b2-aa9a-1ff849bd31cb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes requirements for entities that collect and maintain personal information to secure such information and provide notice in case of a breach. Given Equifax's role in managing and providing consumer data, as well as its history of a major cybersecurity incident involving the exposure of personal information, the legal consequences outlined in the bill, including enforcement by the FTC, directly apply to Equifax's business operations and data security obligations.", - "index": "309", - "bill_title": "To require certain entities who collect and maintain personal information of individuals to secure such information and to provide notice to such individuals in the case of a breach of security involving such information, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Data Accountability and Trust Act \n\nThis bill requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to require certain businesses and\u00a0other organizations\u00a0to (1) establish specified information-security practices for the treatment and protection of personal information; and (2) in the event of a security breach involving such information, provide specified notice and offer credit-monitoring services.\n\nThe FTC must also establish information-security rules specific to information brokers, including\u00a0(1) requirements regarding\u00a0post-breach audits and consumer access to information, and (2) prohibitions on obtaining personal information by false pretenses.\n\nThe bill establishes civil\u00a0penalties and provides for enforcement by the FTC and by states.", - "company_name": "Equifax, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS OVERVIEW Equifax Inc. is a leading global provider of information solutions and human resources business process outsourcing services for businesses, governments and consumers. We have a large and diversified group of clients, including financial institutions, corporations, governments and individuals. Our services are based on comprehensive databases of consumer and business information derived from numerous sources including credit, financial assets, telecommunications and utility payments, employment, income, demographic and marketing data. We use advanced statistical techniques and proprietary software tools to analyze all available data, creating customized insights, decision-making solutions and processing services for our clients. We help consumers understand, manage and protect their personal information and make more informed financial decisions. We also provide information, technology and services to support debt collections and recovery management. Additionally, we are a leading provider of payroll-related and human resource management business process outsourcing services in the United States of America, or U.S. We currently operate in four global regions: North America (U.S. and Canada), Asia Pacific (Australia and New Zealand), Europe (the United Kingdom, or U.K., Spain and Portugal) and Latin America (Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay). We also offer Equifax branded credit services in Russia and India through joint ventures, have investments in consumer and/or commercial credit information companies through joint ventures in Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Dubai, and have an investment in a consumer and commercial credit information company in Brazil. provides consumer and commercial information solutions to businesses in the U.S. including online information, decisioning technology solutions, fraud and identity management services, portfolio management services, mortgage reporting and financial marketing services. \u2014which includes our Asia Pacific, Europe, Canada and Latin America business units, provides products and services similar to those available in the USIS operating segment but with variations by geographic region. We also provide information, technology and services to support debt collections and recovery management. \u2014 provides services enabling clients to verify income and employment (Verification Services) as well as to outsource and automate the performance of certain payroll-related and human resource management business processes, including unemployment cost management, tax credits and incentives and I-9 management services and services to allow employers to ensure compliance with the Affordable Care Act (Employer Services). \u2014 provides products to consumers in the United States, Canada, and the U.K., enabling them to understand and monitor their credit and monitor and help protect their identity. We also sell consumer and credit information to resellers who combine our information with other information to provide direct to consumer monitoring, reports and scores. In fiscal 2017, we experienced a cybersecurity incident following a criminal attack on our systems that involved the theft of certain personally identifiable information of U.S., Canadian and U.K. consumers. Criminals exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to our network. Based on our forensic investigation, the unauthorized access of information occurred from mid-May through July 2017. In addition, credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 U.S. and Canadian consumers, and certain dispute documents with personal identifying information for approximately 182,000 U.S. consumers, were accessed. The investigation determined that personal information 2 of approximately 19,000 Canadian consumers was impacted and approximately 860,000 potentially affected U.K. consumers were contacted regarding access to personal information. No evidence was found that the Company's core consumer, employment and income, or commercial credit reporting databases were accessed. The Company acted promptly to notify the approximately 145.5 million U.S. consumers whose personally identifiable information the Company had identified in 2017 as potentially accessed. As a result of an ongoing analysis of data stolen in the 2017 cybersecurity incident, the Company recently announced that it was able to identify approximately 2.4 million U.S. consumers whose name and partial driver's license information were stolen, but who were not in the affected population of approximately 145.5 million consumers previously identified by the Company in 2017. The Company has taken and continues to take extensive steps designed to prevent this type of incident from happening again and to earn back the trust of consumers, customers and regulators. Upon discovery of the unauthorized access, we acted immediately to stop the intrusion and promptly engaged a leading, independent cybersecurity firm to conduct a comprehensive forensic investigation to determine the scope of the intrusion, including the specific data potentially impacted.", - "id": "4f113544-9c03-4206-82f1-88f75bb3fbc1" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The 'Apprenticeship Hubs Across America Act of 2019' focuses on promoting registered apprenticeships and workforce development, which are primarily relevant to industries that rely on skilled labor, such as manufacturing or construction. Allegiant Travel Co., as a leisure travel company, does not directly benefit from apprenticeships in the same manner, as their business model centers around providing air transportation and travel services rather than skilled trades. Therefore, the bill's provisions are not relevant to Allegiant's operations.", - "index": "310", - "bill_title": "A bill to promote registered apprenticeships, including registered apprenticeships within in-demand industry sectors, through the support of workforce intermediaries, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Apprenticeship Hubs Across America Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Labor to implement a program to award grants to workforce intermediaries (certain national, regional, state, or local entities that facilitate the establishment of registered apprenticeship programs) to enable them to engage a variety of stakeholders to support, develop, and implement registered apprenticeship programs.", - "company_name": "Allegiant Travel Co.", - "company_description": "Forward-looking statements include our statements regarding future expense, capacity growth, expected capital expenditures, number of contracted aircraft to be placed in service in the future, future expansion of our golf management and family entertainment center businesses, the development and financing of our Sunseeker Resort, as well as other information concerning future results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, industry environment, potential growth opportunities, the effects of future regulation and the effects of competition. We are a leisure travel company focused on providing travel services and products to residents of under-served cities in the United States. Our unique business model provides diversified revenue streams from various travel services and product offerings which distinguish us from other travel companies. We operate a low-cost passenger airline marketed primarily to leisure travelers in under-served cities, allowing us to sell air transportation both on a stand-alone basis and bundled with the sale of air-related and third party services and products. In addition, we provide air transportation under fixed fee flight arrangements. Our developed route network, pricing philosophy, advertising, and product offerings built around relationships with premier leisure companies, are all intended to appeal to leisure travelers and make it attractive for them to purchase air travel and related services and products from us. Most recently, and in conjunction with our leisure travel focus, we are developing Sunseeker Resort in Florida, operating a golf course near the resort location, managing a golf course management solution and beginning to open family entertainment centers in cities in our route network. Below is a brief description of the travel services and products we provide to our customers: Scheduled service air transportation. We provide scheduled air transportation on limited-frequency, nonstop flights predominantly between under-served cities and popular leisure destinations. As of that date, we were selling travel on 450 routes to 122 cities. We provide unbundled air-related services and products in conjunction with air transportation for an additional cost to customers. These optional air-related services and products include baggage fees, advance seat assignments, our own travel protection product, change fees, use of our call center for purchases, priority 4 boarding, a customer convenience fee, food and beverage purchases on board, and other air-related services. The revenue for ancillary air-related products and services is reflected in the Passenger revenue income statement line item, along with scheduled service air transportation revenue. We offer third party travel products such as hotel rooms and ground transportation (rental cars and hotel shuttle products) for sale to our passengers. The marketing component of revenue related to our co-branded credit card is also accounted for in this category. We provide air transportation through fixed fee agreements and charter service on a year-round and ad-hoc basis. We may choose to temporarily act as a lessor as an avenue to opportunistically acquire aircraft and/or engines. We are also currently leasing spare engines to a third party and may choose to act as lessor temporarily in the future on an opportunistic basis. This line item also includes revenue from our golf course acquired in 2018 and our management solution to golf courses around the country. We have developed a unique business model that focuses on leisure travelers in small and medium-sized cities. The business model has evolved as our experienced management team has looked differently at the traditional way business has been conducted in the airline and travel industries. Our focus on the leisure customer allows us to eliminate the significant costs associated with serving a wide variety of customers and to concentrate our product appeal on a customer base which is under-served by traditional airlines. Unbundled pricing of air-related services and products By unbundling our air-related services and products such as baggage fees, advance seat assignments, travel protection, change fees, priority boarding, and food and beverage purchases , we are able to lower our airfares and target leisure travelers who are more concerned with price and the ability to customize their experience with us by only purchasing the additional conveniences they value. We have established a route network with a national footprint, providing service on 405 routes (and currently selling 450 routes) between 99 origination cities and 23 leisure destinations, and serving 42 states and Puerto Rico as of February 15, 2019.", - "id": "0756a5ad-8d27-4735-9d33-b02d68a829e4" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill introduces a national health insurance program that includes provisions for comprehensive health coverage, which could potentially expand access to treatments for diseases related to eosinophils and mast cells targeted by Allakos' drug AK002. This could impact the company positively by broadening the market for their therapies, aligning with their focus on developing treatments for conditions like eosinophilic gastritis and chronic urticaria.", - "index": "311", - "bill_title": "To amend the Social Security Act to establish a Medicare for America health program to provide for comprehensive health coverage for all Americans.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare for America Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes several health insurance programs and otherwise modifies certain requirements relating to health care coverage, costs, and services.\n\nIn particular, the bill establishes a national health insurance program to be\u00a0administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Among other requirements, the program must (1) cover all U.S. residents; (2) cover specified items and services, including hospital services, prescription drugs, dental services, and home- and community-based long-term care; and (3) be fully implemented in 2023. HHS must also offer a transitional public health option that provides certain minimum coverage through health insurance exchanges in 2021 and 2022.\n\nThe bill also makes a series of other changes to health care and tax provisions. For example, the bill (1) allows federal funds to be used for abortions; (2) sunsets a specified tax reform law that, among other things, repealed the penalty for failing to maintain minimum essential health coverage; and (3) prohibits excessive prices for prescription drugs and medical devices, as determined by a newly established federal regulatory board.", - "company_name": "Allakos, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a clinical stage biotechnology company developing AK002, our wholly owned monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of various eosinophil and mast cell related diseases. AK002 selectively targets both eosinophils and mast cells, white blood cells that are widely distributed in the body and play a central role in the inflammatory response. Inappropriately activated eosinophils and mast cells have been identified as key drivers in a number of severe diseases affecting the gastrointestinal tract, eyes, skin, lungs and other organs. AK002 has demonstrated activity in clinical trials. In these trails, AK002 depleted blood eosinophils and improved symptoms in patients with three forms of chronic urticaria (\"CU\") and indolent systemic mastocytosis (\"ISM\"), all mast cell driven diseases. The activity observed in ISM and CU suggest that AK002 could provide significant benefit to patients suffering from these diseases and highlight AK002's potential to broadly inhibit mast cells in different disease settings. We are developing AK002 for the treatment of eosinophilic gastritis (\"EG\"), eosinophilic gastroenteritis (\"EGE\"), and eosinophilic esophagitis (\"EoE\"). In addition, we have or are currently conducting studies in ISM, CU, and severe allergic conjunctivitis (\"SAC\") and are evaluating additional indications for future development. : We are focusing our development efforts on AK002 for the treatment of the diseases shown in bold and are evaluating additional indications for future development. Despite the knowledge that eosinophils and mast cells drive many pathological conditions, there are no approved therapies that selectively target both eosinophils and mast cells. AK002 binds to Siglec-8, an inhibitory receptor found on eosinophils and mast cells, which represents a novel way to selectively deplete or inhibit these important immune cells and thereby resolve inflammation. We believe AK002 is the only Siglec-8 targeting 1 antibody currently in clinical development and has the potential to have advantages over current treatments for the diseases we are pursuing. AK002 has demonstrated activity in 3 forms of CU and ISM, and additional studies are currently being conducted in EG/EGE and SAC. CU is a group of inflammatory skin diseases characterized by hives and severe itching resulting from the inappropriate activation of mast cells in the skin. In a phase 2 open-label six month multiple dose study of 47 antihistamine refractory patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria, cholinergic urticaria or dermatographic urticaria, patients reported high levels of disease control and many patients experienced complete resolution of symptoms while receiving AK002. Importantly, AK002 also produced high levels of response in patients that were refractory to the only approved biologic treatment option, Xolair, suggesting that AK002, if approved, could be the treatment of choice for antihistamine refractory CU patients. ISM is a disorder caused by the release of mast cell derived inflammatory mediators throughout the body resulting in severe symptoms in the skin, gastrointestinal tract, central nervous system, joints, and muscles. In a Phase 1 open-label six month multiple dose study in 11 patients with ISM, patients reported significant improvements in symptoms and improved quality of life measures. suggest that AK002 could provide significant benefit to patients suffering from these diseases and highlight AK002's potential to broadly inhibit mast cells in different disease settings. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1 trial in 51 healthy volunteers, all doses of AK002 resulted in complete depletion of blood eosinophils within one hour after administration. The duration of depletion was dose-dependent, with a single dose of 1.0 mg/kg of AK002 suppressing eosinophils for up to 84 days. Depletion of blood eosinophils was also observed in the AK002 ISM and CU clinical studies. We are currently testing AK002 in a double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial in patients with EG and/or EGE. EG and EGE are severe eosinophilic inflammatory diseases of the stomach and small intestine, respectively.", - "id": "b02e4d73-f9e5-43ae-85ea-3478d459825b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing a state public option for health insurance through Medicaid, which is primarily related to healthcare policy and does not have direct implications for Prologis, Inc.'s logistics real estate business model, structure, or activities. Prologis is involved in real estate investment and management, with no evident connections to healthcare or Medicaid services.", - "index": "312", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish a State public option through Medicaid to provide Americans with the choice of a high-quality, low-cost health insurance plan.", - "bill_summary": "State Public Option Act\n\nThis bill allows residents who are\u00a0not already eligible for Medicaid\u00a0and not concurrently enrolled in other health insurance coverage to\u00a0buy into\u00a0a state\u00a0Medicaid plan\u00a0beginning January 1, 2020, at the option of the state. State Medicaid programs may set premiums and cost-sharing requirements for such coverage in accordance with specified limitations.\n\nThe bill also (1) provides the enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) to every state that expands Medicaid coverage for individuals who are newly eligible under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, regardless of when such expansion takes place; and (2) requires state Medicaid programs to cover comprehensive reproductive health care services, including abortion services.", - "company_name": "Prologis, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business Prologis, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed REIT and is the sole general partner of Prologis, L.P. through which it holds substantially all of its assets. We invest in real estate through wholly owned subsidiaries and other entities through which we co-invest with partners and investors. Prologis, Inc. began operating as a fully integrated real estate company in 1997 and elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (\"Internal Revenue Code\"). We believe the current organization and method of operation will enable Prologis, Inc. to maintain its status as a REIT. We operate and evaluate our business on an owned and managed (\"O & M\") basis, including properties that we wholly-own and properties that are owned by one of our co-investment ventures. We make decisions based on the property operations, regardless of our ownership interest. Our investment consists of our wholly-owned properties and our pro rata (or ownership) share of the properties owned in ventures. THE COMPANY Prologis is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on key markets in 19 countries on four continents. We own, manage and develop well-located, high-quality logistics facilities. Our local teams actively manage our portfolio, which encompasses leasing and property management, capital deployment and opportunistic dispositions allowing us to recycle capital to self-fund our development and acquisition activities. The majority of our properties in the United States (\"U.S.\") are wholly owned, while our properties outside the U.S. are generally held in co-investment ventures, to mitigate our exposure to foreign currency movements. Our irreplaceable portfolio is focused on the world's most vibrant markets where consumption and supply chain reconfiguration drive logistics demand. In the developed markets of the U.S., Europe and Japan, key demand drivers include the reconfiguration of supply chains (strongly influenced by e-commerce trends), the demand for sustainable design features and the operational efficiencies that can be realized from high-quality logistics facilities. In emerging markets, such as Brazil, China and Mexico, growing affluence and the rise of a new consumer class have increased the need for modern distribution networks. Our strategy is to own the highest-quality logistics property portfolio in each of our target markets. These markets are characterized by what is most important for the consumption side of a logistics supply chain \u2014 large population centers with proximity to labor pools, surrounded by highways, rail service or ports. The DCT portfolio of logistics real es tate assets wa s highly complementary to our portfolio in terms of product quality, location and growth potential. As a result of the closely aligned portfolios and similar business strategies, we have integrated the properties while adding minimal property management expenses . Our results for 2018 include the DCT port folio from the date of acquisition . At December 31, 2018, we owned or had investments in properties, on a wholly-owned basis or through ventures, in the following regions (dollars in billions, based on gross book value and total expected investment (as defined below) and square feet in millions): Included in these amounts are consolidated and unconsolidated investments denominated in foreign currencies, principally the British pound sterling, euro and Japanese yen that are impacted by fluctuations in exchange rates when translated to U.S. dollars. A developed property moves into the operating portfolio when it meets our definition of stabilization, which is the earlier of one year after completion or reaching 90% occupancy. Amounts represent our total expected investment (\"TEI\"), which includes the estimated cost of development or expansion, including land, construction and leasing costs. Rental operations comprise the largest component of our operating segments and generally contribute 85% to 90% of our consolidated revenues, earnings and funds from operations (\"FFO\"). We collect rent from our customers through long-term operating leases, including reimbursements for the majority of our property operating costs.", - "id": "25683c0e-d9e7-4bec-8832-3adbbfc2c678" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to federal education funding and school choice, primarily impacting educational agencies and policies related to disadvantaged children. BMC Stock Holdings, Inc. operates in the construction industry, focusing on building products and services for homebuilders and contractors. The legal consequences of the bill do not intersect with BMC's business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "313", - "bill_title": "To amend part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow States, in accordance with State law, to let Federal funds for the education of disadvantaged children follow low-income children to the public school, charter school, accredited private school, or supplemental educational service program they attend, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Ending Common Core and Expanding School Choice Act\n\nThis bill\u00a0\u00a0modifies requirements\u00a0related to federal\u00a0education funding for disadvantaged children. Specifically, the bill\u00a0 (1)\u00a0eliminates the standards, assessments, and academic accountability requirements for state and local educational agencies that receive federal funds for the education of disadvantaged children, (2) requires such funds to be allocated based on the number of children residing in each state who are living in poverty, and (3) allows educational agencies to distribute per-pupil amounts from such funds to parents for qualified elementary and secondary education expenses.\n\nThe bill prohibits federal officers or employees from mandating academic standards, assessments, curricula, or accountability systems.", - "company_name": "BMC Stock Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "BMC Stock Holdings, Inc. is one of the leading providers of diversified building products and services in the U.S. residential construction market. Our objective is to provide best-in-class customer service and value-added products to our customers, which are primarily single- and multi-family home builders and professional remodelers. Our product offerings include lumber and lumber sheet goods and an array of value-added products, including millwork, doors, windows and structural components such as engineered wood products (\"EWP\"), floor and roof trusses and wall panels. Our whole-house framing solution, Ready-Frame \u00ae, which is one of our fastest growing product offerings, saves builders both time and money and improves job site safety. We also offer our customers important services, such as design, product specification, installation and installation management. The 18 states in which we operate accounted for approximately 65% of 2017 U.S. single-family housing permits according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Our primary operating regions include the South and West regions of the United States (as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau), with a significant portion of our net sales derived from markets within Texas, California and Georgia. Given the local nature of our business, we locate our facilities in close proximity to our key customers and often co-locate multiple operations in one facility to increase customer service and efficiency. (the \"Merger Agreement\"), pursuant to which BMHC merged with and into SBS (the \"Merger\"). Under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, the Merger was treated as a \"reverse merger\" under the acquisition method of accounting. 43 metropolitan areas in 18 states that includes a mix of large-scale production homebuilders, custom homebuilders, multi-family builders and professional repair and remodeling contractors. Our largest 10 customers accounted for approximately 20% of our 2017 net sales, with no single customer accounting for more than 6% of our 2017 net sales. Our largest customers are comprised primarily of the large production homebuilders, including publicly traded companies such as D.R. Horton, Inc., Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., Lennar Corporation, PulteGroup, Inc. and Toll Brothers, Inc. In addition to these large production homebuilders, we also service and supply regional and local custom homebuilders. We also serve professional residential remodeling contractors and multi-family and light commercial contractors in most of our markets. Our Products and Services We provide a wide variety of building products and services directly to homebuilder and professional contractor customers. We offer a broad range of products sourced through a network of suppliers with whom we have strategic supplier agreements. These products are available through our distribution locations and, in most instances, delivered to the job site. We manufacture floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels, stairs, specialty millwork, windows and pre-hung doors. We have developed several proprietary capabilities to design, pre-cut, label and bundle lumber and lumber sheet goods into customized framing packages, which we have branded Ready-Frame \u00ae. We also provide an extensive range of installation services and special order products. We group our building products and services into four product categories: (i) structural components, (ii) lumber & lumber sheet goods, (iii) millwork, doors & windows, and (iv) other building products & services. For the year ended December 31, 2017 , our sales of structural components and millwork, doors & windows products represented 42% of net sales. Each of these categories includes both manufactured and distributed products. Structural components are factory-built substitutes for job-site framing and include floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels and EWP that in many cases we design and cut for each home.", - "id": "8ef524ac-3e79-4b91-8735-81d77ed16bba" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. because it aims to lower prescription drug prices by ending monopolies on drugs priced higher than the median in other countries. Since Adamas produces brand-name drugs for chronic neurological diseases, they could be impacted by potential price reviews, loss of government-granted exclusivity, and a requirement to disclose financial information regarding drug pricing. This aligns directly with their operations and the market dynamics they navigate.", - "index": "314", - "bill_title": "To significantly lower prescription drug prices for patients in the United States by ending government-granted monopolies for manufacturers who charge drug prices that are higher than the median prices at which the drugs are available in other countries.", - "bill_summary": "Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a series of oversight and disclosure requirements relating to the prices of brand-name drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review at least annually all brand-name drugs for excessive pricing; HHS must also review prices upon petition. If any such drugs are found to be excessively priced, HHS must (1) void any government-granted exclusivity; (2) issue open, nonexclusive licenses for the drugs; and (3) expedite the review of corresponding applications for generic drugs and biosimilar biological products. HHS must also create a public database with its determinations for each drug.\n\nUnder the bill, a price is considered excessive if the domestic average manufacturing price exceeds the median price for the drug in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. If a price does not meet this criteria, or if pricing information is unavailable in at least three of the aforementioned countries, the price is still considered excessive if it is higher than reasonable in light of specified factors, including cost, revenue, and the size of the affected patient population.\n\nThe bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified financial information for brand-name drugs, including research and advertising expenditures.", - "company_name": "Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "At Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., we seek to redefine the treatment experience for patients suffering from chronic neurological diseases. Our vision is grand, our goal bold: to create and commercialize a new generation of medicines intended to lessen the burden of disease on patients, caregivers and society. With a new commercial medicine and robust pipeline of investigational programs focused on meaningfully differentiated treatment options for patients, we believe we are well on our way. Our therapeutic targets include a broad range of neurologic diseases, including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. Our treatment innovations stem from a deep scientific understanding of time-dependent biology \u2013 the deliberate mapping of disease patterns and drug activity \u2013 along with a goal to meaningfully increase the efficacy of known molecules without compromising tolerability. This approach is designed to ensure that our medicines fit within, rather than define, people's daily lives. Our goal is to develop medicines that are timed for the benefit of patients. Our understanding of time-dependent biological processes informs our every innovation, targeting advancement in treatment of chronic neurologic disorders. (amantadine) extended release capsules, formerly referred to as ADS-5102, for the treatment of dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease receiving levodopa-based therapy, with or without concomitant dopaminergic medications. GOCOVRI was approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on August 24, 2017, with seven years of orphan exclusivity and additional patent protections, and we fully launched GOCOVRI with a deployed sales force in January 2018. Potential Additional Indications for GOCOVRI (amantadine) ADS-5102 in development for the treatment of walking impairment in patients with multiple sclerosis. We expect the start of our Phase 3 pivotal study in this supplemental indication to occur early in the second quarter of 2018. ADS-5102 in research and potential development for additional indications, including the treatment of wearing OFF and delaying motor complications in Parkinson's disease, tardive dyskinesia, Huntington's chorea, Tourette syndrome, and non-motor disorders, including depression, and anti-psychotic induced weight gain. We expect to select additional indications for ADS-5102 by first quarter 2019. ADS-4101 (lacosamide) modified release capsules in development for the treatment of partial onset seizures in patients with epilepsy. We have requested a meeting with the FDA in the first half of 2018, with the start of a Phase 3 pivotal study planned for 2019, depending on FDA feedback. Additional product candidates in research based on potential new discoveries in Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, as well as new research programs in psychiatry. (memantine hydrochloride extended release and donepezil hydrochloride) capsules for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of an Alzheimer's type, marketed in the United States by Allergan plc under an exclusive license agreement between us and Forest Laboratories Holdings Limited (\"Forest\"), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Allergan plc. (memantine hydrochloride) extended release capsules for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of an Alzheimer's type, marketed in the United States by Allergan plc under the Forest license agreement. 3 Products in our wholly-owned portfolio, potential additional indications for these products, and our product candidates, are protected by an array of intellectual property, including robust and diversified patent claims, and regulatory exclusivities. For example, GOCOVRI is protected by seven-year orphan drug exclusivity, three-year new product exclusivity, and issued patents and pending patent applications out to at least 2035. We also received $160.0 million in upfront and milestone payments and $4.1 million in development funding from our partnership with Allergan plc. We estimate that approximately 36 million people in the United States suffer from chronic central nervous system, or CNS, disorders such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, psychosis, depression, and Alzheimer' CNS diseases are frequently treated with multiple medications having different mechanisms of action with the goal of maximizing symptomatic benefits for patients.", - "id": "c840300d-e5ae-4aba-b08b-79b5b367610c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on regulations regarding agricultural commodity promotion programs and checkoff programs overseen by the USDA. It does not relate to the operations of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc., which is a gifting and floral service company. There are no legal consequences in this bill that would impact the business model, structure, or activities of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc.", - "index": "315", - "bill_title": "A bill to prohibit certain practices relating to certain commodity promotion programs, to require greater transparency by those programs, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes restrictions and requirements for checkoff programs, which are programs overseen by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote and provide research and information for a particular agricultural commodity without reference to specific producers or brands.\n\nThe bill prohibits boards established to carry out a checkoff program or a USDA order issued under a checkoff program from entering into a contract or agreement to carry out program activities with a party that engages in activities to influence any government policy or action that relates to agriculture.\n\n A board or its employees or agents acting in their official capacity may not engage in any\n\n act that may involve a conflict of interest; anticompetitive activity; unfair or deceptive act or practice; or act that may be disparaging to, or in any way negatively portray, another agricultural commodity or product. Upon approval of USDA, a board may enter directly into contracts and agreements to carry out generic promotion, research, or other activities authorized by law if the agreement or contract requires records accounting for the funds received to be submitted to the board.\n\nThe board must meet specified requirements regarding the publication of budgets and disbursements of funds.\n\nThe USDA Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office must conduct specified audits regarding checkoff programs.", - "company_name": "1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc.", - "company_description": "The Company 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, the \"Company\") is a leading provider of gifts for all celebratory occasions. For more than 40 years, 1-800-Flowers.com\u00ae has been delivering smiles to customers with gifts for every occasion, including fresh flowers and the best selection of plants, gift baskets, gourmet foods, confections, jewelry, candles, balloons and plush stuffed animals. The Company's Celebrations suite of services, including its Passport Free Shipping and Reminders programs, are all designed to engage with customers and deepen relationships as a one-stop destination for all celebratory and gifting occasions. This prestigious list, compiled annually by the National Retail Federation (NRF), ranks the nation's fastest-growing retailers by year-over-year domestic sales growth. The Company also received the Gold award in the \"Best Artificial Intelligence\" category at the Data & Marketing Association's 2017 International ECHO Awards. international floral wire service provides a broad range of quality products and value-added services designed to help professional florists grow their businesses profitably. Inc. family of brands also includes everyday gifting and entertaining products such as premium, gift-quality fruits and other gourmet items from Harry & David\u00ae, popcorn and specialty treats from The Popcorn Factory\u00ae and Moose Munch\u00ae; cookies and baked gifts from Cheryl's\u00ae; gift baskets and towers from 1-800-Baskets.com\u00ae and DesignPac Gifts; premium English muffins and other breakfast treats from Wolferman's\u00ae; artisan chocolate and confections from Simply Chocolate\u00ae, carved fresh fruit arrangements from FruitBouquets.com; top quality steaks and chops from Stock Yards\u00ae and unique gifts from Personalization Universe\u00ae and Goodsey SM . The Company and Ferrero also entered into a transition services agreement whereby the Company will provide certain post-closing services to Ferrero and Fannie May related to the business of Fannie May and a commercial agreement with respect to the distribution of certain Ferrero and Fannie May products. The Company's operations began in 1976 when James F. McCann, the Company's founder and current Executive Chairman of the Board, acquired a single retail florist in New York City, which he subsequently expanded to a 14-store chain. The Company acquired the right to use the toll-free telephone number 1-800-FLOWERS, adopted it as its corporate identity and began to aggressively build a national brand around it. In order to support the growth of its toll-free business and to provide superior customer service, the Company developed an operating infrastructure that incorporated the best available technologies. Over time, the Company implemented a sophisticated transaction processing system that facilitated rapid order entry and fulfillment, an advanced telecommunications system and multiple customer service centers to handle increasing call volume. To enable the Company to deliver products reliably nationwide, on a same-day or next-day basis, and to market pre-selected, high-quality floral products, the Company created BloomNet\u00ae, a nationwide network including independent local florists selected for their high-quality products, superior customer service and order fulfillment and delivery capabilities. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM offers a broad range of truly original gifts through a multi-channel strategy, making it easy for millions of customers to deliver smiles for every occasion. Complementing its retail, telephonic and ecommerce channels, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM is a pacesetter in social and mobile platforms, pioneering award-winning marketing programs and applications. As a result, the Company has developed relationships with customers who purchase products for both a wide range of celebratory gifting occasions as well as for everyday personal use. The Company offers a broad selection of unique products that a customer could expect to find in a high-end florist and gift shop, including a wide assortment of cut flowers and plants, candy, balloons, plush toys, giftware, gourmet gift baskets, and fruit bouquet arrangements. The Company has also significantly expanded its presence in the gourmet food and gift baskets category, further complementing its gift assortment, through a combination of organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions. The addition of Harry & David in September 2014 accelerated the Company's strategy to leverage its leadership position built in the floral gifting category to create a leading position in the growing Gourmet Foods & Gift Baskets category. -800-FLOWERS.COM's objective is to be the leading authority on thoughtful gifting, to serve an expanding range of our customers' celebratory needs, thereby helping our customers express themselves and connect with the important people in their lives. The Company believes that 1-800-FLOWERS.COM is one of the most recognized brands in the floral and gift industry. The strength of its brand has enabled the Company to extend its product offerings beyond the floral category into complementary products, which include gourmet popcorn, cookies and related baked and snack food products, premium chocolate and confections, wine gifts, gourmet gift baskets, fruit bouquet arrangements, and gift-quality fruit baskets, as well as steaks, chops and prepared meals. This extension of gift offerings helps our customers with all of their celebratory occasions, and will enable the Company to increase the number of purchases and the average order value by existing customers who have come to trust the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM brand, as well as continue to attract new customers. The Company's consolidated customer database and multi-brand website is designed to expose all of our brands to our customers, further enhancing the Company's position as a leading, one-stop destination for all of our customers' gifting and celebratory needs. The Company's product offerings can be purchased through the Company's website via desktop or mobile devices, as well as through Alexa, Facebook Messenger, Google Assistant, Apple Business Chat, Samsung Chatbot, or Google Rich Business Messaging, to help guide customers to the perfect gift across our brands.", - "id": "af353c43-50c0-4dba-9852-cebab7fdfb6b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on international relations, cybercrime, and sanctions against individuals involved with Russian activities. Steelcase, Inc. operates in the furniture and workspace solutions sector, which is not directly impacted by the legal provisions of this bill regarding NATO, cybercrimes, or sanctions against Russian entities.", - "index": "316", - "bill_title": "A bill to strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, to combat international cybercrime, and to impose additional sanctions with respect to the Russian Federation, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019\n\nThis bill imposes limits on any U.S. withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), amends provisions related to cybercrimes, and imposes sanctions on Russian individuals involved in various activities.\n\nNo funds may be used to withdraw the United States from NATO unless the Senate passes a resolution consenting to the withdrawal. The bill also authorizes expedited transfers of excess defense articles to NATO member countries.\n\nThis bill establishes in the Department of State the Office of Cyberspace and the Digital Economy, to serve as the lead policy body on issues including international cybersecurity and Internet freedom.\n\nOffenses relating to the manufacture, distribution, and possession of communication-intercepting devices shall be unlawful under federal anti-money laundering laws. It shall also be a crime to intentionally traffic in the means to access protected computers, including computers that are part of a voting system. Property related to such crimes, including proceeds gained from the crime, shall be subject to criminal and civil forfeiture.\n\nThe President shall impose sanctions on\u00a0(1) Russian individuals and entities that facilitate or benefit from Russian President Vladimir Putin's corruption, and (2) those that knowingly engage in significant financial transactions with individuals that support or facilitate Russian malicious cyber activities. The bill also imposes sanctions for supporting various other Russia-related activities, including Russian interference in democratic processes.\n\nThe bill permanently reauthorizes the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which authorizes the President to impose sanctions against foreign persons responsible for gross violations of human rights.\n\nThe bill establishes requirements for reporting on a wide variety of matters concerning Russian economic, military, and political activities.", - "company_name": "Steelcase, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"our,\" \"Company\" and similar references are to Steelcase Inc., a Michigan corporation, and its subsidiaries in which a controlling interest is maintained. All amounts are in millions, except share and per share data, data presented as a percentage or as otherwise indicated. At Steelcase, our purpose is to unlock human promise by transforming work, worker and workplace. Through our family of brands that include Steelcase\u00ae, Coalesse\u00ae, Designtex\u00ae, PolyVision\u00ae, Turnstone\u00ae, Smith System\u00ae, , we offer a comprehensive portfolio of furniture, architectural products and technology solutions that support people at work. Our solutions are inspired by the insights gained from our human-centered research process. We are a globally integrated enterprise, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A., with approximately 12,700 employees. Our growth strategy focuses on translating our research-based insights into products, applications and experiences that will help the world's leading organizations amplify the performance of their people, teams and enterprise. We help our customers create workplace, healthcare and educational environments that support the physical, cognitive and emotional needs of their people, while also optimizing the value of their real estate investments. Our global reach allows us to provide local differentiation, as we serve customers around the globe. We market our products and services primarily through a network of independent and company-owned dealers and also sell directly to end-use customers. We extend our reach with a limited presence in retail and web-based sales channels. Our brands provide an integrated portfolio of furniture settings, user-centered technologies and interior architectural products for both individual and collaborative work across a range of price points. We have expanded our offerings through investments in product development and our recent acquisitions and marketing partnerships. Our furniture portfolio includes panel, fence and beam-based furniture systems, storage, fixed and height-adjustable desks, benches and tables and complementary products such as worktools. Our seating products include task chairs which are highly ergonomic, seating that can be used in collaborative or casual settings and specialty seating for specific vertical markets such as healthcare and education. Our technology solutions support group collaboration by integrating furniture and technology. Our interior architectural products include full and partial height walls and architectural pods. We also offer services designed to reduce costs and enhance the performance of people, space and real estate. Among these services are workplace strategy consulting, data-driven space measurement, lease origination services, furniture and asset management and hosted event experiences. Steelcase Steelcase takes our insights from user-centered research and delivers high performance and sustainable work environments. We strive to be a trusted partner to our customers and partners who seek to use space as a strategic asset to elevate their performance and as a tool to attract and retain talent. The Steelcase brand 's core customers are leading organizations (such as corporations, healthcare organizations, colleges/universities and government entities) that are forward-thinking, often large with ever-changing complex needs and have an increasingly global reach. We strive to meet their diverse needs while minimizing complexity by using a platform approach \u2014 from product components to common processes \u2014 wherever possible. Steelcase Health works with leading healthcare organizations to create places that deliver greater connection, empathy and well-being for everyone involved in the experience of health. ", - "id": "9dd3c3bd-2209-4161-b0e2-7f67a31e69ee" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Independence at Home Act of 2019 focuses on improving home care services under Medicare for beneficiaries, which does not directly align with Abeona Therapeutics, Inc.'s business model of developing gene therapies for rare genetic diseases. The bill primarily impacts the medical practice framework and does not address gene therapy, rare diseases, or biopharmaceutical development.", - "index": "317", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a permanent Independence at Home medical practice program under the Medicare program.", - "bill_summary": "Independence at Home Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a permanent Independence at Home Medical Practice Program for Medicare beneficiaries. Under the program, a primary care\u00a0practice\u00a0shall be accountable for (1)\u00a0providing comprehensive, coordinated, continuous, and accessible care to applicable Medicare beneficiaries at home; and (2) coordinating health care across all treatment settings.\n\nSubject to meeting specified quality performance standards, a participating practice\u00a0is eligible to\u00a0receive an incentive payment under the program if actual expenditures for applicable beneficiaries are less than\u00a0the estimated spending target established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).\n\nThe CMS shall terminate a program\u00a0agreement with a participating practice if the practice (1)\u00a0for the third of three consecutive years under the program, did not achieve savings; or (2) fails to meet a minimum number of quality performance standards established by the CMS.\n\nThe bill extends the existing Independence at Home Medical Practice Demonstration Program pending implementation of the permanent program. In addition, the bill\u00a0removes the limit on the number of beneficiaries that may participate in the demonstration program.", - "company_name": "Abeona Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing cell and gene therapies for life-threatening rare genetic diseases. Our lead programs include EB-101 (gene-corrected skin grafts) for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), ABO-102 (AAV-SGSH), an adeno-associated virus (AAV) based gene therapy for Sanfilippo syndrome type A (MPS IIIA) and ABO-101 (AAV NAGLU), an AAV based gene therapy for Sanfilippo syndrome type B (MPS IIIB). We are also developing ABO-201 (AAV-CLN3) gene therapy for juvenile Batten disease (JNCL), ABO-202 (AAV-CLN1) for treatment of infantile Batten disease (INCL), EB-201 for epidermolysis bullosa (EB), ABO-301 (AAV-FANCC) for Fanconi anemia (FA) disorder and ABO-302 using a novel CRISPR /Cas9-based gene editing approach to gene therapy for rare blood diseases. In addition we are developing a proprietary vector platform, AIM\u2122, for next generation product candidates. Product Development Strategy Abeona is focused on developing and delivering gene therapy products for severe and life-threatening rare diseases. A rare disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. There are nearly 7,000 rare diseases, which may involve chronic illness, disability, and often, premature death. While rare diseases can affect any age group, about 50% of people affected are children (15 million) and rare diseases account for 35% of deaths in the first year of life. Over 95% of rare diseases do not have a single FDA or EMA approved drug treatment, however most rare diseases are often caused by changes in genes. We believe emerging insights in genetics and advances in biotechnology, as well as new approaches and collaboration between researchers, industry, regulators and patient groups, provide significant opportunities to develop breakthrough treatments for rare diseases. Next Generation Gene Therapy Gene therapy is the use of DNA as a potential therapy to treat a disease. In many disorders, particularly genetic diseases caused by a single genetic defect, gene therapy aims to treat a disease by delivering the correct copy of DNA into a patient's cells. The healthy, functional copy of the therapeutic gene then helps the cell function correctly. In gene therapy, DNA that encodes a therapeutic protein is packaged within a ''vector,'' often ' virus, which is used to transfer the DNA to the inside of cells within the body. Gene therapy can be delivered by a direct injection, either intravenously (IV) or directly into a specific tissue in the body, where it is taken up by individual cells. Once inside cells, the correct DNA is expressed by the cell machinery, resulting in the production of missing or defective protein, which in turn is used to treat the patient's underlying disease and can provide long-term benefit. Viruses such as AAV are utilized because they have evolved a way of encapsulating and delivering one or more genes of the size needed for clinical application, and can be purified in large quantities at high concentration. Unlike AAV vectors found in nature, the AAV vectors used by Abeona have been genetically-modified such that they do not replicate. Although the preclinical studies in animal models of disease demonstrate the promising impact of AAV-mediated gene expression to affected tissues such as the heart, liver and muscle, our programs use a specific virus that is capable of delivering therapeutic DNA across the blood brain barrier and into the central nervous system (CNS) and the somatic system (body), making them attractive for addressing lysosomal storage diseases which have severe CNS manifestations of the disease. Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) are a group of rare inborn errors of metabolism resulting from deficiency in normal lysosomal function. These diseases are characterized by progressive accumulation of storage material within the lysosomes of affected cells, ultimately leading to cellular dysfunction. Multiple tissues ranging from musculoskeletal and visceral to tissues of the CNS are typically involved in disease pathology. Since the advent of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) to manage some LSDs, general clinical outcomes have significantly improved; however, treatment with infused protein is lifelong and continued disease progression is still evident in patients.", - "id": "c194ec5b-5ea8-4dc7-badb-6ceb05da0c6c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on amending federal marijuana laws and does not directly relate to the construction industry or the business activities of BMC Stock Holdings, which is primarily involved in providing building products and services to homebuilders and remodelers. The company does not engage in marijuana-related activities, and the changes stipulated in the bill regarding financial, regulatory, or criminal aspects of marijuana do not affect their operations.", - "index": "318", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to reduce the gap between Federal and State marijuana policy, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Responsibly Addressing the Marijuana Policy Gap Act of 2019\n\nThis bill removes federal restrictions on, and creates new protections for, marijuana-related conduct and activities that are authorized by state or tribal law (i.e., state-authorized).\n\nAmong other things, the bill does the following:\n\n eliminates regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act for state-authorized marijuana-related activities; allows businesses that sell marijuana in compliance with state or tribal law to claim certain federal tax credits and deductions; eliminates restrictions on print and broadcast advertising of state-authorized marijuana-related activities; creates protections for depository institutions that provide financial services to marijuana-related businesses; specifies that a marijuana-related business is entitled to federal bankruptcy protections; establishes a process to expunge criminal records related to certain marijuana-related convictions; reestablishes federal student aid eligibility for certain students convicted of a misdemeanor offense for marijuana possession; exempts real property from civil forfeiture due to state-authorized marijuana-related conduct; prohibits the inadmissibility or deportability of aliens for state-authorized marijuana-related conduct; specifies that drug-related criminal activity, which is prohibited in federally assisted housing, does not include state-authorized marijuana-related conduct; establishes a new, separate registration process to facilitate medical marijuana research; authorizes health care providers employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to recommend participation in state marijuana programs; and authorizes medical providers through an Indian health program to make medical recommendations regarding marijuana.", - "company_name": "BMC Stock Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "BMC Stock Holdings, Inc. is one of the leading providers of diversified building products and services in the U.S. residential construction market. Our objective is to provide best-in-class customer service and value-added products to our customers, which are primarily single- and multi-family home builders and professional remodelers. Our product offerings include lumber and lumber sheet goods and an array of value-added products, including millwork, doors, windows and structural components such as engineered wood products (\"EWP\"), floor and roof trusses and wall panels. Our whole-house framing solution, Ready-Frame \u00ae, which is one of our fastest growing product offerings, saves builders both time and money and improves job site safety. We also offer our customers important services, such as design, product specification, installation and installation management. The 18 states in which we operate accounted for approximately 65% of 2017 U.S. single-family housing permits according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Our primary operating regions include the South and West regions of the United States (as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau), with a significant portion of our net sales derived from markets within Texas, California and Georgia. Given the local nature of our business, we locate our facilities in close proximity to our key customers and often co-locate multiple operations in one facility to increase customer service and efficiency. (the \"Merger Agreement\"), pursuant to which BMHC merged with and into SBS (the \"Merger\"). Under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, the Merger was treated as a \"reverse merger\" under the acquisition method of accounting. 43 metropolitan areas in 18 states that includes a mix of large-scale production homebuilders, custom homebuilders, multi-family builders and professional repair and remodeling contractors. Our largest 10 customers accounted for approximately 20% of our 2017 net sales, with no single customer accounting for more than 6% of our 2017 net sales. Our largest customers are comprised primarily of the large production homebuilders, including publicly traded companies such as D.R. Horton, Inc., Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., Lennar Corporation, PulteGroup, Inc. and Toll Brothers, Inc. In addition to these large production homebuilders, we also service and supply regional and local custom homebuilders. We also serve professional residential remodeling contractors and multi-family and light commercial contractors in most of our markets. Our Products and Services We provide a wide variety of building products and services directly to homebuilder and professional contractor customers. We offer a broad range of products sourced through a network of suppliers with whom we have strategic supplier agreements. These products are available through our distribution locations and, in most instances, delivered to the job site. We manufacture floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels, stairs, specialty millwork, windows and pre-hung doors. We have developed several proprietary capabilities to design, pre-cut, label and bundle lumber and lumber sheet goods into customized framing packages, which we have branded Ready-Frame \u00ae. We also provide an extensive range of installation services and special order products. We group our building products and services into four product categories: (i) structural components, (ii) lumber & lumber sheet goods, (iii) millwork, doors & windows, and (iv) other building products & services. For the year ended December 31, 2017 , our sales of structural components and millwork, doors & windows products represented 42% of net sales. Each of these categories includes both manufactured and distributed products. Structural components are factory-built substitutes for job-site framing and include floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels and EWP that in many cases we design and cut for each home.", - "id": "81c596dd-1b27-44a1-a77d-d9bdea38d8e8" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration, which primarily pertains to environmental technology and infrastructure projects for carbon dioxide management. Pool Corp. operates as a distributor of swimming pool supplies and leisure products, with no evident connection to carbon capture or climate-related initiatives. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill do not align with the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "319", - "bill_title": "A bill to support carbon dioxide utilization and direct air capture research, to facilitate the permitting and development of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects and carbon dioxide pipelines, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies Act or the USE IT Act\n\nThis bill addresses the capture, utilization, and sequestration of carbon dioxide.\n\nThe Environmental Protection Agency must (1) establish a competitive prize program for certain technology projects that capture carbon dioxide directly from the air, (2) research and develop technologies or approaches that transform carbon dioxide generated by industrial processes into a product of commercial value, and (3) support research and infrastructure activities relating to carbon dioxide utilization by providing technical and financial assistance.\n\nThe bill includes the construction of infrastructure for carbon capture (e.g., carbon dioxide pipelines) among those projects subject to performance schedules designed to reduce permitting and project delivery time.\n\nThe Government Accountability Office must issue a report that identifies grant programs that research carbon capture and utilization technologies and examines whether the programs overlap.\n\nThe Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) must publish guidance to (1) facilitate reviews associated with the deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration projects and carbon dioxide pipelines; and (2) support the development of such projects and pipelines.\n\nThe CEQ must also establish at least two task forces to (1) identify challenges and successes that permitting authorities and project developers and operators face, and (2) improve the performance of the permitting process and regional coordination.", - "company_name": "Pool Corp.", - "company_description": "Business General Pool Corporation (the Company, which may be referred to as we, us or our) is the world's largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products and is one of the top three distributors of irrigation and landscape products in the United States. Our vision is to become the best worldwide distributor of outdoor living products that enhance the quality of outdoor home life. Our industry is highly fragmented, and as such, we add considerable value to the industry by purchasing products from a large number of manufacturers and then distributing the products to our customer base on conditions that are more favorable than our customers could obtain on their own. As of December 31, 2018, we operated 364 sales centers in North America, Europe, South America and Australia through our four distribution networks: We participate in a worldwide market for outdoor living products through our four distribution networks. We believe that the swimming pool industry is relatively young, with room for continued growth from the increased penetration of new pools. Significant growth opportunities also reside with pool remodel and pool equipment replacement activities due to the aging of the installed base of swimming pools, technological advancements and the development of energy-efficient and more aesthetically attractive products. Additionally, the desire for consumers to enhance their outdoor living spaces with hardscapes, lighting and outdoor kitchens also promotes growth in this area. These favorable trends include the following: \u2022 long-term growth in housing units in warmer markets due to the population migration toward the southern United States, which contributes to the growing installed base of pools that homeowners must maintain; \u2022 increased homeowner spending on outdoor living spaces for relaxation and entertainment; \u2022 consumers bundling the purchase of a swimming pool and other products, with new irrigation systems, landscaping and improvements to outdoor living spaces often being key components to both pool installations and remodels; and \u2022 consumers using more automation and control products, higher quality materials and other pool features that add to our sales opportunities over time. Almost 60% of consumer spending in the pool industry is for maintenance and minor repair of existing swimming pools. Maintaining proper chemical balance and the related upkeep and repair of swimming pool equipment, such as pumps, heaters, filters and safety equipment, creates a non-discretionary demand for pool chemicals, equipment and other related parts and supplies. We also believe cosmetic considerations such as a pool's appearance and the overall look of backyard environments create an ongoing demand for other maintenance-related goods and certain discretionary products. This characteristic has helped cushion the negative impact on revenues in periods when unfavorable economic conditions and softness in the housing market adversely impacted pool construction and major replacement and refurbishment activities. The following table reflects growth in the domestic installed base of in-ground swimming pools over the past 11 years (based on Company estimates and information from 2017 P.K. Data, Inc. reports): The replacement and refurbishment market currently accounts for close to 25% of consumer spending in the pool industry. The activity in this market, which includes major swimming pool remodeling, is driven by the aging of the installed base of pools. The timing of these types of expenditures is more sensitive to economic factors that impact consumer spending compared to the maintenance and minor repair market. New swimming pool construction comprises just over 15% of consumer spending in the pool industry. The demand for new pools is driven by the perceived benefits of pool ownership including relaxation, entertainment, family activity, exercise and convenience. The industry competes for new pool sales against other discretionary consumer purchases such as kitchen and bathroom remodeling, boats, motorcycles, recreational vehicles and vacations. The industry is also affected by other factors including, but not limited to, consumer preferences or attitudes toward pool and related outdoor living products for aesthetic, environmental, safety or other reasons. The irrigation and landscape industry shares many characteristics with the pool industry, and we believe that it will realize similar long\u2011term growth rates. Irrigation system installations often occur in tandem with new single\u2011family home construction making it more susceptible to economic variables.", - "id": "32a83a39-0e86-43b1-85b4-4b6ee02f2dfa" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Vietnam Human Rights Act primarily focuses on human rights issues and U.S. foreign assistance related to Vietnam, which does not have a direct impact on Gannett Co., Inc.'s business model, structure, or activities. Gannett is a media and marketing solutions company, and while these topics might be relevant in a broader societal context, they do not specifically affect the company's operations or objectives.", - "index": "320", - "bill_title": "To advance United States national interests by prioritizing the protection of internationally recognized human rights and development of the rule of law in relations between the United States and Vietnam, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Vietnam Human Rights Act\n\nThis bill amends various reporting requirements related to foreign assistance and human rights. It also authorizes various aid programs related to Vietnam.\n\nIn its annual reports to Congress on human rights in foreign countries and U.S. security assistance programs, the Department of State shall include assessments of online freedom of expression in each country, including efforts by governments to censor information, punish individuals for their speech, and monitor communications.\n\nThe State Department's annual report on human rights in Vietnam shall include information regarding the country's progress in various areas, including with respect to ending torture and violence against religious groups and returning property improperly confiscated by the Vietnamese government.\n\nThe bill authorizes the State Department to establish programs to (1) monitor and halt sex trafficking of women from Vietnam and other Asian countries, and (2) address Vietnam's growing sex-ratio disparity. It authorizes the President to provide assistance for ethnic minority groups in Vietnam affected by human rights violations and directs the State Department to report on such efforts.", - "company_name": "Gannett Co., Inc.", - "company_description": "Inc. (Gannett, we, us, our, or the company) is an innovative, digitally focused media and marketing solutions company committed to strengthening communities across our network. Gannett owns ReachLocal, Inc. (ReachLocal), a digital marketing solutions company, the USA TODAY NETWORK (made up of USA TODAY (USAT) and 109 local media organizations in 34 states in the U.S. and Guam, including digital sites and affiliates), and Newsquest (a wholly owned subsidiary operating in the United Kingdom (U.K.) with more than 170 local media brands). Through the USA TODAY NETWORK and Newsquest, Gannett delivers high-quality, trusted content where and when consumers want to engage with it on virtually any device or platform. Additionally, the company has strong relationships with thousands of marketers in both our U.S. and U.K. markets due to our large local and national sales forces and robust advertising and marketing solutions product suite. The company reports in two operating segments, publishing and ReachLocal, plus a corporate and other category. The company has made both internal and external digital investments to address consumers' changing habits toward the consumption of news and information on digital devices as well as marketers' changing spending habits towards digital products. In 2017 , total digital revenues were $994.9 million, or 32% of total company revenues. The USA TODAY NETWORK, with more than 3,000 journalists, averaged approximately 117 million (a) (see \"References\" section below) monthly unique visitors who access content through desktops, smartphones, and tablets. In September 2017, the company achieved a record 125 million (a) unique digital visitors in the U.S. In the U.K., Newsquest is a publishing and digital leader with more than 900 journalists and a network of web sites that attracts over 26 million (b) unique visitors monthly. Since its introduction in 1982, USA TODAY has been a cornerstone of the national news landscape and is a recognizable and respected brand. \u2022In 2015 , we began to include the USA TODAY local edition as an insert each day in 35 of our local daily publications, which includes News, Money, and Life content, and throughout the network \u2022In 2016 , we leveraged the strong USA TODAY brand and created the largest local to national media network in the country, the USA TODAY NETWORK. \u2022In 2017 , we started a branding refresh of our print and digital products across our U.S. markets that will continue into 2018. This refresh is designed to unify our digital network, modernize our visual storytelling, create a more contemporary look for our advertisers and partnerships, and attract new audiences. For the Win\" (ftw.usatoday.com), a unique digital property that provides sports fans with social news and curated analysis, and our recent investment in Grateful Ventures, a startup digital content network that operates in the lifestyle vertical. We are the leading newspaper publisher in the U.S. in terms of circulation and have the third largest digital audience in the News and Information category based on December 2017 comScore Media Metrics; per those metrics, our content reaches more people digitally than Fox News, CBSnews.com, At our flagship brand, USA TODAY, print readership averages over 2.6 million daily Monday to Friday, while the digital audience averages over 93 million (a) unique visitors per month. While our print audience tends to skew to an older demographic, our digital audience skews younger as evidenced by 54% (a) of the total U.S. digital millennial audience (ages 18 - 34) Newsquest's digital audience continued to grow in 2017, with average monthly unique users of its network rising to 26.3 million (b). As digital media consumption shifts to mobile devices and social media, our audiences on these platforms continue to grow. The USA TODAY NETWORK consistently ranks in the top 3 in mobile web unique visitors in the News and Information category, finishing December 2017 at # 2 (a). Total mobile web page views for the USA TODAY NETWORK grew 5% (b) in 2017, evidence our content successfully resonates on mobile devices. In the fourth quarter of 2017, we began to roll out a new mobile web experience with preliminary results showing greater user engagement.", - "id": "3bfa204b-229d-4657-bde1-a80558e97fac" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The CASE Act establishes an alternative dispute resolution program for copyright disputes, which is relevant to ADTRAN as a technology company providing networking solutions. Their products and services may involve software and content that could potentially be subject to copyright issues. The establishment of a Copyright Claims Board may help ADTRAN in resolving any copyright claims efficiently without resorting to lengthy court procedures, thus positively impacting their operations.", - "index": "321", - "bill_title": "To amend title 17, United States Code, to establish an alternative dispute resolution program for copyright small claims, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 or the CASE Act of 2019\n\nThis bill creates the Copyright Claims Board, a body within the U.S. Copyright Office, to decide copyright disputes. Damages awarded by the board are capped at $30,000.\n\nParticipation in board proceedings is voluntary with an opt-out procedure for defendants, and parties may choose instead to have a dispute heard in court. If the parties agree to have their dispute heard by the board, they shall forego the right to be heard before a court and the right to a jury trial. Board proceedings shall have no effect on class actions.\n\nThe board shall be authorized to hear copyright infringement claims, actions for a declaration of noninfringement, claims that a party knowingly sent false takedown notices, and related counterclaims.\n\nThe bill provides for various procedures, including with respect to requests for information from the other party and requests for the board to reconsider a decision.\n\nThe board may issue monetary awards based on actual or statutory damages.\n\nThe parties shall bear their own attorneys' fees and costs except where there is bad faith misconduct.\n\nA board's final determination precludes relitigating the claims in court or at the board. Parties may challenge a board decision in federal district court only if (1) the decision was a result of fraud, corruption, or other misconduct; (2) the board exceeded its authority or failed to render a final determination; or (3) in a default ruling or failure to prosecute, the default or failure was excusable.", - "company_name": "ADTRAN, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview ADTRAN is a leading global provider of networking and communications equipment, serving a diverse domestic and international customer base in 68 countries that includes Tier 1, 2 and 3 service providers, cable/MSOs and distributed enterprises. Our innovative solutions and services enable voice, data, video and internet communications across a variety of network infrastructures and are currently in use by millions of users worldwide. Our success depends upon our ability to increase unit volume and market share through the introduction of new products and succeeding generations of products having lower selling prices and increased functionality as compared to both the prior generation of a product and to the products of competitors. In order to service our customers and build revenue, we are constantly conducting research and development of new products addressing customer needs and testing those products for the particular specifications of the particular customers. In addition to our corporate headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama, we have research and development (R & D) facilities in strategic global locations. We are focused on being a top global supplier of access infrastructure and related value-added solutions from the cloud edge to the subscriber edge. We offer a broad portfolio of flexible software and hardware network solutions and services that enable service providers to meet today's service demands, while enabling them to transition to the fully converged, scalable, highly automated, cloud-controlled voice, data, internet and video network of the future. Our business operates under two reportable segments: Network Solutions and Services & Support. We also report revenue across three categories \u2013 Access & Aggregation, Subscriber Solutions & Experience (formerly Customer Devices) and Traditional & Other Products. Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, ADTRAN anchors Cummings Research Park\u2014the second largest high-tech center in the U.S. and fourth largest in the world. Revenue Segments Our business operates under two reportable segments: Network Solutions and Services & Support. Our Network Solutions software and hardware products provide solutions supporting fiber-, copper- and coaxial-based infrastructures and a growing number of wireless solutions, lowering the overall cost to deploy advanced services across a wide range of applications for Carrier and Cable/MSO networks. We are accelerating the industry's transition to open, programmable and scalable networks. ADTRAN offers both chassis-based networks solutions, such as our Total Access 5000 (TA5000) and hiX families, as well as disaggregated network solutions which leverage ADTRAN's Software Defined Access (SD-Access) architecture which combines modern web-scale technologies with open-source platforms to facilitate rapid innovation in multi-technology, multi-vendor environments. The Mosaic cloud platform and Mosaic OS, combined with programmable network elements, provide operators with a highly agile, open-services architecture. This enables operators to better compete with web-scale companies by reducing the time and cost to onboard new services, technologies, and supply partners as they strive to reduce operational costs. Also included in this category are our subscriber solutions that terminate the broadband access in the home and/or business . These include open-source connected home and enterprise platforms, cloud services, Wi-Fi and software applications and services . To complement our Network Solutions portfolio and to enable our service provider customers to accelerate time to market, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction, we offer a complete portfolio of services. These include consulting, managed services, solutions integration, network implementation and maintenance services. ADTRAN's consulting services allow service providers to leverage ADTRAN's 30 plus years of network engineering expertise to build and deploy best of breed networks. Our ADTRAN NetAssure Program offers a variety of ways to leverage ADTRAN networking expertise applied to networks. One aspect, the resident engineering services, provides an on-site ADTRAN engineer, whose goal is to drive customer success by serving as the single point of contact for product knowledge, on-going network troubleshooting, and technical expertise, enabling service providers to gain a strategic competitive advantage from our products. 's integration services enable operators to architect and build the open distributed access networks of the future. Our solutions integration offerings include our SD-Access Accelerator.", - "id": "2d3de600-626a-4f61-8188-e7eeb4d05553" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace and establishes regulations such as adopting nondiscrimination policies for employers with 15 or more employees. As Allogene Therapeutics employs a workforce larger than this threshold, it will be legally obligated to comply with these provisions, impacting its human resources practices and corporate structure.", - "index": "322", - "bill_title": "A bill to prevent discrimination and harassment in employment.", - "bill_summary": "Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination in the Workplace Act or the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace and raises the minimum wage for tipped employees.\n\nSpecifically, the bill (1) makes it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against an individual in the workplace based on sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, and a sex stereotype; (2) prohibits employers from entering into contracts or agreements with workers that contain certain nondisparagement or nondisclosure clauses; (3) prohibits predispute arbitration agreements and postdispute agreements with certain exceptions, and (4) establishes grant programs to prevent and respond to workplace discrimination and harassment, provide legal assistance for low-income workers related to employment discrimination, and establish a system of legal advocacy in states to protect the rights of workers.\n\nAdditionally, the bill, among other things\n\n requires employers who have 15 or more employees to adopt a comprehensive nondiscrimination policy; requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to provide specified training and resource materials, establish and convene a harassment prevention task force, and establish an Office of Education and Outreach with regard to prohibited discrimination and harassment in employment; requires specified studies, reports, and research on prohibited harassment in employment; and grants employees the right to retain their tips.", - "company_name": "Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a clinical stage immuno-oncology company pioneering the development and commercialization of genetically engineered allogeneic T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. We are developing a pipeline of off-the-shelf T cell product candidates that are designed to target and kill cancer cells. Our engineered T cells are allogeneic, meaning they are derived from healthy donors for intended use in any patient, rather than from an individual patient for that patient's use, as in the case of autologous T cells. In collaboration with Servier, we are developing UCART19 and ALLO-501, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell product candidates targeting CD19. Servier is sponsoring two Phase 1 clinical trials of UCART19 in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), one for adult patients (the CALM trial) and one for pediatric patients (the PALL trial). In January 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared our investigational new drug application (IND) for ALLO-501, and we plan to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial (the ALPHA trial) in the first half of 2019 for the treatment of R/R non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). In addition, we have a deep pipeline of allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates targeting multiple promising antigens in a host of hematological malignancies and solid tumors. For example, we plan to submit an IND and initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial in 2019 for ALLO-715, an allogeneic CAR T cell product candidate targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) for the treatment of R/R multiple myeloma. We believe our management team's experience in immuno-oncology and specifically in CAR T cell therapy will help drive the rapid development and, if approved, the commercialization of these potentially curative therapies for patients with aggressive cancer. CAR T cell therapy, a form of cancer immunotherapy, has recently emerged as a revolutionary and potentially curative therapy for patients with hematologic cancers, including refractory cancers. In 2017, two autologous anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapies, Kymriah, developed by Novartis International AG (Novartis), and Yescarta, developed by Kite Pharma, Inc. (Kite), were approved by the FDA for the treatment of R/R B-cell precursor ALL (Kymriah) and R/R large B-cell lymphoma (Yescarta). Autologous CAR T cell therapies are manufactured individually for the patient's use by modifying the patient's own T cells outside the body, causing the T cells to express CARs. The entire manufacturing process is dependent on the viability of each patient's T cells and takes approximately two to four weeks. As seen in the registrational trials for Kymriah and Yescarta, up to 31% of intended patients ultimately did not receive treatment primarily due to interval complications from the underlying disease during manufacturing or manufacturing failures. Our allogeneic approach involves engineering healthy donor T cells, which we believe will allow for the creation of an inventory of off-the-shelf products that can be delivered to a larger portion of eligible patients throughout the world. Our allogeneic T cell development strategy has four key pillars: (1) developing product candidates to minimize the risk of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a condition where allogeneic T cells can recognize the patient's normal tissue as foreign and cause damage, (2) creating a window of persistence that may enable allogeneic T cells to expand in patients, (3) building a leading manufacturing platform and (4) leveraging next generation technologies to improve the functionality of allogeneic CAR T cells. We use Cellectis, S.A. (Cellectis), TALEN gene-editing technology with the goal of limiting the risk of GvHD by engineering T cells to lack functional T cell receptors (TCRs) that are no longer capable of recognizing a patient's normal tissue as foreign. With the goal of enhancing the expansion and persistence of our engineered allogeneic T cells, we use TALEN to inactivate the CD52 gene in donor T cells and an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody to deplete CD52 expressing T cells in patients while sparing the therapeutic allogeneic T cells. We believe this enables a window of persistence for the infused allogeneic T cells to actively target and destroy cancer cells. Our off-the-shelf approach is dependent on state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, and we are building a technical operations organization with fully integrated in-house expertise in clinical and commercial engineered T cell manufacturing. In February 2019, we entered into a lease to build our own cell therapy manufacturing facility in Newark, California. Finally, we plan to leverage next generation technologies to improve the functionality of our product candidates and to develop more potent product candidates. We believe next generation technologies will also allow us to develop allogeneic T cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumors, which to date have been difficult to treat because of the lack of validated targets and tumor microenvironments that can impair the activity of T cells. We are currently developing a pipeline of multiple allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates utilizing protein engineering, gene editing, gene insertion and advanced proprietary T cell manufacturing technologies.", - "id": "5e648c0b-7b50-4cb7-9a52-70352a448376" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill expedites the approval process for exporting small volumes of natural gas, which aligns closely with Alta Mesa Resources Inc.'s business model of natural gas production and exportation. The company operates in the natural gas sector, particularly in the STACK area, and stands to benefit from quicker export approvals that could enhance its market access and financial performance.", - "index": "323", - "bill_title": "To amend the Natural Gas Act to expedite approval of exports of small volumes of natural gas, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Small Scale LNG Access Act of 2019\n\nThis bill provides that an application for the exportation of natural gas that does not exceed 51.75 billion cubic feet per year shall be deemed consistent with the public interest and granted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission without modification or delay.\n\nApplications for exportation of natural gas to any nation subject to sanctions imposed by the United States may not be expedited.", - "company_name": "Alta Mesa Resources Inc", - "company_description": "We were originally formed in November 2016 as a special purpose acquisition company under the name Silver Run Acquisition Corporation II for the purpose of effecting an initial business combination. Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we completed the private sale of 15,133,333 warrants (the \u0093Private Placement Warrants\u0094) to Silver Run Sponsor II, LLC (the \u0093Sponsor\u0094) generating gross proceeds to us of $22,700,000. A total of $1.035 billion (including approximately $36.2 million in deferred underwriting commissions to the underwriters of the IPO), which represents $1.0143 billion of the proceeds from the IPO after deducting upfront underwriting commissions of $20.7 million, and the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were placed in the Trust Account (the \u0093Trust Account\u0094) to be used to fund an initial business combination. \u00b7 SRII Opco distributed to the Kingfisher Contributor cash in the amount of approximately $814.8 million in partial payment for the ownership interests in Kingfisher contributed by the Kingfisher Contributor; and \u00b7 SRII Opco entered into a voting agreement with the owners of the remaining 10% voting interests in Alta Mesa GP whereby such other owners agreed to vote their interests in Alta Mesa GP as directed by SRII Opco. Following the completion of the Business Combination, the size of our board of directors was expanded from four directors to 11, including one director appointed by Bayou City and its affiliates, one director appointed by HPS and its affiliates and two directors appointed by AM Management and its affiliates, as the holders of our Series A Preferred Stock, and three directors appointed by the Riverstone Contributor and its affiliates, as the holder of our Series B Preferred Stock. Founded in 1987, Alta Mesa, the predecessor to our E & P Business, was an independent exploration and production company focused on the development and acquisition of unconventional oil and natural gas reserves in the eastern portion of the Anadarko Basin referred to as the STACK. The STACK is an acronym describing both its location\u0097Sooner Trend Anadarko Basin Canadian and Kingfisher County\u0097and the multiple, stacked productive formations present in the area. The STACK is a prolific hydrocarbon system with high oil and liquids-rich natural gas content, multiple horizontal target horizons, extensive production history and historically high drilling success rates. As of December 31, 2017, we had assembled a highly contiguous position of approximately 130,000 net acres largely in the up-dip, naturally-fractured oil portion of the STACK in eastern Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. Our drilling locations are in our primary target formations comprised of the Osage, Meramec and Oswego. We are currently operating seven horizontal drilling rigs in the STACK with plans to increase that number of rigs to eight at the end of 2018. Our Midstream Business was started by Kingfisher on January 30, 2015 for the purpose of acquiring, developing and operating midstream oil and gas assets. We primarily focus on providing crude oil gathering, gas gathering and processing and marketing to producers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and condensate in the STACK play. Our midstream energy asset network includes approximately 308 miles of existing low and high pressure pipelines, a 60 MMcf/d cryogenic natural gas processing plant, 10 MMcf/d in offtake processing, compression facilities, crude storage, NGL storage and purchasing and marketing capabilities. Our goal is to build a premier development and acquisition company focused on horizontal drilling and gas gathering in the STACK. As an emerging growth company, we may, for up to five years, take advantage of specified exemptions from reporting and other regulatory requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. the date on which we are deemed to be a \u0093large accelerated filer,\u0094 as defined in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the \u0093Exchange Act\u0094).", - "id": "2f85cfe9-245e-493f-a6a3-8cee76df2faf" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 establishes sanctions related to the Syrian conflict, targeting individuals and entities involved in support of the Syrian government or in human rights abuses. Aegion Corp. primarily operates in the infrastructure rehabilitation and protection sector, focusing on pipelines and industrial facilities, with no evident involvement in Syria or activities that would intersect with the sanctions imposed by this bill. Therefore, the bill is not relevant to the company.", - "index": "324", - "bill_title": "To require certain additional actions in connection with the national emergency with respect to Syria, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes additional sanctions and financial restrictions on institutions and individuals related to the conflict in Syria.\n\nThe Department of the Treasury shall determine whether the Central Bank of Syria is a financial institution of primary money laundering concern. If so, Treasury shall impose one or more special measures, such as requiring domestic financial institutions to maintain additional records on transactions involving the bank.\n\nThe President shall impose sanctions on foreign persons that (1) provide significant support or engage in a significant transaction with the Syrian government or those acting on behalf of Syria, Russia, or Iran; or (2) are knowingly responsible for serious human rights abuses against the Syrian people.\n\nThe bill also imposes sanctions on those that knowingly provide various goods or services to Syria, such as aircraft for the military, technology for the government's domestic petroleum production, items on the U.S. Munitions List, and items that the President believes are\u00a0being used to commit human rights abuses against the Syrian people.\n\nThe sanctions include blocking of financial transactions and barring of entry into the United States. Such sanctions shall not apply to activities related to providing humanitarian aid or supporting democratic institutions in Syria.\n\nThe President may suspend the sanctions under certain conditions, including if it is in the United States' national security interests.\n\nThe Department of State is authorized to assist entities that are conducting criminal investigations and gathering evidence to prosecute those responsible for war crimes in Syria.", - "company_name": "Aegion Corp.", - "company_description": "Aegion combines innovative technologies with market leading expertise to maintain, rehabilitate and strengthen pipelines and other infrastructure around the world. Since 1971, we have played a pioneering role in finding transformational solutions to rehabilitate aging infrastructure, primarily pipelines in the wastewater, water, energy, mining and refining industries. We also maintain the efficient operation of refineries and other industrial facilities and provide innovative solutions for the strengthening of buildings, bridges and other structures. We believe the depth and breadth of our products and services make us a leading provider for the world's infrastructure rehabilitation and protection needs. Our Company premise is to use technology to extend the structural design life and maintain, if not improve, the performance of infrastructure, mostly related to pipelines and piping systems. We have proved this expertise can be applied in a variety of markets to protect pipelines in oil, gas, nuclear, mining, wastewater and water applications and can be extended to the rehabilitation and maintenance of commercial structures and the provision of professional services in energy-related industries. Many types of infrastructure must be protected from the corrosive and abrasive materials that pass through or near them. Our expertise in non-disruptive corrosion engineering and abrasion protection is wide-ranging. We manufacture many of the engineered solutions we offer to customers as well as the specialized equipment required to install them. Finally, decades of experience give us an advantage in understanding municipal, energy, mining, industrial and commercial customers. CIPP process served as the first trenchless technology for rehabilitating wastewater pipelines and has enabled municipalities and private industry to avoid the extraordinary expense and extreme disruption that can result from conventional \"dig-and-replace\" methods. We have maintained our leadership position in the CIPP market from manufacturing to technological innovations and market share for over 45 years. We embarked on a diversification strategy in 2009 to expand not only our geographic reach but also our product and service portfolio into the oil and gas markets. Through a series of strategic initiatives and key acquisitions, we possess a broad portfolio of cost-effective solutions for rehabilitating and maintaining aging or deteriorating infrastructure, protecting new infrastructure from corrosion and providing integrated professional services in engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance and turnaround services for oil companies, primarily in the downstream market. Today, our long-term strategy is to invest in our core end markets for organic growth and acquire innovative technologies to enhance our competitive position. We have three operating segments, which are also our reportable segments: Infrastructure Solutions, Corrosion Protection and Energy Services. The majority of our work is performed in the municipal water and wastewater pipeline sector and, while the pace of growth is primarily driven by government funding and spending, overall demand due to required infrastructure improvements in our core markets should result in a long-term stable growth opportunity for our market leading products, Insituform\u00ae Corrosion Protection is positioned to capture the benefits of continued oil and natural gas pipeline infrastructure developments across North America and internationally, as producers and midstream pipeline companies transport their product from onshore and offshore oil and gas fields to regional demand centers both domestically and internationally. The segment has a broad portfolio of technologies, products and services to protect, maintain, rehabilitate, assess and monitor pipelines from the effects of corrosion, including cathodic protection, interior pipe linings, interior and exterior pipe coatings and insulation, as well as an increasing offering of inspection and repair capabilities. We provide solutions to customers to enhance the safety, environmental integrity, reliability and compliance of their pipelines in the oil and gas markets. We offer a unique value proposition based on our world-class safety and labor productivity programs, which allow us to provide cost-effective construction, maintenance, turnaround and specialty services at customers' refineries, chemical and other industrial facilities. We understand the demands and the level of critical planning required to ensure a successful turnaround or shutdown and offer a full range of services as part of our facility maintenance solutions, while maintaining a reputation for being safe and professional and providing predictable value. We are committed to being a valued partner to our customers, with a constant focus on expanding those relationships by solving complex infrastructure problems, enhancing our capabilities and improving execution while also developing or acquiring innovative technologies and comprehensive services. The fundamental driver in the global municipal pipeline rehabilitation market is the growing gap between the need and current spend. While we do not expect the spending gap to close any time soon, the increasing need for pipeline rehabilitation supports a long-term sustainable market for the technologies and services offered by our Infrastructure Solutions segment.", - "id": "965aea07-0c67-4934-95eb-370fb27368c0" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving mental health care for veterans, including provisions for suicide prevention, transition assistance, and mental health studies, none of which directly relate to Evergy or its subsidiaries, Westar Energy and KCP & L, as their primary business involves providing electricity to customers and is regulated as a utility company. Thus, the bill does not impact their business operations.", - "index": "325", - "bill_title": "A bill to improve mental health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019\n\nThis bill makes updates related to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) transition assistance, mental health care, care for women veterans, and telehealth care.\n\nTITLE I--IMPROVEMENT OF TRANSITION OF INDIVIDUALS TO SERVICES FROM DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS\n\n(Sec. 101) This section requires the VA to submit a plan for the provision of VA health care to any veteran during the one-year period following the discharge or release from active military, naval, or air service.\n\n(Sec. 102) The Department of Defense (DOD) and the VA must jointly review and report on the records of each former member of the Armed Forces who died by suicide within one year of separation from the Armed Forces during the five-year period preceding the enactment of this bill.\n\n(Sec. 103) The VA must report on the Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health\u2014Veterans Enhanced Treatment (REACH VET) program to assess, among other elements, the impact of the program on rates of suicide among veterans.\n\n(Sec. 104) This section updates reporting requirements related to the mental and behavioral health care provided by the VA to former members of the Armed Forces with other than honorable discharge.\n\nTITLE II--SUICIDE PREVENTION\n\n(Sec. 201) This section establishes the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, under which the VA must award grants for a period of three years to eligible entities for the provision of suicide prevention services to veterans and their families. A nongovernmental entity must conduct a study on the provision of such grants to evaluate the effectiveness.\n\nIn certain circumstances, entities receiving grants must refer eligible individuals for additional care at the VA. If it is clinically appropriate, the VA must provide an individual receiving suicide prevention services through a grant with a mental health care assessment or services. If an individual refuses such care, ongoing clinical services provided by a grantee must be at the expense of the grantee.\n\n(Sec. 202) The VA must complete a study and report on the feasibility and advisability of providing complementary and integrative health treatments, such as acupuncture, at all VA medical facilities.\n\n(Sec. 203) After the Creating Options for Veterans' Expedited Recovery Commission submits its final report, the VA must conduct a three-year pilot program to provide complementary and integrative health services (e.g., animal therapy) to certain veterans from the VA or non-VA entities for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, or anxiety. The VA is authorized to extend the duration based on the results of the implementation.\n\n(Sec. 204) The VA must seek to enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to study the effects of opioids and benzodiazepine on all-cause mortality of veterans, including suicide, regardless of whether information relating to such deaths has been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nThe Government Accountability Office (GAO) must conduct a review of the staffing levels for mental health professionals of the VA.\n\n(Sec. 205) This section requires the GAO to report on the VA's efforts to manage veterans at high risk for suicide.\n\nTITLE III--PROGRAMS, STUDIES, AND GUIDELINES ON MENTAL HEALTH\n\n(Sec. 301) This section requires the VA to conduct a study on the connection between living at high altitude and the risk of developing depression or dying by suicide among veterans. Depending on the results, a follow-up study may be required to identify biological causes and effective treatments.\n\n(Sec. 302) The VA must develop a clinical provider treatment toolkit and training materials for the evidence-based management of comorbid mental health conditions, comorbid mental health and substance use disorders, and a comorbid mental health condition and chronic pain.\n\n(Sec. 303) The VA and DOD (through the Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide Work Group) must issue an update to the VA/DOD Clinical Practice Guideline for Assessment and Management of Patients at Risk for Suicide that (1) considers gender-specific factors; and (2) includes guidance with respect to the efficacy of certain alternative therapies, such as meditation and animal therapy.\n\n(Sec. 304) This section requires the VA to complete the development of a clinical practice guideline or guidelines for the treatment of serious mental illness. Under this section, such guidelines must address the treatment of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and persistent mood disorder (including bipolar disorder I and II).\n\nThe VA must establish the Serious Mental Illness Work Group with DOD and the Department of Health and Human Services to develop such clinical practice guideline or guidelines.\n\nAdditionally, the VA must complete an assessment of the 2016 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Major Depressive Disorders to determine if an update is necessary.\n\n(Sec. 305) The VA must implement the Precision Medicine for Veterans Initiative to identify and validate brain and mental health biomarkers among veterans, with specific consideration for depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and traumatic brain injury. The VA must develop data privacy and security measures to ensure the information of veterans participating in the initiative is kept private and secure. The VA must also coordinate efforts of the initiative with the Million Veterans Program.\n\n(Sec. 306) This section authorizes the VA to contract with academic institutions or other qualified entities to carry out any statistical analyses and data evaluation as required by law.\n\nTITLE IV--OVERSIGHT OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE AND RELATED SERVICES\n\n(Sec. 401) The VA must enter into an agreement with a nonfederal government entity that has expertise in conducting and evaluating research-based studies to conduct a study on the effectiveness of the VA's suicide prevention and mental health outreach materials and campaigns.\n\n(Sec. 402) The VA must establish measurable goals to evaluate the effectiveness of the VA's mental health and suicide prevention media outreach campaigns.\n\n(Sec. 403) This section requires the GAO to conduct a management review of the mental health and suicide prevention services provided by the VA.\n\n(Sec. 404) The GAO must report on the VA's efforts to integrate (1) mental health care into VA primary care clinics, and (2) community-based mental health care (care provided by a non-VA provider but paid for by the VA) into the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).\n\n(Sec. 405) The VA and DOD must report on their mental health programs, including joint programs of the departments. The VA must establish a joint VA/DOD Intrepid Spirit Center to serve active duty members of the Armed Forces, members of the reserve components, and veterans for mutual benefit and growth in treatment and care for PTSD and traumatic brain injury.\n\nTITLE V--IMPROVEMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH MEDICAL WORKFORCE\n\n(Sec. 501) The VA must submit a plan to address the staffing of mental health providers at its facilities. Additionally, the VA must develop an occupational series for its licensed professional mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists.\n\n(Sec. 502) This section requires the VA to carry out the Department of Veterans Affairs Readjustment Counseling Service Scholarship Program under the Educational Assistance Program.\n\n(Sec. 503) The GAO must report on the VA's Readjustment Counseling Service. Such report must include, among other elements, an assessment of barriers to care at Vet Centers.\n\n(Sec. 504) This section expands the annual reporting requirement on the activities of the Readjustment Counseling Service to include additional elements.\n\n(Sec. 505) The VA must conduct a survey on the attitudes of veterans toward the VA offering appointments outside the usual operating hours of VA facilities, including via telehealth appointments. The VA must also study the feasibility and advisability of offering appointments outside the usual operating hours\n\n(Sec. 506) The VA must ensure each of its medical centers is staffed with at least one suicide prevention coordinator. In addition, the VA must conduct a study to determine the feasibility and advisability of the realignment and reorganization of suicide prevention coordinators within the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and the creation of a suicide prevention coordinator program office.\n\n(Sec. 507) This section requires the VA to report on its efforts to implement a suicide prevention program for veterans presenting to an emergency department or urgent care center of the VHA who are assessed to be at risk for suicide and are safe to be discharged home.\n\nTITLE VI--IMPROVEMENT OF CARE AND SERVICES FOR WOMEN VETERANS\n\n(Sec. 601) This section requires the VA to expand the capabilities of the Women Veterans Call Center by including a text messaging capability.\n\n(Sec. 602) The VA must publish a website providing information for women veterans about the benefits and services available to them.\n\nTITLE VII--OTHER MATTERS\n\n(Sec. 701) This section requires the VA to award grants to entities for the expansion of telehealth capabilities and provision of telehealth services to veterans. An entity seeking to establish a telehealth access point for veterans without grant funding is authorized to enter into an agreement with the VA to establish such access point.\n\nThe VA must assess and report on the barriers veterans face in accessing telehealth services.\n\n(Sec. 702) This section authorizes the VA to enter partnerships with nonfederal government entities to provide hyperbaric oxygen treatment to veterans to research the effectiveness of such therapy in treating certain conditions (e.g., PTSD).\n\nThe VA must conduct a systematic review of published research literature on off-label use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat PTSD and traumatic brain injury among veterans and nonveterans. Additionally, the VA must conduct a study on all individuals receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy through the VA's current pilot program to determine the efficacy and effectiveness for treating PTSD and traumatic brain injury.\n\n(Sec. 703) The VA must prescribe specified technical qualifications for appointment as a licensed hearing aid specialist in the VHA. Under this section, at least one licensed hearing aid specialist must be appointed at each VA medical center.\n\n(Sec. 704) This section requires the VA to complete policy revisions within the internal directive titled Requirements for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research to allow sponsored clinical research of the VA to use accredited commercial institutional review boards to review VA research proposal protocols.\n\nThe VA must (1) identify accredited commercial institutional review boards for use in connection with sponsored clinical research of the VA, and (2) establish a process to modify existing approvals if a board loses its accreditation during an ongoing clinical trial.\n\n(Sec. 705) This section also requires the VA to establish an Office of Research Reviews within the VA's Office of Information and Technology to perform centralized security reviews and complete security processes for approved research sponsored outside the VA, among other purposes.", - "company_name": "WESTAR ENERGY INC /KS", - "company_description": "\"KCP & L\" refers to Kansas City Power & Light Company and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless otherwise indicated. \"Evergy Companies\" refers to Evergy, Westar Energy, and KCP & L, collectively, which are individual registrants within the Evergy consolidated group. Evergy is a public utility holding company incorporated in 2017 and headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Evergy operates primarily through the following wholly-owned direct subsidiaries: Westar Energy is an integrated, regulated electric utility that provides electricity to customers in the state of Kansas. Westar Energy has one active wholly-owned subsidiary with significant operations, Kansas Gas and Electric Company (KGE). KCP & L is an integrated, regulated electric utility that provides electricity to customers primarily in the states of Missouri and Kansas. \u2022 KCP & L Greater Missouri Operations Company (GMO) is an integrated, regulated electric utility that provides electricity to customers in the state of Missouri. \u2022 GPE Transmission Holding Company, LLC (GPETHC) owns 13.5% of Transource Energy, LLC (Transource) with the remaining 86.5% owned by AEP Transmission Holding Company, LLC, a subsidiary of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP). Transource is focused on the development of competitive electric transmission projects. GPETHC accounts for its investment in Transource under the equity method. Westar Energy also owns a 50% interest in Prairie Wind Transmission, LLC (Prairie Wind), which is a joint venture between Westar Energy and affiliates of AEP and Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company. Prairie Wind owns a 108-mile, 345 kV double-circuit transmission line that provides transmission service in the Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (SPP). Westar Energy accounts for its investment in Prairie Wind under the equity method. Evergy serves approximately 1,588,300 customers located in Kansas and Missouri. Customers include approximately 1,392,500 residences, 188,700 commercial firms and 7,100 industrials, municipalities and other electric utilities. Evergy is significantly impacted by seasonality with approximately one-third of its retail revenues recorded in the third quarter. The table below summarizes the percentage of Evergy's retail electricity sales by customer class. Following the completion of these mergers, Westar Energy and the direct subsidiaries of Great Plains Energy, including KCP & L and GMO, became wholly-owned subsidiaries of Evergy. The merger was structured as a merger of equals in a tax-free exchange of shares that involved no premium paid or received with respect to either Great Plains Energy or Westar Energy. Regulation Westar Energy and KCP & L's Kansas operations are regulated by the State Corporation Commission of the State of Kansas (KCC) and KCP & L's Missouri operations and GMO are regulated by the Public Service Commission of the State of Missouri (MPSC), in each case with respect to retail rates, certain accounting matters, standards of service and, in certain cases, the issuance of securities, certification of facilities and service territories. The Evergy 7 Companies are also subject to regulation by The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) with respect to transmission, wholesale sales and rates, and other matters. Evergy has a 94% ownership interest in Wolf Creek Generating Station (Wolf Creek), which is subject to regulation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) with respect to licensing, operations and safety-related requirements. The table below summarizes the rate orders in effect for Westar Energy's, KCP & L's and GMO's retail rate jurisdictions. Evergy expects its Kansas and Missouri jurisdictional retail revenues to be approximately 60% and 40%, respectively, based on historical averages of Westar Energy's, KCP & L's and GMO's retail revenues. ", - "id": "3924ac9e-31b5-495a-9263-5fd8e30cb4b3" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing a natural gas demand response pilot program aimed at energy consumption and emissions reduction. Verso Corp. is primarily involved in the production of coated papers and pulp, which does not directly relate to natural gas demand management or energy system reliability. The company\u2019s activities are more concerned with the paper manufacturing industry and are less affected by changes in natural gas provisions as proposed in the bill.", - "index": "326", - "bill_title": "A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to establish a natural gas demand response pilot program, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "This bill requires the Department of Energy to establish a natural gas demand response pilot program that uses the latest demand response technology from the energy sector for natural gas to (1) reduce the cost of energy for consumers, (2) reduce market price volatility, (3) increase reliability of the energy system, and (4) achieve reductions in air emissions and other benefits.", - "company_name": "Verso Corp.", - "company_description": "After the Internal Reorganization, Verso is the sole member of Verso Holding LLC, which is the sole member of Verso Paper Holding LLC. As used in this report, the term \"Verso Holding\" refers to Verso Holding LLC, and the term \"Verso Paper\" refers to Verso Paper Holding LLC. Prior to the Internal Reorganization, Verso was the sole member of Verso Paper Finance Holdings One LLC, which was the sole member of Verso Paper Finance Holdings LLC, which was the sole member of Verso Paper Holdings LLC. As used in this report, the term \"Verso Finance\" refers to Verso Paper Finance Holdings LLC; and the term \"VPH\" refers to Verso Paper Holdings LLC. The term \"NewPage\" refers to NewPage Holdings Inc., which was an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Verso prior to the Internal Reorganization; the term \"NewPage Corp\" refers to NewPage Corporation, which was an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of NewPage prior to the Internal Reorganization. Each of Verso Finance, VPH, NewPage and NewPage Corp were either merged into other subsidiaries of Verso, converted into limited liability corporations, and/or renamed in the Internal Reorganization and do not exist on and after the Internal Reorganization. We are the leading North American producer of coated papers, which are used primarily in commercial print, magazines, catalogs, high-end advertising brochures and annual reports, among other media and marketing publications. We produce a wide range of products, ranging from coated freesheet and coated groundwood, to specialty papers, to inkjet and digital paper, supercalendered papers and uncoated freesheet. We also produce and sell market kraft pulp, which is used to manufacture printing and writing paper grades and tissue products. The mills have an aggregate annual production capacity of approximately 2,870,000 tons of paper, including coated papers and specialty papers which excludes pulp. In February 2018, we announced plans to upgrade the shuttered No. 3 paper machine at our Androscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine, enabling this equipment to restart for the manufacture of packaging products. This paper machine was previously idled beginning in January 2017 and shut down in July 2017. We anticipate completion of this upgrade in the third quarter of 2018 and expect the No. 3 paper machine to increase annual paper production capacity by approximately 200,000 tons. We sell and market our products to approximately 300 customers which comprise approximately 1,700 end-user accounts. We have long-standing relationships with many leading magazine and catalog publishers, commercial printers, specialty retail merchandisers and paper merchants. We reach our end-users through several distribution channels, including direct sales, commercial printers, paper merchants and brokers. \" Verso and substantially all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, or the \"Debtors,\" filed voluntary petitions for relief, or the \"Chapter 11 Filings,\" under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, or the \"Bankruptcy Code,\" in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, or the \"Bankruptcy Court. ,\" were consolidated for procedural purposes only and administered jointly under the caption In accordance with the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board, or \"FASB,\" Accounting Standards Codification, or \"ASC\" 852, Reorganizations, the Debtors adopted fresh-start accounting upon emergence from the Chapter 11 Cases and became a new entity for financial reporting purposes as of July 15, 2016. The Internal Reorganization involved several separate, but related, actions consisting of mergers between subsidiaries to reduce their numbers, the conversion of corporate subsidiaries to limited liability companies, the re-domestication of subsidiaries under Delaware law to provide for a uniform and enlightened regulatory framework, the formation of new holding companies to create separate \"branches\" for Verso's paper-making and energy operations, and name changes of subsidiaries to more appropriately reflect the nature of their assets and operations. In September 2017, we announced the formation of a Strategic Alternatives Committee, comprised solely of independent directors. Based on 2017 sales, the size of the global coated paper industry is estimated to be approximately $32 billion, or 38 million tons of coated paper shipments, including approximately $5 billion, or 6 million tons of coated paper shipments, in North America. Coated paper is used primarily in media and marketing applications, including catalogs, magazines and commercial printing applications, which include high-end advertising brochures, annual reports and direct mail advertising. Demand is generally driven by North American advertising and print media trends, which in turn have historically been correlated with growth in Gross Domestic Product, or \"GDP.", - "id": "ca472e15-2b52-4335-b1c3-afd3cfaf33de" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill extends Medicaid protections and funding for home and community-based services, which is relevant to Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. as they develop treatments for rare diseases, including those potentially impacting Medicaid recipients. The bill's provisions regarding drug product information and penalties for misclassification may also affect the company's activities in drug manufacturing and pricing.", - "index": "327", - "bill_title": "To amend title XIX to extend protection for Medicaid recipients of home and community-based services against spousal impoverishment, establish a State Medicaid option to provide coordinated care to children with complex medical conditions through health homes, prevent the misclassification of drugs for purposes of the Medicaid drug rebate program, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Medicaid Services Investment and Accountability Act of 2019\n\nThis bill alters several Medicaid programs and funding provisions.\n\n(Sec. 2) The bill temporarily extends the applicability of Medicaid eligibility criteria that protect against spousal impoverishment for recipients of home- and community-based services.\n\n(Sec. 3) The bill also establishes a state Medicaid option to provide for medical assistance with respect to coordinated care provided through a health home (i.e., a designated provider or team of health-care professionals) for children with medically complex conditions. States must determine payment methodologies in accordance with specified requirements; payments also temporarily qualify for an enhanced federal matching rate.\n\n(Sec. 4) The bill also temporarily extends the Medicaid demonstration program for certified community behavioral health clinics.\n\n(Sec. 5) The bill increases funding available to the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program. (Under this program, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may award grants to state Medicaid programs to assist states in increasing the use of home and community care for long-term care and decreasing the use of institutional care.)\n\n(Sec. 6) Further, drug manufacturers with Medicaid rebate agreements for covered outpatient drugs must disclose drug product information. Manufacturers are subject to civil penalties for knowingly misclassifying drugs. Manufacturers are also required to compensate for rebates that were initially underpaid as a result of misclassification (whether or not such misclassification was committed knowingly).", - "company_name": "Akcea Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company developing and marketing drugs globally to treat patients with rare and serious diseases. We are bringing novel and transformative medicines to patients by driving clinical program execution, understanding patient and physician needs, preparing the market, creating market access, and commercializing our products on a global basis. As an affiliate of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Ionis, we have a robust portfolio of development-, registration- and commercial-stage drugs covering multiple targets and diseases using antisense therapeutics. Our immediate focus is on the commercial launch of our first commercially approved therapy, TEGSEDI in the United States, or U.S., the European Union, or E.U., and Canada. TEGSEDI treats the polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis, or hATTR amyloidosis, in adults. We estimate that there are approximately 50,000 patients globally with hATTR amyloidosis, the majority of whom have symptoms of polyneuropathy. We are also focused on commercial preparations for WAYLIVRA in the E.U. and on regulatory discussions for WAYLIVRA in the U.S. and Canada. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, of the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, has adopted a positive opinion recommending conditional marketing authorization of WAYLIVRA as an adjunct to diet in adult patients with genetically confirmed familial chylomicronemia syndrome, or FCS, who are at high risk for pancreatitis, in whom response to diet and triglyceride lowering therapy has been inadequate. The positive opinion will now be referred to the EC, which grants marketing authorization for medicines in the European Union, as well as to European Economic Area members Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. FCS is an ultra-rare, devastating hereditary disease that causes unpredictable and potentially fatal acute pancreatitis, chronic complications due to permanent organ damage, and a severe impact on daily living. We are advancing a mature pipeline of novel drugs with the potential to treat multiple diseases. APO(a)-L Rx , AKCEA-ANGPTL3-L Rx , AKCEA-APOCIII-L Rx and AKCEA-TTR-L Rx , are all based on Ionis' antisense technology platform. Ionis' advanced Ligand Conjugated Antisense, or LICA, technology, which enhances the effective uptake and activity of these drugs in particular tissues. TEGSEDI is the world's first subcutaneous, RNA-targeted therapeutic that substantially reduces the production of transthyretin, or TTR protein. Importantly, TEGSEDI is Akcea's first commercially approved drug, and our launch is underway in three regions: the U.S., the E.U. and Canada. We are continuing to build our commercial infrastructure to support TEGSEDI, and plan to use this infrastructure to support WAYLIVRA and the other drugs in our pipeline, if approved in the future as we anticipate further commercialization in serious and rare diseases. A key element of our commercial strategy is to provide the specialized, patient-centric support required to successfully address rare disease patient populations. We believe our focus on treating patients with inadequately addressed rare and serious diseases will allow us to partner efficiently and effectively with the specialized medical community that supports these underserved patient communities. For example, at approval we launched Akcea Connect TM , a drug treatment program made up of dedicated, regionally-based nurse case managers who have a wide range of medical knowledge and experience, in the United States. This program offers free, private and personalized support to patients and their caregivers and families across the country. Internationally, Akcea Connect is being rolled out in each of the countries where we launch with what we believe is the highest level of patient and physician support allowed in accordance with local regulations. Accredo to be our specialty pharmacy partner for the distribution of TEGSEDI in the U.S. We chose Express Scripts' Accredo Health Group, Inc., or Accredo because of their experience supporting the unique needs of rare disease communities and their proven track record for simplifying access to therapy. Accredo has a team of specialty clinicians, pharmacists and over 600 field-based nurses located throughout the U.S. who are augmenting the Akcea Connect team of nurse case managers to provide support and address the needs of the hATTR amyloidosis community. To further support the hATTR amyloidosis community, Akcea and Ambry Genetics Corporation, or Ambry, a Konica Minolta company, launched hATTR Compass\u2122 in the U.S. and Canada, a no-cost, confidential genetic testing and genetic counseling program for people with suspected hATTR amyloidosis.", - "id": "1a0e6933-133f-4289-8df0-b8d88044c9ef" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on environmental hazards in housing and rehabilitation, which is unrelated to United Airlines' business model centered around air transportation and regional airline services. There are no direct implications for United Airlines regarding housing, environmental remediation, or related grant opportunities.", - "index": "328", - "bill_title": "To study and facilitate the abatement and removal of environmental hazards in homes rehabilitated with community participation, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Removing Environmental Hazards And Building Safely Act of 2019 or the REHABS Act of 2019\n\nThis bill authorizes the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to award grants to national and regional organizations and consortia to abate and remove environmental hazards (e.g., lead, asbestos, and mold) in homes being rehabilitated for families and individuals who otherwise would be unable to afford to purchase a dwelling. Additionally, HUD must study the assessment and removal of mold in the rehabilitation of a single-family home.", - "company_name": "United Airlines Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. The Company transports people and cargo throughout North America and to destinations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. UAL, through United and its regional carriers, operates more than 4,800 flights a day to 353 airports across five continents, with hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport (\"Newark\"), Chicago O'Hare International Airport (\"Chicago O'Hare\"), Denver International Airport (\"Denver\"), George Bush Intercontinental Airport The hub and spoke system allows us to transport passengers between a large number of destinations with substantially more frequent service than if each route were served directly. The hub system also allows us to add service to a new destination from a large number of cities using only one or a limited number of aircraft. As discussed under Alliances below, United is a member of Star Alliance, the world's largest alliance network. The Company has contractual relationships with various regional carriers to provide regional aircraft service branded as United Express. This regional service complements our operations by carrying traffic that connects to our hubs and allows flights to smaller cities that cannot be provided economically with mainline aircraft. a CommutAir (\"CommutAir\"), ExpressJet Airlines (\"ExpressJet\"), GoJet Airlines (\"GoJet\"), Mesa Airlines (\"Mesa\"), SkyWest Airlines (\"SkyWest\"), Air Wisconsin Airlines (\"Air Wisconsin\"), and Trans States Airlines (\"Trans States\") are all regional carriers that operate with capacity contracted to United under capacity purchase agreements (\"CPAs\"). Under these CPAs, the Company pays the regional carriers contractually agreed fees (carrier costs) for operating these flights plus a variable reimbursement (incentive payment for operational performance) based on agreed performance metrics, subject 3 to annual adjustments. The fees for carrier costs are based on specific rates for various operating expenses of the regional carriers, such as crew expenses, maintenance and aircraft ownership, some of which are multiplied by specific operating statistics (e.g., block hours, departures), while others are fixed monthly amounts. Under these CPAs, the Company is responsible for all fuel costs incurred, as well as landing fees and other costs, which are either passed through by the regional carrier to the Company without any markup or directly incurred by the Company, and, in some cases, the Company owns or leases some or all of the aircraft subject to the CPA, and leases or subleases, as applicable, such aircraft to the regional carrier. In return, the regional carriers operate the capacity of the aircraft included within the scope of such CPA exclusively for United, on schedules determined by the Company. The Company also determines pricing and revenue management, assumes the inventory and distribution risk for the available seats and permits mileage accrual and redemption for regional flights through its MileagePlus\u00ae loyalty program. United is a member of Star Alliance, a global integrated airline network and the largest and most comprehensive airline alliance in the world. As of January 1, 2019 , Star Alliance carriers served over 1,300 airports in 193 countries with 18,800 daily departures. Star Alliance members, in addition to United, are Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways In addition to its members, Star Alliance includes Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines as a connecting partner. United has a variety of bilateral commercial alliance agreements and obligations with Star Alliance members, addressing, among other things, reciprocal earning and redemption of frequent flyer miles, access to airport lounges and, with certain Star Alliance members, codesharing of flight operations (whereby one carrier's selected flights can be marketed under the brand name of another carrier). In addition to the alliance agreements with Star Alliance members, United currently maintains independent marketing alliance agreements with other air carriers, including Aeromar, Aer Lingus, Air Dolomiti, Azul Linhas A\u00e9reas Brasileiras S.A. In addition to the marketing alliance agreements with air partners, United also offers a train-to-plane codeshare and frequent flyer alliance with Amtrak from Newark on select city pairs in the northeastern United States. United also participates in four passenger joint business arrangements (\"JBAs\"): one with Air Canada and the Lufthansa Group (which includes Lufthansa and its affiliates Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and SWISS) covering transatlantic routes, one with ANA covering certain transpacific routes, one with Air New Zealand covering certain routes between the United States and New Zealand and one with Avianca and Copa Airlines, which, upon receipt of regulatory approvals will cover routes between the United States and Central and South America, excluding Brazil. These passenger JBAs enable the participating carriers to integrate the services they provide in the respective regions, capturing revenue synergies and delivering enhanced customer benefits, such as highly competitive flight schedules, fares and services. United also participates in cargo JBAs with ANA for transpacific cargo services and with Lufthansa for transatlantic cargo services. These cargo JBAs offer expanded and more seamless access to cargo space across the carriers' respective combined networks. ", - "id": "5ad3cec0-8947-471c-99f3-2346266644f3" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses immigration and humanitarian issues in Central America, which do not directly relate to Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.'s business model focused on cloud-based solutions for smart residential and commercial properties. There are no legal consequences from the bill that would impact the company's operations, structure, or activities in the connected property market.", - "index": "329", - "bill_title": "A bill to provide a coordinated regional response to manage effectively the endemic violence and humanitarian crisis in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.", - "bill_summary": "Central America Reform and Enforcement Act\n\nThis bill establishes programs to address the humanitarian crisis in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (the Northern Triangle countries) and to handle asylum-seekers from those countries.\n\nThe Department of State shall report to Congress a five-year interagency strategy to address the factors driving migration from Central America.\n\nThe bill establishes various new immigration-related penalties, such as making it unlawful to knowingly destroy any government-deployed border-control device (e.g., fence or camera).\n\nThe State Department shall work to expand the capacity of other countries to provide asylum.\n\nThe State Department shall establish at least four Designated Application Processing Centers in the Northern Triangle countries and Mexico to adjudicate asylum applications and admit qualified aliens from the Northern Triangle countries as refugees.\n\nThe Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall provide certain assessments and health care services to unaccompanied alien children.\n\nThe rights of a parent or guardian over an unaccompanied alien child may be terminated only pursuant to a court order.\n\nThe Office of Refugee Resettlement shall conduct certain background checks on prospective sponsors of an unaccompanied alien child.\n\nTo receive certain funding, a local educational\u00a0agency must ensure that unaccompanied alien children are served.\n\nAn unaccompanied alien child shall be appointed free counsel in immigration proceedings.\n\nThe Department of Justice\u00a0shall increase the number of immigration judges and Board of Immigration Appeals staff attorneys.\n\nThe Department of Homeland Security, HHS, and the State Department shall develop a process for repatriating unaccompanied children to their country of origin. This process must\u00a0require a determination of the child's best interests.", - "company_name": "Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview Alarm.com is the leading platform for the intelligently connected property. We offer a comprehensive suite of cloud-based solutions for smart residential and commercial properties, including interactive security, video monitoring, intelligent automation, energy management and wellness solutions. Millions of property owners depend on our technology to intelligently secure, monitor and manage their residential and commercial properties. In the last year alone, our platforms processed more than 200 billion data points generated by over 90 million connected devices. We believe that this scale of subscribers, connected devices and data operations makes us the leader in the connected property market. Our solutions are delivered through an established network of over 8,000 trusted service providers, who are experts at selling, installing and supporting our solutions. We primarily generate Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS, and license revenue through our service provider partners, who resell these services and pay us monthly fees. We also generate hardware and other revenue, primarily from our service provider partners and distributors. Our hardware sales include connected devices that enable our services, such as video cameras, gateway modules and smart thermostats. We enter into contracts with our service provider partners that establish pricing for access to our platform solutions and for the sale of hardware. These contracts typically have an initial term of one year, with subsequent renewal terms of one year. Our service provider partners typically enter into contracts with our subscribers, which our service provider partners have indicated range from three to five years in length. Our service provider partners are free to market and sell our products under their own guidelines at prices to the consumer that they establish independently. We believe that the length of the service relationship with residential and commercial property owners, combined with our robust SaaS platforms and over 15 years of operating experience, contribute to a compelling business model. See footnote 4 to the table contained in the section of this Annual Report titled \" Selected Financial Data \" for a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income, the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP. Our technology platforms are designed to make connected properties safer, smarter and more efficient. Our solutions are used in both smart residential and commercial properties, which we refer to as the connected property market and we have designed our technology platforms for all market participants. This includes not only the residential and commercial property owners who subscribe to our services, but also the hardware partners who manufacture devices that integrate with our platforms and the service provider partners who install and maintain our solutions. Our service provider partners can deploy our interactive security, video monitoring, intelligent automation and energy management solutions as stand-alone offerings or as combined solutions to address the needs of a broad range of customers. Our technology enables subscribers to seamlessly connect to their property through our family of mobile apps, websites, and new engagement platforms like voice control through Amazon Echo and Google Home, wearable devices like the Apple Watch, and TV platforms such as Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. Subscriber Solutions Interactive Security Interactive security is the entry point for most of our smart home and business subscribers. Our dedicated, two-way cellular connection between the property and our platforms is designed to be tamper resistant and to meet the high reliability standards for life safety services. Our solution integrates monitoring 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with emergency response through trusted and integrated central monitoring stations. Subscribers can use our services to control and monitor their security systems, as well as connected security devices including motion sensors, door locks, garage doors, thermostats and video cameras. The capabilities associated with this solution include: 3 \u25e6 ", - "id": "895a7751-7834-4a4a-8a50-4f22b5eca1af" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The CHANGE Act of 2019 focuses on improving diagnosis and treatment procedures for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, particularly within the scope of Medicare policies. Align Technology, Inc. operates in the dental medical device industry, particularly dealing with orthodontics and restorative dentistry. The bill's focus on cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's care does not directly impact Align's business model or operations, which are centered around dental care and orthodontics, making it irrelevant to the company's activities.", - "index": "330", - "bill_title": "To provide better care and outcomes for Americans living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and their caregivers while accelerating progress toward prevention strategies, disease modifying treatments, and, ultimately, a cure.", - "bill_summary": "Concentrating on High-value Alzheimer's Needs to Get to an End Act of 2019 or the CHANGE Act of 2019 This bill modifies the requirements under Medicare for diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive impairments in older adults. Specifically, the bill expands the cognitive impairment detection benefit during annual wellness visits to require the use of validated detection tools and documentation of the results in the patient's medical record. Further, when a cognitive impairment is detected, the patient must be referred to an appropriate diagnostic service provider and other specified supports. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services must implement Medicare policies that increase the identification and response to patients' Alzheimer's disease risk factors and incentivize providers to utilize high-quality cognitive impairment diagnosis practices. The Government Accountability Office also must conduct a study of policies that may accelerate progress in Alzheimer's disease research and enhance the quality of care for individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.", - "company_name": "Align Technology, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"Align\") is a global medical device company engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of Invisalign\u00ae clear aligners and iTero\u00ae intraoral scanners and services for orthodontics, and restorative and aesthetic dentistry. Align's products are intended primarily for the treatment of malocclusion or the misalignment of teeth and are designed to help dental professionals achieve the clinical outcomes that they expect. We sell the vast majority of our products directly to our customers: orthodontists and general practitioner dentists (\"GPs\"), as well as to restorative and aesthetic dentists, including prosthodontists, periodontists, and oral surgeons. In addition, we sell directly to Dental Support Organizations (DSOs) who contract with dental practices to provide critical business management and support including non-clinical operations, and we sell directly to dental laboratories who manufacture or customize a variety of products to assist in the provision of oral health care by a licensed dentist. We received 510(k) clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (\"FDA\") to market the Invisalign System in 1998. The Invisalign System is regulated by the FDA as a Class II medical device. In order to provide Invisalign treatment to their patients, orthodontists and GPs must initially complete an Invisalign training course. Our iTero scanner is used by dental professionals and/or labs and service providers for restorative and orthodontic digital procedures as well as Invisalign case submission. We received 510(k) clearance from the FDA to market iTero software for expanded indications in 2013. Scanners and computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (\"CAD/CAM\") services are primarily sold through our direct sales force and a few distributors in North America, Europe and certain Asia Pacific countries, and through distribution partners in smaller non-core international country markets. Clear Aligner Segment Malocclusion and Traditional Orthodontic Treatment Malocclusion, or the misalignment of teeth, is one of the most prevalent clinical dental conditions, affecting billions of people, or approximately 60% to 75% of the population. Annually, approximately 12 million people in major developed countries elect treatment by orthodontists worldwide. Most orthodontic patients are treated with the use of traditional methods such as metal arch wires and brackets, referred to as braces, and may be augmented with elastics, metal expanders, headgear or functional appliances, and other ancillary devices as needed. Upon completion of the treatment, the dental professional may, at his or her discretion, have the patient use a retainer appliance. In addition, approximately 300 million people with malocclusion could benefit from straightening their teeth but are unlikely to seek treatment through a doctor's office. This represents an incremental opportunity for us as we expand the market for orthodontics by educating more consumers about the benefits of straighter teeth using Invisalign clear aligners and connect them with an Invisalign doctor of their choice. The Invisalign System The Invisalign System is a proprietary method for treating malocclusion based on a proprietary computer-simulated virtual treatment plan and a series of doctor-prescribed, custom manufactured, clear plastic, removable aligners. The Invisalign System offers a range of treatment options, specialized services, and proprietary software for treatment visualization and is comprised of the following phases: Orthodontic diagnosis and transmission of treatment data to us. The Invisalign-trained dental professional prepares and sends us a patient's treatment data package which consists of a prescription form, a digital scan or a polyvinyl-siloxane (or \"PVS\") impression of the relevant dental arches, photographs of the patient and, at the dental professional's election, x-rays of the patient's dentition. Intraoral digital scans may be submitted through either Align's iTero scanner or a few qualified third-party scanners. See \"Third Party Scanners and Digital scans for Invisalign treatment submission. \" More than 63% of Invisalign case submissions are submitted via digital scan instead of a physical PVS impression. Using propriety software which we do not sell, we generate a proposed custom, three-dimensional treatment plan, called a ClinCheck treatment plan. Attachments are tooth-colored \"buttons\" that are sometimes used to increase the biomechanical force on a specific tooth or teeth in order to effect the desired movement(s). Review and approval of the treatment plan by an Invisalign-trained doctor. ", - "id": "2e98eaa8-cd07-440b-90fe-76bbf8e306da" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on appropriations for military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs, which does not directly impact Altra Industrial Motion Corp's operations related to power transmission technologies and mechanical devices for various industrial applications. Therefore, it is not relevant to the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "331", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020\n\nThis bill provides FY2020 appropriations for Military Construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and related agencies.\n\nThe bill provides appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for Military Construction for\n\n the Army; the Navy and Marine Corps; the Air Force; Defense-wide agencies and activities; the Army and Air National Guard; and the Army, Navy, and Air Force Reserves. The bill also provides appropriations to DOD for\n\n the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program; the Base Closure Account; Construction and Operation and Maintenance of Family Housing for the Army, the Navy and Marine Corps, the Air Force, and Defense-wide agencies and activities; the Family Housing Improvement Fund; and the Military Unaccompanied Housing Improvement Fund. The bill provides appropriations to the VA for\n\n the Veterans Benefits Administration, the Veterans Health Administration, the National Cemetery Administration, and Departmental Administration. The bill provides appropriations for related agencies and programs, including\n\n the American Battle Monuments Commission, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Cemeterial Expenses of the Army, and the Armed Forces Retirement Home. The bill provide appropriations to specified DOD military construction accounts for (1) Overseas Contingency Operations, and (2) Natural Disaster Relief.\n\nThe bill also sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.", - "company_name": "Altra Industrial Motion Corp.", - "company_description": "Our company consists of two business segments: Power Transmission Technologies (\"PTT\") and Automation & Specialty (\"A & S\"). Couplings are the interfaces which enable power to be transmitted from one shaft to another. Our various coupling products include gear couplings, high performance diaphragm and disc couplings, elastomeric couplings, miniature and precision couplings, as well as universal joints, mill spindles 7 and shaft locking devices. These products are used in conveyor, energy, marine, medical, metals, mining, and other industrial machinery applications. Our key brands which provide couplin gs include Ameridrives, Bibby, Guardian, Huco, Lamiflex, Stromag and TB Wood' Clutches are devices which use mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, or friction connections to facilitate the engagement or disengagement of at least two rotating parts. These pro ducts are used in aerospace and defense, conveyor, energy, mining and other industrial machinery applications. Brakes are a combination of interacting parts that work to slow or stop moving machine parts. These products are used in heavy-duty industrial, m ining, metals and energy applications. Our key brands which provide clutches and brakes include Industrial Clutch, Formsprag, Stieber, Stromag, Svendborg, Twiflex and Wichita. Electromagnetic clutches and brakes use electromagnetic friction connections to slow, stop, engage, or disengage equipment. These products are used in baggage handling, elevator, forklift, material handling, medical, lawn mower, mobile off-highway and other niche applications. Our key brands which provide electromagnetic clutches and brakes include Inertia Dynamics, Matrix, Stromag and Warner Electric. Gears reduce the output speed and increase the torque of an electric motor or engine to the level required to drive a particular piece of equipment. These products are used in various industrial, material handling, mixing, transportation, food processing and other specialty niche applications. Our key brands which provide gears include Bauer Gear Motor, Boston Gear, Delroyd, and Nuttall. Automation and Specialty \u2013 A & S. Our Automation and Specialty segment consists of four key brands: Provides rotary precision motion solutions, including servo motors, stepper motors, high performance electronic drives and motion controllers and related software, and precision linear actuators. These products are used in advanced material handling, aerospace and defense, factory automation, medical, packaging, printing, semiconductor, robotic and other applications. Provides high-efficiency miniature motors and motion control products, including brush and brushless DC motors, can stack motors and disc magnet motors. These products are used in medical, industrial power tool and general industrial equipment applications. Provides systems that enable and support the transition of rotary motion to linear motion. Products include linear bearings, guides, glides, lead and ball screws, industrial linear actuators, resolvers and inductors. These products are used in factory automation, medical, mobile off-highway, material handling, food processing and other niche applications. Jacobs Vehicle Systems (JVS): Provides heavy-duty diesel engine brake systems and valve actuation mechanisms for the commercial vehicle market, including compression release, bleeder and exhaust brakes, including the \"Jake Brake\" engine braking system.", - "id": "aa292d36-fac8-43e6-a9ef-bf59113dc8a5" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on promoting registered apprenticeships and on-the-job training for small and medium-sized businesses in in-demand industry sectors. Akamai Technologies, Inc. primarily operates in the cloud services and content delivery network sectors, which are not directly related to apprenticeship programs or on-the-job training initiatives. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill, which aim to establish a grant program for apprenticeship support, do not significantly align with Akamai's business model or activities.", - "index": "332", - "bill_title": "A bill to promote registered apprenticeships and on-the-job training for small and medium-sized businesses within in-demand industry sectors, through the establishment and support of eligible partnerships.", - "bill_summary": "Promoting Apprenticeships through Regional Training Networks for Employers' Required Skills Act of 2019 or the PARTNERS Act\n\nThis bill establishes a grant program to promote registered apprenticeships and on-the-job training programs for small and medium-sized businesses within in-demand industry sectors, through the establishment and support of eligible partnerships.", - "company_name": "Akamai Technologies, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business Akamai provides cloud services for delivering, optimizing and securing content and business applications over the Internet. As a global leader in content delivery network, or CDN, services, our goal is to make the Internet faster, more reliable and more secure for customers and users around the world. For many enterprises, engaging customers through high-quality digital experiences has become mission critical. We believe that is why thousands of organizations rely on Akamai and our cloud delivery platform to make it easier for them to provide the best and most secure digital experiences to their customers. Addressing the Needs of our Customers in the Internet Age The Internet plays a crucial role in the way companies, government agencies and other enterprises conduct business and reach the public, and the world around us is rapidly evolving. The emergent network known as the Internet of Things (IoT) is connecting billions of devices that transmit volumes of data from offices, hospitals, manufacturing plants, power grids, roads, schools and homes every second. Enterprise applications are moving from behind the firewall to the cloud at the same time that employees increasingly need remote access from a variety of devices - making cybersecurity more complex to achieve than yesterday's perimeter defense. More consumers are \"cutting the cord\" and consuming entertainment over the Internet rather than through traditional cable, and they are increasingly using mobile devices to view content and shop. Web pages are also vastly more complex with advertisements, videos, graphics and other third-party content, causing speed and reliability to suffer. More and more, government agencies want citizens to pay their taxes, submit applications and request information online. Provide consumers with superior online experiences when they access websites and applications from all types of devices from anywhere in the world Affordably present vibrant and engaging streaming content at large scale, including high definition, or HD, video, music and games Leverage the growth in the use of mobile devices to reach more consumers and provide dynamic experiences Receive and act on data about usage of their websites and applications to improve performance and business value Doing it yourself \u2013 building out data centers, coping with the technology changes, and dealing with sudden traffic spikes \u2013 is difficult and expensive \u2022 Lack of a coordinated security system to protect against hackers, bots and other bad actors who want to steal assets and disrupt the functioning of the web can leave enterprises exposed \u2022 Mobile networks tend to be slower and less reliable than the fixed line Internet and present other challenges Traffic congestion at data centers and between networks typically cannot be avoided without a CDN User experiences are difficult to monitor and understand given myriad devices and locations Last mile\" issues \u2013 such as bandwidth constraints between consumers and their Internet access provider \u2013 are challenging to solve 3 Our strategy is to bridge the gap between our customers' digital goals and the inherent challenges of the native Internet by providing technology that optimizes and secures the delivery of online content and applications. We deliver a wide spectrum of content, from video and software downloads to dynamic and personalized data for many of the world's most important enterprises. We offer online solutions for delivery, acceleration, and security services to the owners of major websites and applications. s most important brands, including hundreds of media companies, e-retailers, major governments, financial institutions and other leading enterprises.", - "id": "18b31b39-4049-4f64-84ee-7f017cf0b216" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to environmental management and oceanographic assessments, which do not directly impact Qorvo's business in semiconductor technology and wireless connectivity. The legislation focuses on NOAA's authority and coastal observation systems, which are not aligned with Qorvo's core operations in RF solutions for mobile and infrastructure applications.", - "index": "333", - "bill_title": "A bill to reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009, to clarify the authority of the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with respect to post-storm assessments, and to require the establishment of a National Water Center, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Coordinated Ocean Observations and Research Act of 2019\n\nThis bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System (IOOS), which is a network of federal and regional entities that provide information about the nation's coasts, oceans, and Great Lakes, as well as new tools and forecasts to improve safety, enhance the economy, and protect the environment.\n\nThe bill revises the authority of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to conduct scientific assessments related to storms, including to (1) direct NOAA to seek public input before the Named Storm Event Model (the official meteorological and oceanographic computerized model which utilizes data to replicate the magnitude, timing, and spatial variations of winds, rainfall, and storm surges associated with named storms for which post-storm assessments are conducted) takes effect, and (2) allow NOAA to deploy sensors to areas in coastal states that are at the highest risk of experiencing geophysical events that would cause indeterminate losses.\n\nThe bill provides statutory authority for NOAA's National Water Center. (The center currently exists at NOAA as the research and operational center of excellence for hydrologic analyses, forecasting, and related decision support services.)", - "company_name": "Qorvo, Inc.", - "company_description": "Company Overview Qorvo\u00ae is a leader in the development and commercialization of technologies and products for wireless and wired connectivity. We combine a broad portfolio of innovative radio frequency (\"RF\") solutions, highly differentiated semiconductor technologies, systems-level expertise and global manufacturing scale to supply a diverse set of customers a broad range of products that enable a more connected world. Our design expertise and manufacturing capabilities span multiple semiconductor process technologies. Our primary wafer fabrication facilities are in North Carolina, Oregon and Texas, and our primary assembly and test facilities are in China, Costa Rica, Germany and Texas. We also source multiple products and materials through external suppliers. We operate design, sales and other manufacturing facilities throughout Asia, Europe and North America. We have two reportable segments: Mobile Products (\"MP\") and Infrastructure and Defense Products (\"IDP\"). MP is a global supplier of cellular, ultra-wide band (\"UWB\") and Wi-Fi solutions for a variety of high-volume markets, including smartphones, wearables, laptops, tablets and Internet of Things (\"IoT\") applications. (\"SoC\") and power management solutions for wireless infrastructure, defense, smart home, automotive and other IoT applications. Our MP segment supplies consumer products with a shorter life cycle, to a small set of large global customers. Our IDP segment supplies a diverse portfolio of products, that generally have longer life cycles, to a broad base of customers. During fiscal 2020, we made the following strategic acquisitions to expand our product offerings and design capabilities and to extend our reach into new markets: Inc. (\"Active-Semi\"), a fabless supplier of programmable power management solutions; \u2022 (\"Cavendish\"), a supplier of high-performance RF microelectromechanical system (\"MEMS\") technology for RF switching applications; \u2022 Inc. (\"Custom MMIC\"), a fabless provider of gallium arsenide (\"GaAs\") and gallium nitride (\"GaN\") monolithic microwave integrated circuits (\"MMICs\") for defense and aerospace applications; and, 4 Decawave Limited (\"Decawave\"), a leader in UWB technology and provider of UWB solutions for mobile, automotive and IoT applications. There is growing global demand for ubiquitous, always-on connectivity. Total mobile data traffic continues to grow as smartphones, laptops, and other mobile devices are used increasingly to access the internet, stream videos, interact on social media and access other services. 5G will improve network capacity, increase data throughput, reduce signal latency and enable machine-to-machine connectivity on a massive scale. With each application, demand is increasing for RF solutions that improve performance, reduce product footprint, enhance network efficiency and ensure data security. In mobile devices, the deployment of 5G, the addition of Multiple-Input/Multiple-Output (\"MIMO\") architectures and new carrier aggregation (\"CA\") band combinations increase device complexity. To address this, Qorvo is integrating a broad portfolio of technologies and advancing the state-of-the-art in functional integration. In consumer IoT, the increasing demand for secure and accurate location and data communication services is driving demand for our UWB technology, which enables real-time, highly accurate and reliable local area precision-location services. In infrastructure, the deployment of 5G networks is driving demand for Qorvo's high performance communications infrastructure solutions, including our GaN high power amplifiers and GaAs front-end modules (\"FEMs\").", - "id": "d03cd787-f477-4f43-bb92-992898589707" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on enhancing the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System and establishing a National Water Center. This is relevant to ANSYS, Inc. as the company provides engineering simulation software that can be used in environmental simulations, hydrology modeling, and assessments of geophysical events, which aligns with NOAA's expanded storm assessment capabilities highlighted in the bill.", - "index": "334", - "bill_title": "A bill to reauthorize the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009, to clarify the authority of the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with respect to post-storm assessments, and to require the establishment of a National Water Center, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Coordinated Ocean Observations and Research Act of 2019\n\nThis bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises the Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System (IOOS), which is a network of federal and regional entities that provide information about the nation's coasts, oceans, and Great Lakes, as well as new tools and forecasts to improve safety, enhance the economy, and protect the environment.\n\nThe bill revises the authority of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to conduct scientific assessments related to storms, including to (1) direct NOAA to seek public input before the Named Storm Event Model (the official meteorological and oceanographic computerized model which utilizes data to replicate the magnitude, timing, and spatial variations of winds, rainfall, and storm surges associated with named storms for which post-storm assessments are conducted) takes effect, and (2) allow NOAA to deploy sensors to areas in coastal states that are at the highest risk of experiencing geophysical events that would cause indeterminate losses.\n\nThe bill provides statutory authority for NOAA's National Water Center. (The center currently exists at NOAA as the research and operational center of excellence for hydrologic analyses, forecasting, and related decision support services.)", - "company_name": "ANSYS, Inc.", - "company_description": "(Ansys, we, us, our), a Delaware corporation formed in 1994, develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services widely used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a broad spectrum of industries and academia, including aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, semiconductors, energy, materials and chemical processing, turbomachinery, consumer products, healthcare, and sports. We focus on the development of open and flexible solutions that enable users to analyze designs directly on the desktop, providing a common platform for fast, efficient and cost-conscious product development, from design concept to final-stage testing and validation. We distribute our suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in strategic, global locations. Platform Ansys Workbench\u2122 is the framework upon which our suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The innovative project schematic view ties together the entire simulation process, guiding the user through complex multiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop simplicity. With bi-directional computer-aided design (CAD) connectivity, powerful highly-automated meshing, a project-level update mechanism, pervasive parameter management and integrated optimization tools, the Ansys Workbench platform enables Pervasive Engineering Simulation\u2122. Our Workbench framework allows engineers and designers to incorporate the compounding effects of multiple physics into a virtual prototype of their design and simulate its operation under real-world conditions. As product architectures become smaller, lighter and more complex, companies must be able to accurately predict how products will behave in real-world environments where multiple types of physics interact in a coupled way. Our multiphysics software enables engineers to simulate the interactions between structures, heat transfer, fluids and electronics all within a single, unified engineering simulation environment. Ansys Workbench enables companies to create a customized simulation environment to deploy specialized simulation best practices and automations unique to their product development process or industry. With Ansys ACT\u2122, our partners and end users can modify the user interface, process simulation data or embed third-party applications to create specialized tools based on Ansys Workbench. Our high-performance computing (HPC) product suite enables enhanced insight into product performance and improves the productivity of the design process. The HPC product suite delivers cross-physics parallel processing capabilities for the full spectrum of our simulation software by supporting structures, fluids, thermal and electronics simulations. This product suite decreases turnaround time for individual simulations, allowing users to consider multiple design ideas and make the right design decisions early in the design cycle. Refer to the section titled \"New Product Offerings\" for solutions added to our platform offerings in 2019. Our structural analysis product suite offers simulation tools for product design and optimization that increase productivity, minimize physical prototyping and help to deliver better and more innovative products in less time. These tools tackle real-world analysis problems by making product development less costly and more reliable. In addition, these tools have capabilities that cover a broad range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities, all targeted toward understanding and solving complex design problems. We also provide comprehensive topology optimization tools that engineers use to design structural components to meet loading requirements with minimal material and component weight. We offer a complete simulation workflow for additive manufacturing that allows reliable 3D printing by simulating the laser sintering process and delivering compensated CAD geometries that ensure reliable printed parts. Fluids Our fluids product suite enables modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design and optimize new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications. Our electromagnetics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance of mobile communication and internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment, all prior to building a prototype. ", - "id": "3558013a-76ca-4547-96c7-202fc7330ec6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on the conservation of wildlife corridors and does not directly relate to Altra Industrial Motion Corp.'s manufacturing and industrial machinery business. There are no implications in the bill regarding the company's product segments, such as power transmission technologies or automation systems.", - "index": "335", - "bill_title": "To establish National Wildlife Corridors to provide for the protection and restoration of certain native fish, wildlife, and plant species, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Wildlife Corridors Conservation Act of 2019\n\nThis bill provides for the conservation and restoration of habitats that facilitate the movement of certain native species (e.g., fish, wildlife, or plant species) that may be at risk due to habitat loss or fragmentation.\n\nThe bill establishes a National Wildlife Corridor System and provides for the designation and management of such corridors on federal land and water. A corridor means a feature of the landscape or seascape that (1) provides habitat or ecological connectivity, and (2) allows for movement or dispersal of native fish, wildlife, or plants. Indian tribes may nominate a corridor within their land to be included in a Tribal Wildlife Corridor.\n\nIn addition, the bill establishes a Wildlife Corridors Stewardship Fund to receive donations for the management and protection of the corridors.\n\nIt also establishes a wildlife movement grant program to encourage the passage of native fish, wildlife, or plant species across a landscape or seascape. The National Coordination Committee, established by this bill, must recommend projects to fund under the grant program. The committee must also develop standards for regional wildlife movement plans to allow for better cross-regional collaboration. No fewer than four regional wildlife movement councils must be established. Among other things, the councils must submit to the committee regional wildlife movement plans as well as lists of funding priorities.\n\n Finally, the U.S. Geological Survey must establish a National Wildlife Corridors Database.", - "company_name": "Altra Industrial Motion Corp.", - "company_description": "Our company consists of two business segments: Power Transmission Technologies (\"PTT\") and Automation & Specialty (\"A & S\"). Couplings are the interfaces which enable power to be transmitted from one shaft to another. Our various coupling products include gear couplings, high performance diaphragm and disc couplings, elastomeric couplings, miniature and precision couplings, as well as universal joints, mill spindles 7 and shaft locking devices. These products are used in conveyor, energy, marine, medical, metals, mining, and other industrial machinery applications. Our key brands which provide couplin gs include Ameridrives, Bibby, Guardian, Huco, Lamiflex, Stromag and TB Wood' Clutches are devices which use mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, or friction connections to facilitate the engagement or disengagement of at least two rotating parts. These pro ducts are used in aerospace and defense, conveyor, energy, mining and other industrial machinery applications. Brakes are a combination of interacting parts that work to slow or stop moving machine parts. These products are used in heavy-duty industrial, m ining, metals and energy applications. Our key brands which provide clutches and brakes include Industrial Clutch, Formsprag, Stieber, Stromag, Svendborg, Twiflex and Wichita. Electromagnetic clutches and brakes use electromagnetic friction connections to slow, stop, engage, or disengage equipment. These products are used in baggage handling, elevator, forklift, material handling, medical, lawn mower, mobile off-highway and other niche applications. Our key brands which provide electromagnetic clutches and brakes include Inertia Dynamics, Matrix, Stromag and Warner Electric. Gears reduce the output speed and increase the torque of an electric motor or engine to the level required to drive a particular piece of equipment. These products are used in various industrial, material handling, mixing, transportation, food processing and other specialty niche applications. Our key brands which provide gears include Bauer Gear Motor, Boston Gear, Delroyd, and Nuttall. Automation and Specialty \u2013 A & S. Our Automation and Specialty segment consists of four key brands: Provides rotary precision motion solutions, including servo motors, stepper motors, high performance electronic drives and motion controllers and related software, and precision linear actuators. These products are used in advanced material handling, aerospace and defense, factory automation, medical, packaging, printing, semiconductor, robotic and other applications. Provides high-efficiency miniature motors and motion control products, including brush and brushless DC motors, can stack motors and disc magnet motors. These products are used in medical, industrial power tool and general industrial equipment applications. Provides systems that enable and support the transition of rotary motion to linear motion. Products include linear bearings, guides, glides, lead and ball screws, industrial linear actuators, resolvers and inductors. These products are used in factory automation, medical, mobile off-highway, material handling, food processing and other niche applications. Jacobs Vehicle Systems (JVS): Provides heavy-duty diesel engine brake systems and valve actuation mechanisms for the commercial vehicle market, including compression release, bleeder and exhaust brakes, including the \"Jake Brake\" engine braking system.", - "id": "d4d33b03-7580-4745-b990-923420d02e6c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on the protection and management of wilderness and public lands, restricting development activities such as oil or gas leasing, mining, and construction, which may not directly impact the operations of EchoStar Corp, a broadband satellite technology company. The company's business model primarily involves satellite broadband services and technologies, which are not contingent on land use regulations or wilderness designations.", - "index": "336", - "bill_title": "To designate certain National Forest System lands and certain public lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior in the States of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, wildland recovery areas, and biological connecting corridors, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act\n\nThis bill designates specified National Forest System lands, National Park System lands, and public lands in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness and as components or additions to existing components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.\n\nThe bill also designates (1) specified federal lands as biological connecting corridors and as special corridor management areas; (2) segments of specified rivers and creeks in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System; and (3) specified areas as wildland recovery areas. The Department of Agriculture shall develop a wildland recovery plan for each recovery area.\n\n A specified panel of independent scientists shall study roadless lands greater than 1,000 acres that are within the National Forest System in the Wild Rockies bioregion in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, or Wyoming and that are not designated as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System for their role in maintaining biological diversity in the Northern Rockies and as part of the overall forest reserve system. Any new road construction or reconstruction or timber harvest is prohibited in those lands after the evaluation without an Act of Congress. Oil or gas leasing, mining, or other development which impairs the natural and roadless qualities of the land is also prohibited.", - "company_name": "EchoStar Corp.", - "company_description": "and/or \"our\") is a holding company that was organized in October 2007 as a corporation under the laws of the State of Nevada and has operated as a separately traded public company from Dish Network Corporation (\"DISH\") since 2008. We are a global provider of broadband satellite technologies, broadband internet services for home and small office customers, satellite operations and satellite services. We also deliver innovative network technologies, managed services and various communications solutions for aeronautical, enterprise and government customers. Our industry continues to evolve with the increasing worldwide demand for broadband internet access for information, entertainment and commerce. In addition to fiber and wireless systems, other technologies such as geostationary high throughput satellites, low-earth orbit (\"LEO\") networks, medium-earth orbit (\"MEO\") systems, balloons and High Altitude Platform Systems are playing significant roles in enabling global broadband access, networks and services. We intend to use our expertise, technologies, capital, investments, global presence, relationships and other capabilities to continue to provide broadband internet systems, equipment, networks and services for information, the internet-of-things, entertainment and commerce in North America and internationally for consumers as well as aeronautical, enterprise and government customers. We are closely tracking the developments in next-generation satellite businesses, and we are seeking to utilize our services, technologies and expertise to find new commercial opportunities for our business. We, and certain of our subsidiaries, received all of the shares of the Hughes Retail Preferred Tracking Stock previously issued by us and one of our subsidiaries (together, the \"Tracking Stock\") in exchange for 100% of the equity interests of certain of our subsidiaries that held substantially all of our former EchoStar Technologies businesses and certain other assets (collectively, the \"Share Exchange\"). BUSINESS STRATEGIES Capitalize on domestic and international demand for broadband services. We intend to capitalize on the domestic and international demand for satellite-delivered broadband internet services and enterprise solutions by utilizing, among other things, our industry expertise, technology leadership, increased satellite capacity, access to spectrum resources, and high-quality, reliable service to drive growth in consumer subscribers and enterprise customers. 1 Expand satellite capacity and related infrastructure. During 2018, we continued the design and construction of a new, next-generation, high throughput geostationary satellite, with a planned 2021 launch, that is primarily intended to provide additional capacity for our HughesNet satellite internet service (the \"HughesNet service\") in North, Central and South America as well as aeronautical and enterprise services. We also continued to increase our satellite capacity in certain Central and South American countries and added capability for aeronautical, enterprise and international broadband internet services. We currently provide satellite broadband internet service in several Central and South American countries, and expect to continue to launch similar services in other Central and South American countries. We believe market opportunities exist that will facilitate the acquisition or leasing of additional satellite capacity which will enable us to provide services to a broader customer base, including providers of pay-TV services, satellite-delivered broadband, corporate communications, and government services. Continue to selectively explore new domestic and international strategic initiatives. For example, our current agreement with WorldVu Satellites Limited (\"OneWeb\"), a global LEO satellite service company, enables us to provide certain equipment and services in connection with the ground network system for OneWeb's LEO satellites. Continue development of S-band and other hybrid spectrum resources. Commercial service has been available to customers on our EchoStar XXI satellite since the fourth quarter of 2017, and we believe we remain in a unique position to deploy a European wide mobile satellite service (\"MSS\")/complementary ground component (\"CGC\") network and maximize the long-term value of our S-band spectrum in Europe and other regions within the scope of our licenses. Additionally, we intend to seek additional licenses in the S-band spectrum and opportunities to align ourselves with other licensees for a coordinated development of the spectrum. Our engineering capabilities provide us with the opportunity to develop and deploy cutting edge technologies, license our technologies to others, and maintain a leading technological position in the industries in which we are active. BUSINESS SEGMENTS HUGHES SEGMENT Our Products and Services Our Hughes segment is a global provider of broadband satellite technologies and broadband internet services to home and small office customers and broadband network technologies, managed services, equipment, hardware, satellite services and communications solutions to consumers, aeronautical, enterprise and government customers. The Hughes segment also designs, provides and installs gateway and terminal equipment to customers for other satellite systems. In addition, our Hughes segment designs, develops, constructs and provides telecommunication networks comprising satellite ground segment systems and terminals to mobile system operators and our enterprise customers. We incorporate advances in technology to reduce costs and to increase the functionality and reliability of our products and services.", - "id": "23c0d281-6497-4367-986e-0185e22a687c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on the legalization and regulation of marijuana at a federal level, addressing financial and legal protections for marijuana-related businesses. Steelcase, Inc. operates in the furniture and workspace solutions sector and has no direct engagement or products related to marijuana. Therefore, the legal consequences outlined in the bill do not impact Steelcase's business model or activities.", - "index": "337", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to reduce the gap between Federal and State marijuana policy, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Responsibly Addressing the Marijuana Policy Gap Act of 2019\n\nThis bill removes federal restrictions on, and creates new protections for, marijuana-related conduct and activities that are authorized by state or tribal law (i.e., state-authorized).\n\nAmong other things, the bill does the following:\n\n eliminates regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal penalties under the Controlled Substances Act for state-authorized marijuana-related activities; allows businesses that sell marijuana in compliance with state or tribal law to claim certain federal tax credits and deductions; eliminates restrictions on print and broadcast advertising of state-authorized marijuana-related activities; creates protections for depository institutions that provide financial services to marijuana-related businesses; specifies that a marijuana-related business is entitled to federal bankruptcy protections; establishes a process to expunge criminal records related to certain marijuana-related convictions; reestablishes federal student aid eligibility for certain students convicted of a misdemeanor offense for marijuana possession; exempts real property from civil forfeiture due to state-authorized marijuana-related conduct; prohibits the inadmissibility or deportability of aliens for state-authorized marijuana-related conduct; specifies that drug-related criminal activity, which is prohibited in federally assisted housing, does not include state-authorized marijuana-related conduct; establishes a new, separate registration process to facilitate medical marijuana research; authorizes health care providers employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to recommend participation in state marijuana programs; and authorizes medical providers through an Indian health program to make medical recommendations regarding marijuana.", - "company_name": "Steelcase, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"our,\" \"Company\" and similar references are to Steelcase Inc. and its subsidiaries in which a controlling interest is maintained. All amounts are in millions, except share and per share data, data presented as a percentage or as otherwise indicated. At Steelcase, our purpose is to unlock human promise by transforming work, worker and workplace. Through our family of brands that include Steelcase\u00ae, Coalesse\u00ae, Designtex\u00ae, PolyVision\u00ae, , we offer a comprehensive portfolio of furniture and technology solutions that support the social, economic and sustainability needs of people and are inspired by the insights gained from our human-centered research process. We are a globally integrated enterprise, headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A., with approximately 11,700 employees. Our growth strategy focuses on translating our research-based insights into products, applications and experiences that will help the world's leading organizations amplify the performance of their people, teams and enterprise. We help our customers create workplace destinations that augment human interaction by supporting the physical, cognitive and emotional needs of their people, while also optimizing the value of their real estate investments. We invest in research and product development and have launched new products, applications and experiences designed to address the significant trends that are impacting the workplace, such as global integration, disruptive technologies, worker mobility, distributed teams and the need for enhanced creativity, collaboration and innovation. Our global scale allows us to provide local differentiation, as we serve customers around the globe through significant sales, manufacturing and administrative operations in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. We market our products and services primarily through a network of independent and company-owned dealers and also sell directly to end-use customers. We extend our reach with a limited presence in retail and web-based sales channels. Our brands provide an integrated portfolio of furniture settings, user-centered technologies and interior architectural products across a range of price points. Our furniture portfolio includes panel-based furniture systems, storage, fixed and height-adjustable desks, benches and tables and complementary products such as worktools. Our seating products include task chairs which are highly ergonomic, seating that can be used in collaborative or casual settings and specialty seating for specific vertical markets such as healthcare and education. Our technology solutions support group collaboration by integrating furniture and technology. Our interior architectural products include full and partial height walls and doors. We also offer services designed to reduce costs and enhance the performance of people, wherever they work. Among these services are workplace strategy consulting, data-driven space measurement, lease origination services, furniture and asset management and hosted event experiences. The Steelcase brand takes our insights from research and delivers high performance, sustainable work environments while striving to be a trusted partner to our customers and partners who seek to elevate their performance. The Steelcase brand 's core customers are leading organizations (such as corporations, healthcare organizations, colleges/universities and government entities) that are often large with ever-changing complex needs and have an increasingly global reach. We strive to meet their diverse needs while minimizing complexity by using a platform approach \u2014 from product components to common processes \u2014 wherever possible. Steelcase Health , which is focused on creating healthcare environments that enable empathy, empowerment and connection for patients, care partners and providers engaged in the healthcare experience. Steelcase Education, which is focused on helping schools, colleges and universities create the most effective, rewarding and inspiring \"active learning\" environments to meet the evolving needs of students and educators. ", - "id": "7ddd6a47-88ec-4298-ac5c-eef5b54ed926" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is highly relevant to Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. as it requires the negotiation of drug prices within the Medicare program, which could directly impact the pricing and reimbursement landscape for their products, Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM. Given that these drugs are aimed at treating conditions like open-angle glaucoma, which is heavily treated in the Medicare population, the outcomes of this bill could affect market access, pricing strategies, and ultimately the company's revenue from these products.", - "index": "338", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices of prescription drugs furnished under part D of the Medicare program.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies regarding prices for drugs covered under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Current law prohibits the CMS from doing so.)\n\nThe CMS must take certain factors into account during negotiations, including the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the drug, the financial burden on patients, and unmet patient needs. If the CMS is unable to negotiate the price of a drug, such drug is subject to competitive licensing in order to further its sale under Medicare, notwithstanding existing government-granted exclusivities.\n\nAdditionally, for one year after a drug is provided under a competitive license, such drug is also subject to specified price limitations; if the drug is not offered at such prices, the drug is\u00a0subject to additional licensing that furthers its sale under any federal program (e.g., Medicaid).", - "company_name": "Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class therapies for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma and other diseases of the eye. Our strategy is to commercialize Rhopressa \u00ae, approved by the FDA on December 18, 2017, in North American markets and advance our product candidate, Roclatan TM, to regulatory approval. We are in the process of hiring a commercial team that will include approximately 100 sales representatives to target approximately 12,000 high prescribing eye-care professionals throughout the United States. If we obtain regulatory approval, we currently expect to commercialize Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM in Europe on our own, and likely partner for commercialization in Japan. Subsequent to December 31, 2017, we issued and sold approximately 2.3 million additional shares of our common stock, for which we received net proceeds of approximately $136.2 million, after deducting fees and expenses, upon the completion of the \"at-the-market\" offering that commenced in December 2017 and pursuant to an underwriting agreement, dated January 23, 2018, related to a registered public offering. Our FDA-approved product, Rhopressa \u00ae, is a once-daily eye drop designed to reduce elevated intraocular pressure (\"IOP\") in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The active ingredient in Rhopressa \u00ae, netarsudil, is a Rho kinase inhibitor. We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae represents the first of a new drug class for reducing IOP in patients with glaucoma in over 20 years. Based on clinical data, we expect that Rhopressa\u00ae will have the potential to compete with non-PGA (prostaglandin analog) products as a preferred adjunctive therapy to prostaglandin analogs (\"PGAs\"), due to its targeting of the diseased tissue known as the trabecular meshwork (\"TM\"), its demonstrated ability to reduce IOP at consistent levels across tested baselines, and its preferred once-daily dosing relative to currently marketed non-PGA products. Adjunctive therapies currently represent nearly one-half of the glaucoma prescription market in the United States, according to IQVIA (formerly known as IMS Health). We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae may also become a preferred therapy where PGAs are contraindicated, for patients who do not respond to PGAs and for patients who choose to avoid the cosmetic issues associated with PGA products. Our advanced-stage product candidate, Roclatan TM, is a once-daily, fixed-dose combination of Rhopressa\u00ae and latanoprost, the most commonly prescribed drug for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma. We plan to submit a New Drug Application (\"NDA\") for Roclatan TM to the FDA in the second quarter of 2018. We believe, based on our clinical data, that Roclatan TM has the potential to provide a greater IOP-reducing effect than any currently marketed glaucoma medication. Therefore, we believe that Roclatan TM, if approved, could compete with both PGA and non-PGA therapies and become the product of choice for patients requiring maximal IOP reduction, including those with higher IOPs and those who present with significant disease progression despite use of the currently available therapies. We own the worldwide rights to all indications for Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM. We have patent protection for Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM in the United States through at least 2030 and internationally through dates ranging from 2030 to 2037. Our intellectual property portfolio contains patents and pending patent applications related to composition of matter, pharmaceutical compositions, methods of use, and synthetic methods. Our collaboration with DSM, a global science-based company headquartered in the Netherlands, provides access to their bio-erodible polymer technology, and our acquisition of assets from Envisia Therapeutics Inc. (\"Envisia\"), which includes the right to use PRINT\u00ae manufacturing technology for ophthalmology, are designed to 1 advance our progress in developing potential future product candidates to treat retinal diseases. Aided by these technologies, we are developing two preclinical molecules focused on retinal disease. AR-13503, for which we expect to submit an Investigational New Drug application (\"IND\") in 2019, is an Aerie-owned Rho kinase and Protein kinase C inhibitor with potential in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (\"AMD\"), diabetic retinopathy and related diseases of the retina, such as diabetic macular edema (\"DME\"). As the active metabolite of AR-13154(S), AR-13503 has shown lesion size decreases in an in vivo preclinical model of wet AMD at levels similar to the current market-leading wet AMD anti-VEGF product. Also preclinically, when used in combination with the market leading anti-VEGF product, AR-13503 produced greater lesion size reduction than the anti-VEGF product alone in a model of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Additionally, through the Envisia asset acquisition, we are also developing AR-1105, a preclinical dexamethasone steroid implant with potential in the treatment of DME, and currently expect to submit an IND in late 2018. Further, we are evaluating our owned library of Rho kinase inhibitors for potential indications beyond ophthalmology.", - "id": "d9fdb767-4f8d-4894-b969-66693e91b925" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Global Electoral Exchange Act of 2019 seeks to promote sound election-administration practices globally, which aligns with Facebook's role as a platform for communication and information sharing. As a major social media company, Facebook is involved in issues related to election integrity, misinformation, and digital communication during elections. The bill's focus on election practices and the potential engagement with election administrators and poll workers could have legal and operational implications for Facebook, especially in maintaining the integrity of its platform during elections.", - "index": "339", - "bill_title": "A bill to promote international exchanges on best election practices, cultivate more secure democratic institutions around the world, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Global Electoral Exchange Act of 2019\n\nThis bill authorizes the Department of State to establish a Global Electoral Exchange Program to promote sound election-administration practices around the world. The State Department may award grants to qualified, tax-exempt, U.S.-based organizations that have expertise and experience in relevant topics, such as election-system integrity. Grants may be used to design programs to bring relevant individuals, such as election administrators and poll workers, together to study and discuss election procedures.\n\nThe State Department shall periodically report to Congress on the program's activities.", - "company_name": "Facebook, Inc.", - "company_description": "Our mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. Our top priority is to build useful and engaging products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, and other surfaces. We also help people discover and learn about what is going on in the world around them, enable people to share their opinions, ideas, photos and videos, and other activities with audiences ranging from their closest friends to the public at large, and stay connected everywhere by accessing our products, including: \u2022 Facebook. Facebook enables people to connect, share, discover, and communicate with each other on mobile devices and personal computers. There are a number of different ways to engage with people on Facebook, including News Feed which displays an algorithmically-ranked series of stories and advertisements individualized for each person. It is a community for sharing photos, videos, and messages, and enables people to discover interests that they care about. Messenger is a simple yet powerful messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, groups and businesses across platforms and devices. WhatsApp is a simple, reliable and secure messaging application that is used by people and businesses around the world to communicate in a private way. Our hardware, software, and developer ecosystem allows people around the world to come together and connect with each other through our Oculus virtual reality (VR) products. We generate substantially all of our revenue from selling advertising placements to marketers. Our ads enable marketers to reach people based on a variety of factors including age, gender, location, interests, and behaviors. Marketers purchase ads that can appear in multiple places including on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and third-party applications and websites. We are also investing in other consumer hardware products and a number of longer-term initiatives, such as connectivity efforts, artificial intelligence (AI), and augmented reality, to develop technologies that we believe will help us better serve our mission to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. We compete with companies that sell advertising, as well as with companies that provide social, media, and communication products and services that are designed to engage users on the web, mobile devices and online generally. We face significant competition in every aspect of our business, including from companies that facilitate communication and the sharing of content and information, companies that enable marketers to display advertising, companies that distribute video and other forms of media content, and companies that provide development platforms for applications developers. We compete to attract, engage, and retain people who use our products, to attract and retain marketers, and to attract and retain developers to build compelling mobile and web applications that integrate with our products. Companies that offer products across broad platforms that replicate capabilities we provide. For example, among other areas, we compete with Apple in messaging, Google and YouTube in advertising and video, Tencent in messaging and social media, and Amazon in advertising. Traditional, online, and mobile businesses that provide media for marketers to reach their audiences and/or develop tools and systems for managing and optimizing advertising campaigns. Companies that develop and deliver consumer hardware and virtual reality products and services. Our product development philosophy is centered on continuous innovation in creating and improving products that are social by design, which means that our products are designed to place people and their social interactions at the core of the product experience. As our user base grows, as engagement with products like video increases, and as we deepen our investment in new technologies like AI, our computing needs continue to expand. We make significant investments in technology both to improve our existing products and services and to develop new ones, as well as for our marketers and developers. We are also investing in protecting the security and integrity of our platform by investing in both people and technology to strengthen our systems against abuse. The majority of our marketers use our self-service ad platform to launch and manage their advertising campaigns.", - "id": "ec15b9e3-037f-4bd0-85c4-19794ea09ff2" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on transportation infrastructure and grants for projects related to transportation alternatives, which does not directly impact Pool Corp.'s business model in swimming pool supplies and irrigation. Pool Corp. operates primarily in the leisure and irrigation product distribution market, and the legal consequences of this bill do not align with their core activities of selling pool supplies or irrigation systems.", - "index": "340", - "bill_title": "To authorize programs and activities to support transportation options in areas that are undergoing extensive repair or reconstruction of transportation infrastructure, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Increase Transportation Alternatives Investment Act of 2019\n\nThis bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to ensure that states give preference under the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program to eligible projects that (1) are located in areas that are undergoing extensive repair or reconstruction of transportation infrastructure, including federal-aid highways, federally owned roads open for public travel, passenger rail facilities, and public transportation facilities; and (2) will provide transportation alternatives related to the closure of transportation infrastructure in such areas.\n\nDOT shall (1) carry out a competitive grant program to support community efforts to invest in transportation alternatives; and (2) give preference in awarding grants to projects located in such areas. Entities eligible for grants include state and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and rural planning organizations.", - "company_name": "Pool Corp.", - "company_description": "Business General Pool Corporation (the Company, which may be referred to as we, us or our) is the world's largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products and is one of the top three distributors of irrigation and related products in the United States. Our industry is highly fragmented, and as such, we add considerable value to the industry by purchasing products from a large number of manufacturers and then distributing the products to our customer base on conditions that are more favorable than our customers could obtain on their own. As of December 31, 2017, we operated 351 sales centers in North America, Europe, South America and Australia through our four distribution networks: We believe that the swimming pool industry is relatively young, with room for continued growth from the increased penetration of new pools. Significant growth opportunities also reside with pool remodel and pool equipment replacement activities due to the aging of the installed base of swimming pools, technological advancements and the development of energy-efficient and more aesthetically attractive products. Additionally, the desire for consumers to enhance their outdoor living spaces with hardscapes, lighting and outdoor kitchens also promotes growth in this market area. The irrigation industry shares many characteristics with the pool industry, and we believe that it will realize long\u2011term growth rates similar to the pool industry. As irrigation system installations and landscaping often occur in tandem with new single-family home construction, we believe the continued trend in increased housing starts also offers significant growth opportunities for the irrigation industry. These favorable trends include the following: \u2022 long-term growth in housing units in warmer markets due to the population migration toward the southern United States, which contributes to the growing installed base of pools that homeowners must maintain; \u2022 increased homeowner spending on outdoor living spaces for relaxation and entertainment; \u2022 consumers bundling the purchase of a swimming pool and other products, with new irrigation systems, landscaping and improvements to outdoor living spaces often being key components to both pool installations and remodels; and \u2022 consumers using more automation and control products, higher quality materials and other pool features that add to our sales opportunities over time. Almost 60% of consumer spending in the pool industry is for maintenance and minor repair of existing swimming pools. Maintaining proper chemical balance and the related upkeep and repair of swimming pool equipment, such as pumps, heaters, filters and safety equipment, creates a non-discretionary demand for pool chemicals, equipment and other related parts and supplies. We also believe cosmetic considerations such as a pool's appearance and the overall look of backyard environments create an ongoing demand for other maintenance-related goods and certain discretionary products. This characteristic, along with relatively consistent annual inflationary price increases of 1% to 2% on average passed on by manufacturers and distributors, has helped cushion the negative impact on revenues in periods when unfavorable economic conditions and softness in the housing market adversely impacted pool construction and major replacement and refurbishment activities. The following table reflects growth in the domestic installed base of in-ground swimming pools over the past 11 years (based on Company estimates and information from 2016 P.K. Data, Inc. reports): The replacement and refurbishment market currently accounts for close to 25% of consumer spending in the pool industry. The activity in this market, which includes major swimming pool remodeling, is driven by the aging of the installed base of pools. The timing of these types of expenditures is more sensitive to economic factors that impact consumer spending compared to the maintenance and minor repair market. New swimming pool construction comprises just over 15% of consumer spending in the pool industry. The demand for new pools is driven by the perceived benefits of pool ownership including relaxation, entertainment, family activity, exercise and convenience. The industry competes for new pool sales against other discretionary consumer purchases such as kitchen and bathroom remodeling, boats, motorcycles, recreational vehicles and vacations. The industry is also affected by other factors including, but not limited to, consumer preferences or attitudes toward pool, outdoor living and irrigation products for aesthetic, environmental, safety or other reasons. The irrigation distribution business is split between residential and commercial markets, with the majority of sales related to the residential market. Irrigation activities account for approximately 50% of total spending in the irrigation industry, with the remaining 50% of spending related to power equipment, landscape and specialty outdoor products and accessories. Over the last five years, our irrigation business has benefited from the continued slow recovery of single-family home construction as irrigation system installations and landscape projects typically correlate with, but lag, new home construction. ", - "id": "65860529-2ec2-49d3-a4ea-52059f4900c2" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Virgin Islands Visa Waiver Act of 2019 primarily focuses on immigration policy and establishing a visa waiver program, which does not directly impact Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. as it is a manufacturer of lift trucks and materials handling solutions. The company's operations and market activities do not hinge on the immigration status of individuals entering the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the bill is not related to their business model or activities.", - "index": "341", - "bill_title": "To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish the Virgin Islands visa waiver program.", - "bill_summary": "Virgin Islands Visa Waiver Act of 2019\n\nThis bill authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish a visa waiver program for nationals of certain countries to enter the U.S. Virgin Islands. Countries that are member or associate members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), such as the Bahamas or Barbados, may be part of the visa waiver program. The government of the U.S. Virgin Islands may request additional countries be added to the program.\n\nAn individual entering under the waiver program shall be a nonimmigrant visitor to the U.S. Virgin Islands for business or pleasure, and may stay for no longer than 30 days. Such an individual shall waive the right to appeal an immigration officer's determination of admissibility, and also waive the right to appeal a removal decision.\n\nDHS may implement the waiver program as to a country if it determines that it would not pose a welfare, safety, or security threat. DHS shall monitor the waiver program, and shall suspend the program as to any country if it determines that an unacceptable number of individuals from that country are remaining unlawfully or unlawfully entering other parts of the United States, seeking asylum or withholding of removal, or for other good cause.", - "company_name": "Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc.", - "company_description": "Inc. (\"HYG\"), is a leading, globally integrated, full-line lift truck manufacturer. The Company offers a broad array of solutions aimed at meeting the specific materials handling needs of its customers, including attachments and hydrogen fuel cell power products, telematics, automation and fleet management services, as well as a variety of other power options for its lift trucks. The Company, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, through HYG designs, engineers, manufactures, sells and services a comprehensive line of lift trucks, attachments and aftermarket parts marketed globally primarily under the Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae brand names, mainly to independent Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae retail dealerships. Lift trucks and component parts are manufactured in the United States, Northern Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Italy, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, Brazil and China. Bolzoni is a leading worldwide producer of attachments, forks and lift tables marketed under the Bolzoni Auramo\u00ae and Meyer\u00ae brand names. Bolzoni products are manufactured in Italy, China, Germany, Finland and the United States. Through the design, production and distribution of a wide range of attachments, Bolzoni has a strong presence in the market niche of lift-truck attachments and industrial material handling. Nuvera is an alternative-power technology company focused on fuel cell stacks and engines. Nuvera also supports on-site hydrogen production and dispensing systems that are designed to deliver clean energy solutions to customers. The Company operates five reportable segments: the Americas, EMEA, JAPIC, Bolzoni and Nuvera. The Company manufactures components, such as frames, masts and transmissions, and assembles lift trucks in the market of sale whenever practical to minimize freight cost and balance currency mix. In some instances, however, it utilizes one worldwide location to manufacture specific components or assemble specific lift trucks. Additionally, components and assembled lift trucks are exported when it is advantageous to meet demand in certain markets. The Company operates twelve lift truck manufacturing and assembly facilities worldwide with five plants in the Americas, three in EMEA and four in JAPIC, including joint venture operations. In addition, the Company operates seven Bolzoni manufacturing facilities worldwide. During 2017 , the Company's retail shipments of lift trucks in North America by end market were approximately 23% to the food and beverage market, approximately 14% to the logistics market, approximately 14% to the natural resource and materials market, approximately 13% to the consumer and business trade market, approximately 13% to the manufacturing market, approximately 12% to the rental market and approximately 11% to the durable goods market. The Company offers a line of aftermarket parts to service its large installed base of lift trucks currently in use in the industry. The Company offers online technical reference databases specifying the required aftermarket parts to service lift trucks and an aftermarket parts ordering system. -branded aftermarket parts to dealers for Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae The Company also sells aftermarket parts under the UNISOURCE\u2122 and PREMIER\u2122 brands to Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae dealers for the service of 1 competitor lift trucks. The Company has a contractual relationship with a third-party, multi-brand, aftermarket parts wholesaler in the Americas and EMEA whereby orders from the Company's dealers for parts for lift trucks are fulfilled by the third party who then pays the Company a commission. The Company's marketing organization is structured in three regional divisions: the Americas; EMEA, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and JAPIC, which includes Japan, Asia, Pacific, India and China. In each region, certain marketing support functions for the Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae brands are carried out by shared-services teams. These activities include sales and service training, information systems support, product launch coordination, specialized sales material development, help desks, order entry, marketing strategy and field service support. ", - "id": "05dd72f0-e850-4077-8e76-583e0954ac4a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Smart Manufacturing Leadership Act aims to improve the productivity and energy efficiency of the manufacturing sector through the development of smart manufacturing technologies. Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. operates in the intelligent connected property market and provides solutions for energy management and automation technologies. The advancements in smart manufacturing technologies addressed in the bill may lead to increased demand for energy management solutions, potentially creating new opportunities for Alarm.com to expand its offerings in both residential and commercial markets. Therefore, the bill's focus on smart technologies and energy efficiency is relevant to Alarm.com's business model.", - "index": "342", - "bill_title": "A bill to improve the productivity and energy efficiency of the manufacturing sector by directing the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the National Academies and other appropriate Federal agencies, to develop a national smart manufacturing plan and to provide assistance to small- and medium-sized manufacturers in implementing smart manufacturing programs, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Smart Manufacturing Leadership Act\n\nThis bill addresses the productivity and energy efficiency of the manufacturing sector as well as the development of smart manufacturing technologies (certain advanced technologies in information, automation, monitoring, computation, sensing, modeling, and networking).\n\nThe Department of Energy (DOE) must complete a national plan for smart manufacturing technology development and deployment to improve the productivity and energy efficiency of the U.S. manufacturing sector. DOE must revise the plan biennially to account for advancements in information and communication technology and manufacturing needs.\n\nDOE may make grants to states for supporting the implementation of smart manufacturing technologies. States must use those grants to (1) provide access to shared supercomputing facilities to small- and medium-sized manufacturers, (2) fund research and development of transformational manufacturing processes and materials technology that advance smart manufacturing, and (3) provide tools and training to aid the adoption of energy management systems and implement smart manufacturing technologies in the manufacturers' facilities.\n\nDOE must expand the scope of technologies covered by Industrial Assessment Centers to (1) include smart manufacturing technologies and practices, and (2) equip the centers' directors with the training and tools necessary to provide technical assistance in smart manufacturing technologies and practices.\n\n DOE must (1) study how it can increase access to existing high-performance computing resources in the National Laboratories, and (2) facilitate access to the laboratories by small- and medium-sized manufacturers.", - "company_name": "Alarm.com Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview Alarm.com is the leading platform for the intelligently connected property. We offer a comprehensive suite of cloud-based solutions for smart residential and commercial properties, including interactive security, video monitoring, intelligent automation, energy management and wellness solutions. Millions of property owners depend on our technology to intelligently secure, monitor and manage their residential and commercial properties. In the last year alone, our platforms processed more than 200 billion data points generated by over 90 million connected devices. We believe that this scale of subscribers, connected devices and data operations makes us the leader in the connected property market. Our solutions are delivered through an established network of over 8,000 trusted service providers, who are experts at selling, installing and supporting our solutions. We primarily generate Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS, and license revenue through our service provider partners, who resell these services and pay us monthly fees. We also generate hardware and other revenue, primarily from our service provider partners and distributors. Our hardware sales include connected devices that enable our services, such as video cameras, gateway modules and smart thermostats. We enter into contracts with our service provider partners that establish pricing for access to our platform solutions and for the sale of hardware. These contracts typically have an initial term of one year, with subsequent renewal terms of one year. Our service provider partners typically enter into contracts with our subscribers, which our service provider partners have indicated range from three to five years in length. Our service provider partners are free to market and sell our products under their own guidelines at prices to the consumer that they establish independently. We believe that the length of the service relationship with residential and commercial property owners, combined with our robust SaaS platforms and over 15 years of operating experience, contribute to a compelling business model. See footnote 4 to the table contained in the section of this Annual Report titled \" Selected Financial Data \" for a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income, the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP. Our technology platforms are designed to make connected properties safer, smarter and more efficient. Our solutions are used in both smart residential and commercial properties, which we refer to as the connected property market and we have designed our technology platforms for all market participants. This includes not only the residential and commercial property owners who subscribe to our services, but also the hardware partners who manufacture devices that integrate with our platforms and the service provider partners who install and maintain our solutions. Our service provider partners can deploy our interactive security, video monitoring, intelligent automation and energy management solutions as stand-alone offerings or as combined solutions to address the needs of a broad range of customers. Our technology enables subscribers to seamlessly connect to their property through our family of mobile apps, websites, and new engagement platforms like voice control through Amazon Echo and Google Home, wearable devices like the Apple Watch, and TV platforms such as Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. Subscriber Solutions Interactive Security Interactive security is the entry point for most of our smart home and business subscribers. Our dedicated, two-way cellular connection between the property and our platforms is designed to be tamper resistant and to meet the high reliability standards for life safety services. Our solution integrates monitoring 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with emergency response through trusted and integrated central monitoring stations. Subscribers can use our services to control and monitor their security systems, as well as connected security devices including motion sensors, door locks, garage doors, thermostats and video cameras. The capabilities associated with this solution include: 3 \u25e6 ", - "id": "77cb2f2d-c0f1-4dde-a7d3-4a231b67a6bd" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is highly relevant to Alta Mesa Resources Inc. as it mandates the establishment of a program by the Department of Energy for carbon capture technologies in natural gas power generation. Given that Alta Mesa operates within the natural gas sector, advancements in carbon capture technologies could directly impact their operations, reduce emissions, and align with regulatory compliance and sustainability goals. Furthermore, the initiatives outlined in the bill could create opportunities for collaboration or funding in developing new technologies that Alta Mesa could utilize.", - "index": "343", - "bill_title": "A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program for the research, development, and demonstration of commercially viable technologies for the capture of carbon dioxide produced during the generation of natural gas-generated power.", - "bill_summary": "Launching Energy Advancement and Development through Innovations for Natural Gas Act of 2019\n\nThis bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a program for the capture of carbon dioxide produced during the generation of natural gas-generated power.\n\nSpecifically, DOE must\n\n identify opportunities to accelerate the development of commercially viable carbon capture technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions; enter into cooperative agreements with certain entities to license, permit, construct, and operate at least three facilities to capture carbon dioxide from natural gas generating power facilities; and identify any barriers to the commercial development of carbon capture technologies.", - "company_name": "Alta Mesa Resources Inc", - "company_description": "We were originally formed in November 2016 as a special purpose acquisition company under the name Silver Run Acquisition Corporation II for the purpose of effecting an initial business combination. Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we completed the private sale of 15,133,333 warrants (the \u0093Private Placement Warrants\u0094) to Silver Run Sponsor II, LLC (the \u0093Sponsor\u0094) generating gross proceeds to us of $22,700,000. A total of $1.035 billion (including approximately $36.2 million in deferred underwriting commissions to the underwriters of the IPO), which represents $1.0143 billion of the proceeds from the IPO after deducting upfront underwriting commissions of $20.7 million, and the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were placed in the Trust Account (the \u0093Trust Account\u0094) to be used to fund an initial business combination. \u00b7 SRII Opco distributed to the Kingfisher Contributor cash in the amount of approximately $814.8 million in partial payment for the ownership interests in Kingfisher contributed by the Kingfisher Contributor; and \u00b7 SRII Opco entered into a voting agreement with the owners of the remaining 10% voting interests in Alta Mesa GP whereby such other owners agreed to vote their interests in Alta Mesa GP as directed by SRII Opco. Following the completion of the Business Combination, the size of our board of directors was expanded from four directors to 11, including one director appointed by Bayou City and its affiliates, one director appointed by HPS and its affiliates and two directors appointed by AM Management and its affiliates, as the holders of our Series A Preferred Stock, and three directors appointed by the Riverstone Contributor and its affiliates, as the holder of our Series B Preferred Stock. Founded in 1987, Alta Mesa, the predecessor to our E & P Business, was an independent exploration and production company focused on the development and acquisition of unconventional oil and natural gas reserves in the eastern portion of the Anadarko Basin referred to as the STACK. The STACK is an acronym describing both its location\u0097Sooner Trend Anadarko Basin Canadian and Kingfisher County\u0097and the multiple, stacked productive formations present in the area. The STACK is a prolific hydrocarbon system with high oil and liquids-rich natural gas content, multiple horizontal target horizons, extensive production history and historically high drilling success rates. As of December 31, 2017, we had assembled a highly contiguous position of approximately 130,000 net acres largely in the up-dip, naturally-fractured oil portion of the STACK in eastern Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. Our drilling locations are in our primary target formations comprised of the Osage, Meramec and Oswego. We are currently operating seven horizontal drilling rigs in the STACK with plans to increase that number of rigs to eight at the end of 2018. Our Midstream Business was started by Kingfisher on January 30, 2015 for the purpose of acquiring, developing and operating midstream oil and gas assets. We primarily focus on providing crude oil gathering, gas gathering and processing and marketing to producers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and condensate in the STACK play. Our midstream energy asset network includes approximately 308 miles of existing low and high pressure pipelines, a 60 MMcf/d cryogenic natural gas processing plant, 10 MMcf/d in offtake processing, compression facilities, crude storage, NGL storage and purchasing and marketing capabilities. Our goal is to build a premier development and acquisition company focused on horizontal drilling and gas gathering in the STACK. As an emerging growth company, we may, for up to five years, take advantage of specified exemptions from reporting and other regulatory requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. the date on which we are deemed to be a \u0093large accelerated filer,\u0094 as defined in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the \u0093Exchange Act\u0094).", - "id": "87d57d45-2225-42a0-ba52-31ed69ceb10f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Marine Oil Spill Prevention Act primarily addresses environmental regulations and oil spill preparedness related to the Department of the Interior, the Coast Guard, and NOAA. ACI Worldwide, Inc., which focuses on electronic payment solutions and services, does not have a direct connection to the issues addressed in the bill, such as oil spill prevention and reaction. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill are not relevant to ACI's business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "344", - "bill_title": "To improve the ability of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Coast Guard, and coastal States to sustain healthy ocean and coastal ecosystems by maintaining and sustaining their capabilities relating to oil spill preparedness, prevention, and response, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Marine Oil Spill Prevention Act \n\nThis bill address issues related to preventing and responding to oil spills.\n\nAmong other things, the bill\n\n requires the Department of the Interior to consult with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) before approving an oil and gas lease program; authorizes the Department of Commerce to make grants to states to ensure sufficient oil spill planning and response capabilities; prohibits oil and gas leasing in certain areas of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area, the South Atlantic Planning area, and the Straits of Florida Planning Area; sets forth provisions concerning Coast Guard responsibilities, including designating areas that are at heightened risk of oil spills and implementing measures to ameliorate that risk; establishes a Gulf Coast Regional Citizens' Advisory Council to advise on facilities and tank vessels; permits the U.S. Coast Guard or Commerce to request a National Transportation Safety Board investigation of certain accidents occurring in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS); establishes inspection fees for OCS facilities; requires a comprehensive review of NOAA's capacity to respond to oil spills; directs the Coast Guard to evaluate and validate oil pollution containment and removal methods and technologies; requires NOAA to carry out a long-term marine environment monitoring and research program for the Gulf of Mexico; and directs the Coast Guard to publish within 12 hours an Incident Action Plan in response to an oil spill.", - "company_name": "ACI Worldwide, Inc.", - "company_description": "We develop, market, install, and support a broad line of software products and solutions primarily focused on facilitating real-time electronic payments. Our payment capabilities, technologies, and solutions are marketed under the brand name Universal Payments, or \u0093UP,\u0094 which describes the breadth and depth of ACI\u0092s product offerings. UP defines ACI\u0092s enterprise or \u0093universal\u0094 payments capabilities targeting any channel, any network, and any payment type. ACI UP solutions empower customers to regain control, choice, and flexibility in today\u0092s complex payments environment, get to market more quickly, and reduce operational costs. These products and services are used globally by banks, financial intermediaries, merchants and corporates, such as third-party electronic payment processors, payment associations, switch interchanges and a wide range of transaction-generating endpoints, including automated teller machines (\u0093ATM\u0094), merchant point-of-sale (\u0093POS\u0094) terminals, bank branches, mobile phones, tablets, corporations, and internet commerce sites. The authentication, authorization, switching, settlement, fraud-checking, and reconciliation of electronic payments is a complex activity due to the large number of locations and variety of sources from which transactions can be generated, the large number of participants in the market, high transaction volumes, geographically dispersed networks, differing types of authorization, and varied reporting requirements. ACI combines a global perspective with local presence to tailor electronic payment solutions for our customers. We believe that we have one of the most diverse and robust electronic payment product portfolios in the industry with application software spanning the entire payments value chain. Target Markets ACI\u0092s comprehensive electronic payment solutions serve four key markets: Banks ACI provides payment solutions to large and mid-size banks globally for both retail banking, digital, and other payment services. Our solutions transform banks\u0092 complex payment environments to speed time to market, reduce costs, and deliver a consistent experience to customers across channels while enabling them to prevent 3 and rapidly react to fraudulent activity. In addition, we enable banks to meet the requirements of different real-time payment schemes and to quickly create differentiated products to meet consumer, business, and merchant demands. ACI\u0092s payment solutions support financial intermediaries, such as processors, networks, payment service providers (\u0093PSPs\u0094), and new financial technology (\u0093FinTech\u0094) entrants. We offer these customers scalable solutions that strategically position them to innovate and achieve growth and cost efficiency, while protecting them against fraud. Our solutions also allow new entrants in the digital marketplace to access innovative payment schemes, such as the U.K. Faster Payments New Access Model, ACI\u0092s support of merchants globally includes Tier 1 and Tier 2 merchants, online-only merchants and the PSPs, independent selling organizations (\u0093ISOs\u0094), value added resellers (\u0093VARs\u0094), and acquirers who service them. These customers operate in a variety of verticals, including general merchandise, grocery, hospitality, dining, transportation, and others. Our solutions provide merchants with a secure, omni-channel payments platform that gives them independence from third-party payment providers. We also offer secure solutions to online-only merchants that provide consumers with a convenient and seamless way to shop. Within the corporate segment, ACI provides electronic bill presentment and payment (\u0093EBPP\u0094) services to companies operating in the consumer finance, insurance, healthcare, higher education, tax, and utility categories. Our solutions enable these customers to support a wide range of payment options and provide a painless consumer payments experience that drives consumer loyalty and increases revenue. ACI\u0092s UP \u00ae solutions span the payments ecosystem to support the electronic payment needs of banks, intermediaries, merchants and corporates. Our six strategic solution areas include the following: Retail Payments ACI offers comprehensive consumer payment solutions ranging from core payment engines to back-office support that enable banks and financial intermediaries to compete effectively in today\u0092s real-time, open payments ecosystem. Retail Payments\u0099 solution enables banks and financial intermediaries to accept, authorize, route and secure payment transactions.", - "id": "c5c8eb13-1073-4f66-9581-3863d332dd7e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow's America Act focuses primarily on infrastructure development such as broadband access, drinking water, energy, and health care infrastructure. Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that specializes in developing neurological therapies, specifically for Parkinson's disease. The bill's provisions on infrastructure do not directly impact Acorda\u2019s business model, which revolves around drug development and commercialization rather than infrastructure projects.", - "index": "345", - "bill_title": "To rebuild and modernize the Nation's infrastructure to expand access to broadband and Next Generation 9-1-1, rehabilitate drinking water infrastructure, modernize the electric grid and energy supply infrastructure, redevelop brownfields, strengthen health care infrastructure, create jobs, and protect public health and the environment, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow's America Act\n\nThis bill reauthorizes a variety of programs and creates new programs for infrastructure development, including communication, drinking water, energy, or health care infrastructure.\n\nThe bill provides support for communication infrastructure, such as funding to expand broadband internet access, or implement next generation 9-1-1 systems.\n\nIn addition, the bill reauthorizes the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund through FY2024 and provides support for drinking water infrastructure, including support to: (1) remove and replace sources of lead in drinking water; or (2) treat drinking water contaminated with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS. These substances are man-made and may have adverse human health effects. A variety of products contain the compounds, such as nonstick cookware or weatherproof clothing.\n\nThe bill also provides support for energy infrastructure, including support for: (1) the electric grid (e.g., grid modernization, security, resiliency, or efficiency); (2) energy efficiency measures (e.g., programs to promote energy efficiency in buildings); (3) energy supply (e.g., efforts to ensure the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is operated and maintained in an environmentally sound manner); or (4) renewable energy (e.g., solar installations in low-income and underserved areas). It also reauthorizes the Diesel Emissions Reductions Act as well as the Weatherization Assistance Program through FY2024.\n\nFinally, the bill provides support for health care infrastructure, including funding for hospitals, laboratories, or community-based care.", - "company_name": "Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies that restore function and improve the lives of people with neurological disorders. We are preparing for our launch of commercial sales of Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder), which is approved for intermittent treatment of OFF episodes, also known as OFF periods, in people with Parkinson's disease treated with carbidopa/levodopa. Inbrija is an on-demand treatment that utilizes our innovative ARCUS pulmonary delivery system, a technology platform designed to deliver medication through inhalation that we believe has potential to be used in the development of a variety of inhaled medicines. Our New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on December 21, 2018. The approval is for a single dose of 84 mg, with no titration required. We expect Inbrija to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2019 and to be distributed through a network of specialty pharmacies. Our preparations for the commercial sale of Inbrija continue, including sales force training and education, managed care discussions, market research and social media initiatives. We are seeking approval to market Inbrija in the European Union, and accordingly we filed a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in March 2018. After the adoption of a Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, opinion, we expect a final decision regarding the MAA from the European Commission before the end of 2019. We currently derive substantially all of our revenue from the sale of Ampyra. We have been engaged in litigation with certain generic drug manufacturers relating to our five initial Orange Book-listed Ampyra patents. In 2017, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the \"District Court\") issued a ruling that upheld our Ampyra Orange Book-listed patent that expired on July 30, 2018, but invalidated our four other Orange Book-listed patents pertaining to Ampyra that were set to expire between 2025 and 2027. Under this decision, our patent exclusivity with respect to Ampyra terminated on July 30, 2018. We appealed the District Court decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the \"Federal Circuit\"), which issued a ruling on September 10, 2018 upholding the District Court's decision (the \"Appellate Decision\"). In January 2019, the Federal Circuit denied our petition for rehearing en banc. We have experienced a significant decline in Ampyra sales due to competition from generic versions of Ampyra that are being marketed following the Appellate Decision. We expect that additional manufacturers will market generic versions of Ampyra, which may accelerate the decline in our Ampyra sales. Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder) : Launching the commercial sale of Inbrija in the U.S.; obtaining approval of our European MAA for Inbrija; and continuing with potential partnering discussions for commercialization outside of the U.S. ARCUS Platform : Advancing our efforts to develop additional therapeutics based on our proprietary ARCUS pulmonary drug delivery technology, looking at central nervous system, or CNS, as well as non-CNS opportunities, including our program to develop an ARCUS-based treatment for acute migraine. Company Highlights Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder)/Parkinson's Disease Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder) is the first and only inhaled levodopa, or L-dopa, for intermittent treatment of OFF episodes, also known as OFF periods, in people with Parkinson's disease treated with carbidopa/levodopa regimen. Our New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on December 21, 2018. The approval is for a single dose of 84 mg, with no titration required. We expect Inbrija to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2019 and to be distributed through a network of specialty pharmacies. We are seeking approval to market Inbrija in the European Union, and accordingly we filed a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in March 2018. After the adoption of a Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, opinion, we expect a final decision regarding the MAA from the European Commission before the end of 2019.", - "id": "a9b9d294-98b9-4d08-88b4-6ba40a391dcb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2019 primarily addresses nuclear waste management and related activities, which are outside the scope of Allegiance Bancshares, Inc.'s business operations focused on commercial banking and financial services. The legal consequences of the bill do not impact the company's banking practices or customer base.", - "index": "346", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish a new organization to manage nuclear waste, provide a consensual process for siting nuclear waste facilities, ensure adequate funding for managing nuclear waste, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses nuclear waste management.\n\nAmong other things, this bill\n\n establishes the Nuclear Waste Administration (NWA) to provide for the permanent disposal of nuclear waste, including the siting, construction, and operation of additional repositories, a test and evaluation facility, and additional storage facilities; transfers to the NWA specified functions of the Department of Energy, including those related to the construction and operation of a repository; prescribes siting guidelines for nuclear waste storage facilities and repositories and for the identification and suitability of candidate sites; directs the NWA to establish a storage program to provide interim storage for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste; and confers upon the NWA responsibility for transporting nuclear waste.", - "company_name": "Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. (Texas)", - "company_description": "Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. is a Texas corporation and registered bank holding company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Allegiance Bank, we provide a diversified range of commercial banking services primarily to small to medium-sized businesses within the Houston region, professionals and individual customers. Our super-community banking strategy, which is described in more detail below, is designed to foster strong customer relationships while benefitting from a platform and scale that is competitive with larger regional and national banks. As of December 31, 2018, we operated 28 full-service banking locations, with 27 bank offices and one loan production office in the Houston metropolitan area and one bank office location in Beaumont, just outside of the Houston metropolitan area. We have experienced significant growth since we began banking operations in 2007, resulting from both organic growth, including de novo branching, and three whole-bank acquisitions, most recently Post Oak Bancshares, The Company's objective is to grow and strengthen its community banking franchise by deploying its super-community banking strategy and by pursuing select strategic acquisitions in the Houston region. We are positioned to be a leading provider of personalized commercial banking services by emphasizing the strength and capabilities of local bank office management and by providing superior customer service. Super-community banking strategy. Our super-community banking strategy emphasizes local delivery of the excellent customer service associated with community banking combined with the products, efficiencies and scale associated with larger banks. We operate full-service bank offices and employ bankers with strong underwriting credentials who are authorized to make loan and underwriting decisions up to prescribed limits at the bank office level. We support bank office operations with a centralized credit approval process for larger credit relationships, loan operations, information technology, core data processing, accounting, finance, treasury and treasury management support, deposit operations and executive and board oversight. We emphasize lending to and banking with small to medium-sized businesses, with which we believe we can establish stronger relationships through excellent service and provide lending that can be priced on terms that are more attractive to the Company than would be achieved by lending to larger businesses. We believe this approach produces a clear competitive advantage by delivering an extraordinary customer experience and fostering a culture dedicated to achieving both superior external and internal service levels. increasing the productivity of existing bankers, as measured by loans, deposits and fee income per banker, while enhancing profitability by leveraging our existing operating platform; focusing on local and individualized decision-making, allowing us to provide customers with rapid decisions on loan requests, which we believe allows us to effectively compete with larger financial institutions; identifying and hiring additional seasoned bankers in the Houston region who will thrive within our super-community banking model, and opening additional branches where we are able to attract seasoned bankers; and developing new products designed to serve the increasingly diversified Houston economy, while preserving our strong culture of risk management. We intend to continue to expand our market position in the Houston region through organic growth, the development of de novo branch locations and a disciplined acquisition strategy. On January 31, 2016, the Company completed the sale of two of the acquired branches of Farmers & Merchants, Inc. Our senior management team has a demonstrated track record of managing profitable organic growth, improving operating efficiencies, maintaining a strong risk management culture, implementing a community and service-focused approach to banking and successfully executing and integrating acquisitions. Scalable banking and operational platform designed to foster and accommodate significant growth. We have built a capable and knowledgeable staff by utilizing the significant prior experience of our management team and employees. We have made extensive investments in the technology and systems necessary to build a scalable corporate infrastructure with the capacity to support continued growth. We are focused on delivering a wide variety of high-quality, relationship-driven commercial and community-oriented banking products and services tailored to meet the needs of small to medium-sized businesses, professionals and individuals in the Houston region. We actively solicit the deposit business of our consumer and commercial loan customers and seek to further leverage these relationships by broadening customer relationships with additional products and services. ", - "id": "fafd7316-7506-421b-88a3-2e9a49a56daf" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on authorizing appropriations and setting provisions for intelligence and intelligence-related activities, which do not directly impact Aegion Corp.'s business model or activities related to infrastructure rehabilitation and protection. The company's operations in pipeline maintenance and rehabilitation do not intersect with the legal consequences outlined in this bill.", - "index": "347", - "bill_title": "An original bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Damon Paul Nelson and Matthew Young Pollard Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2018, 2019, and 2020\n\nThis bill authorizes various intelligence-related activities for FY2018-FY2020 and contains other intelligence-related provisions.\n\nThe bill's provisions include\n\n increasing the maximum amount of voluntary separation pay for Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employees; providing 12 weeks of paid parental leave for civilian intelligence community employees for the birth or adoption of a child, subject to various limitations; allowing an intelligence community employee who has been subjected to a possible prohibited personnel action to submit a claim to the inspector general of the intelligence community and authorizing the inspector general to convene an external review panel to review the claim; allowing a married, retiring CIA employee to elect to receive a reduced annuity in exchange for the employee's surviving spouse to continue receiving payments after the employee's death; authorizing each intelligence community element to establish higher pay rates for certain positions that require expertise in\u00a0science, technology, engineering, or mathematics; requiring the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to establish the Supply Chain and Counterintelligence Risk Management Task Force; removing the foreign language requirement for certain senior CIA positions; establishing the Energy Infrastructure Security Center in the Department of Energy; requiring the ODNI to assess security vulnerabilities in state election systems before any regularly scheduled federal election and to brief Congress about detected foreign attempts to influence an upcoming federal election; and requiring reports on various topics, such as Iranian support for proxy forces in Syria and Lebanon and Russian financing for global influence campaigns.", - "company_name": "Aegion Corp.", - "company_description": "Aegion combines innovative technologies with market leading expertise to maintain, rehabilitate and strengthen pipelines and other infrastructure around the world. Since 1971, we have played a pioneering role in finding transformational solutions to rehabilitate aging infrastructure, primarily pipelines in the wastewater, water, energy, mining and refining industries. We also maintain the efficient operation of refineries and other industrial facilities and provide innovative solutions for the strengthening and increased longevity of buildings, bridges and other structures. We believe the depth and breadth of our products and services make us a leading provider for the world's infrastructure rehabilitation and protection needs. Our Company premise is to use technology to extend the structural design life and maintain, if not improve, the performance of infrastructure, mostly pipelines and piping systems. We have proved this expertise can be applied in a variety of markets to protect pipelines in oil, gas, nuclear, power, utility, mining, wastewater and water applications and can be extended to the rehabilitation and maintenance of commercial structures and the provision of professional services in energy-related industries. Many types of infrastructure must be protected from the corrosive and abrasive materials that pass through or near them. Our expertise in non-disruptive corrosion engineering and abrasion protection is wide-ranging. We manufacture many of the engineered solutions we offer to customers as well as the specialized equipment required to install them. Finally, decades of experience give us an advantage in understanding municipal, utility, energy, mining, industrial and commercial customers. CIPP process served as the first trenchless technology for rehabilitating wastewater pipelines and has enabled municipalities and private industry to avoid the extraordinary expense and extreme disruption that can result from conventional \"dig-and-replace\" methods. We have maintained our leadership position in the CIPP market from manufacturing to technological innovations and market share for over 45 years. We embarked on a diversification strategy in 2009 to expand not only our geographic reach but also our product and service portfolio into the oil and gas markets. Through a series of strategic initiatives and key acquisitions, we now possess a broad portfolio of cost-effective solutions for rehabilitating and maintaining aging or deteriorating infrastructure, protecting new infrastructure from corrosion and other threats, and providing integrated professional services in engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance and turnaround services for oil and natural gas companies, primarily in the midstream and 2 downstream markets. Today, our long-term strategy is to invest in our core end markets for organic growth and acquire innovative technologies to enhance our competitive position. We have three operating segments, which are also our reportable segments: Infrastructure Solutions, Corrosion Protection and Energy Services. The majority of our work is performed in the municipal water and wastewater pipeline sector and, while the pace of growth is primarily driven by government funding and spending, overall demand due to required infrastructure improvements in our core markets should result in a long-term stable growth opportunity for our market leading products, Insituform\u00ae Corrosion Protection is positioned to capture the benefits of continued oil and natural gas pipeline infrastructure developments across North America and internationally, as producers and midstream pipeline companies transport their product from onshore and offshore oil and gas fields to regional demand centers. The segment has a broad portfolio of technologies, products and services to protect, maintain, rehabilitate, assess and monitor pipelines from the effects of corrosion, including cathodic protection, interior pipe linings, interior and exterior pipe coatings and inspection and repair capabilities, as well as an increasing offering of data management capabilities related to these services. We provide solutions to customers to enhance the safety, environmental integrity, reliability and compliance of their pipelines in the global transmission and distribution network, especially in the oil and gas markets. We offer a unique value proposition based on our world-class safety and labor productivity programs, which allow us to provide cost-effective construction, maintenance, turnaround and specialty services at customers' refineries as well as chemical and other industrial facilities. We understand the demands and the level of critical planning required to ensure a successful turnaround or shutdown and offer a full range of services as part of our facility maintenance solutions, while maintaining a reputation for being safe, professional and providing predictable value. We are committed to being a valued partner to our customers, with a constant focus on expanding those relationships by solving complex infrastructure problems, enhancing our capabilities and improving execution while also developing or acquiring innovative technologies and comprehensive services. The fundamental driver in the global municipal pipeline rehabilitation market is the growing gap between the need and current spend. While we do not expect the spending gap to close any time soon, the increasing need for pipeline rehabilitation supports a long-term sustainable market for the technologies and services offered by our Infrastructure Solutions segment.", - "id": "a961f5c3-47d6-4e43-be06-8920ead5c751" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to the negotiation of prescription drug prices under Medicare and does not have a direct connection to Brown-Forman Corp., which primarily operates in the alcoholic beverages sector. The legal consequences of the bill are focused on healthcare and pharmaceuticals, making them irrelevant to the business model and activities of a spirits company.", - "index": "348", - "bill_title": "To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices of prescription drugs furnished under part D of the Medicare program.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies regarding prices for drugs covered under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Current law prohibits the CMS from doing so.)\n\nThe CMS must take certain factors into account during negotiations, including the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the drug, the financial burden on patients, and unmet patient needs. If the CMS is unable to negotiate the price of a drug, such drug is subject to competitive licensing in order to further its sale under Medicare, notwithstanding existing government-granted exclusivities.\n\nAdditionally, for one year after a drug is provided under a competitive license, such drug is also subject to specified price limitations; if the drug is not offered at such prices, the drug is\u00a0subject to additional licensing that furthers its sale under any federal program (e.g., Medicaid).", - "company_name": "Brown-Forman Corp.", - "company_description": "We primarily manufacture, bottle, import, export, market, and sell a wide variety of alcoholic beverages under recognized brands. We are the largest American-owned spirits and wine company with global reach. Beginning in 1870 with Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky \u2013 our founding brand \u2013 and spanning the generations since, we have built a portfolio of more than 40 spirit, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail, and wine brands that includes some of the best-known and most-loved trademarks in our industry. The most important brand in our portfolio is Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, which is the fourth-largest spirits brand of any kind and the largest American whiskey brand in the world, according to Impact Databank's \"Top 100 Premium Spirits Brands Worldwide\" list. Among the top five premium spirits brands on the list, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey was the only one to grow volume in each of the past five years. In its fifth year on the Worldwide Impact list, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey was recognized as a top 15 growth brand and remains the second-largest-selling flavored whiskey. Our other leading global brands on the Worldwide Impact list are Finlandia, which is the tenth-largest-selling vodka; Canadian Mist, which is the fourth-largest-selling Canadian whisky; and el Jimador, which is the fifth-largest-selling tequila and designated as an Impact \"Hot Brand. While Korbel is not an owned brand, we sell Korbel products under contract in the United States and other select markets. Fiscal 2018 Brand Highlights\" for brand performance details. Our vision in marketing is to be the best brand builders in the industry. These programs cover a wide spectrum of activities, including media (TV, radio, print, outdoor, and, increasingly, digital and social), consumer and trade promotions, sponsorships, and homeplace programs at our distilleries and our winery. We expect to grow our sales and profits by consistently delivering creative, responsible marketing programs that drive brand recognition, brand trial, brand loyalty, and, ultimately, consumer demand around the world. Our largest international markets include the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, Germany, France, Poland, Russia, Brazil, and Canada. Our distribution network, which we sometimes refer to as our \"route-to-consumer\" (RTC), takes a variety of forms, depending on (a) a market's laws and regulatory framework for trade in beverage alcohol, (b) our assessment of a market's long-term attractiveness and competitive dynamics, (c) the relative profitability of distribution options available to us, (d) the structure of the retail and wholesale trade in a market, and (e) our portfolio's development stage in a market. In the United States, which generally prohibits spirits and wine manufacturers from selling their products directly to consumers, we sell our brands either to distributors or (in states that directly control alcohol sales) to state governments that then sell to retail customers and consumers. , we use a variety of RTC models, which can be grouped into three categories: owned distribution, partner, and government-controlled markets. We own and operate distribution companies in 14 markets: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czechia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Thailand, and Turkey. In these markets, and in a large portion of the Travel Retail channel, we sell our products directly to retailers, to wholesalers, or, in Canada, to provincial governments. Over the past decade, we began distribution operations in multiple markets outside the United States, as shown in the table below. In the United Kingdom, we partner in a cost-sharing arrangement with another supplier, Bacardi Limited, to sell a portfolio of both companies In many other markets, including Russia, Japan, Italy, and South Africa, we rely on others to distribute our brands, generally under fixed-term distribution contracts. Competition Trade information indicates that we are one of the largest global suppliers of premium spirits. According to International Wine & Spirit Research (IWSR), for calendar year 2017, the ten largest global spirits companies controlled less than 20% of the total global market for spirits (on a volume basis).", - "id": "24c8c9e2-591a-43d0-ab97-e2df0e23575d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses election security, voter access, political spending, and ethics within government, which are not directly related to Tetra Tech, Inc.'s business operations in consulting and engineering services focused on water, environment, and infrastructure.", - "index": "349", - "bill_title": "To ensure election security, enhance Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics through transparency, establish accountability and integrity measures for Congress, and strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Nonpartisan Bill For the People Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses voter registration, congressional redistricting, election security, political spending, and ethics for the three branches of government.\n\nThe bill provides for the automatic registration of eligible voters.\n\nVoters must present identification to vote.\n\nThe bill requires states to hold open primaries.\n\n\n\nThe bill provides for states to establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions.\n\nThe bill also sets forth provisions related to election security, including sharing intelligence information with state election officials, protecting the security of the voter rolls, supporting states in securing their election systems, developing a national strategy to protect the security and integrity of U.S. democratic institutions, establishing in the legislative branch the National Commission to Protect United States Democratic Institutions, and other provisions to improve the cybersecurity of election systems.\n\nThis bill addresses campaign spending, including by expanding the ban on foreign nationals contributing to or spending on elections; expanding disclosure rules pertaining to organizations spending money during elections, campaign advertisements, and online platforms; and revising disclaimer requirements for political advertising.\n\n\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions related to ethics in all three branches of government. Specifically, the bill requires a code of ethics for federal judges and justices, prohibits Members of the House from serving on the board of a for-profit entity, expands enforcement of regulations governing foreign agents, and establishes additional conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions for federal employees and the White House.\n\nThe bill also requires candidates for President, Vice President, and Congress to submit 10 years of tax returns.", - "company_name": "Tetra Tech, Inc.", - "company_description": "Tetra Tech, Inc. is a leading global provider of consulting and engineering services that focuses on water, environment, infrastructure, resource management, energy, and international development. We are a global company that leads with science and is renowned for our expertise in providing water-related solutions for public and private clients. We typically begin at the earliest stage of a project by identifying technical solutions and developing execution plans tailored to our clients' needs and resources. Our solutions may span the entire life cycle of consulting and engineering projects and include applied science, data analytics, research, engineering, design, construction management, and operations and maintenance. Engineering News-Record (\"ENR\"), the leading trade journal for our industry, has ranked us the number one water services firm for the past 15 years, most recently in its May 2018 \" In 2018, Tetra Tech was also ranked number one in water treatment/desalination, water treatment and supply, environmental management, environmental science, consulting/studies, solid waste, hydro plants, and wind power. ENR ranks Tetra Tech among the largest 10 firms in numerous other service lines, including engineering/design, chemical and soil remediation, site assessment and compliance, dams/reservoirs, power transmission and distribution, and hazardous waste. Our reputation for high-end consulting and engineering services and our ability to apply our skills to develop solutions for water and environmental management has supported our growth for over 50 years since the founding of our predecessor company. By combining ingenuity and practical experience, we have helped to advance sustainable solutions for managing water, protecting the environment, providing energy, and engineering the infrastructure for our cities and communities. Our mission is to be the premier worldwide consulting and engineering firm, focusing on water, environment, infrastructure, resource management, energy, and international development services. needs and deliver smart, cost-effective solutions that meet their needs. We develop and implement sustainable solutions that are innovative, efficient and practical. We bring superior technical capability, disciplined project management, and excellence in safety and quality to all of our services. Opportunity means new technical challenges that provide advancement within our company, encourage a diverse workforce, and ensure a safe workplace. Our approach is to Lead with Science\u00ae and provide high-end solutions Since our inception, we have provided innovative consulting and engineering services, with a focus on providing solutions that integrate innovation with practical experience. Adaptation of emerging science and technology in the development of high-end consulting and engineering solutions is central to our approach to Leading with Science We believe that proximity to our clients is also instrumental to integrating global experience and resources with an understanding of our local clients' needs. Over the past year, we worked in over 100 countries, helping government and private sector clients address complex water, environment, energy and related infrastructure needs. Institutional knowledge is often a significant factor in providing competitive proposals and cost-effective solutions tailored to our clients' These might be a new water reuse technology, a unique solution to addressing new regulatory requirements, a new monitoring approach for assessing infrastructure assets or a computer model for real time management of water resources. We are constantly evolving and adding to our intellectual property, including a wide range of computer models, algorithms, analytical software, and environmental treatment approaches and instrumentation, often in collaboration with our forward-thinking clients. Bringing our one-of-a-kind solutions to real world problems is a differentiator in expanding our services and growing our business. Complex projects for the public and private sectors, at the leading edge of policy and technology development, often require innovative solutions that combine multiple aspects of our interdisciplinary capabilities, technical resources and institutional knowledge. Our strategy leverages our five differentiators to drive growth in our water, environment, infrastructure, resource management, energy, and international development markets.", - "id": "3b4bedc1-9bec-4a92-9895-032d2d3f653a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses primarily on voter access, election integrity, campaign finance reform, and ethics within governmental structures, which are not directly related to the business model or operations of Ralph Lauren Corp. The company's activities revolve around the design, marketing, and distribution of lifestyle products, which are not impacted by the legal effects of this bill.", - "index": "350", - "bill_title": "To expand Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, and strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "For the People Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses voter access, election integrity, election security, political spending, and ethics for the three branches of government.\n\nSpecifically, the bill expands voter registration and voting access and limits removing voters from voter rolls.\n\nThe bill provides for states to establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions.\n\nThe bill also sets forth provisions related to election security, including sharing intelligence information with state election officials, protecting the security of the voter rolls, supporting states in securing their election systems, developing a national strategy to protect the security and integrity of U.S. democratic institutions, establishing in the legislative branch the National Commission to Protect United States Democratic Institutions, and other provisions to improve the cybersecurity of election systems.\n\nThis bill addresses campaign spending, including by expanding the ban on foreign nationals contributing to or spending on elections; expanding disclosure rules pertaining to organizations spending money during elections, campaign advertisements, and online platforms; and revising disclaimer requirements for political advertising.\n\nThis bill establishes an alternative campaign funding system for certain federal offices. The system involves federal matching of small contributions for qualified candidates.\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions related to ethics in all three branches of government. Specifically, the bill requires a code of ethics for federal judges and justices, prohibits Members of the House from serving on the board of a for-profit entity, expands enforcement of regulations governing foreign agents, and establishes additional conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions for federal employees and the White House.\n\nThe bill also requires candidates for President and Vice President to submit 10 years of tax returns.", - "company_name": "Ralph Lauren Corp.", - "company_description": "General Founded in 1967 by Mr. Ralph Lauren, we are a global leader in the design, marketing, and distribution of premium lifestyle products, including apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and other licensed product categories. Our long-standing reputation and distinctive image have been developed across an expanding number of products, brands, sales channels, and international markets. We believe that our global reach, breadth of product offerings, and multi-channel distribution are unique among luxury and apparel companies. Our wholesale sales are made principally to major department stores and specialty stores around the world. We also sell directly to consumers through our integrated retail channel, which includes our retail stores, concession-based shop-within-shops, and digital commerce operations around the world. In addition, we license to unrelated third parties for specified periods the right to operate retail stores and/or to use our various trademarks in connection with the manufacture and sale of designated products, such as certain apparel, eyewear, fragrances, and home furnishings. In addition to these reportable segments, we also have other non-reportable segments. Our global reach is extensive, with merchandise available through our wholesale distribution channels at over 12,000 doors worldwide, the majority in specialty stores, as well as through the digital commerce sites of many of our wholesale customers. We also sell directly to customers throughout the world via our 472 retail stores and 632 concession-based shop-within-shops, as well as through our own digital commerce sites and those of various third-party digital partners. In addition to our directly-operated stores and shops, our international licensing partners operate 88 Ralph Lauren concession shops, and 136 Club Monaco stores and shops. We believe that our size and the global scope of our operations provide us with design, sourcing, and distribution synergies across our different businesses. Our core strengths include a portfolio of global premium lifestyle brands, a well-diversified global multi-channel distribution network, an investment philosophy supported by a strong balance sheet, and an experienced management team. We have developed a long-term growth strategy with the objective of delivering sustainable, profitable growth and long-term value creation for shareholders. Our strategy includes the following key strategic initiatives: \u2022 Elevating our brand through improved quality of sales, distribution, and product; \u2022 Evolving product, marketing, and shopping experience to increase reach and appeal with new consumers; \u2022 Expanding our digital and international presence; and \u2022 On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law new tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the \"TCJA\"), which became effective January 1, 2018. The TCJA significantly revised U.S. tax law by, among other provisions, lowering the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate from 35% to 21%, creating a territorial tax system that includes a one-time mandatory transition tax on previously deferred foreign earnings, and eliminating or reducing certain income tax deductions. We are refocusing on our core brands and evolving our product, marketing, and shopping experience to increase desirability and relevance. We are also evolving our operating model to enable sustainable, profitable sales growth by significantly improving quality of sales, reducing supply chain lead times, improving our sourcing, and executing a disciplined multi-channel distribution and expansion strategy. The Way Forward Plan includes strengthening our leadership team and creating a more nimble organization by moving from an average of nine to six layers of management. The Way Forward Plan also includes the discontinuance of our Denim & Supply brand and the integration of our denim product offerings into our Polo Ralph Lauren brand. Collectively, these actions, which were substantially completed during Fiscal 2017, resulted in a reduction in workforce and the closure of certain stores and shop-within-shops, as well as gross annualized expense savings of approximately $200 million. (i) the restructuring of our in-house global digital commerce platform which was in development and shifting to a more cost-effective, flexible platform through a new agreement with Salesforce's Commerce Cloud, formerly known as Demandware; (ii) the closure of our Polo store at 711 Fifth Avenue in New York City; and (iii) the further streamlining of the organization and the execution of other key corporate actions in line with the Way Forward Plan.", - "id": "df60db0d-cbe9-4654-adaf-c19e5d239e06" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill is focused on enhancing broadband access and addressing telecommunications capabilities in underserved areas ('broadband deserts'). Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. primarily operates in the fields of precision power conversion for semiconductor and industrial applications, which do not directly relate to telecommunications infrastructure. The bill's legal consequences involve FCC regulations and actions to ensure broadband access, which do not impact the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "351", - "bill_title": "To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission to conduct an annual inquiry on the availability of advanced telecommunications capability in broadband deserts, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Connecting Broadband Deserts Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)\u00a0to conduct an annual inquiry on the availability of advanced telecommunications capability in broadband deserts, including whether such capability is being deployed in a reasonable and timely fashion. If it is not, the FCC shall take immediate action to accelerate deployment of such capability by removing barriers to infrastructure investment and promoting competition. The term \"broadband desert\" means a census block in an urban area in which fewer than 33% of end-user premises do not have access to advanced telecommunications capability.", - "company_name": "Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview Advanced Energy provides highly-engineered, mission-critical, precision power conversion, measurement and control solutions to our global customers. We design, manufacture, sell and support precision power products that transform electrical power into various usable forms. Our power conversion products refine, modify and control the raw electrical power from a utility and convert it into power that is predictable, repeatable and customizable. Our products enable thin film manufacturing processes such as plasma enhanced chemical and physical deposition and etch for various semiconductor and industrial products, industrial thermal applications for material and chemical processes, and specialty power for critical industrial applications. We also supply thermal instrumentation products for advanced temperature measurement and control in these markets. Our network of global service support centers provide local repair and field service capability in key regions as well as provide upgrades and refurbishment services, and sales of used equipment to businesses that use our products. The high-efficiency, low voltage, configurable power supplies that Excelsys manufactures for medical and industrial applications will further enhance Advanced Energy's product portfolio. Our products are designed to enable new process technologies, improve productivity, and lower the cost of ownership for our customers. We also provide repair and maintenance services for all of our products. We principally serve original equipment manufacturers (\"OEM\") and end customers in the semiconductor, flat panel display, high voltage, solar panel, and other industrial capital equipment markets. Our products are used in diverse markets, applications, and processes including the manufacture of capital equipment for semiconductor device manufacturing, thin film applications for thin film renewables and architectural glass, and for other thin film applications including flat panel displays, and industrial coatings. Therefore, demand for our products and our financial results can change as demand for manufacturing equipment and repair and maintenance services change in response to consumer demand. Other factors, such as global economic and market conditions and technological advances in the applications we serve can also have an impact on our financial results, both positively and negatively. Our process power systems include direct current (\"DC\"), pulsed DC, low frequency, high voltage, and radio frequency (\"RF\") power supplies, matching networks, remote plasma sources for reactive gas applications and RF instrumentation. These power conversion systems refine, modify, and control the raw electrical power from a utility and convert it into power that may be customized and is predictable and repeatable. Our power control modules and thermal instrumentation products are used in the semiconductor industry, including adjacent thin film applications for solar PV and light emitting diode (\"LED\") industries, and heavy industries, for thermal control and temperature measurement solutions for applications in which time-temperature cycles affect material properties, productivity, and yield. These products are used in rapid thermal processing, chemical vapor deposition, crystal growing, and other semiconductor and solar applications requiring non-contact temperature measurement. They are also used in chemical processing, glass manufacturing and numerous other general industrial power applications. Our high voltage products are designed to meet the demanding requirements of OEMs worldwide. Our high voltage power solutions and custom-built power conversion products offer high frequency, high voltage topology, providing wide input and output operating ranges while retaining excellent stability and efficiencies ranging from benchtop and rackmount systems to micro-size printed circuit board mount modules. The products target applications including semiconductor wafer 3 processing and metrology, scientific instrumentation, mass spectrometry, industrial printing and analytical x-ray systems for industrial and analytical applications. Our solutions are designed to meet the demanding requirements of global OEMs in the Industrial, Medical and MIL-COTS (Commercial-off-the-shelf) verticals. Our low voltage products deliver excellence in efficiency, flexibility, performance and reliability. In the Medical industry our solutions are used in a variety of applications including: clinical diagnostic equipment, lasers, X-ray machines, CT-scanners and MRI scanners. In the Industrial vertical our products are commonly used in test and measurement, lasers, optical inspection equipment and scientific instrumentation.", - "id": "7d5aa8c9-2d56-4c43-a87b-14b266bdc095" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses the amendment of the TANF program and its requirements regarding welfare and job support, which does not directly impact Pool Corp.'s business operations or its distribution of swimming pool and outdoor living products. The focus on social service programs and employment requirements is unrelated to the company's core activities in the wholesale distribution sector.", - "index": "352", - "bill_title": "To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Jobs and Opportunity with Benefits and Services for Success Act\n\nThis bill renames the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program as the Jobs and Opportunity with Benefits and Services (JOBS) program, reauthorizes the program through FY2024, and makes changes relating to work requirements for beneficiaries.\n\nStates providing aid under the program shall create an individual opportunity plan for each beneficiary. States shall impose work requirements on all work-eligible beneficiaries, and shall reduce benefits for noncompliance. (Currently, individual plans are optional under TANF, and states have discretion as to whether to reduce benefits for noncompliant individuals.)\n\nStates providing aid shall meet annual performance targets related to the number of beneficiaries who exit the program and find unsubsidized employment. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall reduce grants to states that fail to meet such targets. States shall provide data related to beneficiary employment and wages to HHS, which shall be publicly available.\n\nThe bill modifies various limitations on the use of funds for various purposes, and establishes that at least 25% of funds from various grants shall be spent on core activities.\n\nCertain existing laws relating to monitoring and recovering improper benefits payments shall apply to the JOBS program.\n\nThe bill eliminates programs providing (1) supplemental grants for population increases, (2) bonuses for high performance states, (3) welfare-to-work grants, and (4) contingency funds for state welfare programs.", - "company_name": "Pool Corp.", - "company_description": "Business General Pool Corporation (the Company, which may be referred to as we, us or our) is the world's largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products and is one of the top three distributors of irrigation and landscape products in the United States. Our vision is to become the best worldwide distributor of outdoor living products that enhance the quality of outdoor home life. Our industry is highly fragmented, and as such, we add considerable value to the industry by purchasing products from a large number of manufacturers and then distributing the products to our customer base on conditions that are more favorable than our customers could obtain on their own. As of December 31, 2018, we operated 364 sales centers in North America, Europe, South America and Australia through our four distribution networks: We participate in a worldwide market for outdoor living products through our four distribution networks. We believe that the swimming pool industry is relatively young, with room for continued growth from the increased penetration of new pools. Significant growth opportunities also reside with pool remodel and pool equipment replacement activities due to the aging of the installed base of swimming pools, technological advancements and the development of energy-efficient and more aesthetically attractive products. Additionally, the desire for consumers to enhance their outdoor living spaces with hardscapes, lighting and outdoor kitchens also promotes growth in this area. These favorable trends include the following: \u2022 long-term growth in housing units in warmer markets due to the population migration toward the southern United States, which contributes to the growing installed base of pools that homeowners must maintain; \u2022 increased homeowner spending on outdoor living spaces for relaxation and entertainment; \u2022 consumers bundling the purchase of a swimming pool and other products, with new irrigation systems, landscaping and improvements to outdoor living spaces often being key components to both pool installations and remodels; and \u2022 consumers using more automation and control products, higher quality materials and other pool features that add to our sales opportunities over time. Almost 60% of consumer spending in the pool industry is for maintenance and minor repair of existing swimming pools. Maintaining proper chemical balance and the related upkeep and repair of swimming pool equipment, such as pumps, heaters, filters and safety equipment, creates a non-discretionary demand for pool chemicals, equipment and other related parts and supplies. We also believe cosmetic considerations such as a pool's appearance and the overall look of backyard environments create an ongoing demand for other maintenance-related goods and certain discretionary products. This characteristic has helped cushion the negative impact on revenues in periods when unfavorable economic conditions and softness in the housing market adversely impacted pool construction and major replacement and refurbishment activities. The following table reflects growth in the domestic installed base of in-ground swimming pools over the past 11 years (based on Company estimates and information from 2017 P.K. Data, Inc. reports): The replacement and refurbishment market currently accounts for close to 25% of consumer spending in the pool industry. The activity in this market, which includes major swimming pool remodeling, is driven by the aging of the installed base of pools. The timing of these types of expenditures is more sensitive to economic factors that impact consumer spending compared to the maintenance and minor repair market. New swimming pool construction comprises just over 15% of consumer spending in the pool industry. The demand for new pools is driven by the perceived benefits of pool ownership including relaxation, entertainment, family activity, exercise and convenience. The industry competes for new pool sales against other discretionary consumer purchases such as kitchen and bathroom remodeling, boats, motorcycles, recreational vehicles and vacations. The industry is also affected by other factors including, but not limited to, consumer preferences or attitudes toward pool and related outdoor living products for aesthetic, environmental, safety or other reasons. The irrigation and landscape industry shares many characteristics with the pool industry, and we believe that it will realize similar long\u2011term growth rates. Irrigation system installations often occur in tandem with new single\u2011family home construction making it more susceptible to economic variables.", - "id": "992cf15d-defb-4856-b47e-5d10afa1d5b1" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill directly regulates semiautomatic assault weapons (SAWs) and large capacity ammunition feeding devices (LCAFDs), both of which are included in the product offerings of American Outdoor Brands Corp. as a leading firearm manufacturer. The legal consequences of this bill may impact the sales, manufacture, and transfer of these specific products, which are central to the company's business operations. Thus, the company needs to adapt to these regulations.", - "index": "353", - "bill_title": "A bill to regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Assault Weapons Ban of 2019\n\nThis bill makes it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD).\n\nThe prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model.\n\nThe bill also exempts from the prohibition the following, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD:\n\n importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties.\n\nThe bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD.\n\nNewly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture.\n\n The bill also allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.", - "company_name": "American Outdoor Brands Corp.", - "company_description": "We are a leading manufacturer, designer, and provider of consumer products for the shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor enthusiast. We are one of the largest manufacturers of handguns, modern sporting rifles, and handcuffs in the United States and an active participant in the hunting rifle and suppressor markets. We are also a leading provider of shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor products and accessories, including knives and cutting tools, sighting lasers, shooting supplies, tree saws, and survival gear. The Wesson family sold Smith & Wesson Corp. to Bangor Punta Corp. in 1965. Lear Siegler Corporation purchased Bangor Punta in 1984, thereby acquiring ownership of Smith & Wesson Corp. Forstmann Little & Co. purchased Lear Siegler in 1986 and sold Smith & Wesson Corp. shortly thereafter to Tomkins Corporation, an affiliate of U.K.-based Tomkins PLC. We purchased Smith & Wesson Corp. from Tomkins in May 2001 and renamed our company Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation. In January 2017, we changed the name of our company from Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation to American Outdoor Brands Corporation to better reflect our expanding strategic focus on the growing markets for shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor enthusiasts. We have two reporting segments: (1) Firearms (which includes the Firearms and Manufacturing Services divisions) and (2) Outdoor Products & Accessories (which includes the Outdoor Products & Accessories and Electro-Optics divisions). In our Firearms segment, we manufacture a wide array of handguns (including revolvers and pistols), long guns (including modern sporting rifles, bolt action rifles, and muzzleloaders), handcuffs, suppressors, and other firearm-related products for sale to a wide variety of customers, including gun enthusiasts, collectors, hunters, sportsmen, competitive shooters, individuals desiring home and personal protection, law enforcement and security agencies and officers, and military agencies in the United States and throughout the world. We sell our firearm products under the Smith & Wesson, M & P, Performance Center, Thompson/Center Arms, and Gemtech brands. We manufacture our firearm products at our facilities in Springfield, Massachusetts, Houlton, Maine, and Deep River, Connecticut. We perform research and development activities for our suppressors and accessories products at our facility located in Meridian, Idaho. We also sell our manufacturing services to other businesses in order to level-load our factories. We sell those services under our Smith & Wesson and Smith & Wesson Precision Components (formerly known as Deep River Plastics) brands. In our Outdoor Products & Accessories segment, we design, source, distribute, and manufacture reloading, gunsmithing, and gun cleaning supplies; high-quality stainless steel cutting tools and accessories; flashlights; tree saws and related trimming accessories; shooting supplies, rests, and other related accessories; apparel; vault accessories; laser grips and laser sights; and a full range of products for survival and emergency preparedness. We sell our outdoor products and accessories under the following brands: Caldwell, Wheeler, Tipton, Frankford Arsenal, Lockdown, Hooyman, BOG-POD, Golden Rod, Non-Typical, Crimson Trace, Imperial, Schrade, Old Timer, Uncle Henry, Bubba Blade, Smith & Wesson, M & P, Thompson/Center, UST, and KeyGear. We develop and market our outdoor products and accessories at our facilities in Columbia, Missouri; Our objective is to continue to enhance our position as one of the world's leading firearm manufacturers and expand our po sition as a provider of high-quality and innovative outdoor products and accessories for the shooting, hunting, and rugged outdoor markets. \u2022 design, produce, and market high-quality, innovative firearms, firearms and hunting accessories, and rugged outdoor products that meet the needs and desires of our consumer and professional customers; \u2022 increase market share in markets in which we participate; \u2022 expand into adjacent and complementary markets; \u2022 streamline and standardize our business operations, including optimizing product distribution; \u2022 emphasize customer satisfaction and loyalty; and \u2022 pursue acquisitions that are synergistic with our current business. We estimate that the annual domestic non-military firearm market based on industry shipments is approximately $2.2 billion for handguns and $1.9 billion for long guns, excluding shotguns, with our market share in calendar 2016 being approximately 16.7% and 7.6%, respectively. According to 2016 reports by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, the U.S. firearm manufacturing industry has grown at a 12.0% compound annual growth rate in units from 2011 through 2016. The 2015 report issued by the Outdoor Industry Association, a leading trade organization for the outdoor industry, estimates that the annual U.S. domestic hunting and shooting market is approximately $16 billion, while the annual U.S. domestic outdoor recreation market is approximately $90 billion to $100 billion, which includes hunting and shooting, as well as camping, fishing, trail sports, and wildlife watching. (Subsequently relocated production of hunting products to Springfield, Massachusetts facility in fiscal 2011) ", - "id": "f59d6775-0ccc-4754-8b36-b3a2352c52fe" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill addresses discrimination and harassment in the workplace, which is relevant for Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc., as it employs individuals and operates in a highly regulated industry. Compliance with nondiscrimination policies and the prohibition of certain employment practices affects their organizational structure, employee management, and corporate accountability.", - "index": "354", - "bill_title": "To prevent discrimination and harassment in employment.", - "bill_summary": "Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination in the Workplace Act or the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace and raises the minimum wage for tipped employees.\n\nSpecifically, the bill (1) makes it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against an individual in the workplace based on sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, and a sex stereotype; (2) prohibits employers from entering into contracts or agreements with workers that contain certain nondisparagement or nondisclosure clauses; (3) prohibits predispute arbitration agreements and postdispute agreements with certain exceptions, and (4) establishes grant programs to prevent and respond to workplace discrimination and harassment, provide legal assistance for low-income workers related to employment discrimination, and establish a system of legal advocacy in states to protect the rights of workers.\n\nAdditionally, the bill, among other things\n\n requires employers who have 15 or more employees to adopt a comprehensive nondiscrimination policy; requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to provide specified training and resource materials, establish and convene a harassment prevention task force, and establish an Office of Education and Outreach with regard to prohibited discrimination and harassment in employment; requires specified studies, reports, and research on prohibited harassment in employment; and grants employees the right to retain their tips.", - "company_name": "Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class therapies for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma, retinal diseases and other diseases of the eye. Our strategy is to successfully commercialize our U.S. Food and Drug Administration (\"FDA\") approved product, Rhopressa\u00ae (netarsudil ophthalmic solution) 0.02% (\"Rhopressa \u00ae Rocklatan TM has a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (\"PDUFA\") goal date of March 14, 2019. TM (named Rhokiinsa\u00ae and Roclanda TM, respectively, in Europe) for regulatory approval in Europe and Japan and expect to commercialize on our own in Europe and likely partner for commercialization of their equivalents in Japan, if approved. We are also focused on furthering the development of our preclinical molecules and technologies focused on retinal diseases and expect to have two preclinical implants, AR-1105 and AR-13503, commence clinical trials in 2019. Further, we are screening our owned library of Rho kinase (\"ROCK\") inhibitors for indications beyond glaucoma. Rhopressa\u00ae is a once-daily eye drop designed to reduce elevated intraocular pressure (\"IOP\") in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The active ingredient in Rhopressa \u00ae, netarsudil, is an Aerie-owned ROCK inhibitor. We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae represents the first of a new drug class for reducing IOP in patients with glaucoma in over 20 years. Early indications point to healthcare professionals prescribing Rhopressa\u00ae as a concomitant therapy to prostaglandins or non-PGA (prostaglandin analog) medications when additional IOP reduction is desired. We believe Rhopressa\u00ae is primarily competing with other non-PGA products, due to its targeting of the diseased trabecular meshwork (\"TM\"), its demonstrated ability to reduce IOP at consistent levels across tested baselines, its preferred once-daily dosing relative to other currently marketed non-PGA products and its safety profile. Adjunctive therapies currently represent nearly one-half of the glaucoma prescription market in the United States, according to IQVIA. We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae may also become a preferred therapy where PGAs are contraindicated, for patients who do not respond to PGAs and for patients who choose to avoid the cosmetic issues associated with PGA products. We launched Rhopressa\u00ae in the United States at the end of April 2018. Rhopressa\u00ae is now being sold to national and regional U.S. pharmaceutical distributors, and patients have access to Rhopressa\u00ae through pharmacies across the United States. In the glaucoma market in the United States, approximately half of the dispensed volumes are covered under commercial plans and half under Medicare Part D. We have obtained formulary coverage for Rhopressa\u00ae for approximately 90% of lives covered under commercial plans and approximately 40% of lives covered under Medicare Part D plans. We expect Medicare Part D Tier 2 equivalent coverage to increase to over 70% by the end of the first quarter of 2019. Our advanced-stage product candidate, Rocklatan TM, is a once-daily fixed-dose combination of Rhopressa\u00ae and latanoprost, the most commonly prescribed drug for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma. We believe, based on our clinical data, that Rocklatan TM has the potential to provide a greater IOP-reducing effect than any currently marketed glaucoma medication. Therefore, we believe that Rocklatan TM, if approved and formulary coverage is obtained, could compete with both PGA and non-PGA therapies and become the product of choice for patients requiring maximal IOP reduction, including those with higher IOPs and those who present with significant disease progression despite using currently available therapies. We submitted a New Drug Application (\"NDA\") for Rocklatan TM to the FDA in May 2018 under Section 505(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (the \"FDCA\"), which provides for an abbreviated approval pathway, since Rocklatan TM is a fixed dose combination of two FDA-approved drugs in the United States. In July 2018, we announced that the NDA was accepted for review by the FDA and the PDUFA goal date was set for March 14, 2019. Our strategy also includes developing our business outside the United States, including obtaining regulatory approval in Europe and Japan on our own for Rhopressa\u00ae and Rocklatan TM. If we obtain regulatory approval, we currently expect to commercialize Rhopressa\u00ae and Rocklatan TM in Europe on our own, and likely partner for commercialization of their equivalents in Japan.", - "id": "aca5214e-875a-4d1a-a162-47d09e88a900" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on comprehensive sex education for adolescents and health-related programs for youth, which does not directly relate to the home care services provided by Addus HomeCare Corp. The company operates primarily in personal care, hospice, and home health, targeting older adults and individuals requiring long-term care. Therefore, the implications of the bill do not impact the company's business model, structure, or current activities.", - "index": "355", - "bill_title": "To provide for the overall health and well-being of young people, including the promotion of lifelong sexual health and healthy relationships, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Real Education for Healthy Youth Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in coordination with certain HHS components, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Education, to award grants for comprehensive sex education for adolescents. It also awards grants for comprehensive sex education provided by institutions of higher education and for training faculty and staff to teach comprehensive sex education to adolescents. Comprehensive sex education programs may include, among other things, instruction that addresses the physical, mental, emotional, and social dimensions of human sexuality and approaches designed to motivate and assist students to maintain and improve their sexual health, prevent disease and reduce sexual health-related risk behaviors.\n\nGrant funds generally may not be used for specified purposes, including to (1) withhold specified health information related to HIV, (2) provide medically inaccurate information, or (3) promote gender or racial stereotypes.\n\nThe bill also\n\n revises requirements and eliminates prohibitions regarding the content of educational programs funded through the HIV/AIDS prevention program, repeals the prohibition on using funds for materials or programs that promote or encourage sexual activity and contraceptive distribution in school, and repeals the Abstinence Only Until Marriage program.", - "company_name": "Addus HomeCare Corp.", - "company_description": "We are a home care services provider operating in three segments: personal care; hospice; and home health. Our services are principally provided in the home under agreements with federal, state and local government agencies. Our consumers are predominantly \"dual eligible,\" meaning they are eligible to receive both Medicare and Medicaid benefits. As of December 31, 2018, we provided services to over 39,000 consumers in 24 states through 156 offices. Our payor clients include federal, state and local governmental agencies, managed care organizations, commercial insurers and private individuals. Our personal care segment also includes staffing services, with clients including assisted living facilities, nursing homes and hospice facilities. Our services and operating model address a number of crucial needs across the healthcare continuum. Care provided in the home generally costs less than facility-based care and is typically preferred by consumers and their families. By providing services in the home to the elderly and others who require long-term care and support with the activities of daily living, we lower the cost of chronic and acute care treatment by delaying or eliminating the need for care in more expensive settings. In addition, our caregivers observe and report changes in the condition of our consumers for the purpose of facilitating early intervention in the disease process, which often reduces the cost of medical services by preventing unnecessary emergency room visits and/or hospital admissions and re-admissions. We coordinate the services provided by our team with those of other healthcare providers and payors as appropriate. By providing care in the preferred setting of the home and by providing opportunities to improve the consumer's conditions and allow early intervention as indicated, our model also is designed to improve consumer outcomes and satisfaction. We believe our model provides significant value to managed care organizations. States are increasingly implementing managed care programs for Medicaid enrollees, and as a result managed care organizations have been increasingly responsible for the healthcare needs and the related healthcare costs of our consumers. Managed care organizations have an economic incentive to better manage the healthcare expenditures of their members, lower costs and improve outcomes. We believe that our model is well positioned to assist in meeting those goals while also improving consumer satisfaction, and, as a result, we expect increased referrals from managed care organizations. Beginning January 1, 2019, a final rule of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (\"CMS\"), allows Medicare Advantage insurers to offer beneficiaries more options and new benefits. Through this rule, CMS has redefined health-related supplemental benefits to include services that increase health and improve quality of life, including coverage of non-skilled in-home care. This policy change, emphasizing improving quality and reducing costs, aligns with our overall approach to care, and we believe the increased demand for personal care from the Medicare Advantage population represents a significant upside opportunity over the next three to five years. We utilize Interactive Voice Response (\"IVR\") systems and smart phone applications to communicate with the majority of our aides. Through these technologies, our aides are able to report changes in health conditions to an appropriate manager for triage and evaluation. In addition, we use these technologies to record basic information about each visit, record start and end times for a 2 scheduled shift, track milea ge reimbursement, send text messages to the aide and communicate basic payroll information. In addition to our organic growth, we have been growing through acquisitions that have expanded our presence in current markets or facilitated our entry into new ma rkets where the personal care business has primarily been moving to managed care organizations. We maintain licensure as a Medicare home health agency in Ohio and Delaware in connection with providing services in those states. With the purchase of Ambercare Corporation (\"Ambercare\"), completed in the second quarter of 2018, we now maintain licensure as a Medicare home health and hospice agency in New Mexico. ", - "id": "3a669307-8b13-4789-802b-e5baf15cb514" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses humanitarian relief, sanctions, and political issues in Venezuela, which do not directly impact Prologis, Inc.'s business as a logistics real estate investment trust (REIT). Prologis operates globally in logistics real estate, focusing on property management, leasing, and development, which is not affected by the political or economic issues outlined in the bill.", - "index": "356", - "bill_title": "A bill to provide humanitarian relief to the Venezuelan people and Venezuelan migrants, to advance a constitutional and democratic solution to Venezuela's political crisis, to address Venezuela's economic reconstruction, to combat public corruption, narcotics trafficking, and money laundering, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Venezuela Emergency Relief, Democracy Assistance, and Development Act of 2019 or the VERDAD Act of 2019\n\nThis bill directs the President to take various actions to address the political situation in Venezuela. (The United States does not recognize Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela's President due to reports of widespread fraud during his election, recognizing instead National Assembly President Juan Guaido.)\n\nThe Department of State shall provide humanitarian aid to Venezuela and to Venezuelans in neighboring countries.\n\nThe bill imposes sanctions on foreign persons responsible for or complicit in corruption or activity undermining Venezuela's democratic institutions. Sanctions include barring entry into the United States and various financial restrictions.\n\nThe bill also (1) authorizes or imposes various sanctions targeting the Maduro regime's ability to finance debt, trade gold, and use cryptocurrencies; and (2) imposes visa-blocking sanctions on aliens acting on behalf of Russia to support Maduro regime security forces.\n\nThe bill directs the State Department to\n\n work with nongovernmental organizations to strengthen democratic governance and defend human rights in Venezuela, work with foreign governments to investigate corruption and recover assets stolen from Venezuela, and offer to help other countries establish legislative frameworks to impose sanctions on Maduro regime officials. The President shall engage with multilateral development banks to assist in rebuilding Venezuela's economy and energy infrastructure.\n\nThe bill directs the President to prevent Russia's government-controlled oil company Rosneft from acquiring control of critical U.S. energy infrastructure, including assets belonging to Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.", - "company_name": "Prologis, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business Prologis, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed REIT and is the sole general partner of Prologis, L.P. through which it holds substantially all of its assets. We invest in real estate through wholly owned subsidiaries and other entities through which we co-invest with partners and investors. Prologis, Inc. began operating as a fully integrated real estate company in 1997 and elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (\"Internal Revenue Code\"). We believe the current organization and method of operation will enable Prologis, Inc. to maintain its status as a REIT. We operate and evaluate our business on an owned and managed (\"O & M\") basis, including properties that we wholly-own and properties that are owned by one of our co-investment ventures. We make decisions based on the property operations, regardless of our ownership interest. Our investment consists of our wholly-owned properties and our pro rata (or ownership) share of the properties owned in ventures. THE COMPANY Prologis is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on key markets in 19 countries on four continents. We own, manage and develop well-located, high-quality logistics facilities. Our local teams actively manage our portfolio, which encompasses leasing and property management, capital deployment and opportunistic dispositions allowing us to recycle capital to self-fund our development and acquisition activities. The majority of our properties in the United States (\"U.S.\") are wholly owned, while our properties outside the U.S. are generally held in co-investment ventures, to mitigate our exposure to foreign currency movements. Our irreplaceable portfolio is focused on the world's most vibrant markets where consumption and supply chain reconfiguration drive logistics demand. In the developed markets of the U.S., Europe and Japan, key demand drivers include the reconfiguration of supply chains (strongly influenced by e-commerce trends), the demand for sustainable design features and the operational efficiencies that can be realized from high-quality logistics facilities. In emerging markets, such as Brazil, China and Mexico, growing affluence and the rise of a new consumer class have increased the need for modern distribution networks. Our strategy is to own the highest-quality logistics property portfolio in each of our target markets. These markets are characterized by what is most important for the consumption side of a logistics supply chain \u2014 large population centers with proximity to labor pools, surrounded by highways, rail service or ports. The DCT portfolio of logistics real es tate assets wa s highly complementary to our portfolio in terms of product quality, location and growth potential. As a result of the closely aligned portfolios and similar business strategies, we have integrated the properties while adding minimal property management expenses . Our results for 2018 include the DCT port folio from the date of acquisition . At December 31, 2018, we owned or had investments in properties, on a wholly-owned basis or through ventures, in the following regions (dollars in billions, based on gross book value and total expected investment (as defined below) and square feet in millions): Included in these amounts are consolidated and unconsolidated investments denominated in foreign currencies, principally the British pound sterling, euro and Japanese yen that are impacted by fluctuations in exchange rates when translated to U.S. dollars. A developed property moves into the operating portfolio when it meets our definition of stabilization, which is the earlier of one year after completion or reaching 90% occupancy. Amounts represent our total expected investment (\"TEI\"), which includes the estimated cost of development or expansion, including land, construction and leasing costs. Rental operations comprise the largest component of our operating segments and generally contribute 85% to 90% of our consolidated revenues, earnings and funds from operations (\"FFO\"). We collect rent from our customers through long-term operating leases, including reimbursements for the majority of our property operating costs.", - "id": "13877f88-8039-44aa-8977-c7bd55464281" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to expand Medicare and Medicaid coverage for dental, vision, and hearing care. Given Walmart's extensive involvement in healthcare services through its pharmacies and clinics, the legal consequences of increased coverage under these programs could affect Walmart's healthcare offerings and increase foot traffic in its stores. This is relevant to Walmart's business model as it ties closely to customer engagement, pharmacy sales, and potential partnerships with healthcare providers.", - "index": "357", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of dental, vision, and hearing care under the Medicare and Medicaid programs.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare and Medicaid Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act of 2019\n\nThis bill provides for Medicare coverage of dental, vision, and hearing care. Coverage includes (1) routine dental cleanings and exams, basic and major dental services, emergency dental care, and dentures; (2) routine eye exams, eyeglasses, and contact lenses; and (3) routine hearing exams, hearing aids, and exams for hearing aids. With respect to such care, the bill establishes special payment rules, limitations, and coinsurance requirements.\n\nThe bill also increases the Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage for dental, vision, and hearing services.", - "company_name": "Walmart, Inc.", - "company_description": "the amount, number, growth, increase, reduction or decrease in or over certain periods, of or in certain financial items or measures or operating measures, including our earnings per share, including as adjusted for certain items, net sales, comparable store and club sales, our Walmart U.S. operating segment's eCommerce sales, liabilities, expenses of certain categories, expense leverage, returns, capital and operating investments or expenditures of particular types, new store openings and investments in particular formats; our increasing investments in eCommerce, technology, store remodels and other omni-channel customer initiatives, such as grocery pickup and delivery; volatility in currency exchange rates and fuel prices affecting our or one of our segments' results of operations; \u2022 the Company continuing to provide returns to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends, the use of share repurchase authorization over a certain period or the source of funding of a certain portion of our share repurchases; our sources of liquidity, including our cash, continuing to be adequate or sufficient to fund and finance our operations, expansion activities, dividends and share repurchases, to meet our cash needs and to fund our operations; \u2022 the insignificance of ineffective hedges; and reclassification of amounts related to our derivatives; our commitments, intentions, plans or goals related to the sustainability of our environment and supply chains, the promotion of economic opportunity or other societal initiatives. changes in the size of various markets, including eCommerce markets; \u2022 unemployment levels; \u2022 inflation or deflation, generally and in certain product categories; \u2022 transportation, energy and utility costs; \u2022 commodity prices, including the prices of oil and natural gas; \u2022 consumer confidence, disposable income, credit availability, spending levels, shopping patterns, debt levels, and demand for certain merchandise; \u2022 trends in consumer shopping habits around the world and in the markets in which Walmart operates; \u2022 consumer enrollment in health and drug insurance programs and such programs' reimbursement rates and drug formularies; and initiatives of competitors, competitors' entry into and expansion in Walmart's markets, and competitive pressures; Operating Factors \u2022 the financial performance of Walmart and each of its segments, including the amounts of Walmart's cash flow during various periods; \u2022 customer traffic and average ticket in Walmart's stores and clubs and on its eCommerce platforms; \u2022 the mix of merchandise Walmart sells and its customers purchase; the availability of goods from suppliers and the cost of goods acquired from suppliers; \u2022 the effectiveness of the implementation and operation of Walmart's strategies, plans, programs and initiatives; \u2022 \u2022 consumer acceptance of and response to Walmart's stores and clubs, eCommerce platforms, programs, merchandise offerings and delivery methods; \u2022 Walmart's gross profit margins, including pharmacy margins and margins of other product categories; the selling prices of gasoline and diesel fuel; \u2022 disruption of seasonal buying patterns in Walmart's markets; \u2022 Walmart's expenditures for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (\"FCPA\") and other compliance-related matters including the adequacy of our accrual for our FCPA matter; \u2022 Walmart's labor costs, including healthcare and other benefit costs; \u2022 Walmart's casualty and accident-related costs and insurance costs; the size of and turnover in Walmart's workforce and the number of associates at various pay levels within that workforce; the availability of necessary personnel to staff Walmart's stores, clubs and other facilities; developments in, and the outcome of, legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations to which Walmart is a party or is subject, and the liabilities, obligations and expenses, if any, that Walmart may incur in connection therewith; \u2022 changes in the credit ratings assigned to the Company's commercial paper and debt securities by credit rating agencies; \u2022 changes in existing tax, labor and other laws and changes in tax rates, including the enactment of laws and the adoption and interpretation of administrative rules and regulations; adoption or creation of new, and modification of existing, governmental policies, programs and initiatives in the markets in which Walmart operates and elsewhere and actions with respect to such policies, programs and initiatives; changes in the level of public assistance payments; ", - "id": "e8478163-04c2-477b-9f7b-8edbae99048d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Move America Act concerns tax-exempt bonds and credits for infrastructure projects, which do not directly relate to Public Storage's core business of self-storage facilities. The bill primarily addresses infrastructure and transportation facilities rather than real estate holdings in self-storage.", - "index": "358", - "bill_title": "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for Move America bonds and Move America credits.", - "bill_summary": "Move America Act of 2019\n\nThis bill allows tax-exempt Move America bonds and Move America tax credits to be used for certain infrastructure projects.\n\nA Move America bond is treated as a tax-exempt private facility bond with certain exceptions. At least 95% of the net proceeds from the issuance of the bond must be used for infrastructure projects, including\n\n airports; docks and wharves; mass commuting facilities; facilities for the furnishing of water; sewage facilities; railroads; certain surface transportation projects eligible for federal assistance, projects for an international bridge or tunnel, or facilities for transferring freight from truck to rail or rail to truck; flood diversions; inland waterways; or rural broadband service infrastructure. The bill specifies exceptions and modifications to existing rules for bonds regarding land acquisition, government ownership, rehabilitation expenditures, and the alternative minimum tax.\n\nThe bonds are subject to a volume cap equal to 50% of a state's current private activity bond volume cap. States may exchange all or a portion of the volume cap for Move America tax credits to be allocated to taxpayers. The credits include (1) an equity credit for a portion of the basis of each qualified facility; and (2) an infrastructure fund credit for investments in qualified infrastructure funds, including a state infrastructure bank, a water pollution control revolving fund, or a drinking water treatment revolving loan fund.", - "company_name": "Public Storage", - "company_description": "We acquire, develop, own and operate self-storage facilities , which offer storage spaces for lease on a month-to-month basis, for personal and business use. We are the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in the U.S. We have direct and indirect equity interests in 2,429 self-storage facilities that we consolidate (an aggregate of 162 million net rentable square feet of space) located in 38 states within the U.S. operating under the \"Public Storage\" brand name. Ancillary Operations : We reinsure policies against losses to goods stored by customers in our self-storage facilities and sell merchandise, primarily locks and cardboard boxes, at our self-storage facilities. Inc. (\"PSB\"), a publicly held REIT that owns, operates, acquires and develops commercial properties, primarily multi-tenant flex, office, and industrial parks. At December 31, 201 8 , PSB owns and operates 28. 2 million rentable square feet of commercial space. : We have a 35 % equity inter est in Shurgard Self Storage SA (\"Shurgard Europe\"), a publicly held company trading under Euronext Brussels under the \"SHUR\" symbol , which owns 232 self-storage facilities (13 million net rentable square feet) located in seven countries in Western Europe operated under the \"Shurgard\" brand name. We believe Shurgard Europe is the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in Western Europe. We also manage 33 self-storage facilities for third parties . We are seeking to expand our third-party management operations to further increase our economies of scale and leverage our brand; however, there is no 5 assurance that we will be able to do so. We also own 0.8 million net rentable square feet of commercial space which is managed primarily by PSB . For all periods presented herein, we have elected to be treated as a REIT, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the \"Code\") . and we expect to continue to elect and qualify as a REIT. We believe that our customers genera lly store their goods within a three to f ive mile radius of their home or business . Our facilities compete with nearby self-storage facilities owned by other operators using marketing channels similar to ours , including Internet advertising, signage, and banners and offer services similar to ours . A s a result, competition is significant and affects the occupancy levels, rental rates, rental income and operating expenses of our facilities. In the last three years, there has been a marked increase in development of new self-storage facilities in many of the markets we operate in, due to the favorable economics of development which we have also taken advantage of. These newly developed facilities compete with many of the facilities we own, negatively impacting our occupancies, rental rates, and rental growth. This increase in supply has been most notable in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, New York, and Portland. Ownership and operation of self-storage facilities is highly fragmented. As the largest owner of self-storage facilities, we believe that we own approximately 7 % of the self-storage square footage in the U.S. and that collectively the five largest self-storage owners in the U.S. own approximately 15 %, with the remaining 8 5 % owned by numerous regional and local operators. We believe that we have significant market share and concentration in major metropolitan centers, with approximately 71 % of our 201 8 same-store revenues generated in the 20 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (each, an \"MSA\", as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau) with the highest population levels. Industry fragmentation also provides opportunities for us to acquire additional facilities; however, we compete with a wide variety of institutions and other investors who also view self-storage facilities as attractive investments. The amount of capital available for real estate investments greatly influences the competition for ownership interests in facilities and, by extension, the yields that we can achieve on newly acquired investments. a s well as analyze customer data and quickly change each of our individual properties", - "id": "76379321-9025-452d-86a3-562daf88fb6a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill promotes competition in the pet medication market by ensuring pet owners can obtain and choose the source for their animal drug prescriptions, which could increase demand for digital health solutions that include veterinary services. Allscripts, with its focus on healthcare IT solutions, may see relevance in adapting their platforms to integrate such functionalities, or in offering services that support veterinary practices in managing prescriptions and patient records.", - "index": "359", - "bill_title": "A bill to promote competition and help consumers save money by giving them the freedom to choose where they buy prescription pet medications, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Fairness to Pet Owners Act of 2019 \n\nThis bill requires veterinarians to provide pet owners with a copy of animal drug prescriptions prior to filling or dispensing such prescription. Further, veterinarians prescribing animal drugs may not require a pet owner to (1) purchase the prescription as a condition of providing such a copy, (2) pay an additional fee to receive such a copy, or (3) waive the veterinarian's liability as a condition of providing such a copy. Veterinarians are not required to provide a copy of prescriptions administered in the context of acute care. A veterinarian also may require payment of examination fees prior to prescribing an animal drug if such fees are required regardless of whether the diagnosis reveals an animal drug prescription is necessary.", - "company_name": "Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.", - "company_description": "We deliver information technology (\"IT\") solutions and services to help healthcare organizations achieve optimal clinical, financial and operational results. Our portfolio, which we believe offers some of the most comprehensive solutions in our industry today, helps clients advance the quality and efficiency of healthcare by providing electronic health records (\"EHR\"), financial management, population health management, precision medicine and consumer solutions. Built on an open integrated platform, our solutions enable users to streamline workflows, leverage functionality from other software vendors and exchange data. The Allscripts Developer Program focuses on nurturing partnerships with other developers to help clients optimize the value of their Allscripts investment. Practice Fusion offers an affordable certified cloud-based EHR for traditionally hard-to-reach small, independent physician practices. An integrated data systems and services provider, Veradigm combines data-driven clinical insights with actionable tools for clinical workflow, research, analytics and media. Mobile-first and cloud-based, Avenel creates a communitywide, shared patient record, using machine learning to reduce time for clinical documentation, all while designed to work like an app instead of traditional software. Health Grid is a patient engagement solutions provider that helps independent providers, hospitals and health systems improve patient interactions and satisfaction. We are integrating the capabilities of Health Grid into our FollowMyHealth \u00ae platform to help organizations address consumerism trends while enabling them to reach 100% of their patient populations without requiring their patients to sign into a portal. The new functionality will use existing patients' contact information and grow the use of FollowMyHealth \u00ae to connect providers with patients and create opportunities to reach new heights of patient outreach and engagement. Lyft is the fastest growing rideshare company in the United States and will enable non-emergency transportation options to appear directly in the physician's workflow. Leveraging Lyft's proprietary application programming interface (\"API\") and Allscripts Open platform, Allscripts and Lyft will integrate this functionality into Sunrise\u2122 EHR, to enable clinicians to order the Lyft service for patients. Our portfolio addresses a range of industry needs, with the goal of helping clients drive smarter care across connected communities of health. Across care settings, our solutions enable clinical, financial and operational efficiencies while helping patients deepen their engagement in their own care. Electronic Health Records Allscripts offers a suite of EHRs for hospitals and health systems, as well as community and physician practices. Built on an open platform with advanced clinical decision support, our EHRs provide analysis and insights. Our EHR solutions deliver a single patient record, workflows and consolidated analytics. Our innovative solutions help deliver improved patient care and outcomes. Sunrise\u2122 is a comprehensive EHR platform for larger hospital facilities with a combination of services lines. Sunrise supports health systems on a single platform for both inpatient and outpatient care and provides decision guidance, including computerized provider order entry, note and flowsheet documentation, clinical summary views and other key workflows necessary for driving quality care. Functionality is also offered on mobile devices. Paragon \u00ae is an integrated clinical, financial and administrative EHR solution tailored for community hospitals and health systems. Once part of the McKesson EIS portfolio, the solution supports the full scope of care delivery and business processes, from patient ac cess management and accounting through clinical assessment, documentation and treatment. EHR is an EHR solution for larger single and multispecialty practices and is built on an open platform that brings data sources together. This open platform feature, along with the ability to customize workflows, enables clinical staff to effectively coordinate and deliver both primary and specialized care.", - "id": "d2a6627e-e361-4360-b446-92e01492925c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on the privacy of users on online platforms, requiring operators to inform users about data collection practices and allowing users to specify their privacy preferences. Given that Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. operates in the healthcare sector and deals with Electronic Health Records (EHR) containing sensitive personal health information, the requirements set forth by this bill directly impact its operations. As a provider of IT solutions to healthcare organizations, Allscripts must comply with data privacy regulations, making this bill relevant to its business activities.", - "index": "360", - "bill_title": "A bill to protect the privacy of users of social media and other online platforms.", - "bill_summary": "Social Media Privacy Protection and Consumer Rights Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires online platform operators to inform a user, prior to\u00a0a user creating an account or otherwise using the platform, that the user's personal data produced during online behavior will be collected and used by the operator and third parties. The operator must provide\u00a0a user the option to specify privacy preferences, and an operator may deny certain services or complete access to\u00a0a user if the user's privacy elections create inoperability in the platform.\n\nThe operator must\u00a0(1)\u00a0offer\u00a0a user a copy of the personal data of the user that the operator has processed, free of charge, and in an electronic format; and (2) notify\u00a0a user within 72 hours of becoming aware that the user's data has been transmitted in violation of the security platform.\n\nA violation of the bill's privacy requirements shall be considered an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may enforce this bill against common carriers regulated by the Federal Communications Commission under the Communications Act of 1934 and nonprofit organizations. Currently, common carriers regulated under that Act are exempt from the FTC's enforcement authority, and nonprofit organizations are subject to FTC enforcement only if they provide substantial economic benefit to their for-profit members.\n\nA state may bring a civil action in federal court regarding such violations.", - "company_name": "Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.", - "company_description": "(\"Allscripts\") delivers information technology (\"IT\") solutions and services to help healthcare organizations achieve optimal clinical, financial and operational results. Our portfolio, which we believe offers some of the most comprehensive solutions in our industry today, is designed to help clients advance the quality and efficiency of healthcare by providing electronic health records (\"EHR\"), financial management, population health management and precision medicine/consumer solutions. Built on an open integrated platform, Allscripts solutions enable users to exchange data, streamline workflows and leverage functionality from other software vendors. The Allscripts Developer Program focuses on nurturing partnerships with other developers to help clients optimize the value of their Allscripts investment. During 2017, we completed the acquisition of McKesson's hospital and health system business known as Enterprise Information Solutions (\"EIS\") (the \"EIS Business\"). It expands our ability to meet the strategic needs of a broader range of hospitals and health systems, ranging from critical access and community hospitals to the largest, most complex integrated delivery networks. For example, clients of the EIS Business will benefit from our numerous solutions that are designed to help them stay ahead in the increasingly competitive environment in which they operate: precision medicine, cross community care coordination, consumer solutions and financial analytics. Allscripts also completed a transaction pursuant to which Allscripts exchanged its entire holdings of the NantHealth common stock for NantHealth's provider and patient engagement solutions business, including the FusionFX solution and components of NantOS software connectivity solutions. In addition, NantHealth amended its mutual license and reseller agreement with us to, among other things, commit to deliver a minimum dollar amount of software and related services from Allscripts over a 10-year period. Our portfolio addresses a range of industry needs, with the goal of helping clients to connect communities across multiple care settings, encourage efficiency and deepen the engagement of the patient in his/her own care. Electronic Health Records Allscripts offers a suite of EHRs for hospitals and health systems, as well as physician and community practices. Built on an open platform with advanced clinical decision support, our EHRs provide analysis and insights. Each of our EHR offerings delivers a single patient record, workflows and consolidated analytics. Our innovative technology-based solutions are designed to improve patient care delivery and outcomes. Sunrise Acute EHR is a comprehensive interdisciplinary clinical solution for larger hospital facilities with a combination of services lines. The solution\u2014including Sunrise Ambulatory to support health systems on a single platform for both inpatient and outpatient care\u2014provides decision guidance, including computerized provider order entry, note and flowsheet documentation, clinical summary views and other key workflows necessary for driving quality care. Functionality is also offered on mobile devices. Allscripts Paragon EHR is an integrated clinical, financial and administrative solution tailored for community hospitals and health systems. It is part of the EIS portfolio that supports the full scope of care delivery and business processes, from patient access management and accounting through clinical assessment, documentation and treatment. It offers integration with OneContent, an enterprise content management solution, to automate workflow across the enterprise for all content types, such as documents and images. Allscripts TouchWorks EHR is designed for larger single and multispecialty practices and is built on an open platform that brings data sources together. This open platform feature, along with the ability to customize workflows, allows clinical staff to effectively coordinate and deliver both primary and specialized care. Functionality is also offered on mobile devices. Allscripts Professional EHR is for small- to mid-size physician practices. Allscripts Professional EHR works in Accountable Care Organizations (\"ACOs\"), Patient-Centered Medical Homes and Federally Qualified Health Centers, and enables practices to adhere to government initiatives like Meaningful Use and the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act. ", - "id": "a0be1cd9-b5f1-4aaa-83fa-1f371e84d909" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains specifically to the disclosure of patents related to biologic drugs, which are not part of International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.'s (IFF's) business model as they focus on flavor and fragrance products. IFF does not market biologic drugs, thus the legal consequences of this bill do not impact their operations or activities.", - "index": "361", - "bill_title": "A bill to provide for certain additional requirements with respect to patent disclosures.", - "bill_summary": "Biologic Patent Transparency Act\n\nThis bill requires the holder of a license to market a biologic drug to disclose all patents believed to be covering that drug. The bill also directs the Department of Health and Human Services\u00a0 (HHS) to make such information publicly available. (Biologics are drugs produced through natural processes or isolated from natural sources.)\n\nThe holder of a market approval license for a biologic product shall submit a list to HHS of all patents that\u00a0the holder reasonably believes would be infringed by an unauthorized person making, using, offering to sell, selling, or importing that product. The license holder shall update HHS as to any relevant patents granted after the initial submission and as to listed patents that were later invalidated or rendered unenforceable.\n\nIf a patent that should have been listed was not timely disclosed to HHS, the patent holder may not sue for infringement of that patent.\n\nHHS shall publish an easily searchable list of all biologics that have received market approval or for which an application for approval has been filed. The list shall contain information including (1) the official and proprietary name of the product, (2) the patents the license holder has listed under this bill, (3) whether various market exclusivity periods apply to the product, and (4) information about whether the product is interchangeable with another biologic product.", - "company_name": "International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.", - "company_description": "the term \"Frutarom\" to mean (i) for periods prior to October 4, 2018, Frutarom Industries Ltd and its subsidiaries and (ii) for periods after October 4, 2018, our business segment Frutarom. We are a leading innovator of sensory experiences that move the world. We co-create unique products that consumers taste, smell, or touch. Our expanded geographical footprint and product portfolio position us to better serve both our global customers and the growing regional, mid-sized and smaller specialty customers. Through the acquisition, of Frutarom we increased our product portfolio with complementary adjacencies, such as natural colors, antioxidants for food preservation, nutraceuticals, ingredients for infant formula and proteins for elderly nutrition, and expanded core product lines with savory solutions aimed at the meat and fish industry, citrus and other naturals flavors, specialty ingredients and new cosmetic actives. As a result, we now have over 90,000 products within our portfolio that are provided to customers in approximately 195 countries, which includes a significant number of faster-growing small and mid-sized customers. Prior to our acquisition of Frutarom, we had 37 manufacturing facilities and 21 creative centers and application laboratories, located in 35 different countries. Upon our acquisition of Frutarom, we acquired 60 additional manufacturing facilities and 84 additional R & D/application laboratories globally, including many of the countries in which we currently operate. The 2018 combined sales of IFF and Frutarom, which combines the full year 2018 sales of both Frutarom and IFF, was approximately $5.1 billion which, management believes, makes us the second largest company in the taste, scent and nutrition industry. Based on our 2018 combined sales, approximately 35% of our customers are global consumer products companies while approximately 65% of our customers are small and mid-sized companies. During 2018, our 25 largest customers accounted for 47% of our sales, however as a result of the effect of the Frutarom acquisition, our 25 largest customers only accounted for 37% of our 2018 combined sales. As our customers seek to grow their businesses in emerging markets, we provide them the ability to leverage our long-standing international presence and extensive market knowledge to help drive their brands in these markets. During 2018, we continued to grow in our Re-Imagine modulation and PowderPure clean label portfolios, developed two new molecules which will be launched in 2019 and continued research into olfactory receptors and maximizing the nutritional value of our naturals. Our goal is to attain commercial excellence by providing our customers with in-depth, local consumer understanding, industry-leading innovation, outstanding service and the highest quality products. During 2018, we continued to reflect our customers' focus on naturals and environmental sustainability as IFF-LMR Naturals increased the number of our organic certified sites and have received the Expertise Vegan Europe (EVE) Vegan certification for a portfolio of 90 of our natural extracts. Consumers, and therefore our customers, are continuing to focus on sensorial products that are responsibly sourced. Consequently, an integral component of this pillar is our ongoing commitment to sustainability We prioritize opportunities that provide (i) access to new technologies, (ii) the ability to increase our market share in key markets and with key customers or (iii) access to adjacent products or services that will position us to leverage our expertise in science and technology and our customer base. In addition to significantly expanding our customer base into the faster-growing midsize and smaller companies, the Frutarom acquisition allowed us to expand our cosmetic active ingredients business and enter into the attractive adjacent markets of savory solutions, natural colors, natural food protection and health and wellness products, including nutraceuticals and enzymes. Our fragrance business derives revenue from two sources, Fragrance Compounds and Ingredients. We are a global leader in the creation of fragrance compounds that are integral elements in the world's finest perfumes and best-known consumer products, within fabric care, home care, personal wash, hair care and toiletries. Our Fragrance Ingredients business is a vertically integrated operation, originating with the development in our research laboratories of naturals, synthetic and proprietary molecules and innovative delivery systems, progressing to our manufacturing facilities that produce these ingredients in a consistent, high-quality and cost-effective manner and transitioning to our creative centers and application laboratories where our perfumers partner with our customers to create unique fragrance compounds for use in a variety of end-use products. We also produce cosmetic active and functional ingredients for use in cosmetics. By providing our fragrance development teams with an extensive portfolio of innovative, high-quality and effective ingredients to support their creativity, we are able to provide our customers with a unique identity for their brands. These ingredients or fragrance compounds can then be combined with our innovative delivery systems, including our proprietary encapsulation technology, which consists of individual fragrance droplets coated with a protective polymeric shell to deliver superior fragrance performance throughout a product's lifecycle.", - "id": "1689d6e5-1e18-4c68-b63c-9013d5e3d0d6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on child care and early learning programs, which primarily relates to child welfare and education funding. Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. operates in the medical technology sector, providing medical solutions and products for patient care, monitoring, diagnostics, and surgical safety. The content of the bill does not directly impact or relate to Hill-Rom's business operations or objectives, as their focus is on healthcare technology rather than child care services.", - "index": "362", - "bill_title": "To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 and the Head Start Act to promote child care and early learning, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Child Care for Working Families Act\n\nThis bill provides funds and otherwise revises certain child care and early learning programs for low- to moderate-income families.\n\nSpecifically, the bill provides funds for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program and reestablishes it as a child care and development assistance program. It also allocates program funds for states to provide services and support to infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities.\n\nFurther, it revises the program to require each state to, among other things\n\n create a tiered and transparent system for measuring the quality of child care providers, which must include evidence-based standards and payment rates that are based on a certain cost estimation model; assure that copayments are based on a sliding scale and that no family receiving assistance pays more than 7% of their household income on child care; and use quality child care amounts for certain activities, such as improving the supply of child care providers who provide care to infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities (e.g., professional development). It also provides funds and establishes grants for states to create preschool programs for low- to moderate-income children between the ages of three and five years.\n\nFinally, the Department of Health and Human Services must make grants to Head Start agencies to (1) provide children with access to full-school-year and full-school-day services, (2) provide access to additional service hours for migrant and seasonal agencies, or (3) enhance the quality of existing services.", - "company_name": "Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a leading global medical technology company with more than 10,000 employees worldwide. We partner with health care providers in more than 100 countries, across multiple care settings, by focusing on patient care solutions that improve clinical and economic outcomes in five core areas: Advancing Mobility, Wound Care and Prevention, Patient Monitoring and Diagnostics, Surgical Safety and Efficiency and Respiratory Health. Our innovations ensure caregivers have the products they need to help diagnose, treat and protect their patients; speed up recoveries; and manage conditions. Every day, around the world, we enhance outcomes for patients and their caregivers. Patient Support Systems \u2013 globally provides our med-surg and specialty bed systems and surfaces, safe patient handling equipment and mobility solutions, as well as our clinical workflow solutions that deliver software and information technologies to improve care and deliver actionable insight to caregivers and patients. \u2013 globally provides patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies, including a diversified portfolio of physical assessment tools that help diagnose, treat and manage a wide variety of illnesses and diseases, as well as a portfolio of vision care and respiratory care devices. \u2013 globally provides products that improve surgical safety and efficiency in the operating room including tables, lights, pendants, positioning devices, and various other surgical instruments and accessories. Our innovative patient support systems include a variety of specialty frames and surfaces (such as medical surgical (\"med-surg\") beds, intensive care unit beds, and bariatric patient beds), patient mobility solutions (such as lifts and other devices used to safely move patients), non-invasive therapeutic products and surfaces, and our information technologies and software solutions. These patient support systems are sold globally and can be designed for use in high, mid, and low acuity settings, depending on the specific design options, and are built to advance mobility, reduce patient falls and caregiver injuries, improve caregiver efficiency and prevent and care for pressure injuries. In addition, we also sell equipment service contracts for our capital equipment, primarily in the United States. Our Front Line Care products include our patient monitoring and diagnostics products from Welch Allyn and Mortara and our respiratory health products. Our patient monitoring and diagnostics products include blood pressure, physical assessment, vital signs monitoring, diagnostic cardiopulmonary, diabetic retinopathy screening, and thermometry products. Cardio ECG which combines the clinical excellence of Mortara technology with Welch Allyn EMR connectivity expertise. Our respiratory health products include the Vest\u00ae System, VitalCough\u00ae These products are designed to assist patients in the mobilization of retained blockages that, if not removed, may lead to increased rates of respiratory infection, hospitalization, and reduced lung function. Front Line Care products are sold globally within multiple care settings including primary care, acute care, extended care and home care (primarily respiratory health products). Approximately 34% , 32% , and 30% of our revenue in fiscal 2018 , 2017 and 2016 were derived from products within this segment. Our Surgical Solutions products include surgical tables, lights, and pendants utilized within the operating room setting. We also offer a range of positioning devices for use in shoulder, hip, spinal and lithotomy surgeries as well as platform-neutral positioning accessories for nearly every model of operating room table. In addition, we offer operating room surgical safety and accessory products such as scalpels and blades, light handle systems, skin markers and other disposable products. The products offered within this segment are both capital sales and recurring consumable revenue streams that are sold globally. Approximately 16% , 16% , and 15% of our revenue in fiscal 2018 , 2017 and 2016 were derived from products within this segment. We have extensive distribution capabilities and broad reach across all health care settings. We primarily operate in the following channels: (1) sales and rentals of products to acute and extended care facilities worldwide through both a direct sales force and distributors; (2) sales and rentals of products directly to patients in the home; and (3) sales into primary care facilities (primarily Welch Allyn and Mortara products) through distributors. Through our network of 147 North American and 30 international service centers, and approximately 1,900 service professionals, we provide technical support and services and rapidly deliver our products to customers as-needed, providing our customers flexibility to purchase or rent select products.", - "id": "93dc9a62-ac94-483b-a1e4-3d91da8798b8" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on appropriations for agriculture, rural development, food and drug administration, and related agencies, which are not related to the semiconductor industry or Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.'s (AMD) business operations. AMD primarily operates in the semiconductor market, focusing on microprocessors and graphics processing units, making the bill irrelevant to its business activities.", - "index": "363", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020\n\nThis bill provides FY2020 appropriations for the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies.\n\nThe bill provides appropriations to USDA for Agricultural Programs, including\n\n the Office of the Secretary, Executive Operations, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, the Office of Civil Rights, Agriculture Buildings and Facilities, Hazardous Materials Management, the Office of Inspector General, the Office of the General Counsel, the Office of Ethics, the Economic Research Service, the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Agricultural Research Service, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Agricultural Marketing Service, and the Food Safety and Inspection Service. The bill also provides appropriations to USDA for Farm Production and Conservation Programs, including\n\n the Farm Production and Conservation Business Center, the Farm Service Agency, the Risk Management Agency, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The bill provides appropriations to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund and the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund.\n\nFor USDA Rural Development programs, the bill includes appropriations for\n\n Rural Development Salaries and Expenses, the Rural Housing Service, the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, and the Rural Utilities Service. Within the Food and Nutrition Service budget, the bill includes appropriations for\n\n Child Nutrition Programs; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program); the Commodity Assistance Program; and Nutrition Programs Administration. Within the Foreign Agricultural Service budget, the bill provides appropriations for Food for Peace Title II Grants and McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program Grants.\n\nThe bill also provides appropriations for\n\n the Food and Drug Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Farm Credit Administration. Additionally, the bill sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.", - "company_name": "Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.", - "company_description": "any amounts in addition to what has been already accrued by AMD for future remediation costs under clean-up orders will not be material; we expect to file future patent applications in both the United States and abroad on significant inventions, as we deem appropriate; anticipated increase in costs related to enhancing, implementing and monitoring information security controls, remediating any data security breaches and addressing related litigation, mitigating reputational harm and compliance with external regulations related to our IT assets; we expect to receive $448.5 million upon the exercise of a warrant by West Coast Hitech L.P. (WCH) and issue 75 million shares of our common stock to WCH; revenue allocated to remaining performance obligations that are unsatisfied which will be recognized over the next 12 months; and a small number of customers will continue to account for a substantial part of AMD's revenue in the future. Material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: Intel Corporation's dominance of the microprocessor market and its aggressive business practices may limit AMD's ability to compete effectively; AMD has a wafer supply agreement with GF with obligations to purchase all of its microprocessor and APU product requirements, and a certain portion of its GPU product requirements, manufactured at process nodes larger than 7 nanometer (nm) from GF with limited exceptions. is dependent upon its technology being designed into third-party products and the success of those products 1 to operate its business; the markets in which AMD's products are sold are highly competitive; AMD's worldwide operations are subject to political, legal and economic risks and natural disasters, which could have a material adverse effect on it; AMD's issuance to West Coast Hitech L.P. (WCH) of warrants to purchase 75 million shares of its common stock, if and when exercised, will dilute the ownership interests of AMD's existing stockholders, and the conversion of the 2.125% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 (2.125% Notes) may dilute the ownership interest of AMD's existing stockholders, or may otherwise depress the price of its common stock; uncertainties involving the ordering and shipment of AMD's products could materially adversely affect it; the demand for AMD's products depends in part on the market conditions in the industries into which they are sold. We are a global semiconductor company primarily offering: \u2022x86 microprocessors, as standalone devices or as incorporated into an accelerated processing unit (APU), chipsets; discrete and integrated graphics processing units (GPUs), and professional GPUs; and \u2022 server and embedded processors and semi-custom System-on-Chip (SoC) products and technology for game consoles. We are a global semiconductor company. Semiconductors are components used in a variety of electronic products and systems. An integrated circuit (IC) is a semiconductor device that consists of many interconnected transistors on a single chip. Since the invention of the transistor in 1948, improvements in IC process and design technologies have led to the development of smaller, more complex and more reliable ICs at a lower cost-per-function. A microprocessor is an IC that serves as the CPU of a computer. It generally consists of hundreds of millions or billions of transistors that process data in a serial fashion and control other devices in the system, acting as the \"brain\" of the computer. The performance of a microprocessor is a critical factor impacting the performance of computing and entertainment platforms, such as desktop PCs, notebooks and workstations. The principal elements used to measure CPU performance are work-per-cycle (or how many instructions are executed per cycle), clock speed (representing the rate at which a CPU's internal logic operates, measured in units of gigahertz, or billions of cycles per second) and power consumption. Other factors impacting microprocessor performance include the process technology used in its manufacture, the number and type of cores, the ability of the cores to process multi-thread or process multiple 3 instructions simultaneously, the bit size of its instruction set (e.g., 32-bit vs 16-bit), memory size and data access speed. Developments in IC design and manufacturing process technologies have resulted in significant advances in microprocessor performance. Since businesses and consumers require greater performance from their computer systems due to the growth of digital data and increasingly sophisticated software applications, multi-core microprocessors offer enhanced overall system performance and efficiency because computing tasks can be spread across two or more processing cores, each of which can execute a task at full speed. Multi-core microprocessors can simultaneously increase performance of a computer system without greatly increasing the total amount of power consumed and the total amount of heat emitted. Businesses and consumers also require computer systems with improved power management technology, which helps them to reduce the power consumption of their computer systems, enables smaller and more portable form factors, and can lower the total cost of ownership. A GPU is a programmable logic chip that helps render images, animations and video and is increasingly being used to handle general computing tasks. GPUs are located in plug-in cards, as a discrete processor or in a chip on the motherboard, or in the same chip as the CPU as part of an accelerated processing unit (APU) or System-on-Chip (SoC). GPUs on stand-alone cards or discrete GPUs on the motherboard typically access their own memory, while GPUs in the chipset or CPU chip share main memory with the CPU. GPUs perform parallel operations on data to render images for a video display and are essential to presenting computer generated images on that display, decoding and rendering animations and displaying video. The more sophisticated the GPU, the higher the resolution and the faster and smoother moving objects can be displayed on video display or in a virtual environment (virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)). In addition to graphics processing, GPUs are used to perform parallel operations on multiple sets of data and are increasingly used to perform vector processing for non-graphics applications that require repetitive computations such as supercomputing, deep learning, artificial and machine intelligence, blockchain and various other applications (e.g., cryptocurrency mining, autonomous driving). ", - "id": "23c99467-8abf-4442-8160-59be28eb1de7" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to the admission of Washington, D.C. as a state, outlining governance, election procedures, and the jurisdiction of federal and state laws. It primarily impacts government and political structures, which do not directly affect Stifel Financial Corp.'s activities in wealth management, investment banking, or financial services. Therefore, the bill is not relevant to the company's business model or operations.", - "index": "364", - "bill_title": "To provide for the admission of the State of Washington, D.C. into the Union.", - "bill_summary": "Washington, D.C. Admission Act\n\nThis bill admits certain portions of Washington, DC as the 51st state. The bill defines state as the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth.\n\nTITLE I--STATE OF WASHINGTON, D.C.\n\nSubtitle A--Procedures for Admission\n\n(Sec. 101) This subtitle provides for admission into the United States of the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, on an equal footing with the other states.\n\nThe state's constitution shall always be republican in form and shall not be repugnant to the U.S. Constitution or the principles of the Declaration of Independence.\n\n(Sec. 102) The Mayor of the District of Columbia must issue a proclamation for the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative from the state.\n\nA special rule is established for the election of the Senators. The proclamation must provide for a primary and general election that allows the two Senators and one Representative to be elected by qualified District voters.\n\nIn addition, this subtitle (1) permanently increases membership in the House of Representatives from 435 to 436 Members; and (2) entitles the state to one Representative upon its admission into the Union, until the first apportionment of Members of Congress after admission to statehood.\n\n(Sec. 103) The President must issue a proclamation announcing the results of the election of the two Senators and one Representative and upon such issuance, the state shall be declared admitted into the Union.\n\nSubtitle B--Seat of Government of the United States\n\n(Sec. 111) This subtitle declares that the state shall consists of all of District territory as of enactment of this bill, with specified exclusions for federal buildings and monuments, including the principal federal monuments, the White House, the Capitol Building, the U.S. Supreme Court Building, and the federal executive, legislative, and judicial office buildings located adjacent to the Mall and the Capitol Building,\n\nDistrict territory excluded from the state shall be known as the Capital and shall be the seat of the federal government. The John A. Wilson Building shall not be included in the Capital. The entirety of the Frances Perkins Building, including any portion of the building located north of D Street NW, shall be included in the Capital. \n\n(Sec. 113) The state and the Capital shall each maintain title and jurisdiction over all real and personal property held by them before the state was admitted into the Union.\n\n(Sec. 114) This section requires current District laws to apply in the Capital.\n\n(Sec. 115) This section renames the District of Columbia National Guard as the Capital National Guard and makes it an exclusive federal entity for the Capital.\n\n(Sec. 116) This section declares that the Capital is neither a government nor a body corporate for municipal purposes.\n\nSubtitle C--General Provisions Relating to Laws of State\n\n(Sec. 121) This subtitle declares that\n\n the legislative powers of the state extend to all rightful subjects; members of District executive, legislative, and judicial offices are members of the respective state offices; generally, federal laws that apply to the states apply to the state; the state is the successor to the District for interstate compacts; the U.S. Capitol Police, the U.S. Park Police, and the U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division may not enforce state laws, except as authorized by the state; the state shall continue all pending legal proceedings; and this bill does not affect U.S. nationality. (Sec. 123) This section prohibits the state from imposing taxes on federal property, except as Congress permits.\n\nTITLE II--INTERESTS OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT\n\nSubtitle A--Federal Property\n\n(Sec. 201) This subtitle maintains the federal government's authority over military lands and specified other property.\n\nSubtitle B--Federal Courts\n\n(Sec. 211) This subtitle prospectively requires each circuit judge to reside within the circuit for which the judge was appointed at the time of appointment and thereafter while in active service. In addition, judges for the federal judicial circuit must reside within 50 miles of the Capital.\n\nFurthermore, district judges, U.S. Attorneys, U.S. Marshals, and clerks of district courts must reside in the district or one of the districts for which the individual was appointed.\n\n(Sec. 212) This section renames (1) the District judicial circuit the Capital circuit consisting of the Capital and the state; and (2) the District judicial district the Washington, Douglass Commonwealth and the Capital. It also requires the court of such district to hold proceedings in the Capital.\n\n(Sec. 214) This section requires the District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency to provide pretrial services for the judicial district until the state certifies it has in effect laws providing for pretrial services.\n\nSubtitle C--Federal Elections\n\n(Sec. 221) This subtitle requires states, if the application is received by the state within 30 days before such election, to permit certain absent Capital voters to (1) use absentee registration procedures, (2) vote by absentee ballot in federal elections, and (3) accept any otherwise valid voter registration application from such voter. In addition, it urges states to afford maximum access to the polls by such voters.\n\n(Sec. 222) This section abolishes the Office of Delegate to the House of Representatives from the District.\n\n(Sec. 223) This section provides for expedited consideration of a joint resolution repealing the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution which provides for the appointment of electors of the President and Vice-President.\n\nTITLE III--CONTINUATION OF CERTAIN AUTHORITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES\n\nSubtitle A--Employee Benefits\n\n(Sec. 301) This subtitle continues existing federal or District benefit payments to individuals under certain retirement programs.\n\nSubtitle B--Agencies\n\n(Sec. 311) This subtitle continues the existing operations or funding for\n\n the District of Columbia Public Defender Service, including allowing the state to rename the service after its admission into the Union; federal benefits for the service's employees; assigning of assistant U.S. Attorneys to the state for criminal prosecutions in its name; providing service by the U.S. Marshall Service to the state's courts and court system, except that the President is prohibited from appointing a U.S. Marshall for any state court; monitoring of individuals convicted of felonies under District law housed in Bureau of Prisons or Department of Corrections facilities; the U.S. Parole Commission's authority over felons imprisoned under District law before and after the state's admission; and the District courts and court system, including federal benefits for their employees. Furthermore, this subtitle renames the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia as the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for Washington, Douglass Commonwealth after the state is admitted into the Union.\n\nSubtitle C--Other Programs and Authorities\n\n(Sec. 321) This subtitle continues to apply to the state or the Capital, among other requirements\n\n college tuition assistance, including the state's designated public institution of higher education as the successor to the University of the District of Columbia; tuition assistance for public schools and public charter schools; the Medicaid federal medical assistance percentage; residency requirements of the National Capital Planning Commission in addition to decreasing its membership from five to four with each member being appointed by the President and one being a resident of the state; and the role of the Army Corps of Engineers in supplying water to the state or the Capital. In addition, this subtitle\n\n replaces District with Capital with respect to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts' duty to advise on the Capital 's location of statues, fountains, and monuments in the public squares, streets, and parks; and declares that the Commemorative Works Act only applies to commemorative works in the Capital and its environs. The location of any person in the Capital or the state after its admission is deemed to satisfy any existing requirements under any law that the person be located in the District.\n\nThe continuation of federal authorities and responsibilities in these subtitles shall cease once the state certifies that it is prepared to take over these authorities and responsibilities.\n\nTITLE IV--GENERAL PROVISIONS\n\n(Sec. 402) This section establishes the Statehood Transition Commission to advise the President, Congress, and the executive and legislative authorities of the District concerning an orderly transition to statehood for the District and to a reduced geographical size of the seat of the federal government, including with respect to property, funding, programs, projects, and activities.", - "company_name": "Stifel Financial Corp.", - "company_description": "Our principal subsidiary is Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (\"Stifel\"), a full-service retail and institutional wealth management and investment banking firm. Our other subsidiaries include Century Securities Associates, Inc. (\"CSA\"), an independent contractor broker-dealer firm; Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, (\"SNC\"), our Canadian subsidiary; Stifel Bank & Trust and Stifel Bank ( collectively \"Stifel Bancorp\"), retail and commercial banks; Stifel Trust Company, We have a 129-year operating history and have built a diversified business serving private clients, institutional investors, and investment banking clients located across the country. Private client services, including securities transaction and financial planning services; \u2022 Institutional equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, and municipal finance; \u2022 Investment banking services, including mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, and private placements; and \u2022 Retail and commercial banking, including personal and commercial lending programs. We provide our private, institutional, and corporate clients quality, personalized service, with the theory that if we place clients' needs first, both our clients and our company will prosper. Our unwavering client and associate focus have earned us a reputation as one of the nation's leading wealth management and investment banking firms. (\"Ryan Beck\") and its wholly owned broker-dealer subsidiary, Ryan Beck & Company, On February 28, 2007, we closed on the acquisition of Ryan Beck, a full-service brokerage and investment banking firm with a strong private client focus, from BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc. First Service now operates as Stifel Bank & Trust. On July 1, 2010, we acquired TWPG, an investment bank focused principally on the growth sectors of the economy, including technology and health care. On October 1, 2011, we acquired Stone & Youngberg, a leading financial services firm specializing in municipal finance and fixed income securities. Stone & Youngberg's comprehensive institutional group expanded our public finance, institutional sales and trading, and bond underwriting, particularly in the Arizona and California markets, and expanded our Private Client Group. On December 20, 2012, we acquired Miller Buckfire, an investment banking firm. Miller Buckfire provides a full range of investment banking advisory services, including financial restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, and debt and equity placements. On February 15, 2013, we acquired KBW, an investment banking firm with a focus in the banking, insurance, brokerage, asset management, mortgage banking, real estate, and specialty finance sectors. KBW maintains industry-leading positions in research, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, as well as sales and trading in equities and debt securities of financial services companies. Inc. The combined teams of sales and trading professionals in the U.S. and Europe cover high-yield and investment-grade corporate bonds, asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities, loan trading, and emerging markets, as well as fixed income research in selected sectors and companies. On October 31, 2013, Stifel Bank & Trust completed its acquisition of Acacia Federal Savings Bank, a federally chartered savings institution. On November 30, 2013, we acquired ZCM, an asset management firm that provides investment solutions for institutions, mutual fund sub-advisory clients, municipalities, pension plans, Taft-Hartley plans, and individual investors. On April 3, 2014, we acquired De La Rosa, a California-based public finance investment banking boutique. On July 31, 2014, we completed the acquisition of Oriel, a London-based stockbroking and investment banking firm.", - "id": "47ca17a4-0c5e-4537-ba74-1efcc34975aa" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes the Copyright Claims Board which may impact Aduro BioTech, Inc. due to its emphasis on protecting intellectual property rights, especially for innovative therapies and technologies. As a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development of novel immunotherapy products, protecting its intellectual property is crucial to maintaining competitive advantage and securing investments. Therefore, the legal framework proposed by this bill could influence Aduro BioTech's operations and strategic decisions in relation to intellectual property.", - "index": "365", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title 17, United States Code, to establish an alternative dispute resolution program for copyright small claims, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 or the CASE Act of 2019\n\nThis bill creates the Copyright Claims Board, a body within the U.S. Copyright Office, to decide copyright disputes. Damages awarded by the board are capped at $30,000.\n\nParticipation in board proceedings is voluntary with an opt-out procedure for defendants, and parties may choose instead to have a dispute heard in court. If the parties agree to have their dispute heard by the board, they shall forego the right to be heard before a court and the right to a jury trial. Board proceedings shall have no effect on class actions.\n\nThe board shall be authorized to hear copyright infringement claims, actions for a declaration of noninfringement, claims that a party knowingly sent false takedown notices, and related counterclaims.\n\nThe bill provides for various procedures, including with respect to requests for information from the other party and requests for the board to reconsider a decision.\n\nThe board may issue monetary awards based on actual or statutory damages.\n\nThe parties shall bear their own attorneys' fees and costs except where there is bad faith misconduct.\n\nA board's final determination precludes relitigating the claims in court or at the board. Parties may challenge a board decision in federal district court only if (1) the decision was a result of fraud, corruption, or other misconduct; (2) the board exceeded its authority or failed to render a final determination; or (3) in a default ruling or failure to prosecute, the default or failure was excusable.", - "company_name": "Aduro BioTech, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an immunotherapy company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies that transform the treatment of challenging diseases, including cancer. We believe our three technology platforms are uniquely positioned to recruit and direct the immune system by activating cancer-fighting immune cells and inhibiting immune suppressive cells known to allow tumor growth. Product candidates from our STING Pathway Activator, B-select monoclonal antibody, and LADD, or Live, Attenuated, Double-Deleted Listeria monocytogenes platforms are designed to stimulate and/or regulate innate and adaptive immune responses, either as single agents or in combination with conventional therapies (i.e. chemotherapy and radiation) as well as other novel immunotherapies. Our diverse technology platforms have led to a strong pipeline of clinical and preclinical candidates, which are being developed for a number of cancer indications. Additionally, our platforms have the potential to generate product candidates that address other therapeutic areas, such as autoimmune and infectious diseases. Immuno-oncology is an emerging field of cancer therapy that aims to activate the immune system in the tumor microenvironment to create and enhance anti-tumor immune responses, as well as to overcome the immuno-suppressive mechanisms that cancer cells have developed against the immune system. Recent developments in the field of immuno-oncology, including checkpoint inhibitors\u2014therapies which work to remove suppression mechanisms that prevent an immune response against cancer cells\u2014have shown the potential to provide efficacy and extended survival, even in cancers where conventional therapies, such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, have failed. The immunotherapy field is rapidly advancing with new immuno-oncology combinations that focus on strengthening therapeutic efficacy in a wide range of cancers. We intend to pursue a broad strategy of combining our technology platforms with conventional and novel therapies, based on their mechanisms of action, safety profiles and versatility. Our STING Pathway Activator platform is designed to activate the intracellular Stimulator of Interferon Genes, or STING, receptor, resulting in a potent tumor-specific immune response. ADU-S100 is the first STING Pathway Activator compound to enter the clinic and is currently being evaluated in Phase 1 studies both as a monotherapy and in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor in patients with cutaneously accessible metastatic solid tumors or lymphomas. Our B-select monoclonal antibody platform includes a proprietary ultra-selective functional screening process to identify antibodies with unique binding properties against a broad range of targets that are being designed to modulate the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. Our most advanced product candidate from the B-select platform, BION-1301, is being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial in mulitiple myeloma. In addition, the B-select platform has delivered a number of immune modulating assets currently in research and preclinical development. Our LADD technology platform is based on proprietary attenuated strains of Listeria that have been engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce specific and targeted immune responses. Our LADD program is focused on the development of personalized LADD, or pLADD, therapeutics that encode and express antigens that are based on protein sequences that result from mutations specific to an individual patient's tumor (neoantigens). These antigens can be also derived from native protein sequences that are highly expressed in patients with certain tumor types (self antigens). We are developing a pipeline of proprietary product candidates on our own and have a number of collaborations with leading global pharmaceutical companies to expand our products and technology platforms. We are developing STING Activator product candidates in oncology under our worldwide collaboration with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, or Novartis, and an anti-CD27 antibody was developed with and is exclusively licensed to, Merck Sharp and Dohme B.V., or Merck. In addition, we have developed self antigen-based LADD product candidates targeting lung and prostate cancers that are licensed to Janssen Biotech Inc., or Janssen. We believe our technology platforms \u2013 STING Pathway Activators, B-select monoclonal antibodies and LADD - represent innovative approaches in immuno-oncology. Since our product candidates act by leveraging the patient's own immune system, we believe they have the potential to deliver enhanced efficacy and to be safer and more tolerable than existing therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Based on the mechanisms of action and safety profiles of our technology platforms, we intend to build a deep pipeline of product candidates that can be readily combinable and synergistic with both conventional and novel therapies, such as checkpoint inhibitors. Our vision is to utilize our scientific expertise and understanding of the body's natural defense systems, including the interplay between the innate and adaptive immune responses, to develop safe and effective therapies for the benefit of patients. The STING receptor is known to be a central mediator of innate immunity and is critical for immune surveillance and control of cancer progression.", - "id": "8500afd6-b1e7-4ab8-8bb2-42d93942d691" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Cabin Air Safety Act of 2019 mandates annual training for flight attendants and pilots regarding smoke or fume incidents, and requires commercial air carriers to install and operate onboard carbon monoxide detectors. Since Air Transport Services Group, Inc. operates in the aviation sector, providing airline operations and leasing aircraft, these regulations are directly applicable to their business model. Compliance with these safety regulations will likely affect the way they conduct operations and ensure the safety of their leased and operated aircraft.", - "index": "366", - "bill_title": "To improve the safety of the air supply on commercial aircraft, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Cabin Air Safety Act of 2019\n\nThis bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement regulations regarding smoke or fume incidents on commercial aircraft (excluding helicopters).\n\nSpecifically, the bill requires\n\n flight attendants, pilots, aircraft maintenance technicians, airport first responders, and emergency response teams to receive annual training on how to respond to incidents involving smoke or fumes on board commercial aircraft; the FAA to develop a standardized form for reporting incidents involving smoke or fumes; the FAA to conduct an investigation after a report is submitted about incidents of smoke or fumes; and commercial air carriers to install and operate onboard carbon monoxide detectors.", - "company_name": "Air Transport Services Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "leases aircraft and provides airline operations, ground services, aircraft modification and maintenance services, and other support services to the air transportation and logistics industries. Through the Company's subsidiaries, we offer a range of complementary services to delivery businesses, freight forwarders, airlines and government customers. We offer standalone services along with bundled, customized solutions, scalable to our customers' needs. : We lease aircraft through the Company's leasing subsidiary, Cargo Aircraft Management, CAM's fleet consists of Boeing 737, 757 and 767 cargo aircraft, Boeing 767 and 777 passenger aircraft and Boeing 757 \"combi\" aircraft which simultaneously carry passengers and cargo on the main deck. CAM services global demand for cargo airlift by offering Boeing 767, 757 and 737 aircraft leases. CAM is able to provide competitive lease rates by converting passenger aircraft into cargo freighters. CAM monitors the market for available passenger aircraft, typically 15 to 20 years beyond their original manufacture date. After evaluation of an aircraft's condition and technical specifications, CAM acquires passenger aircraft that meet its requirements for projected into-service costs and rate of return targets. After conversion to freighter configuration, CAM's aircraft can be deployed into markets more economically than newly built freighters. CAM's aircraft leases are typically under multi-year agreements. : We offer combinations of aircraft, crews, maintenance and insurance services to provide customized transportation capacity to our customers. Inc. (\"ATI\"), and Omni Air International, LLC (\"OAI\") which are each independently certificated by the U.S. Department of Transportation and separately offer services to customers. ABX operates Boeing 767 freighter aircraft, ATI operates Boeing 767 and 757 freighter and Boeing 757 combi aircraft and OAI operates Boeing 767 and 777 passenger aircraft. We provide transportation related services such as aircraft maintenance, crew training and ground handling to delivery companies, freight forwarders and other airlines. Customers who lease our aircraft often need related support services. Offering support services provides us with a competitive advantage for diversification and incremental revenues. : We provide load transfer and sorting services, as well as related maintenance services for material handling equipment, ground equipment and facilities through our LGSTX Services, LGSTX also rents ground equipment and sells aviation fuel in Ohio. Aircraft maintenance and modification services: We provide airframe modification and maintenance, component repairs, engineering services and aircraft line maintenance through our subsidiaries Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services, Inc. Inc. (\"AMS\") resells and brokers aircraft parts. We provide line maintenance services at certain airports. Flight support services: We also offer flight crew training. AGS markets the various services and products offered by our subsidiaries by bundling solutions that leverage the entire portfolio of our subsidiaries", - "id": "0c6a5db6-26f0-4dcb-beb0-7d6164d08200" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to the management and conservation of natural resources on federal lands, which does not directly impact Monster Beverage Corp.'s business operations focused on developing and marketing energy drinks. The primary activities of the company are related to beverage production and sales, with no apparent overlap with the provisions of this bill.", - "index": "367", - "bill_title": "A bill to provide for the management of the natural resources of the United States, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Natural Resources Management Act\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions regarding\u00a0various programs, projects, activities, and studies for the management and conservation of natural resources on federal lands.\n\nSpecifically, the bill addresses, among other matters\n\n land conveyances, exchanges, acquisitions, withdrawals, and transfers; national parks, monuments, memorials, wilderness areas, wild and scenic rivers, historic and heritage sites, and other conservation and recreation areas; wildlife conservation; helium extraction; small miner waivers of claim maintenance fees; wildland fire operations; the release of certain federal reversionary land interests; boundary adjustments; the Denali National Park and Preserve natural gas pipeline; fees for medical services in units of the National Park System; funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund; recreational activities on federal or nonfederal lands; a national volcano early warning and monitoring system; federal reclamation projects; and search-and recovery-missions. In addition, the bill reauthorizes the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Historic Preservation Program\u00a0and the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program.", - "company_name": "Monster Beverage Corp.", - "company_description": "The Company\u0092s subsidiaries primarily develop and market energy drinks. We develop, market, sell and distribute energy drink beverages and concentrates for energy drink beverages, primarily under the following brand names: \u00b7 Our Monster Energy\u00ae brand energy drinks, which represented 91.7%, 90.1% and 90.1% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively, primarily include the following energy drinks 1 : \u00b7 Monster Energy\u00ae \u00b7 Monster Rehab\u00ae Tea + Orangeade + Energy \u00b7 Monster Rehab\u00ae The \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category combines non-carbonated, ready-to-drink iced teas, lemonades, juice cocktails, single-serve juices and fruit beverages, ready-to-drink dairy and coffee drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and single-serve still waters (flavored, unflavored and enhanced) with \u0093new age\u0094 beverages, including sodas that are considered natural, sparkling juices and flavored sparkling beverages. According to Beverage Marketing Corporation, domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2018 for the \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category of the market are estimated at approximately $55.5 billion, representing an increase of approximately 6.7% over estimated domestic U.S. wholesale sales in 2017 of approximately $52.0 billion. Drinks segment (\u0093Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks\u0094), which is comprised of our Monster Energy\u00ae drinks, (ii) Strategic Brands segment (\u0093Strategic Brands\u0094), which is comprised primarily of the various energy drink brands acquired from The Coca-Cola Company (\u0093TCCC\u0094) in 2015 as well as Other segment (\u0093Other\u0094), which is comprised of certain products sold by American Fruits and Flavors LLC (\u0093AFF\u0094) (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company) to independent third-party customers (\u0093AFF Third-Party Products\u0094). Corporate and unallocated amounts that do not specifically relate to a reportable segment have been allocated to \u0093Corporate Drinks segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks primarily to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. In some cases, we sell directly to retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, drug stores, foodservice customers and the military. Our Strategic Brands segment primarily generates net operating revenues by selling \u0093concentrates\u0094 and/or \u0093beverage bases\u0094 to authorized bottling and canning operations. Such bottlers generally combine the concentrates and/or beverage bases with sweeteners, water and other ingredients to produce ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks. The ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks are then sold to other bottlers, full service distributors or retailers, including, retail grocery and specialty chains, wholesalers, club stores, mass merchandisers, convenience chains, foodservice customers, drug stores and the military. To a lesser extent, our Strategic Brands segment generates net operating revenues by selling certain ready-to-drink packaged energy drinks to bottlers and full service beverage distributors. Generally, the Monster Energy\u00ae Drinks segment generates higher per case net operating revenues, but lower per case gross profit margin percentages than the Strategic Brands segment. In the 1930s, Hubert Hansen and his sons started a business selling fresh non-pasteurized juices in Los Angeles, California. In 1977, Tim Hansen, one of the grandsons of Hubert Hansen, perceived a demand for shelf stable pasteurized natural juices and juice blends and formed Hansen Foods, HFI expanded its product line from juices to include Hansen\u0092s Natural Soda\u00ae brand sodas. In 1990, California Co-Packers Corporation (d/b/a Hansen Beverage Company) (\u0093CCC\u0094) acquired certain assets of HFI, including the right to market the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand name. In 1992, Hansen Natural Corporation acquired the Hansen\u0092s\u00ae brand natural soda and apple juice business from CCC. Under our ownership, the Hansen\u0092s \u00ae beverage business significantly expanded to include a wide range of beverages within the growing \u0093alternative\u0094 beverage category including, in particular, energy drinks. During 2018, we continued to expand our existing portfolio of drinks and further develop our distribution markets. During 2018, we introduced the following products: \u00b7 BPM \u00ae \u00b7 Live+ Persist \u00ae \u00b7 Monster Cuba Libre TM (Japan) \u00b7 Monster Hydro \u00ae", - "id": "eed72091-598e-4e24-abc1-f81e0c9199c5" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The SAFE Banking Act of 2019 is relevant to Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. because it provides federal protections for banks offering financial services to legitimate marijuana- or hemp-related businesses. Given Allegiance's focus on providing commercial banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, the bill potentially facilitates new business opportunities in a growing market sector (cannabis-related industry) that might otherwise face banking barriers. Thus, the passage of this bill aligns with Allegiance's strategy to enhance relationships with local businesses and expand its commercial banking services.", - "index": "368", - "bill_title": "To create protections for depository institutions that provide financial services to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service providers for such businesses, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019 or the SAFE Banking Act of 2019\n\nThis bill generally prohibits a federal banking regulator from penalizing a depository institution for providing banking services to a legitimate marijuana- or hemp-related business. Specifically, the bill prohibits a federal banking regulator from (1) terminating or limiting the deposit insurance or share insurance of a depository institution solely because the institution\u00a0provides financial services to a legitimate\u00a0marijuana- or hemp-related business; (2) prohibiting or otherwise discouraging a depository institution from offering financial\u00a0services to such a business;\u00a0(3) recommending, incentivizing, or encouraging a depository institution not to offer financial services to an account holder solely because the account holder is affiliated with such a business; (4) taking any adverse or corrective supervisory action on a loan made to a person solely because the person either owns such a business or owns real estate or equipment leased or sold to such a business; or (5) penalizing a depository institution for engaging in a financial service for such a business.\n\nAs specified by the bill, a\u00a0depository institution, a Federal Reserve bank, or an insurer shall not,\u00a0under federal law,\u00a0be liable or subject to forfeiture\u00a0for providing\u00a0a loan or other\u00a0financial services to a legitimate marijuana- or hemp-related business.\n\nThe bill specifies that a federal banking agency may not request or order a depository institution to terminate a customer account unless (1) the agency has a valid reason for doing so, and (2) that reason is not based solely on reputation risk. Valid reasons for terminating an account include threats to national security and involvement in terrorist financing, including state sponsorship of terrorism.\n\nThe Government Accountability Office must report on (1) access to financial services for minority-owned and women-owned marijuana- or hemp-related businesses; and (2) the effectiveness of suspicious-transaction reports\u00a0at finding engagement with organized criminal activity in jurisdictions that allow the cultivation, sale, or distribution of marijuana.", - "company_name": "Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. (Texas)", - "company_description": "Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. is a Texas corporation and registered bank holding company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Allegiance Bank, we provide a diversified range of commercial banking services primarily to small to medium-sized businesses within the Houston region, professionals and individual customers. Our super-community banking strategy, which is described in more detail below, is designed to foster strong customer relationships while benefitting from a platform and scale that is competitive with larger regional and national banks. As of December 31, 2018, we operated 28 full-service banking locations, with 27 bank offices and one loan production office in the Houston metropolitan area and one bank office location in Beaumont, just outside of the Houston metropolitan area. We have experienced significant growth since we began banking operations in 2007, resulting from both organic growth, including de novo branching, and three whole-bank acquisitions, most recently Post Oak Bancshares, The Company's objective is to grow and strengthen its community banking franchise by deploying its super-community banking strategy and by pursuing select strategic acquisitions in the Houston region. We are positioned to be a leading provider of personalized commercial banking services by emphasizing the strength and capabilities of local bank office management and by providing superior customer service. Super-community banking strategy. Our super-community banking strategy emphasizes local delivery of the excellent customer service associated with community banking combined with the products, efficiencies and scale associated with larger banks. We operate full-service bank offices and employ bankers with strong underwriting credentials who are authorized to make loan and underwriting decisions up to prescribed limits at the bank office level. We support bank office operations with a centralized credit approval process for larger credit relationships, loan operations, information technology, core data processing, accounting, finance, treasury and treasury management support, deposit operations and executive and board oversight. We emphasize lending to and banking with small to medium-sized businesses, with which we believe we can establish stronger relationships through excellent service and provide lending that can be priced on terms that are more attractive to the Company than would be achieved by lending to larger businesses. We believe this approach produces a clear competitive advantage by delivering an extraordinary customer experience and fostering a culture dedicated to achieving both superior external and internal service levels. increasing the productivity of existing bankers, as measured by loans, deposits and fee income per banker, while enhancing profitability by leveraging our existing operating platform; focusing on local and individualized decision-making, allowing us to provide customers with rapid decisions on loan requests, which we believe allows us to effectively compete with larger financial institutions; identifying and hiring additional seasoned bankers in the Houston region who will thrive within our super-community banking model, and opening additional branches where we are able to attract seasoned bankers; and developing new products designed to serve the increasingly diversified Houston economy, while preserving our strong culture of risk management. We intend to continue to expand our market position in the Houston region through organic growth, the development of de novo branch locations and a disciplined acquisition strategy. On January 31, 2016, the Company completed the sale of two of the acquired branches of Farmers & Merchants, Inc. Our senior management team has a demonstrated track record of managing profitable organic growth, improving operating efficiencies, maintaining a strong risk management culture, implementing a community and service-focused approach to banking and successfully executing and integrating acquisitions. Scalable banking and operational platform designed to foster and accommodate significant growth. We have built a capable and knowledgeable staff by utilizing the significant prior experience of our management team and employees. We have made extensive investments in the technology and systems necessary to build a scalable corporate infrastructure with the capacity to support continued growth. We are focused on delivering a wide variety of high-quality, relationship-driven commercial and community-oriented banking products and services tailored to meet the needs of small to medium-sized businesses, professionals and individuals in the Houston region. We actively solicit the deposit business of our consumer and commercial loan customers and seek to further leverage these relationships by broadening customer relationships with additional products and services. ", - "id": "034a0c2e-b662-41da-974a-03541d406549" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Prescription Drug Price Reporting Act requires drug manufacturers to report pricing data and price changes, which directly affects AMAG Pharmaceuticals as it may impact their pricing strategies, compliance requirements, and competitive positioning in the market. Additionally, the bill mandates that this information be made public, influencing AMAG's commercial activities and relationships with payers and providers.", - "index": "369", - "bill_title": "A bill to require reporting on prescription drug expenditures under group health plans and on prescription drug price changes, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Prescription Drug Price Reporting ActThis bill requires that all prescription drug manufacturers submit certain information for every drug marketed in the United States to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Specifically, manufacturers must provide information about cost, pricing, and rebates. Manufacturers are also required to submit any price changes to a prescription drug at least 30 days in advance.HHS must make this information available through a public database that enables consumers to subscribe to price change notifications for different types of prescriptions drugs.", - "company_name": "AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "beliefs regarding the expenses, challenges and timing of our preclinical studies and clinical trials, including expectations regarding the clinical trial results for ciraparantag; beliefs regarding our commercial strategies, including the impact of our efforts to convert current Makena IM prescribers to the Makena auto-injector and the timing of the commercial launch of Vyleesi; expectations and plans as to recent and upcoming regulatory and commercial developments and activities, including requirements and initiatives for clinical trials and post-approval commitments for our products and product candidates, and their impact on our business and competition; expectations regarding third-party reimbursement and the behaviors of payers, healthcare providers, patients and other industry participants, including with respect to product price increases and volume-based and other rebates and incentives; plans regarding our sales and marketing initiatives, including our contracting, pricing and discounting strategies and efforts to increase patient compliance and access; expectations regarding the contribution of revenues from our products to the funding of our on-going operations and costs to be incurred in connection with revenue sources to fund our future operations; expectations as to the manufacture of drug substances, drug and biological products and key materials for our products and product candidates; \u2022 the expected impact of recent tax reform legislation and estimates regarding our effective tax rate and our ability to realize our net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes; \u2022 the impact of accounting pronouncements; beliefs regarding the impact of our recent restructuring initiative, including the impact of the combination of our women's and maternal health sales forces and the related reduction in head count. We are a pharmaceutical company focused on bringing innovative products to patients with unmet medical needs by leveraging our development and commercial expertise to invest in and grow our pharmaceutical products across a range of therapeutic areas. Our currently marketed products support the health of patients in the areas of maternal and women's health, anemia management and cancer supportive care, including Feraheme\u00ae (ferumoxytol injection) for intravenous (hydroxyprogesterone caproate injection), Intrarosa\u00ae (prasterone) vaginal inserts and MuGard\u00ae Mucoadhesive Oral Wound Rinse. In addition to our marketed products, our portfolio includes three product candidates, Vyleesi\u2122 (bremelanotide), which is being developed for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (\"HSDD\") in pre-menopausal women, AMAG-423 (digoxin immune fab (ovine)), which is being studied for the treatment of severe preeclampsia, and ciraparantag, which is being studied as an anticoagulant reversal agent. Perosphere Pharmaceuticals Inc. (\"Perosphere\"), a privately-held biopharmaceutical company pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger Ciraparantag is an anticoagulant reversal agent in development for patients treated with novel oral anticoagulants (\"NOACs\") or low molecular weight heparin (\"LMWH\") when reversal of the anticoagulant effect of these products is needed for emergency surgery, urgent procedures or due to life-threatening or uncontrolled bleeding. Since August 2015, we had provided services related to the preservation of umbilical cord blood stem cell and cord tissue units operated through CBR. We intend to continue to expand the impact of our current and future products for patients by delivering on our growth strategy, which includes collaborating on and acquiring promising therapies at various stages of development, and advancing them through the clinical and regulatory process to deliver new treatment options to patients. Our primary sources of revenue are from sales of Makena, Feraheme and Intrarosa. Currently, we market and sell our pharmaceutical products solely in the U.S. Products and Product Candidates IV iron replacement therapeutic agent for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia (\"IDA\") in adult patients (a) who have intolerance to oral iron or have had unsatisfactory response to oral iron or (Intramuscular presentations (5 mL multi-dose vial and 1 mL single-dose preservative-free vial) and auto-injector presentation) A progestin indicated to reduce the risk of preterm birth in women pregnant with a single baby who have a history of singleton spontaneous preterm birth. Exclusively license rights to auto-injector device for use in the Makena subcutaneous auto-injector presentation (the \"Makena auto-injector\") from Antares Pharma,", - "id": "f3830796-482b-467b-9a98-2fea7179d51f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Nuclear Waste Administration Act primarily deals with the management and disposal of nuclear waste, which has no direct connection to the air transportation and logistics services provided by Air Transport Services Group, Inc. The company's focus on aircraft leasing, operations, and support services does not intersect with the legal consequences or provisions of the bill.", - "index": "370", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish a new organization to manage nuclear waste, provide a consensual process for siting nuclear waste facilities, ensure adequate funding for managing nuclear waste, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses nuclear waste management.\n\nAmong other things, this bill\n\n establishes the Nuclear Waste Administration (NWA) to provide for the permanent disposal of nuclear waste, including the siting, construction, and operation of additional repositories, a test and evaluation facility, and additional storage facilities; transfers to the NWA specified functions of the Department of Energy, including those related to the construction and operation of a repository; prescribes siting guidelines for nuclear waste storage facilities and repositories and for the identification and suitability of candidate sites; directs the NWA to establish a storage program to provide interim storage for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste; and confers upon the NWA responsibility for transporting nuclear waste.", - "company_name": "Air Transport Services Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "leases aircraft and provides airline operations, ground services, aircraft modification and maintenance services, and other support services to the air transportation and logistics industries. Through the Company's subsidiaries, we offer a range of complementary services to delivery businesses, freight forwarders, airlines and government customers. We offer standalone services along with bundled, customized solutions, scalable to our customers' needs. : We lease aircraft through the Company's leasing subsidiary, Cargo Aircraft Management, CAM's fleet consists of Boeing 737, 757 and 767 cargo aircraft, Boeing 767 and 777 passenger aircraft and Boeing 757 \"combi\" aircraft which simultaneously carry passengers and cargo on the main deck. CAM services global demand for cargo airlift by offering Boeing 767, 757 and 737 aircraft leases. CAM is able to provide competitive lease rates by converting passenger aircraft into cargo freighters. CAM monitors the market for available passenger aircraft, typically 15 to 20 years beyond their original manufacture date. After evaluation of an aircraft's condition and technical specifications, CAM acquires passenger aircraft that meet its requirements for projected into-service costs and rate of return targets. After conversion to freighter configuration, CAM's aircraft can be deployed into markets more economically than newly built freighters. CAM's aircraft leases are typically under multi-year agreements. : We offer combinations of aircraft, crews, maintenance and insurance services to provide customized transportation capacity to our customers. Inc. (\"ATI\"), and Omni Air International, LLC (\"OAI\") which are each independently certificated by the U.S. Department of Transportation and separately offer services to customers. ABX operates Boeing 767 freighter aircraft, ATI operates Boeing 767 and 757 freighter and Boeing 757 combi aircraft and OAI operates Boeing 767 and 777 passenger aircraft. We provide transportation related services such as aircraft maintenance, crew training and ground handling to delivery companies, freight forwarders and other airlines. Customers who lease our aircraft often need related support services. Offering support services provides us with a competitive advantage for diversification and incremental revenues. : We provide load transfer and sorting services, as well as related maintenance services for material handling equipment, ground equipment and facilities through our LGSTX Services, LGSTX also rents ground equipment and sells aviation fuel in Ohio. Aircraft maintenance and modification services: We provide airframe modification and maintenance, component repairs, engineering services and aircraft line maintenance through our subsidiaries Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services, Inc. Inc. (\"AMS\") resells and brokers aircraft parts. We provide line maintenance services at certain airports. Flight support services: We also offer flight crew training. AGS markets the various services and products offered by our subsidiaries by bundling solutions that leverage the entire portfolio of our subsidiaries", - "id": "bc5fcb94-0f0a-42cb-a000-96ed942cfe5a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on modernizing voter registration and access to voting. Its legal consequences, such as mandating online voter registration and automatic voter registration, pertain primarily to electoral processes and governance. These aspects do not directly impact Apple's core business of designing and selling consumer electronics and digital content, nor do they affect its business model or operations.", - "index": "371", - "bill_title": "A bill to modernize voter registration, promote access to voting for individuals with disabilities, protect the ability of individuals to exercise the right to vote in elections for Federal office, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Voter Empowerment Act of 2019 \n\nThis bill addresses access to voting, including by\n\n requiring states to allow online voter registration, establish automatic voter registration, permit same day voter registration, and accept voter registration applications from individuals under age 18; prohibiting interference with voter registration or voting; requiring paper ballots and manual counting for recounts and audits; requiring states to allow early voting and voting by mail without additional conditions; making grants to states for poll worker recruitment and training; prohibiting certain political activities by a state's chief state election administration official; making grants for conducting risk-limiting audits of the results of elections; and permanently reauthorizing the Election Assistance Commission.", - "company_name": "Apple, Inc.", - "company_description": "The Company designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices and personal computers, and sells a variety of related software, services, accessories and third-party digital content and applications. The Company's products and services include iPhone \u00ae, iPad \u00ae, Mac \u00ae, Apple Watch \u00ae, AirPods \u00ae, Apple TV \u00ae, HomePod\u2122, a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, iOS, macOS \u00ae, watchOS\u00ae and tvOS\u2122 operating systems, iCloud \u00ae, Apple Pay\u00ae and a variety of other accessory, service and support offerings. The Company sells and delivers digital content and applications through the iTunes Store \u00ae, The Company sells its products worldwide through its retail stores, online stores and direct sales force, as well as through third-party cellular network carriers, wholesalers, retailers and resellers. In addition, the Company sells a variety of third-party Apple-compatible products, including application software and various accessories, through its retail and online stores. The Company sells to consumers, small and mid-sized businesses and education, enterprise and government customers. The Company is committed to bringing the best user experience to its customers through its innovative hardware, software and services. The Company's business strategy leverages its unique ability to design and develop its own operating systems, hardware, application software and services to provide its customers products and solutions with innovative design, superior ease-of-use and seamless integration. As part of its strategy, the Company continues to expand its platform for the discovery and delivery of digital content and applications through its Digital Content and Services, which allows customers to discover and download or stream digital content, iOS, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV applications, and books through either a Mac or Windows personal computer or through iPhone, iPad and iPod touch\u00ae devices (\"iOS devices\"), Apple TV, Apple Watch and HomePod. The Company also supports a community for the development of third-party software and hardware products and digital content that complement the Company's offerings. Therefore, the Company's strategy also includes building and expanding its own retail and online stores and its third-party distribution network to effectively reach more customers and provide them with a high-quality sales and post-sales support experience. The Company believes ongoing investment in research and development (\"R & D\"), marketing and advertising is critical to the development and sale of innovative products, services and technologies. Products iPhone iPhone is the Company's line of smartphones based on its iOS operating system. iPhone includes Siri \u00ae, an intelligent assistant, and Apple Pay, Touch ID\u00ae and iPhone Xs and Xs Max feature a Super Retina\u2122 OLED display, an all-screen stainless steel and glass design, faster processors and enhanced cameras, and were available beginning in September 2018. iPhone X R features a Liquid Retina\u2122 LCD display in an all-screen aluminum and glass design, and was available beginning in October 2018. The Company's line of smartphones also includes iPhone 8, 8 Plus, 7 and 7 Plus models. iPhone works with the iTunes Store, App Store, Book Store and Apple Music for purchasing, organizing and playing digital content and apps. iPad includes Siri, Apple Pay and Touch ID. In March 2018, the Company released a new 9.7-inch iPad with Apple Pencil\u00ae compatibility. In October 2018, the Company introduced a new version of iPad Pro as well as a new Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folio\u2122. The new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models feature a Liquid Retina LCD display in an all-screen aluminum and glass design and integrate Face ID. iPad works with the iTunes Store, App Store, Book Store and Apple Music for purchasing, organizing and playing digital content and apps. ", - "id": "ff0b7456-608a-4698-831b-b1f8b66ee42b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to the importation of prescription drugs from Canada, which falls under the FDA's regulatory framework for pharmaceuticals. Brown-Forman Corp., primarily a manufacturer and marketer of alcoholic beverages, does not have a business model or activities that are impacted by this legislation related to drug importation. There are no direct implications for their operations.", - "index": "372", - "bill_title": "To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to allow for the personal importation of safe and affordable drugs from approved pharmacies in Canada.", - "bill_summary": "Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act of 2019 \n\nThis bill requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)to promulgate regulations within 180 days permitting individuals to import a prescription drug purchased from an approved Canadian pharmacy if the drug\n\n is dispensed by a pharmacist licensed in Canada; is purchased for personal use in quantities not greater than a 90-day supply; is filled using a valid prescription issued by a physician licensed to practice in the United States; and has the same active ingredients, route of administration, dosage form, and strength as a prescription drug approved by the FDA. Under the bill, certain drugs may not be imported, including controlled substances and biological products.\n\nThe bill establishes a certification process for approving Canadian pharmacies. The FDA must publish a list of approved Canadian pharmacies.", - "company_name": "Brown-Forman Corp.", - "company_description": "We primarily manufacture, bottle, import, export, market, and sell a wide variety of alcoholic beverages under recognized brands. We are the largest American-owned spirits and wine company with global reach. Beginning in 1870 with Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky \u2013 our founding brand \u2013 and spanning the generations since, we have built a portfolio of more than 40 spirit, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail, and wine brands that includes some of the best-known and most-loved trademarks in our industry. The most important brand in our portfolio is Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, which is the fourth-largest spirits brand of any kind and the largest American whiskey brand in the world, according to Impact Databank's \"Top 100 Premium Spirits Brands Worldwide\" list. Among the top five premium spirits brands on the list, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey was the only one to grow volume in each of the past five years. In its fifth year on the Worldwide Impact list, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey was recognized as a top 15 growth brand and remains the second-largest-selling flavored whiskey. Our other leading global brands on the Worldwide Impact list are Finlandia, which is the tenth-largest-selling vodka; Canadian Mist, which is the fourth-largest-selling Canadian whisky; and el Jimador, which is the fifth-largest-selling tequila and designated as an Impact \"Hot Brand. While Korbel is not an owned brand, we sell Korbel products under contract in the United States and other select markets. Fiscal 2018 Brand Highlights\" for brand performance details. Our vision in marketing is to be the best brand builders in the industry. These programs cover a wide spectrum of activities, including media (TV, radio, print, outdoor, and, increasingly, digital and social), consumer and trade promotions, sponsorships, and homeplace programs at our distilleries and our winery. We expect to grow our sales and profits by consistently delivering creative, responsible marketing programs that drive brand recognition, brand trial, brand loyalty, and, ultimately, consumer demand around the world. Our largest international markets include the United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, Germany, France, Poland, Russia, Brazil, and Canada. Our distribution network, which we sometimes refer to as our \"route-to-consumer\" (RTC), takes a variety of forms, depending on (a) a market's laws and regulatory framework for trade in beverage alcohol, (b) our assessment of a market's long-term attractiveness and competitive dynamics, (c) the relative profitability of distribution options available to us, (d) the structure of the retail and wholesale trade in a market, and (e) our portfolio's development stage in a market. In the United States, which generally prohibits spirits and wine manufacturers from selling their products directly to consumers, we sell our brands either to distributors or (in states that directly control alcohol sales) to state governments that then sell to retail customers and consumers. , we use a variety of RTC models, which can be grouped into three categories: owned distribution, partner, and government-controlled markets. We own and operate distribution companies in 14 markets: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czechia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Thailand, and Turkey. In these markets, and in a large portion of the Travel Retail channel, we sell our products directly to retailers, to wholesalers, or, in Canada, to provincial governments. Over the past decade, we began distribution operations in multiple markets outside the United States, as shown in the table below. In the United Kingdom, we partner in a cost-sharing arrangement with another supplier, Bacardi Limited, to sell a portfolio of both companies In many other markets, including Russia, Japan, Italy, and South Africa, we rely on others to distribute our brands, generally under fixed-term distribution contracts. Competition Trade information indicates that we are one of the largest global suppliers of premium spirits. According to International Wine & Spirit Research (IWSR), for calendar year 2017, the ten largest global spirits companies controlled less than 20% of the total global market for spirits (on a volume basis).", - "id": "590e8dc4-fce2-4b61-86b8-d13b15266852" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on safety regulations for portable fuel containers, including requirements for flame mitigation devices and child resistant caps. Gannett Co., Inc. is a media and marketing solutions company, and its business model does not involve manufacturing or supplying products that would be directly impacted by these regulations. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill are not relevant to Gannett's business activities.", - "index": "373", - "bill_title": "To require compliant flame mitigation devices to be used on portable fuel containers for flammable liquid fuels, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Portable Fuel Container Safety Act of 2019\n\nThis bill directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to require fuel containers to include devices that impede flames from entering the container. This requirement applies to flammable, liquid fuel containers of fewer than five gallons that are intended for transport. CPSC may either promulgate a rule or adopt an existing standard. Additionally, CPSC must educate consumers about dangers associated with using or storing such containers near an open flame or a source of ignition. The bill also requires child resistant caps on kerosene and diesel fuel containers. Currently, this only applies to gasoline containers.", - "company_name": "Gannett Co., Inc.", - "company_description": "Inc. (Gannett, we, us, our, or the company) is an innovative, digitally focused media and marketing solutions company committed to fostering the communities in our network and helping them build relationships with their local businesses. Gannett owns ReachLocal, Inc. (ReachLocal), a digital marketing solutions company, the USA TODAY NETWORK (made up of USA TODAY (USAT) and 109 local media organizations in 34 states in the U.S. and Guam, including digital sites and affiliates), and Newsquest (a wholly owned subsidiary operating in the United Kingdom (U.K.) with more than 150 local media brands). Through the USA TODAY NETWORK and Newsquest, Gannett delivers high-quality, trusted content where and when consumers want to engage with it on virtually any device or platform. The company reports in two operating segments, publishing and ReachLocal, plus a corporate and other category. The company has made both internal and external digital investments to align with the shift in spending habits to digital products by both consumers and marketers. In 2018, we acquired WordStream, Inc. (WordStream), a self-service, software-as-a-solution digital marketing services company that broadened our product suite and expanded our client base. In 2018 , total digital revenues were $1.1 billion, or 36% of total company revenues. The USA TODAY NETWORK, with more than 3,200 journalists, averaged approximately 126 million (a) (see \"References\" section below) monthly unique visitors who access content through desktops, smartphones, and tablets. In November 2018, the company achieved a record 133 million (a) unique digital visitors in the U.S. In the U.K., Newsquest is a publishing and digital leader with approximately 800 journalists and a network of web sites that attracts over 25 million (b) unique visitors monthly. Since its introduction in 1982, USA TODAY has been a cornerstone of the national news landscape and is a recognizable and respected brand. \u2022In 2015, we leveraged the strong USA TODAY brand and created the USA TODAY NETWORK, the largest local to national media network in the country, with full-scale content sharing capabilities across all sites. \u2022In 2017 , we started a branding refresh of our print and digital products across our U.S. markets with the goal to unify our digital network, modernize our visual storytelling, create a more contemporary look for our advertisers and partnerships, and attract new audiences. \u2022In 2018 , we completed the brand refresh and were recognized with several awards, including \"Best Global New Print Product\" as awarded by the International News Media Association. We also expanded the size of our investigative journalism team and launched \"The City,\" named one of Apple's Best Podcasts in 2018. \u2022In 2018 , we also launched LOCALiQ, our new data-driven, marketing solutions brand which packages together all of our advertising and marketing capabilities including products such as search engine marketing, display retargeting, location and reputation management, and website development. We are the leading newspaper publisher in the U.S. in terms of circulation and have the fourth largest digital audience in the News and Information category based on December 2018 Comscore Media Metrics; per those metrics, our content reaches more people digitally than Fox News, CBSnews.com, New York Times Digital, BuzzFeed.com, or WashingtonPost.com. our U.S. local publishing operations, the average daily print readership is approximately 11 million on Sundays and 5 million daily Monday through Saturday, while the digital audience averages nearly 45 million (a) unique visitors per month. At our flagship brand, USA TODAY, print readership averages over 1.6 million daily Monday to Friday, while the digital audience averages approximately 81 million (a) unique visitors per month. While our print audience tends to skew to an older demographic, our digital audience skews younger as evidenced by 47% (a) of the total U.S. digital millennial audience (ages 18 - 34) accessing USA TODAY NETWORK content monthly. As digital media consumption shifts to mobile devices and social media, our audiences on these platforms continue to grow. The USA TODAY NETWORK consistently ranks in the top three in mobile web unique visitors in the News and Information category, finishing December 2018 at # 1 (a). Total mobile web page views for the USA TODAY NETWORK grew 10% (b) in December 2018 , evidence our content successfully resonates on mobile devices. On social platforms, we focus on creating franchises to drive user engagement and had great success with our \"Kind\" brands (Animalkind, Humankind, and Militarykind). In 2018 , the Kind brands produced 5.1 billion (c) video views and added more than 8.9 million followers.", - "id": "df6bcb79-852c-493e-b0c0-dfd367497339" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing a program to support combined heat and power technologies, which is primarily relevant to companies involved in energy production and efficiency. Air Transport Services Group, Inc., operates in the airfreight and logistics industry, involving aircraft leasing, maintenance, and transportation services. The focus on energy technologies such as CHP does not directly impact their business model or operations, making the bill not relevant for the company.", - "index": "374", - "bill_title": "To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to establish the CHP Technical Assistance Partnership Program, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "CHP Support Act\n\nThis bill redesignates the Department of Energy's Clean Energy Application Centers as the CHP Technical Assistance Partnership Program. The program (1) encourages deployment of combined heat and power, heat to power, and efficient district energy technologies; and (2) provides project specific support to building and industrial professionals through economic and engineering assessments and advisory activities. This bill reauthorizes the program through FY2024.", - "company_name": "Air Transport Services Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Company Overview Air Transport Services Group, Inc. is a holding company whose subsidiaries primarily operate within the airfreight and logistics industry. We lease aircraft and provide airline operations, ground services, aircraft modification and maintenance, and other support services mainly to the cargo transportation and package delivery industries. Our subsidiaries offer a range of complementary services to delivery companies, freight forwarders, airlines and government customers. We offer standalone services along with bundled, customized solutions, scalable to our customers' needs. : We lease cargo aircraft through ATSG's leasing subsidiary, Cargo Aircraft Management, CAM services global demand for medium range and medium capacity airlift by offering Boeing 767, 757 and 737 aircraft leases. CAM is able to provide competitive lease rates by converting passenger aircraft into cargo freighters. CAM monitors the market for available medium passenger aircraft, typically 15 to 20 years beyond their original manufacture date. After evaluation of an aircraft's condition and technical specifications, CAM acquires passenger aircraft that meet its requirements for projected into-service costs and rate of return targets. CAM then manages the modification of a passenger aircraft into a freighter. As a result, the converted freighters can be deployed into regional markets more economically than larger capacity aircraft, newly built freighters or other competing alternatives. CAM's aircraft leases are typically under multi-year agreements. Inc. (\"ATI\"), each independently certificated by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Company's airlines separately offer a combination of aircraft, crews, maintenance and insurance services. These services are commonly referred to as ACMI services or CMI services depending on the selection of services contracted. ABX operates Boeing 767 freighter aircraft, while ATI operates Boeing 767 and Boeing 757 freighter and 757 \"combi\" aircraft. Combi aircraft are capable of carrying passengers and cargo containers on the main deck. The airlines can conduct cargo operations worldwide. We provide transportation related services such as aircraft maintenance, crew training and ground handling to delivery companies, freight forwarders and other airlines. Customers who lease our aircraft often need related support services. Offering support services provides us with a competitive advantage for diversification and incremental revenues. We provide mail and package sorting services, as well as related maintenance services for material handling equipment, ground equipment and facilities through our LGSTX Services, LGSTX also rents ground equipment and sells aviation fuel in Ohio. Aircraft maintenance and modification services: We provide airframe modification and maintenance, component repairs, engineering services and aircraft line maintenance through our subsidiaries Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services, Inc. Inc. (\"AMS\") resells and brokers aircraft parts.", - "id": "7c0200fc-4f56-4e83-93ce-a8cdcd9639d2" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on stem cell research and the requirements set by the NIH for such research, which does not directly relate to Amarin Corp's primary business in the development and commercialization of therapeutics for cardiovascular health. The company's activities center around lipid science and products like Vascepa for treating high triglyceride levels, and thus the bill's implications on stem cell research do not impact its business model or operations.", - "index": "375", - "bill_title": "To intensify stem cell research showing evidence of substantial clinical benefit to patients, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Patients First Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support stem cell research. Specifically, the NIH must conduct and support basic and applied research to develop techniques for the isolation, derivation, production, testing, and human clinical use of stem cells that may result in improved understanding of, or treatments for, diseases and other adverse health conditions. However, such techniques must not involve (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; (2) the destruction or discarding of, or risk of injury to, a human embryo; or (3) the use of any stem cell the derivation or provision of which would be inconsistent with this bill.\n\nThe NIH must also report on peer-reviewed stem cell research proposals that were not funded.", - "company_name": "Amarin Corp. Plc", - "company_description": "Management estimates are derived from publicly available information released by independent industry analysts and third-party sources, as well as data from our internal research, and based on assumptions made by us based on such data and our knowledge of such industry, which we believe to be reasonable. Amarin Corporation plc was originally incorporated in England as a private limited company on March 1, 1989 under the Companies Act 1985, and re-registered in England as a public limited company on March 19, 1993. Our primary office in the United States is located at 1430 Route 206, Bedminster, NJ 07921, USA. We are a biopharmaceutical company with expertise in lipid science focused on the commercialization and development of therapeutics to improve cardiovascular health. (icosapent ethyl) capsules, is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, for use as an adjunct to diet to reduce triglyceride levels in adult patients with severe This FDA-approved indication for Vascepa, known as the MARINE indication, is based primarily on the successful results from the MARINE study of Vascepa in this approved patient population. In considering this approval, FDA also reviewed the successful results from our study of Vascepa in patients with high triglyceride levels (TG \u2265 200 mg/dL and <500 mg/dL) who are also on statin therapy for elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or LDL-C, levels This study is known as the ANCHOR study. Safety data from both the MARINE and ANCHOR studies are reflected in FDA-approved labeling for Vascepa. In January 2013, we began selling and marketing Vascepa in the United States based on the FDA-approved MARINE indication. In August 2015, we began communicating promotional information beyond the MARINE indication to healthcare professionals in the United States based on the federal court declaration described below. In March 2016, we reached agreement with the FDA and U.S. government under which they agreed to be bound by the terms of the August 2015 judicial declaration. Vascepa is available in the United States by prescription only. We sell Vascepa principally to a limited number of major wholesalers, as well as selected regional wholesalers and specialty pharmacy providers, or collectively, our Distributors or our customers, that in turn resell Vascepa to retail pharmacies for subsequent resale to patients and healthcare providers. In March 2014, we entered into a co-promotion agreement in the United States with Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. under which Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. began to co-promote Vascepa in conjunction with its promotion of its primary product, a branded statin for patients with high cholesterol, which commenced in May 2014 and is scheduled to end at the end of 2018. Our direct sales force has, for the past few years through late 2017, consisted of approximately 150 sales professionals, including sales representatives and their managers. We also intend to expand medical education and market awareness initiatives, including, in advance of REDUCE-IT results being known, pilot testing of new promotional initiatives for potential broader applications following REDUCE-IT results. In February 2015, we entered into an exclusive agreement with Eddingpharm (Asia) Macao Commercial Offshore Limited, or Eddingpharm, to develop and commercialize Vascepa capsules in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, or the China Territory. Triglycerides are the main constituent of body fat in humans. Hypertriglyceridemia refers to a condition in which patients have high levels of triglycerides in the bloodstream. It is estimated that approximately 70 million adults in the United States have elevated triglyceride levels (TG \u2265 150 mg/dL), approximately 40 million adults in the United States have high triglyceride levels (TG \u2265 200 mg/dL), and approximately 3 to 4 million adults in the United States have severely high triglyceride levels (TG \u2265 500 mg/dL), commonly known as very high triglyceride levels. Many patients with high triglyceride levels also have diabetes and other lipid level abnormalities such as high cholesterol. The patient condition of having more than one lipid level abnormality is referred to as mixed dyslipidemia. According to The American Heart Association Scientific Statement on Triglycerides and Cardiovascular Disease (2011), triglycerides provide important information as a marker associated with the risk for heart disease and stroke, especially when an individual also has low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or HDL-C (often referred to as ", - "id": "d8327672-9f6a-4a23-8d08-85bce8f95fd0" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The BENES Act of 2019 modifies the Medicare enrollment process, which directly impacts Addus HomeCare Corp.'s business since they provide home care services to predominantly 'dual eligible' individuals who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. Changes in enrollment and notification processes could affect their client base and how they interact with payors, making the bill relevant to their business model.", - "index": "376", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to establish a system to notify individuals approaching Medicare eligibility, to simplify and modernize the eligibility enrollment process, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification Act of 2019 or the BENES Act of 2019\n\nThis bill makes a series of changes to, and requires additional notifications regarding, the Medicare enrollment process.\n\nSpecifically, the bill changes the Medicare general enrollment period to October 15-December 31, and requires coverage to begin on the first day of the month following enrollment. (Currently, the general enrollment period is January 1-March 31, and coverage begins July 1.) The bill also generally requires coverage to begin on the first day of the month following enrollment for individuals who enroll in the latter months of their initial enrollment period. (Currently, the longer an individual waits to enroll, the more delayed the effective date of coverage.)\n\nThe bill also requires Social Security account statements for individuals ages 60 to 64 to include information about Medicare eligibility, late enrollment penalties, coordination of benefits, and special enrollment populations (e.g., veterans).", - "company_name": "Addus HomeCare Corp.", - "company_description": "We are a home care services provider operating in three segments: personal care; hospice; and home health. Our services are principally provided in the home under agreements with federal, state and local government agencies. Our consumers are predominantly \"dual eligible,\" meaning they are eligible to receive both Medicare and Medicaid benefits. As of December 31, 2018, we provided services to over 39,000 consumers in 24 states through 156 offices. Our payor clients include federal, state and local governmental agencies, managed care organizations, commercial insurers and private individuals. Our personal care segment also includes staffing services, with clients including assisted living facilities, nursing homes and hospice facilities. Our services and operating model address a number of crucial needs across the healthcare continuum. Care provided in the home generally costs less than facility-based care and is typically preferred by consumers and their families. By providing services in the home to the elderly and others who require long-term care and support with the activities of daily living, we lower the cost of chronic and acute care treatment by delaying or eliminating the need for care in more expensive settings. In addition, our caregivers observe and report changes in the condition of our consumers for the purpose of facilitating early intervention in the disease process, which often reduces the cost of medical services by preventing unnecessary emergency room visits and/or hospital admissions and re-admissions. We coordinate the services provided by our team with those of other healthcare providers and payors as appropriate. By providing care in the preferred setting of the home and by providing opportunities to improve the consumer's conditions and allow early intervention as indicated, our model also is designed to improve consumer outcomes and satisfaction. We believe our model provides significant value to managed care organizations. States are increasingly implementing managed care programs for Medicaid enrollees, and as a result managed care organizations have been increasingly responsible for the healthcare needs and the related healthcare costs of our consumers. Managed care organizations have an economic incentive to better manage the healthcare expenditures of their members, lower costs and improve outcomes. We believe that our model is well positioned to assist in meeting those goals while also improving consumer satisfaction, and, as a result, we expect increased referrals from managed care organizations. Beginning January 1, 2019, a final rule of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (\"CMS\"), allows Medicare Advantage insurers to offer beneficiaries more options and new benefits. Through this rule, CMS has redefined health-related supplemental benefits to include services that increase health and improve quality of life, including coverage of non-skilled in-home care. This policy change, emphasizing improving quality and reducing costs, aligns with our overall approach to care, and we believe the increased demand for personal care from the Medicare Advantage population represents a significant upside opportunity over the next three to five years. We utilize Interactive Voice Response (\"IVR\") systems and smart phone applications to communicate with the majority of our aides. Through these technologies, our aides are able to report changes in health conditions to an appropriate manager for triage and evaluation. In addition, we use these technologies to record basic information about each visit, record start and end times for a 2 scheduled shift, track milea ge reimbursement, send text messages to the aide and communicate basic payroll information. In addition to our organic growth, we have been growing through acquisitions that have expanded our presence in current markets or facilitated our entry into new ma rkets where the personal care business has primarily been moving to managed care organizations. We maintain licensure as a Medicare home health agency in Ohio and Delaware in connection with providing services in those states. With the purchase of Ambercare Corporation (\"Ambercare\"), completed in the second quarter of 2018, we now maintain licensure as a Medicare home health and hospice agency in New Mexico. ", - "id": "bcfeaa61-fb9c-4fa2-baa9-96bbbccbfc86" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill regulates assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices, which directly impacts Vista Outdoor's Shooting Sports segment that designs, manufactures, and markets ammunition and firearms. The prohibition on certain firearms and requirements for background checks affect the company's ability to sell its products, as well as its compliance and operational strategies.", - "index": "377", - "bill_title": "A bill to regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Assault Weapons Ban of 2019\n\nThis bill makes it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD).\n\nThe prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model.\n\nThe bill also exempts from the prohibition the following, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD:\n\n importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties.\n\nThe bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD.\n\nNewly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture.\n\n The bill also allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.", - "company_name": "Vista Outdoor, Inc.", - "company_description": "Vista Outdoor Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets consumer products for the outdoor sports and recreation markets worldwide. The company's Shooting Sports segment designs, develops, produces, and sources ammunition for the hunting and sport shooting enthusiast markets, as well as for local law enforcement, the United States government, and international markets under the Federal Premium, Speer, American Eagle, Blazer, CCI, Estate Cartridge, Stevens, Fusion, Savage Arms, Savage Range Systems, Force on Force, and Independence brands; and provides firearms products, such as centerfire rifles, rimfire rifles, shotguns, and range systems. Its Outdoor Products segment offers archery/hunting accessories, such as hunting arrows, game calls, hunting blinds, game cameras, and waterfowl decoys; eyewear and sport protection products comprising safety and protective eyewear, fashion and sports eyewear, and helmets; golf products, including laser rangefinders; and hydration products consisting of hydration packs and water bottles. This segment also offers optics products, such as binoculars, riflescopes, and telescopes; shooting accessories, including reloading equipment, clay targets, and premium gun care products; tactical products comprising holsters, duty gear, bags, and packs; and water sports products, such as stand up paddle boards. It provides its products under the Alliant Powder, Bee Stinger, BLACKHAWK!, Bolle, Bushnell, Butler Creek, CamelBak, Cebe, Champion Target, Eagle, Final Approach, Gold Tip, GunMate, Gunslick Pro, Hoppe's, Jimmy Styks, M-Pro 7, Millett, Night Optics, Outers, Primos, RCBS, Redfield, Serengeti, Simmons, Stoney Point, Tasco, Uncle Mike's, and Weaver brand names. The company sells its products to outdoor enthusiasts, hunters and recreational shooters, athletes, and law enforcement and military professionals through various mass, specialty, and independent retailers. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Farmington, Utah. Vista Outdoor is a leading global designer, manufacturer and marketer of consumer products in the outdoor sports and recreation markets. Vista Outdoor operates in two segments, Outdoor Products and Shooting Sports. Vista Outdoor is headquartered in Farmington, Utah and has 18 manufacturing operations and facilities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico along with international customer service, sales and sourcing operations in Asia, Australia, Canada, and Europe. We serve the outdoor sports and recreation markets through a diverse portfolio of over 50 well-recognized brands that provide consumers with a wide range of performance-driven, high-quality and innovative products, including sporting ammunition and firearms, golf rangefinders, hydration products, outdoor accessories, outdoor cooking solutions, outdoor sports optics, performance eyewear, protection for certain action sports, and stand up paddle boards. We serve a broad range of end consumers, including outdoor enthusiasts, hunters and recreational shooters, athletes, as well as law enforcement and military professionals. Our products are sold through a wide variety of mass, specialty and independent retailers and distributors, such as Academy, Amazon, Bass Pro Shops/Cabela' We also sell certain of our products directly to consumers through the relevant brand's website. Many of our brands have a rich, long-standing heritage, such as Federal Premium, founded in 1922, and Bushnell, founded in 1948. For example, we believe we hold the No. 1 sales position in the U.S. markets for ammunition, binoculars, game calls, golf rangefinders, holsters, hydration packs/bottles, and trap throwing devices. To maintain the strength of our brands and drive revenue growth, we invest in product innovation to improve performance, quality, and affordability while providing world-class customer support to leading retail partners and end users. We have received numerous awards for product innovation by respected industry publications and for service from our retail customers. Additionally, high-profile professional sportsmen and athletes use and endorse our products, which influences the purchasing behavior of recreational consumers. Our brands in the Outdoor Products and Shooting Sports segments include the following: Outdoor Products We also source finished product both domestically and internationally for global distribution. Our supply chain and logistics infrastructure gives us the ability to serve a broad array of wholesale and retail customers, many of whom rely on us for services such as category management, marketing campaigns, merchandising and inventory replenishment. Our strong wholesale and retail relationships and diverse product offering provide a unique competitive advantage. The plan is a result of a comprehensive evaluation of the brands within our current portfolio based on their ability to serve the Company's target consumer; create cross-selling and other similar synergy opportunities; achieve market leading positions and leadership economics; and demonstrate omni-channel distribution capabilities. As a result of this evaluation, Vista Outdoor will focus on achieving growth through its market-leading brands in ammunition, hunting and shooting accessories, hydration bottles and packs, and outdoor cooking products. ", - "id": "092fccab-7dc6-4e37-be35-637200079359" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill addresses the application of federal antitrust laws to the business of health insurance, which directly pertains to Everest Re Group Ltd.'s operations in insurance and reinsurance, including health and potentially dental insurance. Since the bill seeks to enhance competition and protect consumers in health insurance, it is relevant to Everest's business model.", - "index": "378", - "bill_title": "A bill to restore the application of the Federal antitrust laws to the business of health insurance to protect competition and consumers.", - "bill_summary": "Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act of 2019\n\nThis bill declares that nothing in the McCarran-Ferguson Act modifies, impairs, or supersedes the operation of antitrust laws with respect to the business of health insurance, including the business of dental insurance. This declaration does not apply to a contract, combination, or conspiracy to (1) collect, compile, or disseminate historical loss data; (2) determine a loss development factor for historical loss data; (3) perform actuarial services if the collaboration does not involve a restraint of trade; or (4) develop or disseminate a standard insurance policy form if adherence to the form is not required.\n\nProhibitions against unfair methods of competition apply to the business of health insurance without regard to whether the business is for profit.", - "company_name": "Everest Re Group Ltd.", - "company_description": "Group, a Bermuda company, was established in 1999 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Holdings. Holdings continues to be the holding company for the Company's U.S. based operations. Holdings Ireland is a direct subsidiary of Group and was established to serve as a holding company for the U.S. and Irish reinsurance and insurance subsidiaries. Effective July 1, 2016, the Company established a new Irish holding company, Everest Dublin Insurance Holdings Limited (Ireland) Until October 6, 1995, Holdings was an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of The Prudential Insurance Company of America (\"The Prudential\"). During the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company established a new Irish insurance subsidiary, Everest Insurance Ireland, designated activity company (\"Ireland Insurance\"), which will write insurance business mainly in the European markets. During the third quarter of 2016, the Company established domestic subsidiaries, Everest Premier Insurance Company (\"Everest Premier\") and Everest Denali Insurance Company (\"Everest Denali\"), which will be used in the continued expansion of the Insurance operations. Effective August 24, 2016, the Company sold its wholly-owned subsidiary, Heartland Crop Insurance Company (\"Heartland\"), a managing agent for crop insurance, to CGB Diversified Services, Inc. (\"Preferred International\"), a Bermuda based company and Everest International Holdings (Bermuda) These new subsidiaries were part of a capital restructuring within the Company to support a planned increase in international business production, which includes directly supporting Group's Lloyd's of London Syndicate corporate member. The Company's principal business, conducted through its operating segments, is the underwriting of reinsurance and insurance in the U.S., Bermuda and international markets. The Company underwrites reinsurance both through brokers and directly with ceding companies, giving it the flexibility to pursue business based on the ceding company's preferred reinsurance purchasing method. The Company underwrites insurance principally through brokers, surplus lines brokers and general agent relationships. Best\"), a leading provider of insurer ratings that assigns financial strength ratings to insurance companies based on their ability to meet their obligations to policyholders. Bermuda Re, a Bermuda insurance company and a direct subsidiary of Group, is registered in Bermuda as a Class 4 insurer and long-term insurer and is authorized to write property and casualty and life and annuity business. Re's UK branch writes property and casualty reinsurance to the United Kingdom and European markets. (\"Everest International\"), a Bermuda insurance company and a direct subsidiary of Group, is registered in Bermuda as a Class 4 insurer and is authorized to write property and casualty business. Through 2017, all of Everest International's business has been inter-affiliate quota share reinsurance assumed from Everest Re, the UK branch of Bermuda Re and In 2015, Everest International issued additional capital as part of a capital restructuring initiative within the Company to support a planned increase in international business production, which includes supporting Group's new Lloyd's of London Syndicate corporate member. \u00b7 Ireland Re, an Ireland reinsurance company and an indirect subsidiary of Group, is licensed to write non-life reinsurance, both directly and through brokers, for the London and European markets. \u00b7 Ireland Insurance, an Ireland insurance company and an indirect subsidiary of Group, is licensed to write insurance for the European markets. \u00b7 Everest Re, a Delaware insurance company and a direct subsidiary of Holdings, is a licensed property and casualty insurer and/or reinsurer in all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam and is authorized to conduct reinsurance business in Canada, Singapore and Brazil. Everest Re underwrites property and casualty reinsurance for insurance and reinsurance companies in the U.S. and international markets. \u00b7 Everest Insurance Company of Canada (\"Everest Canada\"), a Canadian insurance company and direct subsidiary of Holdings Ireland, is licensed to write property and casualty insurance in all Canadian provinces. \u00b7 Everest National Insurance Company (\"Everest National\"), a Delaware insurance company and a direct subsidiary of Everest Re, is licensed in 50 states and the District of Columbia and is authorized to write property and casualty insurance on an admitted basis in the jurisdictions in which it is licensed.", - "id": "70bae2b6-5a89-4033-a0e7-a306b5d8fb4a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving space weather forecasting and mitigation, primarily involving research, government agency coordination, and pilot programs for space weather data. United Airlines, as an airline and transportation company, does not have a direct need or operational overlap with these space weather activities. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill do not pertain to United's business model or activities.", - "index": "379", - "bill_title": "A bill to improve understanding and forecasting of space weather events, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Promoting Research and Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Forecasting of Tomorrow Act or the PROSWIFT Act\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions concerning improving the ability of the United States to forecast space weather events and mitigate the effects of space weather.\n\nThe bill provides statutory authority for the National Science and Technology Council's Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation Working Group, which coordinates executive branch efforts regarding space weather.\n\nThe bill directs the Office of Science and Technology Policy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Science Foundation, Air Force, Navy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and U.S. Geological Survey to carry out specified space weather activities.\n\nNOAA may establish a pilot program under which NOAA offers to enter into contracts with entities in the commercial space weather sector to provide NOAA with space weather data that meets certain standards.\n\nThe working group must periodically review and update the benchmarks described in the report of the National Science and Technology Council titled Space Weather Phase 1 Benchmarks and dated June 2018, as necessary, based on (1) any significant new data or advances in scientific understanding that become available, or (2) the evolving needs of entities impacted by space weather phenomena.", - "company_name": "United Airlines Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"UAL\" or the \"Company\") is a holding company and its principal, wholly-owned subsidiary is United Airlines, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, \"United\"). As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. The Company transports people and cargo throughout North America and to destinations in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America. UAL, through United and its regional carriers, operates more than 4,900 flights a day to 362 airports across six continents, with hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport (\"Newark\"), Chicago O'Hare International Airport ( The hub and spoke system allows us to transport passengers between a large number of destinations with substantially more frequent service than if each route were served directly. The hub system also allows us to add service to a new destination from a large number of cities using only one or a limited number of aircraft. As discussed under Alliances below, United is a member of Star Alliance, the world's largest alliance network. The Company has contractual relationships with various regional carriers to provide regional aircraft service branded as United Express. This regional service complements our operations by carrying traffic that connects to our hubs and allows flights to smaller cities that cannot be provided economically with mainline aircraft. , SkyWest Airlines, Inc. (\"SkyWest\"), Air Wisconsin Airlines LLC (\"Air Wisconsin\"), and Trans States Airlines, LLC (\"Trans States\") are all regional carriers that operate with capacity contracted to United under capacity purchase agreements (\"CPAs\"). The fees are based on specific rates multiplied by specific operating statistics (e.g., block hours, departures), as well as fixed monthly amounts. Under these CPAs, the Company is also responsible for all fuel costs incurred, as well as landing fees and other costs, which are either passed through by the regional carrier to the Company without any markup or directly incurred by the Company. In some cases, the Company owns some or all of the aircraft subject to the CPA and leases such aircraft to the regional carrier. In return, the regional carriers operate the capacity of the aircraft included within the scope of such CPA exclusively for United, on schedules determined by the Company. The Company also determines pricing and revenue management, assumes the inventory and distribution risk for the available seats and permits mileage accrual and redemption for regional flights through its MileagePlus loyalty program. United is a member of Star Alliance, a global integrated airline network and the largest and most comprehensive airline alliance in the world. As of January 1, 2020 , Star Alliance carriers served nearly 1,300 airports in 195 countries with more than 19,000 daily departures. Star Alliance members, in addition to United, are Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways In addition to its members, Star Alliance includes Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines as a connecting partner. United has a variety of bilateral commercial alliance agreements and obligations with Star Alliance members, addressing, among other things, reciprocal earning and redemption of frequent flyer miles, access to airport lounges and, with certain Star Alliance members, codesharing of flight operations (whereby one carrier's selected flights can be marketed under the brand name of another carrier). In addition to the alliance agreements with Star Alliance members, United currently maintains independent marketing alliance agreements with other air carriers, including Aeromar, Aer Lingus, Air Dolomiti, Azul Linhas A\u00e9reas Brasileiras S.A. In addition to the marketing alliance agreements with air partners, United also offers a train-to-plane codeshare and frequent flyer alliance with Amtrak from Newark on select city pairs in the northeastern United States. United also participates in four passenger joint business arrangements (\"JBAs\"): one with Air Canada and the Lufthansa Group (which includes Lufthansa and its affiliates Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and SWISS) covering transatlantic routes, one with ANA covering certain transpacific routes, one with Air New Zealand covering certain routes between the United States and New Zealand and one with Avianca and Copa Airlines, which, upon receipt of regulatory approvals will cover routes between the United States and Central and South America, excluding Brazil. These passenger JBAs enable the participating carriers to integrate the services they provide in the respective regions, capturing revenue synergies and delivering enhanced customer benefits, such as highly competitive flight schedules, fares and services. United also participates in cargo JBAs with ANA for transpacific cargo services and with Lufthansa for transatlantic cargo services.", - "id": "12c7d078-a19c-42eb-b400-2738f0dcd61b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on renewable energy demonstration programs, distributed energy resources, and smart grid investments. AMD's core business revolves around semiconductor manufacturing, particularly microprocessors and graphics processing units (GPUs), which do not directly intersect with the bill's focus on energy integration and optimization. Therefore, the legal consequences from this bill are not relevant to AMD's business model or activities.", - "index": "380", - "bill_title": "A bill to direct the Secretary of Energy to establish certain demonstration grant programs relating to the demonstration of advanced distribution systems, smart water heaters, vehicle-to-grid integration, and granular retail electricity pricing, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Distributed Energy Demonstration Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes several renewable energy and energy efficiency grant programs.\n\nSpecifically, the bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish grant programs for\n\n advancing the integration and optimization of distributed energy resources (e.g., smaller power sources that can be aggregated to provide power, such as rooftop solar panels) into the electric energy grid; demonstrating the use of household hot water heaters as energy storage resources; advancing electric vehicle technologies; and supporting the voluntary deployment of granular electricity pricing that is based upon the electricity's value at the time and location of the production or consumption of the electricity. In addition, the bill reauthorizes through FY2025 and revises the DOE grant program for smart grid investments.", - "company_name": "Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.", - "company_description": "any amounts in addition to what has been already accrued by AMD for future remediation costs under clean-up orders will not be material; we expect to file future patent applications in both the United States and abroad on significant inventions, as we deem appropriate; anticipated increase in costs related to enhancing, implementing and monitoring information security controls, remediating any data security breaches and addressing related litigation, mitigating reputational harm and compliance with external regulations related to our IT assets; we expect to receive $448.5 million upon the exercise of a warrant by West Coast Hitech L.P. (WCH) and issue 75 million shares of our common stock to WCH; revenue allocated to remaining performance obligations that are unsatisfied which will be recognized over the next 12 months; and a small number of customers will continue to account for a substantial part of AMD's revenue in the future. Material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: Intel Corporation's dominance of the microprocessor market and its aggressive business practices may limit AMD's ability to compete effectively; AMD has a wafer supply agreement with GF with obligations to purchase all of its microprocessor and APU product requirements, and a certain portion of its GPU product requirements, manufactured at process nodes larger than 7 nanometer (nm) from GF with limited exceptions. is dependent upon its technology being designed into third-party products and the success of those products 1 to operate its business; the markets in which AMD's products are sold are highly competitive; AMD's worldwide operations are subject to political, legal and economic risks and natural disasters, which could have a material adverse effect on it; AMD's issuance to West Coast Hitech L.P. (WCH) of warrants to purchase 75 million shares of its common stock, if and when exercised, will dilute the ownership interests of AMD's existing stockholders, and the conversion of the 2.125% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 (2.125% Notes) may dilute the ownership interest of AMD's existing stockholders, or may otherwise depress the price of its common stock; uncertainties involving the ordering and shipment of AMD's products could materially adversely affect it; the demand for AMD's products depends in part on the market conditions in the industries into which they are sold. We are a global semiconductor company primarily offering: \u2022x86 microprocessors, as standalone devices or as incorporated into an accelerated processing unit (APU), chipsets; discrete and integrated graphics processing units (GPUs), and professional GPUs; and \u2022 server and embedded processors and semi-custom System-on-Chip (SoC) products and technology for game consoles. We are a global semiconductor company. Semiconductors are components used in a variety of electronic products and systems. An integrated circuit (IC) is a semiconductor device that consists of many interconnected transistors on a single chip. Since the invention of the transistor in 1948, improvements in IC process and design technologies have led to the development of smaller, more complex and more reliable ICs at a lower cost-per-function. A microprocessor is an IC that serves as the CPU of a computer. It generally consists of hundreds of millions or billions of transistors that process data in a serial fashion and control other devices in the system, acting as the \"brain\" of the computer. The performance of a microprocessor is a critical factor impacting the performance of computing and entertainment platforms, such as desktop PCs, notebooks and workstations. The principal elements used to measure CPU performance are work-per-cycle (or how many instructions are executed per cycle), clock speed (representing the rate at which a CPU's internal logic operates, measured in units of gigahertz, or billions of cycles per second) and power consumption. Other factors impacting microprocessor performance include the process technology used in its manufacture, the number and type of cores, the ability of the cores to process multi-thread or process multiple 3 instructions simultaneously, the bit size of its instruction set (e.g., 32-bit vs 16-bit), memory size and data access speed. Developments in IC design and manufacturing process technologies have resulted in significant advances in microprocessor performance. Since businesses and consumers require greater performance from their computer systems due to the growth of digital data and increasingly sophisticated software applications, multi-core microprocessors offer enhanced overall system performance and efficiency because computing tasks can be spread across two or more processing cores, each of which can execute a task at full speed. Multi-core microprocessors can simultaneously increase performance of a computer system without greatly increasing the total amount of power consumed and the total amount of heat emitted. Businesses and consumers also require computer systems with improved power management technology, which helps them to reduce the power consumption of their computer systems, enables smaller and more portable form factors, and can lower the total cost of ownership. A GPU is a programmable logic chip that helps render images, animations and video and is increasingly being used to handle general computing tasks. GPUs are located in plug-in cards, as a discrete processor or in a chip on the motherboard, or in the same chip as the CPU as part of an accelerated processing unit (APU) or System-on-Chip (SoC). GPUs on stand-alone cards or discrete GPUs on the motherboard typically access their own memory, while GPUs in the chipset or CPU chip share main memory with the CPU. GPUs perform parallel operations on data to render images for a video display and are essential to presenting computer generated images on that display, decoding and rendering animations and displaying video. The more sophisticated the GPU, the higher the resolution and the faster and smoother moving objects can be displayed on video display or in a virtual environment (virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)). In addition to graphics processing, GPUs are used to perform parallel operations on multiple sets of data and are increasingly used to perform vector processing for non-graphics applications that require repetitive computations such as supercomputing, deep learning, artificial and machine intelligence, blockchain and various other applications (e.g., cryptocurrency mining, autonomous driving). ", - "id": "4912a255-968f-45b8-8b73-868a5ac82a52" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill directly impacts the state's revenue from mineral deposits, which could affect the market conditions and opportunities for Aegion Corp. as it operates in the energy, mining, and infrastructure sectors that could be influenced by changes in royalty distributions. Increased state revenues might lead to greater investment in infrastructure projects, aligning with Aegion's focus on pipeline and infrastructure rehabilitation.", - "index": "381", - "bill_title": "To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to convey to a State all right, title, and interest in and to a percentage of the amount of royalties and other amounts required to be paid to the State under that Act with respect to public land and deposits in the State, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "State Mineral Revenue Protection Act of 2019 \n\nThis bill increases the percentage that states receive from sales, bonuses, royalties, and rentals for all public land or mineral deposits located in the states by eliminating administrative costs that are deducted from the share allocated to states under current law.\n\nThe bill eliminates the 2% fee that the federal government currently deducts from a state's share to cover administrative or other costs.\n\nOn request of a state, the Department of the Interior must convey to the state a property interest in the state's share of royalties and other payments from public land or mineral deposits located in the state.Interior must provide prompt notice of any such conveyance and the duty of the leaseholder to make direct payments to the state.", - "company_name": "Aegion Corp.", - "company_description": "Aegion combines innovative technologies with market leading expertise to maintain, rehabilitate and strengthen pipelines and other infrastructure around the world. Since 1971, we have played a pioneering role in finding transformational solutions to rehabilitate aging infrastructure, primarily pipelines in the wastewater, water, energy, mining and refining industries. We also maintain the efficient operation of refineries and other industrial facilities and provide innovative solutions for the strengthening of buildings, bridges and other structures. We believe the depth and breadth of our products and services make us a leading provider for the world's infrastructure rehabilitation and protection needs. Our Company premise is to use technology to extend the structural design life and maintain, if not improve, the performance of infrastructure, mostly related to pipelines and piping systems. We have proved this expertise can be applied in a variety of markets to protect pipelines in oil, gas, nuclear, mining, wastewater and water applications and can be extended to the rehabilitation and maintenance of commercial structures and the provision of professional services in energy-related industries. Many types of infrastructure must be protected from the corrosive and abrasive materials that pass through or near them. Our expertise in non-disruptive corrosion engineering and abrasion protection is wide-ranging. We manufacture many of the engineered solutions we offer to customers as well as the specialized equipment required to install them. Finally, decades of experience give us an advantage in understanding municipal, energy, mining, industrial and commercial customers. CIPP process served as the first trenchless technology for rehabilitating wastewater pipelines and has enabled municipalities and private industry to avoid the extraordinary expense and extreme disruption that can result from conventional \"dig-and-replace\" methods. We have maintained our leadership position in the CIPP market from manufacturing to technological innovations and market share for over 45 years. We embarked on a diversification strategy in 2009 to expand not only our geographic reach but also our product and service portfolio into the oil and gas markets. Through a series of strategic initiatives and key acquisitions, we possess a broad portfolio of cost-effective solutions for rehabilitating and maintaining aging or deteriorating infrastructure, protecting new infrastructure from corrosion and providing integrated professional services in engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance and turnaround services for oil companies, primarily in the downstream market. Today, our long-term strategy is to invest in our core end markets for organic growth and acquire innovative technologies to enhance our competitive position. We have three operating segments, which are also our reportable segments: Infrastructure Solutions, Corrosion Protection and Energy Services. The majority of our work is performed in the municipal water and wastewater pipeline sector and, while the pace of growth is primarily driven by government funding and spending, overall demand due to required infrastructure improvements in our core markets should result in a long-term stable growth opportunity for our market leading products, Insituform\u00ae Corrosion Protection is positioned to capture the benefits of continued oil and natural gas pipeline infrastructure developments across North America and internationally, as producers and midstream pipeline companies transport their product from onshore and offshore oil and gas fields to regional demand centers both domestically and internationally. The segment has a broad portfolio of technologies, products and services to protect, maintain, rehabilitate, assess and monitor pipelines from the effects of corrosion, including cathodic protection, interior pipe linings, interior and exterior pipe coatings and insulation, as well as an increasing offering of inspection and repair capabilities. We provide solutions to customers to enhance the safety, environmental integrity, reliability and compliance of their pipelines in the oil and gas markets. We offer a unique value proposition based on our world-class safety and labor productivity programs, which allow us to provide cost-effective construction, maintenance, turnaround and specialty services at customers' refineries, chemical and other industrial facilities. We understand the demands and the level of critical planning required to ensure a successful turnaround or shutdown and offer a full range of services as part of our facility maintenance solutions, while maintaining a reputation for being safe and professional and providing predictable value. We are committed to being a valued partner to our customers, with a constant focus on expanding those relationships by solving complex infrastructure problems, enhancing our capabilities and improving execution while also developing or acquiring innovative technologies and comprehensive services. The fundamental driver in the global municipal pipeline rehabilitation market is the growing gap between the need and current spend. While we do not expect the spending gap to close any time soon, the increasing need for pipeline rehabilitation supports a long-term sustainable market for the technologies and services offered by our Infrastructure Solutions segment.", - "id": "717de7da-6af3-40a7-9690-a780f9942de9" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill mandates that all delivery vehicles owned or leased by the USPS must have air conditioning units. As AAON, Inc. manufactures a wide range of air conditioning equipment, including rooftop units and packaged cooling systems, this legislation directly promotes the demand for their products. Therefore, the bill is relevant to AAON, Inc.'s business activities.", - "index": "382", - "bill_title": "To require any delivery vehicle owned or leased by the United States Postal Service have an air conditioning unit, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Peggy Frank Memorial Act\n\nThis bill requires, by three years after this bill's enactment, that any delivery vehicle owned or leased by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) be modified to include an air conditioning unit.\n\nThe USPS may not purchase or lease any delivery vehicle unless that vehicle has an air conditioning unit.", - "company_name": "AAON, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are engaged in the engineering, manufacturing, marketing and sale of air conditioning and heating equipment consisting of standard, semi-custom and custom rooftop units, chillers, packaged outdoor mechanical rooms, air handling units, makeup air units, energy recovery units, condensing units, geothermal/water-source heat pumps and coils. Our products serve the commercial and industrial new construction and replacement markets. To date, our sales have been primarily to the domestic market. Our rooftop and condensing unit markets primarily consist of units installed on commercial or industrial structures of generally less than ten stories in height. Our air handling units, self-contained units, geothermal/water-source heat pumps, chillers, packaged outdoor mechanical rooms and coils are suitable for all sizes of commercial and industrial buildings. The size of these markets is determined primarily by the number of commercial and industrial building completions. The replacement market consists of products installed to replace existing units/components that are worn or damaged. Currently, over half of the industry's market consists of replacement units. The commercial and industrial new construction market is subject to cyclical fluctuations in that it is generally tied to housing starts, but has a lag factor of six to 18 months. When new construction is down, we emphasize the replacement market. Based on our 2017 sales of $405 million, we estimate that we have approximately a 12% share of the greater than five ton rooftop market and a 2% share of the less than five ton market. Approximately 55% of our sales were generated from the renovation and replacement markets and 45% from new construction. The percentage of sales for new construction vs. replacement to particular customers is related to the customer's stage of development. We purchase certain components, fabricate sheet metal and tubing and then assemble and test the finished products. Our primary finished products consist of a single unit system containing heating and cooling in a self-contained cabinet, referred to in the industry as \"unitary products\". Our other finished products are chillers, packaged outdoor mechanical rooms, coils, air handling units, condensing units, makeup air units, energy recovery units, rooftop units and geothermal/ water-source heat pumps. We offer three groups of rooftop units: the RQ Series, consisting of five cooling sizes ranging from two to six tons; the RN Series, offered in 28 cooling sizes ranging from six to 140 tons; and the RL Series, which is offered in 21 cooling sizes ranging from 45 to 240 tons. We also offer the SA, SB and M2 Series as indoor packaged, water-cooled or geothermal/water-source heat pump self-contained units with cooling capacities of three to 70 tons. Our small packaged geothermal/water-source heat pump units consist of the WH Series horizontal configuration and WV Series vertical configuration, both from one-half to five tons. We manufacture a LF Series chiller, air-cooled, a LN Series chiller, air-cooled, and a LZ Series chiller and packaged outdoor mechanical room, which are available in both air-cooled condensing and evaporative-cooled configurations, covering a range of four to 540 tons. BL Series boiler outdoor mechanical rooms are also available with 400-6,000 MBH heating capacity. FZ Series fluid cooler outdoor mechanical rooms are also available with a range of 50 to 450 tons. We offer four groups of condensing units: the CB Series, two to five tons; the CF Series, two to 70 tons; the CN Series, 55 to 140 tons; and the CL Series, 45 to 230 tons. Our air handling units consist of the indoor F1, H3 and V3 Series and the modular M2 and M3 Series, as well as air handling unit configurations of the RQ, RN, RL and SA Series units. Our energy recovery option applicable to our RQ, RN, RL and SB units, as well as our H3, V3, M2 and M3 Series air handling units, respond to the U.S. Clean Air Act mandate to increase fresh air in commercial structures.", - "id": "97370f6e-9aba-4cda-8ad7-247ac210259c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Acacia Communications, Inc. because it strengthens protections related to the online collection and use of personal information from children and minors, which could impact how the company markets its products or interacts with online services and clients. Since the company deals with products that may be used in networks accessed by children and minors, compliance with such regulations will be necessary to avoid legal repercussions.", - "index": "383", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 to strengthen protections relating to the online collection, use, and disclosure of personal information of children and minors, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "This bill extends to minors (ages 12\u201316) privacy protections previously applicable only to children (ages 0\u201312) and otherwise establishes greater online privacy protections for children and minors.\n\nSpecifically, the bill prohibits an operator of a website, online service, online application, or mobile application directed to a child or minor with constructive knowledge the user is a child or minor from collecting the user's personal information without\n\n providing notice and obtaining consent, providing a parent or minor with certain information upon request, conditioning participation by a user on the provision of personal information, establishing and maintaining reasonable procedures to protect the personal information collected from users. The bill also prohibits targeted marketing directed to a child or directed to a minor without the minor's consent.\n\nThe bill further outlines a set of principles governing how operators should collect and use personal information, as well as provide information to a parent or minor. A parent or minor must be able to challenge the accuracy of personal information, and an operator must provide for the erasure or correction of inaccurate personal information. Operators must also implement mechanisms for the erasure or elimination of personal information at the request of users and make users aware of such mechanisms.\n\nMoreover, the bill prohibits the sale of internet-connected devices targeted to children and minors unless they meet certain cybersecurity and data security standards, and it requires manufacturers of such devices to display a privacy dashboard detailing how personal information is collected and used.", - "company_name": "Acacia Communications, Inc.", - "company_description": "Our mission is to deliver high-speed coherent optical interconnect products that transform communications networks, relied upon by cloud infrastructure operators and content and communication service providers, through improvements in performance and capacity and reductions in associated costs. By implementing optical interconnect technology in a silicon-based platform, a process we refer to as the siliconization of optical interconnect, we believe we are leading a disruption that is analogous to the computing industry's integration of multiple functions into a microprocessor. Our products fall into three product groups: embedded modules, pluggable modules and semiconductors. Our embedded module and pluggable module product groups consist of optical interconnect modules with transmission speeds ranging from 100 to 1,200 gigabits per second, or Gbps, for use in long-haul, metro and inter-data center markets. Our semiconductor product group consists of our low-power coherent digital signal processor application-specific integrated circuits, or DSP ASICs, and our silicon photonic integrated circuits, or silicon PICs, which are either integrated into our embedded and pluggable modules or sold to customers on a standalone basis for integration into internally developed or other merchant modules. We are also developing a 400ZR module that will expand our pluggable module product group, and enable inter-data center transmission capacity of 400 Gbps in the same compact pluggable form factors used for 400G client optics, including QSFP-DD and OSFP. Our modules perform a majority of the digital signal processing and optical functions in optical interconnects and offer low power consumption, high density and high speeds at attractive price points. Through the use of standard interfaces, our modules can be easily integrated with customers' network equipment. The advanced software in our modules enables increased configurability and automation, provides insight into network and connection point characteristics and helps identify network performance problems, all of which increase flexibility and reduce operating costs. Our modules are rooted in our low-power coherent DSP ASICs and/or silicon PICs, which we have specifically developed for our target markets. Our coherent DSP ASICs and silicon PICs are manufactured using complementary metal oxide semiconductor, or CMOS. CMOS is a widely-used and cost-effective semiconductor process technology. Using CMOS to siliconize optical interconnect technology enables us to integrate increasing functionality into our products, benefit from higher yields and reliability associated with CMOS, capitalize on regular improvements in CMOS performance and density, and reduce costs. Our use of CMOS also enables us to use outsourced foundry services rather than requiring custom fabrication to manufacture our products. In addition, our use of CMOS and CMOS-compatible processes enables us to take advantage of the technology, manufacturing and integration improvements driven by other computer and communications markets that rely on CMOS. Our engineering and management teams have extensive experience in optical systems and networking, digital signal processing, large-scale ASIC design and verification, silicon photonic design and integration, system software development, hardware design and high-speed electronics design. This broad expertise in a range of advanced technologies, methodologies and processes enhances our innovation, design and development capabilities, and has enabled us, and we believe will continue to enable us, to develop and introduce state-of-the-art optical interconnect modules, coherent DSP ASICs and silicon PICs. In the course of our product development cycles, we engage with our customers as they design their current and next-generation network equipment in order to gauge current and future market needs. We sell our products through a direct sales force to leading network equipment manufacturers, network operators and cloud service providers. Industry Background Growing Demand for Bandwidth and Network Capacity Global Internet Protocol, or IP, traffic is projected to more than triple from 4.1 exabytes per day in 2017 to 13.2 exabytes per day in 2022, representing a projected 26% compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, according to Cisco's Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Trends, 2017-2022, dated November 2018, or the VNI Report. This projected rapid growth in IP traffic is the result of several factors, including: \u2022 Over the last decade, the proliferation of new technologies, applications, Web 2.0-based services and Internet-connected devices has led to increasing levels of Internet traffic and congestion and the need for greater bandwidth. Video traffic, in particular, is growing rapidly, and placing significant strains on network capacity. The VNI Report estimates that by 2022, video traffic will represent 82% of all global consumer IP traffic, forecast to be 293 exabytes per month in 2022, up from 77 exabytes per month in 2017. According to the 2 VNI Report, from 2017 to 2022, video traffic and all global consumer IP traffic are expected to increase by projected 34% and 31% CAGRs, respectively. ", - "id": "42f7cf1e-1930-44b9-9bde-210d3ce0a5b6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily regulates firearms and assault weapons, which is unrelated to HCP, Inc.'s business activities in healthcare real estate. The legal consequences of the bill do not impact the company's operations, as it focuses on real estate investments and management rather than firearms or weapons handling.", - "index": "384", - "bill_title": "To regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Assault Weapons Ban of 2019\n\nThis bill makes it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD).\n\nThe prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model.\n\nThe bill also exempts from the prohibition the following, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD:\n\n importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties.\n\nThe bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD.\n\nNewly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture.\n\nThe bill requires law enforcement agencies to be notified when a prohibited person attempts to purchase a grandfathered SAW.\n\nIt also allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.", - "company_name": "HCP, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business General Overview HCP, an S & P 500 company, invests primarily in real estate serving the healthcare industry in the United States (\"U.S.\"). We are a Maryland corporation organized in 1985 and qualify as a self-administered real estate investment trust. Our diverse portfolio is comprised of investments in the following reportable healthcare segments: (i) senior housing triple-net, (ii) senior housing operating portfolio (\"SHOP\"), (iii) life science and (iv) medical office. We invest and manage our real estate portfolio for the long-term to maximize the benefit to our stockholders and support the growth of our dividends. Acquire, develop, lease, own and manage a diversified portfolio of quality healthcare properties across multiple geographic locations and business segments, including senior housing, life science, and medical office, among others; \u2022 Align ourselves with leading healthcare companies, operators and service providers which, over the long-term, should result in higher relative rental rates, net operating cash flows and appreciation of property values; and Our strategy for maximizing the benefits from these opportunities is to: (i) work with new or existing tenants and operators to address their space and capital needs; and (ii) provide high-quality property management services in order to motivate tenants to renew, expand or relocate into our properties. Build and maintain long-term leasing and management relationships with quality tenants and operators. In choosing locations for our properties, we focus on their physical environment, adjacency to established businesses (e.g., hospital systems) and educational centers, proximity to sources of business growth and other local demographic factors. Replace tenants and operators at the best available market terms and lowest possible transaction costs. We believe that we are well-positioned to attract new tenants and operators and achieve attractive rental rates and operating cash flow as a result of the location, design and maintenance of our properties, together with our reputation for high-quality building services and responsiveness to tenants, and our ability to offer space alternatives within our portfolio. We structure lease extensions, early renewals or modifications, which reduce the cost associated with lease downtime or the re-investment risk resulting from the exercise of tenants' purchase options, while securing the tenancy and relationship of our high quality tenants and operators on a long-term basis. The delivery of healthcare services requires real estate and, as a result, tenants and operators depend on real estate, in part, to maintain and grow their businesses. We believe that the healthcare real estate market provides investment opportunities due to the: (i) compelling long-term demographics driving the demand for healthcare services; (ii) specialized nature of healthcare real estate investing; and (iii) ongoing consolidation of the fragmented healthcare real estate sector. While we emphasize healthcare real estate ownership, we may also provide real estate secured financing to, or invest in equity or debt securities of, healthcare operators or other entities engaged in healthcare real estate ownership. We monitor, but do not limit, our investments based on the percentage of our total assets that may be invested in any one property type, investment vehicle or geographic location, the number of properties that may be leased to a single tenant or operator, or loans that may be made to a single borrower. In allocating capital, we target opportunities with the most attractive risk/reward profile for our portfolio as a whole. We may take additional measures to mitigate risk, including diversifying our investments (by sector, geography, tenant or operator), structuring transactions as master leases, requiring tenant or operator insurance and indemnifications, and obtaining credit enhancements in the form of guarantees, letters of credit or security deposits. our relationships with leading healthcare operators and systems, investment banks and other market intermediaries, corporations, private equity firms, non-profits and public institutions seeking to monetize existing assets or develop new facilities; our relationships with institutional buyers and sellers of high-quality healthcare real estate; \u2022 our track record and reputation for executing acquisitions responsively and efficiently, which provides confidence to domestic and foreign institutions and private investors who seek to sell healthcare real estate in our market areas; \u2022 our relationships with nationally recognized financial institutions that provide capital to the healthcare and real estate industries; and \u2022 our control of sites (including assets under contract with radius restrictions). Our REIT qualification requires us to distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (excluding net capital gains); therefore, we do not retain a significant amount of capital. As a result, we regularly access the public equity and debt markets to raise the funds necessary to finance acquisitions and debt investments, develop and redevelop properties, and refinance maturing debt. issuance or origination of debt, including unsecured notes, term loans and mortgage debt; ", - "id": "4f58f1cc-f159-4944-9fd8-8293609bae4d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes an Office of Cybersecurity to oversee data security at consumer reporting agencies and includes penalties for cybersecurity breaches, which are particularly relevant to Akamai's business model of providing security solutions. Given Akamai's focus on protecting web applications and data centers from cyber threats, the legal consequences of this bill directly impact its operations, as increased regulatory scrutiny may drive demand for its security services.", - "index": "385", - "bill_title": "A bill to create an Office of Cybersecurity at the Federal Trade Commission for supervision of data security at consumer reporting agencies, to require the promulgation of regulations establishing standards for effective cybersecurity at consumer reporting agencies, to impose penalties on credit reporting agencies for cybersecurity breaches that put sensitive consumer data at risk, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Data Breach Prevention and Compensation Act of 2019\n\n This bill establishes an Office of Cybersecurity within the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The office must supervise the data security of credit reporting agencies, including through annual examinations. The office must also investigate and enforce suspected violations by credit reporting agencies.\n\nThe bill also requires notification to the FTC, relevant law enforcement and intelligence agencies, consumers, and the public of a data breach affecting a credit reporting agency.", - "company_name": "Akamai Technologies, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business Overview Akamai provides solutions for delivering, optimizing and securing content and business applications over the Internet. At the core of our solutions is our globally-distributed Akamai Intelligent Edge Platform, which is designed to help our customers leverage the power and reach of the Internet while protecting them from malicious threats to their business. We deploy servers and technology at the \"edge\" of the Internet \u2013 establishing touch points on its perimeter in more than 130 countries and 1,700 networks around the world. This approach affords us unique insight and visibility into traffic volumes, attack patterns, vulnerabilities and other activities across this complex cloud of networks and systems. Leveraging these insights and our position at the edge, we offer our customers solutions designed to protect them from threats and attacks, while empowering them to engage, entertain and interact with end-users; extend their internal systems beyond their corporate perimeters to control access and better leverage the cloud; and help them avoid the burden of navigating and managing the web's complexity. We believe that the edge is the next frontier of digital business \u2013 the intersection of users, digital technology and transactions, cloud computing and entertainment \u2013 and that our security, performance and delivery solutions can enable our customers to take advantage of the opportunities this intersection creates. The technology landscape is rapidly evolving, driving businesses to want to enhance their digital capabilities to improve productivity, transform customer experiences, increase brand awareness and drive competitive advantage. The network known as the Internet of Things, or IoT, is now connecting billions of devices that transmit large volumes of data from and within offices, hospitals, manufacturing plants, power grids, roads, schools and homes every second. We believe that new technologies like blockchain are emerging that promise to surpass the ability of current methods to process transactions more quickly and deliver data and content more securely. In addition, organizations seeking streamlined operations, digital transformation and improved cost management are increasing their reliance on servers and networks comprising the \"cloud\" based on the promise of agility and scale \u2013 a promise that has not always been realized. Enterprise applications are moving from behind the firewall to the cloud while employees increasingly demand remote access from a variety of devices \u2013 which we believe makes securing access harder to achieve with just traditional perimeter defenses. More consumers are \"cutting the cord\" and consuming entertainment over the Internet rather than through traditional cable, and they are increasingly using mobile devices to view content and shop. Web pages are also vastly more complex than ever before with advertisements, videos, graphics and other third-party content, causing speed and reliability to suffer. The Akamai Intelligent Edge Platform is architected to surround and extend a customer's existing cloud architecture, so it can accelerate and secure cloud-based activities and workloads on a global scale, while also improving reliability and reducing cost. Our platform comprises more than 200,000 servers deployed around the world, tied together with sophisticated software and algorithms. Our software also resides on millions of end-user devices, as 3 part of our work on client-assisted delivery for large media files. By placing integrated computing resources, data, content and security protection closer to end-users, at the edge, our technology is designed to extend our customers' existing cloud solutions to deliver superior user experiences that are bi-directional, instantaneous, rich and secure. The platform is also architected to enable us to constantly monitor Internet conditions to: \u2022identify, absorb and block security threats; \u2022 efficiently route traffic away from Internet trouble spots; \u2022 detect what devices individuals are using and optimize content delivery to them; \u2022 provide our customers with business, technical and analytical insights into their online operations; and \u2022 understand different types of traffic visiting websites so that customers can respond to them. We believe that our scale, unique technology, high-quality intellectual property portfolio, strong relationships with hundreds of leading telecommunications carriers and thousands of major brands on the web, and relentless and personalized attention to customer and partner needs create significant value for stockholders and provide a meaningful edge over competitors. We offer online solutions for the security, delivery and acceleration of websites and applications. s most important brands, including hundreds of media companies, e-retailers, major governments, financial institutions and other leading enterprises. Our Cloud Security Solutions are designed to defend websites, applications and data centers against a multitude of cyberattacks. These solutions include: \u2022Web Application Protector \u2013 Web Application Protector is designed to safeguard web assets from web application and distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attacks, while improving performance. This offering provides easy-to-implement application security for organizations that do not have robust security teams or expertise. ", - "id": "069d3ba8-9994-4f8c-aa90-b35cc7a8acf6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Alliance Resource Partners LP as it requires funding for health benefits for retired coal miners, which may include former employees of coal companies affected by bankruptcies in 2018. Since Alliance is a major coal producer and its workforce may include retirees who would benefit from the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan, the bill directly supports the health and welfare of the company's retired workforce.", - "index": "386", - "bill_title": "To amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to include certain retirees in the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Health Benefits for Miners Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Department of the Treasury to transfer additional funds to provide health benefits for retired coal miners. The bill adds miners affected by 2018 coal company bankruptcies to the group whose retiree health benefits are taken into account in determining the amount that Treasury must transfer under current law to the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan.", - "company_name": "Alliance Resource Partners LP", - "company_description": "We are a diversified natural resource company that generates income from coal production and oil & gas mineral interests located in strategic producing regions across the United States. We are currently the second largest coal producer in the eastern United States with eight underground mining complexes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland and West Virginia as well as a coal loading terminal in Indiana. We market our coal production to major domestic and international utilities and industrial users. We have grown historically primarily through expansion of our coal operations by adding and developing mines and coal reserves in these regions. In addition, we generate royalty income from mineral interests we own in premier oil & gas producing regions in the United States, primarily the Anadarko, Permian, Williston and Appalachian basins. Pursuant to that transaction, which closed on the same date, MGP contributed to ARLP all of its incentive distribution rights (\"IDRs\") and its 0.99% managing general partner interest in ARLP in exchange for 56,100,000 ARLP common units and a non-economic general partner interest in ARLP. AHGP would become a wholly owned subsidiary of ARLP, ii. The remaining AHGP common units held by the Owners of SGP were canceled and converted into the right to receive 29,188,997 ARLP common units which equaled (i) the product of the number of certain AHGP common units held by the Owners of SGP multiplied by 1.4782, minus (ii) 1,322,388 ARLP common units. In addition, ARLP issued 1,322,388 ARLP common units to the Owners of SGP in exchange for causing SGP to contribute to ARLP its remaining limited partner interest in AHGP, which included AHGP's indirect ownership of a 1.0001% general partner interest in the Intermediate Partnership and a 0.001% managing member interest in Alliance Coal, resulting in an overall exchange ratio to the Owners of SGP equal to that of the other AHGP unitholders. Upon the issuance of ARLP common units to the Owners of SGP in exchange for the limited partner interest in AHGP, ARLP became a) the sole limited partner of AHGP and b) through AHGP, the indirect owner of a 1.0001% general partner interest in the Intermediate Partnership and a 0.001% managing member interest in Alliance Coal. ARLP indirectly owns a 96.0% non-managing member interest and a non-economic managing member interest in Cavalier Minerals. On January 26, 2019, Kodiak Gas Services, LLC (\"Kodiak\") provided notification that it intended to redeem our preferred interest for $135.0 million, which is inclusive of an early redemption premium. We produce a diverse range of steam and metallurgical coal with varying sulfur and heat contents, which enables us to satisfy the broad range of specifications required by our customers. In 2018, we sold a record 40.4 million tons of coal and produced 40.3 million tons. The coal we sold in 2018 was approximately 28.1% low-sulfur coal, 40.1% medium-sulfur coal and 31.8% high-sulfur coal. Based on market expectations, we classify low-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of less than 1.5%, medium-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of 1.5% to 3%, and high-sulfur coal as coal with a sulfur content of greater than 3%. In 2018, approximately 68.2% of our tons sold were purchased by United States electric utilities and 27.8% were sold into the international markets through brokered transactions. The balance of our tons sold were to third-party resellers and industrial consumers. For tons sold to United 3 States electric utilities, 100% were sold to utility plants with installed pollution control devices. The BTU content of our coal ranges from 11,400 to 13,200. The following map shows the location of our coal mining operations: Illinois Basin Operations: 4. Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Mining Access: Slope & Shaft Transportation: Barge & Truck Transportation: Barge & Railroad Coal Type: Medium/High-Sulfur METTIKI COMPLEX & Truck & Truck 8. Mining Access: Slope & Shaft & Continuous Miner ", - "id": "0566cf01-69cb-4865-b424-41a965ac8e1a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes a Medicare-for-all system that could significantly impact Addus HomeCare Corp's business model, as it covers all U.S. residents and the company's primary consumers are dual eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. The prohibition of cost-sharing may affect reimbursement models for home care services and the emphasis on home-based care aligns with the company's operations, potentially increasing demand for their services.", - "index": "387", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish a Medicare-for-all national health insurance program.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare for All Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a national health insurance program that is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).\n\nAmong other requirements, the program must (1) cover all U.S. residents; (2) provide for automatic enrollment of individuals upon birth or residency in the United States; and (3) cover items and services that are medically necessary or appropriate to maintain health or to diagnose, treat, or rehabilitate a health condition, including hospital services, prescription drugs, mental health and substance abuse treatment, dental and vision services, and home- and community-based long-term care.\n\nThe bill prohibits cost-sharing (e.g., deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments) and\u00a0other charges for covered services, with the exception of prescription drugs. Additionally, private health insurers and employers may only offer coverage that is supplemental to, and not duplicative of, benefits provided under the program.\n\nHealth insurance exchanges and specified federal health programs terminate upon program implementation. However, the program does not affect coverage provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Indian Health Service. Additionally, state Medicaid programs must cover certain institutional long-term care services.\n\nThe bill also establishes a series of implementing provisions relating to (1) health care provider participation; (2) HHS administration; and (3) payments and costs, including the requirement that HHS negotiate prices for prescription drugs and establish a formulary.\n\nIndividuals who are age 18 or younger may enroll in the program starting one year after enactment of this bill; other individuals may buy into a transitional plan or an expanded Medicare program at this time, depending on age. The bill's program must be fully implemented four years after enactment.", - "company_name": "Addus HomeCare Corp.", - "company_description": "We are a home care services provider operating in three segments: personal care; hospice; and home health. Our services are principally provided in the home under agreements with federal, state and local government agencies. Our consumers are predominantly \"dual eligible,\" meaning they are eligible to receive both Medicare and Medicaid benefits. As of December 31, 2018, we provided services to over 39,000 consumers in 24 states through 156 offices. Our payor clients include federal, state and local governmental agencies, managed care organizations, commercial insurers and private individuals. Our personal care segment also includes staffing services, with clients including assisted living facilities, nursing homes and hospice facilities. Our services and operating model address a number of crucial needs across the healthcare continuum. Care provided in the home generally costs less than facility-based care and is typically preferred by consumers and their families. By providing services in the home to the elderly and others who require long-term care and support with the activities of daily living, we lower the cost of chronic and acute care treatment by delaying or eliminating the need for care in more expensive settings. In addition, our caregivers observe and report changes in the condition of our consumers for the purpose of facilitating early intervention in the disease process, which often reduces the cost of medical services by preventing unnecessary emergency room visits and/or hospital admissions and re-admissions. We coordinate the services provided by our team with those of other healthcare providers and payors as appropriate. By providing care in the preferred setting of the home and by providing opportunities to improve the consumer's conditions and allow early intervention as indicated, our model also is designed to improve consumer outcomes and satisfaction. We believe our model provides significant value to managed care organizations. States are increasingly implementing managed care programs for Medicaid enrollees, and as a result managed care organizations have been increasingly responsible for the healthcare needs and the related healthcare costs of our consumers. Managed care organizations have an economic incentive to better manage the healthcare expenditures of their members, lower costs and improve outcomes. We believe that our model is well positioned to assist in meeting those goals while also improving consumer satisfaction, and, as a result, we expect increased referrals from managed care organizations. Beginning January 1, 2019, a final rule of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (\"CMS\"), allows Medicare Advantage insurers to offer beneficiaries more options and new benefits. Through this rule, CMS has redefined health-related supplemental benefits to include services that increase health and improve quality of life, including coverage of non-skilled in-home care. This policy change, emphasizing improving quality and reducing costs, aligns with our overall approach to care, and we believe the increased demand for personal care from the Medicare Advantage population represents a significant upside opportunity over the next three to five years. We utilize Interactive Voice Response (\"IVR\") systems and smart phone applications to communicate with the majority of our aides. Through these technologies, our aides are able to report changes in health conditions to an appropriate manager for triage and evaluation. In addition, we use these technologies to record basic information about each visit, record start and end times for a 2 scheduled shift, track milea ge reimbursement, send text messages to the aide and communicate basic payroll information. In addition to our organic growth, we have been growing through acquisitions that have expanded our presence in current markets or facilitated our entry into new ma rkets where the personal care business has primarily been moving to managed care organizations. We maintain licensure as a Medicare home health agency in Ohio and Delaware in connection with providing services in those states. With the purchase of Ambercare Corporation (\"Ambercare\"), completed in the second quarter of 2018, we now maintain licensure as a Medicare home health and hospice agency in New Mexico. ", - "id": "1733456b-eec2-49ed-98a0-0cbb4a665aee" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on enhancing data collection and monitoring related to the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts. Given that Altair Engineering, Inc. provides data analytics solutions, including those applicable to various industries such as environmental monitoring and data management, the outcomes of the bill could directly impact their software applications. The company\u2019s expertise in high-performance computing and data analytics may position it to contribute to or benefit from the implementations outlined in the bill, such as technologies for improved data collection.", - "index": "388", - "bill_title": "A bill to improve data collection and monitoring of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Bolstering Long-Term Understanding and Exploration of the Great Lakes, Oceans, Bays, and Estuaries Act or the BLUE GLOBE Act \n\nThis bill addresses data collection and monitoring of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts.\n\nSpecifically, the bill\n\n increases domestic and international coordination to enhance data management and monitoring of the Great Lakes, oceans bays, estuaries, and coasts; creates the Interagency Ocean Exploration Committee to promote the exploration and improved understanding of the oceans; revises the Ocean Policy Committee to the Committee on Ocean Policy; establishes a technology innovation task force to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop a workforce development program, including to support undergraduate and graduate education in fields related to the advancement of the monitoring, collection, synthesis, and analysis of data regarding the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts; requires NOAA to ensure that a goal of its cooperative institutes is to advance or apply emerging technologies; requires NOAA to establish opportunities to engage indigenous, subsistence, and fishing communities to better understand their needs; institutes an ocean innovation prize to catalyze the rapid development and deployment of data collection and monitoring technology; reauthorizes several NOAA programs, including the Ocean Exploration Program; directs relevant federal agencies to measure the value and impact of industries related to the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts on the U.S. economy; and requires the National Academy of Sciences to assess the potential for an Advanced Research Projects Agency-Oceans.", - "company_name": "Altair Engineering, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"our\") is a global technology company providing software and cloud solutions in the areas of product design and development, high performance computing, and data analytics. Our simulation-driven approach to innovation is powered by our broad portfolio of high-fidelity and high-performance physics solvers. Our integrated suite of software optimizes design performance across multiple disciplines encompassing structures, motion, fluids, thermal management, electromagnetics, system modeling, and embedded systems, while also providing data analytics and true-to-life visualization and rendering. Our high performance computing solutions maximize the efficient utilization of complex compute resources and streamline the workflow management of compute-intensive tasks for applications including data analytics, modeling and simulation, and visualization. Our data analytics products include data preparation, data science and visualization solutions that fuel engineering, scientific, and business decisions. This culture is important because it helps attract and retain top people, encourages innovation and teamwork, and enhances our focus on achieving Altair's corporate objectives. Products Rising expectations of end-market customers are causing expansion of the application of simulation and data analytics across many industry verticals. Our engineering, simulation, and data analytics software enables customers to enhance product performance, compress development time, and reduce costs. We believe we are unique in the industry for the depth and breadth of our engineering application software offerings combined with our domain expertise and proprietary technology for harnessing high performance computing, or HPC and cloud infrastructures along with data analytics. Altair is a leading provider of modeling, visualization, and physics solver solutions with a broad portfolio of best-in-class technology across many engineering disciplines. Our simulation software offers manufacturing companies opportunities to achieve better, lower cost products with fewer physical prototypes and tests, and reduces the time required to bring products to market. We are a leading provider of data analytics technology for data preparation, management and analysis. Financial services organizations, such as banks, credit unions, and health care companies, as well as finance departments in various industries, including manufacturing, use our software to capture disparate data streams and apply analytics to make more informed business decisions. We are a leading provider of high-performance and cloud computing workflow tools which empower customers to explore designs and analyze data in ways not possible in traditional computing environments. Our customers include Universities, government agencies, manufacturers, pharmaceutical firms, weather prediction agencies, and electronics design companies. Software Products Altair's software products represent a comprehensive, open architecture solution for simulation, data analytics and cloud computing to empower decision making for improved product design and development, manufacturing, energy management and exploration, financial services, health care, and retail operations. We believe our products offer a comprehensive set of technologies to design and optimize high performance, efficient, innovative and sustainable products and processes in an increasingly connected world. Our products are categorized by: \u2022 Design, Modeling & Visualization ; \u2022 Physics Simulation; \u2022 Data Analytics; \u2022 High Performance Computing; and \u2022 Internet of Things , or IoT. 3 Design, Modeling & Visualization Altair' s design, modeling & visualization tools under HyperWorks allow for advanced physics attributes to be modeled and rendered on top of object geometry in high fidelity. These tools are becoming more user friendly, design-centric and relevant earlier in the development process. Addressing the large market of designers and design engineers who are not experts in simulation is important toward increasing the use of simulation in design processes. Altair has several technologies focused on this market, including Inspire and SimSolid. Our industrial and concept design tools generate early concepts to address requirements for ergonomics, aesthetics, performance, manufacturing feasibility, and cost. These tools are all driven by simulation and machine learning algorithms.", - "id": "0c36a756-baad-4975-afd4-dc163c13ea3b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes open internet requirements and transparency for broadband providers, which are highly relevant to ADTRAN, Inc. as a provider of networking and communication equipment for CSPs. ADTRAN's business model relies on enabling broadband services and adapting to regulations affecting service delivery, making compliance with such requirements critical for their operations.", - "index": "389", - "bill_title": "To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for open internet requirements for providers of broadband internet access service.", - "bill_summary": "Promoting Internet Freedom and Innovation Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes transparency requirements for a provider of broadband internet service and prohibits a provider from taking certain actions to restrict content.\n\nSpecifically, the bill requires a broadband internet provider to disclose accurate management practices, performance information, and commercial terms sufficient for consumers to make informed choices and for entrepreneurs and small businesses to develop, market, and maintain new internet offerings. Additionally a provider is barred from (1) blocking lawful content, applications, or services; (2) prohibiting the use of non-harmful devices; (3) throttling lawful internet traffic; or (4) engaging in paid prioritization.", - "company_name": "ADTRAN, Inc.", - "company_description": "Inc. (ADTRAN) is a leading global provider of networking and communications equipment. Our solutions enable voice, data, video and Internet communications across a variety of network infrastructures. These solutions are deployed by many of the United States' and the world's largest communications service providers (CSPs), distributed enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses, public and private enterprises, and millions of individual users worldwide. Network Solutions Network Solutions includes software and hardware products that enable CSPs and enterprise customers to realize a fully connected world. CSPs are now being challenged to deliver Gigabit-enabled residential services, widely available high-bandwidth cloud connectivity services for enterprise customers, and scalable Ethernet and optical networking for mobile backhaul and data center connectivity. These needs are driving CSPs to transition their networks to a fiber-rich, cloud-controlled and software-defined future state for large-scale converged service delivery. We are focused on being a top global supplier of Access infrastructure and related value-added solutions from the Cloud Edge to the Subscriber Edge. We offer a broad portfolio of flexible hardware and software network solutions that enable CSPs to meet today's service demands, while enabling them to transition to the fully converged, scalable, highly automated, cloud-controlled voice, data, Internet and video network of the future. We are accelerating the industry's transition to open, programmable, scalable networks. The ADTRAN Mosaic TM Software-Defined Access (SD-Access) architecture combines modern Web-scale technologies with open-source platforms to facilitate rapid innovation in multi-technology, multi-vendor environments. The Mosaic cloud platform and Mosaic OS, combined with programmable network elements, provide operators with a highly agile, open-services architecture. This allows operators to better compete with Web-scale competition by reducing the time and cost to on-board new service, technologies and best-of-breed suppliers as they strive to reduce operational costs while creating and deploying differentiated product offerings. Our products and services provide solutions supporting fiber- and copper-based infrastructures and a growing number of wireless and coax-based solutions, lowering the overall cost to deploy advanced services across a wide range of applications. To further the goal of accelerating the industry's path to SD-Access, we launched our Mosaic Open Networking Alliance to foster the widespread development and industry adoption of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) solutions based on open standards. The Alliance includes two levels of engagement, the first of which comprises Collaboration Members committed to joint innovation, collaboration, insight and knowledge sharing. The second tier includes Integration Members, a community of partners who will integrate with or work within the Mosaic framework. This involves Technology Partners focused on delivering innovative programmable network functions and service partners delivering managed services, system integration and other network operation requirements. To complement our Network Solutions portfolio and to enable our customers to accelerate time to market, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction, we offer a complete portfolio of maintenance, turnkey network implementation, maintenance, solutions integration and managed services. ADTRAN Professional Services enables CSPs to increase their service velocity, while providing higher customer satisfaction. Our network implementation services offer a full spectrum of services related to engineering (pre-construction), installation/turn-up (construction), and provisioning (post-construction), partnering with customers to tailor a program to each specific service delivery need. We also o ffer a full spectrum of professional services under the ProServices ADTRAN ProServices is a comprehensive and flexible service program designed to offer complete networking lifecycle support. The ProServices portfolio consists of three distinct service offerings: ProStart\u00ae Our maintenance services are specifically designed to protect customers' networks from unnecessary downtime throug h services such as managed spares, and remote or on-site technical support beyond our standard warranty coverage. Our ProCare\u00ae program, which is available to all of our customers, guarantees priority access to technical support engineers.", - "id": "5f58b2e8-d3b3-41cd-bd5e-1f62d3a729ea" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill directly impacts drug pricing and market exclusivity, which are crucial for Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc. as a pharmaceutical company. The requirements for HHS to review drug prices and the possibility of voiding government-granted exclusivity could significantly affect their product GOCOVRI, and their overall ability to maintain competitive pricing and exclusivity in the market. Given that they develop treatments for neurological diseases and rely on patent protections and market exclusivity, the bill is highly relevant to their business activities.", - "index": "390", - "bill_title": "A bill to significantly lower prescription drug prices for patients in the United States by ending government-granted monopolies for manufacturers who charge drug prices that are higher than the median prices at which the drugs are available in other countries.", - "bill_summary": "Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a series of oversight and disclosure requirements relating to the prices of brand-name drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review at least annually all brand-name drugs for excessive pricing; HHS must also review prices upon petition. If any such drugs are found to be excessively priced, HHS must (1) void any government-granted exclusivity; (2) issue open, nonexclusive licenses for the drugs; and (3) expedite the review of corresponding applications for generic drugs and biosimilar biological products. HHS must also create a public database with its determinations for each drug.\n\nUnder the bill, a price is considered excessive if the domestic average manufacturing price exceeds the median price for the drug in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. If a price does not meet this criteria, or if pricing information is unavailable in at least three of the aforementioned countries, the price is still considered excessive if it is higher than reasonable in light of specified factors, including cost, revenue, and the size of the affected patient population.\n\nThe bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified financial information for brand-name drugs, including research and advertising expenditures.", - "company_name": "Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "At Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., we seek to redefine the treatment experience for patients suffering from chronic neurological diseases. Our vision is grand, our goal bold: to create and commercialize a new generation of medicines intended to lessen the burden of disease on patients, caregivers and society. With a new commercial medicine and robust pipeline of investigational programs focused on meaningfully differentiated treatment options for patients, we believe we are well on our way. Our therapeutic targets include a broad range of neurologic diseases, including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. Our treatment innovations stem from a deep scientific understanding of time-dependent biology \u2013 the deliberate mapping of disease patterns and drug activity \u2013 along with a goal to meaningfully increase the efficacy of known molecules without compromising tolerability. This approach is designed to ensure that our medicines fit within, rather than define, people's daily lives. Our goal is to develop medicines that are timed for the benefit of patients. Our understanding of time-dependent biological processes informs our every innovation, targeting advancement in treatment of chronic neurologic disorders. (amantadine) extended release capsules, formerly referred to as ADS-5102, for the treatment of dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease receiving levodopa-based therapy, with or without concomitant dopaminergic medications. GOCOVRI was approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on August 24, 2017, with seven years of orphan exclusivity and additional patent protections, and we fully launched GOCOVRI with a deployed sales force in January 2018. Potential Additional Indications for GOCOVRI (amantadine) ADS-5102 in development for the treatment of walking impairment in patients with multiple sclerosis. We expect the start of our Phase 3 pivotal study in this supplemental indication to occur early in the second quarter of 2018. ADS-5102 in research and potential development for additional indications, including the treatment of wearing OFF and delaying motor complications in Parkinson's disease, tardive dyskinesia, Huntington's chorea, Tourette syndrome, and non-motor disorders, including depression, and anti-psychotic induced weight gain. We expect to select additional indications for ADS-5102 by first quarter 2019. ADS-4101 (lacosamide) modified release capsules in development for the treatment of partial onset seizures in patients with epilepsy. We have requested a meeting with the FDA in the first half of 2018, with the start of a Phase 3 pivotal study planned for 2019, depending on FDA feedback. Additional product candidates in research based on potential new discoveries in Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, as well as new research programs in psychiatry. (memantine hydrochloride extended release and donepezil hydrochloride) capsules for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of an Alzheimer's type, marketed in the United States by Allergan plc under an exclusive license agreement between us and Forest Laboratories Holdings Limited (\"Forest\"), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Allergan plc. (memantine hydrochloride) extended release capsules for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of an Alzheimer's type, marketed in the United States by Allergan plc under the Forest license agreement. 3 Products in our wholly-owned portfolio, potential additional indications for these products, and our product candidates, are protected by an array of intellectual property, including robust and diversified patent claims, and regulatory exclusivities. For example, GOCOVRI is protected by seven-year orphan drug exclusivity, three-year new product exclusivity, and issued patents and pending patent applications out to at least 2035. We also received $160.0 million in upfront and milestone payments and $4.1 million in development funding from our partnership with Allergan plc. We estimate that approximately 36 million people in the United States suffer from chronic central nervous system, or CNS, disorders such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, psychosis, depression, and Alzheimer' CNS diseases are frequently treated with multiple medications having different mechanisms of action with the goal of maximizing symptomatic benefits for patients.", - "id": "f00fee04-f44b-45c8-8344-fa813589211f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The PARTNERS Act promotes registered apprenticeships and work-based learning programs which can directly benefit Altair Engineering, Inc. by supporting the development of a skilled workforce in fields such as engineering and technology. Given that Altair operates in high-tech engineering and simulation software, access to a skilled labor force through such programs is crucial for its business model focused on innovation and development. Thus, the bill is relevant to Altair's activities.", - "index": "391", - "bill_title": "To promote registered apprenticeships and other work-based learning programs for small and medium-sized businesses within in-demand industry sectors, through the establishment and support of industry or sector partnerships.", - "bill_summary": "Promoting Apprenticeships through Regional Training Networks for Employers Required Skills Act of 2019 or the PARTNERS Act\n\nThis bill establishes a grant program to promote registered apprenticeships and other work-based learning opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses within in-demand industry sectors, through the establishment and support of eligible partnerships.", - "company_name": "Altair Engineering, Inc.", - "company_description": "the \u0093Company,\u0094 \u0093we,\u0094 \u0093us\u0094 or \u0093our\u0094) is a leading provider of enterprise-class engineering software enabling innovation across the entire product lifecycle from concept design to in-service operation. Our vision is to transform product design and organizational decision making by applying simulation, optimization and high performance computing throughout product lifecycles. Our simulation-driven approach to innovation is powered by our broad portfolio of high-fidelity and high-performance physics solvers. Our integrated suite of software optimizes design performance across multiple disciplines encompassing structures, motion, fluids, thermal management, electromagnetics, system modeling, and embedded systems, while also providing data analytics and true-to-life visualization and rendering. This culture is important because it helps attract and retain top people, encourages innovation and teamwork, and enhances our focus on achieving Altair\u0092s corporate objectives. Our software enables customers to enhance product performance, compress development time, and reduce costs. Altair is also a leading provider of high performance computing, or HPC, workflow tools which empower our customers to explore designs in ways not possible in traditional computing environments. We believe we are unique in the industry for the depth and breadth of our engineering application software offerings combined with our domain expertise and proprietary technology for harnessing HPC and cloud infrastructures. Our primary users are highly educated and technical engineers, commonly referred to as simulation specialists. We predominantly reach customers with simulation specialists through Altair\u0092s experienced, direct sales force, especially in industries requiring highly engineered products, such as automotive, aerospace, heavy machinery, rail and ship design. To enable concept engineering driven by simulation we make our physics solvers more accessible to designers, who may be less technical and not expert in simulation, by wrapping them in powerful, yet simple interfaces. We are increasing our use of indirect channels to more efficiently address a broader set of customers in consumer products, electronics, energy and other industries. Altair pioneered a patented units-based subscription licensing model for software and other digital content. This units-based subscription licensing model allows flexible and shared access to all of our offerings, along with over 150 partner products. Our customers license a pool of units for their organizations giving individual users access to our entire portfolio of software applications as well as our growing portfolio of partner products. We believe our units-based subscription licensing model lowers barriers to adoption, creates broad engagement, encourages users to work within our ecosystem, and increases revenue. Software products Altair\u0092s software products, available under our HyperWorks, solidThinking, Altair PBS, and Carriots suites, represent a comprehensive, open architecture computer-aided engineering, or CAE, simulation platform. We believe our products offer the industry\u0092s broadest set of technologies to design and optimize high performance, efficient, and innovative products. Our products are categorized by: \u0095 Solvers & Optimization; \u0095 Modeling & Visualization; \u0095 Industrial & Concept Design; \u0095 Internet of Things; and \u0095 HPC. Solvers & optimization Solvers are mathematical software \u0093engines\u0094 that use advanced computational algorithms to predict physical performance. Optimization leverages solvers to derive the most efficient solutions to meet desired complex multi-objective requirements. Altair\u0092s solvers are a comprehensive set of fast, scalable and reliable physics solvers that can solve complex problems in linear and non-linear mechanics, fluid dynamics, electromagnetics, motion, systems and manufacturing simulation. optimization technology is a key differentiator and spans our product offering. Our focus on optimization combined with multiphysics and multi-domain simulation has changed product development, and we believe customers using our technologies can gain a sustainable competitive advantage by developing better products in less time. ", - "id": "3d0acdd6-291b-494f-800d-9419a346d317" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill prohibits Medicaid funding for conversion therapy, which pertains to mental health and LGBTQ+ issues. Abeona Therapeutics, Inc. focuses on developing gene and cell therapies for rare genetic diseases, which are unrelated to the provisions of this bill. There are no legal consequences from this bill that would impact the company's business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "392", - "bill_title": "To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to prohibit payments under the Medicaid program for conversion therapy, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Prohibition of Medicaid Funding for Conversion Therapy Act\n\nThis bill prohibits state Medicaid programs from covering conversion therapy. The bill defines conversion therapy as any practice or treatment that seeks to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity in exchange for monetary compensation.", - "company_name": "Abeona Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing cell and gene therapies for life-threatening rare genetic diseases. Our lead programs include EB-101 (gene-corrected skin grafts) for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), ABO-102 (AAV-SGSH), an adeno-associated virus (AAV) based gene therapy for Sanfilippo syndrome type A (MPS IIIA) and ABO-101 (AAV NAGLU), an AAV based gene therapy for Sanfilippo syndrome type B (MPS IIIB). We are also developing ABO-201 (AAV-CLN3) gene therapy for juvenile Batten disease (JNCL), ABO-202 (AAV-CLN1) for treatment of infantile Batten disease (INCL), EB-201 for epidermolysis bullosa (EB), ABO-301 (AAV-FANCC) for Fanconi anemia (FA) disorder and ABO-302 using a novel CRISPR /Cas9-based gene editing approach to gene therapy for rare blood diseases. In addition we are developing a proprietary vector platform, AIM\u2122, for next generation product candidates. Product Development Strategy Abeona is focused on developing and delivering gene therapy products for severe and life-threatening rare diseases. A rare disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. There are nearly 7,000 rare diseases, which may involve chronic illness, disability, and often, premature death. While rare diseases can affect any age group, about 50% of people affected are children (15 million) and rare diseases account for 35% of deaths in the first year of life. Over 95% of rare diseases do not have a single FDA or EMA approved drug treatment, however most rare diseases are often caused by changes in genes. We believe emerging insights in genetics and advances in biotechnology, as well as new approaches and collaboration between researchers, industry, regulators and patient groups, provide significant opportunities to develop breakthrough treatments for rare diseases. Next Generation Gene Therapy Gene therapy is the use of DNA as a potential therapy to treat a disease. In many disorders, particularly genetic diseases caused by a single genetic defect, gene therapy aims to treat a disease by delivering the correct copy of DNA into a patient's cells. The healthy, functional copy of the therapeutic gene then helps the cell function correctly. In gene therapy, DNA that encodes a therapeutic protein is packaged within a ''vector,'' often ' virus, which is used to transfer the DNA to the inside of cells within the body. Gene therapy can be delivered by a direct injection, either intravenously (IV) or directly into a specific tissue in the body, where it is taken up by individual cells. Once inside cells, the correct DNA is expressed by the cell machinery, resulting in the production of missing or defective protein, which in turn is used to treat the patient's underlying disease and can provide long-term benefit. Viruses such as AAV are utilized because they have evolved a way of encapsulating and delivering one or more genes of the size needed for clinical application, and can be purified in large quantities at high concentration. Unlike AAV vectors found in nature, the AAV vectors used by Abeona have been genetically-modified such that they do not replicate. Although the preclinical studies in animal models of disease demonstrate the promising impact of AAV-mediated gene expression to affected tissues such as the heart, liver and muscle, our programs use a specific virus that is capable of delivering therapeutic DNA across the blood brain barrier and into the central nervous system (CNS) and the somatic system (body), making them attractive for addressing lysosomal storage diseases which have severe CNS manifestations of the disease. Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) are a group of rare inborn errors of metabolism resulting from deficiency in normal lysosomal function. These diseases are characterized by progressive accumulation of storage material within the lysosomes of affected cells, ultimately leading to cellular dysfunction. Multiple tissues ranging from musculoskeletal and visceral to tissues of the CNS are typically involved in disease pathology. Since the advent of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) to manage some LSDs, general clinical outcomes have significantly improved; however, treatment with infused protein is lifelong and continued disease progression is still evident in patients.", - "id": "3a977e1c-18a5-4337-abfb-9b8f4891cc3b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving the efficiency of gas turbines for power generation, which aligns with Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.'s focus on power conversion and control technologies. Their expertise in providing precision power solutions could play a significant role in the research, development, and demonstration aspects of the bill, as they design and manufacture products used in various power applications, including those relevant to gas turbines.", - "index": "393", - "bill_title": "To establish a research, development, and technology demonstration program to improve the efficiency of gas turbines used in combined cycle and simple cycle power generation systems.", - "bill_summary": "This bill requires the Office of Fossil Energy to carry out a research, development, and technology demonstration program to improve the energy efficiency of gas turbines used in electric power generation systems. Specifically, the program must develop technologies that will lead to gas turbine combined cycle efficiency of 67% or simple cycle efficiency of 50%. In addition, the program must include field demonstrations of the developed technologies to demonstrate technical and economic feasibility.", - "company_name": "Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview Advanced Energy provides highly-engineered, mission-critical, precision power conversion, measurement and control solutions to our global customers. We design, manufacture, sell and support precision power products that transform, refine, and modify the raw electrical power from the utility and convert it into various types of highly- controllable usable power that is predictable, repeatable and customizable. Our power solutions enable innovation in complex semiconductor and thin film plasma processes such as dry etch, strip, chemical and physical deposition, high and low voltage applications such as process control, analytical instrumentation and medical equipment, and in temperature-critical thermal applications such as material and chemical processing. We also supply related instrumentation products for advanced temperature measurement and control, electrostatic instrumentation products for test and measurement applications, and gas sensing and monitoring solutions for multiple industrial markets. Our network of global service support centers provides local repair and field service capability in key regions as well as provide upgrades and refurbishment services, and sales of used equipment to businesses that use our products. The high-efficiency, low voltage, configurable power supplies that Excelsys manufactures for medical and industrial applications further enhance Advanced Energy's product portfolio. In February 2018, we acquired Trek Holding Co., Ltd (\"Trek\"), a privately held company with operations in Tokyo, Japan and Lockport, New York. Trek has a 95% ownership interest in its U.S. subsidiary which is also its primary operation. Trek designs, manufactures and sells high-voltage amplifiers, power supplies and generators, high-performance electrostatic measurement instruments and electrostatic discharge (ESD) sensors and monitors to the global marketplace. standard and custom-OEM products are used in production and research in aerospace, automotive, electronics, electrostatics, medical, military, nanotechnology, photovoltaic/solar, plasma, semiconductor and test and measurement applications. Trek's comprehensive portfolio of power supply products strengthen and accelerate Advanced Energy's growth in high voltage applications. In May 2018, we acquired the electrostatic technology and product line from Monroe Electronics, Inc. located in Lyndonville, New York. The electrostatic detection and measurement instrumentation products serve specific areas of testing and monitoring of ionization systems across a variety of applications. In addition, the non-contact electrostatic voltmeters and field meters complement those of Trek. Production of these electrostatic products has been integrated into Trek's manufacturing facility in nearby Lockport, New York. (\"LumaSense\"), a privately held company with primary operations in Santa Clara, California, Frankfurt, Germany, Magdeburg, Germany and Ballerup, Denmark. LumaSense designs, manufactures and sells a line of photonic-based measurement and monitoring solutions that are synergistic with the Company's precision power control technologies in both semiconductor and industrial markets allowing customers' the ability to better control critical parameters of thermal and material processes. The acquisition of LumaSense complements our leading pyrometry solutions with additional fiber optic thermometry for an extended range of semiconductor applications in etch and deposition, provides integrated industrial temperature control and metrology applications for both thin films coating and thermal processing, and adds industrial pyrometry and gas sensing technologies. Our precision power products and solutions are designed to enable new process technologies, improve productivity, and lower the cost of ownership for our customers. These products must meet demanding requirements in efficiency, flexibility, performance, and reliability. We also provide repair and maintenance services for all of our products. We principally serve global original equipment manufacturers (\"OEM\") and end customers in the semiconductor and industrial technology markets with process power and applied power products. Our process power products are used in a diverse set of processes and applications in semiconductor device manufacturing such as dry etch, strip, chemical and physical deposition, and in thin film application of advanced materials for architectural glass, flat panel displays, crystalline silicon solar cells and industrial coatings. Our applied power products are used across a variety of industrial technology applications and include high and low voltage power supplies, power control modules, thermal instrumentation and gas detection and monitoring products. Our process power solutions include direct current (\"DC\"), pulsed DC, low frequency alternating current (\"AC\"), high voltage, and radio frequency (\"RF\") power supplies, RF matching networks, remote plasma sources for reactive gas applications and RF instrumentation.", - "id": "939a021d-7fd6-4d1a-a00f-c39752b01c59" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Transit Worker and Pedestrian Protection Act requires public transportation entities to develop risk reduction programs for safety, which includes reporting assaults on transit workers. Although Sky West, Inc. primarily operates regional airline services, it may engage in code-sharing agreements with public transportation systems. Therefore, the safety risk reduction requirements and the need for reporting incidents could indirectly affect Sky West's operational and compliance costs, making the bill relevant to the company's activities.", - "index": "394", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title 49, United States Code, to require the development of public transportation operations safety risk reduction programs, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Transit Worker and Pedestrian Protection Act\n\nThis bill requires grant recipients under the public transportation safety program who operate a fixed route bus service to (1) develop a risk reduction program for bus operations to improve safety by reducing the number and rates of accidents, injuries, assaults on bus operators, and fatalities; (2) submit the program\u00a0 to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for review and approval; and (3) implement the approved program.\n\nDOT shall require grant recipients who operates a rail fixed guideway public transportation system that is not subject to regulation by the Federal Railroad Administration to (1) develop a risk reduction program for assaults on rail workers to improve safety by reducing the number and severity of assaults on such workers; (2) submit the program to DOT for review and approval; and (3) implement the approved program.\n\nA grant recipient shall report to DOT any information on each assault on a transit worker for inclusion in the National Transit Database.", - "company_name": "Sky West, Inc.", - "company_description": "Inc. (\"Alaska\") (each, a \"major airline partner\") and any potential impact of their financial condition on the operations of SkyWest, SkyWest Airlines or ExpressJet; fluctuations in flight schedules, which are determined by the major airline partners for whom SkyWest's operating airlines conduct flight operations; variations in market and economic conditions; significant aircraft lease and debt commitments; realization of manufacturer residual value guarantees on applicable SkyWest aircraft; residual aircraft values and related impairment charges; the impact of global instability; labor relations and costs; potential fluctuations in fuel costs, and potential fuel shortages; the impact of weather-related or other natural disasters on air travel and airline costs; new aircraft deliveries; and the ability to attract and retain qualified pilots, as well as the other factors described below in Item 1A. Risk Factors. Through SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet, we offer scheduled passenger service with approximately 2,980 daily departures to destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Substantially all of our flights are operated as Delta Connection, United Express, American Eagle or Alaska Airlines flights under code\u2011share arrangements (commercial agreements between airlines that, among other things, allow one airline to use another airline's flight designator codes on its flights) with Delta, United, American or Alaska, respectively. Under these fixed\u2011fee agreements, our major airline partners generally pay us fixed rates for operating the aircraft primarily based on the number of completed flights, flight time and the number of aircraft under contract. The major airline partners also reimburse us for specified direct operating expenses (including fuel expense). SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet have developed industry\u2011leading reputations for providing quality regional airline service during their long operating histories. As of December 31, 2017, these aircraft have been removed from service and are in the process of being returned under the applicable leasing arrangement or are aircraft transitioning between code-share agreements with our major airline partners. As of December 31, 2017, our fleet scheduled for service consisted of aircraft manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace (\"Bombardier\") and Embraer S.A. (\"Embraer\") summarized as follows: Manufacturer 37 Bombardier and Embraer are the primary manufacturers of regional jets operated in the United States and offer many of the amenities of larger commercial jet aircraft, including flight attendant service, a stand\u2011up cabin, overhead and under seat storage, lavatories and in\u2011flight snack and beverage service. The speed of Bombardier and Embraer regional jets is comparable to larger aircraft operated by major airlines, and they have a range of approximately 1,600 miles and 2,100 miles, respectively. SkyWest Airlines provides regional jet service to airports primarily located in the Midwestern and Western United States, as well as Mexico and Canada. As of December 31, 2017, SkyWest Airlines offered approximately 2,000 daily departures, of which approximately 770 were United Express flights, 810 were Delta Connection flights, 300 were American Eagle flights and 120 were Alaska Airlines flights. SkyWest Airlines' operations are conducted principally from airports located in Chicago (O'Hare), Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Seattle. As of December 31, 2017, SkyWest Airlines operated a fleet of 422 aircraft consisting of the following: 4 CRJ200 CRJ700 SkyWest Airlines conducts its code\u2011share operations with its major airline partners pursuant to the following agreements: Major airline partner United \"SkyWest Airlines United Express Agreements\" and ExpressJet ExpressJet provides regional jet service to airports primarily located in the Eastern and Midwestern United States, as well as Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean. ExpressJet's operations are conducted principally from airports located in Atlanta, Chicago (O'Hare), Houston, Newark and New York. ExpressJet offered approximately 980 daily departures, of which approximately 350 were Delta Connection flights, 550 were United Express flights and 80 were American Eagle flights. As of December 31, 2017, ExpressJet operated a fleet of 173 aircraft consisting of the following: CRJ200 173 ExpressJet conducts its code\u2011share operations with its major airline partners pursuant to the following agreements: Major airline partner SkyWest Leasing The SkyWest Leasing segment includes revenue attributed to our Embraer E175 dual-class regional jet aircraft (\"E175\") ownership cost earned under the applicable fixed-fee contracts, and the depreciation and interest expense of our E175 aircraft. The SkyWest Leasing segment additionally includes the income from Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet (\"CRJ200\") aircraft leased to a third-party. The airline industry is highly competitive.", - "id": "bbaa116e-ff29-4772-85a4-808c56362a8d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill regulates large capacity ammunition feeding devices (LCAFDs), establishing penalties for their import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession. Since Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. primarily operates as a sporting goods retailer, focusing on sports equipment, apparel, and footwear, and has notably ceased selling firearms and related accessories, the legal consequences of this bill do not significantly impact their business model or activities.", - "index": "395", - "bill_title": "To regulate large capacity ammunition feeding devices.", - "bill_summary": "Keep Americans Safe Act\n\nThis bill establishes a new criminal offense for the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD).\n\nThe bill does not prohibit certain conduct with respect to an LCAFD, including the following:\n\n importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD.\n\nNewly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification and the date of manufacture.\n\n Additionally, the bill allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender an LCAFD under a buy-back program.", - "company_name": "Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"us\" and \"our\" unless specified otherwise) is a leading omni-channel sporting goods retailer offering an extensive assortment of authentic, high-quality sports equipment, apparel, footwear and accessories through a blend of dedicated associates, in-store services and unique specialty shop-in-shops. The Company also owns and operates Golf Galaxy and Field & Stream stores, and Dick's Team Sports HQ, an all-in-one youth sports digital platform offering scheduling, communications and live scorekeeping through its GameChanger mobile apps, free league management services, custom uniforms and fan wear, and access to donations and sponsorships. The Company offers its products through a content-rich eCommerce platform that is integrated with its store network and provides customers with the convenience and expertise of a 24-hour storefront. Our vision is to be the best sports company in the world. We believe that our mindset and our culture must ensure that every decision we make, whether in our stores or at our Customer Support Center (\"CSC\"), improves the athlete's experience. We will continue to make investments that enhance our store experience, improve our eCommerce fulfillment capabilities and implement technology solutions that improve the athlete experience as well as teammate productivity. Our marketing program is designed to build loyalty for the Dick's Sporting Goods brand while promoting our broad assortment of brand name sporting goods equipment, apparel and footwear in a specialty store environment. Our historical marketing strategy has consisted largely of newspaper advertising supplemented by direct mail and seasonal use of local and national television and radio. While we continue to market through these traditional channels, we have more recently developed brand-building marketing campaigns focused on building passion and loyalty to the Dick's Sporting Goods brand and have shifted our advertising focus toward digital marketing and personalization. The Company continues to grow its community presence through Team Sports HQ and sponsoring thousands of teams at the local level. We also launched a new tier of our ScoreCard loyalty program during 2018 that better rewards our best customers for their loyalty to us. Our history and core foundation is as a retailer of high-quality authentic athletic equipment, apparel and footwear, which is intended to enhance our customers' performance and enjoyment of athletic pursuits, rather than focusing our merchandise selection on the latest fashion trend or style. Our objective is not only to carry leading brands, but to carry a full range of products within each category, including premium items for the sports enthusiast. We believe that the breadth of our product selections in each category of sporting goods offers our customers a wide range of good, better and best price points and enables us to address the needs of sporting goods consumers, from the beginner to the sports enthusiast, which distinguishes us from other large format sporting goods stores. We also believe that the range of merchandise and extensive in-store support services that we offer allows us to differentiate and compete effectively against all of our competitors, from traditional independent sporting goods stores and specialty shops to other large format sporting goods stores and mass merchant discount retailers to internet-based retailers. We believe when our customers connect with the Dick's Sporting Goods brand they expect a seamless shopping experience, regardless of the manner in which they choose to shop with us. We continue to see growth in the number of customers who shop with us both online and in our stores and believe these omni-channel customers represent the future of retail. We plan to continue investing to improve the functionality and performance of our eCommerce site, including a faster and more convenient checkout, improved page responsiveness and new content development through our Pro Tips platform. Like our customers, we see retail as an omni-channel experience, where the distinctions between stores and online are becoming increasingly irrelevant. We believe our store base gives us a competitive advantage over our online-only competitors, as our physical presence allows us to better serve our customers by creating strong engagement through experiential elements, offering the convenience of accepting in-store returns or exchanges and expediting fulfillment of eCommerce orders. We believe that offering support services for the products we sell enhances the credibility of our associates and specialty store concepts with our customers and further differentiates our stores from our competitors. Our key partners invest in our stores to showcase their brands. We carry a wide variety of well-known brands, including adidas, Asics, Brooks, Callaway Golf, Columbia, Easton, Nike, TaylorMade, The North Face, Titleist, Under Armour and Yeti. Our brand partnerships also provide us with access to exclusive products and allow us to differentiate our customers' shopping experience through initiatives such as our brand shops, which provide our customers with a wider and deeper selection of products from our key brands. To provide differentiation in assortment of products when compared to our competitors, we also offer a wide variety of private brand products that are not available from other retailers.", - "id": "44578a4a-872b-4163-80b7-e61d608131aa" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill's focus is on addressing and overcoming Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases through federal oversight and public health initiatives, which does not directly impact Vista Outdoor, Inc.'s business model or activities related to outdoor sports, recreation products, or shooting sports.", - "index": "396", - "bill_title": "To provide for a national strategy to address and overcome Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "National Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Control and Accountability Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes the Office of Oversight and Coordination for Tick-Borne Diseases within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The office must oversee the creation of a national strategy to address Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases and disorders. The national strategy must include program assessments, benchmarks for progress, and recommendations from the previously established Tick-Borne Disease Working Group.\n\nThe bill also requires HHS to undertake specific actions that promote research, prevention, and treatment of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases and disorders. Among other things, HHS must:\n\n support expansive research into the pathology, diagnosis, and treatment of such diseases and disorders; establish a surveillance system to track the prevalence of such diseases and disorders in humans; establish a surveillance system to track the prevalence of disease-carrying ticks; conduct educational campaigns; and hold a series of research symposiums.", - "company_name": "Vista Outdoor, Inc.", - "company_description": "Vista Outdoor Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets consumer products for the outdoor sports and recreation markets worldwide. The company's Shooting Sports segment designs, develops, produces, and sources ammunition for the hunting and sport shooting enthusiast markets, as well as for local law enforcement, the United States government, and international markets under the Federal Premium, Speer, American Eagle, Blazer, CCI, Estate Cartridge, Stevens, Fusion, Savage Arms, Savage Range Systems, Force on Force, and Independence brands; and provides firearms products, such as centerfire rifles, rimfire rifles, shotguns, and range systems. Its Outdoor Products segment offers archery/hunting accessories, such as hunting arrows, game calls, hunting blinds, game cameras, and waterfowl decoys; eyewear and sport protection products comprising safety and protective eyewear, fashion and sports eyewear, and helmets; golf products, including laser rangefinders; and hydration products consisting of hydration packs and water bottles. This segment also offers optics products, such as binoculars, riflescopes, and telescopes; shooting accessories, including reloading equipment, clay targets, and premium gun care products; tactical products comprising holsters, duty gear, bags, and packs; and water sports products, such as stand up paddle boards. It provides its products under the Alliant Powder, Bee Stinger, BLACKHAWK!, Bolle, Bushnell, Butler Creek, CamelBak, Cebe, Champion Target, Eagle, Final Approach, Gold Tip, GunMate, Gunslick Pro, Hoppe's, Jimmy Styks, M-Pro 7, Millett, Night Optics, Outers, Primos, RCBS, Redfield, Serengeti, Simmons, Stoney Point, Tasco, Uncle Mike's, and Weaver brand names. The company sells its products to outdoor enthusiasts, hunters and recreational shooters, athletes, and law enforcement and military professionals through various mass, specialty, and independent retailers. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Farmington, Utah. Vista Outdoor is a leading global designer, manufacturer and marketer of consumer products in the outdoor sports and recreation markets. Vista Outdoor operates in two segments, Outdoor Products and Shooting Sports. Vista Outdoor is headquartered in Farmington, Utah and has 18 manufacturing operations and facilities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico along with international customer service, sales and sourcing operations in Asia, Australia, Canada, and Europe. We serve the outdoor sports and recreation markets through a diverse portfolio of over 50 well-recognized brands that provide consumers with a wide range of performance-driven, high-quality and innovative products, including sporting ammunition and firearms, golf rangefinders, hydration products, outdoor accessories, outdoor cooking solutions, outdoor sports optics, performance eyewear, protection for certain action sports, and stand up paddle boards. We serve a broad range of end consumers, including outdoor enthusiasts, hunters and recreational shooters, athletes, as well as law enforcement and military professionals. Our products are sold through a wide variety of mass, specialty and independent retailers and distributors, such as Academy, Amazon, Bass Pro Shops/Cabela' We also sell certain of our products directly to consumers through the relevant brand's website. Many of our brands have a rich, long-standing heritage, such as Federal Premium, founded in 1922, and Bushnell, founded in 1948. For example, we believe we hold the No. 1 sales position in the U.S. markets for ammunition, binoculars, game calls, golf rangefinders, holsters, hydration packs/bottles, and trap throwing devices. To maintain the strength of our brands and drive revenue growth, we invest in product innovation to improve performance, quality, and affordability while providing world-class customer support to leading retail partners and end users. We have received numerous awards for product innovation by respected industry publications and for service from our retail customers. Additionally, high-profile professional sportsmen and athletes use and endorse our products, which influences the purchasing behavior of recreational consumers. Our brands in the Outdoor Products and Shooting Sports segments include the following: Outdoor Products We also source finished product both domestically and internationally for global distribution. Our supply chain and logistics infrastructure gives us the ability to serve a broad array of wholesale and retail customers, many of whom rely on us for services such as category management, marketing campaigns, merchandising and inventory replenishment. Our strong wholesale and retail relationships and diverse product offering provide a unique competitive advantage. The plan is a result of a comprehensive evaluation of the brands within our current portfolio based on their ability to serve the Company's target consumer; create cross-selling and other similar synergy opportunities; achieve market leading positions and leadership economics; and demonstrate omni-channel distribution capabilities. As a result of this evaluation, Vista Outdoor will focus on achieving growth through its market-leading brands in ammunition, hunting and shooting accessories, hydration bottles and packs, and outdoor cooking products. ", - "id": "1d49fc7e-d182-4e41-8c64-997cd8dbaffa" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to the modification of qualification requirements and fiduciary duties for multiple employer retirement plans. ANSYS, Inc., a company focused on engineering simulation software, does not directly engage in retirement plan management or related fiduciary responsibilities. Therefore, the legal changes introduced by the bill do not have a significant impact on ANSYS's business model or activities.", - "index": "397", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to modify the requirements for multiple employer plans, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "This bill modifies the qualification requirements and fiduciary duties for certain multiple employer retirement plans with pooled plan providers.", - "company_name": "ANSYS, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS ANSYS, a Delaware corporation formed in 1994, develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services widely used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a broad spectrum of industries and academia, including aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, semiconductors, energy, materials and chemical processing, turbomachinery, consumer products, healthcare, and sports. The Company focuses on the development of open and flexible solutions that enable users to analyze designs directly on the desktop, providing a common platform for fast, efficient and cost-conscious product development, from design concept to final-stage testing and validation. The Company distributes its ANSYS\u00ae suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in strategic, global locations. The Company operates and reports as one segment. ANSYS Workbench\u2122 ANSYS Workbench is the framework upon which the Company's suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The innovative project schematic view ties together the entire simulation process, guiding the user through complex multiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop simplicity. With bi-directional computer-aided design (CAD) connectivity, powerful highly-automated meshing, a project-level update mechanism, pervasive parameter management and integrated optimization tools, the ANSYS Workbench platform enables Pervasive Engineering Simulation\u2122. The Company's Workbench framework allows engineers and designers to incorporate the compounding effects of multiple physics into a virtual prototype of their design and simulate its operation under real-world conditions. As product architectures become smaller, lighter and more complex, companies must be able to accurately predict how products will behave in real-world environments where multiple types of physics interact in a coupled way. ANSYS multiphysics software enables engineers to simulate the interactions between structures, heat transfer, fluids and electronics all within a single, unified engineering simulation environment. ANSYS Workbench enables companies to create a customized simulation environment to deploy specialized simulation best practices and automations unique to their product development process or industry. With ANSYS ACT\u2122, end users or ANSYS partners can modify the user interface, process simulation data or embed third-party applications to create specialized tools based on ANSYS Workbench. The Company's high-performance computing (HPC) product suite enables enhanced insight into product performance and improves the productivity of the design process. The HPC product suite delivers cross-physics parallel processing capabilities for the full spectrum of the Company's simulation software by supporting structures, fluids, thermal and electronics simulations. This product suite decreases turnaround time for individual simulations, allowing users to consider multiple design ideas and make the right design decisions early in the design cycle. The Company's structural analysis product suite offers simulation tools for product design and optimization that increase productivity, minimize physical prototyping and help to deliver better and more innovative products in less time. These tools tackle real-world analysis problems by making product development less costly and more reliable. In addition, these tools have capabilities that cover a broad range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities, all targeted toward understanding and solving complex design problems. The Company also provides comprehensive topology optimization tools that engineers use to design structural components to meet loading requirements with minimal material and component weight. The Company offers a complete simulation workflow for additive manufacturing that allows reliable 3D printing by simulating the laser sintering process and delivering compensated CAD geometries that ensure reliable printed parts. The Company's fluids product suite enables modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design and optimize new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications. The Company's electromagnetics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance of mobile communication and internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment, all prior to building a prototype. ", - "id": "b9ce0875-e486-44b6-9a2a-0ff8fa7afa5e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill establishes a business incubators program focused on supporting Native American entrepreneurs and businesses, which does not directly relate to Verso Corp.'s core business of manufacturing and selling coated and specialty papers. Verso's operations are largely centered around the paper production industry, which is facing challenges due to the growth of digital media, rather than business incubation or support services.", - "index": "398", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish a business incubators program within the Department of the Interior to promote economic development in Indian reservation communities.", - "bill_summary": "Native American Business Incubators Program Act \n\nThis bill establishes a grant program to provide business incubation and other business services to Native American entrepreneurs and businesses.\n\n(Sec. 4) Specifically, the bill requires the Department of the Interior to establish a grant program in the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development for establishing and operating business incubators that serve Native American communities. A business incubator is an organization that (1) provides physical workspace and facilities resources to start-ups and established businesses, and (2) is designed to accelerate the growth and success of businesses through a variety of business support resources and services. Grant applicants may be institutions of higher education, private nonprofits, Native American tribes, or tribal nonprofits.\n\nInterior must issue a grant for a three-year term and may renew a grant for up to three more years.\n\nGrant recipients must generally provide a nonfederal contribution of at least 25% of the annual grant disbursement each year; however, Interior may waive this requirement under certain circumstances. Further, grant recipients must provide a nonfederal contribution of at least 33% of a grant renewal. (Sec. 6) Interior must facilitate the establishment of relationships between grant recipients and educational institutions serving Native American communities.\n\n(Sec. 7) Additionally, Interior must coordinate with the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Treasury, and the Small Business Administration to ensure that grant recipients have the information and materials needed to provide Native American businesses and entrepreneurs with assistance in applying for federal business and entrepreneurial development programs.", - "company_name": "Verso Corp.", - "company_description": "Verso is the sole member of Verso Holding LLC, which is the sole member of Verso Paper Holding LLC. As used in this report, the term \"Verso Holding\" refers to Verso Holding LLC, and the term \"Verso Paper\" refers to Verso Paper Holding LLC. We are the leading North American producer of coated papers, which are used primarily in commercial print, magazines, catalogs, high-end advertising brochures and annual reports, among other media and marketing publications. We produce a wide range of products, ranging from coated freesheet and coated groundwood, to specialty papers, packaging papers, inkjet and digital papers, supercalendered papers and uncoated freesheet. We also produce and sell bleached and unbleached market kraft pulp, which is used to manufacture paper and packaging products. The mills have an aggregate annual production capacity of approximately 1,970,000 tons of paper. We sell and market our products to approximately 300 customers which comprise approximately 1,300 end-user accounts. We have long-standing relationships with many leading magazine and catalog publishers, commercial printers, specialty retail merchandisers and paper merchants. We reach our end-users through several distribution channels, including direct sales, commercial printers, paper merchants and brokers. whereby we agreed to sell to Pixelle, or the \"Pixelle Sale,\" all of the outstanding membership interests in Verso Androscoggin, LLC an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Verso and the entity that, as of the closing date, held all the assets primarily related to Verso's Androscoggin Mill located in Jay, Maine, and Stevens Point Mill, located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. The consideration for the sale will be subject to final post-closing adjustments pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement. The Pixelle Sale reduced the aggregate annual production capacity of our mills by approximately 660,000 tons. On April 30, 2019, we announced the permanent shutdown of our paper mill in Luke, Maryland in response to the continuing decline in customer demand for the grades of coated freesheet paper produced at the Luke Mill, along with rising input costs, a significant influx of imports and rising compliance costs and infrastructure challenges associated with environmental regulation. The shutdown of the Luke Mill reduced our coated freesheet production capacity by approximately 450,000 tons and eliminated approximately 675 positions at the Luke Mill. Based on total industry 2019 sales and other market research, we estimate the size of the global coated paper industry to be approximately 35 million tons, including approximately 5 million tons in North America. Coated paper is used primarily in media and marketing applications, including catalogs, magazines and commercial printing applications, which include high-end advertising brochures, annual reports and direct mail advertising. Demand is generally driven by North American advertising and print media trends, which in turn have historically been correlated with growth in gross domestic product. The coated paper industry has been facing a decline in demand driven primarily by the growth in digital media (see \"Item 1A. - The paper industry has been facing a long-term structural decline and our profitability has been adversely impacted by such decline\"). In North America, coated papers are classified by brightness and fall into five grades, labeled No. 1 to No. 5, with No. 1 having the highest brightness level and No. 5 having the lowest brightness level. Papers graded No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 are typically coated freesheet grades. No. 4 and No. 5 papers are predominantly grades containing groundwood. Coated groundwood grades are the preferred grades for catalogs and magazines, while coated freesheet is more commonly used in commercial print applications. Within the paper industry, specialty papers are products which are given unique characteristics in their manufacturing, converting or processing and that have properties suitable for special purposes or custom engineered applications. Specialty papers have unique functional properties and are usually produced in relatively small quantities for a specific product, function or end-use requirement.", - "id": "e91e722c-32fb-4026-8fd9-fc001f6d23da" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing a State public option for healthcare through Medicaid, which is not related to the business operations of Prologis, Inc., a logistics real estate company. The consequences of the bill would primarily impact healthcare access and costs, which do not intersect with Prologis's focus on real estate investment and logistics.", - "index": "399", - "bill_title": "To establish a State public option through Medicaid to provide Americans with the choice of a high-quality, low-cost health insurance plan.", - "bill_summary": "State Public Option Act\n\nThis bill allows residents who are\u00a0not already eligible for Medicaid\u00a0and not concurrently enrolled in other health insurance coverage to\u00a0buy into\u00a0a state\u00a0Medicaid plan\u00a0beginning January 1, 2020, at the option of the state. State Medicaid programs may set premiums and cost-sharing requirements for such coverage in accordance with specified limitations.\n\nThe bill also (1) provides the enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) to every state that expands Medicaid coverage for individuals who are newly eligible under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, regardless of when such expansion takes place; and (2) requires state Medicaid programs to cover comprehensive reproductive health care services, including abortion services.", - "company_name": "Prologis, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business Prologis, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed REIT and is the sole general partner of Prologis, L.P. through which it holds substantially all of its assets. We invest in real estate through wholly owned subsidiaries and other entities through which we co-invest with partners and investors. Prologis, Inc. began operating as a fully integrated real estate company in 1997 and elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (\"Internal Revenue Code\"). We believe the current organization and method of operation will enable Prologis, Inc. to maintain its status as a REIT. We operate and evaluate our business on an owned and managed (\"O & M\") basis, including properties that we wholly-own and properties that are owned by one of our co-investment ventures. We make decisions based on the property operations, regardless of our ownership interest. Our investment consists of our wholly-owned properties and our pro rata (or ownership) share of the properties owned in ventures. THE COMPANY Prologis is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on key markets in 19 countries on four continents. We own, manage and develop well-located, high-quality logistics facilities. Our local teams actively manage our portfolio, which encompasses leasing and property management, capital deployment and opportunistic dispositions allowing us to recycle capital to self-fund our development and acquisition activities. The majority of our properties in the United States (\"U.S.\") are wholly owned, while our properties outside the U.S. are generally held in co-investment ventures, to mitigate our exposure to foreign currency movements. Our irreplaceable portfolio is focused on the world's most vibrant markets where consumption and supply chain reconfiguration drive logistics demand. In the developed markets of the U.S., Europe and Japan, key demand drivers include the reconfiguration of supply chains (strongly influenced by e-commerce trends), the demand for sustainable design features and the operational efficiencies that can be realized from high-quality logistics facilities. In emerging markets, such as Brazil, China and Mexico, growing affluence and the rise of a new consumer class have increased the need for modern distribution networks. Our strategy is to own the highest-quality logistics property portfolio in each of our target markets. These markets are characterized by what is most important for the consumption side of a logistics supply chain \u2014 large population centers with proximity to labor pools, surrounded by highways, rail service or ports. The DCT portfolio of logistics real es tate assets wa s highly complementary to our portfolio in terms of product quality, location and growth potential. As a result of the closely aligned portfolios and similar business strategies, we have integrated the properties while adding minimal property management expenses . Our results for 2018 include the DCT port folio from the date of acquisition . At December 31, 2018, we owned or had investments in properties, on a wholly-owned basis or through ventures, in the following regions (dollars in billions, based on gross book value and total expected investment (as defined below) and square feet in millions): Included in these amounts are consolidated and unconsolidated investments denominated in foreign currencies, principally the British pound sterling, euro and Japanese yen that are impacted by fluctuations in exchange rates when translated to U.S. dollars. A developed property moves into the operating portfolio when it meets our definition of stabilization, which is the earlier of one year after completion or reaching 90% occupancy. Amounts represent our total expected investment (\"TEI\"), which includes the estimated cost of development or expansion, including land, construction and leasing costs. Rental operations comprise the largest component of our operating segments and generally contribute 85% to 90% of our consolidated revenues, earnings and funds from operations (\"FFO\"). We collect rent from our customers through long-term operating leases, including reimbursements for the majority of our property operating costs.", - "id": "0245e5f1-4479-4579-8125-0a12fa495318" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill expands workplace protections, including those for whistleblowers and requires employers to provide safe working conditions. As a major retail and apparel company with a global presence, Ralph Lauren Corp. is affected by these enhanced safety regulations and the increased scrutiny of workplace conditions and reporting requirements. This directly impacts their operational compliance and employee safety practices.", - "index": "400", - "bill_title": "To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to expand coverage under the Act, to increase protections for whistleblowers, to increase penalties for high gravity violations, to adjust penalties for inflation, to provide rights for victims or their family members, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Protecting America's Workers Act\n\nThis bill expands the coverage of requirements governing workplace safety and health to include protection for federal, state, and local government employees. However, the bill does not cover working conditions otherwise covered by federal requirements for mine safety and health.\n\nThe bill revises requirements governing worker protection, including by\n\n expanding protections for whistle-blowers, such as protections for employees who refuse to perform work because they reasonably believe the work would result in serious injury or illness and for employees who aid inspections; directing employers to furnish a hazard-free place of employment to all individuals performing work, not just employees; directing employers to report work-related deaths or certain injuries, illnesses, or hospitalizations; requiring the Department of Labor to investigate fatalities or significant incidents in the workplace; establishing rights for victims, or representatives of victims, with respect to inspections or investigations of work-related bodily injuries or deaths; setting the permitted period for employers to correct serious, willful, or repeated violations while citations for the violations are being contested; increasing civil and criminal penalties for certain violations; expanding enforcement requirements relating to state occupational safety and health plans; expanding requirements for workplace health hazard evaluations by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; and requiring Labor to provide training programs concerning employee rights and employer responsibilities.", - "company_name": "Ralph Lauren Corp.", - "company_description": "General Founded in 1967 by Mr. Ralph Lauren, we are a global leader in the design, marketing, and distribution of premium lifestyle products, including apparel, accessories, home furnishings, and other licensed product categories. Our long-standing reputation and distinctive image have been developed across an expanding number of products, brands, sales channels, and international markets. We believe that our global reach, breadth of product offerings, and multi-channel distribution are unique among luxury and apparel companies. Our wholesale sales are made principally to major department stores and specialty stores around the world. We also sell directly to consumers through our integrated retail channel, which includes our retail stores, concession-based shop-within-shops, and digital commerce operations around the world. In addition, we license to unrelated third parties for specified periods the right to operate retail stores and/or to use our various trademarks in connection with the manufacture and sale of designated products, such as certain apparel, eyewear, fragrances, and home furnishings. In addition to these reportable segments, we also have other non-reportable segments. Our global reach is extensive, with merchandise available through our wholesale distribution channels at over 12,000 doors worldwide, the majority in specialty stores, as well as through the digital commerce sites of many of our wholesale customers. We also sell directly to customers throughout the world via our 472 retail stores and 632 concession-based shop-within-shops, as well as through our own digital commerce sites and those of various third-party digital partners. In addition to our directly-operated stores and shops, our international licensing partners operate 88 Ralph Lauren concession shops, and 136 Club Monaco stores and shops. We believe that our size and the global scope of our operations provide us with design, sourcing, and distribution synergies across our different businesses. Our core strengths include a portfolio of global premium lifestyle brands, a well-diversified global multi-channel distribution network, an investment philosophy supported by a strong balance sheet, and an experienced management team. We have developed a long-term growth strategy with the objective of delivering sustainable, profitable growth and long-term value creation for shareholders. Our strategy includes the following key strategic initiatives: \u2022 Elevating our brand through improved quality of sales, distribution, and product; \u2022 Evolving product, marketing, and shopping experience to increase reach and appeal with new consumers; \u2022 Expanding our digital and international presence; and \u2022 On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law new tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the \"TCJA\"), which became effective January 1, 2018. The TCJA significantly revised U.S. tax law by, among other provisions, lowering the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate from 35% to 21%, creating a territorial tax system that includes a one-time mandatory transition tax on previously deferred foreign earnings, and eliminating or reducing certain income tax deductions. We are refocusing on our core brands and evolving our product, marketing, and shopping experience to increase desirability and relevance. We are also evolving our operating model to enable sustainable, profitable sales growth by significantly improving quality of sales, reducing supply chain lead times, improving our sourcing, and executing a disciplined multi-channel distribution and expansion strategy. The Way Forward Plan includes strengthening our leadership team and creating a more nimble organization by moving from an average of nine to six layers of management. The Way Forward Plan also includes the discontinuance of our Denim & Supply brand and the integration of our denim product offerings into our Polo Ralph Lauren brand. Collectively, these actions, which were substantially completed during Fiscal 2017, resulted in a reduction in workforce and the closure of certain stores and shop-within-shops, as well as gross annualized expense savings of approximately $200 million. (i) the restructuring of our in-house global digital commerce platform which was in development and shifting to a more cost-effective, flexible platform through a new agreement with Salesforce's Commerce Cloud, formerly known as Demandware; (ii) the closure of our Polo store at 711 Fifth Avenue in New York City; and (iii) the further streamlining of the organization and the execution of other key corporate actions in line with the Way Forward Plan.", - "id": "2f19b901-759e-40b4-982b-5240ab4f7b6f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving care and research related to Alzheimer's disease, including diagnosis and treatment under Medicare. Abeona Therapeutics, Inc. develops gene therapies for rare genetic diseases, which does not intersect with the Alzheimer's research or care enhancements outlined in the bill. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill do not pertain to Abeona's business model or activities.", - "index": "401", - "bill_title": "To provide better care and outcomes for Americans living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and their caregivers while accelerating progress toward prevention strategies, disease modifying treatments, and, ultimately, a cure.", - "bill_summary": "Concentrating on High-value Alzheimer's Needs to Get to an End Act of 2019 or the CHANGE Act of 2019 This bill modifies the requirements under Medicare for diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive impairments in older adults. Specifically, the bill expands the cognitive impairment detection benefit during annual wellness visits to require the use of validated detection tools and documentation of the results in the patient's medical record. Further, when a cognitive impairment is detected, the patient must be referred to an appropriate diagnostic service provider and other specified supports. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services must implement Medicare policies that increase the identification and response to patients' Alzheimer's disease risk factors and incentivize providers to utilize high-quality cognitive impairment diagnosis practices. The Government Accountability Office also must conduct a study of policies that may accelerate progress in Alzheimer's disease research and enhance the quality of care for individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.", - "company_name": "Abeona Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing cell and gene therapies for life-threatening rare genetic diseases. Our lead programs include EB-101 (gene-corrected skin grafts) for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), ABO-102 (AAV-SGSH), an adeno-associated virus (AAV) based gene therapy for Sanfilippo syndrome type A (MPS IIIA) and ABO-101 (AAV NAGLU), an AAV based gene therapy for Sanfilippo syndrome type B (MPS IIIB). We are also developing ABO-201 (AAV-CLN3) gene therapy for juvenile Batten disease (JNCL), ABO-202 (AAV-CLN1) for treatment of infantile Batten disease (INCL), EB-201 for epidermolysis bullosa (EB), ABO-301 (AAV-FANCC) for Fanconi anemia (FA) disorder and ABO-302 using a novel CRISPR /Cas9-based gene editing approach to gene therapy for rare blood diseases. In addition we are developing a proprietary vector platform, AIM\u2122, for next generation product candidates. Product Development Strategy Abeona is focused on developing and delivering gene therapy products for severe and life-threatening rare diseases. A rare disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. There are nearly 7,000 rare diseases, which may involve chronic illness, disability, and often, premature death. While rare diseases can affect any age group, about 50% of people affected are children (15 million) and rare diseases account for 35% of deaths in the first year of life. Over 95% of rare diseases do not have a single FDA or EMA approved drug treatment, however most rare diseases are often caused by changes in genes. We believe emerging insights in genetics and advances in biotechnology, as well as new approaches and collaboration between researchers, industry, regulators and patient groups, provide significant opportunities to develop breakthrough treatments for rare diseases. Next Generation Gene Therapy Gene therapy is the use of DNA as a potential therapy to treat a disease. In many disorders, particularly genetic diseases caused by a single genetic defect, gene therapy aims to treat a disease by delivering the correct copy of DNA into a patient's cells. The healthy, functional copy of the therapeutic gene then helps the cell function correctly. In gene therapy, DNA that encodes a therapeutic protein is packaged within a ''vector,'' often ' virus, which is used to transfer the DNA to the inside of cells within the body. Gene therapy can be delivered by a direct injection, either intravenously (IV) or directly into a specific tissue in the body, where it is taken up by individual cells. Once inside cells, the correct DNA is expressed by the cell machinery, resulting in the production of missing or defective protein, which in turn is used to treat the patient's underlying disease and can provide long-term benefit. Viruses such as AAV are utilized because they have evolved a way of encapsulating and delivering one or more genes of the size needed for clinical application, and can be purified in large quantities at high concentration. Unlike AAV vectors found in nature, the AAV vectors used by Abeona have been genetically-modified such that they do not replicate. Although the preclinical studies in animal models of disease demonstrate the promising impact of AAV-mediated gene expression to affected tissues such as the heart, liver and muscle, our programs use a specific virus that is capable of delivering therapeutic DNA across the blood brain barrier and into the central nervous system (CNS) and the somatic system (body), making them attractive for addressing lysosomal storage diseases which have severe CNS manifestations of the disease. Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) are a group of rare inborn errors of metabolism resulting from deficiency in normal lysosomal function. These diseases are characterized by progressive accumulation of storage material within the lysosomes of affected cells, ultimately leading to cellular dysfunction. Multiple tissues ranging from musculoskeletal and visceral to tissues of the CNS are typically involved in disease pathology. Since the advent of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) to manage some LSDs, general clinical outcomes have significantly improved; however, treatment with infused protein is lifelong and continued disease progression is still evident in patients.", - "id": "42877998-7cdc-4c0f-8b13-1030245eb5d1" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing a Federal initiative for artificial intelligence research and development, which aligns with Altair Engineering's commitment to optimizing processes through simulation and data intelligence. Given that the bill encourages workforce development and investments in AI technologies, it could provide beneficial opportunities for Altair in terms of access to funding, collaboration with government entities, and the promotion of AI applications within their software solutions.", - "index": "402", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish a coordinated Federal initiative to accelerate research and development on artificial intelligence for the economic and national security of the United States, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act or AI-IA\n\nThis bill requires certain federal activities related to artificial intelligence, including implementation by the President of a National Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Initiative.\n\nThe initiative must invest in artificial intelligence research and development and support the development of an artificial intelligence science and technology workforce pipeline, among other activities.\n\nThe Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) shall establish or designate\n\n a National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee to advise the OSTP on matters related to the initiative; a National Artificial Intelligence Coordination Office to provide technical and administrative support to the advisory committee and serve as the point of contact on federal artificial intelligence activities; and an Interagency Committee on Artificial Intelligence to coordinate the artificial intelligence and technology research and education activities and programs of the federal agencies, among other activities. The National Institute of Standards and Technology shall, among other things\n\n carry out initiative activities, including by awarding contracts as necessary; support the development of measurements and standards necessary to advance commercial development of artificial intelligence applications; and establish collaborative ventures or consortia. The National Science Foundation shall\n\n implement a research and education program on artificial intelligence and engineering, and award grants to establish up to five Multidisciplinary Centers for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education to conduct activities in support of the initiative. The Department of Energy shall carry out an artificial intelligence research and development program.", - "company_name": "Altair Engineering, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"our\") is a global technology company providing software and cloud solutions in the areas of product design and development, high performance cloud computing, and data intelligence. Our simulation-driven approach to innovation is powered by our broad portfolio of high-fidelity and high-performance physics solvers. Our integrated suite of software optimizes design performance across multiple disciplines encompassing structures, motion, fluids, thermal management, electromagnetics, system modeling, and embedded systems, while also providing data intelligence and true-to-life visualization and rendering. Our high-performance cloud computing solutions maximize the efficient utilization of complex compute resources and streamline the workflow management of compute-intensive tasks for applications including data intelligence, modeling and simulation, and visualization. Our data intelligence products include market leading data preparation, data science and visualization solutions that fuel engineering, scientific, and business decisions. This culture is important because it helps attract and retain top people, encourages innovation and teamwork, and enhances our focus on achieving Altair's corporate objectives. Products Rising expectations of end-market customers are causing expansion of the application of simulation and data intelligence across many industry verticals. Our engineering, simulation, and data intelligence software enables customers to enhance product performance, compress development time, and reduce costs. We believe we are unique in the industry for the depth and breadth of our engineering application software offerings combined with our domain expertise and proprietary technology for harnessing high-performance computing, or HPC and cloud infrastructures along with data intelligence. Altair is a leading provider of modeling, visualization, and physics solver solutions with a broad portfolio of best-in-class technology across many engineering disciplines. Our simulation software offers manufacturing companies opportunities to achieve better, lower cost products with fewer physical prototypes and tests, and reduces the time required to bring products to market. We are a leading provider of data intelligence technology for data preparation, management and analysis. Financial services organization, such as banks, credit unions, and health care companies, as well as finance departments in various industries, including manufacturing, use our software to capture disparate data streams and apply analytics to make more informed business decisions. We are a leading provider of high-performance and cloud computing workflow tools which empower customers to explore designs and analyze data in ways not possible in traditional computing environments. Our customers include Universities, government agencies, manufacturers, pharmaceutical firms, weather prediction agencies, and electronics design companies. Software Products Altair's software products represent a comprehensive, open architecture solution for simulation, data intelligence and cloud computing to empower decision making for improved product design and development, manufacturing, energy management and exploration, financial services, health care, and retail operations. We believe our products offer a comprehensive set of technologies to design and optimize high performance, efficient, innovative and sustainable products and processes in an increasingly connected world. Our products are categorized by: \u2022 Design, Modeling & Visualization ; \u2022 Physics Simulation; \u2022 Data Intelligence; \u2022 High Performance Cloud Computing ; and 3 Design, Modeling & Visualization Altair's design, modeling & visualization tools under the HyperWorks and solidThinking brands allow for advanced physics attributes to be modeled and rendered on top of object geometry in high fidelity. Our industrial & concept design tools generate early concepts to address requirements for ergonomics, aesthetics, performance, manufacturing feasibility, and cost. These tools are all driven by simulation and machine learning algorithms. At the core of Altair's simulation software portfolios under the HyperWorks and solidThinking brands are mathematical software \"solvers\" that use advanced computational algorithms to predict physical performance. Optimization leverages these solvers to derive the most efficient solutions to meet desired complex multi-objective requirements. Altair's solvers are a comprehensive set of fast, scalable and reliable physics algorithms for complex problems in linear and non-linear mechanics, fluid dynamics, electromagnetics, motion, systems and manufacturing simulation. Altair's optimization technology combined with superior multi-physics and multi-domain simulation is a key differentiator and spans our product offering.", - "id": "371b5478-2a09-49b4-8fcb-62df58759a88" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill directly addresses prescription drug pricing and negotiation policies in Medicare, which is highly relevant to ACADIA Pharmaceuticals given that their primary product, NUPLAZID, is a prescription drug that would be affected by such regulations. The company's focus on CNS disorders and its need to navigate pricing and reimbursement issues under Medicare makes this legislation significant for its operations and market strategy.", - "index": "403", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices of prescription drugs furnished under part D of the Medicare program.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies regarding prices for drugs covered under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Current law prohibits the CMS from doing so.)\n\nThe CMS must take certain factors into account during negotiations, including the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the drug, the financial burden on patients, and unmet patient needs. If the CMS is unable to negotiate the price of a drug, such drug is subject to competitive licensing in order to further its sale under Medicare, notwithstanding existing government-granted exclusivities.\n\nAdditionally, for one year after a drug is provided under a competitive license, such drug is also subject to specified price limitations; if the drug is not offered at such prices, the drug is\u00a0subject to additional licensing that furthers its sale under any federal program (e.g., Medicaid).", - "company_name": "ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative medicines to address unmet medical needs in central nervous system, or CNS, disorders. We have a portfolio of product opportunities led by our novel drug, NUPLAZID (pimavanserin), which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on April 29, 2016 for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis, or PD Psychosis, and is the only drug approved in the United States for this condition. NUPLAZID is a selective serotonin inverse agonist, or SSIA, preferentially targeting 5-HT 2A receptors. Through this novel mechanism, NUPLAZID demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing the hallucinations and delusions associated with PD Psychosis in our Phase 3 pivotal trial and has the potential to avoid many of the debilitating side effects of existing antipsychotics, none of which are approved by the FDA in the treatment of PD Psychosis. We hold worldwide commercialization rights to pimavanserin. We believe that pimavanserin has the potential to address important unmet medical needs in neurological and psychiatric disorders in addition to PD Psychosis and we plan to continue to study the use of pimavanserin in multiple disease states. For example, we believe dementia-related psychosis represents one of our most important opportunities for further exploration. In December 2016, we announced positive top-line results from our Phase 2 study exploring the utility of pimavanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease psychosis, or AD Psychosis, a disorder for which no drug is currently approved by the FDA. Following our End-of-Phase 2 Meeting with the FDA and agreement with the agency on our clinical development plan, we initiated 1 our Phase 3 HARMONY relapse prevention study in October 2017, which allows us to evaluate pimavanserin for a broader indication than AD Psychosis alone. More specifically, HARMONY will evaluate pimavanserin for the treatment of hal lucinations and delusions associated with dementia-related psychosis, which includes psychosis in patients with Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease dementia, vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. Furthermore, in Oc tober 2017, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to pimavanserin for dementia-related psychosis. As a result of potential overlap of clinical sites and study participants between the HARMONY study and our Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease agitation and aggression, which we refer to as SERENE, we decided to discontinue enrollment of new patients in that study. We also believe schizophrenia represents a disease with multiple unmet or ill-served needs and we are currently exploring the utility of pimavanserin in this area. Despite a large number of FDA-approved therapies for schizophrenia, current drugs do not adequately address some very important symptoms of schizophrenia, such as the inadequate response to current antipsychotic treatment of psychotic symptoms and negative symptoms. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we initiated two studies evaluating the adjunctive use of pimavanserin in patients with schizophrenia. ENHANCE-1 is a Phase 3 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment of schizophrenia in patients with an inadequate response to their current antipsychotic therapy. ADVANCE is a Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment in patients with negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Depression is another disorder with a high unmet need that we believe represents an attractive development opportunity for pimavanserin. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that patients with depression often do not receive adequate relief from an antidepressant medication, and, due to side effects of currently available therapies, many patients discontinue their medication, significantly increasing their chance of relapse. Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests 5-HT 2A antagonism may be an effective adjunctive therapy to currently prescribed antidepressants. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we initiated CLARITY, a Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment in patients with major depressive disorder, or MDD, who have an inadequate response to standard antidepressant therapy. Our strategy is to discover, develop and commercialize innovative small molecule drugs that address unmet medical needs in CNS disorders. We have assembled a management team with significant industry experience to lead the discovery, development, and commercialization of our product opportunities. We complement our management team with scientific and clinical advisors, including recognized experts in the fields of PD Psychosis, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, depression, and other CNS disorders.", - "id": "8e41cd1e-b83f-4485-a448-3075477c2c32" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on promoting U.S. economic and business interests globally, which aligns with Akamai Technologies' objectives of delivering and securing content for businesses over the Internet. As Akamai operates in multiple countries and provides services that facilitate global digital business, the establishment of an Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Matters could enhance international diplomatic relationships that benefit Akamai's operations and expansion in foreign markets.", - "index": "404", - "bill_title": "To foster commercial relations with foreign countries and support United States economic and business interests abroad in the conduct of foreign policy, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Championing American Business Through Diplomacy Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes within the Department of State an Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Matters, and establishes that a principal duty of a diplomatic mission to a foreign country is the promotion of U.S. economic and commercial interests in that country.\n\nThe Assistant Secretary shall be responsible for matters relating to international economics and business matters in foreign policy.\n\nThe State Department shall train various Foreign Service officers, as part of their standard training, on matters including economic and commercial diplomacy, with a particular focus on market access, commercial advocacy, and increasing awareness of U.S. government assistance available to businesses.\n\nThe President shall initiate negotiations with countries to establish international standards for government-supported infrastructure investment overseas. The negotiations shall cover issues including the sovereignty of countries receiving investment, anti-corruption, and environmental standards.\n\nThe bill calls for various reports to Congress, including a State Department report about each mission's activities to promote U.S. economic and business interests, and a State Department and Department of Commerce report on commercial relations with foreign countries, including information on each country or region's political environment and investment climate.", - "company_name": "Akamai Technologies, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business Overview Akamai provides solutions for delivering, optimizing and securing content and business applications over the Internet. At the core of our solutions is our globally-distributed Akamai Intelligent Edge Platform, which is designed to help our customers leverage the power and reach of the Internet while protecting them from malicious threats to their business. We deploy servers and technology at the \"edge\" of the Internet \u2013 establishing touch points on its perimeter in more than 130 countries and 1,700 networks around the world. This approach affords us unique insight and visibility into traffic volumes, attack patterns, vulnerabilities and other activities across this complex cloud of networks and systems. Leveraging these insights and our position at the edge, we offer our customers solutions designed to protect them from threats and attacks, while empowering them to engage, entertain and interact with end-users; extend their internal systems beyond their corporate perimeters to control access and better leverage the cloud; and help them avoid the burden of navigating and managing the web's complexity. We believe that the edge is the next frontier of digital business \u2013 the intersection of users, digital technology and transactions, cloud computing and entertainment \u2013 and that our security, performance and delivery solutions can enable our customers to take advantage of the opportunities this intersection creates. The technology landscape is rapidly evolving, driving businesses to want to enhance their digital capabilities to improve productivity, transform customer experiences, increase brand awareness and drive competitive advantage. The network known as the Internet of Things, or IoT, is now connecting billions of devices that transmit large volumes of data from and within offices, hospitals, manufacturing plants, power grids, roads, schools and homes every second. We believe that new technologies like blockchain are emerging that promise to surpass the ability of current methods to process transactions more quickly and deliver data and content more securely. In addition, organizations seeking streamlined operations, digital transformation and improved cost management are increasing their reliance on servers and networks comprising the \"cloud\" based on the promise of agility and scale \u2013 a promise that has not always been realized. Enterprise applications are moving from behind the firewall to the cloud while employees increasingly demand remote access from a variety of devices \u2013 which we believe makes securing access harder to achieve with just traditional perimeter defenses. More consumers are \"cutting the cord\" and consuming entertainment over the Internet rather than through traditional cable, and they are increasingly using mobile devices to view content and shop. Web pages are also vastly more complex than ever before with advertisements, videos, graphics and other third-party content, causing speed and reliability to suffer. The Akamai Intelligent Edge Platform is architected to surround and extend a customer's existing cloud architecture, so it can accelerate and secure cloud-based activities and workloads on a global scale, while also improving reliability and reducing cost. Our platform comprises more than 200,000 servers deployed around the world, tied together with sophisticated software and algorithms. Our software also resides on millions of end-user devices, as 3 part of our work on client-assisted delivery for large media files. By placing integrated computing resources, data, content and security protection closer to end-users, at the edge, our technology is designed to extend our customers' existing cloud solutions to deliver superior user experiences that are bi-directional, instantaneous, rich and secure. The platform is also architected to enable us to constantly monitor Internet conditions to: \u2022identify, absorb and block security threats; \u2022 efficiently route traffic away from Internet trouble spots; \u2022 detect what devices individuals are using and optimize content delivery to them; \u2022 provide our customers with business, technical and analytical insights into their online operations; and \u2022 understand different types of traffic visiting websites so that customers can respond to them. We believe that our scale, unique technology, high-quality intellectual property portfolio, strong relationships with hundreds of leading telecommunications carriers and thousands of major brands on the web, and relentless and personalized attention to customer and partner needs create significant value for stockholders and provide a meaningful edge over competitors. We offer online solutions for the security, delivery and acceleration of websites and applications. s most important brands, including hundreds of media companies, e-retailers, major governments, financial institutions and other leading enterprises. Our Cloud Security Solutions are designed to defend websites, applications and data centers against a multitude of cyberattacks. These solutions include: \u2022Web Application Protector \u2013 Web Application Protector is designed to safeguard web assets from web application and distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attacks, while improving performance. This offering provides easy-to-implement application security for organizations that do not have robust security teams or expertise. ", - "id": "a9cee0da-2a16-4522-bc32-51ee058a94f9" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2019 is relevant to Abeona Therapeutics, Inc. as it establishes oversight and disclosure requirements for brand-name drugs regarding excessive pricing. As a biopharmaceutical company that develops therapies for rare diseases, the bill's focus on drug pricing and market exclusivity could directly impact Abeona's pricing strategy and the potential for patent protections on their gene therapies. The bill's criteria for excessive pricing may affect how their products are marketed and sold, particularly in a landscape increasingly scrutinized for drug costs.", - "index": "405", - "bill_title": "A bill to significantly lower prescription drug prices for patients in the United States by ending government-granted monopolies for manufacturers who charge drug prices that are higher than the median prices at which the drugs are available in other countries.", - "bill_summary": "Prescription Drug Price Relief Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a series of oversight and disclosure requirements relating to the prices of brand-name drugs. Specifically, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review at least annually all brand-name drugs for excessive pricing; HHS must also review prices upon petition. If any such drugs are found to be excessively priced, HHS must (1) void any government-granted exclusivity; (2) issue open, nonexclusive licenses for the drugs; and (3) expedite the review of corresponding applications for generic drugs and biosimilar biological products. HHS must also create a public database with its determinations for each drug.\n\nUnder the bill, a price is considered excessive if the domestic average manufacturing price exceeds the median price for the drug in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. If a price does not meet this criteria, or if pricing information is unavailable in at least three of the aforementioned countries, the price is still considered excessive if it is higher than reasonable in light of specified factors, including cost, revenue, and the size of the affected patient population.\n\nThe bill also requires drug manufacturers to report specified financial information for brand-name drugs, including research and advertising expenditures.", - "company_name": "Abeona Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing cell and gene therapies for life-threatening rare genetic diseases. Our lead programs include EB-101 (gene-corrected skin grafts) for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), ABO-102 (AAV-SGSH), an adeno-associated virus (AAV) based gene therapy for Sanfilippo syndrome type A (MPS IIIA) and ABO-101 (AAV NAGLU), an AAV based gene therapy for Sanfilippo syndrome type B (MPS IIIB). We are also developing ABO-201 (AAV-CLN3) gene therapy for juvenile Batten disease (JNCL), ABO-202 (AAV-CLN1) for treatment of infantile Batten disease (INCL), EB-201 for epidermolysis bullosa (EB), ABO-301 (AAV-FANCC) for Fanconi anemia (FA) disorder and ABO-302 using a novel CRISPR /Cas9-based gene editing approach to gene therapy for rare blood diseases. In addition we are developing a proprietary vector platform, AIM\u2122, for next generation product candidates. Product Development Strategy Abeona is focused on developing and delivering gene therapy products for severe and life-threatening rare diseases. A rare disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. There are nearly 7,000 rare diseases, which may involve chronic illness, disability, and often, premature death. While rare diseases can affect any age group, about 50% of people affected are children (15 million) and rare diseases account for 35% of deaths in the first year of life. Over 95% of rare diseases do not have a single FDA or EMA approved drug treatment, however most rare diseases are often caused by changes in genes. We believe emerging insights in genetics and advances in biotechnology, as well as new approaches and collaboration between researchers, industry, regulators and patient groups, provide significant opportunities to develop breakthrough treatments for rare diseases. Next Generation Gene Therapy Gene therapy is the use of DNA as a potential therapy to treat a disease. In many disorders, particularly genetic diseases caused by a single genetic defect, gene therapy aims to treat a disease by delivering the correct copy of DNA into a patient's cells. The healthy, functional copy of the therapeutic gene then helps the cell function correctly. In gene therapy, DNA that encodes a therapeutic protein is packaged within a ''vector,'' often ' virus, which is used to transfer the DNA to the inside of cells within the body. Gene therapy can be delivered by a direct injection, either intravenously (IV) or directly into a specific tissue in the body, where it is taken up by individual cells. Once inside cells, the correct DNA is expressed by the cell machinery, resulting in the production of missing or defective protein, which in turn is used to treat the patient's underlying disease and can provide long-term benefit. Viruses such as AAV are utilized because they have evolved a way of encapsulating and delivering one or more genes of the size needed for clinical application, and can be purified in large quantities at high concentration. Unlike AAV vectors found in nature, the AAV vectors used by Abeona have been genetically-modified such that they do not replicate. Although the preclinical studies in animal models of disease demonstrate the promising impact of AAV-mediated gene expression to affected tissues such as the heart, liver and muscle, our programs use a specific virus that is capable of delivering therapeutic DNA across the blood brain barrier and into the central nervous system (CNS) and the somatic system (body), making them attractive for addressing lysosomal storage diseases which have severe CNS manifestations of the disease. Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) are a group of rare inborn errors of metabolism resulting from deficiency in normal lysosomal function. These diseases are characterized by progressive accumulation of storage material within the lysosomes of affected cells, ultimately leading to cellular dysfunction. Multiple tissues ranging from musculoskeletal and visceral to tissues of the CNS are typically involved in disease pathology. Since the advent of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) to manage some LSDs, general clinical outcomes have significantly improved; however, treatment with infused protein is lifelong and continued disease progression is still evident in patients.", - "id": "e0865269-976a-4cd3-981b-a93034dff090" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to preserve federal standards for greenhouse gas emissions and corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) for light-duty vehicles, which directly impacts the aviation sector by influencing regulations on fuel efficiency and emissions. Given that United Airlines operates a substantial fleet of aircraft which are subject to federal standards for emissions, the legal consequences of this bill are relevant to their operational costs and compliance with environmental regulations.", - "index": "406", - "bill_title": "To preserve appropriate and achievable Federal standards for greenhouse gas emissions and corporate average fuel economy for cars and light trucks through model year 2025, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Clean and Efficient Cars Act of 2019\n\nThis bill provides statutory authority for rules concerning corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for automobiles with model years 2021 through 2025 and greenhouse gas emission standards for light-duty vehicles (e.g., trucks) with model years 2017 through 2025. Specifically, the bill provides statutory authority for rules issued in 2012 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on the CAFE standards and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the greenhouse gas emission standards.\n\nNHTSA and the EPA may not take actions that could reduce the stringency of the standards.", - "company_name": "United Airlines Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. The Company transports people and cargo through its mainline and regional operations. With key global aviation rights in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Latin America, UAL has the world\u0092s most comprehensive global route network. UAL, through United and its regional carriers, operates more than 4,500 flights a day to 338 airports across five continents, with hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport (\u0093Newark\u0094), Chicago O\u0092Hare International Airport (\u0093Chicago O\u0092Hare\u0094), The hub and spoke system allows us to transport passengers between a large number of destinations with substantially more frequent service than if each route were served directly. The 3 hub system also allows us to add service to a new destination from a large number of cities using only one or a limited number of aircraft. As discussed under Alliances below, United is a member of Star Alliance, the world\u0092s largest alliance network. The Company has contractual relationships with various regional carriers to provide regional aircraft service branded as United Express. This regional service complements our operations by carrying traffic that connects to our mainline service and allows flights to smaller cities that cannot be provided economically with mainline aircraft. Republic Airlines (\u0093Republic\u0094), Champlain Enterprises, LLC d/b/a CommutAir (\u0093CommutAir\u0094), ExpressJet Airlines (\u0093ExpressJet\u0094), GoJet Airlines (\u0093GoJet\u0094), Mesa Airlines (\u0093Mesa\u0094), SkyWest Airlines (\u0093SkyWest\u0094), Air Wisconsin Airlines (\u0093Air Wisconsin\u0094), and Trans States Airlines (\u0093Trans States\u0094) are all regional carriers that operate with capacity contracted to United under capacity purchase agreements (\u0093CPAs\u0094). Under these CPAs, the Company pays the regional carriers contractually agreed fees (carrier costs) for operating these flights plus a variable reimbursement (incentive payment for operational performance) based on agreed performance metrics, subject to annual inflation adjustments. The fees for carrier costs are based on specific rates for various operating expenses of the regional carriers, such as crew expenses, maintenance and aircraft ownership, some of which are multiplied by specific operating statistics (e.g., block hours, departures), while others are fixed monthly amounts. Under these CPAs, the Company is responsible for all fuel costs incurred, as well as landing fees and other costs, which are either passed through by the regional carrier to the Company without any markup or directly incurred by the Company. In return, the regional carriers operate this capacity exclusively for United, on schedules determined by the Company. The Company also determines pricing and revenue management, assumes the inventory and distribution risk for the available seats and permits mileage accrual and redemption for regional flights through its MileagePlus \u00ae loyalty program. United is a member of Star Alliance, a global integrated airline network and the largest and most comprehensive airline alliance in the world. As of January 1, 2018, Star Alliance carriers served 1,300 airports in 191 countries with 18,400 daily departures. Star Alliance members, in addition to United, are Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways (\u0093ANA\u0094), Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, Avianca Brasil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI Airways International and Turkish Airlines. United has a variety of bilateral commercial alliance agreements and obligations with Star Alliance members, addressing, among other things, reciprocal earning and redemption of frequent flyer miles, access to airport lounges and, with certain Star Alliance members, codesharing of flight operations (whereby one carrier\u0092s selected flights can be marketed under the brand name of another carrier). In addition to the alliance agreements with Star Alliance members, United currently maintains independent marketing alliance agreements with other air carriers, including Aeromar, Aer Lingus, Air Dolomiti, Azul, Cape Air, Eurowings, Great Lakes Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Silver Airways. In addition to the marketing alliance agreements with air partners, United also offers a train-to-plane codeshare and frequent flyer alliance with Amtrak from Newark on select city pairs in the northeastern United States. United also participates in three passenger joint ventures, one with Air Canada and the Lufthansa Group (which includes Lufthansa and its affiliates Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and SWISS) covering transatlantic routes, one with ANA covering certain transpacific routes and one with Air New Zealand covering certain routes between the United States and New Zealand. These passenger joint ventures enable the participating carriers to integrate the services they provide in the respective regions, capturing revenue synergies and delivering highly competitive flight schedules, fares and services. United has also implemented cargo joint 4 ventures with ANA for transpacific cargo services and continues to implement a cargo joint venture with Lufthansa for transatlantic cargo services. These cargo joint ventures offer expanded and more seamless access to cargo space across the carriers\u0092 respective combined networks. ", - "id": "4b86ccd4-55a7-4c1f-9342-4dee78ca8a49" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on reauthorizing activities related to the U.S. Maritime Administration, addressing issues such as illegal fishing, maritime security, and enhancing the U.S. Merchant Marine. This is not relevant to Addus HomeCare Corp.'s business, which provides home care services, hospice, and home health, and does not intersect with maritime activities or regulation.", - "index": "407", - "bill_title": "A bill to reauthorize activities of the Maritime Administration, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Maritime Administration Authorization and Enhancement Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses (1) several aspects of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD); (2) illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing); and (3) maritime security.\n\nAmong other things, the bill\n\n reauthorizes MARAD programs, including programs associated with maintaining the U.S. Merchant Marine; promotes transparency and traceability in the seafood supply chain; promotes the use of technology to combat IUU fishing; establishes an interagency working group on maritime security, IUU fishing, and seafood fraud; and establishes a sub-working group to address IUU fishing within the U.S. exclusive economic zone in the Gulf of Mexico.", - "company_name": "Addus HomeCare Corp.", - "company_description": "We are a home care services provider operating in three segments: personal care; hospice; and home health. Our services are principally provided in the home under agreements with federal, state and local government agencies. Our consumers are predominantly \"dual eligible,\" meaning they are eligible to receive both Medicare and Medicaid benefits. As of December 31, 2018, we provided services to over 39,000 consumers in 24 states through 156 offices. Our payor clients include federal, state and local governmental agencies, managed care organizations, commercial insurers and private individuals. Our personal care segment also includes staffing services, with clients including assisted living facilities, nursing homes and hospice facilities. Our services and operating model address a number of crucial needs across the healthcare continuum. Care provided in the home generally costs less than facility-based care and is typically preferred by consumers and their families. By providing services in the home to the elderly and others who require long-term care and support with the activities of daily living, we lower the cost of chronic and acute care treatment by delaying or eliminating the need for care in more expensive settings. In addition, our caregivers observe and report changes in the condition of our consumers for the purpose of facilitating early intervention in the disease process, which often reduces the cost of medical services by preventing unnecessary emergency room visits and/or hospital admissions and re-admissions. We coordinate the services provided by our team with those of other healthcare providers and payors as appropriate. By providing care in the preferred setting of the home and by providing opportunities to improve the consumer's conditions and allow early intervention as indicated, our model also is designed to improve consumer outcomes and satisfaction. We believe our model provides significant value to managed care organizations. States are increasingly implementing managed care programs for Medicaid enrollees, and as a result managed care organizations have been increasingly responsible for the healthcare needs and the related healthcare costs of our consumers. Managed care organizations have an economic incentive to better manage the healthcare expenditures of their members, lower costs and improve outcomes. We believe that our model is well positioned to assist in meeting those goals while also improving consumer satisfaction, and, as a result, we expect increased referrals from managed care organizations. Beginning January 1, 2019, a final rule of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (\"CMS\"), allows Medicare Advantage insurers to offer beneficiaries more options and new benefits. Through this rule, CMS has redefined health-related supplemental benefits to include services that increase health and improve quality of life, including coverage of non-skilled in-home care. This policy change, emphasizing improving quality and reducing costs, aligns with our overall approach to care, and we believe the increased demand for personal care from the Medicare Advantage population represents a significant upside opportunity over the next three to five years. We utilize Interactive Voice Response (\"IVR\") systems and smart phone applications to communicate with the majority of our aides. Through these technologies, our aides are able to report changes in health conditions to an appropriate manager for triage and evaluation. In addition, we use these technologies to record basic information about each visit, record start and end times for a 2 scheduled shift, track milea ge reimbursement, send text messages to the aide and communicate basic payroll information. In addition to our organic growth, we have been growing through acquisitions that have expanded our presence in current markets or facilitated our entry into new ma rkets where the personal care business has primarily been moving to managed care organizations. We maintain licensure as a Medicare home health agency in Ohio and Delaware in connection with providing services in those states. With the purchase of Ambercare Corporation (\"Ambercare\"), completed in the second quarter of 2018, we now maintain licensure as a Medicare home health and hospice agency in New Mexico. ", - "id": "79d0667d-ebc1-4790-9eaf-0ad9f693198c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Walmart, Inc. as it prohibits tax deductions for advertising and promotional expenses for prescription drugs. Given that Walmart operates a pharmacy division and is involved in selling prescription medications, this change could directly impact their advertising expenditures related to these products, potentially raising overall costs and affecting their pricing strategies in the pharmacy sector.", - "index": "408", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to deny the deduction for advertising and promotional expenses for prescription drugs.", - "bill_summary": "End Taxpayer Subsidies for Drug Ads Act\n\nThis bill prohibits tax deductions for expenses relating to direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs.\n\n\"Direct-to-consumer advertising\" is any dissemination, by or on behalf of a sponsor of a prescription drug product, of an advertisement that is (1) in regard to the drug product, and (2) primarily targeted to the general public.", - "company_name": "Walmart, Inc.", - "company_description": "the amount, number, growth or increase, in or over certain periods, of or in certain financial items or measures or operating measures, including our earnings per share, including as adjusted for certain items, net sales, comparable store and club sales, our Walmart U.S. operating segment's eCommerce sales, liabilities, expenses of certain categories, expense leverage, returns, capital and operating investments or expenditures of particular types, new store openings and investments in particular formats; our plans to increase investments in eCommerce, technology, store remodels and other customer initiatives, such as online grocery locations; volatility in currency exchange rates and fuel prices affecting our or one of our segments' results of operations; \u2022 the Company continuing to provide returns to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends, the use of share repurchase authorization over a certain period or the source of funding of a certain portion of our share repurchases; changes in the size of various markets, including eCommerce markets; \u2022 unemployment levels; \u2022 inflation or deflation, generally and in certain product categories; \u2022 transportation, energy and utility costs; \u2022 commodity prices, including the prices of oil and natural gas; \u2022 consumer confidence, disposable income, credit availability, spending levels, shopping patterns, debt levels, and demand for certain merchandise; \u2022 trends in consumer shopping habits around the world and in the markets in which Walmart operates; \u2022 consumer enrollment in health and drug insurance programs and such programs' reimbursement rates and drug formularies; and initiatives of competitors, competitors' entry into and expansion in Walmart's markets, and competitive pressures; Operating Factors \u2022 the financial performance of Walmart and each of its segments, including the amounts of Walmart's cash flow during various periods; \u2022 customer traffic and average ticket in Walmart's stores and clubs and on its eCommerce platforms; the mix of merchandise Walmart sells and its customers purchase; the availability of goods from suppliers and the cost of goods acquired from suppliers; \u2022 the effectiveness of the implementation and operation of Walmart's strategies, plans, programs and initiatives; \u2022 \u2022 consumer acceptance of and response to Walmart's stores and clubs, digital platforms, programs, merchandise offerings and delivery methods; \u2022 Walmart's gross profit margins, including pharmacy margins and margins of other product categories; the selling prices of gasoline and diesel fuel; \u2022 disruption of seasonal buying patterns in Walmart's markets; \u2022 Walmart's expenditures for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (\"FCPA\") and other compliance-related matters including the adequacy of our accrual for the FCPA matter; \u2022 Walmart's labor costs, including healthcare and other benefit costs; \u2022 Walmart's casualty and accident-related costs and insurance costs; the size of and turnover in Walmart's workforce and the number of associates at various pay levels within that workforce; the availability of necessary personnel to staff Walmart's stores, clubs and other facilities; 5 developments in, and the outcome of, legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations to which Walmart is a party or is subject, and the liabilities, obligations and expenses, if any, that Walmart may incur in connection therewith; \u2022 changes in the credit ratings assigned to the Company's commercial paper and debt securities by credit rating agencies; \u2022 changes in existing tax, labor and other laws and changes in tax rates, including the enactment of laws and the adoption and interpretation of administrative rules and regulations; \u2022 adoption or creation of new, and modification of existing, governmental policies, programs and initiatives in the markets in which Walmart operates and elsewhere and actions with respect to such policies, programs and initiatives; \u2022 the possibility of the imposition of new taxes on imports and new tariffs and trade restrictions and changes in tariff rates and trade restrictions; changes in the level of public assistance payments; ", - "id": "7bb785d4-09ce-4a14-9fd3-777f5e475d8c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on highway-rail grade crossing safety and includes provisions for rail-related infrastructure improvements. Allegiant Travel Co. is primarily an airline and leisure travel company, with no direct connection to railway operations or highway-rail crossing issues. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill do not impact Allegiant's business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "409", - "bill_title": "A bill to improve highway-rail grade crossing safety, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses highway-rail grade crossing safety.\n\nThe bill reauthorizes the highway safety improvement program through FY2024, with $50 million set aside in FY2020-FY2024 for the Railway-Highway Crossings Program.\n\nEligibility requirements are revised for the award of capital grants to states under the rail line relocation and improvement program.\n\nThe Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) must hire\n\n 16 full-time grade crossing safety managers to work with state and local officials to identify safety improvements to highway-rail grade crossings; and 8 trespass prevention managers to work with local governments, schools, businesses, and railroads to develop site-specific mitigation plans. The Department of Transportation must gather and publish information and statistics relating to highway-rail grade crossing problems, including from studies conducted by the FRA, rail carriers, and independent entities.", - "company_name": "Allegiant Travel Co.", - "company_description": "Forward-looking statements include our statements regarding future expense, capacity growth, expected capital expenditures, number of contracted aircraft to be placed in service in the future, future expansion of our golf management and family entertainment center businesses, the development and financing of our Sunseeker Resort, as well as other information concerning future results of operations, business strategies, financing plans, competitive position, industry environment, potential growth opportunities, the effects of future regulation and the effects of competition. We are a leisure travel company focused on providing travel services and products to residents of under-served cities in the United States. Our unique business model provides diversified revenue streams from various travel services and product offerings which distinguish us from other travel companies. We operate a low-cost passenger airline marketed primarily to leisure travelers in under-served cities, allowing us to sell air transportation both on a stand-alone basis and bundled with the sale of air-related and third party services and products. In addition, we provide air transportation under fixed fee flight arrangements. Our developed route network, pricing philosophy, advertising, and product offerings built around relationships with premier leisure companies, are all intended to appeal to leisure travelers and make it attractive for them to purchase air travel and related services and products from us. Most recently, and in conjunction with our leisure travel focus, we are developing Sunseeker Resort in Florida, operating a golf course near the resort location, managing a golf course management solution and beginning to open family entertainment centers in cities in our route network. Below is a brief description of the travel services and products we provide to our customers: Scheduled service air transportation. We provide scheduled air transportation on limited-frequency, nonstop flights predominantly between under-served cities and popular leisure destinations. As of that date, we were selling travel on 450 routes to 122 cities. We provide unbundled air-related services and products in conjunction with air transportation for an additional cost to customers. These optional air-related services and products include baggage fees, advance seat assignments, our own travel protection product, change fees, use of our call center for purchases, priority 4 boarding, a customer convenience fee, food and beverage purchases on board, and other air-related services. The revenue for ancillary air-related products and services is reflected in the Passenger revenue income statement line item, along with scheduled service air transportation revenue. We offer third party travel products such as hotel rooms and ground transportation (rental cars and hotel shuttle products) for sale to our passengers. The marketing component of revenue related to our co-branded credit card is also accounted for in this category. We provide air transportation through fixed fee agreements and charter service on a year-round and ad-hoc basis. We may choose to temporarily act as a lessor as an avenue to opportunistically acquire aircraft and/or engines. We are also currently leasing spare engines to a third party and may choose to act as lessor temporarily in the future on an opportunistic basis. This line item also includes revenue from our golf course acquired in 2018 and our management solution to golf courses around the country. We have developed a unique business model that focuses on leisure travelers in small and medium-sized cities. The business model has evolved as our experienced management team has looked differently at the traditional way business has been conducted in the airline and travel industries. Our focus on the leisure customer allows us to eliminate the significant costs associated with serving a wide variety of customers and to concentrate our product appeal on a customer base which is under-served by traditional airlines. Unbundled pricing of air-related services and products By unbundling our air-related services and products such as baggage fees, advance seat assignments, travel protection, change fees, priority boarding, and food and beverage purchases , we are able to lower our airfares and target leisure travelers who are more concerned with price and the ability to customize their experience with us by only purchasing the additional conveniences they value. We have established a route network with a national footprint, providing service on 405 routes (and currently selling 450 routes) between 99 origination cities and 23 leisure destinations, and serving 42 states and Puerto Rico as of February 15, 2019.", - "id": "67f42b09-315c-4b33-92d4-365ca74123ea" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Smart Manufacturing Leadership Act is relevant to Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. as it focuses on improving productivity and energy efficiency in the manufacturing sector, which aligns with the company's core activities of providing precision instruments and services critical to manufacturing processes. The bill promotes the adoption of advanced technologies in monitoring and automation, areas where Mettler-Toledo has established expertise and products. Furthermore, the bill's provisions for grants and support for small- and medium-sized manufacturers could facilitate greater access to their technologies, enhancing market opportunities for Mettler-Toledo.", - "index": "410", - "bill_title": "A bill to improve the productivity and energy efficiency of the manufacturing sector by directing the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the National Academies and other appropriate Federal agencies, to develop a national smart manufacturing plan and to provide assistance to small- and medium-sized manufacturers in implementing smart manufacturing programs, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Smart Manufacturing Leadership Act\n\nThis bill addresses the productivity and energy efficiency of the manufacturing sector as well as the development of smart manufacturing technologies (certain advanced technologies in information, automation, monitoring, computation, sensing, modeling, and networking).\n\nThe Department of Energy (DOE) must complete a national plan for smart manufacturing technology development and deployment to improve the productivity and energy efficiency of the U.S. manufacturing sector. DOE must revise the plan biennially to account for advancements in information and communication technology and manufacturing needs.\n\nDOE may make grants to states for supporting the implementation of smart manufacturing technologies. States must use those grants to (1) provide access to shared supercomputing facilities to small- and medium-sized manufacturers, (2) fund research and development of transformational manufacturing processes and materials technology that advance smart manufacturing, and (3) provide tools and training to aid the adoption of energy management systems and implement smart manufacturing technologies in the manufacturers' facilities.\n\nDOE must expand the scope of technologies covered by Industrial Assessment Centers to (1) include smart manufacturing technologies and practices, and (2) equip the centers' directors with the training and tools necessary to provide technical assistance in smart manufacturing technologies and practices.\n\n DOE must (1) study how it can increase access to existing high-performance computing resources in the National Laboratories, and (2) facilitate access to the laboratories by small- and medium-sized manufacturers.", - "company_name": "Mettler-Toledo International, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a leading global supplier of precision instruments and services. We are recognized as an innovation leader and our solutions are critical in key research and development, quality control, and manufacturing processes for customers in a wide range of industries including life sciences, food, and chemicals. Our sales and service network is one of the most extensive in the industry. With proven growth strategies and a focus on execution, we have achieved a long term track record of strong financial performance. Our customer base is also diversified by industry and by individual customer. We have five reportable segments: U.S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations, and Other. \"Results of Operations by Reportable Segment\" for detailed results by segment and geographic region. We manufacture a wide variety of precision instruments and provide value-added services to our customers. We also describe our customers and distribution, sales and service, research and development, manufacturing, and certain other matters. We make a wide variety of precision laboratory instruments for sample preparation, synthesis, analytical bench top, and material characterization. Our portfolio includes laboratory balances, liquid pipetting solutions, automated laboratory reactors including real-time analytics, titrators, pH meters and sensors, physical value analyzers (including density and refractometry instruments), thermal analysis systems, and other analytical instruments, such as UV/VIS spectrophotometers, and moisture analyzers. Our laboratory instruments have leading-edge embedded software and we also offer LabX, our PC-based laboratory software platform, to manage and analyze data generated from our instruments. The laboratory instruments and related service business accounted for approximately 51% of our net sales in 2018, 50% in 2017, and 49% in 2016. Laboratory Balances Our laboratory balances have weighing ranges from one ten-millionth of a gram up to 64 kilograms. To respond to a wide range of customer needs and value/price points, we market our balances in a range of product tiers offering different levels of functionality. We also provide filter weighing and powder and liquid dosing automated systems. Based on the same weighing technology platform, we manufacture mass comparators, which are used by weights and measures officials as well as National Measurement Institute laboratories to ensure the accuracy of reference weights. Laboratory balances are primarily used in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, testing labs, food, chemical, cosmetics, academia, and other industries. Pipettes Pipettes are used in life science research laboratories for dispensing small volumes of liquids. We develop, manufacture, and distribute advanced pipettes, including single- and multi-channel manual and electronic pipettes. We also develop and produce high-value consumables such as pipette tips and tubes. We maintain service centers in the key markets where customers periodically send their pipettes for certified recalibrations. These service centers, combined with our advanced asset management solutions, provide our customers with innovative solutions to maintain their instruments and meet regulatory compliance. Analytical Instruments Titrators measure the chemical composition of samples and are used in environmental and research laboratories as well as in quality control labs in the pharmaceutical, testing labs, food and beverage, and other industries. Our high-end titrators are multi-tasking models, which can perform two determinations simultaneously on multiple vessels.", - "id": "ad8e64b9-a5ac-4939-9a80-695ba1a0658b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on supporting artists and the creative economy by providing financial assistance, establishing programs, and facilitating visa processing for artists. Although IAC operates in the media and internet space, its core business model revolves around e-commerce, online dating, and digital content platforms rather than direct involvement in the arts or creative economy. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill do not significantly impact IAC's business model or activities.", - "index": "411", - "bill_title": "A bill to assist entrepreneurs, support development of the creative economy, and encourage international cultural exchange, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Comprehensive Resources for Entrepreneurs in the Arts to Transform the Economy Act of 2019 or the CREATE Act of 2019\n\nThis bill expands financial assistance for, and establishes measures to support, the creative economy and art entrepreneurs.\n\nSpecifically, the bill requires (1) the Small Business Administration to develop loan criteria, evaluation procedures, and technical assistance programs for small business concerns that are owned by artists and support the creative economy, (2) the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture to ensure that traditional economic development tools, such as business incubators and grant programs, support the arts industry and creative economy, and (3) the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure that expenses incurred by a self-employed worker to repair or replace needed tools because of a major disaster are eligible for disaster assistance.\n\nFurther, the recipient of a national service program grant is authorized to carry out the program through an Artist Corps that identifies and meets unmet needs in communities through artistic activities.\n\nThe bill also requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist activities that support creative placemaking through community development mechanisms and partnerships between local governments and nonprofit cultural organizations.\n\nCommerce shall establish a demonstration program to promote creative and performing arts in the economic planning of local governments.\n\nFinally, the Department of Homeland Security must adjudicate petitions for nonimmigrant visas for aliens with extraordinary ability or achievement, and artists and entertainers, within 14 days after receiving them.", - "company_name": "IAC/InterActiveCorp.", - "company_description": "IAC has majority ownership of both Match Group, which includes Tinder, Match, PlentyOfFish and OkCupid, and ANGI Homeservices, which includes HomeAdvisor, Angie's List and Handy, and also operates Vimeo, Dotdash and The Daily Beast, among many other online businesses. Inc. After several name changes (first to HSN, Inc., then to USA Networks, Inc., USA Interactive and InterActiveCorp, and finally, to IAC/InterActiveCorp) and the completion of a number of significant corporate transactions over the years, the Company transformed itself into a leading media and Internet company. From 1997 to 2005, we acquired a number of e-commerce companies, including Ticketmaster Group, Hotel Reservations Network (later renamed Hotels.com), Expedia.com, Match.com, LendingTree, Hotwire, TripAdvisor and AskJeeves. In 2005, we completed the separation of our travel and travel\u2011related businesses and investments into an independent public company called Expedia, Inc. (now known as Expedia Group, Inc.). (now part of Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation), Ticketmaster (now part of Live Nation, Inc.) and Tree.com, Inc. From 2008 to 2014, we continued to invest in and acquire e-commerce companies, including Meetic, About.com (now known as Dotdash), Dictionary.com and Investopedia. (\"ANGI Homeservices\"), as well as acquired controlling interests in MyHammer Holding AG, HomeStars Inc. and MyBuilder Limited, leading home services platforms in Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada, respectively. Through Vimeo, we acquired VHX, a platform for premium over-the-top (OTT) subscription video channels, and Livestream Inc., a leading live video solution. In 2018, through ANGI Homeservices, we acquired Handy Technologies, Inc., a leading platform in the United States for connecting consumers looking for household services (primarily cleaning and handyman services) with top-quality, pre-screened independent service professionals. We also acquired a controlling interest in BlueCrew, an on-demand staffing platform that connects temporary workers with traditional blue-collar jobs in areas like warehouse, delivery and moving, data entry and customer service. Through Match Group, we operate a portfolio of dating brands, including Tinder, Match, PlentyOfFish, Meetic, OkCupid, OurTime, Pairs and Hinge, as well as a number of other brands, each designed to increase user likelihood of finding a meaningful connection. Through Match Group, we are a leading provider of dating products all over the world through applications and websites that we own and operate. As of December 31, 2018, there were approximately 7.9 million Average Subscribers to our dating products (calculated by summing the total number of users who purchased one of our subscription-based dating products at the end of each day in the year ended December 31, 2018, divided by the number of calendar days in such year). Dating is a highly personal endeavor and consumers have a wide variety of preferences that determine what type of dating product they choose. Our brands are collectively available in 40 languages to users all over the world. Tinder was launched in 2012, and has since risen to scale and popularity faster than any other product in the online dating category with limited marketing spend, growing to over 4.3 million subscribers today. swipe\" feature has led to significant adoption among the millennial generation, previously underserved by the online dating category. Tinder employs a freemium model, through which users can enjoy many of the core features of Tinder for free, including limited use of the \"swipe right\" feature with unlimited communication with other users. However, to enjoy premium features, such as unlimited use of the \"swipe right\" feature, a Tinder user must subscribe to either Tinder Plus, launched in early 2015, or Tinder Gold, which was launched in late summer 2017. Tinder users and subscribers may also pay for certain premium features, such as Super Likes and Boosts, on a pay-per-use basis. Match was launched in 1995 and helped create the online dating category. Among its distinguishing features are the ability to search profiles, receive algorithmic matches and attend live events (promoted by Match) with other subscribers. Additionally, new features, such as Missed Connections, which uses location-based technology to enable users to connect with other users with whom they have crossed paths in the past, engage users into more meaningful connections. Match is a brand that focuses on users with a high level of intent to enter into a relationship and its product and marketing are designed to reinforce that approach. Match relies heavily on word-of-mouth traffic, repeat usage and paid marketing. ", - "id": "28fa9958-9298-4872-bbbe-b869c7f5f370" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on supporting the creative economy, arts entrepreneurs, and community initiatives related to cultural exchange, which are not aligned with the core biopharmaceutical business of Acceleron Pharma, Inc. that concentrates on TGF-beta therapeutics for rare diseases. The legal consequences pertain to artistic support rather than biopharmaceutical development.", - "index": "412", - "bill_title": "To assist entrepreneurs, support development of the creative economy, and encourage international cultural exchange, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Comprehensive Resources for Entrepreneurs in the Arts to Transform the Economy Act of 2019 or the CREATE Act of 2019\n\nThis bill expands financial assistance for, and establishes measures to support, the creative economy and art entrepreneurs.\n\nSpecifically, the bill requires (1) the Small Business Administration to develop loan criteria, evaluation procedures, and technical assistance programs for small business concerns that are owned by artists and support the creative economy, (2) the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture to ensure that traditional economic development tools, such as business incubators and grant programs, support the arts industry and creative economy, and (3) the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure that expenses incurred by a self-employed worker to repair or replace needed tools because of a major disaster are eligible for disaster assistance.\n\nFurther, the recipient of a national service program grant is authorized to carry out the program through an Artist Corps that identifies and meets unmet needs in communities through artistic activities.\n\nThe bill also requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist activities that support creative placemaking through community development mechanisms and partnerships between local governments and nonprofit cultural organizations.\n\nCommerce shall establish a demonstration program to promote creative and performing arts in the economic planning of local governments.\n\nFinally, the Department of Homeland Security must adjudicate petitions for nonimmigrant visas for aliens with extraordinary ability or achievement, and artists and entertainers, within 14 days after receiving them.", - "company_name": "Acceleron Pharma, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a leading biopharmaceutical company in the discovery and development of TGF-beta superfamily therapeutics to treat serious and rare diseases. Our research focuses on key natural regulators of cellular growth and repair, particularly the Transforming Growth Factor-Beta, or TGF-beta, protein superfamily. By combining our discovery and development expertise, including our proprietary knowledge of the TGF-beta superfamily, and our internal protein engineering and manufacturing capabilities, we have generated several innovative therapeutic candidates, all of which encompass novel potential first-in-class mechanisms of action. We have focused and prioritized our research and development activities within three key therapeutic areas: hematologic, neuromuscular and pulmonary. If successful, these candidates could have the potential to significantly improve clinical outcomes for patients across these areas of high, unmet need. Luspatercept, our lead program, and sotatercept, are partnered with Celgene Corporation, or Celgene. Luspatercept is an investigational erythroid maturation agent designed to promote red blood cell production through a novel mechanism, and is being developed to treat chronic anemia and associated complications in myelodysplastic syndromes, or MDS, beta-thalassemia, and myelofibrosis. In 2018, we and Celgene announced positive results for two Phase 3 clinical trials with luspatercept; one for the treatment of patients with lower-risk MDS with ring sideroblasts, known as the MEDALIST trial, and another for the treatment of patients with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, also known as the BELIEVE trial. In the MEDALIST trial, luspatercept achieved a highly statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion independence of at least 8 consecutive weeks during the first 24 weeks compared to placebo. In the BELIEVE trial, luspatercept achieved a highly statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of erythroid response, which was defined as at least a 33 percent reduction from baseline in red blood cell (RBC) transfusion burden with a reduction of at least 2 units during the protocol-defined period of 12 consecutive weeks, from week 13 to week 24, compared to placebo. Results from the MEDALIST and BELIEVE trials were then presented during plenary and oral sessions, respectively, at the 60th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in December 2018, and we expect to submit these results for publication during 2019. \"Best of ASH,\" chosen from among the thousands of meeting abstracts as \"the biggest breakthroughs from the meeting's scientific presentations. We and Celgene are planning regulatory application submissions for luspatercept in both MDS and beta-thalassemia in the United States in April 2019 and in Europe in the first half of 2019. In addition to the MEDALIST and BELIEVE Phase 3 clinical trials with luspatercept, Celgene is currently conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial in non-transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia patients, referred to as the BEYOND trial, with preliminary top-line results currently expected in 2020. Celgene has also initiated a Phase 3 clinical trial, the COMMANDS trial, in first-line, lower-risk MDS patients and enrollment is ongoing. Enrollment is also currently ongoing in a Phase 2 clinical trial being conducted by Celgene for the treatment of patients with myelofibrosis, a rare bone marrow disorder, with preliminary top-line results currently expected in the second half of 2019. If luspatercept were to receive regulatory approval for each of these indications in the United States and Europe, we believe that there is an annual peak sales opportunity for luspatercept in excess of $2 billion across the indications in the BEYOND trial and the luspatercept Phase 3 clinical trials, and an annual peak sales opportunity for luspatercept in excess of $1 billion in myelofibrosis. We and Celgene are also evaluating further research of luspatercept for the treatment of anemia in potential new indications that could provide additional sales opportunities. For sotatercept, we have the rights to fund, develop, and lead the global commercialization of sotatercept in pulmonary hypertension, which we refer to as the PH field, including pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH. PAH is a rare and chronic, rapidly progressing disorder characterized by the constriction of small pulmonary arteries, resulting in abnormally high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries. We are currently enrolling the PULSAR Phase 2 clinical trial of sotatercept for the treatment of patients with PAH with preliminary results expected in the first half of 2020, and we recently initiated an exploratory study, called SPECTRA, in the first quarter of 2019 to provide us with further understanding of sotatercept's impact on PAH. If sotatercept is commercialized to treat PAH and we recognize such revenue, then Celgene will be eligible to receive a royalty in the low 20% range on global net sales. For luspatercept and, outside of the PH field, sotatercept, Celgene is responsible for paying 100% of the development costs for all clinical trials. ACE-083 is designed for the treatment of focal muscle disorders, and we are currently conducting Phase 2 clinical trials with ACE-083 in patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD, as well as in patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, or CMT.", - "id": "375d7f7d-f037-4aef-b1ad-4eaa332dd424" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on appropriations for various agencies related to the Department of the Interior and environmental concerns, with funding for health services but lacks direct implications for immunotherapy or cancer treatment as pursued by Aduro BioTech. Its scope does not intersect with the company's operations or objectives in immunotherapy and cancer research.", - "index": "413", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020\n\nThis bill provides FY2020 appropriations for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and related agencies.\n\nThe bill provides appropriations to Interior for\n\n the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Education, Departmental Offices, and Department-Wide Programs. The bill provides appropriations to the EPA and the Forest Service.\n\nWithin the Department of Health and Human Services, the bill provides appropriations for\n\n the Indian Health Service, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The bill provides appropriations to several related agencies, including\n\n the Executive Office of the President for the Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Environmental Quality; the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board; the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation; the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development; the Smithsonian Institution; the National Gallery of Art; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities, including the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Commission of Fine Arts; the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; the National Capital Planning Commission; the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission; and the World War I Centennial Commission. Additionally, the bill sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.", - "company_name": "Aduro BioTech, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an immunotherapy company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies that transform the treatment of challenging diseases, including cancer. We believe our three technology platforms are uniquely positioned to recruit and direct the immune system by activating cancer-fighting immune cells and inhibiting immune suppressive cells known to allow tumor growth. Product candidates from our STING Pathway Activator, B-select monoclonal antibody, and LADD, or Live, Attenuated, Double-Deleted Listeria monocytogenes platforms are designed to stimulate and/or regulate innate and adaptive immune responses, either as single agents or in combination with conventional therapies (i.e. chemotherapy and radiation) as well as other novel immunotherapies. Our diverse technology platforms have led to a strong pipeline of clinical and preclinical candidates, which are being developed for a number of cancer indications. Additionally, our platforms have the potential to generate product candidates that address other therapeutic areas, such as autoimmune and infectious diseases. Immuno-oncology is an emerging field of cancer therapy that aims to activate the immune system in the tumor microenvironment to create and enhance anti-tumor immune responses, as well as to overcome the immuno-suppressive mechanisms that cancer cells have developed against the immune system. Recent developments in the field of immuno-oncology, including checkpoint inhibitors\u2014therapies which work to remove suppression mechanisms that prevent an immune response against cancer cells\u2014have shown the potential to provide efficacy and extended survival, even in cancers where conventional therapies, such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, have failed. The immunotherapy field is rapidly advancing with new immuno-oncology combinations that focus on strengthening therapeutic efficacy in a wide range of cancers. We intend to pursue a broad strategy of combining our technology platforms with conventional and novel therapies, based on their mechanisms of action, safety profiles and versatility. Our STING Pathway Activator platform is designed to activate the intracellular Stimulator of Interferon Genes, or STING, receptor, resulting in a potent tumor-specific immune response. ADU-S100 is the first STING Pathway Activator compound to enter the clinic and is currently being evaluated in Phase 1 studies both as a monotherapy and in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor in patients with cutaneously accessible metastatic solid tumors or lymphomas. Our B-select monoclonal antibody platform includes a proprietary ultra-selective functional screening process to identify antibodies with unique binding properties against a broad range of targets that are being designed to modulate the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. Our most advanced product candidate from the B-select platform, BION-1301, is being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial in mulitiple myeloma. In addition, the B-select platform has delivered a number of immune modulating assets currently in research and preclinical development. Our LADD technology platform is based on proprietary attenuated strains of Listeria that have been engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce specific and targeted immune responses. Our LADD program is focused on the development of personalized LADD, or pLADD, therapeutics that encode and express antigens that are based on protein sequences that result from mutations specific to an individual patient's tumor (neoantigens). These antigens can be also derived from native protein sequences that are highly expressed in patients with certain tumor types (self antigens). We are developing a pipeline of proprietary product candidates on our own and have a number of collaborations with leading global pharmaceutical companies to expand our products and technology platforms. We are developing STING Activator product candidates in oncology under our worldwide collaboration with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, or Novartis, and an anti-CD27 antibody was developed with and is exclusively licensed to, Merck Sharp and Dohme B.V., or Merck. In addition, we have developed self antigen-based LADD product candidates targeting lung and prostate cancers that are licensed to Janssen Biotech Inc., or Janssen. We believe our technology platforms \u2013 STING Pathway Activators, B-select monoclonal antibodies and LADD - represent innovative approaches in immuno-oncology. Since our product candidates act by leveraging the patient's own immune system, we believe they have the potential to deliver enhanced efficacy and to be safer and more tolerable than existing therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Based on the mechanisms of action and safety profiles of our technology platforms, we intend to build a deep pipeline of product candidates that can be readily combinable and synergistic with both conventional and novel therapies, such as checkpoint inhibitors. Our vision is to utilize our scientific expertise and understanding of the body's natural defense systems, including the interplay between the innate and adaptive immune responses, to develop safe and effective therapies for the benefit of patients. The STING receptor is known to be a central mediator of innate immunity and is critical for immune surveillance and control of cancer progression.", - "id": "e33275ec-7c7e-4c67-99cc-daeccc59af25" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on the telecommunications sector and its role in reporting hate crimes, which does not pertain to ANSYS, Inc.'s business of engineering simulation software. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill are not relevant to the company's activities or business model.", - "index": "414", - "bill_title": "To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to prepare and submit periodic reports to Congress on the role of telecommunications in hate crimes.", - "bill_summary": "Stop Harmful and Abusive Telecommunications Expression Act of 2019 or the Stop HATE Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to report on and make recommendations to address the role of telecommunications in violent acts and hate crimes against individuals or groups on the basis of race, gender and gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, color, or national origin.", - "company_name": "ANSYS, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS ANSYS, a Delaware corporation formed in 1994, develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services widely used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a broad spectrum of industries and academia, including aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, semiconductors, energy, materials and chemical processing, turbomachinery, consumer products, healthcare, and sports. The Company focuses on the development of open and flexible solutions that enable users to analyze designs directly on the desktop, providing a common platform for fast, efficient and cost-conscious product development, from design concept to final-stage testing and validation. The Company distributes its ANSYS\u00ae suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in strategic, global locations. The Company operates and reports as one segment. ANSYS Workbench\u2122 ANSYS Workbench is the framework upon which the Company's suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The innovative project schematic view ties together the entire simulation process, guiding the user through complex multiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop simplicity. With bi-directional computer-aided design (CAD) connectivity, powerful highly-automated meshing, a project-level update mechanism, pervasive parameter management and integrated optimization tools, the ANSYS Workbench platform enables Pervasive Engineering Simulation\u2122. The Company's Workbench framework allows engineers and designers to incorporate the compounding effects of multiple physics into a virtual prototype of their design and simulate its operation under real-world conditions. As product architectures become smaller, lighter and more complex, companies must be able to accurately predict how products will behave in real-world environments where multiple types of physics interact in a coupled way. ANSYS multiphysics software enables engineers to simulate the interactions between structures, heat transfer, fluids and electronics all within a single, unified engineering simulation environment. ANSYS Workbench enables companies to create a customized simulation environment to deploy specialized simulation best practices and automations unique to their product development process or industry. With ANSYS ACT\u2122, end users or ANSYS partners can modify the user interface, process simulation data or embed third-party applications to create specialized tools based on ANSYS Workbench. The Company's high-performance computing (HPC) product suite enables enhanced insight into product performance and improves the productivity of the design process. The HPC product suite delivers cross-physics parallel processing capabilities for the full spectrum of the Company's simulation software by supporting structures, fluids, thermal and electronics simulations. This product suite decreases turnaround time for individual simulations, allowing users to consider multiple design ideas and make the right design decisions early in the design cycle. The Company's structural analysis product suite offers simulation tools for product design and optimization that increase productivity, minimize physical prototyping and help to deliver better and more innovative products in less time. These tools tackle real-world analysis problems by making product development less costly and more reliable. In addition, these tools have capabilities that cover a broad range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities, all targeted toward understanding and solving complex design problems. The Company also provides comprehensive topology optimization tools that engineers use to design structural components to meet loading requirements with minimal material and component weight. The Company offers a complete simulation workflow for additive manufacturing that allows reliable 3D printing by simulating the laser sintering process and delivering compensated CAD geometries that ensure reliable printed parts. The Company's fluids product suite enables modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design and optimize new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications. The Company's electromagnetics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance of mobile communication and internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment, all prior to building a prototype. ", - "id": "9106b3bd-0d3b-4000-807e-b832df6c1f3c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The All-American Flag Act requires that the U.S. government purchase only domestically made flags, which could impact United Airlines as a contractor for government flights and services. If United Airlines operates flights for government contracts or needs to procure flags for use on its aircraft or at terminals, the bill's requirements would be directly relevant to its operations.", - "index": "415", - "bill_title": "To require the purchase of domestically made flags of the United States of America for use by the Federal Government.", - "bill_summary": "All-American Flag Act\n\nThis bill prohibits agencies from using funds to procure a U.S. flag unless such flag has been manufactured in the United States from materials that have been U.S. grown, produced, or manufactured. The bill specifies exceptions to this prohibition, including an exception if flags of satisfactory quality and sufficient quantity cannot be procured as needed at market prices.", - "company_name": "United Airlines Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. The Company transports people and cargo through its mainline and regional operations. With key global aviation rights in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Latin America, UAL has the world\u0092s most comprehensive global route network. UAL, through United and its regional carriers, operates more than 4,500 flights a day to 338 airports across five continents, with hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport (\u0093Newark\u0094), Chicago O\u0092Hare International Airport (\u0093Chicago O\u0092Hare\u0094), The hub and spoke system allows us to transport passengers between a large number of destinations with substantially more frequent service than if each route were served directly. The 3 hub system also allows us to add service to a new destination from a large number of cities using only one or a limited number of aircraft. As discussed under Alliances below, United is a member of Star Alliance, the world\u0092s largest alliance network. The Company has contractual relationships with various regional carriers to provide regional aircraft service branded as United Express. This regional service complements our operations by carrying traffic that connects to our mainline service and allows flights to smaller cities that cannot be provided economically with mainline aircraft. Republic Airlines (\u0093Republic\u0094), Champlain Enterprises, LLC d/b/a CommutAir (\u0093CommutAir\u0094), ExpressJet Airlines (\u0093ExpressJet\u0094), GoJet Airlines (\u0093GoJet\u0094), Mesa Airlines (\u0093Mesa\u0094), SkyWest Airlines (\u0093SkyWest\u0094), Air Wisconsin Airlines (\u0093Air Wisconsin\u0094), and Trans States Airlines (\u0093Trans States\u0094) are all regional carriers that operate with capacity contracted to United under capacity purchase agreements (\u0093CPAs\u0094). Under these CPAs, the Company pays the regional carriers contractually agreed fees (carrier costs) for operating these flights plus a variable reimbursement (incentive payment for operational performance) based on agreed performance metrics, subject to annual inflation adjustments. The fees for carrier costs are based on specific rates for various operating expenses of the regional carriers, such as crew expenses, maintenance and aircraft ownership, some of which are multiplied by specific operating statistics (e.g., block hours, departures), while others are fixed monthly amounts. Under these CPAs, the Company is responsible for all fuel costs incurred, as well as landing fees and other costs, which are either passed through by the regional carrier to the Company without any markup or directly incurred by the Company. In return, the regional carriers operate this capacity exclusively for United, on schedules determined by the Company. The Company also determines pricing and revenue management, assumes the inventory and distribution risk for the available seats and permits mileage accrual and redemption for regional flights through its MileagePlus \u00ae loyalty program. United is a member of Star Alliance, a global integrated airline network and the largest and most comprehensive airline alliance in the world. As of January 1, 2018, Star Alliance carriers served 1,300 airports in 191 countries with 18,400 daily departures. Star Alliance members, in addition to United, are Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways (\u0093ANA\u0094), Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, Avianca Brasil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI Airways International and Turkish Airlines. United has a variety of bilateral commercial alliance agreements and obligations with Star Alliance members, addressing, among other things, reciprocal earning and redemption of frequent flyer miles, access to airport lounges and, with certain Star Alliance members, codesharing of flight operations (whereby one carrier\u0092s selected flights can be marketed under the brand name of another carrier). In addition to the alliance agreements with Star Alliance members, United currently maintains independent marketing alliance agreements with other air carriers, including Aeromar, Aer Lingus, Air Dolomiti, Azul, Cape Air, Eurowings, Great Lakes Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Silver Airways. In addition to the marketing alliance agreements with air partners, United also offers a train-to-plane codeshare and frequent flyer alliance with Amtrak from Newark on select city pairs in the northeastern United States. United also participates in three passenger joint ventures, one with Air Canada and the Lufthansa Group (which includes Lufthansa and its affiliates Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and SWISS) covering transatlantic routes, one with ANA covering certain transpacific routes and one with Air New Zealand covering certain routes between the United States and New Zealand. These passenger joint ventures enable the participating carriers to integrate the services they provide in the respective regions, capturing revenue synergies and delivering highly competitive flight schedules, fares and services. United has also implemented cargo joint 4 ventures with ANA for transpacific cargo services and continues to implement a cargo joint venture with Lufthansa for transatlantic cargo services. These cargo joint ventures offer expanded and more seamless access to cargo space across the carriers\u0092 respective combined networks. ", - "id": "3f5de488-c2bd-4db0-a33e-f9af3d3842a6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on creating a taskforce for senior investors and addressing financial exploitation of senior citizens. It primarily deals with financial regulation and investor protection in the context of securities markets, which is not directly related to BMC Stock Holdings, Inc.'s business in the residential construction market and provision of building materials and services. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill are not relevant to the company's activities.", - "index": "416", - "bill_title": "To create an interdivisional taskforce at the Securities and Exchange Commission for senior investors.", - "bill_summary": "National Senior Investor Initiative Act of 2019 or the Senior Security Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes the Senior Investor Taskforce within the Securities and Exchange Commission. The taskforce must report on topics relating to investors over the age of 65, including industry trends and serious issues impacting such investors, and make recommendations for legislative or regulatory actions to address problems encountered by senior investors.\n\nThe Government Accountability Office must report on the financial exploitation of senior citizens.", - "company_name": "BMC Stock Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "BMC Stock Holdings, Inc. is one of the leading providers of diversified building products and services in the U.S. residential construction market. Our objective is to provide best-in-class customer service and value-added products to our customers, which are primarily single- and multi-family home builders and professional remodelers. Our product offerings include lumber and lumber sheet goods and an array of value-added products, including millwork, doors, windows and structural components such as engineered wood products (\"EWP\"), floor and roof trusses and wall panels. Our whole-house framing solution, Ready-Frame \u00ae, which is one of our fastest growing product offerings, saves builders both time and money and improves job site safety. We also offer our customers important services, such as design, product specification, installation and installation management. The 19 states in which we operate accounted for approximately 67% of 2018 U.S. single-family housing permits according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Our primary operating regions include the South and West regions of the United States (as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau), with a significant portion of our net sales derived from markets within Texas, California and Georgia. Given the local nature of our business, we locate our facilities in close proximity to our key customers and often co-locate multiple operations in one facility to increase customer service and efficiency. 45 metropolitan areas in 19 states that includes a mix of large-scale production homebuilders, custom homebuilders, multi-family builders and professional repair and remodeling contractors. Our largest 10 customers accounted for approximately 21% of our 2018 net sales, with no single customer accounting for more than 6% of our 2018 net sales. Our largest customers comprise primarily large production homebuilders, including publicly traded companies such as D.R. Horton, Inc., Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., Lennar Corporation, PulteGroup, Inc., Toll Brothers, Inc. and TRI Pointe Group, Inc. In addition to these large production homebuilders, we also service and supply regional and local custom homebuilders. We also serve professional residential remodeling contractors and multi-family and light commercial contractors in most of our markets. Our Products and Services We provide a wide variety of building products and services directly to homebuilder and professional contractor customers. We offer a broad range of products sourced through a network of suppliers with whom we have strategic supplier agreements. These products are available through our distribution locations and eCommerce platform and, in most instances, are delivered to the job site. We manufacture floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels, stairs, specialty millwork, windows and pre-hung doors. We have developed several proprietary capabilities to design, pre-cut, label and bundle lumber and lumber sheet goods into customized framing packages, which we have branded Ready-Frame \u00ae. We also provide an extensive range of installation services and special order products. We group our building products and services into four product categories: (i) structural components, (ii) lumber and lumber sheet goods, (iii) millwork, doors and windows, and (iv) other building products and services. For the year ended December 31, 2018 , our sales of structural components and millwork, doors and windows products represented 43% of net sales. Each of these categories includes both manufactured and distributed products. Products in these categories typically carry a higher gross margin than lumber and lumber sheet goods and other building products and services, and provide us with opportunities to cross-sell other products and services. Structural components are factory-built substitutes for job-site framing and include floor trusses, roof trusses, wall panels and EWP that in many cases we design and cut for each home. Roof trusses, floor trusses and wall panels are built in a factory controlled environment.", - "id": "31ba0e2d-7635-4979-897d-ff0bb0946e7b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill terminates federal prohibitions on the exportation and importation of natural gas, which directly affects Alta Mesa Resources Inc.'s operations as they are involved in natural gas production and midstream activities. Without export restrictions, the company may benefit from increased market access for its natural gas, enhancing its business model and financial performance.", - "index": "417", - "bill_title": "To terminate the prohibitions on the exportation and importation of natural gas, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "License Natural Gas Now Act of 2019 or the LNG Now Act of 2019\n\nThis bill prohibits the federal government from imposing restrictions on the importation and exportation of natural gas.\n\nThe bill does not limit the President's ability to restrict the exportation of natural gas (1)during national emergencies or disasters, and (2)to foreign countries if the President declares a national emergency with respect to such country.", - "company_name": "Alta Mesa Resources Inc", - "company_description": "We were originally formed in November 2016 as a special purpose acquisition company under the name Silver Run Acquisition Corporation II for the purpose of effecting an initial business combination. Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we completed the private sale of 15,133,333 warrants (the \u0093Private Placement Warrants\u0094) to Silver Run Sponsor II, LLC (the \u0093Sponsor\u0094) generating gross proceeds to us of $22,700,000. A total of $1.035 billion (including approximately $36.2 million in deferred underwriting commissions to the underwriters of the IPO), which represents $1.0143 billion of the proceeds from the IPO after deducting upfront underwriting commissions of $20.7 million, and the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were placed in the Trust Account (the \u0093Trust Account\u0094) to be used to fund an initial business combination. \u00b7 SRII Opco distributed to the Kingfisher Contributor cash in the amount of approximately $814.8 million in partial payment for the ownership interests in Kingfisher contributed by the Kingfisher Contributor; and \u00b7 SRII Opco entered into a voting agreement with the owners of the remaining 10% voting interests in Alta Mesa GP whereby such other owners agreed to vote their interests in Alta Mesa GP as directed by SRII Opco. Following the completion of the Business Combination, the size of our board of directors was expanded from four directors to 11, including one director appointed by Bayou City and its affiliates, one director appointed by HPS and its affiliates and two directors appointed by AM Management and its affiliates, as the holders of our Series A Preferred Stock, and three directors appointed by the Riverstone Contributor and its affiliates, as the holder of our Series B Preferred Stock. Founded in 1987, Alta Mesa, the predecessor to our E & P Business, was an independent exploration and production company focused on the development and acquisition of unconventional oil and natural gas reserves in the eastern portion of the Anadarko Basin referred to as the STACK. The STACK is an acronym describing both its location\u0097Sooner Trend Anadarko Basin Canadian and Kingfisher County\u0097and the multiple, stacked productive formations present in the area. The STACK is a prolific hydrocarbon system with high oil and liquids-rich natural gas content, multiple horizontal target horizons, extensive production history and historically high drilling success rates. As of December 31, 2017, we had assembled a highly contiguous position of approximately 130,000 net acres largely in the up-dip, naturally-fractured oil portion of the STACK in eastern Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. Our drilling locations are in our primary target formations comprised of the Osage, Meramec and Oswego. We are currently operating seven horizontal drilling rigs in the STACK with plans to increase that number of rigs to eight at the end of 2018. Our Midstream Business was started by Kingfisher on January 30, 2015 for the purpose of acquiring, developing and operating midstream oil and gas assets. We primarily focus on providing crude oil gathering, gas gathering and processing and marketing to producers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and condensate in the STACK play. Our midstream energy asset network includes approximately 308 miles of existing low and high pressure pipelines, a 60 MMcf/d cryogenic natural gas processing plant, 10 MMcf/d in offtake processing, compression facilities, crude storage, NGL storage and purchasing and marketing capabilities. Our goal is to build a premier development and acquisition company focused on horizontal drilling and gas gathering in the STACK. As an emerging growth company, we may, for up to five years, take advantage of specified exemptions from reporting and other regulatory requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. the date on which we are deemed to be a \u0093large accelerated filer,\u0094 as defined in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the \u0093Exchange Act\u0094).", - "id": "85017411-3c35-4806-be2f-fbe180c614b6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The SAFE Lending Act of 2019 introduces important regulations regarding consumer financial protection, which are directly relevant to Stifel Financial Corp.'s business activities, particularly in retail and commercial banking and investment services. The bill's provisions on small-dollar lending, overdraft fees, and registration requirements for credit providers could impact Stifel's operations in these sectors, making compliance necessary. Thus, the bill is relevant for the company.", - "index": "418", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Truth in Lending Act to address certain issues relating to the extension of consumer credit, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Stopping Abuse and Fraud in Electronic Lending Act of 2019 or the SAFE Lending Act of 2019\n\nThis bill revises requirements related to consumer financial protection and small-dollar lending, including matters concerning remotely created checks, electronic fund transfers, registration of small-dollar lenders, overdraft fees, and the collection of personal information.\n\n Under the bill, remotely created checks may only be issued by a person specifically designated in writing by a consumer and provided to the consumer's depository institution. (A remotely created check is a check not issued by the bank and not signed by the account owner.)\n\nA voluntary agreement to repay a small-dollar consumer credit transaction by an electronic fund transfer is subject to certain protections, including the right of the consumer to stop payment.\n\nSmall-dollar consumer credit providers must register with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Any small-dollar consumer credit transaction is subject to the laws of the state in which the consumer resides.\n\nThe bill also prohibits overdraft fees on prepaid accounts.", - "company_name": "Stifel Financial Corp.", - "company_description": "Our principal subsidiary is Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (\"Stifel\"), a full-service retail and institutional wealth management and investment banking firm. Our other subsidiaries include Century Securities Associates, Inc. (\"CSA\"), an independent contractor broker-dealer firm; Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (\"SNEL\"), our European subsidiary; Stifel Bank & Trust and Stifel Bank (collectively \"Stifel Bancorp\"), retail and commercial banks; Stifel Trust Company, With a 128-year operating history, we have built a diversified business serving private clients, institutional investors, and investment banking clients located across the country. Private client services, including securities transaction and financial planning services; \u2022 Institutional equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, and municipal finance; \u2022 Investment banking services, including mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, and private placements; and \u2022 Retail and commercial banking, including personal and commercial lending programs. We provide our private, institutional, and corporate clients quality, personalized service, with the theory that if we place clients' needs first, both our clients and our company will prosper. Our unwavering client and employee focus have earned us a reputation as one of the nation's leading wealth management and investment banking firms. (\"Ryan Beck\") and its wholly owned broker-dealer subsidiary, Ryan Beck & Company, On February 28, 2007, we closed on the acquisition of Ryan Beck, a full-service brokerage and investment banking firm with a strong private client focus, from BankAtlantic Bancorp, Inc. First Service now operates as Stifel Bank & Trust. On July 1, 2010, we acquired TWPG, an investment bank focused principally on the growth sectors of the economy, including technology and health care. On October 1, 2011, we acquired Stone & Youngberg, a leading financial services firm specializing in municipal finance and fixed income securities. Stone & Youngberg's comprehensive institutional group expanded our public finance, institutional sales and trading, and bond underwriting, particularly in the Arizona and California markets, and expanded our Private Client Group. On December 20, 2012, we acquired Miller Buckfire, an investment banking firm. Miller Buckfire provides a full range of investment banking advisory services, including financial restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, and debt and equity placements. On February 15, 2013, we acquired KBW, an investment banking firm with a focus in the banking, insurance, brokerage, asset management, mortgage banking, real estate, and specialty finance sectors. KBW maintains industry-leading positions in research, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, as well as sales and trading in equities and debt securities of financial services companies. Inc. The combined teams of sales and trading professionals in the U.S. and Europe cover high-yield and investment-grade corporate bonds, asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities, loan trading, and emerging markets, as well as fixed income research in selected sectors and companies. On November 30, 2013, we acquired ZCM, an asset management firm that provides investment solutions for institutions, mutual fund sub-advisory clients, municipalities, pension plans, Taft-Hartley plans, and individual investors. On April 3, 2014, we acquired De La Rosa, a California-based public finance investment banking boutique. On July 31, 2014, we completed the acquisition of Oriel, a London-based stockbroking and investment banking firm. The combination of our company and Oriel has created a significant middle-market investment banking group in London, with broad research coverage across most sectors of the economy, equity and debt sales and trading, and investment banking services. 1919 Investment Counsel, formerly known as Legg Mason Investment Counsel & Trust Co., National Association \u2013", - "id": "5e841143-92af-4ac9-b801-d6cf2ea9f655" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on providing employment, training, and support for the long-term unemployed and individuals with barriers to employment, which does not have a direct connection to Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.'s business model of manufacturing firearms. The company's operations, including the design, manufacture, and sale of firearms, do not seem to be affected by the provisions of this bill regarding job assistance and relocation support.", - "index": "419", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Social Security Act to establish a new employment, training, and supportive services program for the long-term unemployed and individuals with barriers to employment, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Economic Ladders to End Volatility and Advance Training and Employment Act of 2019 or the ELEVATE Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a federal program to help fund (1) state- and tribe-run job-assistance programs, and (2) assistance for self-employed individuals and workers who relocate for employment opportunities.\n\nThe Department of Health and Human Services shall provide funds for programs that assist eligible individuals, such as those who face barriers to employment. Such programs shall provide employment services, training, and related services.\n\nThe bill also establishes criteria for using such funds for various purposes, including subsidized jobs. The bill also establishes various reporting and application requirements for\u00a0states seeking funds for such programs.\n\nThe bill establishes an assistance program for self-employed individuals who meet various requirements and whose most recent contracts ended through no fault of their\u00a0own. Such\u00a0individuals shall be entitled to a weekly benefit equal to half of the average weekly earnings from their\u00a0last employment, not to exceed the maximum available for unemployment benefits. An individual may not concurrently receive unemployment compensation and self-employment assistance.\n\nDislocated workers and long-term unemployed individuals shall be entitled to assistance for moving to a new area to earn family-sustaining employment. Such assistance may cover up to 90% of reasonable expenses, subject to a cap of $2,000 for an individual.\n\nThe bill establishes the Office of Reemployment Assistance in the Social Security Administration to administer the self-employment and relocation assistance programs.", - "company_name": "Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.", - "company_description": "Overview Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. and Subsidiary (the \"Company\") is principally engaged in the design, manufacture, and sale of firearms to domestic customers. The Company's design and manufacturing operations are located in the United States and almost all product content is domestic. The Company primarily offers products in three industry product categories \u2013 rifles, pistols, and revolvers. The Company's firearms are sold through independent wholesale distributors, principally to the commercial sporting market. The Company manufactures and sells investment castings made from steel alloys and metal injection molding (\"MIM\") parts for internal use in the firearms segment and has minimal sales to outside customers. The Company presently manufactures firearm products, under the \"Ruger\" name and trademark, in the following industry categories: Rifles Most firearms are available in several models based upon caliber, finish, barrel length, and other features. A rifle is a long gun with spiral grooves cut into the interior of the barrel to give the bullet a stabilizing spin after it leaves the barrel. Net sales of rifles by the Company accounted for $243.0 million, $264.9 million, and $208.5 million of total net sales for the years 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. A pistol is a handgun in which the ammunition chamber is an integral part of the barrel and which typically is fed ammunition from a magazine contained in the grip. Net sales of pistols by the Company accounted for $176.2 million, $250.0 million, and $192.2 million of revenues for the years 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. A revolver is a handgun that has a cylinder that holds the ammunition in a series of chambers which are successively aligned with the barrel of the gun during each firing cycle. To fire a single-action revolver, the hammer is pulled back to cock the gun and align the cylinder before the trigger is pulled. To fire a double-action revolver, a single trigger pull advances the cylinder and cocks and releases the hammer. Net sales of revolvers by the Company accounted for $74.6 million, $104.9 million, and $113.3 million of revenues for the years 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. The Company also manufactures and sells accessories and replacement parts for its firearms. Net sales attributable to the Company's casting operations (excluding intercompany transactions) accounted for $4.6 million, $5.9 million, and $6.2 million, for 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. The Company produces one model of pistol, all of its revolvers and most of its rifles at the Newport, New Hampshire facility. Some rifle models and two pistol models are produced at the Mayodan, North Carolina facility. Many of the basic metal component parts of the firearms manufactured by the Company are produced by the Company's castings segment through processes known as precision investment casting. The Company believes that investment castings and MIM parts provide greater design flexibility and result in component parts which are generally close to their ultimate shape and, therefore, require less machining than processes requiring machining a solid billet of metal to obtain a part. Through the use of investment castings and MIM parts, the Company endeavors to produce durable and less costly component parts for its firearms. All assembly, inspection, and testing of firearms manufactured by the Company are performed at the Company's manufacturing facilities. Every firearm, including every chamber of every revolver manufactured by the Company, is test-fired prior to shipment. ", - "id": "f92d3a5b-5f54-4a28-9442-605520de3b05" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill mandates state Medicaid programs to cover routine patient costs for items and services linked to participation in qualifying clinical trials, especially concerning cancer and life-threatening conditions. Given that Agios Pharmaceuticals focuses on developing therapies for cancer and rare genetic diseases, this legislation is highly relevant - it could enhance patient access to their clinical trials and potentially increase enrollment in studies for their therapies, aligning with their aim of transforming patient lives through innovative treatments.", - "index": "420", - "bill_title": "To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to promote access to life-saving therapies for Medicaid enrollees by ensuring coverage of routine patient costs for items and services furnished in connection with participation in qualifying clinical trials, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Covering Life-saving Investigations Needed in Cancer and Other Life-threatening Conditions through Timely use of Resources for Easy and Affordable Treatment from Medicaid for Enrollees in Need Today Act or the CLINICAL TREATMENT Act\n\nThis bill requires state Medicaid programs to cover routine patient costs for items and services that are provided in connection with a qualifying clinical trial regarding cancer or other life-threatening conditions.\n\nThe bill defines \"routine patient costs\" to include items and services that would otherwise be covered under Medicaid absent the patient's participation in the clinical trial; the term includes items and services relating to trial complications, but excludes those items and services that are the subject of the trial or that are provided solely in relation to data analysis.\n\nAdditionally, a \"qualifying clinical trial\" means, among other things, a clinical trial that is approved or funded by specified entities (e.g., the National Institutes of Health) or is an authorized new drug trial.", - "company_name": "Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company committed to the fundamental transformation of patients' lives through scientific leadership in the field of cellular metabolism, with the goal of making transformative, first- or best-in-class medicines. Our therapeutic areas of focus are cancer and rare genetic diseases, or RGDs, which are diseases that are directly caused by changes in genes or chromosomes, often passed from one generation to the next. The incidence of a single RGD can vary widely but is generally very infrequent, usually equal to or less than one per 100,000 births. In both areas of cancer and RGDs, we are seeking to unlock the biology of cellular metabolism as a platform to create transformative therapies. Our first commercial cancer product is IDHIFA\u00ae. In August 2017, the FDA granted our collaboration partner Celgene Corporation, or Celgene, approval of IDHIFA\u00ae for the treatment of adult patients with R/R AML, and an IDH2 mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test. IDHIFA\u00ae, an oral targeted inhibitor of the mutated IDH2 enzyme, is the first and only FDA-approved therapy for patients with R/R AML and an IDH2 mutation. Our most advanced clinical cancer product candidates are ivosidenib, which targets mutated IDH1, and AG-881, which is a brain-penetrant pan-IDH mutant inhibitor. In December 2017, we submitted a new drug application, or NDA, to the FDA for ivosidenib for the treatment of patients with R/R AML and an IDH1 mutation. We plan to submit an MAA to the EMA for ivosidenib for IDH1 mutant-positive R/R AML in the fourth quarter of 2018. Our next most advanced cancer product candidate is AG-270, an inhibitor of MAT2A. We submitted an investigational new drug application, or IND, for AG-270 in November 2017, and in December 2017 the FDA concluded that we may proceed with our planned phase 1 dose-escalation trial of AG-270 in multiple tumor types carrying a methylthioadenosine phosphorylase, or MTAP, deletion. We expect to initiate this trial in the first quarter of 2018. Our most advanced preclinical cancer product candidate is an inhibitor of the metabolic enzyme DHODH. We plan to submit an IND for our DHODH inhibitor for the treatment of hematologic malignancies in the fourth quarter of 2018. The lead product candidate in our RGD program, AG-348, targets pyruvate kinase-R for the treatment of pyruvate kinase, or PK, deficiency. PK deficiency is a rare genetic disorder that often results in severe hemolytic anemia, jaundice and lifelong conditions associated with chronic anemia and secondary complications due to inherited mutations in the pyruvate kinase enzyme within red blood cells, or RBCs. We intend to initiate two global, pivotal trials of AG-348 in PK deficiency in the first half of 2018: ACTIVATE-T, a single arm trial of approximately 20 regularly transfused patients, is expected to initiate in the first quarter of 2018, and ACTIVATE, a 1:1 randomized, placebo-controlled trial of approximately 80 patients who do not receive regular transfusions, is expected to initiate in the second quarter of 2018. We also expect to initiate a phase 2 proof of concept trial of AG-348 in thalassemia in the fourth quarter of 2018. In addition to the aforementioned development programs, we are seeking to advance a number of early-stage discovery programs in the areas of cancer metabolism, RGDs and metabolic immuno-oncology, or MIO, a developing field which aims to modulate the activity of relevant immune cells by targeting critical metabolic nodes, thereby, enhancing the immune mediated anti-tumor response. The clinical development strategy for all of our product and development candidates includes a precision approach with initial study designs that allow for genetically or biomarker defined patient populations, enabling the potential for proof of concept early in clinical development, along with the potential for accelerated approval. Our ability to identify, validate and drug novel targets is enabled by a set of core capabilities. Key proprietary aspects of our core capabilities in cellular metabolism include our ability to measure the activities of numerous metabolic pathways in cells or tissues in a high throughput fashion and our expertise in \"flux biochemistry. This refers to the dynamic analysis of how metabolites, which are intermediates or small molecule products of metabolism, accumulate or diminish as they are created or chemically altered by multiple networks of metabolic enzymes.", - "id": "a491662b-e957-4042-912c-722ded9bfde0" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing a State public option through Medicaid and primarily addresses healthcare access and insurance. Verso Corp. operates in the paper manufacturing industry and its activities, including paper production, marketing, and distribution, are unrelated to the healthcare sector. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill do not impact Verso Corp.'s business model or operations.", - "index": "421", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish a State public option through Medicaid to provide Americans with the choice of a high-quality, low-cost health insurance plan.", - "bill_summary": "State Public Option Act\n\nThis bill allows residents who are\u00a0not already eligible for Medicaid\u00a0and not concurrently enrolled in other health insurance coverage to\u00a0buy into\u00a0a state\u00a0Medicaid plan\u00a0beginning January 1, 2020, at the option of the state. State Medicaid programs may set premiums and cost-sharing requirements for such coverage in accordance with specified limitations.\n\nThe bill also (1) provides the enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) to every state that expands Medicaid coverage for individuals who are newly eligible under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, regardless of when such expansion takes place; and (2) requires state Medicaid programs to cover comprehensive reproductive health care services, including abortion services.", - "company_name": "Verso Corp.", - "company_description": "After the Internal Reorganization, Verso is the sole member of Verso Holding LLC, which is the sole member of Verso Paper Holding LLC. As used in this report, the term \"Verso Holding\" refers to Verso Holding LLC, and the term \"Verso Paper\" refers to Verso Paper Holding LLC. Prior to the Internal Reorganization, Verso was the sole member of Verso Paper Finance Holdings One LLC, which was the sole member of Verso Paper Finance Holdings LLC, which was the sole member of Verso Paper Holdings LLC. As used in this report, the term \"Verso Finance\" refers to Verso Paper Finance Holdings LLC; and the term \"VPH\" refers to Verso Paper Holdings LLC. The term \"NewPage\" refers to NewPage Holdings Inc., which was an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Verso prior to the Internal Reorganization; the term \"NewPage Corp\" refers to NewPage Corporation, which was an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of NewPage prior to the Internal Reorganization. Each of Verso Finance, VPH, NewPage and NewPage Corp were either merged into other subsidiaries of Verso, converted into limited liability corporations, and/or renamed in the Internal Reorganization and do not exist on and after the Internal Reorganization. We are the leading North American producer of coated papers, which are used primarily in commercial print, magazines, catalogs, high-end advertising brochures and annual reports, among other media and marketing publications. We produce a wide range of products, ranging from coated freesheet and coated groundwood, to specialty papers, to inkjet and digital paper, supercalendered papers and uncoated freesheet. We also produce and sell market kraft pulp, which is used to manufacture printing and writing paper grades and tissue products. The mills have an aggregate annual production capacity of approximately 2,870,000 tons of paper, including coated papers and specialty papers which excludes pulp. In February 2018, we announced plans to upgrade the shuttered No. 3 paper machine at our Androscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine, enabling this equipment to restart for the manufacture of packaging products. This paper machine was previously idled beginning in January 2017 and shut down in July 2017. We anticipate completion of this upgrade in the third quarter of 2018 and expect the No. 3 paper machine to increase annual paper production capacity by approximately 200,000 tons. We sell and market our products to approximately 300 customers which comprise approximately 1,700 end-user accounts. We have long-standing relationships with many leading magazine and catalog publishers, commercial printers, specialty retail merchandisers and paper merchants. We reach our end-users through several distribution channels, including direct sales, commercial printers, paper merchants and brokers. \" Verso and substantially all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, or the \"Debtors,\" filed voluntary petitions for relief, or the \"Chapter 11 Filings,\" under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, or the \"Bankruptcy Code,\" in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, or the \"Bankruptcy Court. ,\" were consolidated for procedural purposes only and administered jointly under the caption In accordance with the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board, or \"FASB,\" Accounting Standards Codification, or \"ASC\" 852, Reorganizations, the Debtors adopted fresh-start accounting upon emergence from the Chapter 11 Cases and became a new entity for financial reporting purposes as of July 15, 2016. The Internal Reorganization involved several separate, but related, actions consisting of mergers between subsidiaries to reduce their numbers, the conversion of corporate subsidiaries to limited liability companies, the re-domestication of subsidiaries under Delaware law to provide for a uniform and enlightened regulatory framework, the formation of new holding companies to create separate \"branches\" for Verso's paper-making and energy operations, and name changes of subsidiaries to more appropriately reflect the nature of their assets and operations. In September 2017, we announced the formation of a Strategic Alternatives Committee, comprised solely of independent directors. Based on 2017 sales, the size of the global coated paper industry is estimated to be approximately $32 billion, or 38 million tons of coated paper shipments, including approximately $5 billion, or 6 million tons of coated paper shipments, in North America. Coated paper is used primarily in media and marketing applications, including catalogs, magazines and commercial printing applications, which include high-end advertising brochures, annual reports and direct mail advertising. Demand is generally driven by North American advertising and print media trends, which in turn have historically been correlated with growth in Gross Domestic Product, or \"GDP.", - "id": "3f6f1b92-9a14-401e-be5d-b8ac1c4fb53e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on supporting the creative economy, entrepreneurs in the arts, and related activities. Chase Corp. operates primarily in the specialty chemicals sector, specifically manufacturing protective materials for industrial and construction applications. The legal consequences of the bill, such as funding for arts-related initiatives and support for creative placemaking, do not directly impact Chase Corp's business model or operations, which are centered on industrial materials rather than the arts or creative economy.", - "index": "422", - "bill_title": "To assist entrepreneurs, support development of the creative economy, and encourage international cultural exchange, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Comprehensive Resources for Entrepreneurs in the Arts to Transform the Economy Act of 2019 or the CREATE Act of 2019\n\nThis bill expands financial assistance for, and establishes measures to support, the creative economy and art entrepreneurs.\n\nSpecifically, the bill requires (1) the Small Business Administration to develop loan criteria, evaluation procedures, and technical assistance programs for small business concerns that are owned by artists and support the creative economy, (2) the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture to ensure that traditional economic development tools, such as business incubators and grant programs, support the arts industry and creative economy, and (3) the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure that expenses incurred by a self-employed worker to repair or replace needed tools because of a major disaster are eligible for disaster assistance.\n\nFurther, the recipient of a national service program grant is authorized to carry out the program through an Artist Corps that identifies and meets unmet needs in communities through artistic activities.\n\nThe bill also requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist activities that support creative placemaking through community development mechanisms and partnerships between local governments and nonprofit cultural organizations.\n\nCommerce shall establish a demonstration program to promote creative and performing arts in the economic planning of local governments.\n\nFinally, the Department of Homeland Security must adjudicate petitions for nonimmigrant visas for aliens with extraordinary ability or achievement, and artists and entertainers, within 14 days after receiving them.", - "company_name": "Chase Corp.", - "company_description": "Item 1 \u2013 Busines s Primary Operating Divisions and Facilities and Industry Segments Chase Corporation, a global specialty chemicals company founded in 1946, is a leading manufacturer of protective materials for high-reliability applications. The segments are distinguished by the nature of the products we manufacture and how they are delivered to their respective markets. The Industrial Materials segment includes specified products that are used in, or integrated into, another company's product, with demand typically dependent upon general economic conditions. The Construction Materials segment is principally composed of project-oriented product offerings that are primarily sold and used as \"Chase\" branded products. Our manufacturing facilities are distinct to their respective segments with the exception of our O'Hara Township, PA and Blawnox, PA facilities, which produce products related to both operating segments. Background/History Specialty tapes and related products for the electronic and telecommunications industries using the brand name Chase & Sons\u00ae. Insulating and conducting materials for the manufacture of electrical and telephone wire and cable, electrical splicing, and terminating and repair tapes, which are marketed to wire and cable manufacturers selling into energy-oriented and communication markets, and to public utilities. PaperTyger\u00ae, a trademark for laminated durable papers sold to the envelope converting and commercial printing industries. In August 2011, we relocated our manufacturing processes that had been previously conducted at our Webster, MA facility to this location. In December 2012, we relocated the majority of our manufacturing processes that had been previously conducted at our Randolph, MA facility to this location. Our Randolph facility was one of our first operating facilities, and had been producing products for the wire and cable industry for more than fifty years. Chase BLH2OCK\u00ae, a water-blocking compound sold to the wire and cable industry. In September 2012, we relocated our Chase BLH2OCK\u00ae manufacturing processes that had been previously conducted at our Randolph, MA facility to this location. Protective conformal coatings under the brand name HumiSeal\u00ae, moisture protective electronic coatings sold to the electronics industry including circuitry used in automobiles, industrial controls and home appliances. Advanced adhesives, sealants, and coatings for automotive and industrial applications that require specialized bonding, encapsulating, environmental protection, or thermal management functionality. In September 2016, we acquired certain assets and the operations of Resin Designs, LLC, and entered leases in their existing manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts and California. Laminated film foils for the electronics and cable industries and cover tapes essential to delivering semiconductor components via tape and reel packaging. Pulling and detection tapes used in the installation, measurement and location of fiber optic cables, and water and natural gas lines. Cover tapes essential to delivering semiconductor components via tape and reel packaging. In October 2013, we moved the majority of our manufacturing processes that had been conducted at our Taylorsville, NC facility to our Lenoir, NC location. 3 Key Products & Services Primary Manufacturing Locations Background/History Protective conformal coatings under the brand name HumiSeal\u00ae, moisture protective electronic coatings sold to the electronics industry including circuitry used in automobiles, industrial controls and home appliances. In March 2007, we expanded our international presence with the formation of HumiSeal Europe SARL in France. HumiSeal Europe SARL operates a sales/technical service office and warehouse near Paris, France. In June 2016, we further expanded our international presence through the purchase of Spray Products (India) Private Limited, located in Pune, India. This business enhances the Company's ability to provide technical, sales, manufacturing, chemical handling and packaging services in the region and works closely with our HumiSeal manufacturing operation in Winnersh, Wokingham, England.", - "id": "41de08a4-fe39-4c4d-8e6b-3c3b5bbc2c56" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill relates to healthcare policy and expanding Medicaid, which does not directly impact Match Group, Inc.'s core business of online dating services. The legal consequences of the bill focus on healthcare coverage and public options, which are not relevant to the company's operations, financial structure, or user engagement strategies.", - "index": "423", - "bill_title": "A bill to establish a State public option through Medicaid to provide Americans with the choice of a high-quality, low-cost health insurance plan.", - "bill_summary": "State Public Option Act\n\nThis bill allows residents who are\u00a0not already eligible for Medicaid\u00a0and not concurrently enrolled in other health insurance coverage to\u00a0buy into\u00a0a state\u00a0Medicaid plan\u00a0beginning January 1, 2020, at the option of the state. State Medicaid programs may set premiums and cost-sharing requirements for such coverage in accordance with specified limitations.\n\nThe bill also (1) provides the enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) to every state that expands Medicaid coverage for individuals who are newly eligible under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, regardless of when such expansion takes place; and (2) requires state Medicaid programs to cover comprehensive reproductive health care services, including abortion services.", - "company_name": "Match Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "Match Group, Inc. is a leading provider of subscription dating products servicing North America, Western Europe, Asia and many other regions around the world through websites and applications we own and operate. We operate a portfolio of brands, including Tinder, Match, PlentyOfFish, Meetic, OkCupid, OurTime, and Pairs as well as a number of other brands, each designed to increase our users' likelihood of finding a meaningful connection. Through our portfolio of trusted brands, we provide tailored products to meet the varying preferences of our users. As a result, the market for dating products is fragmented, and no single product has been able to effectively serve the online dating category as a whole. Given these wide ranging consumer preferences, our strategy focuses on a brand portfolio approach, through which we attempt to offer dating products that collectively appeal to the broadest spectrum of consumers. We work to apply a centralized discipline to learnings, by sharing best practices and technologies across our brands in order to increase growth, reduce costs and maximize profitability. Additionally, we centralize certain other administrative functions, such as legal, human resources, finance, tax, and others. significant growth in our mobile-first dating products, as well as a meaningful shift in the user bases of our previously desktop-oriented dating products, who have gone from accessing those products via desktop devices to accessing our mobile experiences for those products via mobile devices. This shift to mobile, along with the combination of our mobile-first dating products and the deployment of mobile experiences across substantially all of our previously desktop-oriented products, has enabled us to reach groups of users which had previously proven elusive, such as the 18-25 year old audience; for example, Tinder has been able to tap into this audience rapidly over the last few years. Additionally, in previously desktop-oriented products like Match, the shift to mobile has led to increased usage of our products, as mobile users on average access our products at meaningfully higher rates than users who access our products on desktop. Enabling dating in a digital world Prior to the proliferation of computers and mobile devices, human connections traditionally were limited by social circles, geography and time. Today, the adoption of the internet and mobile technology has significantly expanded the ways in which people can build relationships, create new interactions and develop romantic connections. Additionally, the ongoing adoption of technology into more aspects of daily life continues to further erode biases and stigmas that previously prevented individuals from using technology to help find and develop those connections. We believe that dating products serve as a natural extension of the traditional means of meeting people and provide a number of benefits for their users, including: \u2022 : Dating products provide users access to a large number of like-minded people they otherwise would not have a chance to meet. : The search and matching features, as well as the profile information available on dating products, allow users to filter a large number of options in a short period of time, increasing the likelihood that users will make a connection with someone. : Compared to the traditional ways that people meet, dating products provide an environment that reduces the awkwardness around the process of reaching out to new people. : The nature of the internet and the proliferation of mobile devices allow users to connect with new people at any time, regardless of where they are. Depending on a person's circumstances at any given time, dating products can act as a supplement to, or substitute for, traditional means of meeting people. When selecting a dating product, we believe that users consider the following attributes: Users generally associate strong dating brands with a higher likelihood of success and a higher level of security. Generally, successful dating brands depend on large, active communities of users, strong algorithmic filtering technology and awareness of successful usage among similar users. : Demonstrated success of other users attracts new users through word-of-mouth recommendations. : Users typically look for dating products that offer a community or communities with which the user can associate. By selecting a dating product that is focused on a particular demographic, religion, geography or intent (for example, casual dating or more serious relationships), users can increase the likelihood that they will make a connection with someone with whom they identify. ", - "id": "8214ba4a-fce3-45f7-8091-7496334cbb26" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving Medicaid and CHIP services for maternal health, which primarily involves healthcare coverage and services targeted at pregnant and postpartum women. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. specializes in CNS disorders, particularly with their drug NUPLAZID aimed at conditions like Parkinson's disease psychosis, Alzheimer's disease psychosis, and major depressive disorder. While maternal health is an important area, it does not intersect with the specific focus areas or business activities of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, making the bill not relevant to their operations.", - "index": "424", - "bill_title": "To amend titles XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act to improve Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program for low-income mothers.", - "bill_summary": "Healthy MOMMIES Act\n\nThis bill establishes a series of programs and requirements under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) relating to maternal health.\n\nFor example, the bill expands eligibility for coverage under Medicaid and CHIP from 60 days to one year after the last day of pregnancy and requires such coverage to include oral health services.\n\nThe bill also establishes a demonstration program in which states receive grants to implement or expand models for maternity care homes that provide services to Medicaid or CHIP beneficiaries.\n\nThe Government Accountability Office must report on (1) gaps in coverage under Medicaid and CHIP for pregnant and postpartum women, and (2) the use of telemedicine by state Medicaid programs to increase access to maternity care.", - "company_name": "ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative medicines that address unmet medical needs in central nervous system, or CNS, disorders. We have a portfolio of product opportunities led by our novel drug, NUPLAZID (pimavanserin), which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, in April 2016 for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis, or PD Psychosis, and is the only drug approved in the United States for this condition. NUPLAZID is a selective serotonin inverse agonist, or SSIA, preferentially targeting 5-HT 2A receptors. Through this novel mechanism, NUPLAZID demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing the hallucinations and delusions associated with PD Psychosis in our Phase 3 pivotal trial and has the potential to avoid many of the debilitating side effects of existing antipsychotics, none of which are approved by the FDA in the treatment of PD Psychosis. We hold worldwide commercialization rights to pimavanserin. We launched NUPLAZID in the United States in May 2016 with the recommended dosing of 34 mg once a day taken as two 17 mg tablets. In June 2018, the FDA approved a 34 mg NUPLAZID capsule formulation that provides patients with the recommended 34 mg once daily dose in a single, small capsule, reducing patient pill burden compared to the previous administration of two 17 mg tablets. In addition, the FDA approved a 10 mg NUPLAZID tablet for patients concomitantly receiving strong cytochrome 3A4 inhibitors, which can inhibit the metabolizing of NUPLAZID . We believe that pimavanserin has the potential to address important unmet medical needs in neurological and psychiatric disorders in addition to PD Psychosis and we are continuing to study the use of pimavanserin in multiple disease states. For example, we believe dementia-related psychosis is one of our most important opportunities for further exploration. In December 2016, we 1 announced positive top-line results from our Phase 2 s tudy exploring the utility of pimavanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease psychosis, or AD Psychosis, a disorder for which no drug is currently approved by the FDA. Following our End-of-Phase 2 Meeting with the FDA and agreement with the agency , we initiated our Phase 3 HARMONY relapse prevention study in October 2017, which allows us to evaluate pimavanserin for a broader indication than AD Psychosis alone. More specifically, HARMONY will evaluate pimavanserin for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with dementia-related psychosis, which includes psychosis in patients with Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease dementia, vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementi Furthermore, in the fourth quarter of 2017, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to pimavanserin for dementia-related psychosis. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, major depressive disorder, or MDD, affects approximately 16 million adults in the United States, with approximately 2.5 million adults treated with adjunctive therapy. The majority of people who suffer from MDD do not respond adequately to initial antidepressant therapy. In October 2018, we announced positive top-line results from CLARITY, a Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment in 207 patients with MDD who had a confirmed inadequate response to existing first-line, SSRI or SNRI, antidepressant therapy. In the study, pimavanserin met the pre-specified primary and key secondary endpoints with statistical significance and positive results were also observed in seven additional secondary endpoints including response rate, improvement in sexual function, and a reduction in daytime sleepiness. Pimavanserin was generally well-tolerated in the study with no meaningful weight gain or impact on motor function observed. In February 2019, we conducted an End-of-Phase 2 Meeting with the FDA and we plan to initiate a Phase 3 program for pimavanserin as an adjunctive treatment for MDD in the first half of 2019. We also believe schizophrenia is a disease with multiple unmet or ill-served needs and we are currently exploring the utility of pimavanserin in this area. Despite a large number of FDA-approved therapies for schizophrenia, current drugs do not adequately address certain important symptoms of schizophrenia, such as inadequate response to current antipsychotic treatment of psychotic symptoms and negative symptoms.", - "id": "aaad1292-736a-4f1b-9c48-077a2c6cf264" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to expand access to capital for rural-area small businesses, potentially increasing market opportunities for Nasdaq, Inc. As a major player in trading and capital formation, Nasdaq could facilitate listings or trading of securities from these newly empowered small businesses, thereby aligning with their role in marketplace technology and capital markets.", - "index": "425", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 to expand access to capital for rural-area small businesses, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act\n\nThis bill requires the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation within the Securities and Exchange Commission to report on issues encountered by rural-area small businesses.", - "company_name": "Nasdaq, Inc.", - "company_description": "Overview Nasdaq, Inc. is a leading provider of trading, clearing, marketplace technology, regulatory, securities listing, information and public and private company services. Our global offerings are diverse and include trading and clearing across multiple asset classes, trade management services, data products, financial indexes, capital formation solutions, corporate solutions, and market technology products and services. Our technology powers markets across the globe, supporting equity derivative trading, clearing and settlement, cash equity trading, fixed income trading, trading surveillance and many other functions. Beginning in 2000, FINRA restructured and broadened ownership in Nasdaq by selling shares to FINRA members, investment companies and issuers listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market. This transformational combination resulted in the expansion of our business from a U.S.-based exchange operator to a global exchange company offering technology that powers our own exchanges and markets as well as many other marketplaces around the world. We have increased investment in areas that we believe help solve our clients In 2018, these businesses included: the data analytics business within our Information Services segment, NPM, within our Corporate Services segment, and our Market Technology segment (including our regulatory technology business). We also are investing further in the Market Technology segment through the Nasdaq Financial Framework, the expansion of our SMARTS products and customers, and our efforts to commercialize disruptive technologies, including blockchain, machine intelligence and the cloud. In these areas, we expect to target resiliency and efficiency versus growth, and free up resources when possible to redirect toward greater opportunities. We operate six electronic options exchanges in the U.S.: Together, our combined options market share in 2018 represented the largest share of the U.S. market for multiply-listed options on equities and ETFs. Our options trading platforms provide trading opportunities to both retail investors, algorithmic trading firms and market makers, who tend to prefer electronic trading, and institutional investors, who typically pursue more complex trading strategies and often trade on the floor. In Europe, Nasdaq offers trading in derivatives, such as stock options and futures, index options and futures and fixed-income options and futures. Nasdaq Clearing offers clearing services for fixed-income options and futures, stock options and futures, index options and futures, and interest rate swaps by serving as the CCP. Nasdaq Clearing also operates a clearing service for the resale and repurchase agreement market. The Nasdaq Stock Market is the largest single venue of liquidity for trading U.S.-listed cash equities. Market participants include market makers, broker-dealers, ATSs and registered securities exchanges. In addition, we operate a Canadian exchange with three independent markets, CXC, CX2 and CXD, for the trading of Canadian-listed securities. Collectively, the Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic exchanges offer trading in cash equities, depository receipts, warrants, convertibles, rights, fund units and ETFs. Our platform allows the exchanges to share the same trading system, which enables efficient cross-border trading and settlement, cross membership and a single source for Nordic data products. Settlement and registration of cash equity trading takes place in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland via the local central securities depositories. In addition, Nasdaq owns two central securities depositories that provide notary, settlement, central maintenance and other services in the Baltic countries and Iceland. The U.S. portion of Nasdaq Fixed Income includes an electronic platform for trading U.S. Treasuries. The electronic trading platform provides real-time institutional trading of benchmark U.S. Treasury securities. Through this business, we provide trading access to the U.S. Treasury securities market with an array of trading instruments to meet various investment goals across the fixed income spectrum. ", - "id": "e18ef8d0-5bc4-4c48-a314-4d77818d0f8c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes renewable energy standards and sets targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions, which aligns with Advanced Energy Industries' focus on power conversion technologies, particularly in markets such as semiconductor manufacturing and solar panel production. The company's activities in providing precision power solutions can support the transition to renewable energy and energy efficiency, making the bill directly relevant to their business model.", - "index": "426", - "bill_title": "To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the climate.", - "bill_summary": "Climate Solutions Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes renewable energy standards, energy saving targets, and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.\n\nSpecifically, the Department of Energy (DOE) must promulgate regulations to increase the percentage of electricity sold in the United States that is generated from renewable sources. By 2035, 100% of electricity must be generated from renewable sources.\n\nDOE must also promulgate regulations that set cumulative energy savings targets for retail electric energy and natural gas suppliers. The savings must be achieved through energy efficiency improvements. For electric energy suppliers, the targets must increase from .25% of sales in 2020 to 1.5% of sales in 2025 and each year thereafter through 2030. For natural gas suppliers, the target must increase from .25% of sales in 2020 to .5% of sales in 2025 and each year thereafter through 2030. Each year's savings must be in addition to the previous years' savings. DOE must allow suppliers to achieve the targets through a market-based trading system.\n\nThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must promulgate annual emission reduction targets for each of 2030 through 2050 to ensure that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (1) in 2035 are at least 40% below those in 1990, and (2) in 2050 are at least 80% below those in 1990. The EPA must promulgate final regulations to implement those targets within seven years and review them at least every five years thereafter.", - "company_name": "Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview Advanced Energy provides highly-engineered, mission-critical, precision power conversion, measurement and control solutions to our global customers. We design, manufacture, sell and support precision power products that transform electrical power into various usable forms. Our power conversion products refine, modify and control the raw electrical power from a utility and convert it into power that is predictable, repeatable and customizable. Our products enable thin film manufacturing processes such as plasma enhanced chemical and physical deposition and etch for various semiconductor and industrial products, industrial thermal applications for material and chemical processes, and specialty power for critical industrial applications. We also supply thermal instrumentation products for advanced temperature measurement and control in these markets. Our network of global service support centers provide local repair and field service capability in key regions as well as provide upgrades and refurbishment services, and sales of used equipment to businesses that use our products. The high-efficiency, low voltage, configurable power supplies that Excelsys manufactures for medical and industrial applications will further enhance Advanced Energy's product portfolio. Our products are designed to enable new process technologies, improve productivity, and lower the cost of ownership for our customers. We also provide repair and maintenance services for all of our products. We principally serve original equipment manufacturers (\"OEM\") and end customers in the semiconductor, flat panel display, high voltage, solar panel, and other industrial capital equipment markets. Our products are used in diverse markets, applications, and processes including the manufacture of capital equipment for semiconductor device manufacturing, thin film applications for thin film renewables and architectural glass, and for other thin film applications including flat panel displays, and industrial coatings. Therefore, demand for our products and our financial results can change as demand for manufacturing equipment and repair and maintenance services change in response to consumer demand. Other factors, such as global economic and market conditions and technological advances in the applications we serve can also have an impact on our financial results, both positively and negatively. Our process power systems include direct current (\"DC\"), pulsed DC, low frequency, high voltage, and radio frequency (\"RF\") power supplies, matching networks, remote plasma sources for reactive gas applications and RF instrumentation. These power conversion systems refine, modify, and control the raw electrical power from a utility and convert it into power that may be customized and is predictable and repeatable. Our power control modules and thermal instrumentation products are used in the semiconductor industry, including adjacent thin film applications for solar PV and light emitting diode (\"LED\") industries, and heavy industries, for thermal control and temperature measurement solutions for applications in which time-temperature cycles affect material properties, productivity, and yield. These products are used in rapid thermal processing, chemical vapor deposition, crystal growing, and other semiconductor and solar applications requiring non-contact temperature measurement. They are also used in chemical processing, glass manufacturing and numerous other general industrial power applications. Our high voltage products are designed to meet the demanding requirements of OEMs worldwide. Our high voltage power solutions and custom-built power conversion products offer high frequency, high voltage topology, providing wide input and output operating ranges while retaining excellent stability and efficiencies ranging from benchtop and rackmount systems to micro-size printed circuit board mount modules. The products target applications including semiconductor wafer 3 processing and metrology, scientific instrumentation, mass spectrometry, industrial printing and analytical x-ray systems for industrial and analytical applications. Our solutions are designed to meet the demanding requirements of global OEMs in the Industrial, Medical and MIL-COTS (Commercial-off-the-shelf) verticals. Our low voltage products deliver excellence in efficiency, flexibility, performance and reliability. In the Medical industry our solutions are used in a variety of applications including: clinical diagnostic equipment, lasers, X-ray machines, CT-scanners and MRI scanners. In the Industrial vertical our products are commonly used in test and measurement, lasers, optical inspection equipment and scientific instrumentation.", - "id": "b3e82d9e-2d29-4f24-9c3f-7aa8a3a471bc" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes a classification test for determining whether service providers (potentially including contractors or gig workers that Groupon may utilize) are considered independent contractors versus employees. This is highly relevant to Groupon's business model, which depends on third-party merchants and independent contractors to facilitate its commerce operations. The implications of the bill regarding worker classification can impact labor costs, compliance, and operational functions for Groupon.", - "index": "427", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a safe harbor for determinations of worker classification, to require increased reporting, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "New Economy Works to Guarantee Independence and Growth Act of 2019 or the NEW GIG Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a test for determining if a service provider should be classified as an independent contractor rather than as an employee for tax purposes.\n\nIf the requirements of the test are met, the provider may not be treated as an employee, the recipient or any payor may not be treated as an employer, and compensation for the service may not be treated as paid or received with respect to employment.\n\nThe factors of the test include\n\n the relationship between the parties (i.e., the provider incurs expenses; does not work exclusively for a single recipient; performs the service for a particular amount of time, to achieve a specific result, or to complete a specific task; or is a sales person compensated primarily on a commission basis); the place of business or ownership of the equipment (i.e., the provider has a principal place of business, does not work primarily at the recipient's place of business, and provides tools or supplies); and the performance of the services under a written contract that meets certain requirements (i.e., specifies that the provider is not an employee, the recipient will satisfy withholding and reporting requirements, and that the provider is responsible for taxes on the compensation). The bill also (1) sets forth withholding and reporting requirements for service recipients who meet the requirements of the test, and (2) allows service providers to petition the U.S. Tax Court for a determination of employment status.", - "company_name": "Groupon, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Groupon is a global leader in local commerce, making it easy for people around the world to search and discover great businesses and merchandise. Our vision is to connect local commerce, increasing consumer buying power while driving more business to merchants through price and discovery. We want Groupon to be the destination that consumers check first when they are out and about; the place they start when they are looking to buy just about anything, anywhere, anytime. We provide consumers with savings and help them discover what to do, eat, see, buy and where to travel. By bringing the brick and mortar world of local commerce onto the Internet, Groupon is helping local merchants to attract customers and sell goods and services. Groupon operates online local commerce marketplaces throughout the world that connect merchants to consumers by offering goods and services, generally at a discount. Consumers access those marketplaces through our websites, primarily localized groupon.com sites in many countries, and our mobile applications. Our operations are organized into two segments: North America and International. W e offer goods and services through our online marketplaces in three primary categories: We earn product revenue from direct sales of merchandise inventory through our Goods category. We primarily earn service revenue from transactions in which we earn commissions by selling goods or services on behalf of third-party merchants. Those transactions generally involve a customer's purchase of a voucher through one of our online marketplaces that can be redeemed with a third-party merchant for specified goods or services (or for discounts on specified goods or services). Service revenue also includes commissions that we earn when customers make purchases with retailers using digital coupons accessed through our websites and mobile applications and from voucherless merchant offerings in which customers earn cash back on their credit card statements when they transact with third-party merchants. The substantial majority of our service revenue transactions is comprised of sales of vouchers and similar transactions in which we collect the transaction price from the customer and remit a portion of the transaction price to the third-party merchant who will provide the related goods or services. Our goal is to continue to build marketplaces that our customers rely on to discover and save on amazing things to do, eat, see, buy and where to travel. With a mobile-first strategy, we intend to improve the customer experience by continuing to invest in innovative, frictionless products and differentiated local supply coupled with strong national brands. As we build out our marketplaces, we want our customers to have a superior, frictionless experience when they use our product whether finding, booking, buying or redeeming an offer. For merchants, this includes providing capabilities to manage demand for their goods and services and improving their ability to acquire customers. For consumers, this includes easily finding offers and accessing features that augment the overall experience, as well as seamlessly purchasing and redeeming offers. We are currently investing in initiatives to improve the purchase and redemption experience, such as enhancing our mobile applications, testing offerings with voucherless redemption resulting in cash back directly to customers' credit cards, and adding direct booking capabilities. We ultimately want Groupon to become a daily habit for our customers and believe that significantly increasing the offerings available through our online local commerce marketplaces is critical to this goal. Our initiatives to grow our inventory of deal offerings include entering into commercial agreements with third parties that enable us to feature additional merchant offerings through our marketplaces, identifying new distribution channels through which to sell our marketplace offerings, and continuing to optimize the activities performed by our sales teams. Additionally, we believe that our efforts to increase our customer value may improve the health of our marketplaces, making our marketing and promotional services more effective for the merchants who feature offerings on our platform. Our initiatives to grow International gross profit include increasing our international marketing spending and leveraging enhanced marketing analytics, prioritizing more technology resources in order to expand and advance its product and service offerings, growing our inventory of deal offerings by entering into commercial agreements with third parties that enable us to feature additional merchant offerings through our marketplaces, and other initiatives. We earn revenue from transactions in which we provide marketing services primarily by selling vouchers through our online local marketplaces that can be redeemed for goods or services with third-party merchants.", - "id": "966fe9b9-b50a-4f77-b9c0-14e5634c26d9" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to tax-exempt financing for government-owned buildings and does not directly affect Weis Markets, Inc., as it operates in the retail sector selling food items and does not engage in government building projects.", - "index": "428", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the tax-exempt financing of certain government-owned buildings.", - "bill_summary": "Public Buildings Renewal Act of 2019\n\nThis bill allows tax-exempt financing of certain government-owned buildings by expanding the definition of \"exempt facility bond\" to include bonds used for qualified government buildings.\n\nA qualified government building is a government-owned building or facility that consists of one or more of the following\n\n an elementary or secondary school; a facility of a state college or university used for educational purposes; a public library; a court; a hospital or health care facility; a laboratory or research facility used by a governmental unit; a public safety facility; or an office for government employees. The bill excludes buildings or facilities that include specified recreational equipment or are used for the primary purpose of providing retail food and beverage services, recreation, or entertainment.\n\nThe bill establishes (1) a $5 billion limit on the amount of tax-exempt financing which may be provided for government buildings, and (2) procedures for allocating and applying for the financing.\n\nThe bill exempts the bonds for government buildings from the volume cap on private activity bonds.", - "company_name": "Weis Markets, Inc.", - "company_description": "The Company is engaged principally in the retail sale of food in Pennsylvania and surrounding states. The Company's retail food stores sell groceries, dairy products, frozen foods, meats, seafood, fresh produce, floral, pharmacy services, deli products, prepared foods, bakery products, beer and wine, fuel and general merchandise items, such as health and beauty care and household products. The store product selection includes national, local and private brands including natural, gluten-free and organic varieties. The Company advertises its products and promotes its brand through weekly newspaper circulars; radio ads; e-mail blasts; and on-line via its web site, social media and mobile applications. Printed circulars are used extensively on a weekly basis to advertise featured items. The Company promotes by using Everyday Lower Price, Low Price Guarantee , Low, Low price and utilizes a loyalty marketing program, \"Weis Club Preferred Shopper,\" which enables customers to receive discounts, promotions and fuel rewards. The Company currently owns and operates 20 0 retail food stores many of which have on-line order and pick up customer service. The Company's operations are reported as a single reportable segment. Additionally, significant inclement weather systems, particularly winter storms, tend to affect sales trends. (1) Consists primarily of groceries, dairy products, frozen foods, beer and wine, and general merchandise items, such as health and beauty care and household products. (2) Consists primarily of meats, seafood, fresh produce, floral, deli products, prepared foods and bakery products. In 2016, Weis Markets acquired five Mars Super Market locations in Baltimore County, MD, 38 Food Lion stores throughout Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, and a Nell's Family Market in East Berlin, PA. Beginning August 1, 2016, the Company converted the 44 stores to Weis Markets stores in 96 days ending in November, during which it interviewed and hired more than 2,000 associates who were previously employed at the acquired locations. In 201 8 , the acquired store group is providing a positive cash flow for the Company as management continues to develop the st ores using its business model. During 2018, the C ompany closed two of the former Food Lion stores at the end of the committed lease term . Although there are no pending acquisitions, the Company continues to investigate acquisition opportunities as well as grow its existing store base organically. On March 9, 2017, the Company opened its new 65,000 square-foot prototype store next to a major competitor in Enola, PA. Designated the \"Community Market\" format, the store features a brand new store layout and unique features to elevate the shopping experience including a pub, grill and ice cream parlor, featuring the Company's own ice cream. The store contains a Pennsylvania foods section and more than 1,900 organic and gluten-free products, along with a mix-and-match pick K-cup 12-packs section. At the end of 2018 , Weis Markets, Inc. operated 4 stores in Delaware, 51 stores in Maryland, 6 stores in New Jersey, 9 stores in New York, 11 8 stores in Pennsylvania, 1 2 stores in Virginia and 2 stores in West Virginia, for a total of 20 2 retail food stores operating under the Weis Markets trade name. In January 2019, the company closed 2 store locations, bringing the current total store count to 200. All retail food store locations operate as conventional supermarkets. The retail food stores range in size from 8,000 to 71,000 square feet, with an average size of approximately 48, 5 00 square feet. The Company's store fleet includes a variety of sizes with a few locations in operation since the 1950's; all stores are branded Weis Markets and provide the same basic offerings scaled to the size of each store. The following summarizes the number of stores by size categories as of year-end: 2018 ", - "id": "9f16f244-27c8-4953-876b-b5ffcebaa9ac" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Carried Interest Fairness Act of 2019 modifies the tax treatment of carried interest, which may affect investment services partnerships that include firms like AGNC Investment Corp. Although the company primarily invests in Agency RMBS, aspects of its investment-related activities may involve partnerships that could be subject to the bill's provisions, especially regarding income from partnership interests. Therefore, the bill's impact on tax treatment is relevant for AGNC's compliance and financial structuring.", - "index": "429", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the proper tax treatment of personal service income earned in pass-thru entities.", - "bill_summary": "Carried Interest Fairness Act of 2019\n\nThis bill modifies the tax treatment of carried interest, which is compensation that is typically received by a partner of a private equity or hedge fund and is based on a share of the fund's profits. (Under current law, carried interest is taxed as investment income rather than at ordinary income tax rates.)\n\nThis bill includes provisions that\n\n set forth a special rule for the inclusion in gross income of partnership interests transferred in connection with the performance of services, treat as ordinary income the net capital gain with respect to an investment services partnership interest except to the extent such gain is attributable to a partner's qualified capital interest, exempt income from investment services partnership interests from treatment as qualifying income of a publicly traded partnership, exempt certain family partnerships from the application of this bill, increase the penalty for underpayments of tax resulting from failure to treat income from an investment services partnership interest as ordinary income, and include income and loss from an investment services partnership interest for purposes of determining net earnings from self-employment and applicable self-employment taxes. The bill defines \"investment services partnership interest\" as any interest in a partnership held by a person who provides services to a partnership by (1) advising the partnership about investing in, purchasing, or selling specified assets; (2) managing, acquiring, or disposing of specified assets; or (3) arranging financing with respect to acquiring specified assets.", - "company_name": "AGNC Investment Corp.", - "company_description": "We fund our investments primarily through borrowings structured as repurchase agreements. We operate to qualify to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (\"REIT\") under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the \"Internal Revenue Code\"). As a REIT, we are required to distribute annually 90% of our taxable income. It is our intention to distribute 100% of our taxable income within the time limits prescribed by the Internal Revenue Code, which may extend into the subsequent taxable year. We invest primarily in Agency residential mortgage-backed securities (\"Agency RMBS\") on a leveraged basis. These investments consist of residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by a U.S. Government-sponsored enterprise, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (\"Fannie Mae\") and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (\"Freddie Mac,\" and together with Fannie Mae, the \"GSEs\"), or by a U.S. Government agency, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (\"Ginnie Mae\"). We may also invest in other types of mortgage and mortgage-related residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities where repayment of principal and interest is not guaranteed by a GSE or U.S. Government agency or in other investments in, or related to, the housing, mortgage or real estate markets. remain exempt from the requirements of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the \"Investment Company Act\"). Our primary investments consist of Agency pass-through certificates representing interests in \"pools\" of mortgage loans secured by residential real property. Monthly payments of principal and interest made by the individual borrowers on the mortgage loans underlying the pools are in effect \"passed through\" to the security holders, after deducting GSE or U.S. Government agency guarantee and servicer fees. In general, mortgage pass-through certificates distribute cash flows from the underlying collateral on a pro rata basis among the security holders. Security holders also receive guarantor advances of principal and interest for delinquent loans in the mortgage pools. We also invest in Agency collateralized mortgage obligations (\"CMOs\"), which are structured instruments representing interests in Agency residential pass-through certificates, and interest-only, inverse interest-only and principal-only securities, which represent the right to receive a specified proportion of the contractual interest or principal flows of specific Agency CMO securities. TBAs are forward contracts to purchase or sell Agency RMBS. TBA contracts specify the coupon rate, issuer, term and face value of the bonds to be delivered, with the actual bonds to be delivered only identified shortly before the TBA settlement date. CRT securities are risk sharing instruments that transfer a portion of the risk associated with credit losses within pools of conventional residential mortgage loans from the GSEs and/or Unlike Agency RMBS, full repayment of the original principal balance of CRT securities is not guaranteed by a GSE or other third-party; rather, \"credit risk transfer\" is achieved by writing down the outstanding principal balance of the CRT security if credit losses on the related pool of loans exceed certain thresholds. The reduced amount that issuers are obligated to repay to the security holders offsets the issuer's credit losses on the related pool of loans. Non-Agency RMBS are securities backed by residential mortgages, for which payment of principal and interest is not guaranteed by a GSE or U.S. Government agency. Instead, a private institution such as a commercial bank will package residential mortgage loans and securitize them through the issuance of RMBS. Non-Agency RMBS may benefit from credit enhancement derived from structural elements, such as subordination, overcollateralization or insurance. We may purchase highly-rated instruments that benefit from credit enhancement and non-investment grade instruments that are structured to absorb more credit risk. We focus primarily on non-Agency securities where the underlying mortgages are secured by residential properties within the United States. Residential non-Agency securities are backed by residential mortgages that can be comprised of prime mortgage or nonprime mortgage loans.", - "id": "102c8ea5-b515-4d2f-88fc-cb24d1590ca6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The REPAIR Act's establishment of the Infrastructure Financing Authority (IFA) and its emphasis on financing infrastructure projects directly relates to Alta Mesa Resources' activities in oil and gas exploration and midstream operations. The IFA\u2019s provisions for direct loans and loan guarantees for projects of regional significance may facilitate infrastructure development that supports Alta Mesa's operations, such as pipeline construction or upgrades to gas processing facilities, which are crucial for their business model.", - "index": "430", - "bill_title": "A bill to facilitate efficient investments and financing of infrastructure projects and new, long-term job creation through the establishment of an Infrastructure Financing Authority, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Reinventing Economic Partnerships And Infrastructure Redevelopment Act or the REPAIR Act\n\nThis bill addresses the financing of infrastructure projects through the establishment of the Infrastructure Financing Authority (IFA) and increases the national limitation on the amount of tax-exempt highway or surface freight transfer facility bonds.\n\nSpecifically, the bill\n\n directs the IFA to provide direct loans and loan guarantees to facilitate certain infrastructure projects that are economically viable, in the public interest, and of regional or national significance, including the construction, consolidation, alteration, or repair of airports and air traffic control systems, highway facilities, and transmission or distribution pipelines; sets forth terms and limitations on direct loans and loan guarantees; establishes a funding mechanism to make the IFA a self-sustaining entity, including through fees and risk premiums on loans and loan guarantees; and increases from $15 billion to $16 billion the national limitation on the amount of tax-exempt highway or surface freight transfer facility bonds.", - "company_name": "Alta Mesa Resources Inc", - "company_description": "We were originally formed in November 2016 as a special purpose acquisition company under the name Silver Run Acquisition Corporation II for the purpose of effecting an initial business combination. Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we completed the private sale of 15,133,333 warrants (the \u0093Private Placement Warrants\u0094) to Silver Run Sponsor II, LLC (the \u0093Sponsor\u0094) generating gross proceeds to us of $22,700,000. A total of $1.035 billion (including approximately $36.2 million in deferred underwriting commissions to the underwriters of the IPO), which represents $1.0143 billion of the proceeds from the IPO after deducting upfront underwriting commissions of $20.7 million, and the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were placed in the Trust Account (the \u0093Trust Account\u0094) to be used to fund an initial business combination. \u00b7 SRII Opco distributed to the Kingfisher Contributor cash in the amount of approximately $814.8 million in partial payment for the ownership interests in Kingfisher contributed by the Kingfisher Contributor; and \u00b7 SRII Opco entered into a voting agreement with the owners of the remaining 10% voting interests in Alta Mesa GP whereby such other owners agreed to vote their interests in Alta Mesa GP as directed by SRII Opco. Following the completion of the Business Combination, the size of our board of directors was expanded from four directors to 11, including one director appointed by Bayou City and its affiliates, one director appointed by HPS and its affiliates and two directors appointed by AM Management and its affiliates, as the holders of our Series A Preferred Stock, and three directors appointed by the Riverstone Contributor and its affiliates, as the holder of our Series B Preferred Stock. Founded in 1987, Alta Mesa, the predecessor to our E & P Business, was an independent exploration and production company focused on the development and acquisition of unconventional oil and natural gas reserves in the eastern portion of the Anadarko Basin referred to as the STACK. The STACK is an acronym describing both its location\u0097Sooner Trend Anadarko Basin Canadian and Kingfisher County\u0097and the multiple, stacked productive formations present in the area. The STACK is a prolific hydrocarbon system with high oil and liquids-rich natural gas content, multiple horizontal target horizons, extensive production history and historically high drilling success rates. As of December 31, 2017, we had assembled a highly contiguous position of approximately 130,000 net acres largely in the up-dip, naturally-fractured oil portion of the STACK in eastern Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. Our drilling locations are in our primary target formations comprised of the Osage, Meramec and Oswego. We are currently operating seven horizontal drilling rigs in the STACK with plans to increase that number of rigs to eight at the end of 2018. Our Midstream Business was started by Kingfisher on January 30, 2015 for the purpose of acquiring, developing and operating midstream oil and gas assets. We primarily focus on providing crude oil gathering, gas gathering and processing and marketing to producers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and condensate in the STACK play. Our midstream energy asset network includes approximately 308 miles of existing low and high pressure pipelines, a 60 MMcf/d cryogenic natural gas processing plant, 10 MMcf/d in offtake processing, compression facilities, crude storage, NGL storage and purchasing and marketing capabilities. Our goal is to build a premier development and acquisition company focused on horizontal drilling and gas gathering in the STACK. As an emerging growth company, we may, for up to five years, take advantage of specified exemptions from reporting and other regulatory requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. the date on which we are deemed to be a \u0093large accelerated filer,\u0094 as defined in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the \u0093Exchange Act\u0094).", - "id": "6e0a2600-d5a2-4d76-b606-54bbdb3144cd" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill establishes a Copyright Claims Board for copyright dispute resolution, which primarily impacts copyright holders and creators in the field of content and intellectual property. Akorn, Inc. is a generic pharmaceutical company focused on the development and manufacturing of drugs, which does not directly relate to the copyright issues addressed in this bill. Therefore, the bill is not relevant to the company's business model or activities.", - "index": "431", - "bill_title": "To amend title 17, United States Code, to establish an alternative dispute resolution program for copyright small claims, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 or the CASE Act of 2019\n\nThis bill creates the Copyright Claims Board, a body within the U.S. Copyright Office, to decide copyright disputes. Damages awarded by the board are capped at $30,000.\n\nParticipation in board proceedings is voluntary with an opt-out procedure for defendants, and parties may choose instead to have a dispute heard in court. If the parties agree to have their dispute heard by the board, they shall forego the right to be heard before a court and the right to a jury trial. Board proceedings shall have no effect on class actions.\n\nThe board shall be authorized to hear copyright infringement claims, actions for a declaration of noninfringement, claims that a party knowingly sent false takedown notices, and related counterclaims.\n\nThe bill provides for various procedures, including with respect to requests for information from the other party and requests for the board to reconsider a decision.\n\nThe board may issue monetary awards based on actual or statutory damages.\n\nThe parties shall bear their own attorneys' fees and costs except where there is bad faith misconduct.\n\nA board's final determination precludes relitigating the claims in court or at the board. Parties may challenge a board decision in federal district court only if (1) the decision was a result of fraud, corruption, or other misconduct; (2) the board exceeded its authority or failed to render a final determination; or (3) in a default ruling or failure to prosecute, the default or failure was excusable.", - "company_name": "Akorn, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"us\") is a specialty generic pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets generic and branded prescription pharmaceuticals, branded as well as private-label over-the-counter consumer health products and animal health pharmaceuticals. We are an industry leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of specialized generic pharmaceutical products in alternative dosage forms. We focus on difficult-to-manufacture sterile and non-sterile dosage forms including, but not limited to, ophthalmics, injectables, oral liquids, otics, topicals, inhalants and nasal sprays. We operate pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Decatur, Illinois; Somerset, New Jersey; Amityville, New York; Hettlingen, Switzerland; and Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh, India. We operate a central distribution warehouse in Gurnee, Illinois and additional distribution facilities in Amityville, New York and Decatur, Illinois. Our research and development (\"R & D\") centers are located in Vernon Hills, Illinois and Cranbury, New Jersey. In the fourth quarter of 2017, we moved our previous R & D center from Copiague, New York to Cranbury, New Jersey. During the years ended December 31, 2017 , 2016 and 2015, the Company reported results for two reportable segments: Prescription Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Health. On April 24, 2017, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the \"Merger Agreement\") with Fresenius Kabi AG, a German stock corporation (\"Parent\"), Quercus Acquisition, Inc., a Louisiana corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (\"Merger Sub\") and, solely for purposes of Article VIII thereof, Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA, a German partnership limited by shares. The Merger Agreement, which has been adopted by the Board of Directors of the Company, provides for the merger of Merger Sub with and into the Company (the \"Merger\"), with the Company surviving the Merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent. Our strategy is focused on continuing to strengthen our leadership position in the development and marketing of specialized generic and branded pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter (\"OTC\") drug products and animal health products. Through an efficient operational model, we strive to maximize shareholder value by quickly adapting to market conditions, patient demands and customer needs. We remain committed to research and development with a focus on our core product areas of ophthalmics, injectables, oral liquids, otics, topicals, inhalants and nasal sprays. Prior to entering the Merger Agreement, we also sought to grow our business inorganically through strategic mergers, acquisitions, business development and licensing activities that provided the ability to move into new product areas or to build out our existing product areas. Our R & D efforts are primarily focused on the development of multisource generic products that are in dosage forms other than oral solid dose. These products typically have fewer competitors in mature markets, are more difficult to develop and manufacture and can carry higher profitability over time than oral solid dose products. The alternative dosage form products that we focus on are primarily those that we can manufacture, namely: ophthalmics, injectables, oral liquids, otics, topicals, inhalants and nasal sprays. Alternative dosage form manufacturing expertise. Our manufacturing network specializes in alternative dosage form products. Four of our five manufacturing facilities are Food and Drug Administration (\"FDA\") approved, including: (1) Our Decatur, Illinois facility, which specializes in sterile products, primarily injectables; (2) Our Somerset, New Jersey facility, which specializes primarily in sterile ophthalmic products; (3) Our Amityville, New York facility, which specializes in topical creams, gels and ointments, oral liquids, otic liquids, nasal sprays and unit dose oral liquid products; and (4) Our Hettlingen, Switzerland facility, which specializes primarily in sterile ophthalmic products. All of our FDA approved facilities were inspected by the FDA in 2017.", - "id": "ac48a864-e046-4d79-b50d-646713a486e3" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Autism CARES Act of 2019 focuses on autism research, education, and support, which aligns with LHC Group's commitment to post-acute health care services, including those for individuals with disabilities. The bill's intent to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities directly relates to the company's mission to provide comprehensive care, making it relevant.", - "index": "432", - "bill_title": "To reauthorize certain provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to autism, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support Act of 2019 or the Autism CARES Act of 2019\n\nThis bill reauthorizes through FY2024 and revises several programs and activities relating to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Specifically, the bill reauthorizes provisions relating to (1) expanded ASD research at the National Institutes of Health; (2) the collection of state-level ASD data by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (3) ASD education, early detection, and intervention activities supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration; and (4) the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.\n\nThe bill also generally revises the scope of such programs and activities to (1) encompass ASD individuals of all ages, rather than only youth; (2) focus funding on programs in areas with a shortage of personal health services; and (3) reduce health-outcome disparities across diverse populations.", - "company_name": "LHC Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "our participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs; the reimbursement levels of Medicare and other third-party payors; \u2022 the prompt receipt of payments from Medicare and other third-party payors; \u2022 the outcomes of various routine and non-routine governmental reviews, audits, and investigations; \u2022 our compliance with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations; \u2022 our compliance with health care laws and regulations; \u2022 our compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission laws and regulations and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements; \u2022 the impact of federal and state government regulation on our business; We provide post-acute health care services to patients through our home nursing agencies, hospice agencies, home and community-based services agencies, long-term acute care hospitals (\"LTACHs\") and healthcare innovations services. As of December 31, 2018, through our wholly- and majority-owned subsidiaries, equity joint ventures and controlled affiliates, we operated 757 service providers in 36 states within the continental United States. We provide services through five segments: (1) home health, (2) hospice, (3) home and community-based (4) facility-based, and (5) healthcare innovations. Our home health service locations offer a wide range of services, including skilled nursing, medically-oriented social services and physical, occupational, and speech therapy. The nurses, home health aides, and therapists in our home health agencies work closely with patients and their families to design and implement individualized treatment plans in accordance with a physician-prescribed plan of care. As of December 31, 2018, we operated 543 home health service locations, of which 302 are wholly-owned by us, 232 are majority-owned by us through equity joint ventures, three are under license lease arrangements, and the operations of the remaining six locations are managed by us. Our hospices provide end-of-life care to patients with terminal illnesses through interdisciplinary teams of physicians, nurses, home health aides, counselors, and volunteers. We offer a wide range of services, including pain and symptom management, emotional and spiritual support, inpatient and respite care, homemaker services, and counseling. As of December 31, 2018, we operated 104 hospice locations, of which 57 are wholly-owned by us, 45 are majority-owned by us through equity joint ventures, and two are under license lease arrangements. Our home and community-based service locations offer assistance with activities of daily living to elderly, chronically ill, and disabled patients, performed by skilled nursing and paraprofessional personnel. Our LTACH locations provide services primarily to patients with complex medical conditions who have transitioned out of a hospital intensive care unit but whose conditions remain too severe for treatment in a non-acute setting. We operated 10 LTACHs with 12 locations, of which all but two are located within host hospitals. As part of our facility-based services segment, we also own and operate two pharmacies, a family health center, a rural health clinic, and two physical therapy clinics. The HCI segment includes (a) Imperium Health Management, LLC, an ACO enablement and management company, (b) Long Term Solutions, Inc., an in-home assessment company serving the long-term care insurance industry, (c) certain assets operated by Advance Care House Calls, which provides primary medical care for patients with chronic and acute illnesses who have difficulty traveling to a doctor's office, and (d) a cost basis investment in Care Journey (formerly NavHealth, Inc.), a population-health analytics company. These activities are intended ultimately, whether directly or indirectly, to benefit our patients and/or payors through the enhanced provision of services in our other segments. The activities all share a common goal of improving patient experiences and quality outcomes, while lowering costs. They include, but are not limited to, items such as: technology, information, population health management, risk-sharing, care-coordination and transitions, clinical advancements, enhanced patient engagement and informed clinical decision and technology enabled in-home clinical assessments. (\"Merger Sub\"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, providing for a \"merger of equals\" business combination of the Company and Almost Family (the \"Merger\").", - "id": "c81d47ab-2371-4ee7-b616-755e2564608a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill imposes sanctions related to the conflict in Syria, which may affect the operations of companies engaging in oil and gas activities in the region. Alta Mesa Resources, being involved in exploration and production of oil and gas, could potentially be impacted if any of their suppliers or partners engage with the Syrian government or related entities, or if they are involved in transactions that may be scrutinized under the bill's provisions regarding human rights abuses and technology transfers.", - "index": "433", - "bill_title": "To require certain additional actions in connection with the national emergency with respect to Syria, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes additional sanctions and financial restrictions on institutions and individuals related to the conflict in Syria.\n\nThe Department of the Treasury shall determine whether the Central Bank of Syria is a financial institution of primary money laundering concern. If so, Treasury shall impose one or more special measures, such as requiring domestic financial institutions to maintain additional records on transactions involving the bank.\n\nThe President shall impose sanctions on foreign persons that (1) provide significant support or engage in a significant transaction with the Syrian government or those acting on behalf of Syria, Russia, or Iran; or (2) are knowingly responsible for serious human rights abuses against the Syrian people.\n\nThe bill also imposes sanctions on those that knowingly provide various goods or services to Syria, such as aircraft for the military, technology for the government's domestic petroleum production, items on the U.S. Munitions List, and items that the President believes are\u00a0being used to commit human rights abuses against the Syrian people.\n\nThe sanctions include blocking of financial transactions and barring of entry into the United States. Such sanctions shall not apply to activities related to providing humanitarian aid or supporting democratic institutions in Syria.\n\nThe President may suspend the sanctions under certain conditions, including if it is in the United States' national security interests.\n\nThe Department of State is authorized to assist entities that are conducting criminal investigations and gathering evidence to prosecute those responsible for war crimes in Syria.", - "company_name": "Alta Mesa Resources Inc", - "company_description": "We were originally formed in November 2016 as a special purpose acquisition company under the name Silver Run Acquisition Corporation II for the purpose of effecting an initial business combination. Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we completed the private sale of 15,133,333 warrants (the \u0093Private Placement Warrants\u0094) to Silver Run Sponsor II, LLC (the \u0093Sponsor\u0094) generating gross proceeds to us of $22,700,000. A total of $1.035 billion (including approximately $36.2 million in deferred underwriting commissions to the underwriters of the IPO), which represents $1.0143 billion of the proceeds from the IPO after deducting upfront underwriting commissions of $20.7 million, and the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants were placed in the Trust Account (the \u0093Trust Account\u0094) to be used to fund an initial business combination. \u00b7 SRII Opco distributed to the Kingfisher Contributor cash in the amount of approximately $814.8 million in partial payment for the ownership interests in Kingfisher contributed by the Kingfisher Contributor; and \u00b7 SRII Opco entered into a voting agreement with the owners of the remaining 10% voting interests in Alta Mesa GP whereby such other owners agreed to vote their interests in Alta Mesa GP as directed by SRII Opco. Following the completion of the Business Combination, the size of our board of directors was expanded from four directors to 11, including one director appointed by Bayou City and its affiliates, one director appointed by HPS and its affiliates and two directors appointed by AM Management and its affiliates, as the holders of our Series A Preferred Stock, and three directors appointed by the Riverstone Contributor and its affiliates, as the holder of our Series B Preferred Stock. Founded in 1987, Alta Mesa, the predecessor to our E & P Business, was an independent exploration and production company focused on the development and acquisition of unconventional oil and natural gas reserves in the eastern portion of the Anadarko Basin referred to as the STACK. The STACK is an acronym describing both its location\u0097Sooner Trend Anadarko Basin Canadian and Kingfisher County\u0097and the multiple, stacked productive formations present in the area. The STACK is a prolific hydrocarbon system with high oil and liquids-rich natural gas content, multiple horizontal target horizons, extensive production history and historically high drilling success rates. As of December 31, 2017, we had assembled a highly contiguous position of approximately 130,000 net acres largely in the up-dip, naturally-fractured oil portion of the STACK in eastern Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. Our drilling locations are in our primary target formations comprised of the Osage, Meramec and Oswego. We are currently operating seven horizontal drilling rigs in the STACK with plans to increase that number of rigs to eight at the end of 2018. Our Midstream Business was started by Kingfisher on January 30, 2015 for the purpose of acquiring, developing and operating midstream oil and gas assets. We primarily focus on providing crude oil gathering, gas gathering and processing and marketing to producers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and condensate in the STACK play. Our midstream energy asset network includes approximately 308 miles of existing low and high pressure pipelines, a 60 MMcf/d cryogenic natural gas processing plant, 10 MMcf/d in offtake processing, compression facilities, crude storage, NGL storage and purchasing and marketing capabilities. Our goal is to build a premier development and acquisition company focused on horizontal drilling and gas gathering in the STACK. As an emerging growth company, we may, for up to five years, take advantage of specified exemptions from reporting and other regulatory requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. the date on which we are deemed to be a \u0093large accelerated filer,\u0094 as defined in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the \u0093Exchange Act\u0094).", - "id": "7bc35e77-5da7-4ec0-bb98-2ac1d9670b0a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on conservation efforts, hunting, and recreational shooting on federal lands, which do not have any significant impact on Qorvo, Inc.'s business model centered around RF technology and semiconductor solutions for mobile devices and defense applications.", - "index": "434", - "bill_title": "To provide for the preservation of America's outdoor heritage and enhance recreation opportunities on Federal land, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Authorizing Critical Conservation and Enabling Sportsmen and Sportswomen Act or the ACCESS Act\n\nThis bill reauthorizes, authorizes, and establishes entities and activities for the conservation of fish and wildlife and opportunities for hunting and recreational shooting.\n\n The bill\n\n authorizes the U.S. Geological Survey to conduct critical monitoring, scientific assessments, and research in support of the binational fisheries within the Great Lakes Basin between the United States and Canada, facilitates the construction and expansion of public target ranges, and requires the Departments of Agriculture and of the Interior to establish a fee schedule for commercial filming and still photography operations on federal land. The bill reauthorizes through FY2024 the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Chesapeake Bay Program and the Chesapeake Bay Initiative.\n\nThe bill establishes the National Fish Habitat Board and the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council Advisory Committee on wildlife and habitat conservation, hunting, and recreational shooting.\n\nThe Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-Wildlife Services shall\n\n allocate funds to support states and tribes in their efforts to implement management strategies to address chronic wasting disease, and make grants to support the expansion and acceleration of applied research on such disease. The bill requires a National Academy of Sciences study on the transmission of chronic wasting disease in any species within the family Cervidae (the deer family) in the United States.", - "company_name": "Qorvo, Inc.", - "company_description": "(\"TriQuint\") entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization as subsequently amended on July 15, 2014 (the \"Merger Agreement\"), providing for the combination of RFMD and TriQuint in a merger of equals (the \"Business Combination\") under a new holding company named Company Overview Qorvo\u00ae is a product and technology leader at the forefront of the growing global demand for always-on broadband connectivity. We combine a broad portfolio of radio frequency (\"RF\") solutions, highly differentiated semiconductor technologies, deep systems-level expertise and scale manufacturing to supply a diverse group of customers in expanding markets, including smartphones and other mobile devices, defense and aerospace, Wi-Fi customer premises equipment (\"CPE\"), cellular base stations, optical networks, automotive connectivity and smart home applications. Within these markets, our products enable a broad range of leading-edge applications \u2013 from very-high-power wired and wireless infrastructure solutions to ultra-low-power smart home solutions. Our products and technologies help transform how people around the world access their data, transact commerce and interact with their communities. We have world-class manufacturing facilities, and our fabrication facility in Richardson, Texas, is a United States Department of Defense (\"DoD\") (Category 1A) for gallium arsenide (\"GaAs\"), gallium nitride (\"GaN\") and bulk acoustic wave Our design and manufacturing expertise covers many semiconductor process technologies, which we source both internally and through external suppliers. Our primary wafer fabrication facilities are in Florida, North Carolina, Oregon and Texas, and our primary assembly and test facilities are in China, Costa Rica, Germany and Texas. We also operate design, sales and other manufacturing facilities throughout Asia, Europe and North America. We design, develop, manufacture and market our products to leading U.S. and international original equipment manufacturers (\"OEMs\") and original design manufacturers (\"ODMs\") in the following operating segments: \u2022 Mobile Products (MP) - MP is a leading global supplier of cellular RF and Wi-Fi solutions into a variety of mobile devices, including smartphones, notebook computers, wearables, tablets, and cellular-based applications for the Internet of Things (\"IoT\"). Mobile device manufacturers and mobile network operators are adopting new technologies to address the growing demand for data-intensive, increasingly cloud-based distributed applications and for mobile devices with smaller form factors, improved signal quality, less heat and longer talk and standby times. New wireless communications standards are being deployed to utilize available spectrum more efficiently. Carrier aggregation (\"CA\") is being implemented to support wider bandwidths, increase data rates and improve network performance. MP offers a comprehensive product portfolio of BAW and surface acoustic wave (\"SAW\") filters, power amplifiers (\"PAs\"), low noise amplifiers (\"LNAs\"), switches, multimode multi-band PAs and transmit modules, RF power management integrated circuits (\"ICs\"), diversity receive modules, antenna switch modules, antenna tuning and control solutions, modules incorporating PAs and duplexers (\"PADs\") and modules incorporating switches, PAs and duplexers (\"S-PADs\"). Infrastructure and Defense Products (IDP) - IDP is a leading global supplier of RF solutions with a diverse portfolio of solutions that \"connect and protect,\" spanning communications and defense applications. These applications include high performance defense systems such as radar, electronic warfare and communication systems, Wi-Fi CPE for home and work, high speed connectivity in Long-Term Evolution (\"LTE\") and 5G base stations, cloud connectivity via data center communications and telecom transport, automotive connectivity and other IoT, including smart home solutions. IDP products include GaAs and GaN PAs, LNAs, switches, complementary metal oxide semiconductor (\"CMOS\") system-on-a-chip (\"SoC\") solutions, premium BAW and SAW filter solutions and various multi-chip and hybrid assemblies. Our business is diversified primarily across seven strategic end markets: mobile devices, defense and aerospace, CPE Wi-Fi, cellular base stations, optical, automotive connectivity and smart home. In our largest market, mobile devices, the most significant trend today is the increasing demand for ubiquitous broadband mobile data. This is driven primarily by video, with data traffic for video exceeding data traffic for web browsing and voice. Compounding this, consumers want higher resolution screens and access to streaming media, real-time traffic/navigation, GPS, Bluetooth\u00ae connectivity and Wi-Fi. In response, leading smartphone providers are adding 4G LTE and 5G bands of coverage to their flagship devices to reduce development costs and enable larger, more concentrated marketing budgets in support of fewer models.", - "id": "44027263-36ae-4081-8d3f-c76f50804193" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is highly relevant for Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. as it regulates consumer devices and services that collect or use personal health data, a critical aspect of Allscripts' operations since they provide electronic health records (EHR) and healthcare IT solutions. Compliance with the bill's regulations would directly impact how Allscripts designs and implements their data management systems, ensuring they meet the standards for protecting personal health data, which aligns with their business model of improving healthcare through IT solutions.", - "index": "435", - "bill_title": "A bill to protect the personal health data of all Americans.", - "bill_summary": "Protecting Personal Health Data Act\n\nThis bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to regulate consumer devices, services, applications, and software that (1) are primarily designed for or marketed to consumers; (2) primarily collect or use personal health data; and (3) are not primarily designed for use by\u00a0entities such as health care plans, providers,\u00a0or clearinghouses.\n\nThe bill also establishes a national task force on health data protection.", - "company_name": "Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.", - "company_description": "We deliver information technology (\"IT\") solutions and services to help healthcare organizations achieve optimal clinical, financial and operational results. Our portfolio, which we believe offers some of the most comprehensive solutions in our industry today, helps clients advance the quality and efficiency of healthcare by providing electronic health records (\"EHR\"), financial management, population health management, precision medicine and consumer solutions. Built on an open integrated platform, our solutions enable users to streamline workflows, leverage functionality from other software vendors and exchange data. The Allscripts Developer Program focuses on nurturing partnerships with other developers to help clients optimize the value of their Allscripts investment. Practice Fusion offers an affordable certified cloud-based EHR for traditionally hard-to-reach small, independent physician practices. An integrated data systems and services provider, Veradigm combines data-driven clinical insights with actionable tools for clinical workflow, research, analytics and media. Mobile-first and cloud-based, Avenel creates a communitywide, shared patient record, using machine learning to reduce time for clinical documentation, all while designed to work like an app instead of traditional software. Health Grid is a patient engagement solutions provider that helps independent providers, hospitals and health systems improve patient interactions and satisfaction. We are integrating the capabilities of Health Grid into our FollowMyHealth \u00ae platform to help organizations address consumerism trends while enabling them to reach 100% of their patient populations without requiring their patients to sign into a portal. The new functionality will use existing patients' contact information and grow the use of FollowMyHealth \u00ae to connect providers with patients and create opportunities to reach new heights of patient outreach and engagement. Lyft is the fastest growing rideshare company in the United States and will enable non-emergency transportation options to appear directly in the physician's workflow. Leveraging Lyft's proprietary application programming interface (\"API\") and Allscripts Open platform, Allscripts and Lyft will integrate this functionality into Sunrise\u2122 EHR, to enable clinicians to order the Lyft service for patients. Our portfolio addresses a range of industry needs, with the goal of helping clients drive smarter care across connected communities of health. Across care settings, our solutions enable clinical, financial and operational efficiencies while helping patients deepen their engagement in their own care. Electronic Health Records Allscripts offers a suite of EHRs for hospitals and health systems, as well as community and physician practices. Built on an open platform with advanced clinical decision support, our EHRs provide analysis and insights. Our EHR solutions deliver a single patient record, workflows and consolidated analytics. Our innovative solutions help deliver improved patient care and outcomes. Sunrise\u2122 is a comprehensive EHR platform for larger hospital facilities with a combination of services lines. Sunrise supports health systems on a single platform for both inpatient and outpatient care and provides decision guidance, including computerized provider order entry, note and flowsheet documentation, clinical summary views and other key workflows necessary for driving quality care. Functionality is also offered on mobile devices. Paragon \u00ae is an integrated clinical, financial and administrative EHR solution tailored for community hospitals and health systems. Once part of the McKesson EIS portfolio, the solution supports the full scope of care delivery and business processes, from patient ac cess management and accounting through clinical assessment, documentation and treatment. EHR is an EHR solution for larger single and multispecialty practices and is built on an open platform that brings data sources together. This open platform feature, along with the ability to customize workflows, enables clinical staff to effectively coordinate and deliver both primary and specialized care.", - "id": "dceea95f-1c37-44bc-9105-3d94f443fd81" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill increases tax credits and incentives related to child care services, which could positively impact Primerica's employees and clients, aligning with their focus on middle-income households who may benefit from financial products related to child care expenses.", - "index": "436", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the credit for employers establishing workplace child care facilities, to increase the child care credit to encourage greater use of quality child care services, to provide incentives for students to earn child care-related degrees and to work in child care facilities, and to increase the exclusion for employer-provided dependent care assistance.", - "bill_summary": "Right Start Child Care and Education Act of 2019\n\nThis bill expands the tax credits and exclusions that are available for child care expenses. The bill includes provisions that\n\n increase the tax credit for employer-provided child care facilities; increase the household and dependent care tax credit and make the credit refundable; allow a new $2,000 annual tax credit for three years for child care providers who hold a bachelor's degree in early childhood education, child care, or a related degree and who provide at least 1,200 hours of child care services in a taxable year; and increase the tax exclusion for employer-provided dependent care assistance.", - "company_name": "Primerica, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"us\" or the \"Parent Company\") is a leading distributor of financial products to middle-income households in the United States and Canada with 126,121 licensed sales representatives at December 31, 2017. We assist our clients in meeting their needs for term life insurance, which we underwrite, and mutual funds, annuities, managed investments and other financial products, which we distribute primarily on behalf of third parties. Our licensed sales representatives primarily use our proprietary financial needs analysis tool (\"FNA\") and an educational approach to demonstrate how our product offerings can assist clients to provide financial protection for their families, save for their retirement and other needs, and manage their debt. Typically, our clients are the friends, family members and personal acquaintances of our sales representatives. We provide an entrepreneurial business opportunity for individuals to distribute financial products. Low entry fees as well as the ability to select their own schedules and time commitments allow our sales representatives to supplement their income by starting their own independent businesses without leaving their current jobs. Our unique compensation structure, technology, sales support and back-office processing are designed to enable our sales representatives to successfully grow their independent businesses. We believe there is significant opportunity to meet the increasing array of financial services needs of our clients. We intend to leverage our sales force to provide additional products and services that meet such client needs, which will drive long-term value for all of our stakeholders. Broadening our protection product portfolio; \u2022 Providing offerings that enhance our Investment and Savings Products (\"ISP\") business; and \u2022 Developing digital capabilities to deepen our client relationships. Primerica Life Insurance Company (\"Primerica Life\"), our principal life insurance underwriting company; and \u2022 (\"PFS Investments\"), our investment and savings products company, broker-dealer and registered investment advisor. Primerica Life is domiciled in Tennessee, and its wholly owned subsidiary, National Benefit Life Insurance Company (\"NBLIC\"), is a New York-domiciled life insurance underwriting company. Prior to Primerica Life's redomestication to Tennessee in December 2017, Primerica Life was a Massachusetts-domiciled life insurance underwriting company. Primerica Life Insurance Company of Canada (\"Primerica Life Canada\"), our Canadian life insurance underwriting company; \u2022 (\"PFSL Investments Canada\"), our Canadian licensed mutual fund dealer; and \u2022 (\"PFSL Fund Management\"), our Canadian investment funds manager. Our clients are generally middle-income consumers, which we define as households with $30,000 to $100,000 of annual income. According to the 2016 U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey, the latest period for which data is available, almost 50% of U.S. households fall in this range. Many have inadequate or no life insurance coverage. Individual life insurance sales in the United States declined from 12.5 million policy sales in 1975 to 10.2 million policy sales in 2016, the latest period for which data is available, according to the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association International, Inc. (\"LIMRA\"), a worldwide association of insurance and financial services companies. We believe that term life insurance, which we have provided to middle-income clients for many years, is generally the best option for them to meet their life insurance needs. Many need help saving for retirement and other personal goals.", - "id": "c57fd4f4-ba46-428a-9ed5-208223c24d09" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill requires commercial air carriers, including Sky West, Inc., to install and operate onboard carbon monoxide detectors and mandates training for flight attendants and other staff on how to respond to smoke or fume incidents. Given that Sky West operates regional flights under major airline partners and is directly involved in maintaining passenger safety and regulatory compliance, the provisions of this bill are relevant to their business operations.", - "index": "437", - "bill_title": "To improve the safety of the air supply on commercial aircraft, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Cabin Air Safety Act of 2019\n\nThis bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to implement regulations regarding smoke or fume incidents on commercial aircraft (excluding helicopters).\n\nSpecifically, the bill requires\n\n flight attendants, pilots, aircraft maintenance technicians, airport first responders, and emergency response teams to receive annual training on how to respond to incidents involving smoke or fumes on board commercial aircraft; the FAA to develop a standardized form for reporting incidents involving smoke or fumes; the FAA to conduct an investigation after a report is submitted about incidents of smoke or fumes; and commercial air carriers to install and operate onboard carbon monoxide detectors.", - "company_name": "Sky West, Inc.", - "company_description": "On January 22, 2019, we completed the sale of ExpressJet. Inc. (\"Alaska\") (each, a \"major airline partner\") and any potential impact of their financial condition on our operations; fluctuations in flight schedules, which are determined by the major airline partners for whom SkyWest conducts flight operations; variations in market and economic conditions; significant aircraft lease and debt commitments; realization of manufacturer residual value guarantees on applicable SkyWest aircraft; residual aircraft values and related impairment charges; the impact of global instability; labor relations and costs; potential fluctuations in fuel costs, and potential fuel shortages; the impact of weather-related or other natural disasters on air travel and airline costs; new aircraft deliveries; and the ability to attract and retain qualified pilots, as well as the other factors described below in Item 1A. Risk Factors. We offer scheduled passenger service with approximately 2,770 daily departures to destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Substantially all of our flights are operated as Delta Connection, United Express, American Eagle or Alaska Airlines flights under code\u2011share arrangements (commercial agreements between airlines that, among other things, allow one airline to use another airline's flight designator codes on its flights) with Delta, United, American or Alaska, respectively. Under these fixed\u2011fee agreements, our major airline partners generally pay us fixed rates for operating the aircraft primarily based on the number of completed flights, flight time and the number of aircraft under contract. The major airline partners also reimburse us for specified direct operating expenses (including fuel expense). During our long operating history, we have developed an industry\u2011leading reputation for providing quality regional airline service. As of December 31, 2018, we had 596 aircraft in scheduled service consisting of the following (which included 100 Embraer ERJ145 regional jet (\"ERJ145\") aircraft and 16 Bombardier CRJ200 regional jet (\"CRJ200\") aircraft that ExpressJet operated for United, and 10 Canadair CRJ700 regional jet (\"CRJ700\") aircraft that ExpressJet operated for American): CRJ200 CRJ700 As of December 31, 2018, these aircraft have been removed from service and are in the process of being returned under the applicable leasing arrangement or are aircraft transitioning between code-share agreements with our major airline partners. As of December 31, 2018, our fleet scheduled for service consisted of aircraft manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace (\"Bombardier\") and Embraer S.A. (\"Embraer\") summarized as follows: Manufacturer 50 Bombardier and Embraer are the primary manufacturers of regional jets operated in the United States and offer many of the amenities of larger commercial jet aircraft, including flight attendant service, a stand\u2011up cabin, overhead and under seat storage, lavatories and in\u2011flight snack and beverage service. The speed of Bombardier and Embraer regional jets is comparable to larger aircraft operated by major airlines, and they have a range of approximately 1,600 miles and 2,100 miles, respectively. We provide regional jet service to airports throughout the United States, as well as Mexico and Canada. As of December 31, 2018, we offered approximately 2,170 daily departures, of which approximately 820 were United Express flights, 920 were Delta Connection flights, 290 were American Eagle flights and 140 were Alaska Airlines flights. Our operations are conducted principally from airports located in Chicago (O'Hare), Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, 4 Minneapolis, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and Seattle. As of December 31, 2018, we operated a fleet of 470 aircraft consisting of the following: CRJ200 CRJ700 Prior to our sale of ExpressJet in January 2019, ExpressJet provided regional jet service to airports primarily located in the Eastern and Midwestern United States, as well as Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean. ExpressJet's operations were conducted principally from airports located in Atlanta, Chicago (O'Hare), Houston, Newark and New York. During the year ended December 31, 2018, ExpressJet offered approximately 600 daily departures, of which approximately 90 were Delta Connection flights, 440 were United Express flights and 70 were American Eagle flights. As of December 31, 2018, ExpressJet operated a fleet of 126 aircraft consisting of the following: CRJ200 SkyWest Leasing The SkyWest Leasing segment includes revenue attributed to our Embraer E175 dual-class regional jet aircraft (\"E175\") ownership cost earned under the applicable fixed-fee contracts, and the depreciation and interest expense of our E175 aircraft. The SkyWest Leasing segment additionally includes the income from CRJ200 aircraft leased to a third-party. The airline industry is highly competitive. SkyWest competes principally with other regional airlines.", - "id": "c9ceb9d6-9fa3-4580-a31f-b04441989dae" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill addresses surprise billing practices in healthcare, which could affect AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. as a pharmaceutical company involved in maternal and women's health, anemia management, and cancer supportive care. Any changes in billing practices may impact how health plans reimburse for medications, potentially influencing AMAG's sales and revenue from prescription drugs. This relevance lies in the company\u2019s commercial strategies and third-party reimbursement expectations.", - "index": "438", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide protections for health insurance consumers from surprise billing.", - "bill_summary": "Stopping The Outrageous Practice of Surprise Medical Bills Act of 2019 or the STOP Surprise Medical Bills Act of 2019 This bill prohibits health care providers and health insurance plans from billing enrollees in excess of the in-network amount for specified health care services provided out-of-network. Specifically, a plan or provider may not charge an enrollee more than the in-network amount for services that are\n\n emergency services provided by an out-of-network provider or at an out-of-network facility; nonemergency services provided at an in-network facility by an out-of-network provider; or nonemergency services provided out-of-network to an enrollee who initially enters through an emergency room for emergency services, except under specified circumstances. Additionally, health insurance plans must pay the median in-network amount, minus the enrollee's in-network cost-sharing amount, directly to a health care provider. The bill also establishes an independent review process to resolve billing disputes between insurance plans and providers.", - "company_name": "AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "beliefs regarding the expenses, challenges and timing of our preclinical studies and clinical trials, including expectations regarding the clinical trial results for ciraparantag; beliefs regarding our commercial strategies, including the impact of our efforts to convert current Makena IM prescribers to the Makena auto-injector and the timing of the commercial launch of Vyleesi; expectations and plans as to recent and upcoming regulatory and commercial developments and activities, including requirements and initiatives for clinical trials and post-approval commitments for our products and product candidates, and their impact on our business and competition; expectations regarding third-party reimbursement and the behaviors of payers, healthcare providers, patients and other industry participants, including with respect to product price increases and volume-based and other rebates and incentives; plans regarding our sales and marketing initiatives, including our contracting, pricing and discounting strategies and efforts to increase patient compliance and access; expectations regarding the contribution of revenues from our products to the funding of our on-going operations and costs to be incurred in connection with revenue sources to fund our future operations; expectations as to the manufacture of drug substances, drug and biological products and key materials for our products and product candidates; \u2022 the expected impact of recent tax reform legislation and estimates regarding our effective tax rate and our ability to realize our net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes; \u2022 the impact of accounting pronouncements; beliefs regarding the impact of our recent restructuring initiative, including the impact of the combination of our women's and maternal health sales forces and the related reduction in head count. We are a pharmaceutical company focused on bringing innovative products to patients with unmet medical needs by leveraging our development and commercial expertise to invest in and grow our pharmaceutical products across a range of therapeutic areas. Our currently marketed products support the health of patients in the areas of maternal and women's health, anemia management and cancer supportive care, including Feraheme\u00ae (ferumoxytol injection) for intravenous (hydroxyprogesterone caproate injection), Intrarosa\u00ae (prasterone) vaginal inserts and MuGard\u00ae Mucoadhesive Oral Wound Rinse. In addition to our marketed products, our portfolio includes three product candidates, Vyleesi\u2122 (bremelanotide), which is being developed for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (\"HSDD\") in pre-menopausal women, AMAG-423 (digoxin immune fab (ovine)), which is being studied for the treatment of severe preeclampsia, and ciraparantag, which is being studied as an anticoagulant reversal agent. Perosphere Pharmaceuticals Inc. (\"Perosphere\"), a privately-held biopharmaceutical company pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger Ciraparantag is an anticoagulant reversal agent in development for patients treated with novel oral anticoagulants (\"NOACs\") or low molecular weight heparin (\"LMWH\") when reversal of the anticoagulant effect of these products is needed for emergency surgery, urgent procedures or due to life-threatening or uncontrolled bleeding. Since August 2015, we had provided services related to the preservation of umbilical cord blood stem cell and cord tissue units operated through CBR. We intend to continue to expand the impact of our current and future products for patients by delivering on our growth strategy, which includes collaborating on and acquiring promising therapies at various stages of development, and advancing them through the clinical and regulatory process to deliver new treatment options to patients. Our primary sources of revenue are from sales of Makena, Feraheme and Intrarosa. Currently, we market and sell our pharmaceutical products solely in the U.S. Products and Product Candidates IV iron replacement therapeutic agent for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia (\"IDA\") in adult patients (a) who have intolerance to oral iron or have had unsatisfactory response to oral iron or (Intramuscular presentations (5 mL multi-dose vial and 1 mL single-dose preservative-free vial) and auto-injector presentation) A progestin indicated to reduce the risk of preterm birth in women pregnant with a single baby who have a history of singleton spontaneous preterm birth. Exclusively license rights to auto-injector device for use in the Makena subcutaneous auto-injector presentation (the \"Makena auto-injector\") from Antares Pharma,", - "id": "b27333b7-2a8f-4810-ba88-239310b48e29" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill mandates annual disclosure of any substantial financial relationships with manufacturers or dealers of firearms or ammunition. Although Dick's Sporting Goods primarily focuses on sporting goods, it is known to have notably restricted the sale of firearms and ammunition in recent years. Given this context, if Dick's is engaged in any substantial financial relationships with firearms or ammunition manufacturers or dealers, it would be legally required to disclose these under the proposed bill, making it relevant to the company's compliance and reporting practices.", - "index": "439", - "bill_title": "To amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require issuers to disclose in an annual report any substantial financial relationship with any manufacturer or dealer of firearms or ammunition.", - "bill_summary": "Investor Choice Against Gun Proliferation Act \n\nThis bill requires specified issuers of securities to annually disclose any substantial\u00a0financial relationship with a manufacturer or dealer of firearms or ammunition.", - "company_name": "Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"us\" and \"our\" unless specified otherwise) is a leading omni-channel sporting goods retailer offering an extensive assortment of authentic, high-quality sports equipment, apparel, footwear and accessories through a blend of dedicated associates, in-store services and unique specialty shop-in-shops. The Company also owns and operates Golf Galaxy and Field & Stream stores, and Dick's Team Sports HQ, an all-in-one youth sports digital platform offering scheduling, communications and live scorekeeping through its GameChanger mobile apps, free league management services, custom uniforms and fan wear, and access to donations and sponsorships. The Company offers its products through a content-rich eCommerce platform that is integrated with its store network and provides customers with the convenience and expertise of a 24-hour storefront. Our vision is to be the best sports company in the world. We believe that our mindset and our culture must ensure that every decision we make, whether in our stores or at our Customer Support Center (\"CSC\"), improves the athlete's experience. We will continue to make investments that enhance our store experience, improve our eCommerce fulfillment capabilities and implement technology solutions that improve the athlete experience as well as teammate productivity. Our marketing program is designed to build loyalty for the Dick's Sporting Goods brand while promoting our broad assortment of brand name sporting goods equipment, apparel and footwear in a specialty store environment. Our historical marketing strategy has consisted largely of newspaper advertising supplemented by direct mail and seasonal use of local and national television and radio. While we continue to market through these traditional channels, we have more recently developed brand-building marketing campaigns focused on building passion and loyalty to the Dick's Sporting Goods brand and have shifted our advertising focus toward digital marketing and personalization. The Company continues to grow its community presence through Team Sports HQ and sponsoring thousands of teams at the local level. We also launched a new tier of our ScoreCard loyalty program during 2018 that better rewards our best customers for their loyalty to us. Our history and core foundation is as a retailer of high-quality authentic athletic equipment, apparel and footwear, which is intended to enhance our customers' performance and enjoyment of athletic pursuits, rather than focusing our merchandise selection on the latest fashion trend or style. Our objective is not only to carry leading brands, but to carry a full range of products within each category, including premium items for the sports enthusiast. We believe that the breadth of our product selections in each category of sporting goods offers our customers a wide range of good, better and best price points and enables us to address the needs of sporting goods consumers, from the beginner to the sports enthusiast, which distinguishes us from other large format sporting goods stores. We also believe that the range of merchandise and extensive in-store support services that we offer allows us to differentiate and compete effectively against all of our competitors, from traditional independent sporting goods stores and specialty shops to other large format sporting goods stores and mass merchant discount retailers to internet-based retailers. We believe when our customers connect with the Dick's Sporting Goods brand they expect a seamless shopping experience, regardless of the manner in which they choose to shop with us. We continue to see growth in the number of customers who shop with us both online and in our stores and believe these omni-channel customers represent the future of retail. We plan to continue investing to improve the functionality and performance of our eCommerce site, including a faster and more convenient checkout, improved page responsiveness and new content development through our Pro Tips platform. Like our customers, we see retail as an omni-channel experience, where the distinctions between stores and online are becoming increasingly irrelevant. We believe our store base gives us a competitive advantage over our online-only competitors, as our physical presence allows us to better serve our customers by creating strong engagement through experiential elements, offering the convenience of accepting in-store returns or exchanges and expediting fulfillment of eCommerce orders. We believe that offering support services for the products we sell enhances the credibility of our associates and specialty store concepts with our customers and further differentiates our stores from our competitors. Our key partners invest in our stores to showcase their brands. We carry a wide variety of well-known brands, including adidas, Asics, Brooks, Callaway Golf, Columbia, Easton, Nike, TaylorMade, The North Face, Titleist, Under Armour and Yeti. Our brand partnerships also provide us with access to exclusive products and allow us to differentiate our customers' shopping experience through initiatives such as our brand shops, which provide our customers with a wider and deeper selection of products from our key brands. To provide differentiation in assortment of products when compared to our competitors, we also offer a wide variety of private brand products that are not available from other retailers.", - "id": "e2fffdc6-799e-4bc1-8846-e2c54890ff8d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on the U.S. Maritime Administration, illegal fishing, and maritime security, which does not directly relate to VeriSign's business in domain name registry services and internet infrastructure. VeriSign's operations are primarily in the domain registration space and do not intersect with maritime activities.", - "index": "440", - "bill_title": "A bill to reauthorize activities of the Maritime Administration, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Maritime Administration Authorization and Enhancement Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses (1) several aspects of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD); (2) illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing); and (3) maritime security.\n\nAmong other things, the bill\n\n reauthorizes MARAD programs, including programs associated with maintaining the U.S. Merchant Marine; promotes transparency and traceability in the seafood supply chain; promotes the use of technology to combat IUU fishing; establishes an interagency working group on maritime security, IUU fishing, and seafood fraud; and establishes a sub-working group to address IUU fishing within the U.S. exclusive economic zone in the Gulf of Mexico.", - "company_name": "VeriSign, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a global provider of domain name registry services and internet infrastructure, enabling internet navigation for many of the world's most recognized domain names (\"Registry Services\"). Our Registry Services enable the security, stability, and resiliency of key internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of the 13 global internet root servers, and providing registration services and authoritative resolution for the . com and . net top-level domains (\"TLDs\"), which support the majority of global e-commerce. On December 5, 2018, we completed the sale of our rights, economic benefits, and obligations, in all customer contracts related to our Security Services business, which primarily consisted of Distributed Denial of Service (\"DDoS\") Pursuant to our agreements with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers The domain name base is the active zone plus the number of domain names that are registered but not configured for use in the respective top-level domain zone file plus the number of domain names that are in a client or server hold status. Registry Services Registry Services operates the authoritative directory of and/or the back-end systems for all.com, .net, .cc, .tv, .gov Registry Services allows individuals and organizations to establish their online identities, while providing the secure, always-on access they need to communicate and transact reliably with large-scale online audiences. We are the exclusive registry of domain names within the.com, .net, and .name generic top-level domains (\"gTLDs\"), among others, under agreements with ICANN and also, with respect to the.com agreement, the U.S. Department of Commerce (\"DOC\"). Our global constellation of DNS servers provides internet protocol (\"IP\") address information in response to queries, enabling the use of browsers, email systems, and other systems on the internet. In addition, we own and maintain the shared registration system that allows ICANN-accredited registrars to enter new second-level domain names into central directories and to submit modifications, transfers, re-registrations, and deletions for existing second-level domain names (\"Shared Registration System\"). In addition to our registry agreements with ICANN, we have agreements to operate the registry for the.tv and .cc country code top-level domains (\"ccTLDs\") for Tuvalu and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, respectively, and to operate the back-end registry systems for the.gov,.jobs, and .edu sponsored TLDs, among others. These TLDs are also supported by our global constellation of DNS servers and Shared Registration System. We also provide internationalized domain name (\"IDN\") services that enable internet users to access websites in characters representing their local language. Our gTLDs and ccTLDs can support standards-compliant registrations in over 100 different native languages and scripts. We also perform the root zone maintainer function under an agreement with ICANN for the core of the internet's DNS and operate two of the 13 root zone servers that contain authoritative data for the very top of the DNS hierarchy. The fees charged for .com,.net and .name may only be increased according to adjustments prescribed in our agreements with ICANN over the applicable term. Revenues for .cc and .tv domain names and our IDN gTLDs are based on a similar fee system and registration system, although the fees charged are not subject to the same pricing restrictions as those imposed by the DOC on.com, or ICANN with respect to .net and .name. The fees received from operating the.jobs registry infrastructure, and that of others for which Verisign provides such services, are based on the terms of Verisign's agreements with those respective registry operators. Security Services was primarily comprised of DDoS Protection Services and Managed DNS Services. DDoS Protection Services supports online business continuity by providing monitoring and mitigation services against DDoS attacks. Customers include financial institutions, software-as-a-service providers, e-commerce providers, and media companies. Customers pay a subscription fee that varies depending on the customer's network requirements. Managed DNS Services is a hosting service that delivers DNS resolution, improving the availability of web-based systems. Customers include financial institutions, e-commerce, and software-as-a-service providers.", - "id": "89bb3ae5-a720-40a3-8aed-665b3a5cfb5c" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill requires businesses to implement information security practices and mandates notice in the event of a data breach, which is relevant for Hyster-Yale as it collects and maintains personal information about customers and clients involved in equipment sales and aftermarket services.", - "index": "441", - "bill_title": "To require certain entities who collect and maintain personal information of individuals to secure such information and to provide notice to such individuals in the case of a breach of security involving such information, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Data Accountability and Trust Act \n\nThis bill requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to require certain businesses and\u00a0other organizations\u00a0to (1) establish specified information-security practices for the treatment and protection of personal information; and (2) in the event of a security breach involving such information, provide specified notice and offer credit-monitoring services.\n\nThe FTC must also establish information-security rules specific to information brokers, including\u00a0(1) requirements regarding\u00a0post-breach audits and consumer access to information, and (2) prohibitions on obtaining personal information by false pretenses.\n\nThe bill establishes civil\u00a0penalties and provides for enforcement by the FTC and by states.", - "company_name": "Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc.", - "company_description": "Inc. (\"HYG\"), is a leading, globally integrated, full-line lift truck manufacturer. The Company offers a broad array of solutions aimed at meeting the specific materials handling needs of its customers, including attachments and hydrogen fuel cell power products, telematics, automation and fleet management services, as well as a variety of other power options for its lift trucks. The Company, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, through HYG designs, engineers, manufactures, sells and services a comprehensive line of lift trucks, attachments and aftermarket parts marketed globally primarily under the Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae brand names, mainly to independent Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae retail dealerships. Lift trucks and component parts are manufactured in the United States, Northern Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Italy, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, Brazil and China. Bolzoni is a leading worldwide producer of attachments, forks and lift tables marketed under the Bolzoni Auramo\u00ae and Meyer\u00ae brand names. Bolzoni products are manufactured in Italy, China, Germany, Finland and the United States. Through the design, production and distribution of a wide range of attachments, Bolzoni has a strong presence in the market niche of lift-truck attachments and industrial material handling. Nuvera is an alternative-power technology company focused on fuel cell stacks and engines. Nuvera also supports on-site hydrogen production and dispensing systems that are designed to deliver clean energy solutions to customers. The Company operates five reportable segments: the Americas, EMEA, JAPIC, Bolzoni and Nuvera. The Company manufactures components, such as frames, masts and transmissions, and assembles lift trucks in the market of sale whenever practical to minimize freight cost and balance currency mix. In some instances, however, it utilizes one worldwide location to manufacture specific components or assemble specific lift trucks. Additionally, components and assembled lift trucks are exported when it is advantageous to meet demand in certain markets. The Company operates twelve lift truck manufacturing and assembly facilities worldwide with five plants in the Americas, three in EMEA and four in JAPIC, including joint venture operations. In addition, the Company operates seven Bolzoni manufacturing facilities worldwide. During 2017 , the Company's retail shipments of lift trucks in North America by end market were approximately 23% to the food and beverage market, approximately 14% to the logistics market, approximately 14% to the natural resource and materials market, approximately 13% to the consumer and business trade market, approximately 13% to the manufacturing market, approximately 12% to the rental market and approximately 11% to the durable goods market. The Company offers a line of aftermarket parts to service its large installed base of lift trucks currently in use in the industry. The Company offers online technical reference databases specifying the required aftermarket parts to service lift trucks and an aftermarket parts ordering system. -branded aftermarket parts to dealers for Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae The Company also sells aftermarket parts under the UNISOURCE\u2122 and PREMIER\u2122 brands to Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae dealers for the service of 1 competitor lift trucks. The Company has a contractual relationship with a third-party, multi-brand, aftermarket parts wholesaler in the Americas and EMEA whereby orders from the Company's dealers for parts for lift trucks are fulfilled by the third party who then pays the Company a commission. The Company's marketing organization is structured in three regional divisions: the Americas; EMEA, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and JAPIC, which includes Japan, Asia, Pacific, India and China. In each region, certain marketing support functions for the Hyster\u00ae and Yale\u00ae brands are carried out by shared-services teams. These activities include sales and service training, information systems support, product launch coordination, specialized sales material development, help desks, order entry, marketing strategy and field service support. ", - "id": "b48aa18b-06f6-4c5c-8677-1851fa0d62e0" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The CONFRONT Act is focused on combating financial networks of transnational organized criminals through regulations aimed at organizations involved in illicit financial activities. Legg Mason, Inc., being an asset management company, primarily deals with legitimate investment management and financial services. While they may have to comply with regulations related to anti-money laundering and financial crimes, the explicit focus of the bill is more directed towards combating criminal organizations rather than affecting the core business activities of a legitimate asset management firm.", - "index": "442", - "bill_title": "To require the President to develop a national strategy to combat the financial networks of transnational organized criminals, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Criminal Organizations' Narcotics, Finances, Resources, Operations, and Networks Targeting Act or the CONFRONT Act\n\nThis bill directs the Department of the Treasury, in consultation with various U.S. agencies and departments, to develop a national strategy to combat the financial networks of transnational organized criminals.", - "company_name": "Legg Mason, Inc.", - "company_description": "Legg Mason, Inc. is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides investment management and related services to company-sponsored mutual funds and other investment vehicles including pension funds, foundations, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, private banks, family offices, individuals, as well as to global, institutional, and retail clients. It launches and manages equity, fixed income, and multi-asset customized portfolios through its subsidiaries. The firm also launches and manages mutual funds and exchange traded funds for its clients through its subsidiaries. It invests in private and public equity, fixed income, and multi asset markets across the globe through its subsidiaries. Through its subsidiaries, the firm also invests in alternative markets. It also employs a combination of fundamental and quantitative research to make its investments through its subsidiaries. Legg Mason, Inc. was founded in 1899 and is based in Baltimore, Maryland. General Legg Mason is a global asset management firm that operates through nine independent asset management subsidiaries. Acting through our asset management subsidiaries, each of which generally markets its products and services under its own brand name, we provide investment management and related products and services to institutional and individual clients, company-sponsored mutual funds and other investment vehicles. The predecessor companies to Legg Mason trace back to Legg & Co., a Maryland-based broker-dealer formed in 1899. Our subsequent growth occurred primarily through internal expansion and the acquisition of asset management and broker-dealer firms. In December 2005, Legg Mason completed a transaction in which it sold its primary broker-dealer businesses to concentrate on the asset management industry. The asset management industry continues to experience disruption and challenges, including a shift to lower-fee passively managed products, increased fee pressure (including pressure arising from the shift to lower-fee passive products), regulatory changes, an increasing and changing role of technology in asset management services, the constant introduction of new products and services and the consolidation of financial services firms through mergers and acquisition. During fiscal year 2018, our focus on investing to improve lives and expanding client choice continued to drive strong sales, despite the ongoing trend of investor movement to passive strategies in certain portions of the industry. During the course of this fiscal year, we expanded our investment offerings in response to demand for choice by: offering new next generation products such as multi-asset class solutions and new vehicles, including the launch of six new exchange traded funds (\"ETFs\"); completing a bolt-on acquisition adding new capabilities at Clarion Partners; commercializing alternative products offered by our most recently acquired asset managers; 2 expanding our Alternative Distribution Strategies and Alternative Product teams with strategic hires; and investing in technology to enhance our capabilities and expand choice for global investors. Business Overview Acting through our subsidiaries, we provide investment management and related services to institutional and individual clients, company-sponsored investment funds and retail separately managed account programs. Our corporate structure combines our nine asset managers, each with diverse perspectives and specialized expertise across asset classes and strategies, with a centralized global distribution platform focusing on retail distribution and additional distribution capabilities focused on institutional distribution at each of our asset managers. We help investors globally achieve better financial outcomes by expanding choice across investment strategies, vehicles and investor access through independent investment managers with diverse expertise in equity, fixed income, alternative and liquidity investments. Operating from asset management offices located in the United States, the United Kingdom and a number of other countries worldwide, we deliver our investment capabilities through varied products and vehicles and via multiple points of access, including directly and through various financial intermediaries.", - "id": "d47d1e35-2ad5-4613-9efc-ae1b52277448" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on intelligence activities, cybersecurity, and measures relating to national security and defense against foreign interference, particularly regarding elections. This does not intersect with Altra Industrial Motion Corp.'s business model, which revolves around manufacturing mechanical components such as couplings, clutches, and brakes for various industrial applications. There is no direct legal consequence or requirement stemming from the bill that would affect Altra's operations or business activities.", - "index": "443", - "bill_title": "A bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System.", - "bill_summary": "Damon Paul Nelson and Matthew Young Pollard Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019\n\nThis bill addresses various intelligence issues, including by reauthorizing intelligence-related activities, establishing certain bodies, and directing the intelligence community to report on topics such as election infrastructure security and Russian interference in the 2016 election.\n\nThe bill reauthorizes through FY2019 various intelligence-related activities in\u00a0specified government bodies, including the Department of Defense, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency. It also reauthorizes for FY2019 the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability Fund. In addition, the bill\u00a0authorizes higher pay scales for positions requiring expertise in areas such as science, technology, and mathematics.\n\nThe Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) shall establish a task force to standardize information sharing between the intelligence and government acquisition communities. The President shall establish an Energy Infrastructure Security Center to analyze and disseminate intelligence related to energy infrastructure.\n\nThe ODNI shall develop a security plan and long-term roadmap for the information technology environment for the intelligence community.\n\nThe Department of Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis shall report to Congress about cyberattacks on U.S. election infrastructure during the 2016 presidential election. The ODNI shall report on the intelligence community's efforts to analyze Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election. The ODNI shall also develop a whole-of-government strategy to counter the threat of Russian cyberattacks on election infrastructure, including voter registration databases and voting equipment.", - "company_name": "Altra Industrial Motion Corp.", - "company_description": "Couplings are the interface between two shafts, which enable power to be transmitted from one shaft to the other. Because shafts are often misaligned, we design our couplings with a measure of flexibility that accommodates various degrees of misalignment. Altra manufactures a diverse variety of couplings suitable for many industrial and specialty applications. Our various coupling products include: gear couplings, high performance diaphragm and disc couplings, elastomeric couplings, miniature and precision couplings, as well as universal joints, mill spindles and shaft locking devices. These products are sold into many different markets, including: food processing, oil and gas, power generation, material handling, medical, metals, mining, and mobile off-highway. Our couplings are primarily manufactured under the Ameridrives, Bibby, Lamiflex, TB Wood's, Huco Dynatork, Guardian and Stromag brands in our facilities in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, China and Mexico. Primarily utilized in heavy duty industrial, mining and energy applications, clutches are devices which use mechanical, magnetic, hydraulic, pneumatic, or friction type connections to facilitate engaging or disengaging two rotating members. Brakes are combinations of interacting parts that work to slow or stop machinery. We manufacture a variety of clutches and brakes in two main product categories: heavy duty and overrunning. Our core clutch and brake manufacturing facilities are located in Michigan, Texas, Denmark, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Brazil, India and China. Our heavy duty clutch and brake product lines serve various markets including metal forming, off-shore and land-based oil and gas drilling platforms, mining, material handling, marine, wind turbine applications and various off-highway and construction equipment segments. Our line of heavy duty pneumatic, hydraulic and caliper clutches and brakes are marketed under the Wichita Clutch, Twiflex, Industrial Clutch, Svendborg Brakes and Stromag brand names. Products include overrunning, indexing and backstopping clutches which are generally used as a mechanical means of prohibiting a shaft's rotation in one direction while enabling its rotation in the opposite direction. Primary industrial applications include conveyors, gear reducers, hoists and cranes, mining machinery, machine tools, paper machinery, and other specialty machinery. We also sell our overrunning clutch products into the aerospace and defense market for fixed and rotary wing aircraft. We market and sell these products under the Formsprag, Marland, and Stieber brand names. Belted drives incorporate both a rubber-based belt and at least two sheaves or synchronous sprockets. Belted drives typically change the speed of an electric motor or engine to the level required for a particular piece of equipment. Our belted drive line includes three types of v-belts, three types of synchronous belts, standard and made-to-order sheaves and synchronous sprockets, and split taper bushings. We sell belted drives to a wide range of end markets, including aggregate, energy, chemical and material handling. Our engineered belted drives are primarily manufactured under the TB Wood's brand in our facilities in Pennsylvania and Mexico. 6 Electromagnetic Clutches and Brakes business segment Products in this segment include brakes and clutches that are used to electronically slow, stop, engage or disengage equipment utilizing electromagnetic friction type connections. Our industrial products include clutches and brakes with specially designed controls for material handling, forklift, elevator, medical mobility, mobile off-highway, baggage handling and plant productivity applications. We also offer a line of clutch and brake products for walk-behind mowers, residential lawn tractors and commercial mowers. While industrial applications are predominant, we also manufacture products for several niche vehicular applications including on-road refrigeration compressor clutches and agricultural equipment clutches.", - "id": "e4a03904-dfd6-48e7-b560-e5f697c0bb9a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on Indian tribes' self-governance and education assistance, which does not directly relate to 2U, Inc.'s business in providing online education technology for universities and working adults. The legal consequences of the bill would not impact 2U's operations or revenue streams.", - "index": "444", - "bill_title": "To amend the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to provide further self-governance by Indian Tribes, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Practical Reforms and Other Goals To Reinforce the Effectiveness of Self-Governance and Self-Determination for Indian Tribes Act of 2019 or the PROGRESS for Indian Tribes Act\n\nThis bill replaces the Tribal Self-Governance Demonstration Project with the Tribal Self-Governance Program. Under the program, Native American tribes or organizations may receive grants to plan for participation in self-governance and to negotiate the terms of participation.\n\nIn addition, the bill revises the Department of the Interior's process for approving self-governance compacts and funding agreements with tribes. Interior must negotiate contracts and funding agreements to maximize implementation of the self-governance policy. The bill sets forth requirements for tribes participating in self-governance with respect to conflicts of interest, audits, redesign and consolidation of programs, retrocession of programs, nonduplication of funding, and records.\n\nFunding agreements must include provisions for Interior to monitor the performance of trust functions by the tribe and to reassume a program and funding under specified circumstances.\n\nTribes participating in self-governance may elect to assume some federal responsibilities with respect to certain construction projects.\n\nThe bill prohibits a tribe from being obligated to continue performance of a compact or funding agreement that provides insufficient funding.", - "company_name": "2U, Inc.", - "company_description": "Our mission is to improve lives by eliminating the back row in higher education. We are a global leader in education technology. For more than a decade, we have been improving lives by powering world-class digital education. As a trusted partner and brand steward of great universities, we build, deliver, and support online graduate programs and certificates for working adults. Our industry-leading short courses, offered by GetSmarter, are designed to equip life-long learners with in-demand career skills. Over the past decade, we have developed new and innovative tools within our platform to enhance the effectiveness of instructional methods and improve student outcomes and the student experience. During that time, we have also improved our data-driven digital marketing capabilities across our ecosystem of offerings to generate increased student enrollments in a cost effective manner. As a result, demand for our comprehensive platform of integrated technology and services has increased significantly. When 2U was formed in 2008, we had one university client and one 2U-powered graduate program. Today, our university client base has grown to 35, our platform powers 49 graduate programs and over 90 short courses, and from inception to date we have enrolled over 44,000 students in 2U-powered graduate programs and over 86,000 students in our short courses. Our core strategy is to launch graduate programs and short courses with new and existing university clients, to increase student enrollments and graduations across our portfolio of offerings and to expand our non-degree offerings across the career curriculum continuum. We are also committed to continuously improving our platform to deliver high-quality university and student experiences and outcomes at scale. In our Short Course Segment, we target working professionals seeking career advancement through skills attainment. Our Graduate Program Segment derives revenue primarily from a contractually specified percentage of the amounts our university clients receive from their students in the 2U-enabled graduate program for tuition and fees, less credit card fees and other specified charges we have agreed to exclude in certain of our universicty client contracts. The Short Course Segment derives revenue directly from students for the tuition and fees paid to enroll in and progress through our short courses. We share a contractually specified percentage of the tuition and fees received from students in each course with the relevant university client. Our platform, which we refer to as the 2U Operating System, or 2UOS, consists of a seamlessly integrated ecosystem of technology, people and data. Through 2UOS, we provide our university clients with front-end and back-end cloud-based SaaS technology and technology-enabled services. These two components are tightly integrated and optimized with data analysis and machine learning techniques. 2UOS delivers technology with a human touch and is the keystone of our commitment to provide our university clients the tools they need to lead the digital transformation in education. 2UOS provides the following front-end technology and services to students enrolled in our offerings and to faculty members and university administrators supporting our offerings: Our online learning platform is a cohesive end-to-end learning and teaching platform, where our university clients can reliably deliver their high-quality educational content to students. For our Graduate Program Segment, our online learning platform replicates an intimate and live classroom environment and is accessible through proprietary web, mobile and TV applications as well as in an offline mode for convenient consumption of asynchronous coursework. With the recent integration of stem-based education tools and collaborative annotation technology and an improved data-driven user experience, we have significantly enhanced the learning experience for students in 2U-powered graduate programs and instruction capabilities for faculty. Our short course offerings are delivered through a separate proprietary learning platform that shares many of the core features of our Graduate Program Segment learning platform, with some exceptions, such as the enhanced features that facilitate the live classroom environment in our graduate program leaning platform. ", - "id": "2597f390-6693-43ee-81d2-0df9396918a5" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to the obligations of licensees under the Communications Act, specifically relating to broadcast stations and their service commitments. ANSYS, Inc. is focused on engineering simulation software and services across various industries, and does not operate in the broadcasting sector or hold any broadcasting licenses. Therefore, the legal consequences outlined in the bill do not impact ANSYS's business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "445", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to clarify the obligations of licensees under section 331 of that Act, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Section 331 Obligation Clarification Act\n\nThis bill specifies that certain service obligations owed by the licensee of a commercial television broadcast station apply regardless of the broadcast frequency used by the licensee.\n\nSpecifically, the bill provides that a licensee making a change from a very high frequency (VHF) broadcast station to an ultrahigh frequency (UHF) broadcast station must ensure the change does not affect its obligation to provide service to its customers. The bill also requires such a licensee to (1) broadcast at least 14 hours of common local programming per week, (2) include a substantial amount of particularized local content, and (3) maintain a studio in the station's community.\n\n The bill further provides for the reallocation of a station to a community where there is no VHF or UHF station.", - "company_name": "ANSYS, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS ANSYS, a Delaware corporation formed in 1994, develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services widely used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a broad spectrum of industries and academia, including aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, semiconductors, energy, materials and chemical processing, turbomachinery, consumer products, healthcare, and sports. The Company focuses on the development of open and flexible solutions that enable users to analyze designs directly on the desktop, providing a common platform for fast, efficient and cost-conscious product development, from design concept to final-stage testing and validation. The Company distributes its ANSYS\u00ae suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in strategic, global locations. The Company operates and reports as one segment. ANSYS Workbench\u2122 ANSYS Workbench is the framework upon which the Company's suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The innovative project schematic view ties together the entire simulation process, guiding the user through complex multiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop simplicity. With bi-directional computer-aided design (CAD) connectivity, powerful highly-automated meshing, a project-level update mechanism, pervasive parameter management and integrated optimization tools, the ANSYS Workbench platform enables Pervasive Engineering Simulation\u2122. The Company's Workbench framework allows engineers and designers to incorporate the compounding effects of multiple physics into a virtual prototype of their design and simulate its operation under real-world conditions. As product architectures become smaller, lighter and more complex, companies must be able to accurately predict how products will behave in real-world environments where multiple types of physics interact in a coupled way. ANSYS multiphysics software enables engineers to simulate the interactions between structures, heat transfer, fluids and electronics all within a single, unified engineering simulation environment. ANSYS Workbench enables companies to create a customized simulation environment to deploy specialized simulation best practices and automations unique to their product development process or industry. With ANSYS ACT\u2122, end users or ANSYS partners can modify the user interface, process simulation data or embed third-party applications to create specialized tools based on ANSYS Workbench. The Company's high-performance computing (HPC) product suite enables enhanced insight into product performance and improves the productivity of the design process. The HPC product suite delivers cross-physics parallel processing capabilities for the full spectrum of the Company's simulation software by supporting structures, fluids, thermal and electronics simulations. This product suite decreases turnaround time for individual simulations, allowing users to consider multiple design ideas and make the right design decisions early in the design cycle. The Company's structural analysis product suite offers simulation tools for product design and optimization that increase productivity, minimize physical prototyping and help to deliver better and more innovative products in less time. These tools tackle real-world analysis problems by making product development less costly and more reliable. In addition, these tools have capabilities that cover a broad range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities, all targeted toward understanding and solving complex design problems. The Company also provides comprehensive topology optimization tools that engineers use to design structural components to meet loading requirements with minimal material and component weight. The Company offers a complete simulation workflow for additive manufacturing that allows reliable 3D printing by simulating the laser sintering process and delivering compensated CAD geometries that ensure reliable printed parts. The Company's fluids product suite enables modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design and optimize new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications. The Company's electromagnetics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance of mobile communication and internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment, all prior to building a prototype. ", - "id": "5bead834-fb9b-49e0-ae78-b7085e539943" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Broadband Data Improvement Act of 2019 focuses on improving broadband data collection and mapping, which primarily affects telecommunications and broadband service providers. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. operates in the semiconductor industry, manufacturing microprocessors and GPUs, and does not directly provide broadband services. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill do not impact AMD's business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "446", - "bill_title": "A bill to improve broadband data collection, mapping, and validation to support the effective deployment of broadband services to all areas of the United States, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Broadband Data Improvement Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires (1) broadband service providers to fulfill certain reporting requirements, and (2) the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a challenge process to aid in broadband mapping.\n\nSpecifically, the bill requires each provider to report certain information regarding the geographic availability of broadband service it provides. The FCC must contract with an entity to provide data submission assistance to a provider that is unable to comply with this reporting requirement. Among other responsibilities, such entity shall provide support for the required challenge process and establish an ongoing data validation and verification process.\n\nThe FCC is also required to establish a framework for a process whereby information challenging the accuracy of the National Broadband Map may be submitted. Subject to the challenge process and feedback received therefrom, specified federal agencies shall use the National Broadband Map to determine the extent of broadband availability and the areas of the United States that remain unserved.", - "company_name": "Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.", - "company_description": "any amounts in addition to what has been already accrued by AMD for future remediation costs under clean-up orders will not be material; we expect to file future patent applications in both the United States and abroad on significant inventions, as we deem appropriate; anticipated increase in costs related to enhancing, implementing and monitoring information security controls, remediating any data security breaches and addressing related litigation, mitigating reputational harm and compliance with external regulations related to our IT assets; we expect to receive $448.5 million upon the exercise of a warrant by West Coast Hitech L.P. (WCH) and issue 75 million shares of our common stock to WCH; revenue allocated to remaining performance obligations that are unsatisfied which will be recognized over the next 12 months; and a small number of customers will continue to account for a substantial part of AMD's revenue in the future. Material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: Intel Corporation's dominance of the microprocessor market and its aggressive business practices may limit AMD's ability to compete effectively; AMD has a wafer supply agreement with GF with obligations to purchase all of its microprocessor and APU product requirements, and a certain portion of its GPU product requirements, manufactured at process nodes larger than 7 nanometer (nm) from GF with limited exceptions. is dependent upon its technology being designed into third-party products and the success of those products 1 to operate its business; the markets in which AMD's products are sold are highly competitive; AMD's worldwide operations are subject to political, legal and economic risks and natural disasters, which could have a material adverse effect on it; AMD's issuance to West Coast Hitech L.P. (WCH) of warrants to purchase 75 million shares of its common stock, if and when exercised, will dilute the ownership interests of AMD's existing stockholders, and the conversion of the 2.125% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 (2.125% Notes) may dilute the ownership interest of AMD's existing stockholders, or may otherwise depress the price of its common stock; uncertainties involving the ordering and shipment of AMD's products could materially adversely affect it; the demand for AMD's products depends in part on the market conditions in the industries into which they are sold. We are a global semiconductor company primarily offering: \u2022x86 microprocessors, as standalone devices or as incorporated into an accelerated processing unit (APU), chipsets; discrete and integrated graphics processing units (GPUs), and professional GPUs; and \u2022 server and embedded processors and semi-custom System-on-Chip (SoC) products and technology for game consoles. We are a global semiconductor company. Semiconductors are components used in a variety of electronic products and systems. An integrated circuit (IC) is a semiconductor device that consists of many interconnected transistors on a single chip. Since the invention of the transistor in 1948, improvements in IC process and design technologies have led to the development of smaller, more complex and more reliable ICs at a lower cost-per-function. A microprocessor is an IC that serves as the CPU of a computer. It generally consists of hundreds of millions or billions of transistors that process data in a serial fashion and control other devices in the system, acting as the \"brain\" of the computer. The performance of a microprocessor is a critical factor impacting the performance of computing and entertainment platforms, such as desktop PCs, notebooks and workstations. The principal elements used to measure CPU performance are work-per-cycle (or how many instructions are executed per cycle), clock speed (representing the rate at which a CPU's internal logic operates, measured in units of gigahertz, or billions of cycles per second) and power consumption. Other factors impacting microprocessor performance include the process technology used in its manufacture, the number and type of cores, the ability of the cores to process multi-thread or process multiple 3 instructions simultaneously, the bit size of its instruction set (e.g., 32-bit vs 16-bit), memory size and data access speed. Developments in IC design and manufacturing process technologies have resulted in significant advances in microprocessor performance. Since businesses and consumers require greater performance from their computer systems due to the growth of digital data and increasingly sophisticated software applications, multi-core microprocessors offer enhanced overall system performance and efficiency because computing tasks can be spread across two or more processing cores, each of which can execute a task at full speed. Multi-core microprocessors can simultaneously increase performance of a computer system without greatly increasing the total amount of power consumed and the total amount of heat emitted. Businesses and consumers also require computer systems with improved power management technology, which helps them to reduce the power consumption of their computer systems, enables smaller and more portable form factors, and can lower the total cost of ownership. A GPU is a programmable logic chip that helps render images, animations and video and is increasingly being used to handle general computing tasks. GPUs are located in plug-in cards, as a discrete processor or in a chip on the motherboard, or in the same chip as the CPU as part of an accelerated processing unit (APU) or System-on-Chip (SoC). GPUs on stand-alone cards or discrete GPUs on the motherboard typically access their own memory, while GPUs in the chipset or CPU chip share main memory with the CPU. GPUs perform parallel operations on data to render images for a video display and are essential to presenting computer generated images on that display, decoding and rendering animations and displaying video. The more sophisticated the GPU, the higher the resolution and the faster and smoother moving objects can be displayed on video display or in a virtual environment (virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)). In addition to graphics processing, GPUs are used to perform parallel operations on multiple sets of data and are increasingly used to perform vector processing for non-graphics applications that require repetitive computations such as supercomputing, deep learning, artificial and machine intelligence, blockchain and various other applications (e.g., cryptocurrency mining, autonomous driving). ", - "id": "11538613-b95b-45ab-82bb-713fcda2a786" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on national security, intelligence authorization, and cybersecurity, which do not directly relate to Alkermes Plc's biopharmaceutical activities. Alkermes specializes in drug development and commercialization for CNS disorders, addiction, and related areas, which are not impacted by the provisions of this bill.", - "index": "447", - "bill_title": "A bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System.", - "bill_summary": "Damon Paul Nelson and Matthew Young Pollard Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019\n\nThis bill addresses various intelligence issues, including by reauthorizing intelligence-related activities, establishing certain bodies, and directing the intelligence community to report on topics such as election infrastructure security and Russian interference in the 2016 election.\n\nThe bill reauthorizes through FY2019 various intelligence-related activities in\u00a0specified government bodies, including the Department of Defense, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency. It also reauthorizes for FY2019 the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability Fund. In addition, the bill\u00a0authorizes higher pay scales for positions requiring expertise in areas such as science, technology, and mathematics.\n\nThe Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) shall establish a task force to standardize information sharing between the intelligence and government acquisition communities. The President shall establish an Energy Infrastructure Security Center to analyze and disseminate intelligence related to energy infrastructure.\n\nThe ODNI shall develop a security plan and long-term roadmap for the information technology environment for the intelligence community.\n\nThe Department of Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis shall report to Congress about cyberattacks on U.S. election infrastructure during the 2016 presidential election. The ODNI shall report on the intelligence community's efforts to analyze Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election. The ODNI shall also develop a whole-of-government strategy to counter the threat of Russian cyberattacks on election infrastructure, including voter registration databases and voting equipment.", - "company_name": "Alkermes Plc", - "company_description": "Alkermes plc is a fully integrated, global biopharmaceutical company that applies its scientific expertise and proprietary technologies to research, develop and commercialize, both with partners and on its own, pharmaceutical products that are designed to address unmet medical needs of patients in major therapeutic areas. Alkermes has a diversified portfolio of marketed drug products and a clinical pipeline of products that address central nervous system (\"CNS\") disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, addiction and multiple sclerosis (\"MS\"). Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Alkermes has a research and development (\"R & D\") center in Waltham, Massachusetts; an R & D and manufacturing facility in Athlone, Ireland; and a manufacturing facility in Wilmington, Ohio. The key marketed products discussed below are expected to generate significant revenues for us. None Commercialized by Alkermes in the U.S. Alcohol dependence and Opioid dependence Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (\"CIS\") 5 Summary information regarding products that use our proprietary technologies: Product Indication(s) Treatment to improve walking in patients with MS, as demonstrated by an increase in walking speed We develop and commercialize products designed to address the unmet needs of patients suffering from addiction and schizophrenia. ARISTADA ARISTADA (aripiprazole lauroxil) is an extended-release intramuscular injectable suspension approved in the U.S. for the treatment of schizophrenia. ARISTADA is the first of our products to utilize our proprietary LinkeRx technology. ARISTADA is a prodrug; once in the body, ARISTADA is likely converted by enzyme-mediated hydrolysis to N-hydroxymethyl aripiprazole, which is then hydrolyzed to aripiprazole. ARISTADA is the first atypical antipsychotic with once-monthly, once-every-six-weeks and once-every-two-months dosing options to deliver and maintain therapeutic levels of medication in the body. ARISTADA has four dosing options (441 mg, 662 mg, 882 mg and 1064 mg) and is packaged in a ready-to-use, pre-filled product format. ARISTADA 1064 mg, our two-month dosing option, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the \"FDA\") in June 2017. We developed ARISTADA and manufacture and commercialize it in the U.S. Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder. The disease is marked by positive symptoms (hallucinations and delusions) and negative symptoms (depression, blunted emotions and social withdrawal), as well as by disorganized thinking. An estimated 2.4 million Americans over the age of 18 have schizophrenia in a given year, with men and women affected equally. Worldwide, it is estimated that one person in every 100 develops schizophrenia. Studies have demonstrated that as many as 75% of patients with schizophrenia have difficulty taking their oral medication on a regular basis, which can lead to worsening of symptoms. VIVITROL VIVITROL (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) is a once-monthly, non-narcotic, injectable medication approved in the U.S., Russia and certain countries of the CIS for the treatment of alcohol dependence and for the prevention of relapse to opioid dependence, following opioid detoxification. VIVITROL uses our polymer-based microsphere injectable extended-release technology to deliver and maintain therapeutic medication levels in the body through one intramuscular injection every four weeks. We developed and exclusively manufacture VIVITROL. What are opioid dependence and alcohol dependence? Opioid dependence is a serious and chronic brain disease characterized by compulsive, prolonged self-administration of opioid substances that are not used for a medical purpose.", - "id": "d4ff7fca-68e6-4efb-918e-fa9256fca69f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on addressing the impact of climate change specifically on women and establishing an interagency group to strategize government responses. While climate change is relevant to the utility sector, the specific legal consequences and requirements of this bill do not directly affect IDACORP's operations or business model. IDACORP's focus is on generating and supplying electric energy and capacity, which may face general regulations but not specifically those outlined in the bill concerning women's issues.", - "index": "448", - "bill_title": "A bill to address the disparate impact of climate change on women and support the efforts of women globally to address climate change, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Women and Climate Change Act of 2019\n\nThis bill addresses climate change and its effects on women and girls.\n\nSpecifically, the bill establishes the Federal Interagency Working Group on Women and Climate Change within the Department of State. The bill outlines the functions of the working group, including the coordination of agencies' policies and activities relating to (1) combating the effects of climate change on women, and (2) improving the government's response to and strategy for climate change.\n\nIn addition, the Office of Global Women's Issues of the State Department must submit a strategy to prevent and respond to the effects of climate change on women.", - "company_name": "IDACORP, Inc.", - "company_description": "IDACORP is subject to the provisions of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, which provides the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and state utility regulatory commissions with access to books and records and imposes record retention and reporting requirements on IDACORP. Idaho Power is an electric utility engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution, sale, and purchase of electric energy and capacity and is regulated by the state regulatory commissions of Idaho and Oregon and by the FERC. Idaho Energy Resources Co. (IERCo), a joint venturer in Bridger Coal Company (BCC), which mines and supplies coal to the Jim Bridger generating plant owned in part by Idaho Power. IDACORP's other notable subsidiaries include IDACORP Financial Services, Inc. (IFS), an investor in affordable housing and other real estate investments, and Ida-West Energy Company (Ida-West), an operator of small hydroelectric generation projects that satisfy the requirements of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). ", - "id": "5a3a7a93-a09b-48b7-bad7-286dec808578" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill mandates negotiations on drug prices for Medicare, which may impact Aimmune Therapeutics, Inc.'s ability to set prices for its investigational therapies like AR101. If the company aims to sell its products to Medicare beneficiaries and is affected by drug pricing regulations, the bill's consequences are directly relevant to their business model and operations.", - "index": "449", - "bill_title": "To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices of prescription drugs furnished under part D of the Medicare program.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies regarding prices for drugs covered under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Current law prohibits the CMS from doing so.)\n\nThe CMS must take certain factors into account during negotiations, including the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the drug, the financial burden on patients, and unmet patient needs. If the CMS is unable to negotiate the price of a drug, such drug is subject to competitive licensing in order to further its sale under Medicare, notwithstanding existing government-granted exclusivities.\n\nAdditionally, for one year after a drug is provided under a competitive license, such drug is also subject to specified price limitations; if the drug is not offered at such prices, the drug is\u00a0subject to additional licensing that furthers its sale under any federal program (e.g., Medicaid).", - "company_name": "Aimmune Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing a new therapeutic approach, including the development of proprietary product candidates, for the treatment of peanut and other food allergies. It is estimated that over 30 million people in the United States and Europe have a food allergy, with peanut allergy being the most prevalent and most commonly associated with severe outcomes and life-threatening events. There are currently no approved medical therapies to cure food allergies or prevent their symptoms. Patients with food allergies are typically counseled to practice strict dietary avoidance. When accidental exposure to food allergens invokes a serious allergic reaction, rescue therapies, such as antihistamines or injectable epinephrine, are the only recourse available. Our therapeutic approach, which we refer to as Characterized Oral Desensitization ImmunoTherapy, or CODIT TM , is designed to desensitize patients to food allergens and thereby reduce the risk of having an allergic reaction upon accidental exposure, or reduce symptom severity should an allergic reaction occur. CODIT is intended to reduce meaningfully the burden and anxiety experienced by food-allergic patients and their families. Our lead CODIT product candidate, AR101, is an investigational biologic for the treatment of patients with peanut allergy, which affects approximately three million patients in the United States and three million patients in Europe. AR101 has received Fast Track and Breakthrough Therapy Designations for the treatment of patients 4-17 years of age from the United States Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. Our initial target patient population is children and adolescents in the 4-17 age group, which we estimate will reach approximately 1.6 million patients in the United States alone during 2018. In late 2015, we initiated a Phase 3 efficacy trial of AR101 in the United States, Canada and Europe, which we refer to as the PALISADE (Peanut Allergy Oral Immunotherapy Study of AR101 for Desensitization in Children and Adults) trial. We completed global enrollment of 554 patients between the ages of 4 and 49 in November 2016 and completed the final study for the PALISADE trial in December 2017. Patient demographics were generally balanced among patients ages 4-17 enrolled in the AR101 treatment arm as compared to those from the same age group enrolled in the placebo treatment arm. After approximately one year of treatment, patients completed an exit double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC). Efficacy results for Intent-to-Treat, or ITT, group and for patients ages 4-17 who completed the AR101 treatment arm of the study, or Completers, are summarized in the charts below. A total of 496 patients ages 4\u201317, from both arms (372 AR101 and 124 placebo), were evaluable for safety. An SAE is an adverse event that results in significant medical consequences, such as hospitalization, disability or death, and must be reported to the FDA. A total of 10 patients ages 4-17 experienced SAEs, none of which were considered life-threatening: nine of these patients were in the AR101 arm (2.4%) and one was in the placebo arm (0.8%). Of the nine AR101-treated patients ages 4-17 that experienced an SAE, five patients experienced mild or moderate SAEs. The other four AR101-treated patients experienced severe SAEs, which, for two of these patients, were not related to treatment (a concussion and a viral asthmatic exacerbation). Of the two AR101-treated patients ages 4-17 who experienced severe SAEs related to treatment, both of whom had elevated baseline peanut-specific IgE levels greater than 100 kU/L, one experienced anaphylaxis and the other experienced wheezing on the first day of treatment. Of patients ages 4-17, 12.4% of patients from the AR101 treatment arm and 2.4% of patients from the placebo-treatment arm discontinued due to investigator-reported adverse events. In January 2018, we completed enrollment of 506 patients in our real-world experience safety trial of AR101 in the United States and Canada in patients ages 4-17, which we refer to as the RAMSES (Real-World AR101 Market-Supporting Experience Study in Peanut Allergic Children Ages 4-17 Years) trial. In addition, in July 2017, we began enrollment of our European Phase 3 efficacy trial designed with a higher efficacy bar of tolerating 1,000 mg of peanut protein in an exit food-challenge without anything more than mild, transient symptoms, which we refer to as the ARTEMIS", - "id": "6a95c243-7c6b-4533-a416-16c0104b86f3" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is highly relevant to Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. as it mandates the negotiation of prescription drug prices under Medicare, which directly impacts their pricing and sales strategy for their rare disease therapies. This change could affect their revenue, market access, and competitive positioning, especially given their focus on products that cater to high-cost, niche markets like paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and other rare diseases.", - "index": "450", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices of prescription drugs furnished under part D of the Medicare program.", - "bill_summary": "Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act of 2019\n\nThis bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies regarding prices for drugs covered under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Current law prohibits the CMS from doing so.)\n\nThe CMS must take certain factors into account during negotiations, including the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the drug, the financial burden on patients, and unmet patient needs. If the CMS is unable to negotiate the price of a drug, such drug is subject to competitive licensing in order to further its sale under Medicare, notwithstanding existing government-granted exclusivities.\n\nAdditionally, for one year after a drug is provided under a competitive license, such drug is also subject to specified price limitations; if the drug is not offered at such prices, the drug is\u00a0subject to additional licensing that furthers its sale under any federal program (e.g., Medicaid).", - "company_name": "Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by our management, and may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the potential benefits and commercial potential of UTLOMIRIS\u2122, SOLIRIS\u00ae, STRENSIQ\u00ae and KANUMA\u00ae for approved indications and any expanded uses, sales of our products in various markets worldwide, pricing for our products, level of insurance coverage and reimbursement for our products, timing regarding development and regulatory approvals for additional indications or in additional territories; plans for clinical trials (and proof of concept trials), status of our ongoing clinical trials for our product candidates, commencement dates for new clinical trials, clinical trial results and evaluation of our clinical trial results by regulatory agencies; potential benefits offered by product candidates, including improved dosing intervals; the medical and commercial potential of additional indications for our products; the expected timing for the completion and/or regulatory approval of our facilities and facilities of our third-party manufacturers; future expansion of our commercial organization; future governmental and regulatory decisions regarding pricing (and discounts) and the adoption, implementation and interpretation of healthcare laws and regulations (and the impact on our business); plans and prospects for future regulatory approval of products and product candidates; competitors, potential competitors and future competitive products (including biosimilars); plans to grow our product pipeline (and diversify our business, including through acquisitions) and anticipated benefits to the Company; future objective to expand business and sales; anticipated future milestone, contingent and royalty payments (and expected impact on liquidity); timing and anticipated amounts of future tax payments and benefits, as well as timing of conclusion of tax audits; the adequacy of our pharmacovigilance and drug safety reporting processes; the uncertainties involved in the drug development process and manufacturing; \u2022 performance and reliance on third party service providers; 3 \u2022 our future research and development activities, plans for acquired programs, our ability to develop and commercialize products with our collaborators; \u2022 periods of patent, regulatory and market exclusivity for our products; \u2022 Overview Alexion is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on serving patients and families affected by rare diseases through the innovation, development and commercialization of life-changing therapies. We are the global leader in complement inhibition and have developed and commercialize t he only two approved complement inhibitors to treat patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), as well as the first and only approved complement inhibitor to treat atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) and anti-acetylcholine receptor (AchR) antibody-positive generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG). In addition, Alexion has two highly innovative enzyme replacement therapies for patients with life-threatening and ultra-rare metabolic disorders, hypophosphatasia (HPP) and lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (LAL-D). As the leader in complement biology for over 20 years, Alexion focuses its research efforts on novel molecules and targets in the complement cascade, and its development efforts on the core therapeutic areas of hematology, nephrology, neurology, and metabolic disorders. We focus our products and development programs on life-transforming therapeutics for rare diseases for which we believe the current treatments are either non-existent or inadequate. We have developed or are developing innovative products for the following indications: Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) ", - "id": "7c69b69a-9d4d-4f90-9fe7-c82ef4ae38fc" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses public health issues related to neglected tropical diseases and coordinating international efforts. TriNet's business model focuses on providing HR solutions for small to midsize businesses. There are no direct legal consequences or implications related to HR services, compliance, or employee benefits that would affect TriNet's operations arising from this bill.", - "index": "451", - "bill_title": "To facilitate effective research on and treatment of neglected tropical diseases, including Ebola, through coordinated domestic and international efforts.", - "bill_summary": "End Neglected Tropical Diseases Act\n\nThis bill expands programs to address neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which are infections caused by pathogens, including viruses, microbes, and helminths (parasitic worms), that disproportionately impact individuals living in extreme poverty, especially in developing countries. Examples include dengue, leprosy, and rabies.\n\nThe bill sets forth certain priorities for the NTDs Program of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), including the coordination of program activities with other USAID development sectors regarding (1) education; (2) food security; and (3) water, sanitation, and hygiene.\n\nThe bill also directs the Department of State and the President to encourage foreign governments and international entities (e.g., the World Bank Institute) to address NTDs.\n\nAdditionally, the Department of Health and Human Services must take a series of actions relating to NTDs, including promoting initiatives in international forums and establishing a panel to address worm infections.\n\nThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may award grants to support centers of excellence for research, training, and treatment regarding NTDs, including Ebola.", - "company_name": "TriNet Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business General TriNet is a leading provider of human resources (HR) solutions for small to midsize businesses (SMBs). Under our co-employment model, we assume certain of the responsibilities of being an employer and help our clients mitigate certain employer-related risks and manage many of the complex and burdensome administrative and compliance responsibilities associated with employment. Our solutions include payroll processing, tax administration, employee benefits and an HR technology platform with online and mobile tools that allow our clients and worksite employees (WSEs) to store, view and manage their core HR-related information and efficiently conduct a variety of HR-related transactions anytime and anywhere. Leveraging our scale for the benefit of our clients is a key component of our business model. For example, we utilize our size and scale to provide our clients and WSEs access to a broad range of cost-effective employee benefit and insurance programs generally not available to individual SMBs. In addition, our service teams help with talent management, recruiting and training, performance management, employee onboarding and terminations, benefits enrollment and support, claims administration and employment practices risk management. We also monitor employer-related developments and assist clients in complying with applicable local, state and federal regulations. Our strategy is to provide industry-specific products and services to help clients address their HR needs and allow them to focus on operating and growing their businesses. This allows our sales force, product development and service teams to tailor product and service offerings to the specific industry needs of our clients. For the year ended December 31, 2017 , we processed $37.1 billion in payroll payments for approximately 14,800 clients with about 325,000 WSEs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Products and Services We deliver a comprehensive suite of products and services, which allows our clients to administer and manage various HR-related functions, including compensation and benefits, payroll processing, employee data, health insurance and workers' compensation programs, and other transactional HR needs using our technology platform and HR, benefits and compliance expertise. Our technology platform includes online and mobile tools that allow our clients and WSEs to store, view, and manage core HR information and administer a variety of HR transactions, such as payroll processing, tax administration, employee onboarding and termination, compensation reporting, expense management, and benefits enrollment and administration. In 2017, we made significant investments in our technology platform to provide our users with improved functionality, including online and mobile productivity tools, and to allow our platform to integrate more effectively with third-party software applications. Our strategy is to continue to invest in product development and improve the functionality, experience and ease of use of our products and services for our clients and WSEs. We believe the continued improvement of our technology platform and the consolidation of legacy systems allows us to drive operating efficiencies and improve client user experience by providing a single, streamlined experience for accessing HR information and conducting HR transactions. We use the collective insights and experience of our teams of HR, benefits, risk management and compliance professionals to help clients mitigate many of the administrative, regulatory and practical risks associated with their responsibilities as employers. We assist our clients in running their business by providing a variety of HR services, from widely used services like employee onboarding and terminations, benefits enrollment and support, employment practices risk management and administration, talent management, recruiting and training, and performance management to more specialized services like immigration services. Each of our clients and WSEs have access to varying levels of service and support from our HR experts ranging from call center support for basic questions to pooled specialized resources and to onsite consulting and services, depending on the needs of the client and WSEs. In addition, our teams of in-house HR professionals can also provide additional, incremental consulting and other services upon request. Under our vertical strategy, we seek to design our product and service offerings for specific industries by identifying common needs and leveraging scale and shared experience to provide more efficient and relevant offerings. For example, our fifth vertical product, TriNet Main Street, supports hospitality, retail, property management, and other similar industries. These industries are labor intensive and often operate from many disparate taxing and geographic locations. Based on the common needs of these industries, we have created time and attendance expertise, hiring and termination expertise, workers' compensation safety consultants, and a compelling suite of benefit plans that are attractive to both our clients' executives and hourly workers. We offer our WSEs access to a broad range of TriNet-sponsored benefit and insurance programs at a value that we believe most of our clients would be unable to obtain on their own. Our benefit and insurance programs are compliant with state, local, and federal regulations, and our benefit and insurance service offerings include plan design and administration, enrollment management, and WSE and client communications. ", - "id": "2c44b716-44f5-4f1e-8a4c-f7ef6bec5ee0" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace, regulate employment practices, and ensure rights for employees regarding tips, all of which are directly relevant to Amazon's large workforce and operations in retail and technology sectors. The bill's requirements for nondiscrimination policies and addressing workplace harassment are crucial for maintaining a compliant and healthy work environment in a competitive industry.", - "index": "452", - "bill_title": "A bill to prevent discrimination and harassment in employment.", - "bill_summary": "Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination in the Workplace Act or the BE HEARD in the Workplace Act\n\nThis bill sets forth provisions to prevent discrimination and harassment in the workplace and raises the minimum wage for tipped employees.\n\nSpecifically, the bill (1) makes it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate against an individual in the workplace based on sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, and a sex stereotype; (2) prohibits employers from entering into contracts or agreements with workers that contain certain nondisparagement or nondisclosure clauses; (3) prohibits predispute arbitration agreements and postdispute agreements with certain exceptions, and (4) establishes grant programs to prevent and respond to workplace discrimination and harassment, provide legal assistance for low-income workers related to employment discrimination, and establish a system of legal advocacy in states to protect the rights of workers.\n\nAdditionally, the bill, among other things\n\n requires employers who have 15 or more employees to adopt a comprehensive nondiscrimination policy; requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to provide specified training and resource materials, establish and convene a harassment prevention task force, and establish an Office of Education and Outreach with regard to prohibited discrimination and harassment in employment; requires specified studies, reports, and research on prohibited harassment in employment; and grants employees the right to retain their tips.", - "company_name": "Amazon.com, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. In each of our segments, we serve our primary customer sets, consisting of consumers, sellers, developers, enterprises, and content creators. In addition, we provide services, such as advertising. We serve consumers through our online and physical stores and focus on selection, price, and convenience. We design our stores to enable hundreds of millions of unique products to be sold by us and by third parties across dozens of product categories. Customers access our offerings through our websites, mobile apps, Alexa, and physically visiting our stores. We also manufacture and sell electronic devices, including Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, Fire TVs, and Echo devices, and we develop and produce media content. In addition, we offer Amazon Prime, a membership program that includes unlimited free shipping on over 100 million items, access to unlimited streaming of thousands of movies and TV episodes, and other benefits. We fulfill customer orders in a number of ways, including through: North America and International fulfillment and delivery networks that we operate; co-sourced and outsourced arrangements in certain countries; digital delivery; and through our physical stores. We offer programs that enable sellers to grow their businesses, sell their products in our stores, and fulfill orders through us. We earn fixed fees, a percentage of sales, per-unit activity fees, interest, or some combination thereof, for our seller programs. We serve developers and enterprises of all sizes, including start-ups, government agencies, and academic institutions, through our AWS segment, which offers a broad set of global compute, storage, database, and other service offerings. We serve authors and independent publishers with Kindle Direct Publishing, an online service that lets independent authors and publishers choose a royalty option and make their books available in the Kindle Store, along with Amazon's own publishing arm, Amazon Publishing. We also offer programs that allow authors, musicians, filmmakers, skill and app developers, and others to publish and sell content. Our businesses encompass a large variety of product types, service offerings, and delivery channels. The worldwide marketplace in which we compete is evolving rapidly and intensely competitive, and we face a broad array of competitors from many different industry sectors around the world. We believe that the principal competitive factors in our retail businesses include selection, price, and convenience, including fast and reliable fulfillment. Additional competitive factors for our seller and enterprise services include the quality, speed, and reliability of our services and tools, as well as customers' ability and willingness to change business practices. They may secure better terms from suppliers, adopt more aggressive pricing, pursue restrictive distribution agreements that restrict our access to supply, direct consumers to their own offerings instead of ours, lock-in potential customers with restrictive terms, and devote more resources to technology, infrastructure, fulfillment, and marketing. Fourth quarter 2017 results include revenue attributable to Whole Foods Market, which we acquired on August 28, 2017. Competition for qualified personnel in our industry has historically been intense, particularly for software engineers, computer scientists, and other technical staff. ", - "id": "ff196a4f-f091-458b-bfab-e9f8b248658d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to the taxation and regulation of marijuana products, which does not intersect with Verso Corp.'s business in paper production and related activities. Verso is focused on the coated paper industry and is unaffected by legislation concerning marijuana.", - "index": "453", - "bill_title": "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the taxation and regulation of marijuana products, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Marijuana Revenue and Regulation Act \n\nThis bill removes marijuana from the list of controlled substances and establishes requirements for the taxation and regulation of marijuana products.\n\nThe bill imposes (1) an excise tax on marijuana products produced in or imported into the United States, and (2) an occupational tax on marijuana production facilities and export warehouses.\n\nThe term \"marijuana product\" does not include (1) any article containing marijuana that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for sale for therapeutic purposes and is marketed and sold solely for such purpose, or (2) industrial hemp.\n\nThe excise tax includes exemptions for (1) products used for research or by government entities for nonconsumption purposes; and (2) the transfer of products between production, import, and export facilities.\n\nThe Department of Justice must remove marijuana from all schedules of controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act. The bill prohibits marijuana from being shipped or transported into any state or jurisdiction where it is illegal.\n\n Producers, importers, and exporters of marijuana products must (1) obtain a permit from the Department of the Treasury, and (2) comply with certain requirements regarding recordkeeping, packaging, labeling, and advertising.\n\nThe bill also\n\n establishes penalties for violations of marijuana laws; prohibits the sale of more than one ounce of marijuana in any single retail transaction; and provides specified authorities to the FDA and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with respect to marijuana.", - "company_name": "Verso Corp.", - "company_description": "After the Internal Reorganization, Verso is the sole member of Verso Holding LLC, which is the sole member of Verso Paper Holding LLC. As used in this report, the term \"Verso Holding\" refers to Verso Holding LLC, and the term \"Verso Paper\" refers to Verso Paper Holding LLC. Prior to the Internal Reorganization, Verso was the sole member of Verso Paper Finance Holdings One LLC, which was the sole member of Verso Paper Finance Holdings LLC, which was the sole member of Verso Paper Holdings LLC. As used in this report, the term \"Verso Finance\" refers to Verso Paper Finance Holdings LLC; and the term \"VPH\" refers to Verso Paper Holdings LLC. The term \"NewPage\" refers to NewPage Holdings Inc., which was an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Verso prior to the Internal Reorganization; the term \"NewPage Corp\" refers to NewPage Corporation, which was an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of NewPage prior to the Internal Reorganization. Each of Verso Finance, VPH, NewPage and NewPage Corp were either merged into other subsidiaries of Verso, converted into limited liability corporations, and/or renamed in the Internal Reorganization and do not exist on and after the Internal Reorganization. We are the leading North American producer of coated papers, which are used primarily in commercial print, magazines, catalogs, high-end advertising brochures and annual reports, among other media and marketing publications. We produce a wide range of products, ranging from coated freesheet and coated groundwood, to specialty papers, to inkjet and digital paper, supercalendered papers and uncoated freesheet. We also produce and sell market kraft pulp, which is used to manufacture printing and writing paper grades and tissue products. The mills have an aggregate annual production capacity of approximately 2,870,000 tons of paper, including coated papers and specialty papers which excludes pulp. In February 2018, we announced plans to upgrade the shuttered No. 3 paper machine at our Androscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine, enabling this equipment to restart for the manufacture of packaging products. This paper machine was previously idled beginning in January 2017 and shut down in July 2017. We anticipate completion of this upgrade in the third quarter of 2018 and expect the No. 3 paper machine to increase annual paper production capacity by approximately 200,000 tons. We sell and market our products to approximately 300 customers which comprise approximately 1,700 end-user accounts. We have long-standing relationships with many leading magazine and catalog publishers, commercial printers, specialty retail merchandisers and paper merchants. We reach our end-users through several distribution channels, including direct sales, commercial printers, paper merchants and brokers. \" Verso and substantially all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries, or the \"Debtors,\" filed voluntary petitions for relief, or the \"Chapter 11 Filings,\" under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, or the \"Bankruptcy Code,\" in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, or the \"Bankruptcy Court. ,\" were consolidated for procedural purposes only and administered jointly under the caption In accordance with the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board, or \"FASB,\" Accounting Standards Codification, or \"ASC\" 852, Reorganizations, the Debtors adopted fresh-start accounting upon emergence from the Chapter 11 Cases and became a new entity for financial reporting purposes as of July 15, 2016. The Internal Reorganization involved several separate, but related, actions consisting of mergers between subsidiaries to reduce their numbers, the conversion of corporate subsidiaries to limited liability companies, the re-domestication of subsidiaries under Delaware law to provide for a uniform and enlightened regulatory framework, the formation of new holding companies to create separate \"branches\" for Verso's paper-making and energy operations, and name changes of subsidiaries to more appropriately reflect the nature of their assets and operations. In September 2017, we announced the formation of a Strategic Alternatives Committee, comprised solely of independent directors. Based on 2017 sales, the size of the global coated paper industry is estimated to be approximately $32 billion, or 38 million tons of coated paper shipments, including approximately $5 billion, or 6 million tons of coated paper shipments, in North America. Coated paper is used primarily in media and marketing applications, including catalogs, magazines and commercial printing applications, which include high-end advertising brochures, annual reports and direct mail advertising. Demand is generally driven by North American advertising and print media trends, which in turn have historically been correlated with growth in Gross Domestic Product, or \"GDP.", - "id": "1ad3958a-626e-4f84-a68b-bda1144583ef" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on establishing federal grants for deploying next generation 9-1-1 systems, which primarily affects government and emergency service sectors. ANSYS, Inc., on the other hand, develops engineering simulation software across various industries like aerospace, automotive, and healthcare, but does not directly engage with emergency management systems or telecommunications services related to 9-1-1. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill are not relevant to ANSYS's business model, structure, or activities.", - "index": "454", - "bill_title": "A bill to further development of Next Generation 9-1-1 to enhance and upgrade the 9-1-1 systems of the United States, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Next Generation 9\u20131\u20131 Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a federal grant program to help state and local governments deploy next generation (interoperable, secure, Internet Protocol-based) 9\u20131\u20131 systems across the United States, enabling emergency call centers to receive, process, and analyze all types of 9\u20131\u20131 requests for emergency aid.", - "company_name": "ANSYS, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS ANSYS, a Delaware corporation formed in 1994, develops and globally markets engineering simulation software and services widely used by engineers, designers, researchers and students across a broad spectrum of industries and academia, including aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, semiconductors, energy, materials and chemical processing, turbomachinery, consumer products, healthcare, and sports. The Company focuses on the development of open and flexible solutions that enable users to analyze designs directly on the desktop, providing a common platform for fast, efficient and cost-conscious product development, from design concept to final-stage testing and validation. The Company distributes its ANSYS\u00ae suite of simulation technologies through a global network of independent resellers and distributors (collectively, channel partners) and direct sales offices in strategic, global locations. The Company operates and reports as one segment. ANSYS Workbench\u2122 ANSYS Workbench is the framework upon which the Company's suite of advanced engineering simulation technologies is built. The innovative project schematic view ties together the entire simulation process, guiding the user through complex multiphysics analyses with drag-and-drop simplicity. With bi-directional computer-aided design (CAD) connectivity, powerful highly-automated meshing, a project-level update mechanism, pervasive parameter management and integrated optimization tools, the ANSYS Workbench platform enables Pervasive Engineering Simulation\u2122. The Company's Workbench framework allows engineers and designers to incorporate the compounding effects of multiple physics into a virtual prototype of their design and simulate its operation under real-world conditions. As product architectures become smaller, lighter and more complex, companies must be able to accurately predict how products will behave in real-world environments where multiple types of physics interact in a coupled way. ANSYS multiphysics software enables engineers to simulate the interactions between structures, heat transfer, fluids and electronics all within a single, unified engineering simulation environment. ANSYS Workbench enables companies to create a customized simulation environment to deploy specialized simulation best practices and automations unique to their product development process or industry. With ANSYS ACT\u2122, end users or ANSYS partners can modify the user interface, process simulation data or embed third-party applications to create specialized tools based on ANSYS Workbench. The Company's high-performance computing (HPC) product suite enables enhanced insight into product performance and improves the productivity of the design process. The HPC product suite delivers cross-physics parallel processing capabilities for the full spectrum of the Company's simulation software by supporting structures, fluids, thermal and electronics simulations. This product suite decreases turnaround time for individual simulations, allowing users to consider multiple design ideas and make the right design decisions early in the design cycle. The Company's structural analysis product suite offers simulation tools for product design and optimization that increase productivity, minimize physical prototyping and help to deliver better and more innovative products in less time. These tools tackle real-world analysis problems by making product development less costly and more reliable. In addition, these tools have capabilities that cover a broad range of analysis types, elements, contacts, materials, equation solvers and coupled physics capabilities, all targeted toward understanding and solving complex design problems. The Company also provides comprehensive topology optimization tools that engineers use to design structural components to meet loading requirements with minimal material and component weight. The Company offers a complete simulation workflow for additive manufacturing that allows reliable 3D printing by simulating the laser sintering process and delivering compensated CAD geometries that ensure reliable printed parts. The Company's fluids product suite enables modeling of fluid flow and other related physical phenomena. Fluid flow analysis capabilities provide all the tools needed to design and optimize new fluids equipment and to troubleshoot already existing installations. The suite contains general-purpose computational fluid dynamics software and specialized products to address specific industry applications. The Company's electromagnetics product suite provides field simulation software for designing high-performance electronic and electromechanical products. The software streamlines the design process and predicts performance of mobile communication and internet-access devices, broadband networking components and systems, integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as electromechanical systems such as automotive components and power electronics equipment, all prior to building a prototype. ", - "id": "b1fcc8fe-e800-412f-b62a-f9b1b563d031" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill directly regulates the manufacturing, sale, and possession of semiautomatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices, which impacts Sturm, Ruger & Company as a firearm manufacturer. The legal consequences involve stricter controls on the types of firearms that can be produced and sold, affecting the company's product offerings and possibly its revenue.", - "index": "455", - "bill_title": "To regulate assault weapons, to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is not unlimited, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Assault Weapons Ban of 2019\n\nThis bill makes it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD).\n\nThe prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; or (4) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model.\n\nThe bill also exempts from the prohibition the following, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD:\n\n importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties.\n\nThe bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD.\n\nNewly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture.\n\nThe bill requires law enforcement agencies to be notified when a prohibited person attempts to purchase a grandfathered SAW.\n\nIt also allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.", - "company_name": "Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.", - "company_description": "Overview Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. and Subsidiary (the \"Company\") is principally engaged in the design, manufacture, and sale of firearms to domestic customers. The Company's design and manufacturing operations are located in the United States and almost all product content is domestic. The Company primarily offers products in three industry product categories \u2013 rifles, pistols, and revolvers. The Company's firearms are sold through independent wholesale distributors, principally to the commercial sporting market. The Company manufactures and sells investment castings made from steel alloys and metal injection molding (\"MIM\") parts for internal use in the firearms segment and has minimal sales to outside customers. The Company presently manufactures firearm products, under the \"Ruger\" name and trademark, in the following industry categories: Rifles Most firearms are available in several models based upon caliber, finish, barrel length, and other features. A rifle is a long gun with spiral grooves cut into the interior of the barrel to give the bullet a stabilizing spin after it leaves the barrel. Net sales of rifles by the Company accounted for $243.0 million, $264.9 million, and $208.5 million of total net sales for the years 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. A pistol is a handgun in which the ammunition chamber is an integral part of the barrel and which typically is fed ammunition from a magazine contained in the grip. Net sales of pistols by the Company accounted for $176.2 million, $250.0 million, and $192.2 million of revenues for the years 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. A revolver is a handgun that has a cylinder that holds the ammunition in a series of chambers which are successively aligned with the barrel of the gun during each firing cycle. To fire a single-action revolver, the hammer is pulled back to cock the gun and align the cylinder before the trigger is pulled. To fire a double-action revolver, a single trigger pull advances the cylinder and cocks and releases the hammer. Net sales of revolvers by the Company accounted for $74.6 million, $104.9 million, and $113.3 million of revenues for the years 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. The Company also manufactures and sells accessories and replacement parts for its firearms. Net sales attributable to the Company's casting operations (excluding intercompany transactions) accounted for $4.6 million, $5.9 million, and $6.2 million, for 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. The Company produces one model of pistol, all of its revolvers and most of its rifles at the Newport, New Hampshire facility. Some rifle models and two pistol models are produced at the Mayodan, North Carolina facility. Many of the basic metal component parts of the firearms manufactured by the Company are produced by the Company's castings segment through processes known as precision investment casting. The Company believes that investment castings and MIM parts provide greater design flexibility and result in component parts which are generally close to their ultimate shape and, therefore, require less machining than processes requiring machining a solid billet of metal to obtain a part. Through the use of investment castings and MIM parts, the Company endeavors to produce durable and less costly component parts for its firearms. All assembly, inspection, and testing of firearms manufactured by the Company are performed at the Company's manufacturing facilities. Every firearm, including every chamber of every revolver manufactured by the Company, is test-fired prior to shipment. ", - "id": "2fd3173e-515e-451f-872d-f883f267b472" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on conservation and wilderness designation in Colorado, specifically addressing public land management, wildlife conservation, and oil and gas lease cancellations. KapStone Paper and Packaging Corp. operates within the paper, packaging, and forest products industries and does not appear to have direct business activities related to land management, conservation areas, or the specific legal provisions outlined in the bill, including methane leasing and water diversion. As such, the bill's provisions are not relevant to KapStone's business model or activities.", - "index": "456", - "bill_title": "A bill to provide for the designation of certain wilderness areas, recreation management areas, and conservation areas in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act\n\nThis bill provides for the conservation of specified lands in Colorado.\n\nSpecifically, the bill designates\n\n specified federal lands within the White River National Forest as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, the proposed Williams Fork Wilderness as a potential wilderness area, the Tenmile Recreation Management Area, the Porcupine Gulch Wildlife Conservation Area, the Williams Fork Wildlife Conservation Area, the Camp Hale National Historic Landscape, the Sheep Mountain and Liberty Bell East Special Management Areas, and the Curecanti National Recreation Area. The bill adjusts the boundary of the White River National Forest, the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness, and the Arapaho National Forest.\n\n The bill directs the Department of Agriculture to permit by special use authorization nonmotorized access and use of the Bolts Ditch headgate and the Bolts Ditch within the Holy Cross Wilderness for the diversion of water and use, maintenance, and repair of the ditch and headgate by the town of Minturn.\n\nThe bill provides for the inclusion of additional federal lands in the National Wilderness Preservation System.\n\nThe bill provides for the cancellation of all Thompson Divide oil or gas leases.\n\nThe Department of the Interior shall carry out a program to lease federal methane from coal mines leaking methane in the North Fork Valley.", - "company_name": "KapStone Paper & Packaging Corp.", - "company_description": "KapStone Paper and Packaging Corporation was formed in Delaware as a special purpose acquisition corporation on April 15, 2005 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition or other similar business combination with an unidentified operating business in the paper, packaging, forest products, and related industries. (the \"Effective Time\"), change its name to \"WestRock Company,\" and (ii) KapStone will merge with and into Company Merger Sub, with KapStone surviving such merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Holdco (the \"Merger\"). The KPB assets consisted of an unbleached kraft paper manufacturing facility in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, Ride Rite\u00ae Converting, an inflatable dunnage bag manufacturer located in Fordyce, Arkansas, trade accounts receivable and inventories. We subsequently paid an aggregate of $53.7 million additional purchase price pursuant to contingent earn-out payments based upon achieving certain EBITDA targets. The CKD assets consisted of an unbleached kraft paper manufacturing facility in North Charleston, South Carolina (including a cogeneration facility), chip mills located in Elgin, Hampton, Andrews and Kinards, South Carolina, a lumber mill located in Summerville, South Carolina, trade accounts receivable and inventories. USC owned, at the time of the merger, a recycled containerboard paper mill in Cowpens, South Carolina and fourteen corrugated packaging plants across the Eastern and Midwestern United States. Longview is a leading manufacturer of high quality containerboard, kraft papers and corrugated products. Longview's operations include a paper mill located in Longview, Washington equipped with five paper machines which have the capacity to produce approximately 1.3 million tons of containerboard and kraft paper annually. Longview also owns seven converting facilities located in the Pacific Northwest. Victory, headquartered in Houston, TX, provides its customers comprehensive packaging solutions and services and is one of the largest North American distributors of packaging materials. Victory's operations include approximately 60 distribution and fulfillment facilities in the United States, Mexico and Canada. On April 8, 2016, the Company's board of directors approved the plan to expand its geographical footprint into Southern California with a new sheet plant with a total estimated cost of approximately $14.0 million. In conjunction with this, the Company signed a 10-year lease agreement with a total commitment of approximately $9.8 million. The new sheet plant started manufacturing boxes in 4 February 2017 and is intended to primarily supply the Company's Victory distribution operations in Southern California as well as other KapStone customers. On July 1, 2016, the Company acquired 100 percent of the common stock of Central Florida Box Corporation (\"CFB\"), a corrugated products manufacturer located near Orlando, Florida, for $15.4 million, net of cash acquired. On September 1, 2016, the Company made a $10.6 million investment for a 49 percent equity interest in a sheet feeder operation located in Florida. In April of 2016, the Company made a $1.25 million investment for a 20 percent equity interest in a sheet feeder operation located in California. API provides corrugated packaging and digital production needs serving a diverse customer base, including an emphasis on fulfillment and kitting for the automotive and consumer products industries. Our Paper and Packaging segment manufactures and sells a wide variety of containerboard, corrugated products and specialty paper for industrial and consumer markets. The Distribution segment, through Victory, a North American distributor of packaging materials, with approximately 60 distribution centers located in the United States, Mexico and Canada, provides packaging materials and related products to a wide variety of customers. Our Paper and Packaging segment produces containerboard, corrugated products and specialty paper. In 2017, we produced 2.8 million tons, nearly 86 percent of which was sold to third party converters or shipped to our corrugated products manufacturing plants based in the United States, and 14 percent of which was sold to foreign based customers. In 2017, our corrugated products manufacturing plants sold about 912 thousand tons or 14.4 billion square feet (\"BSF\") of corrugated products in the U.S.", - "id": "caa9560d-0a26-414e-9e6c-07212690bca4" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill allows uniformed law enforcement officers to carry agency-issued firearms in federal facilities, which could increase demand for firearms produced by Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. Given that the company designs and manufactures firearms, any legislative changes related to firearm regulations can impact their business operations and market opportunities.", - "index": "457", - "bill_title": "To amend title 18, United States Code, to permit uniformed law enforcement officers to carry agency-issued firearms in certain Federal facilities, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Protecting Officers of the Law In Civilian Establishments Act of 2019 or the POLICE Act of 2019\n\nThis bill modifies federal restrictions on the possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon in a federal facility.\n\nSpecifically, it permits uniformed law enforcement officers to carry agency-issued firearms and dangerous weapons in certain publicly accessible federal facilities.", - "company_name": "Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc.", - "company_description": "Overview Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. and Subsidiary (the \"Company\") is principally engaged in the design, manufacture, and sale of firearms to domestic customers. The Company's design and manufacturing operations are located in the United States and almost all product content is domestic. The Company primarily offers products in three industry product categories \u2013 rifles, pistols, and revolvers. The Company's firearms are sold through independent wholesale distributors, principally to the commercial sporting market. The Company manufactures and sells investment castings made from steel alloys and metal injection molding (\"MIM\") parts for internal use in the firearms segment and has minimal sales to outside customers. The Company presently manufactures firearm products, under the \"Ruger\" name and trademark, in the following industry categories: Rifles Most firearms are available in several models based upon caliber, finish, barrel length, and other features. A rifle is a long gun with spiral grooves cut into the interior of the barrel to give the bullet a stabilizing spin after it leaves the barrel. Net sales of rifles by the Company accounted for $258.1 million, $243.0 million, and $264.9 million of total net sales for the years 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively. A pistol is a handgun in which the ammunition chamber is an integral part of the barrel and which typically is fed ammunition from a magazine contained in the grip. Net sales of pistols by the Company accounted for $144.3 million, $176.2 million, and $250.0 million of revenues for the years 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively. A revolver is a handgun that has a cylinder that holds the ammunition in a series of chambers which are successively aligned with the barrel of the gun during each firing cycle. To fire a single-action revolver, the hammer is pulled back to cock the gun and align the cylinder before the trigger is pulled. To fire a double-action revolver, a single trigger pull advances the cylinder and cocks and releases the hammer. Net sales of revolvers by the Company accounted for $63.3 million, $74.6 million, and $104.9 million of revenues for the years 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively. The Company also manufactures and sells accessories and replacement parts for its firearms. Net sales attributable to the Company's casting operations (excluding intercompany transactions) accounted for $5.0 million, $4.6 million, and $5.9 million, for 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively. The Company produces one model of pistol, all of its revolvers and most of its rifles at the Newport, New Hampshire facility. Some rifle models and pistol models are produced at the Mayodan, North Carolina facility. Many of the basic metal component parts of the firearms manufactured by the Company are produced by the Company's castings segment through processes known as precision investment casting. The Company believes that investment castings and MIM parts provide greater design flexibility and result in component parts which are generally close to their ultimate shape and, therefore, require less machining than processes requiring machining a solid billet of metal to obtain a part. Through the use of investment castings and MIM parts, the Company endeavors to produce durable and less costly component parts for its firearms. All assembly, inspection, and testing of firearms manufactured by the Company are performed at the Company's manufacturing facilities. Every firearm, including every chamber of every revolver manufactured by the Company, is test-fired prior to shipment. ", - "id": "ab22a281-1e8c-4f48-a358-09b6a3ab0cb2" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill allocates appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, which could impact ADTRAN, Inc. if the funding for technological infrastructure and communications aligns with their network solutions offerings. Additionally, federal funding may drive demand for advanced network services and innovations that ADTRAN provides.", - "index": "458", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Defense, State, Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2020\n\nThis bill provides FY2020 appropriations for several federal departments and agencies. It includes 4 of the 12 regular FY2020 appropriations bills:\n\n the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020; the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2020; the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020; and the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020. The departments and agencies funded in the bill include\n\n the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, and several related and independent agencies. The bill also specifies restrictions and requirements for using funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.", - "company_name": "ADTRAN, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview ADTRAN is a leading global provider of networking and communications equipment, serving a diverse domestic and international customer base in 68 countries that includes Tier 1, 2 and 3 service providers, cable/MSOs and distributed enterprises. Our innovative solutions and services enable voice, data, video and internet communications across a variety of network infrastructures and are currently in use by millions of users worldwide. Our success depends upon our ability to increase unit volume and market share through the introduction of new products and succeeding generations of products having lower selling prices and increased functionality as compared to both the prior generation of a product and to the products of competitors. In order to service our customers and build revenue, we are constantly conducting research and development of new products addressing customer needs and testing those products for the particular specifications of the particular customers. In addition to our corporate headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama, we have research and development (R & D) facilities in strategic global locations. We are focused on being a top global supplier of access infrastructure and related value-added solutions from the cloud edge to the subscriber edge. We offer a broad portfolio of flexible software and hardware network solutions and services that enable service providers to meet today's service demands, while enabling them to transition to the fully converged, scalable, highly automated, cloud-controlled voice, data, internet and video network of the future. Our business operates under two reportable segments: Network Solutions and Services & Support. We also report revenue across three categories \u2013 Access & Aggregation, Subscriber Solutions & Experience (formerly Customer Devices) and Traditional & Other Products. Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, ADTRAN anchors Cummings Research Park\u2014the second largest high-tech center in the U.S. and fourth largest in the world. Revenue Segments Our business operates under two reportable segments: Network Solutions and Services & Support. Our Network Solutions software and hardware products provide solutions supporting fiber-, copper- and coaxial-based infrastructures and a growing number of wireless solutions, lowering the overall cost to deploy advanced services across a wide range of applications for Carrier and Cable/MSO networks. We are accelerating the industry's transition to open, programmable and scalable networks. ADTRAN offers both chassis-based networks solutions, such as our Total Access 5000 (TA5000) and hiX families, as well as disaggregated network solutions which leverage ADTRAN's Software Defined Access (SD-Access) architecture which combines modern web-scale technologies with open-source platforms to facilitate rapid innovation in multi-technology, multi-vendor environments. The Mosaic cloud platform and Mosaic OS, combined with programmable network elements, provide operators with a highly agile, open-services architecture. This enables operators to better compete with web-scale companies by reducing the time and cost to onboard new services, technologies, and supply partners as they strive to reduce operational costs. Also included in this category are our subscriber solutions that terminate the broadband access in the home and/or business . These include open-source connected home and enterprise platforms, cloud services, Wi-Fi and software applications and services . To complement our Network Solutions portfolio and to enable our service provider customers to accelerate time to market, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction, we offer a complete portfolio of services. These include consulting, managed services, solutions integration, network implementation and maintenance services. ADTRAN's consulting services allow service providers to leverage ADTRAN's 30 plus years of network engineering expertise to build and deploy best of breed networks. Our ADTRAN NetAssure Program offers a variety of ways to leverage ADTRAN networking expertise applied to networks. One aspect, the resident engineering services, provides an on-site ADTRAN engineer, whose goal is to drive customer success by serving as the single point of contact for product knowledge, on-going network troubleshooting, and technical expertise, enabling service providers to gain a strategic competitive advantage from our products. 's integration services enable operators to architect and build the open distributed access networks of the future. Our solutions integration offerings include our SD-Access Accelerator.", - "id": "ca90411a-8b1b-428e-9c13-d47ce86c88b7" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on enhancing voting rights for Native American and Alaska Native voters, which primarily relates to legal and electoral processes rather than any direct implications for Haemonetics Corp.'s healthcare and blood processing business. There are no significant overlaps between the bill's provisions and the company's operations.", - "index": "459", - "bill_title": "A bill to protect the voting rights of Native American and Alaska Native voters.", - "bill_summary": "Native American Voting Rights Act of 2019\n\nThis bill modifies the voting rights of Native American and Alaska Native voters. Changes made by the bill include the following:\n\n expanding the types of facilities that can be used as voter registration agencies, increasing polling site accessibility, providing enforcement power to citizens and attorneys general, requiring approval for actions like moving a polling place, validating certain tribal identification for voting or registering, and expanding requirements for bilingual voting accessibility. The bill also establishes a Native American voting task force grant program for the purpose of increasing voter outreach, education, registration, turnout, and accessibility for Native American communities.", - "company_name": "Haemonetics Corp.", - "company_description": "Haemonetics Corporation, a healthcare company, provides products for processing, handling, and analysis of blood. The company operates through five segments: North America Plasma; Americas Blood Center and Hospital; Europe, Middle East and Africa; Asia Pacific; and Japan. It offers plasma collection and storage products, including PCS brand plasma collection equipment and disposables, plasma collection containers, and intravenous solutions, as well as information technology platforms for plasma customers to manage their donors, operations, and supply chain; Multicomponent Collection System brand apheresis equipment to collect specific blood components integrated from the donor; Automated Cell Processor brand solution to automate the washing and freezing of red cell components; and whole blood collection, filtration, and processing products. The company also offers hospital products comprising TEG thrombelastograph hemostasis analyzer system, a blood diagnostic instrument that measure a patient's hemostasis or the ability to form and maintain blood clots; Cell Saver system, a surgical blood salvage system for cardiovascular surgeries; and OrthoPAT surgical blood salvage systems for orthopedic procedures. In addition, it offers SafeTrace Tx, a software solution that manages blood product inventory and transfusion, as well as performs patient cross-matching; and BloodTrack suite of solutions for managing, tracking, and controlling blood products from the hospital blood center through to transfusion to the patient. The company markets and sells its products to bio-pharmaceutical companies, blood collection groups and independent blood centers, hospitals and hospital service providers, group purchasing organizations, and national health organizations through its direct sales force, as well as independent distributors. Haemonetics Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Braintree, Massachusetts.", - "id": "b9c56fdf-7a8c-4040-b917-70ce6256d7b3" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Ciena Corp. as it aims at enhancing enforcement against robocalls, which directly relates to the communications industry\u2014a key sector for Ciena. The bill's implications may affect network service providers and technology vendors involved in telecommunications, impacting Ciena's business operations and revenue models. As Ciena provides solutions for network operators, they'll need to adapt to regulatory compliance and market dynamics resulting from this bill.", - "index": "460", - "bill_title": "To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to lengthen the statute of limitations for enforcing robocall violations, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Robocall Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2019\n\nThis bill extends the statute of limitations for enforcing robocall violations and authorizes the Federal Communications Commission to pursue violations of robocall rules without first issuing a citation.", - "company_name": "Ciena Corp.", - "company_description": "our ability to forecast accurately demand for our products for purposes of inventory purchase practices; the impact of pricing pressure and price erosion that we regularly encounter in our markets; \u2022 the continued availability, on commercially reasonable terms, of software and other technology under third-party licenses; \u2022 the potential failure to maintain the security of confidential, proprietary or otherwise sensitive business information or systems or to protect against cyber attacks; \u2022 the performance of our third-party contract manufacturers; changes or disruption in components or supplies provided by third parties, including sole and limited source suppliers; \u2022 our ability to grow and maintain our new distribution relationships under which we will make available certain technology as a component; our ability to commercialize and grow our software business and address networking strategies including software-defined networking and network function virtualization; changes in, and the impact of, government regulations, including with respect to: the communications industry generally; the business of our customers; the use, import or export of products; and the environment, potential climate change and other social initiatives; the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, changes in tax regulations and related accounting, and changes in our effective tax rates; future legislation or executive action in the U.S. relating to tax policy or trade regulation; the write-down of goodwill, long-lived assets, or our deferred tax assets; We are a networking systems, services and software company, providing solutions that enable a wide range of network operators to deploy and manage next-generation networks that deliver services to businesses and consumers. We provide network hardware, software and services that support the transport, switching, aggregation, service delivery and management of video, data and voice traffic on communications networks. Our solutions are used by communications service providers, cable and multiservice operators, Web-scale providers, submarine network operators, governments, enterprises, research and education (R & E) institutions and other emerging network operators. Our solutions include a diverse portfolio of high-capacity Networking Platform products, which can be applied from the network core to network access points, and which allow network operators to scale capacity, increase transmission speeds, allocate traffic and adapt dynamically to changing end-user service demands. We also offer Platform Software that provides management and domain control of our next-generation packet and optical platforms and automates network lifecycle operations, including provisioning equipment and services. In addition, through our comprehensive suite of Blue Planet Automation Software, we enable network operators to use network data and analytics to drive enhanced automation across multi-vendor and multi-domain network environments, accelerate service delivery and enable an increasingly predictive and autonomous network infrastructure. To complement our hardware and software solutions, we offer a broad range of attached and software-related services that help our customers design, optimize, integrate, deploy, manage and maintain their networks and associated operational environments. Through our complete portfolio of solutions, we enable our customers to transform their network into a dynamic, programmable environment driven by automation and analytics, which we refer to as the Adaptive Network. Our solutions for the Adaptive Network create business and operational value for our customers, enabling them to introduce new revenue-generating services, reduce costs and maximize the return on their network infrastructure investment. In particular, optical networks \u2013 which carry video, data and voice traffic by encoding digital information on multiple wavelengths of light traveling across fiber optic cables \u2013 have experienced strong traffic growth for several years. This growth, and the resulting requirements for increased network capacity and transmission speed, is being driven by an increasingly diverse set of communications services and applications. These services and applications, including those set forth below, are increasing the bandwidth and service demands placed upon networks and are challenging the business models of many network operators. Enterprises and consumers continue to replace locally-housed computing and storage by adopting a broad array of innovative cloud-based models \u2013 including Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service ( IaaS) \u2013 and an expanding range of cloud-based services that host key applications, store data, enable the viewing and downloading of content and utilize on-demand computing resources. ", - "id": "227b75fd-d801-467a-89b5-d3853311b92e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Scientific Integrity Act establishes policies regarding the integrity of scientific research conducted by federal agencies, which can impact Ciena Corp.'s operations as they develop networking technologies that could be influenced by government-funded scientific research. Given the company's reliance on technology and software regulated under governmental policies, the integrity of research findings published could directly affect their business, especially in relation to compliance with regulations and adoption of innovations based on those findings.", - "index": "461", - "bill_title": "To amend the America COMPETES Act to establish certain scientific integrity policies for Federal agencies that fund, conduct, or oversee scientific research, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Scientific Integrity Act\n\nThis bill revises provisions regarding the release of scientific research results by federal agencies.\n\nThe bill prohibits specified federal employees and contractors of an agency that funds, conducts, or oversees scientific research from engaging in scientific or research misconduct or manipulating communication of scientific or technical findings.\n\nA covered individual may disseminate scientific or technical findings by (1) participating in scientific conferences; and (2) seeking publication through peer-reviewed, professional, or scholarly journals.\n\nThe bill specifies the kinds of scientific community activities covered individuals may participate and engage in, including the reviewing of public statements and responding to media interview requests.\n\nEach covered agency must\n\n develop, adopt, and enforce a scientific integrity policy and also must submit it to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Congress; appoint a Scientific Integrity Officer; and adopt and implement an administrative process and administrative appeal for dispute resolution and a training program that, among other things, provides regular scientific integrity and ethics training to employees and contractors. OSTP must collate, organize, and publicly share all information it receives under each scientific integrity policy on its website.", - "company_name": "Ciena Corp.", - "company_description": "our ability to forecast accurately demand for our products for purposes of inventory purchase practices; the impact of pricing pressure and price erosion that we regularly encounter in our markets; \u2022 the continued availability, on commercially reasonable terms, of software and other technology under third-party licenses; \u2022 the potential failure to maintain the security of confidential, proprietary or otherwise sensitive business information or systems or to protect against cyber attacks; \u2022 the performance of our third-party contract manufacturers; changes or disruption in components or supplies provided by third parties, including sole and limited source suppliers; \u2022 our ability to grow and maintain our new distribution relationships under which we will make available certain technology as a component; our ability to commercialize and grow our software business and address networking strategies including software-defined networking and network function virtualization; changes in, and the impact of, government regulations, including with respect to: the communications industry generally; the business of our customers; the use, import or export of products; and the environment, potential climate change and other social initiatives; the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, changes in tax regulations and related accounting, and changes in our effective tax rates; future legislation or executive action in the U.S. relating to tax policy or trade regulation; the write-down of goodwill, long-lived assets, or our deferred tax assets; We are a networking systems, services and software company, providing solutions that enable a wide range of network operators to deploy and manage next-generation networks that deliver services to businesses and consumers. We provide network hardware, software and services that support the transport, switching, aggregation, service delivery and management of video, data and voice traffic on communications networks. Our solutions are used by communications service providers, cable and multiservice operators, Web-scale providers, submarine network operators, governments, enterprises, research and education (R & E) institutions and other emerging network operators. Our solutions include a diverse portfolio of high-capacity Networking Platform products, which can be applied from the network core to network access points, and which allow network operators to scale capacity, increase transmission speeds, allocate traffic and adapt dynamically to changing end-user service demands. We also offer Platform Software that provides management and domain control of our next-generation packet and optical platforms and automates network lifecycle operations, including provisioning equipment and services. In addition, through our comprehensive suite of Blue Planet Automation Software, we enable network operators to use network data and analytics to drive enhanced automation across multi-vendor and multi-domain network environments, accelerate service delivery and enable an increasingly predictive and autonomous network infrastructure. To complement our hardware and software solutions, we offer a broad range of attached and software-related services that help our customers design, optimize, integrate, deploy, manage and maintain their networks and associated operational environments. Through our complete portfolio of solutions, we enable our customers to transform their network into a dynamic, programmable environment driven by automation and analytics, which we refer to as the Adaptive Network. Our solutions for the Adaptive Network create business and operational value for our customers, enabling them to introduce new revenue-generating services, reduce costs and maximize the return on their network infrastructure investment. In particular, optical networks \u2013 which carry video, data and voice traffic by encoding digital information on multiple wavelengths of light traveling across fiber optic cables \u2013 have experienced strong traffic growth for several years. This growth, and the resulting requirements for increased network capacity and transmission speed, is being driven by an increasingly diverse set of communications services and applications. These services and applications, including those set forth below, are increasing the bandwidth and service demands placed upon networks and are challenging the business models of many network operators. Enterprises and consumers continue to replace locally-housed computing and storage by adopting a broad array of innovative cloud-based models \u2013 including Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service ( IaaS) \u2013 and an expanding range of cloud-based services that host key applications, store data, enable the viewing and downloading of content and utilize on-demand computing resources. ", - "id": "f33571da-8cae-4129-b8bf-cbe8c688ee80" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses humanitarian relief for Venezuela, sanctions on individuals and companies linked to the Maduro regime, and measures to support Venezuela's political stability and economic recovery. Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for eye diseases, mainly in the U.S. and internationally. The legal consequences of the bill regarding sanctions and foreign relations do not directly impact Aerie's business model, structure, or activities, making the bill irrelevant to the company.", - "index": "462", - "bill_title": "A bill to provide humanitarian relief to the Venezuelan people and Venezuelan migrants, to advance a constitutional and democratic solution to Venezuela's political crisis, to address Venezuela's economic reconstruction, to combat public corruption, narcotics trafficking, and money laundering, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Venezuela Emergency Relief, Democracy Assistance, and Development Act of 2019 or the VERDAD Act of 2019\n\nThis bill directs the President to take various actions to address the political situation in Venezuela. (The United States does not recognize Nicolas Maduro as Venezuela's President due to reports of widespread fraud during his election, recognizing instead National Assembly President Juan Guaido.)\n\nThe Department of State shall provide humanitarian aid to Venezuela and to Venezuelans in neighboring countries.\n\nThe bill imposes sanctions on foreign persons responsible for or complicit in corruption or activity undermining Venezuela's democratic institutions. Sanctions include barring entry into the United States and various financial restrictions.\n\nThe bill also (1) authorizes or imposes various sanctions targeting the Maduro regime's ability to finance debt, trade gold, and use cryptocurrencies; and (2) imposes visa-blocking sanctions on aliens acting on behalf of Russia to support Maduro regime security forces.\n\nThe bill directs the State Department to\n\n work with nongovernmental organizations to strengthen democratic governance and defend human rights in Venezuela, work with foreign governments to investigate corruption and recover assets stolen from Venezuela, and offer to help other countries establish legislative frameworks to impose sanctions on Maduro regime officials. The President shall engage with multilateral development banks to assist in rebuilding Venezuela's economy and energy infrastructure.\n\nThe bill directs the President to prevent Russia's government-controlled oil company Rosneft from acquiring control of critical U.S. energy infrastructure, including assets belonging to Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.", - "company_name": "Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class therapies for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma, retinal diseases and other diseases of the eye. Our strategy is to successfully commercialize our U.S. Food and Drug Administration (\"FDA\") approved product, Rhopressa\u00ae (netarsudil ophthalmic solution) 0.02% (\"Rhopressa \u00ae Rocklatan TM has a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (\"PDUFA\") goal date of March 14, 2019. TM (named Rhokiinsa\u00ae and Roclanda TM, respectively, in Europe) for regulatory approval in Europe and Japan and expect to commercialize on our own in Europe and likely partner for commercialization of their equivalents in Japan, if approved. We are also focused on furthering the development of our preclinical molecules and technologies focused on retinal diseases and expect to have two preclinical implants, AR-1105 and AR-13503, commence clinical trials in 2019. Further, we are screening our owned library of Rho kinase (\"ROCK\") inhibitors for indications beyond glaucoma. Rhopressa\u00ae is a once-daily eye drop designed to reduce elevated intraocular pressure (\"IOP\") in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The active ingredient in Rhopressa \u00ae, netarsudil, is an Aerie-owned ROCK inhibitor. We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae represents the first of a new drug class for reducing IOP in patients with glaucoma in over 20 years. Early indications point to healthcare professionals prescribing Rhopressa\u00ae as a concomitant therapy to prostaglandins or non-PGA (prostaglandin analog) medications when additional IOP reduction is desired. We believe Rhopressa\u00ae is primarily competing with other non-PGA products, due to its targeting of the diseased trabecular meshwork (\"TM\"), its demonstrated ability to reduce IOP at consistent levels across tested baselines, its preferred once-daily dosing relative to other currently marketed non-PGA products and its safety profile. Adjunctive therapies currently represent nearly one-half of the glaucoma prescription market in the United States, according to IQVIA. We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae may also become a preferred therapy where PGAs are contraindicated, for patients who do not respond to PGAs and for patients who choose to avoid the cosmetic issues associated with PGA products. We launched Rhopressa\u00ae in the United States at the end of April 2018. Rhopressa\u00ae is now being sold to national and regional U.S. pharmaceutical distributors, and patients have access to Rhopressa\u00ae through pharmacies across the United States. In the glaucoma market in the United States, approximately half of the dispensed volumes are covered under commercial plans and half under Medicare Part D. We have obtained formulary coverage for Rhopressa\u00ae for approximately 90% of lives covered under commercial plans and approximately 40% of lives covered under Medicare Part D plans. We expect Medicare Part D Tier 2 equivalent coverage to increase to over 70% by the end of the first quarter of 2019. Our advanced-stage product candidate, Rocklatan TM, is a once-daily fixed-dose combination of Rhopressa\u00ae and latanoprost, the most commonly prescribed drug for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma. We believe, based on our clinical data, that Rocklatan TM has the potential to provide a greater IOP-reducing effect than any currently marketed glaucoma medication. Therefore, we believe that Rocklatan TM, if approved and formulary coverage is obtained, could compete with both PGA and non-PGA therapies and become the product of choice for patients requiring maximal IOP reduction, including those with higher IOPs and those who present with significant disease progression despite using currently available therapies. We submitted a New Drug Application (\"NDA\") for Rocklatan TM to the FDA in May 2018 under Section 505(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (the \"FDCA\"), which provides for an abbreviated approval pathway, since Rocklatan TM is a fixed dose combination of two FDA-approved drugs in the United States. In July 2018, we announced that the NDA was accepted for review by the FDA and the PDUFA goal date was set for March 14, 2019. Our strategy also includes developing our business outside the United States, including obtaining regulatory approval in Europe and Japan on our own for Rhopressa\u00ae and Rocklatan TM. If we obtain regulatory approval, we currently expect to commercialize Rhopressa\u00ae and Rocklatan TM in Europe on our own, and likely partner for commercialization of their equivalents in Japan.", - "id": "f330c322-8fb3-4ca9-8bf4-f1424a85c79a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on improving access to sexual assault examinations, which may lead to increased demand for post-acute care services offered by LHC Group, Inc. This includes home health services, hospice care, and community-based services necessary for survivors who may require ongoing medical and psychological support following an assault. Moreover, the training programs proposed in the bill could enhance the capabilities of providers, benefiting LHC Group's service offerings.", - "index": "463", - "bill_title": "A bill to plan, develop, and make recommendations to increase access to sexual assault examinations for survivors by holding hospitals accountable and supporting the providers that serve them.", - "bill_summary": "Survivors' Access to Supportive Care Act or SASCA\n\nThis bill establishes a series of programs and requirements to address the adequacy of access to sexual-assault examinations.\n\nAmong other things, the bill establishes (1) a grant program for states to assess the availability of specified providers to perform sexual-assault examinations; (2) a multiagency pilot program to improve training for, and access to, such providers; (3) reporting requirements for hospitals regarding community access to such providers; and (4) a grant program for provider training in rural and tribal settings.", - "company_name": "LHC Group, Inc.", - "company_description": "our participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs; the reimbursement levels of Medicare and other third-party payors; \u2022 the prompt receipt of payments from Medicare and other third-party payors; \u2022 the outcomes of various routine and non-routine governmental reviews, audits and investigations; \u2022 our compliance with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations; \u2022 our compliance with health care laws and regulations; \u2022 our compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission laws and regulations and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements; \u2022 the impact of federal and state government regulation on our business; \u2022 that the required stockholder approvals of the proposed transaction with Almost Family, We provide post-acute health care services to patients through our home nursing agencies, hospice agencies, community-based services agencies, and long-term acute care hospitals (\"LTACHs\"). As of December 31, 2017, through our wholly- and majority-owned subsidiaries, equity joint ventures and controlled affiliates, we operated 442 service providers in 27 states within the continental United States. We operate in four segments: home health services, hospice services, community-based services, and facility-based services. Our home health service locations offer a wide range of services, including skilled nursing, medically-oriented social services and physical, occupational, and speech therapy. The nurses, home health aides, and therapists in our home health agencies work closely with patients and their families to design and implement individualized treatment plans in accordance with a physician-prescribed plan of care. As of December 31, 2017, we operated 318 home health service locations, of which 159 are wholly-owned by us, 153 are majority-owned by us through equity joint ventures, three are under license lease arrangements, and the operations of the remaining three locations are managed by us. Our hospices provide end-of-life care to patients with terminal illnesses through interdisciplinary teams of physicians, nurses, home health aides, counselors, and volunteers. We offer a wide range of services, including pain and symptom management, emotional and spiritual support, inpatient and respite care, homemaker services, and counseling. As of December 31, 2017, we operated 91 hospice locations, of which 45 are wholly-owned by us, 44 are majority-owned by us through equity joint ventures, and two are under license lease arrangements. Our community-based service locations offer assistance with activities of daily living to elderly, chronically ill, and disabled patients. Our LTACH locations provide services primarily to patients with complex medical conditions who have transitioned out of a hospital intensive care unit but whose conditions remain too severe for treatment in a non-acute setting. We operated 11 LTACHs with 15 locations, of which all but one are located within host hospitals. As part of our facility-based services segment, we also own and operate two pharmacies, a family health center, a rural health clinic, and two physical therapy clinics. Of these 21 facility-based services locations, eight are wholly-owned by us, 12 are majority-owned by us through equity joint ventures, and one is managed by us. (\"Merger Sub\"), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, providing for a \"merger of equals\" business combination of the Company and Almost Family. On February 22, 2018, we issued a joint press release with Almost Family announcing that the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (\"HSR Act\"), with respect to the proposed Merger, has expired, satisfying one of the important conditions to the Merger. The Merger is expected to close on April 1, 2018, subject to the approval of both companies' stockholders and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. Our objective is to become the leading provider of home health, hospice, community-based services, and LTACHs in the United States.", - "id": "bd246366-ae65-4421-880d-788311021a5e" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill directly provides appropriations for the Department of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, which could impact infrastructure development, urban planning, and real estate markets. Duke Realty Corp., being involved in industrial real estate, may benefit from infrastructure projects and housing developments funded by this bill, making it relevant to their business model and activities.", - "index": "464", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for the Department of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": " This bill provides FY2019 appropriations for the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and several related agencies. It includes both discretionary and mandatory funding, with most of the DOT budget being mandatory spending from the Highway Trust Fund. It also prohibits the use of funds for certain activities, such as purchasing first class or premium airline travel, and provides compensation for federal employees furloughed as a result of a lapse in appropriations.", - "company_name": "Duke Realty Corp.", - "company_description": "The General Partner and Partnership collectively specialize in the ownership, management and development of bulk distribution (\"industrial\") real estate. The General Partner is a self-administered and self-managed REIT, which began operations upon completion of an initial public offering in February 1986. The Partnership was formed in October 1993, when the General Partner contributed all of its properties and related assets and liabilities, together with the net proceeds from an offering of additional shares of its common stock, to the Partnership. Simultaneously, the Partnership completed the acquisition of Duke Associates, a full-service commercial real estate firm operating in the Midwest whose operations began in 1972. Pursuant to the Fifth Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership, as amended (the \"Partnership Agreement\"), the General Partner is obligated to redeem the Limited Partner Units in shares of its common stock, unless it determines in its reasonable discretion that the issuance of shares of its common stock could cause it to fail to qualify as a REIT. Each Limited Partner Unit shall be redeemed for one share of the General Partner's common stock, or, in the event that the issuance of shares could cause the General Partner to fail to qualify as a REIT, cash equal to the fair market value of one share of the General Partner's common stock at the time of redemption, in each case, subject to certain adjustments described in the Partnership Agreement. At December 31, 2017 , our diversified portfolio of 509 rental properties (including 42 jointly controlled in-service properties with 11.2 million square feet, 12 consolidated properties under development with 7.2 million square feet and four jointly controlled properties under development with 2.0 million square feet) encompassed 148.8 million rentable square feet. Our properties are leased by a diverse base of more than 1,000 tenants whose businesses include e-commerce, government services, manufacturing, retailing, wholesale trade, and distribution. We also owned, including through ownership interests in unconsolidated joint ventures (with acreage not adjusted for our percentage ownership interest), 1,900 acres of land and controlled an additional 1,600 acres through purchase options. We additionally have regional offices or significant operations in 20 other geographic or metropolitan areas including Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; Central Florida; Chicago, Illinois; Cincinnati, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Houston, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Nashville, Tennessee; New Jersey; Northern and Southern California; Pennsylvania; Raleigh, North Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; South Florida; St. Louis, Missouri; and Washington We have two reportable operating segments at December 31, 2017, the first consisting of the ownership and rental of industrial real estate investments. The operations of our industrial properties, as well as our non-reportable Rental Operations (our residual non-industrial properties that have not yet been sold, referred to throughout as \"Non-Reportable\"), are collectively referred to as \"Rental Operations. \" Our second reportable segment consists of various real estate services such as property management, asset management, maintenance, leasing, development, general contracting and construction management to third-party property owners and joint ventures, and is collectively - 4 - referred to as \"Service Operations. Our Service Operations segment also includes our taxable REIT subsidiary (\"TRS\"), a legal entity through which certain of the segment's aforementioned operations are conducted. As a fully integrated commercial real estate firm, we provide in-house leasing, management, development and construction services which we believe, coupled with our significant base of commercially zoned and unencumbered land in existing business parks, should give us a competitive advantage as a real estate operator and in future development activities. We believe that this regional focus will allow us to assess market supply and demand for real estate more effectively as well as to capitalize on the strong relationships with our tenant base. In addition, we seek to further capitalize on our many strong relationships with customers that operate on a national level. As a fully integrated real estate company, we are able to arrange for or provide to our tenants not only well located and well maintained facilities, but also additional services such as build-to-suit construction, tenant finish construction, and expansion flexibility. All of our properties are located in areas that include competitive properties. Institutional investors, other REITs or local real estate operators generally own such properties; however, no single competitor or small group of competitors is dominant in our current markets. The supply of and demand for similar available rental properties may affect the rental rates we will receive on our properties. Other competitive factors include the attractiveness of the property location, the quality of the property and tenant services provided, and the reputation of the owner and operator. Since our inception, we not only have strived to be a top-performer operationally, but also to lead in issues important to investors such as disclosure and corporate governance. Equity-based compensation plans require the approval of the General Partner's shareholders On December 22, 2017, President Donald Trump signed into law tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the \"2017 Tax Act\"), which includes a number of provisions related to REITs and real estate investments.", - "id": "9a665431-c4aa-451b-a304-dc284aadcf07" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The Concussion Awareness and Education Act of 2019 focuses on research, treatment, and prevention of sports-related concussions primarily in youth. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company that develops treatments for central nervous system disorders, such as Parkinson's disease psychosis, Alzheimer's disease psychosis, schizophrenia, and depression. The primary focus of ACADIA's research and products does not align with concussion-related issues, making the bill not relevant to their business activities.", - "index": "465", - "bill_title": "To provide for systemic research, treatment, prevention, awareness, and dissemination of information with respect to sports-related and other concussions.", - "bill_summary": "Concussion Awareness and Education Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a series of programs and requirements relating to youth and sports-related concussion research. Among other things, the bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a national system to determine the incidence of sports-related concussions among youth. The National Institutes of Health must also conduct or support specified concussion research, such as research regarding predictors and outcome modifiers of youth concussions.\n\nThe bill also temporarily establishes a Concussion Research Commission. The commission must review supported research and make systemic recommendations regarding youth and sports-related concussions.", - "company_name": "ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative medicines to address unmet medical needs in central nervous system, or CNS, disorders. We have a portfolio of product opportunities led by our novel drug, NUPLAZID (pimavanserin), which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on April 29, 2016 for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis, or PD Psychosis, and is the only drug approved in the United States for this condition. NUPLAZID is a selective serotonin inverse agonist, or SSIA, preferentially targeting 5-HT 2A receptors. Through this novel mechanism, NUPLAZID demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing the hallucinations and delusions associated with PD Psychosis in our Phase 3 pivotal trial and has the potential to avoid many of the debilitating side effects of existing antipsychotics, none of which are approved by the FDA in the treatment of PD Psychosis. We hold worldwide commercialization rights to pimavanserin. We believe that pimavanserin has the potential to address important unmet medical needs in neurological and psychiatric disorders in addition to PD Psychosis and we plan to continue to study the use of pimavanserin in multiple disease states. For example, we believe dementia-related psychosis represents one of our most important opportunities for further exploration. In December 2016, we announced positive top-line results from our Phase 2 study exploring the utility of pimavanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease psychosis, or AD Psychosis, a disorder for which no drug is currently approved by the FDA. Following our End-of-Phase 2 Meeting with the FDA and agreement with the agency on our clinical development plan, we initiated 1 our Phase 3 HARMONY relapse prevention study in October 2017, which allows us to evaluate pimavanserin for a broader indication than AD Psychosis alone. More specifically, HARMONY will evaluate pimavanserin for the treatment of hal lucinations and delusions associated with dementia-related psychosis, which includes psychosis in patients with Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease dementia, vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. Furthermore, in Oc tober 2017, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to pimavanserin for dementia-related psychosis. As a result of potential overlap of clinical sites and study participants between the HARMONY study and our Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease agitation and aggression, which we refer to as SERENE, we decided to discontinue enrollment of new patients in that study. We also believe schizophrenia represents a disease with multiple unmet or ill-served needs and we are currently exploring the utility of pimavanserin in this area. Despite a large number of FDA-approved therapies for schizophrenia, current drugs do not adequately address some very important symptoms of schizophrenia, such as the inadequate response to current antipsychotic treatment of psychotic symptoms and negative symptoms. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we initiated two studies evaluating the adjunctive use of pimavanserin in patients with schizophrenia. ENHANCE-1 is a Phase 3 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment of schizophrenia in patients with an inadequate response to their current antipsychotic therapy. ADVANCE is a Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment in patients with negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Depression is another disorder with a high unmet need that we believe represents an attractive development opportunity for pimavanserin. Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that patients with depression often do not receive adequate relief from an antidepressant medication, and, due to side effects of currently available therapies, many patients discontinue their medication, significantly increasing their chance of relapse. Preclinical and clinical evidence suggests 5-HT 2A antagonism may be an effective adjunctive therapy to currently prescribed antidepressants. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we initiated CLARITY, a Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment in patients with major depressive disorder, or MDD, who have an inadequate response to standard antidepressant therapy. Our strategy is to discover, develop and commercialize innovative small molecule drugs that address unmet medical needs in CNS disorders. We have assembled a management team with significant industry experience to lead the discovery, development, and commercialization of our product opportunities. We complement our management team with scientific and clinical advisors, including recognized experts in the fields of PD Psychosis, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, depression, and other CNS disorders.", - "id": "49685eb3-b295-45c4-8b04-ab4a568786a6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Smart Building Acceleration Act promotes the adoption of smart building technologies, which aligns with AMD's interests in energy efficiency, cybersecurity, and technology innovation. As a semiconductor company, AMD's products may be integral to the operation of smart buildings, utilizing advanced microprocessors and GPUs for energy management systems, operational monitoring, and automation. Therefore, the legal consequences of the bill, centered around advancing technology and improving infrastructure, are relevant to AMD's business operations.", - "index": "466", - "bill_title": "To accelerate smart building development, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Smart Building Acceleration Act\n\nThis bill assists the building sector in adopting smart building technology that increases energy efficiency. Smart buildings are buildings with energy systems that (1) are flexible and automated; (2) have extensive operational monitoring and communication connectivity, allowing remote monitoring and analysis of building functions; (3) take a systems-based approach in integrating the overall building operations for control of energy generation, consumption, and storage; (4) communicate with utilities and other third-party commercial entities, if appropriate; (5) protect the health and safety of occupants and workers; and (6) are cybersecure.\n\nSpecifically, the bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a Federal Smart Building Program. Under the program, DOE must implement smart building technology in certain federal buildings and demonstrate the costs and benefits of smart buildings.\n\nDOE may expand awards made under the Federal Energy Management Program and the Better Building Challenge to recognize specific federal agency achievements in accelerating the adoption of smart building technologies.\n\nIn addition, DOE must conduct (1) a survey of privately owned smart buildings throughout the United States and evaluate their costs and benefits, and (2) research and development on barriers to the integration of advanced building technologies. As part of the Better Building Challenge, DOE must demonstrate policies and approaches that accelerate the transition to smart buildings.", - "company_name": "Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.", - "company_description": "any amounts in addition to what has been already accrued by AMD for future remediation costs under clean-up orders will not be material; we expect to file future patent applications in both the United States and abroad on significant inventions, as we deem appropriate; anticipated increase in costs related to enhancing, implementing and monitoring information security controls, remediating any data security breaches and addressing related litigation, mitigating reputational harm and compliance with external regulations related to our IT assets; we expect to receive $448.5 million upon the exercise of a warrant by West Coast Hitech L.P. (WCH) and issue 75 million shares of our common stock to WCH; revenue allocated to remaining performance obligations that are unsatisfied which will be recognized over the next 12 months; and a small number of customers will continue to account for a substantial part of AMD's revenue in the future. Material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: Intel Corporation's dominance of the microprocessor market and its aggressive business practices may limit AMD's ability to compete effectively; AMD has a wafer supply agreement with GF with obligations to purchase all of its microprocessor and APU product requirements, and a certain portion of its GPU product requirements, manufactured at process nodes larger than 7 nanometer (nm) from GF with limited exceptions. is dependent upon its technology being designed into third-party products and the success of those products 1 to operate its business; the markets in which AMD's products are sold are highly competitive; AMD's worldwide operations are subject to political, legal and economic risks and natural disasters, which could have a material adverse effect on it; AMD's issuance to West Coast Hitech L.P. (WCH) of warrants to purchase 75 million shares of its common stock, if and when exercised, will dilute the ownership interests of AMD's existing stockholders, and the conversion of the 2.125% Convertible Senior Notes due 2026 (2.125% Notes) may dilute the ownership interest of AMD's existing stockholders, or may otherwise depress the price of its common stock; uncertainties involving the ordering and shipment of AMD's products could materially adversely affect it; the demand for AMD's products depends in part on the market conditions in the industries into which they are sold. We are a global semiconductor company primarily offering: \u2022x86 microprocessors, as standalone devices or as incorporated into an accelerated processing unit (APU), chipsets; discrete and integrated graphics processing units (GPUs), and professional GPUs; and \u2022 server and embedded processors and semi-custom System-on-Chip (SoC) products and technology for game consoles. We are a global semiconductor company. Semiconductors are components used in a variety of electronic products and systems. An integrated circuit (IC) is a semiconductor device that consists of many interconnected transistors on a single chip. Since the invention of the transistor in 1948, improvements in IC process and design technologies have led to the development of smaller, more complex and more reliable ICs at a lower cost-per-function. A microprocessor is an IC that serves as the CPU of a computer. It generally consists of hundreds of millions or billions of transistors that process data in a serial fashion and control other devices in the system, acting as the \"brain\" of the computer. The performance of a microprocessor is a critical factor impacting the performance of computing and entertainment platforms, such as desktop PCs, notebooks and workstations. The principal elements used to measure CPU performance are work-per-cycle (or how many instructions are executed per cycle), clock speed (representing the rate at which a CPU's internal logic operates, measured in units of gigahertz, or billions of cycles per second) and power consumption. Other factors impacting microprocessor performance include the process technology used in its manufacture, the number and type of cores, the ability of the cores to process multi-thread or process multiple 3 instructions simultaneously, the bit size of its instruction set (e.g., 32-bit vs 16-bit), memory size and data access speed. Developments in IC design and manufacturing process technologies have resulted in significant advances in microprocessor performance. Since businesses and consumers require greater performance from their computer systems due to the growth of digital data and increasingly sophisticated software applications, multi-core microprocessors offer enhanced overall system performance and efficiency because computing tasks can be spread across two or more processing cores, each of which can execute a task at full speed. Multi-core microprocessors can simultaneously increase performance of a computer system without greatly increasing the total amount of power consumed and the total amount of heat emitted. Businesses and consumers also require computer systems with improved power management technology, which helps them to reduce the power consumption of their computer systems, enables smaller and more portable form factors, and can lower the total cost of ownership. A GPU is a programmable logic chip that helps render images, animations and video and is increasingly being used to handle general computing tasks. GPUs are located in plug-in cards, as a discrete processor or in a chip on the motherboard, or in the same chip as the CPU as part of an accelerated processing unit (APU) or System-on-Chip (SoC). GPUs on stand-alone cards or discrete GPUs on the motherboard typically access their own memory, while GPUs in the chipset or CPU chip share main memory with the CPU. GPUs perform parallel operations on data to render images for a video display and are essential to presenting computer generated images on that display, decoding and rendering animations and displaying video. The more sophisticated the GPU, the higher the resolution and the faster and smoother moving objects can be displayed on video display or in a virtual environment (virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)). In addition to graphics processing, GPUs are used to perform parallel operations on multiple sets of data and are increasingly used to perform vector processing for non-graphics applications that require repetitive computations such as supercomputing, deep learning, artificial and machine intelligence, blockchain and various other applications (e.g., cryptocurrency mining, autonomous driving). ", - "id": "76c9e2b6-c2a1-4775-bb65-6c8b6c0e668b" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to provide tax credits and grants for supplying healthy food in food deserts, which could significantly benefit Walmart as a grocery retailer. As Walmart sells food and can operate grocery stores in underserved areas, the tax incentives and grants provided by this bill could lower operational costs and increase store profitability, therefore aligning with Walmart's business model focused on food access and eCommerce initiatives.", - "index": "467", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a new tax credit and grant program to stimulate investment and healthy nutrition options in food deserts, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act \n\nThis bill allows tax credits and grants for activities that provide access to healthy food in food deserts, which are communities that have limited or no access to grocery stores and meet income requirements.\n\nFor entities that are certified by the Department of the Treasury as special access food providers using specified criteria, the bill allows tax credits for operating a new grocery store or renovating an existing grocery store in a food desert. The bill also authorizes grants for a portion of (1) the construction costs of building a permanent food bank in a food desert, and (2) the annual operating costs of temporary access merchants (mobile markets, farmers markets, and food banks).\n\nTreasury, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture (USDA), must annually allocate the tax credits and grants to special access food providers. Grants authorized by this bill are not considered gross income for tax purposes.\n\nThe bill also requires USDA to update the Food Access Research Atlas at least annually to account for food retailers that are placed in service during that year.", - "company_name": "Walmart, Inc.", - "company_description": "the amount, number, growth or increase, in or over certain periods, of or in certain financial items or measures or operating measures, including our earnings per share, including as adjusted for certain items, net sales, comparable store and club sales, our Walmart U.S. operating segment's eCommerce sales, liabilities, expenses of certain categories, expense leverage, returns, capital and operating investments or expenditures of particular types, new store openings and investments in particular formats; our plans to increase investments in eCommerce, technology, store remodels and other customer initiatives, such as online grocery locations; volatility in currency exchange rates and fuel prices affecting our or one of our segments' results of operations; \u2022 the Company continuing to provide returns to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends, the use of share repurchase authorization over a certain period or the source of funding of a certain portion of our share repurchases; changes in the size of various markets, including eCommerce markets; \u2022 unemployment levels; \u2022 inflation or deflation, generally and in certain product categories; \u2022 transportation, energy and utility costs; \u2022 commodity prices, including the prices of oil and natural gas; \u2022 consumer confidence, disposable income, credit availability, spending levels, shopping patterns, debt levels, and demand for certain merchandise; \u2022 trends in consumer shopping habits around the world and in the markets in which Walmart operates; \u2022 consumer enrollment in health and drug insurance programs and such programs' reimbursement rates and drug formularies; and initiatives of competitors, competitors' entry into and expansion in Walmart's markets, and competitive pressures; Operating Factors \u2022 the financial performance of Walmart and each of its segments, including the amounts of Walmart's cash flow during various periods; \u2022 customer traffic and average ticket in Walmart's stores and clubs and on its eCommerce platforms; the mix of merchandise Walmart sells and its customers purchase; the availability of goods from suppliers and the cost of goods acquired from suppliers; \u2022 the effectiveness of the implementation and operation of Walmart's strategies, plans, programs and initiatives; \u2022 \u2022 consumer acceptance of and response to Walmart's stores and clubs, digital platforms, programs, merchandise offerings and delivery methods; \u2022 Walmart's gross profit margins, including pharmacy margins and margins of other product categories; the selling prices of gasoline and diesel fuel; \u2022 disruption of seasonal buying patterns in Walmart's markets; \u2022 Walmart's expenditures for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (\"FCPA\") and other compliance-related matters including the adequacy of our accrual for the FCPA matter; \u2022 Walmart's labor costs, including healthcare and other benefit costs; \u2022 Walmart's casualty and accident-related costs and insurance costs; the size of and turnover in Walmart's workforce and the number of associates at various pay levels within that workforce; the availability of necessary personnel to staff Walmart's stores, clubs and other facilities; 5 developments in, and the outcome of, legal and regulatory proceedings and investigations to which Walmart is a party or is subject, and the liabilities, obligations and expenses, if any, that Walmart may incur in connection therewith; \u2022 changes in the credit ratings assigned to the Company's commercial paper and debt securities by credit rating agencies; \u2022 changes in existing tax, labor and other laws and changes in tax rates, including the enactment of laws and the adoption and interpretation of administrative rules and regulations; \u2022 adoption or creation of new, and modification of existing, governmental policies, programs and initiatives in the markets in which Walmart operates and elsewhere and actions with respect to such policies, programs and initiatives; \u2022 the possibility of the imposition of new taxes on imports and new tariffs and trade restrictions and changes in tariff rates and trade restrictions; changes in the level of public assistance payments; ", - "id": "fe24c8eb-6da0-4a83-8d08-15770f40ada9" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily provides continuing appropriations to federal agencies and extends funding for various health programs, which may include some related to public health and health services. However, Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. operates as a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing specific therapies for neurological disorders, particularly Parkinson's disease, through its own products like Inbrija. The bill does not specifically address pharmaceutical approvals, market access, or direct funding for biopharmaceutical companies, thus its legal consequences are largely indirect and not pertinent to Acorda's business model or activities.", - "index": "468", - "bill_title": "Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2020, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2020, and Further Health Extenders Act of 2019 \n\nThis bill provides continuing FY2020 appropriations to federal agencies through December 20, 2019, and extends several expiring health programs.\n\n It is known as a continuing resolution (CR) and prevents a government shutdown that would otherwise occur if the FY2020 appropriations bills have not been enacted when the existing CR expires after November 21, 2019.\n\nThe CR funds most programs and activities at the FY2019 levels with several exceptions that provide funding flexibility and additional appropriations to various programs, including\n\n the 2020 Census, the Indian Health Service, Ebola preparedness and response activities, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, and the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program. The bill temporarily extends several authorities and programs, including\n\n several public health, Medicare, and Medicaid authorities and programs; the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and related programs; certain provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act; the National Flood Insurance Program; several authorities related to immigration; the Calfed Bay-Delta Authorization Act; the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity; the Export-Import Bank of the United States; and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The bill also provides a pay raise for the military, repeals a rescission of state highway funding, and modifies the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund.", - "company_name": "Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies that restore function and improve the lives of people with neurological disorders. We are preparing for our launch of commercial sales of Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder), which is approved for intermittent treatment of OFF episodes, also known as OFF periods, in people with Parkinson's disease treated with carbidopa/levodopa. Inbrija is an on-demand treatment that utilizes our innovative ARCUS pulmonary delivery system, a technology platform designed to deliver medication through inhalation that we believe has potential to be used in the development of a variety of inhaled medicines. Our New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on December 21, 2018. The approval is for a single dose of 84 mg, with no titration required. We expect Inbrija to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2019 and to be distributed through a network of specialty pharmacies. Our preparations for the commercial sale of Inbrija continue, including sales force training and education, managed care discussions, market research and social media initiatives. We are seeking approval to market Inbrija in the European Union, and accordingly we filed a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in March 2018. After the adoption of a Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, opinion, we expect a final decision regarding the MAA from the European Commission before the end of 2019. We currently derive substantially all of our revenue from the sale of Ampyra. We have been engaged in litigation with certain generic drug manufacturers relating to our five initial Orange Book-listed Ampyra patents. In 2017, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the \"District Court\") issued a ruling that upheld our Ampyra Orange Book-listed patent that expired on July 30, 2018, but invalidated our four other Orange Book-listed patents pertaining to Ampyra that were set to expire between 2025 and 2027. Under this decision, our patent exclusivity with respect to Ampyra terminated on July 30, 2018. We appealed the District Court decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the \"Federal Circuit\"), which issued a ruling on September 10, 2018 upholding the District Court's decision (the \"Appellate Decision\"). In January 2019, the Federal Circuit denied our petition for rehearing en banc. We have experienced a significant decline in Ampyra sales due to competition from generic versions of Ampyra that are being marketed following the Appellate Decision. We expect that additional manufacturers will market generic versions of Ampyra, which may accelerate the decline in our Ampyra sales. Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder) : Launching the commercial sale of Inbrija in the U.S.; obtaining approval of our European MAA for Inbrija; and continuing with potential partnering discussions for commercialization outside of the U.S. ARCUS Platform : Advancing our efforts to develop additional therapeutics based on our proprietary ARCUS pulmonary drug delivery technology, looking at central nervous system, or CNS, as well as non-CNS opportunities, including our program to develop an ARCUS-based treatment for acute migraine. Company Highlights Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder)/Parkinson's Disease Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder) is the first and only inhaled levodopa, or L-dopa, for intermittent treatment of OFF episodes, also known as OFF periods, in people with Parkinson's disease treated with carbidopa/levodopa regimen. Our New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on December 21, 2018. The approval is for a single dose of 84 mg, with no titration required. We expect Inbrija to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2019 and to be distributed through a network of specialty pharmacies. We are seeking approval to market Inbrija in the European Union, and accordingly we filed a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in March 2018. After the adoption of a Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, opinion, we expect a final decision regarding the MAA from the European Commission before the end of 2019.", - "id": "09aab463-25f8-471a-ab02-d4a44614f6b3" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on the U.S. Coast Guard's vulnerability to climate change and requires a report on necessary mitigations for their operations. This legislative focus does not directly relate to Pool Corp.'s business model, which is centered around the distribution of swimming pool supplies and outdoor living products. The bill's legal consequences primarily impact federal agencies rather than companies in the consumer goods sector like Pool Corp.", - "index": "469", - "bill_title": "To require a report on the effects of climate change on the Coast Guard, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "This bill requires the U.S. Coast Guard to submit a report on the vulnerabilities of Coast Guard installations as a result of climate change over the next 20 years, including an overview of mitigations that may be necessary to ensure the continued operational viability of the vulnerable installations.", - "company_name": "Pool Corp.", - "company_description": "Business General Pool Corporation (the Company, which may be referred to as we, us or our) is the world's largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products and is one of the top three distributors of irrigation and landscape products in the United States. Our vision is to become the best worldwide distributor of outdoor living products that enhance the quality of outdoor home life. Our industry is highly fragmented, and as such, we add considerable value to the industry by purchasing products from a large number of manufacturers and then distributing the products to our customer base on conditions that are more favorable than our customers could obtain on their own. As of December 31, 2018, we operated 364 sales centers in North America, Europe, South America and Australia through our four distribution networks: We participate in a worldwide market for outdoor living products through our four distribution networks. We believe that the swimming pool industry is relatively young, with room for continued growth from the increased penetration of new pools. Significant growth opportunities also reside with pool remodel and pool equipment replacement activities due to the aging of the installed base of swimming pools, technological advancements and the development of energy-efficient and more aesthetically attractive products. Additionally, the desire for consumers to enhance their outdoor living spaces with hardscapes, lighting and outdoor kitchens also promotes growth in this area. These favorable trends include the following: \u2022 long-term growth in housing units in warmer markets due to the population migration toward the southern United States, which contributes to the growing installed base of pools that homeowners must maintain; \u2022 increased homeowner spending on outdoor living spaces for relaxation and entertainment; \u2022 consumers bundling the purchase of a swimming pool and other products, with new irrigation systems, landscaping and improvements to outdoor living spaces often being key components to both pool installations and remodels; and \u2022 consumers using more automation and control products, higher quality materials and other pool features that add to our sales opportunities over time. Almost 60% of consumer spending in the pool industry is for maintenance and minor repair of existing swimming pools. Maintaining proper chemical balance and the related upkeep and repair of swimming pool equipment, such as pumps, heaters, filters and safety equipment, creates a non-discretionary demand for pool chemicals, equipment and other related parts and supplies. We also believe cosmetic considerations such as a pool's appearance and the overall look of backyard environments create an ongoing demand for other maintenance-related goods and certain discretionary products. This characteristic has helped cushion the negative impact on revenues in periods when unfavorable economic conditions and softness in the housing market adversely impacted pool construction and major replacement and refurbishment activities. The following table reflects growth in the domestic installed base of in-ground swimming pools over the past 11 years (based on Company estimates and information from 2017 P.K. Data, Inc. reports): The replacement and refurbishment market currently accounts for close to 25% of consumer spending in the pool industry. The activity in this market, which includes major swimming pool remodeling, is driven by the aging of the installed base of pools. The timing of these types of expenditures is more sensitive to economic factors that impact consumer spending compared to the maintenance and minor repair market. New swimming pool construction comprises just over 15% of consumer spending in the pool industry. The demand for new pools is driven by the perceived benefits of pool ownership including relaxation, entertainment, family activity, exercise and convenience. The industry competes for new pool sales against other discretionary consumer purchases such as kitchen and bathroom remodeling, boats, motorcycles, recreational vehicles and vacations. The industry is also affected by other factors including, but not limited to, consumer preferences or attitudes toward pool and related outdoor living products for aesthetic, environmental, safety or other reasons. The irrigation and landscape industry shares many characteristics with the pool industry, and we believe that it will realize similar long\u2011term growth rates. Irrigation system installations often occur in tandem with new single\u2011family home construction making it more susceptible to economic variables.", - "id": "9a11132d-2183-4bf7-83a4-d88e8218ca23" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on health savings accounts and tax deductions related to health expenses, which does not directly impact Aerie Pharmaceuticals' business model focused on ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, specifically glaucoma treatments. Therefore, the bill's legal consequences are not relevant to the company's activities.", - "index": "470", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve access to health care through expanded health savings accounts, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Health Savings Act of 2019\n\nThis bill modifies the requirements for health savings accounts (HSAs) to\n\n rename high deductible health plans as HSA-qualified health plans; allow spouses who have both attained age 55 to make catch-up contributions to the same HSA; make Medicare Part A (hospital insurance benefits) beneficiaries eligible to participate in an HSA; allow individuals eligible for hospital care or medical services under a program of the Indian Health Service or a tribal organization to participate in an HSA; allow members of a health care sharing ministry to participate in an HSA; allow individuals who receive primary care services in exchange for a fixed periodic fee or payment, or who receive health care benefits from an onsite medical clinic of an employer, to participate in an HSA; include amounts paid for prescription and over-the-counter medicines or drugs as \"qualified medical expenses\" for which distributions from an HSA or other tax-preferred savings accounts may be used; increase the limits on HSA contributions to match the sum of the annual deductible and out-of-pocket expenses permitted under a high deductible health plan; and allow HSA distributions to be used to purchase health insurance coverage. The bill also: (1) exempts HSAs from creditor claims in bankruptcy, and (2) reauthorizes Medicaid health opportunity accounts.\n\nThe bill allows a medical care tax deduction for: (1) exercise equipment, physical fitness programs, and membership at a fitness facility; (2) nutritional and dietary supplements; and (3) periodic fees paid to a primary care physician and amounts paid for pre-paid primary care services.", - "company_name": "Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are an ophthalmic pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class therapies for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma and other diseases of the eye. Our strategy is to commercialize Rhopressa \u00ae, approved by the FDA on December 18, 2017, in North American markets and advance our product candidate, Roclatan TM, to regulatory approval. We are in the process of hiring a commercial team that will include approximately 100 sales representatives to target approximately 12,000 high prescribing eye-care professionals throughout the United States. If we obtain regulatory approval, we currently expect to commercialize Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM in Europe on our own, and likely partner for commercialization in Japan. Subsequent to December 31, 2017, we issued and sold approximately 2.3 million additional shares of our common stock, for which we received net proceeds of approximately $136.2 million, after deducting fees and expenses, upon the completion of the \"at-the-market\" offering that commenced in December 2017 and pursuant to an underwriting agreement, dated January 23, 2018, related to a registered public offering. Our FDA-approved product, Rhopressa \u00ae, is a once-daily eye drop designed to reduce elevated intraocular pressure (\"IOP\") in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The active ingredient in Rhopressa \u00ae, netarsudil, is a Rho kinase inhibitor. We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae represents the first of a new drug class for reducing IOP in patients with glaucoma in over 20 years. Based on clinical data, we expect that Rhopressa\u00ae will have the potential to compete with non-PGA (prostaglandin analog) products as a preferred adjunctive therapy to prostaglandin analogs (\"PGAs\"), due to its targeting of the diseased tissue known as the trabecular meshwork (\"TM\"), its demonstrated ability to reduce IOP at consistent levels across tested baselines, and its preferred once-daily dosing relative to currently marketed non-PGA products. Adjunctive therapies currently represent nearly one-half of the glaucoma prescription market in the United States, according to IQVIA (formerly known as IMS Health). We believe that Rhopressa\u00ae may also become a preferred therapy where PGAs are contraindicated, for patients who do not respond to PGAs and for patients who choose to avoid the cosmetic issues associated with PGA products. Our advanced-stage product candidate, Roclatan TM, is a once-daily, fixed-dose combination of Rhopressa\u00ae and latanoprost, the most commonly prescribed drug for the treatment of patients with open-angle glaucoma. We plan to submit a New Drug Application (\"NDA\") for Roclatan TM to the FDA in the second quarter of 2018. We believe, based on our clinical data, that Roclatan TM has the potential to provide a greater IOP-reducing effect than any currently marketed glaucoma medication. Therefore, we believe that Roclatan TM, if approved, could compete with both PGA and non-PGA therapies and become the product of choice for patients requiring maximal IOP reduction, including those with higher IOPs and those who present with significant disease progression despite use of the currently available therapies. We own the worldwide rights to all indications for Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM. We have patent protection for Rhopressa\u00ae and Roclatan TM in the United States through at least 2030 and internationally through dates ranging from 2030 to 2037. Our intellectual property portfolio contains patents and pending patent applications related to composition of matter, pharmaceutical compositions, methods of use, and synthetic methods. Our collaboration with DSM, a global science-based company headquartered in the Netherlands, provides access to their bio-erodible polymer technology, and our acquisition of assets from Envisia Therapeutics Inc. (\"Envisia\"), which includes the right to use PRINT\u00ae manufacturing technology for ophthalmology, are designed to 1 advance our progress in developing potential future product candidates to treat retinal diseases. Aided by these technologies, we are developing two preclinical molecules focused on retinal disease. AR-13503, for which we expect to submit an Investigational New Drug application (\"IND\") in 2019, is an Aerie-owned Rho kinase and Protein kinase C inhibitor with potential in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (\"AMD\"), diabetic retinopathy and related diseases of the retina, such as diabetic macular edema (\"DME\"). As the active metabolite of AR-13154(S), AR-13503 has shown lesion size decreases in an in vivo preclinical model of wet AMD at levels similar to the current market-leading wet AMD anti-VEGF product. Also preclinically, when used in combination with the market leading anti-VEGF product, AR-13503 produced greater lesion size reduction than the anti-VEGF product alone in a model of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Additionally, through the Envisia asset acquisition, we are also developing AR-1105, a preclinical dexamethasone steroid implant with potential in the treatment of DME, and currently expect to submit an IND in late 2018. Further, we are evaluating our owned library of Rho kinase inhibitors for potential indications beyond ophthalmology.", - "id": "a3d3e6c9-88de-4cb2-aaba-47b11c341150" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 requires certain corporations and limited liability companies to disclose their beneficial owners. Given that Aegion Corp. is a corporation that may be impacted by the reporting requirements, especially if it has significant foreign ownership or partnerships, this bill is relevant to its business model and compliance obligations.", - "index": "471", - "bill_title": "To ensure that persons who form corporations or limited liability companies in the United States disclose the beneficial owners of those corporations or limited liability companies, in order to prevent wrongdoers from exploiting United States corporations and limited liability companies for criminal gain, to assist law enforcement in detecting, preventing, and punishing terrorism, money laundering, and other misconduct involving United States corporations and limited liability companies, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 \n\nThis bill requires certain new and existing small corporations and limited liability companies to disclose information about their beneficial owners. A beneficial owner is an individual who (1) exercises substantial control over a corporation or limited liability company, (2) owns 25% or more of the interest in a corporation or limited liability company, or (3) receives substantial economic benefits from the assets of a corporation or limited liability company. Specifically, if certain entities apply to form a corporation or limited liability company, they must file beneficial ownership information with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Furthermore, certain existing corporations and limited liability companies must file this information with FinCEN two years after the implementation of final regulations required under this bill. The bill imposes a civil penalty and authorizes criminal penalties\u2014a fine, a prison term for up to three years, or both\u2014for providing false or fraudulent beneficial ownership information or for willfully failing to provide complete or updated beneficial ownership information. The Government Accountability Office must study and report on (1) the availability of beneficial ownership information for other legal entities (e.g., partnerships), and (2) the effectiveness of incorporation practices implemented under this bill.", - "company_name": "Aegion Corp.", - "company_description": "Aegion combines innovative technologies with market leading expertise to maintain, rehabilitate and strengthen pipelines and other infrastructure around the world. Since 1971, we have played a pioneering role in finding transformational solutions to rehabilitate aging infrastructure, primarily pipelines in the wastewater, water, energy, mining and refining industries. We also maintain the efficient operation of refineries and other industrial facilities and provide innovative solutions for the strengthening and increased longevity of buildings, bridges and other structures. We believe the depth and breadth of our products and services make us a leading provider for the world's infrastructure rehabilitation and protection needs. Our Company premise is to use technology to extend the structural design life and maintain, if not improve, the performance of infrastructure, mostly pipelines and piping systems. We have proved this expertise can be applied in a variety of markets to protect pipelines in oil, gas, nuclear, power, utility, mining, wastewater and water applications and can be extended to the rehabilitation and maintenance of commercial structures and the provision of professional services in energy-related industries. Many types of infrastructure must be protected from the corrosive and abrasive materials that pass through or near them. Our expertise in non-disruptive corrosion engineering and abrasion protection is wide-ranging. We manufacture many of the engineered solutions we offer to customers as well as the specialized equipment required to install them. Finally, decades of experience give us an advantage in understanding municipal, utility, energy, mining, industrial and commercial customers. CIPP process served as the first trenchless technology for rehabilitating wastewater pipelines and has enabled municipalities and private industry to avoid the extraordinary expense and extreme disruption that can result from conventional \"dig-and-replace\" methods. We have maintained our leadership position in the CIPP market from manufacturing to technological innovations and market share for over 45 years. We embarked on a diversification strategy in 2009 to expand not only our geographic reach but also our product and service portfolio into the oil and gas markets. Through a series of strategic initiatives and key acquisitions, we now possess a broad portfolio of cost-effective solutions for rehabilitating and maintaining aging or deteriorating infrastructure, protecting new infrastructure from corrosion and other threats, and providing integrated professional services in engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance and turnaround services for oil and natural gas companies, primarily in the midstream and 2 downstream markets. Today, our long-term strategy is to invest in our core end markets for organic growth and acquire innovative technologies to enhance our competitive position. We have three operating segments, which are also our reportable segments: Infrastructure Solutions, Corrosion Protection and Energy Services. The majority of our work is performed in the municipal water and wastewater pipeline sector and, while the pace of growth is primarily driven by government funding and spending, overall demand due to required infrastructure improvements in our core markets should result in a long-term stable growth opportunity for our market leading products, Insituform\u00ae Corrosion Protection is positioned to capture the benefits of continued oil and natural gas pipeline infrastructure developments across North America and internationally, as producers and midstream pipeline companies transport their product from onshore and offshore oil and gas fields to regional demand centers. The segment has a broad portfolio of technologies, products and services to protect, maintain, rehabilitate, assess and monitor pipelines from the effects of corrosion, including cathodic protection, interior pipe linings, interior and exterior pipe coatings and inspection and repair capabilities, as well as an increasing offering of data management capabilities related to these services. We provide solutions to customers to enhance the safety, environmental integrity, reliability and compliance of their pipelines in the global transmission and distribution network, especially in the oil and gas markets. We offer a unique value proposition based on our world-class safety and labor productivity programs, which allow us to provide cost-effective construction, maintenance, turnaround and specialty services at customers' refineries as well as chemical and other industrial facilities. We understand the demands and the level of critical planning required to ensure a successful turnaround or shutdown and offer a full range of services as part of our facility maintenance solutions, while maintaining a reputation for being safe, professional and providing predictable value. We are committed to being a valued partner to our customers, with a constant focus on expanding those relationships by solving complex infrastructure problems, enhancing our capabilities and improving execution while also developing or acquiring innovative technologies and comprehensive services. The fundamental driver in the global municipal pipeline rehabilitation market is the growing gap between the need and current spend. While we do not expect the spending gap to close any time soon, the increasing need for pipeline rehabilitation supports a long-term sustainable market for the technologies and services offered by our Infrastructure Solutions segment.", - "id": "1e105d5b-4297-4e7a-9012-23ba66958111" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The SAFE Banking Act of 2019 is relevant to Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. as it provides legal protections for banks offering services to marijuana-related businesses. Given Allegiance Bank's focus on small to medium-sized businesses and its interest in diversified markets, the bill may facilitate safe banking practices for cannabis-related clients, allowing them to access necessary banking services without fear of federal penalties. This aligns with their super-community banking strategy which emphasizes customer relationships and service expansion.", - "index": "472", - "bill_title": "A bill to create protections for depository institutions that provide financial services to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service providers for such businesses, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019 or the SAFE Banking Act of 2019\n\nThis bill generally prohibits a federal banking regulator from penalizing a depository institution for providing banking services to a legitimate marijuana-related business. Specifically, the bill prohibits a federal banking regulator from (1) terminating or limiting the deposit insurance or share insurance of a depository institution solely because the institution\u00a0provides financial services to a legitimate\u00a0marijuana-related business; (2) prohibiting or otherwise discouraging a depository institution from offering financial\u00a0services to such a business;\u00a0(3) recommending, incentivizing, or encouraging a depository institution not to offer financial services to an account holder solely because the account holder is affiliated with such a business; (4) taking any adverse or corrective supervisory action on a loan made to a person solely because the person either owns such a business or owns real estate or equipment leased or sold to such a business; or (5) penalizing a depository institution for engaging in a financial service for such a business.\n\nAs specified by the bill, a\u00a0depository institution or a Federal Reserve bank shall not,\u00a0under federal law,\u00a0be liable or subject to forfeiture\u00a0for providing\u00a0a loan or other\u00a0financial services to a legitimate marijuana-related business.\n\nThe Government Accountability Office must report on (1) access to financial services for minority-owned and women-owned marijuana-related businesses; and (2) the effectiveness of suspicious-transaction reports\u00a0at finding engagement with organized criminal activity in jurisdictions that allow the cultivation, sale, or distribution of marijuana.", - "company_name": "Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. (Texas)", - "company_description": "Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. is a Texas corporation and registered bank holding company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Allegiance Bank, we provide a diversified range of commercial banking services primarily to small to medium-sized businesses within the Houston region, professionals and individual customers. Our super-community banking strategy, which is described in more detail below, is designed to foster strong customer relationships while benefitting from a platform and scale that is competitive with larger regional and national banks. As of December 31, 2018, we operated 28 full-service banking locations, with 27 bank offices and one loan production office in the Houston metropolitan area and one bank office location in Beaumont, just outside of the Houston metropolitan area. We have experienced significant growth since we began banking operations in 2007, resulting from both organic growth, including de novo branching, and three whole-bank acquisitions, most recently Post Oak Bancshares, The Company's objective is to grow and strengthen its community banking franchise by deploying its super-community banking strategy and by pursuing select strategic acquisitions in the Houston region. We are positioned to be a leading provider of personalized commercial banking services by emphasizing the strength and capabilities of local bank office management and by providing superior customer service. Super-community banking strategy. Our super-community banking strategy emphasizes local delivery of the excellent customer service associated with community banking combined with the products, efficiencies and scale associated with larger banks. We operate full-service bank offices and employ bankers with strong underwriting credentials who are authorized to make loan and underwriting decisions up to prescribed limits at the bank office level. We support bank office operations with a centralized credit approval process for larger credit relationships, loan operations, information technology, core data processing, accounting, finance, treasury and treasury management support, deposit operations and executive and board oversight. We emphasize lending to and banking with small to medium-sized businesses, with which we believe we can establish stronger relationships through excellent service and provide lending that can be priced on terms that are more attractive to the Company than would be achieved by lending to larger businesses. We believe this approach produces a clear competitive advantage by delivering an extraordinary customer experience and fostering a culture dedicated to achieving both superior external and internal service levels. increasing the productivity of existing bankers, as measured by loans, deposits and fee income per banker, while enhancing profitability by leveraging our existing operating platform; focusing on local and individualized decision-making, allowing us to provide customers with rapid decisions on loan requests, which we believe allows us to effectively compete with larger financial institutions; identifying and hiring additional seasoned bankers in the Houston region who will thrive within our super-community banking model, and opening additional branches where we are able to attract seasoned bankers; and developing new products designed to serve the increasingly diversified Houston economy, while preserving our strong culture of risk management. We intend to continue to expand our market position in the Houston region through organic growth, the development of de novo branch locations and a disciplined acquisition strategy. On January 31, 2016, the Company completed the sale of two of the acquired branches of Farmers & Merchants, Inc. Our senior management team has a demonstrated track record of managing profitable organic growth, improving operating efficiencies, maintaining a strong risk management culture, implementing a community and service-focused approach to banking and successfully executing and integrating acquisitions. Scalable banking and operational platform designed to foster and accommodate significant growth. We have built a capable and knowledgeable staff by utilizing the significant prior experience of our management team and employees. We have made extensive investments in the technology and systems necessary to build a scalable corporate infrastructure with the capacity to support continued growth. We are focused on delivering a wide variety of high-quality, relationship-driven commercial and community-oriented banking products and services tailored to meet the needs of small to medium-sized businesses, professionals and individuals in the Houston region. We actively solicit the deposit business of our consumer and commercial loan customers and seek to further leverage these relationships by broadening customer relationships with additional products and services. ", - "id": "4ae3ba82-f62d-4876-bc30-d613e93b0830" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses anticompetitive practices in the pharmaceutical industry, specifically focusing on drug manufacturers' behaviors such as patent thicketing and product hopping. Since 8x8, Inc. operates in the cloud communication and collaboration services sector, it does not have any direct ties to drug manufacturing or the regulations involving the Federal Trade Commission concerning pharmaceuticals. Therefore, the bill is not relevant to 8x8's business model or activities.", - "index": "473", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Federal Trade Commission Act to prohibit anticompetitive behaviors by drug product manufacturers, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act of 2019 This bill prohibits patent thicketing and product hopping by drug manufacturers. In general, patent thicketing occurs when a drug manufacturer obtains new patents related to a previously-patented drug, biological product, or underlying chemical composition that extends the manufacturer\u2019s market exclusivity for that drug without demonstrating that the new patents serve a meaningful purpose other than limiting competition from generic drug manufacturers. Product hopping is presumed when a drug manufacturer obtains removal of a drug from the Food and Drug Administration\u2019s approved drug list, discontinues a drug, or markets a reformulation of an already-approved drug during a certain period after which the manufacturer has been notified that a competing drug manufacturer has applied for generic drug approval. These practices are not considered product hopping if the manufacturer demonstrates that the drug was removed from the approved-drug list for safety reasons. Or, in the case of a drug reformulation, the manufacturer shows that the modified product provides a significant health benefit, is the option least likely to reduce competition, and is based on substantial financial considerations unrelated to limiting competition. The Federal Trade Commission may penalize violating manufacturers and bring claims in federal court to prohibit the conduct and provide restitution.", - "company_name": "8x8, Inc.", - "company_description": "customer acceptance and demand for our cloud communication and collaboration services, our reliance on infrastructure of third-party network services providers, our ability to maintain the compatibility of our software with third-party applications and mobile platforms, \u2022 continued compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements in the United States and foreign countries in which we make our software solutions available, and the costs of such compliance, \u2022 risks relating to our strategies and objectives for future operations, including the execution of integration plans and realization of the expected benefits of our acquisitions, introduction and adoption of our cloud software solutions in markets outside of the United States, \u2022 risk of cybersecurity breaches, \u2022 BUSINESS Overview 8x8 is a leading cloud provider of enterprise Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) communications solutions, that enable businesses of all sizes to communicate faster and smarter across voice, video meetings, chat and contact centers, transforming both employee and customer experiences with communications that work simply, integrate seamlessly, and perform reliably. From one proprietary cloud technology platform, customers have access to unified communications, team collaboration, video conferencing, contact center, data and analytics and other services. Unlike our cloud communication competitors, 8x8 owns its complete technology stack, built over twenty years of company investment and supported by over 170 technology patents. Our cloud communications and collaboration solutions are designed for easy deployment, management, and use, operating across multiple devices and locations for any business workflow or global environment. Built from core cloud technologies that we own and manage internally, our solution enables 8x8 customers to rely on one provider for their global communications, video meetings, contact center and customer support requirements. The 8x8 technology platform provides customers with key technology integrations within their existing infrastructure. Companies are looking to increase their competitive edge by integrating their communications with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Human Capital Management (HCM) applications, and other back-office IT (information technology) systems within their infrastructure. Further complicating matters, business users are circumventing their IT departments by using a variety of self-selected third-party tools for team communication and collaboration, driving a shift in the buying center for communications and collaboration from IT to individuals, a phenomenon known in the industry as \"shadow IT. \" 8x8 integrates across CRM/ERP (such as Netsuite or Bullhorn), service and support (such as Zendesk or Salesforce sales cloud), and other productivity/collaboration tools (slack or G-suite, for example), providing seamless access, unified analytics, and business flexibility to 8x8 customers. This is supported by 8x8 through its data security and compliance certifications, including HIPAA, FISMA and ISO 27001,which meet or exceed the requirements of government and industry agencies around the world. Many other legacy business processes have already experienced the move to the cloud phenomenon. Examples include companies using legacy front office applications switching to cloud providers like Salesforce.com, Inc., or the use of IT management applications migrating to industry disruptors such as Servicenow, Inc. Business communications applications are following suit as the next major business segment to migrate to the cloud. Businesses today face increasing cost and complexity with deployments of communications and collaboration solutions. Companies of all sizes are managing a global, distributed workforce that seeks to leverage multiple forms of communication in their day-to-day interactions. The rapid rise of mobile devices in the enterprise has created demand for bring-your-own-device (BYOD) integration as part of a typical business' communications needs. We believe that 8x8 is an industry disruptor (in the same vein as Salesforce was for front office applications or Servicenow was for IT applications), across three large markets: unified communications, video meeting solutions, and contact center applications. Our platform, which offers capabilities and functionality across all three areas in one integrated technology stack provides a complete cloud offering that enhances productivity and business insight. Combining these services allows our customers to eliminate information silos and expose vital, real-time communications data spanning multiple services, applications and devices which, in turn, can improve productivity, business performance and customer experience. Traditionally, small businesses were the first to transition their communications to the cloud starting several years ago, due to cost effectiveness, ease of deployment and inherent flexibility.", - "id": "0242f2eb-9b0d-4434-a151-f48c567fe0bb" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes an annual deadline for small refineries to submit petitions for exemptions from renewable fuel requirements which could impact fuel costs. Since United Airlines is responsible for all fuel costs incurred under their contracts, any increase in fuel costs due to the inability of small refineries to obtain exemptions could directly affect United Airlines' operational expenses and overall profitability.", - "index": "474", - "bill_title": "To impose an annual deadline of June 1 for small refineries to submit petitions for exemptions from the renewable fuel requirements under section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)) based on disproportionate economic hardship.", - "bill_summary": "Renewable Fuel Standard Integrity Act of 2019\n\nThis bill revises requirements for exemptions given to small refineries of crude oil under the renewable fuel program, which requires transportation fuel to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuel. Specifically, the bill establishes an annual deadline for petitions by small refineries for exemptions and subjects information in the petition to public disclosure requirements.", - "company_name": "United Airlines Holdings, Inc.", - "company_description": "As UAL consolidates United for financial statement purposes, disclosures that relate to activities of United also apply to UAL, unless otherwise noted. The Company transports people and cargo throughout North America and to destinations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. UAL, through United and its regional carriers, operates more than 4,800 flights a day to 353 airports across five continents, with hubs at Newark Liberty International Airport (\"Newark\"), Chicago O'Hare International Airport (\"Chicago O'Hare\"), Denver International Airport (\"Denver\"), George Bush Intercontinental Airport The hub and spoke system allows us to transport passengers between a large number of destinations with substantially more frequent service than if each route were served directly. The hub system also allows us to add service to a new destination from a large number of cities using only one or a limited number of aircraft. As discussed under Alliances below, United is a member of Star Alliance, the world's largest alliance network. The Company has contractual relationships with various regional carriers to provide regional aircraft service branded as United Express. This regional service complements our operations by carrying traffic that connects to our hubs and allows flights to smaller cities that cannot be provided economically with mainline aircraft. a CommutAir (\"CommutAir\"), ExpressJet Airlines (\"ExpressJet\"), GoJet Airlines (\"GoJet\"), Mesa Airlines (\"Mesa\"), SkyWest Airlines (\"SkyWest\"), Air Wisconsin Airlines (\"Air Wisconsin\"), and Trans States Airlines (\"Trans States\") are all regional carriers that operate with capacity contracted to United under capacity purchase agreements (\"CPAs\"). Under these CPAs, the Company pays the regional carriers contractually agreed fees (carrier costs) for operating these flights plus a variable reimbursement (incentive payment for operational performance) based on agreed performance metrics, subject 3 to annual adjustments. The fees for carrier costs are based on specific rates for various operating expenses of the regional carriers, such as crew expenses, maintenance and aircraft ownership, some of which are multiplied by specific operating statistics (e.g., block hours, departures), while others are fixed monthly amounts. Under these CPAs, the Company is responsible for all fuel costs incurred, as well as landing fees and other costs, which are either passed through by the regional carrier to the Company without any markup or directly incurred by the Company, and, in some cases, the Company owns or leases some or all of the aircraft subject to the CPA, and leases or subleases, as applicable, such aircraft to the regional carrier. In return, the regional carriers operate the capacity of the aircraft included within the scope of such CPA exclusively for United, on schedules determined by the Company. The Company also determines pricing and revenue management, assumes the inventory and distribution risk for the available seats and permits mileage accrual and redemption for regional flights through its MileagePlus\u00ae loyalty program. United is a member of Star Alliance, a global integrated airline network and the largest and most comprehensive airline alliance in the world. As of January 1, 2019 , Star Alliance carriers served over 1,300 airports in 193 countries with 18,800 daily departures. Star Alliance members, in addition to United, are Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways In addition to its members, Star Alliance includes Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines as a connecting partner. United has a variety of bilateral commercial alliance agreements and obligations with Star Alliance members, addressing, among other things, reciprocal earning and redemption of frequent flyer miles, access to airport lounges and, with certain Star Alliance members, codesharing of flight operations (whereby one carrier's selected flights can be marketed under the brand name of another carrier). In addition to the alliance agreements with Star Alliance members, United currently maintains independent marketing alliance agreements with other air carriers, including Aeromar, Aer Lingus, Air Dolomiti, Azul Linhas A\u00e9reas Brasileiras S.A. In addition to the marketing alliance agreements with air partners, United also offers a train-to-plane codeshare and frequent flyer alliance with Amtrak from Newark on select city pairs in the northeastern United States. United also participates in four passenger joint business arrangements (\"JBAs\"): one with Air Canada and the Lufthansa Group (which includes Lufthansa and its affiliates Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings and SWISS) covering transatlantic routes, one with ANA covering certain transpacific routes, one with Air New Zealand covering certain routes between the United States and New Zealand and one with Avianca and Copa Airlines, which, upon receipt of regulatory approvals will cover routes between the United States and Central and South America, excluding Brazil. These passenger JBAs enable the participating carriers to integrate the services they provide in the respective regions, capturing revenue synergies and delivering enhanced customer benefits, such as highly competitive flight schedules, fares and services. United also participates in cargo JBAs with ANA for transpacific cargo services and with Lufthansa for transatlantic cargo services. These cargo JBAs offer expanded and more seamless access to cargo space across the carriers' respective combined networks. ", - "id": "c9d52e2a-da2d-4737-9c26-3586a4182dc4" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on supplemental appropriations for border security and disaster relief, which primarily affects government agencies and natural disaster response efforts. This is not directly relevant to Alphabet, Inc.'s business model or activities, which revolve around technology, internet services, and innovation in various sectors, including digital payments and AI. The legal consequences of this bill do not impact Alphabet's core operations or strategic objectives.", - "index": "475", - "bill_title": "A bill to provide for additional supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, for border security and disaster relief.", - "bill_summary": "Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Border Security and Disaster Relief, 2019\n\nThis bill provides FY2019 supplemental appropriations to several federal departments and agencies for expenses related to natural disasters and border security.\n\nThe funding provided by this bill is designated as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits.\n\nThe bill includes appropriations for\n\n U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, the Department of Education, the Government Accountability Office, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.", - "company_name": "Alphabet, Inc.", - "company_description": "That unconventional spirit has been a driving force throughout our history -- inspiring us to do things like rethink the mobile device ecosystem with Android and map the world with Google Maps. Alphabet is a collection of businesses -- the largest of which is Google. It also includes businesses that are generally pretty far afield of our main internet products in areas such as self-driving cars, life sciences, internet access and TV services. The Internet is one of the world's most powerful equalizers, capable of propelling new ideas and people forward. So whether you're a child in a rural village or a professor at an elite university, you can access the same information. We are helping people get online by tailoring digital experiences to the needs of emerging markets. For instance, our digital payments app in India, now called Google Pay, helps tens of millions of people and businesses easily pay with just a few taps. We're also making sure our core Google products are fast and useful, especially for users in areas where speed and connectivity are central concerns. For instance, Loon announced that it will bring its balloon-powered internet to regions of central Kenya, starting in 2019. People thought we were crazy when we acquired YouTube and Android and when we launched Chrome, but those efforts have matured into major platforms for digital video and mobile devices and a safer, popular browser. The power of machine learning Across the company, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly driving many of our latest innovations. Within Google, our investments in machine learning over a decade have enabled us to build products that are smarter and more useful -- it's what allows you to use your voice to ask the Google Assistant for information, to translate the web from one language to another, to see better YouTube recommendations, and to search for people and events in Google Photos. Our advertising tools also use machine learning to help marketers find the right audience, deliver the right creative, and optimize their campaigns through better auto-bidding and measurement tools. Machine learning is also showing great promise in helping us tackle big issues, like dramatically improving the energy efficiency of our data centers. Across Other Bets, machine learning helps self-driving cars better detect and respond to others on the road, assists delivery drones in determining whether a location is safe for drop off, and can also help clinicians more accurately detect sight-threatening eye diseases. We have always been a company committed to building products that have the potential to improve the lives of millions of people. Our product innovations have made our services widely used, and our brand one of the most recognized in the world. Google's core products and platforms such as Android, Chrome, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Play, Search, and YouTube each have over one billion monthly active users. Our vision is to remain a place of incredible creativity and innovation 3 that uses our technical expertise to tackle big problems. As the majority of Alphabet's big bets continue to reside within Google, an important benefit of the shift to Alphabet has been the tremendous focus that we' Instead of just showing ten blue links in our search results, we are increasingly able to provide direct answers -- even if you're speaking your question using Voice Search -- which makes it quicker, easier and more natural to find what you're looking for. You can also type or talk with the Google Assistant in a conversational way across multiple devices like phones, speakers, headphones, televisions and more. And with Google Lens, you can use your phone's camera to identify an unfamiliar landmark or find a trailer from a movie poster. Over time, we have also added other services that let you access information quickly and easily -- like Google Maps, which helps you navigate to a store while showing you current traffic conditions, or Google Photos, which helps you store and organize your photos. ", - "id": "d5b6c856-4fe9-428a-ba0e-523de727c9d6" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily addresses immigration and the status of individuals who entered the United States as children, which does not directly pertain to the operations of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on rare diseases and drug development.", - "index": "476", - "bill_title": "A bill to authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain individuals who are long-term United States residents and who entered the United States as children, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Dream Act of 2019\n\nThis bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cancel removal and grant lawful permanent resident status on a conditional basis to an alien who is inadmissible or deportable or is in temporary protected status who (1) has been continuously physically present in the United States for four years preceding this bill's enactment; (2) was younger than 18 years of age on the initial date of U.S. entry; (3) is not inadmissible on various grounds such as those related to crime or security; and (4) has fulfilled specified educational requirements.\n\nDHS shall cancel the removal of, and adjust to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence on a conditional basis, an alien who was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status unless the alien has engaged in conduct that would make the alien ineligible for DACA.\n\nDHS shall remove the conditional basis of the permanent resident status granted under this bill if the alien meets various requirements, such as (1) maintaining residence in the United States, and (2) acquiring a degree from an institution of higher education or serving in the Uniformed Services.\n\nDHS may not disclose or use information provided in applications filed under this bill or in DACA requests for immigration enforcement purposes.\n\nThe bill repeals a restriction barring states from providing higher education benefits to undocumented aliens unless those benefits are available to all U.S. citizens.", - "company_name": "Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by our management, and may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the potential benefits and commercial potential of UTLOMIRIS\u2122, SOLIRIS\u00ae, STRENSIQ\u00ae and KANUMA\u00ae for approved indications and any expanded uses, sales of our products in various markets worldwide, pricing for our products, level of insurance coverage and reimbursement for our products, timing regarding development and regulatory approvals for additional indications or in additional territories; plans for clinical trials (and proof of concept trials), status of our ongoing clinical trials for our product candidates, commencement dates for new clinical trials, clinical trial results and evaluation of our clinical trial results by regulatory agencies; potential benefits offered by product candidates, including improved dosing intervals; the medical and commercial potential of additional indications for our products; the expected timing for the completion and/or regulatory approval of our facilities and facilities of our third-party manufacturers; future expansion of our commercial organization; future governmental and regulatory decisions regarding pricing (and discounts) and the adoption, implementation and interpretation of healthcare laws and regulations (and the impact on our business); plans and prospects for future regulatory approval of products and product candidates; competitors, potential competitors and future competitive products (including biosimilars); plans to grow our product pipeline (and diversify our business, including through acquisitions) and anticipated benefits to the Company; future objective to expand business and sales; anticipated future milestone, contingent and royalty payments (and expected impact on liquidity); timing and anticipated amounts of future tax payments and benefits, as well as timing of conclusion of tax audits; the adequacy of our pharmacovigilance and drug safety reporting processes; the uncertainties involved in the drug development process and manufacturing; \u2022 performance and reliance on third party service providers; 3 \u2022 our future research and development activities, plans for acquired programs, our ability to develop and commercialize products with our collaborators; \u2022 periods of patent, regulatory and market exclusivity for our products; \u2022 Overview Alexion is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on serving patients and families affected by rare diseases through the innovation, development and commercialization of life-changing therapies. We are the global leader in complement inhibition and have developed and commercialize t he only two approved complement inhibitors to treat patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), as well as the first and only approved complement inhibitor to treat atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) and anti-acetylcholine receptor (AchR) antibody-positive generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG). In addition, Alexion has two highly innovative enzyme replacement therapies for patients with life-threatening and ultra-rare metabolic disorders, hypophosphatasia (HPP) and lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (LAL-D). As the leader in complement biology for over 20 years, Alexion focuses its research efforts on novel molecules and targets in the complement cascade, and its development efforts on the core therapeutic areas of hematology, nephrology, neurology, and metabolic disorders. We focus our products and development programs on life-transforming therapeutics for rare diseases for which we believe the current treatments are either non-existent or inadequate. We have developed or are developing innovative products for the following indications: Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) ", - "id": "1a670fc5-1345-4948-a3cd-c5758965ffe7" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes criteria for classifying workers as independent contractors rather than employees, which is relevant to Public Storage's business model. As a large employer in the self-storage industry, Public Storage likely engages many service providers and contractors in its operations. The changes in worker classification could impact how Public Storage manages its workforce, including tax implications, reporting requirements, and eligibility for benefits, thus directly affecting its operational structure and financials.", - "index": "477", - "bill_title": "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a safe harbor for determinations of worker classification, to require increased reporting, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "New Economy Works to Guarantee Independence and Growth Act of 2019 or the NEW GIG Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a test for determining if a service provider should be classified as an independent contractor rather than as an employee for tax purposes.\n\nIf the requirements of the test are met, the provider may not be treated as an employee, the recipient or any payor may not be treated as an employer, and compensation for the service may not be treated as paid or received with respect to employment.\n\nThe factors of the test include\n\n the relationship between the parties (i.e., the provider incurs expenses; does not work exclusively for a single recipient; performs the service for a particular amount of time, to achieve a specific result, or to complete a specific task; or is a sales person compensated primarily on a commission basis); the place of business or ownership of the equipment (i.e., the provider has a principal place of business, does not work primarily at the recipient's place of business, and provides tools or supplies); and the performance of the services under a written contract that meets certain requirements (i.e., specifies that the provider is not an employee, the recipient will satisfy withholding and reporting requirements, and that the provider is responsible for taxes on the compensation). The bill also (1) sets forth withholding and reporting requirements for service recipients who meet the requirements of the test, and (2) allows service providers to petition the U.S. Tax Court for a determination of employment status.", - "company_name": "Public Storage", - "company_description": "We acquire, develop, own and operate self-storage facilities , which offer storage spaces for lease on a month-to-month basis, for personal and business use. We are the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in the U.S. We have direct and indirect equity interests in 2,429 self-storage facilities that we consolidate (an aggregate of 162 million net rentable square feet of space) located in 38 states within the U.S. operating under the \"Public Storage\" brand name. Ancillary Operations : We reinsure policies against losses to goods stored by customers in our self-storage facilities and sell merchandise, primarily locks and cardboard boxes, at our self-storage facilities. Inc. (\"PSB\"), a publicly held REIT that owns, operates, acquires and develops commercial properties, primarily multi-tenant flex, office, and industrial parks. At December 31, 201 8 , PSB owns and operates 28. 2 million rentable square feet of commercial space. : We have a 35 % equity inter est in Shurgard Self Storage SA (\"Shurgard Europe\"), a publicly held company trading under Euronext Brussels under the \"SHUR\" symbol , which owns 232 self-storage facilities (13 million net rentable square feet) located in seven countries in Western Europe operated under the \"Shurgard\" brand name. We believe Shurgard Europe is the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in Western Europe. We also manage 33 self-storage facilities for third parties . We are seeking to expand our third-party management operations to further increase our economies of scale and leverage our brand; however, there is no 5 assurance that we will be able to do so. We also own 0.8 million net rentable square feet of commercial space which is managed primarily by PSB . For all periods presented herein, we have elected to be treated as a REIT, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the \"Code\") . and we expect to continue to elect and qualify as a REIT. We believe that our customers genera lly store their goods within a three to f ive mile radius of their home or business . Our facilities compete with nearby self-storage facilities owned by other operators using marketing channels similar to ours , including Internet advertising, signage, and banners and offer services similar to ours . A s a result, competition is significant and affects the occupancy levels, rental rates, rental income and operating expenses of our facilities. In the last three years, there has been a marked increase in development of new self-storage facilities in many of the markets we operate in, due to the favorable economics of development which we have also taken advantage of. These newly developed facilities compete with many of the facilities we own, negatively impacting our occupancies, rental rates, and rental growth. This increase in supply has been most notable in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, New York, and Portland. Ownership and operation of self-storage facilities is highly fragmented. As the largest owner of self-storage facilities, we believe that we own approximately 7 % of the self-storage square footage in the U.S. and that collectively the five largest self-storage owners in the U.S. own approximately 15 %, with the remaining 8 5 % owned by numerous regional and local operators. We believe that we have significant market share and concentration in major metropolitan centers, with approximately 71 % of our 201 8 same-store revenues generated in the 20 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (each, an \"MSA\", as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau) with the highest population levels. Industry fragmentation also provides opportunities for us to acquire additional facilities; however, we compete with a wide variety of institutions and other investors who also view self-storage facilities as attractive investments. The amount of capital available for real estate investments greatly influences the competition for ownership interests in facilities and, by extension, the yields that we can achieve on newly acquired investments. a s well as analyze customer data and quickly change each of our individual properties", - "id": "2ed5c568-3209-455f-a659-a3cfa054d064" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill establishes a public health insurance option, which could increase access to mental health treatments and potentially improve market conditions for ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, as their primary products focus on CNS disorders, including PD Psychosis and major depressive disorder.", - "index": "478", - "bill_title": "To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a public health insurance option, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Consumer Health Options and Insurance Competition Enhancement Act or the CHOICE Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop a public health insurance option that meets all federal plan requirements and is available on state and federal health insurance exchanges. Specifically, the CMS must offer silver and gold plans, may offer bronze plans, and must include all essential benefits, consumer protections, and cost-sharing limitations in each plan. The CMS may contract with a third party to administer the public option plans and states may establish advisory councils to make recommendations to the CMS about the operation and policies of such plans. Further, the CMS must establish geographically adjusted premiums and negotiate provider payment rates for services and prescription drugs covered the plans. If a payment rate cannot be negotiated, the CMS must pay the amount for such service as required under traditional Medicare. Medicare and Medicaid providers are automatically participants in public option plans unless they opt out, and providers not participating in Medicare or Medicaid may opt in.", - "company_name": "ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative medicines that address unmet medical needs in central nervous system, or CNS, disorders. We have a portfolio of product opportunities led by our novel drug, NUPLAZID (pimavanserin), which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, in April 2016 for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis, or PD Psychosis, and is the only drug approved in the United States for this condition. NUPLAZID is a selective serotonin inverse agonist, or SSIA, preferentially targeting 5-HT 2A receptors. Through this novel mechanism, NUPLAZID demonstrated significant efficacy in reducing the hallucinations and delusions associated with PD Psychosis in our Phase 3 pivotal trial and has the potential to avoid many of the debilitating side effects of existing antipsychotics, none of which are approved by the FDA in the treatment of PD Psychosis. We hold worldwide commercialization rights to pimavanserin. We launched NUPLAZID in the United States in May 2016 with the recommended dosing of 34 mg once a day taken as two 17 mg tablets. In June 2018, the FDA approved a 34 mg NUPLAZID capsule formulation that provides patients with the recommended 34 mg once daily dose in a single, small capsule, reducing patient pill burden compared to the previous administration of two 17 mg tablets. In addition, the FDA approved a 10 mg NUPLAZID tablet for patients concomitantly receiving strong cytochrome 3A4 inhibitors, which can inhibit the metabolizing of NUPLAZID . We believe that pimavanserin has the potential to address important unmet medical needs in neurological and psychiatric disorders in addition to PD Psychosis and we are continuing to study the use of pimavanserin in multiple disease states. For example, we believe dementia-related psychosis is one of our most important opportunities for further exploration. In December 2016, we 1 announced positive top-line results from our Phase 2 s tudy exploring the utility of pimavanserin for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease psychosis, or AD Psychosis, a disorder for which no drug is currently approved by the FDA. Following our End-of-Phase 2 Meeting with the FDA and agreement with the agency , we initiated our Phase 3 HARMONY relapse prevention study in October 2017, which allows us to evaluate pimavanserin for a broader indication than AD Psychosis alone. More specifically, HARMONY will evaluate pimavanserin for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with dementia-related psychosis, which includes psychosis in patients with Alzheimer's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease dementia, vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementi Furthermore, in the fourth quarter of 2017, the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to pimavanserin for dementia-related psychosis. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, major depressive disorder, or MDD, affects approximately 16 million adults in the United States, with approximately 2.5 million adults treated with adjunctive therapy. The majority of people who suffer from MDD do not respond adequately to initial antidepressant therapy. In October 2018, we announced positive top-line results from CLARITY, a Phase 2 study evaluating pimavanserin for adjunctive treatment in 207 patients with MDD who had a confirmed inadequate response to existing first-line, SSRI or SNRI, antidepressant therapy. In the study, pimavanserin met the pre-specified primary and key secondary endpoints with statistical significance and positive results were also observed in seven additional secondary endpoints including response rate, improvement in sexual function, and a reduction in daytime sleepiness. Pimavanserin was generally well-tolerated in the study with no meaningful weight gain or impact on motor function observed. In February 2019, we conducted an End-of-Phase 2 Meeting with the FDA and we plan to initiate a Phase 3 program for pimavanserin as an adjunctive treatment for MDD in the first half of 2019. We also believe schizophrenia is a disease with multiple unmet or ill-served needs and we are currently exploring the utility of pimavanserin in this area. Despite a large number of FDA-approved therapies for schizophrenia, current drugs do not adequately address certain important symptoms of schizophrenia, such as inadequate response to current antipsychotic treatment of psychotic symptoms and negative symptoms.", - "id": "e92cde71-f08a-470b-9bf6-e9e5a7f92329" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill pertains to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, which are directly relevant to Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. as a banking institution. The company is required to comply with such regulations to mitigate risks associated with illicit financial activities and to ensure proper reporting to authorities like FinCEN. Since the bill involves increased regulations and penalties related to these laws, it impacts the bank's compliance obligations and operational policies.", - "index": "479", - "bill_title": "To make reforms to the Federal Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering laws, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Coordinating Oversight, Upgrading and Innovating Technology, and Examiner Reform Act of 2019 or the COUNTER Act of 2019 \n\nThis bill generally revises requirements related to anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing laws.\n\nAmong other things, the bill\n\n establishes new offices within financial regulatory agencies related to privacy and civil liberties; creates programs within the Department of the Treasury to enable foreign and domestic outreach regarding these laws; allows for increased information sharing between law enforcement, financial institutions, and financial regulators; and revises whistleblower incentives related to actions brought by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The bill also increases penalties for violations of anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing laws, requires antiquities and art dealers to comply with these laws, and requires the reporting of beneficial ownership information to FinCEN in certain commercial real estate transactions.", - "company_name": "Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. (Texas)", - "company_description": "Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. is a Texas corporation and registered bank holding company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Allegiance Bank, we provide a diversified range of commercial banking services primarily to small to medium-sized businesses within the Houston region, professionals and individual customers. Our super-community banking strategy, which is described in more detail below, is designed to foster strong customer relationships while benefitting from a platform and scale that is competitive with larger regional and national banks. As of December 31, 2018, we operated 28 full-service banking locations, with 27 bank offices and one loan production office in the Houston metropolitan area and one bank office location in Beaumont, just outside of the Houston metropolitan area. We have experienced significant growth since we began banking operations in 2007, resulting from both organic growth, including de novo branching, and three whole-bank acquisitions, most recently Post Oak Bancshares, The Company's objective is to grow and strengthen its community banking franchise by deploying its super-community banking strategy and by pursuing select strategic acquisitions in the Houston region. We are positioned to be a leading provider of personalized commercial banking services by emphasizing the strength and capabilities of local bank office management and by providing superior customer service. Super-community banking strategy. Our super-community banking strategy emphasizes local delivery of the excellent customer service associated with community banking combined with the products, efficiencies and scale associated with larger banks. We operate full-service bank offices and employ bankers with strong underwriting credentials who are authorized to make loan and underwriting decisions up to prescribed limits at the bank office level. We support bank office operations with a centralized credit approval process for larger credit relationships, loan operations, information technology, core data processing, accounting, finance, treasury and treasury management support, deposit operations and executive and board oversight. We emphasize lending to and banking with small to medium-sized businesses, with which we believe we can establish stronger relationships through excellent service and provide lending that can be priced on terms that are more attractive to the Company than would be achieved by lending to larger businesses. We believe this approach produces a clear competitive advantage by delivering an extraordinary customer experience and fostering a culture dedicated to achieving both superior external and internal service levels. increasing the productivity of existing bankers, as measured by loans, deposits and fee income per banker, while enhancing profitability by leveraging our existing operating platform; focusing on local and individualized decision-making, allowing us to provide customers with rapid decisions on loan requests, which we believe allows us to effectively compete with larger financial institutions; identifying and hiring additional seasoned bankers in the Houston region who will thrive within our super-community banking model, and opening additional branches where we are able to attract seasoned bankers; and developing new products designed to serve the increasingly diversified Houston economy, while preserving our strong culture of risk management. We intend to continue to expand our market position in the Houston region through organic growth, the development of de novo branch locations and a disciplined acquisition strategy. On January 31, 2016, the Company completed the sale of two of the acquired branches of Farmers & Merchants, Inc. Our senior management team has a demonstrated track record of managing profitable organic growth, improving operating efficiencies, maintaining a strong risk management culture, implementing a community and service-focused approach to banking and successfully executing and integrating acquisitions. Scalable banking and operational platform designed to foster and accommodate significant growth. We have built a capable and knowledgeable staff by utilizing the significant prior experience of our management team and employees. We have made extensive investments in the technology and systems necessary to build a scalable corporate infrastructure with the capacity to support continued growth. We are focused on delivering a wide variety of high-quality, relationship-driven commercial and community-oriented banking products and services tailored to meet the needs of small to medium-sized businesses, professionals and individuals in the Houston region. We actively solicit the deposit business of our consumer and commercial loan customers and seek to further leverage these relationships by broadening customer relationships with additional products and services. ", - "id": "fda5a8ba-5003-41c6-abf7-aa4282f33836" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The TRACED Act implements legal consequences that are directly relevant to ADTRAN, Inc.'s business as a provider of networking and communications equipment. The requirement for voice service providers to develop call authentication technologies and the emphasis on reducing robocalls directly impacts the solutions that ADTRAN provides, particularly in terms of compliance, product development, and offerings in the telecommunication market. Additionally, the collaboration with the FCC and enforcement against robocalls could affect ADTRAN's service provider customers, influencing demand for their products and services.", - "index": "480", - "bill_title": "To deter criminal robocall violations and improve enforcement of section 227(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act or the TRACED Act\n\nThis bill implements a forfeiture penalty for violations (with or without intent) of the prohibition on certain robocalls. The bill also removes an annual reporting requirement for enforcement relating to unsolicited facsimile advertisements.\n\nThe bill requires voice service providers to develop call authentication technologies.\n\n The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) shall promulgate rules establishing when a provider may block a voice call based on information provided by the call authentication framework, but also must establish a process to permit a calling party adversely affected by the framework to verify the authenticity of their calls. The FCC shall also initiate a rulemaking to help protect a subscriber from receiving unwanted calls or texts from a caller using an unauthenticated number.\n\nThis bill requires the Department of Justice and the FCC to assemble an interagency working group to study and report to Congress on the enforcement of the prohibition of certain robocalls. Specifically, the working group will look into how to better enforce against robocalls by examining issues like the types of laws, policies, or constraints that could be inhibiting enforcement.\n\nThe bill requires the FCC to initiate a proceeding to determine whether its policies regarding access to number resources could be modified to help reduce access to numbers by potential robocall violators.", - "company_name": "ADTRAN, Inc.", - "company_description": "BUSINESS Overview ADTRAN is a leading global provider of networking and communications equipment, serving a diverse domestic and international customer base in 68 countries that includes Tier 1, 2 and 3 service providers, cable/MSOs and distributed enterprises. Our innovative solutions and services enable voice, data, video and internet communications across a variety of network infrastructures and are currently in use by millions of users worldwide. Our success depends upon our ability to increase unit volume and market share through the introduction of new products and succeeding generations of products having lower selling prices and increased functionality as compared to both the prior generation of a product and to the products of competitors. In order to service our customers and build revenue, we are constantly conducting research and development of new products addressing customer needs and testing those products for the particular specifications of the particular customers. In addition to our corporate headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama, we have research and development (R & D) facilities in strategic global locations. We are focused on being a top global supplier of access infrastructure and related value-added solutions from the cloud edge to the subscriber edge. We offer a broad portfolio of flexible software and hardware network solutions and services that enable service providers to meet today's service demands, while enabling them to transition to the fully converged, scalable, highly automated, cloud-controlled voice, data, internet and video network of the future. Our business operates under two reportable segments: Network Solutions and Services & Support. We also report revenue across three categories \u2013 Access & Aggregation, Subscriber Solutions & Experience (formerly Customer Devices) and Traditional & Other Products. Headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, ADTRAN anchors Cummings Research Park\u2014the second largest high-tech center in the U.S. and fourth largest in the world. Revenue Segments Our business operates under two reportable segments: Network Solutions and Services & Support. Our Network Solutions software and hardware products provide solutions supporting fiber-, copper- and coaxial-based infrastructures and a growing number of wireless solutions, lowering the overall cost to deploy advanced services across a wide range of applications for Carrier and Cable/MSO networks. We are accelerating the industry's transition to open, programmable and scalable networks. ADTRAN offers both chassis-based networks solutions, such as our Total Access 5000 (TA5000) and hiX families, as well as disaggregated network solutions which leverage ADTRAN's Software Defined Access (SD-Access) architecture which combines modern web-scale technologies with open-source platforms to facilitate rapid innovation in multi-technology, multi-vendor environments. The Mosaic cloud platform and Mosaic OS, combined with programmable network elements, provide operators with a highly agile, open-services architecture. This enables operators to better compete with web-scale companies by reducing the time and cost to onboard new services, technologies, and supply partners as they strive to reduce operational costs. Also included in this category are our subscriber solutions that terminate the broadband access in the home and/or business . These include open-source connected home and enterprise platforms, cloud services, Wi-Fi and software applications and services . To complement our Network Solutions portfolio and to enable our service provider customers to accelerate time to market, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction, we offer a complete portfolio of services. These include consulting, managed services, solutions integration, network implementation and maintenance services. ADTRAN's consulting services allow service providers to leverage ADTRAN's 30 plus years of network engineering expertise to build and deploy best of breed networks. Our ADTRAN NetAssure Program offers a variety of ways to leverage ADTRAN networking expertise applied to networks. One aspect, the resident engineering services, provides an on-site ADTRAN engineer, whose goal is to drive customer success by serving as the single point of contact for product knowledge, on-going network troubleshooting, and technical expertise, enabling service providers to gain a strategic competitive advantage from our products. 's integration services enable operators to architect and build the open distributed access networks of the future. Our solutions integration offerings include our SD-Access Accelerator.", - "id": "0057b375-a0b1-4cde-a355-9a87f7e6a40d" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill is relevant to Chase Corp. because it provides tax incentives for hiring veterans in the renewable energy sector. Although Chase Corp. primarily operates in specialty chemicals with applications in electrical and telecommunications industries, the renewable energy sector may use their products, particularly those involving advanced adhesives, sealants, and coatings for specialized applications. Additionally, supporting the hiring of veterans aligns with corporate social responsibility, which may enhance their brand reputation.", - "index": "481", - "bill_title": "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide the work opportunity tax credit with respect to the hiring of veterans in the field of renewable energy.", - "bill_summary": "Incentives for our Nation's Veterans in Energy Sustainability Technologies or the INVEST Act\n\nThis bill allows the work opportunity tax credit to be used for the hiring of a specified veteran who works in a field of renewable energy. A \"specified veteran\" means any veteran who is certified as (1) having received a credential or certification from the Department of Defense of a military occupational specialty or skill in a field of renewable energy or with respect to advanced manufacturing, machinist or welding, or engineering; (2) having completed a vocational degree in a field of renewable energy; or (3) having completed a LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification with the United States Green Building Council.\n\nThe Department of the Treasury shall pay (1) each U.S. possession (i.e., American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) with a mirror code tax system amounts equal to the loss to such possession due to this bill; and (2) each U.S. possession without such a tax system an amount estimated to equal the loss to such possession that would have occurred due to this bill if such a tax system had been in effect.", - "company_name": "Chase Corp.", - "company_description": "Item 1 \u2013 Busines s Primary Operating Divisions and Facilities and Industry Segments Chase Corporation, a global specialty chemicals company founded in 1946, is a leading manufacturer of protective materials for high-reliability applications. The segments are distinguished by the nature of the products we manufacture and how they are delivered to their respective markets. The Industrial Materials segment includes specified products that are used in, or integrated into, another company's product, with demand typically dependent upon general economic conditions. The Construction Materials segment is principally composed of project-oriented product offerings that are primarily sold and used as \"Chase\" branded products. Our manufacturing facilities are distinct to their respective segments with the exception of our O'Hara Township, PA and Blawnox, PA facilities, which produce products related to both operating segments. Background/History Specialty tapes and related products for the electronic and telecommunications industries using the brand name Chase & Sons\u00ae. Insulating and conducting materials for the manufacture of electrical and telephone wire and cable, electrical splicing, and terminating and repair tapes, which are marketed to wire and cable manufacturers selling into energy-oriented and communication markets, and to public utilities. PaperTyger\u00ae, a trademark for laminated durable papers sold to the envelope converting and commercial printing industries. In August 2011, we relocated our manufacturing processes that had been previously conducted at our Webster, MA facility to this location. In December 2012, we relocated the majority of our manufacturing processes that had been previously conducted at our Randolph, MA facility to this location. Our Randolph facility was one of our first operating facilities, and had been producing products for the wire and cable industry for more than fifty years. Chase BLH2OCK\u00ae, a water-blocking compound sold to the wire and cable industry. In September 2012, we relocated our Chase BLH2OCK\u00ae manufacturing processes that had been previously conducted at our Randolph, MA facility to this location. Protective conformal coatings under the brand name HumiSeal\u00ae, moisture protective electronic coatings sold to the electronics industry including circuitry used in automobiles, industrial controls and home appliances. Advanced adhesives, sealants, and coatings for automotive and industrial applications that require specialized bonding, encapsulating, environmental protection, or thermal management functionality. In September 2016, we acquired certain assets and the operations of Resin Designs, LLC, and entered leases in their existing manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts and California. Laminated film foils for the electronics and cable industries and cover tapes essential to delivering semiconductor components via tape and reel packaging. Pulling and detection tapes used in the installation, measurement and location of fiber optic cables, and water and natural gas lines. Cover tapes essential to delivering semiconductor components via tape and reel packaging. In October 2013, we moved the majority of our manufacturing processes that had been conducted at our Taylorsville, NC facility to our Lenoir, NC location. 3 Key Products & Services Primary Manufacturing Locations Background/History Protective conformal coatings under the brand name HumiSeal\u00ae, moisture protective electronic coatings sold to the electronics industry including circuitry used in automobiles, industrial controls and home appliances. In March 2007, we expanded our international presence with the formation of HumiSeal Europe SARL in France. HumiSeal Europe SARL operates a sales/technical service office and warehouse near Paris, France. In June 2016, we further expanded our international presence through the purchase of Spray Products (India) Private Limited, located in Pune, India. This business enhances the Company's ability to provide technical, sales, manufacturing, chemical handling and packaging services in the region and works closely with our HumiSeal manufacturing operation in Winnersh, Wokingham, England.", - "id": "5d2311fd-cba7-4ff2-a292-29c69dbd0481" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill allows for tax-exempt parental leave savings accounts, providing tax deductions for contributions related to parental leave. This is relevant to Prologis, Inc. as it may affect the company's employee benefits and compensation structure, influencing recruitment and retention strategies, and ultimately impacting their operational expenditures and financial planning.", - "index": "482", - "bill_title": "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for parent savings accounts, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Working Parents Flexibility Act of 2019\n\nThis bill allows tax-exempt parental leave savings accounts for the care of a child. An individual who has earned income from employment during the past 12 months may make tax deductible cash contributions of up to $6,750 in a taxable year to an account. The total contributions to an account for all taxable years may not exceed $24,000. Taxpayers whose adjusted gross income exceeds $250,000 in a taxable year are ineligible for such a tax deduction.\n\nThe bill excludes from gross income (1) distributions from a parental leave savings account that are made not later than one year after the birth or adoption of a child of an account holder, and (2) contributions made by an employer to the parental leave savings account of an employee.", - "company_name": "Prologis, Inc.", - "company_description": "Business Prologis, Inc. is a self-administered and self-managed REIT and is the sole general partner of Prologis, L.P. through which it holds substantially all of its assets. We invest in real estate through wholly owned subsidiaries and other entities through which we co-invest with partners and investors. Prologis, Inc. began operating as a fully integrated real estate company in 1997 and elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (\"Internal Revenue Code\"). We believe the current organization and method of operation will enable Prologis, Inc. to maintain its status as a REIT. We operate and evaluate our business on an owned and managed (\"O & M\") basis, including properties that we wholly-own and properties that are owned by one of our co-investment ventures. We make decisions based on the property operations, regardless of our ownership interest. Our investment consists of our wholly-owned properties and our pro rata (or ownership) share of the properties owned in ventures. THE COMPANY Prologis is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on key markets in 19 countries on four continents. We own, manage and develop well-located, high-quality logistics facilities. Our local teams actively manage our portfolio, which encompasses leasing and property management, capital deployment and opportunistic dispositions allowing us to recycle capital to self-fund our development and acquisition activities. The majority of our properties in the United States (\"U.S.\") are wholly owned, while our properties outside the U.S. are generally held in co-investment ventures, to mitigate our exposure to foreign currency movements. Our irreplaceable portfolio is focused on the world's most vibrant markets where consumption and supply chain reconfiguration drive logistics demand. In the developed markets of the U.S., Europe and Japan, key demand drivers include the reconfiguration of supply chains (strongly influenced by e-commerce trends), the demand for sustainable design features and the operational efficiencies that can be realized from high-quality logistics facilities. In emerging markets, such as Brazil, China and Mexico, growing affluence and the rise of a new consumer class have increased the need for modern distribution networks. Our strategy is to own the highest-quality logistics property portfolio in each of our target markets. These markets are characterized by what is most important for the consumption side of a logistics supply chain \u2014 large population centers with proximity to labor pools, surrounded by highways, rail service or ports. The DCT portfolio of logistics real es tate assets wa s highly complementary to our portfolio in terms of product quality, location and growth potential. As a result of the closely aligned portfolios and similar business strategies, we have integrated the properties while adding minimal property management expenses . Our results for 2018 include the DCT port folio from the date of acquisition . At December 31, 2018, we owned or had investments in properties, on a wholly-owned basis or through ventures, in the following regions (dollars in billions, based on gross book value and total expected investment (as defined below) and square feet in millions): Included in these amounts are consolidated and unconsolidated investments denominated in foreign currencies, principally the British pound sterling, euro and Japanese yen that are impacted by fluctuations in exchange rates when translated to U.S. dollars. A developed property moves into the operating portfolio when it meets our definition of stabilization, which is the earlier of one year after completion or reaching 90% occupancy. Amounts represent our total expected investment (\"TEI\"), which includes the estimated cost of development or expansion, including land, construction and leasing costs. Rental operations comprise the largest component of our operating segments and generally contribute 85% to 90% of our consolidated revenues, earnings and funds from operations (\"FFO\"). We collect rent from our customers through long-term operating leases, including reimbursements for the majority of our property operating costs.", - "id": "dc93b384-51a0-4340-b706-9d680f00e6f5" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill strengthens online privacy protections specifically for children and minors, which is directly relevant to Activision Blizzard, Inc.'s business model of developing and publishing interactive entertainment content and services, including games that may target minors. As the company engages in online services and microtransactions, compliance with stricter data protection regulations will affect their operations and customer interactions, necessitating changes to their data collection and marketing practices.", - "index": "483", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 to strengthen protections relating to the online collection, use, and disclosure of personal information of children and minors, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "This bill extends to minors (ages 12\u201316) privacy protections previously applicable only to children (ages 0\u201312) and otherwise establishes greater online privacy protections for children and minors.\n\nSpecifically, the bill prohibits an operator of a website, online service, online application, or mobile application directed to a child or minor with constructive knowledge the user is a child or minor from collecting the user's personal information without\n\n providing notice and obtaining consent, providing a parent or minor with certain information upon request, conditioning participation by a user on the provision of personal information, establishing and maintaining reasonable procedures to protect the personal information collected from users. The bill also prohibits targeted marketing directed to a child or directed to a minor without the minor's consent.\n\nThe bill further outlines a set of principles governing how operators should collect and use personal information, as well as provide information to a parent or minor. A parent or minor must be able to challenge the accuracy of personal information, and an operator must provide for the erasure or correction of inaccurate personal information. Operators must also implement mechanisms for the erasure or elimination of personal information at the request of users and make users aware of such mechanisms.\n\nMoreover, the bill prohibits the sale of internet-connected devices targeted to children and minors unless they meet certain cybersecurity and data security standards, and it requires manufacturers of such devices to display a privacy dashboard detailing how personal information is collected and used.", - "company_name": "Activision Blizzard, Inc.", - "company_description": "Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a leading global developer and publisher of interactive entertainment content and services. We develop and distribute content and services on video game consoles, personal computers (\"PC\"s), and mobile devices. On February 23, 2016 (the \"King Closing Date\"), we acquired King Digital Entertainment, a leading interactive mobile entertainment company (\"King\"), by purchasing all of its outstanding shares (the \"King Acquisition\"). We made this acquisition because we believed that the addition of King's highly complementary mobile business positioned us as a global leader in interactive entertainment across mobile, console, and PC platforms, and aligned us for future growth. Our Strategy and Vision Our objective is to continue to be a worldwide leader in the development, publishing, and distribution of high-quality interactive entertainment content and services, as well as related media, that deliver engaging entertainment experiences on a year-round basis. In pursuit of this objective we focus on three strategic pillars: expanding audience reach; driving deep consumer engagement; and providing more opportunities for player investment. We endeavor to reach as many consumers as possible either through: (1) the purchase of our content and services; (2) engagement in our free-to-play games, which allow consumers to play games with no up-front cost but provide for player investment through sales of downloadable content or via microtransactions; or (3) engagement in other types of media based on our franchises, such as esports and film and television content. Driving deep consumer engagement. Our high-quality entertainment content not only expands our audience reach, but it also drives deep engagement with our franchises. We design our games, as well as related media, to provide a depth of content that keeps consumers engaged for a long period of time following a game's release, delivering more value to our players and additional growth opportunities for our franchises. Increasingly, our consumers are connected to our games online through consoles, PCs, and mobile devices. This allows us to offer additional digital player investment opportunities directly to our consumers on a year-round basis. In addition to purchasing full games or subscriptions, players can invest in certain of our games and franchises by purchasing incremental \"in-game\" content (including larger downloadable content or smaller content, via microtransactions). These digital revenue streams tend to be more recurring and have relatively higher profit margins. Further, if executed properly, additional player investment can increase engagement as it provides more frequent and incremental content for our players. In addition, we have begun to generate revenue through offering advertising within certain of our franchises, and we believe there are opportunities to grow new forms of player investment through esports, film and television, and consumer products. Inc. (\"Activision\") is a leading global developer and publisher of interactive software products and entertainment content, particularly for the console platforms. Activision primarily delivers content through retail and digital channels, including full-game and in-game sales, as well as by licensing software to third-party or related-party companies that distribute Activision products. Activision develops, markets, and sells products primarily based on our internally developed intellectual properties, as well as some licensed properties. Activision's key product franchise is Call of Duty \u00ae , a first-person shooter for the console and PC platforms. Call of Duty has been the number one console franchise globally for nine of the last 10 years, based on data from The NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track, and GSD, and our internal estimates of dollar sales on front line games. As part of this termination, Activision agreed to transfer its publishing rights for the Destiny franchise to Bungie in exchange for cash and Bungie's assumption of on-going customer obligations of Activision. (\"Blizzard\") is a leading global developer and publisher of interactive software products and entertainment content, particularly for the PC platform. Blizzard primarily delivers content through retail and digital channels, including subscriptions, full-game, and in-game sales, as well as by licensing software to third-party or related-party companies that distribute Blizzard products.", - "id": "cd33f1b2-eb00-4089-b8d8-355684149b5a" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The FAIR RATES Act aims to identify disparities in auto insurance costs based on racial makeup, which directly relates to the practices of Everest Re Group as a property and casualty insurer. Since the company underwrites reinsurance and insurance in various jurisdictions, including the U.S., any mandates for transparency and reporting on racial disparities in auto insurance would affect its compliance, operations, and market strategies.", - "index": "484", - "bill_title": "To require the Federal Insurance Office of the Department of the Treasury to conduct a study to identify disparities between communities in auto insurance costs and payout amounts based on the predominant racial makeup of such communities, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Fair Auto Insurance Ratemaking Reporting to Allow a Transparent Evaluation of Statistics Act of 2019 or the FAIR RATES Act of 2019\n\nThis bill directs the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) of the Department of the Treasury to collect private passenger automobile insurance data from certain automobile insurers, federal and state agencies, or other intermediaries. FIO must report on any racial disparities in premium costs and claims payment amounts.", - "company_name": "Everest Re Group Ltd.", - "company_description": "Group, a Bermuda company, was established in 1999 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Holdings. Holdings continues to be the holding company for the Company's U.S. based operations. Holdings Ireland is a direct subsidiary of Group and was established to serve as a holding company for the U.S. and Irish reinsurance and insurance subsidiaries. Effective July 1, 2016, the Company established a new Irish holding company, Everest Dublin Insurance Holdings Limited (Ireland) Until October 6, 1995, Holdings was an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of The Prudential Insurance Company of America (\"The Prudential\"). During the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company established a new Irish insurance subsidiary, Everest Insurance Ireland, designated activity company (\"Ireland Insurance\"), which writes insurance business mainly in the European markets. During the third quarter of 2016, the Company established domestic subsidiaries, Everest Premier Insurance Company (\"Everest Premier\") and Everest Denali Insurance Company (\"Everest Denali\"), which are being used in the continued expansion of the Insurance operations. Effective August 24, 2016, the Company sold its wholly-owned subsidiary, Heartland Crop Insurance Company (\"Heartland\"), a managing agent for crop insurance, to CGB Diversified Services, Inc. The Company's principal business, conducted through its operating segments, is the underwriting of reinsurance and insurance in the U.S., Bermuda and international markets. The Company underwrites reinsurance both through brokers and directly with ceding companies, giving it the flexibility to pursue business based on the ceding company's preferred reinsurance purchasing method. The Company underwrites insurance principally through brokers, surplus lines brokers and general agent relationships. Best\"), a leading provider of insurer ratings that assigns financial strength ratings to insurance companies based on their ability to meet their obligations to policyholders. Bermuda Re, a Bermuda insurance company and a direct subsidiary of Group, is registered in Bermuda as a Class 4 insurer and long-term insurer and is authorized to write property and casualty and life and annuity business. Re's UK branch writes property and casualty reinsurance to the United Kingdom and European markets. (\"Everest International\"), a Bermuda insurance company and a direct subsidiary of Group, is registered in Bermuda as a Class 4 insurer and is authorized to write property and casualty business. In 2015, Everest International issued additional capital as part of a capital restructuring initiative within the Company to support a planned increase in international business production, which includes supporting Group's Lloyd's of London Syndicate corporate member. \u00b7 Ireland Re, an Ireland reinsurance company and an indirect subsidiary of Group, is licensed to write non-life reinsurance, both directly and through brokers, for the London and European markets. \u00b7 Ireland Insurance, an Ireland insurance company and an indirect subsidiary of Group, is licensed to write insurance for the European markets. \u00b7 Everest Re, a Delaware insurance company and a direct subsidiary of Holdings, is a licensed property and casualty insurer and/or reinsurer in all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam and is authorized to conduct reinsurance business in Canada, Singapore and Brazil. Everest Re underwrites property and casualty reinsurance for insurance and reinsurance companies in the U.S. and international markets. \u00b7 Everest Insurance Company of Canada (\"Everest Canada\"), a Canadian insurance company and direct subsidiary of Holdings Ireland, is licensed to write property and casualty insurance in all Canadian provinces. \u00b7 Everest National Insurance Company (\"Everest National\"), a Delaware insurance company and a direct subsidiary of Everest Re, is licensed in 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and is authorized to write property and casualty insurance on an admitted basis in the jurisdictions in which it is licensed. The majority of Everest National's business is reinsured by its parent, Everest Re. \u00b7 Everest Indemnity Insurance Company (\"Everest Indemnity\"), a Delaware insurance company and a direct subsidiary of Everest Re, writes excess and surplus lines insurance business in the U.S. on a non-admitted basis. Excess and surplus lines insurance is specialty property and liability coverage that an insurer not licensed to write insurance in a particular jurisdiction is permitted to provide to insureds when the specific specialty coverage is unavailable from admitted insurers. The majority of Everest Indemnity's business is reinsured by its parent, Everest Re. \u00b7 Everest Security Insurance Company (\"Everest Security\"), a Georgia insurance company and a direct subsidiary of Everest Re, writes property and casualty insurance on an admitted basis in Georgia and Alabama and is approved as an eligible surplus lines insurer in Delaware.", - "id": "320b656a-9ebc-4e6a-8b9a-b6191f7ce31f" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill focuses on worker classification for tax purposes and establishes criteria for determining independent contractor status. AGNC Investment Corp.'s business involves real estate investments and mortgage-backed securities, and thus the classification of service providers as independent contractors or employees does not directly affect its core operations or business model.", - "index": "485", - "bill_title": "A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a safe harbor for determinations of worker classification, to require increased reporting, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "New Economy Works to Guarantee Independence and Growth Act of 2019 or the NEW GIG Act of 2019\n\nThis bill establishes a test for determining if a service provider should be classified as an independent contractor rather than as an employee for tax purposes.\n\nIf the requirements of the test are met, the provider may not be treated as an employee, the recipient or any payor may not be treated as an employer, and compensation for the service may not be treated as paid or received with respect to employment.\n\nThe factors of the test include\n\n the relationship between the parties (i.e., the provider incurs expenses; does not work exclusively for a single recipient; performs the service for a particular amount of time, to achieve a specific result, or to complete a specific task; or is a sales person compensated primarily on a commission basis); the place of business or ownership of the equipment (i.e., the provider has a principal place of business, does not work primarily at the recipient's place of business, and provides tools or supplies); and the performance of the services under a written contract that meets certain requirements (i.e., specifies that the provider is not an employee, the recipient will satisfy withholding and reporting requirements, and that the provider is responsible for taxes on the compensation). The bill also (1) sets forth withholding and reporting requirements for service recipients who meet the requirements of the test, and (2) allows service providers to petition the U.S. Tax Court for a determination of employment status.", - "company_name": "AGNC Investment Corp.", - "company_description": "We fund our investments primarily through borrowings structured as repurchase agreements. We operate to qualify to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (\"REIT\") under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the \"Internal Revenue Code\"). As a REIT, we are required to distribute annually 90% of our taxable income. It is our intention to distribute 100% of our taxable income within the time limits prescribed by the Internal Revenue Code, which may extend into the subsequent taxable year. We invest primarily in Agency residential mortgage-backed securities (\"Agency RMBS\") on a leveraged basis. These investments consist of residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by a U.S. Government-sponsored enterprise, such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (\"Fannie Mae\") and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (\"Freddie Mac,\" and together with Fannie Mae, the \"GSEs\"), or by a U.S. Government agency, such as the Government National Mortgage Association (\"Ginnie Mae\"). We may also invest in other types of mortgage and mortgage-related residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities where repayment of principal and interest is not guaranteed by a GSE or U.S. Government agency or in other investments in, or related to, the housing, mortgage or real estate markets. remain exempt from the requirements of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the \"Investment Company Act\"). Our primary investments consist of Agency pass-through certificates representing interests in \"pools\" of mortgage loans secured by residential real property. Monthly payments of principal and interest made by the individual borrowers on the mortgage loans underlying the pools are in effect \"passed through\" to the security holders, after deducting GSE or U.S. Government agency guarantee and servicer fees. In general, mortgage pass-through certificates distribute cash flows from the underlying collateral on a pro rata basis among the security holders. Security holders also receive guarantor advances of principal and interest for delinquent loans in the mortgage pools. We also invest in Agency collateralized mortgage obligations (\"CMOs\"), which are structured instruments representing interests in Agency residential pass-through certificates, and interest-only, inverse interest-only and principal-only securities, which represent the right to receive a specified proportion of the contractual interest or principal flows of specific Agency CMO securities. TBAs are forward contracts to purchase or sell Agency RMBS. TBA contracts specify the coupon rate, issuer, term and face value of the bonds to be delivered, with the actual bonds to be delivered only identified shortly before the TBA settlement date. CRT securities are risk sharing instruments that transfer a portion of the risk associated with credit losses within pools of conventional residential mortgage loans from the GSEs and/or Unlike Agency RMBS, full repayment of the original principal balance of CRT securities is not guaranteed by a GSE or other third-party; rather, \"credit risk transfer\" is achieved by writing down the outstanding principal balance of the CRT security if credit losses on the related pool of loans exceed certain thresholds. The reduced amount that issuers are obligated to repay to the security holders offsets the issuer's credit losses on the related pool of loans. Non-Agency RMBS are securities backed by residential mortgages, for which payment of principal and interest is not guaranteed by a GSE or U.S. Government agency. Instead, a private institution such as a commercial bank will package residential mortgage loans and securitize them through the issuance of RMBS. Non-Agency RMBS may benefit from credit enhancement derived from structural elements, such as subordination, overcollateralization or insurance. We may purchase highly-rated instruments that benefit from credit enhancement and non-investment grade instruments that are structured to absorb more credit risk. We focus primarily on non-Agency securities where the underlying mortgages are secured by residential properties within the United States. Residential non-Agency securities are backed by residential mortgages that can be comprised of prime mortgage or nonprime mortgage loans.", - "id": "2a9699e8-ead1-402f-9956-73a0cc064d39" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The National Full Employment Trust Fund bill primarily focuses on creating employment opportunities and supports public and nonprofit entities through grants. This is unrelated to Boston Scientific's business model, which revolves around the development and marketing of medical devices, rather than employment creation or economic grants.", - "index": "486", - "bill_title": "To establish a National Full Employment Trust Fund to create employment opportunities for the unemployed, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Humphrey-Hawkins 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act of 2019 or the Jobs for All Act\n\nThis bill creates the National Full Employment Trust Fund to fund employment opportunity grants for the purpose of achieving full employment. The grant program is to be administered by the Department of Labor and funded by a tax on securities transactions and loans from the Federal Reserve System. Labor shall make grants to public and nonprofit entities to create employment opportunities and free-standing job-training programs. Grant funds may be used for, among other things, (1) affordable housing, (2) employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth, (3) repair of schools and parks, (4) expansion of emergency food programs, and (5) the expansion of work-study opportunities for secondary and post-secondary students.", - "company_name": "Boston Scientific Corp.", - "company_description": "Our Company Boston Scientific Corporation is a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices that are used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties. Our mission is to transform lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world. As a medical technology leader for more than 35 years, we advance science for life by providing a broad range of high performance solutions to address unmet patient needs and reduce the cost of healthcare. Our history began in the late 1960s when our co-founder, John Abele, acquired an equity interest in Medi-tech, Inc., a research and development company focused on developing alternatives to surgery. In 1969, Medi-tech introduced a family of steerable catheters used in some of the world's first less-invasive procedures. In 1979, John Abele joined with Pete Nicholas to form Boston Scientific Corporation, which indirectly acquired Medi-tech. Since then, we have advanced the practice of less-invasive medicine by helping physicians and other medical professionals diagnose and treat a wide range of diseases and medical conditions, and improve patients' quality of life by providing alternatives to surgery and other medical procedures that are typically traumatic to the body. Our growth has been fueled in part by strategic acquisitions designed to improve our ability to take advantage of growth opportunities in the medical device industry and to build depth of portfolio within our core businesses. We believe that the depth and breadth of our product portfolio has also enabled us to compete more effectively in the current healthcare environment that seeks to improve outcomes and lower costs. Our strategy of category leadership also enables us to compete in a changing, contracting landscape and position our products with physicians, managed care, large buying groups, governments and hospitals, while also expanding internationally and managing the complexities of the global healthcare market. Our organic research and development efforts are focused largely on the development of next-generation and novel technology offerings across multiple programs and divisions. In 2017 , our products were offered for sale by seven core businesses: Interventional Cardiology, Cardiac Rhythm Management, Endoscopy, Peripheral Interventions, Urology and Pelvic Health, Neuromodulation and Electrophysiology. In 2017 , we derived 27 percent of our sales from our Interventional Cardiology business, 21 percent from our Cardiac Rhythm Management business, 18 percent from our Endoscopy business, 12 percent from our Peripheral Interventions business, 12 percent from our Urology and Pelvic Health business, seven percent from our Neuromodulation business and three percent from our Electrophysiology business. Our Interventional Cardiology business develops and manufactures technologies for diagnosing and treating coronary artery disease and other cardiovascular disorders including structural heart conditions. Our broad, innovative product offerings have enabled us to become a leader in the global interventional cardiology market. Our drug-eluting coronary stent product offerings are an important element of our global Interventional Cardiology market leadership. We believe we have enhanced the outcomes associated with the use of coronary stents, particularly the processes that lead to restenosis (the growth of neointimal tissue within an artery after angioplasty and stenting), through our scientific research and product development of drug-eluting stent systems. our SYNERGY\u2122 Everolimus-Eluting Platinum Chromium Coronary Stent System, featuring an ultra-thin abluminal (outer) bioabsorbable polymer coating and \u2022 Our product offerings to perform complex percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) include a broad line of products used to treat patients with atherosclerosis, a principal cause of coronary artery obstructive disease. These include balloon catheters, rotational atherectomy systems, guide wires, guide catheters, embolic protection devices, crossing and re-entry devices for the treatment of chronically occluded coronary vessels and diagnostic catheters used in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) procedures. Our PCI Guidance offerings include a family of intravascular catheter-directed ultrasound imaging catheters, complemented by our intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging system and our fractional flow reserve (FFR) devices and systems for use in coronary arteries and heart chambers as well as certain peripheral vessels to assist in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. \u2122 Ultrasound Imaging System with Polaris Software, designed to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of blocked vessels and other heart disorders, which is compatible with our full line of imaging catheters and FFR devices and continues to be our flagship console. The iLab Ultrasound Imaging System has been placed in cardiology labs worldwide and provides an installed base through which we expect to continue to sell associated single-use products. Structural heart therapy is one of the fastest growing areas of the medical technology market and is highly synergistic with our Interventional Cardiology and Rhythm Management businesses. Our current structural heart product offerings include: \u2022 our WATCHMAN", - "id": "62d25b20-fbbf-46be-8d29-ad1f113b1a25" - }, - { - "is_relevant": false, - "explanation": "The bill primarily focuses on appropriations for federal departments and agencies, which does not directly intersect with Primerica, Inc.'s business of providing financial products and services to middle-income households. The legal consequences of the bill regarding funding and administration of federal programs do not impact Primerica's operations or market.", - "index": "487", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 \n\nThis bill provides FY2019 appropriations for several federal departments and agencies. It includes 6 of the 12 regular FY2019 appropriations bills:\n\n the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2019; the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019; the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2019; and the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019. The departments and agencies funded in the bill include\n\n the Department of Agriculture; the Food and Drug Administration; the Department of Commerce; the Department of Justice; science-related agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); the Department of the Treasury, the judiciary; the Executive Office of the President; the District of Columbia; the Department of the Interior; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Forest Service; the Department of State; the Department of Transportation; the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and several related and independent agencies. The bill also extends several authorities and programs, including\n\n the National Flood Insurance Program, the authority for the Environmental Protection Agency to collect and spend certain fees related to pesticides, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, and several Medicaid provisions.", - "company_name": "Primerica, Inc.", - "company_description": "\"us\" or the \"Parent Company\") is a leading distributor of financial products to middle-income households in the United States and Canada with 126,121 licensed sales representatives at December 31, 2017. We assist our clients in meeting their needs for term life insurance, which we underwrite, and mutual funds, annuities, managed investments and other financial products, which we distribute primarily on behalf of third parties. Our licensed sales representatives primarily use our proprietary financial needs analysis tool (\"FNA\") and an educational approach to demonstrate how our product offerings can assist clients to provide financial protection for their families, save for their retirement and other needs, and manage their debt. Typically, our clients are the friends, family members and personal acquaintances of our sales representatives. We provide an entrepreneurial business opportunity for individuals to distribute financial products. Low entry fees as well as the ability to select their own schedules and time commitments allow our sales representatives to supplement their income by starting their own independent businesses without leaving their current jobs. Our unique compensation structure, technology, sales support and back-office processing are designed to enable our sales representatives to successfully grow their independent businesses. We believe there is significant opportunity to meet the increasing array of financial services needs of our clients. We intend to leverage our sales force to provide additional products and services that meet such client needs, which will drive long-term value for all of our stakeholders. Broadening our protection product portfolio; \u2022 Providing offerings that enhance our Investment and Savings Products (\"ISP\") business; and \u2022 Developing digital capabilities to deepen our client relationships. Primerica Life Insurance Company (\"Primerica Life\"), our principal life insurance underwriting company; and \u2022 (\"PFS Investments\"), our investment and savings products company, broker-dealer and registered investment advisor. Primerica Life is domiciled in Tennessee, and its wholly owned subsidiary, National Benefit Life Insurance Company (\"NBLIC\"), is a New York-domiciled life insurance underwriting company. Prior to Primerica Life's redomestication to Tennessee in December 2017, Primerica Life was a Massachusetts-domiciled life insurance underwriting company. Primerica Life Insurance Company of Canada (\"Primerica Life Canada\"), our Canadian life insurance underwriting company; \u2022 (\"PFSL Investments Canada\"), our Canadian licensed mutual fund dealer; and \u2022 (\"PFSL Fund Management\"), our Canadian investment funds manager. Our clients are generally middle-income consumers, which we define as households with $30,000 to $100,000 of annual income. According to the 2016 U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey, the latest period for which data is available, almost 50% of U.S. households fall in this range. Many have inadequate or no life insurance coverage. Individual life insurance sales in the United States declined from 12.5 million policy sales in 1975 to 10.2 million policy sales in 2016, the latest period for which data is available, according to the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association International, Inc. (\"LIMRA\"), a worldwide association of insurance and financial services companies. We believe that term life insurance, which we have provided to middle-income clients for many years, is generally the best option for them to meet their life insurance needs. Many need help saving for retirement and other personal goals.", - "id": "1951dbae-b34c-4dea-8906-7976fdda7f10" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill provides supplemental appropriations for healthcare responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, including funding for health care providers and research related to COVID-19 testing. As Alexion Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on rare diseases and has a diverse pipeline of therapies, the resources allocated for health care providers and potential regulation changes may impact their business operations and funding for research, potentially benefiting their initiatives in the development of treatments.", - "index": "488", - "bill_title": "Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.", - "bill_summary": "Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act\n\nThis bill responds to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak by providing additional funding for small business loans, health care providers, and COVID-19 testing.\n\n DIVISION A--SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS\n\n(Sec. 101) This division provides additional lending authority for certain Small Business Administration (SBA) programs in response to COVID-19.\n\nSpecifically, the division increases the authority for (1) the Paycheck Protection Program, under which the SBA may guarantee certain loans to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic; and (2) advances on emergency economic injury disaster loans made in response to COVID-19. The division also expands eligibility for such disaster loans and advances to include agricultural enterprises.\n\nAdditionally, the division requires the SBA to guarantee no less than a specified amount of paycheck protection loans made by certain insured depository institutions, community financial institutions, and credit unions.\n\n(Sec. 102) The amounts provided under this division are designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO) and the Senate PAYGO rule.\n\nDIVISION B--ADDITIONAL EMERGENCY APPROPRIATIONS FOR CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE\n\nAdditional Emergency Appropriations for Coronavirus Response\n\nThis division provides FY2020 supplemental appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the SBA in response to COVID-19.\n\nThe supplemental appropriations are designated as emergency spending, which is exempt from discretionary spending limits.\n\nTITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES\n\nThis title provides $100 billion in FY2020 supplemental appropriations to HHS for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund, including\n\n $75 billion to reimburse health care providers for health care related expenses or lost revenues that are attributable to the coronavirus outbreak; and $25 billion for expenses to research, develop, validate, manufacture, purchase, administer, and expand capacity for COVID-19 tests to effectively monitor and suppress COVID-19. The title allocates specified portions of the $25 billion for COVID-19 testing to\n\n states, localities, territories, and tribes; the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention; the National Institutes of Health; the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; the Food and Drug Administration; community health centers; rural health clinics; and testing for the uninsured. The title also establishes several reporting requirements for HHS, including requirements to submit to Congress details regarding COVID-19 cases and a strategic testing plan\n\n(Sec. 101) This section specifies that certain authorities, conditions, and requirements included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act apply to the funds provided by this division to HHS.\n\n(Sec. 102) This section sets forth authorities and restrictions that apply to transferring funds provided by this title.\n\n(Sec. 103) This section requires specified funds provided by this title for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund to be transferred to the HHS Office of Inspector General for oversight of activities supported with funds appropriated to HHS to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.\n\nTITLE II--INDEPENDENT AGENCIES\n\nThis title provides FY2020 supplemental appropriations to the SBA, including\n\n $2.1 billion for salaries and expenses to administer programs related to COVID-19, $50 billion for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, and $10 billion for Emergency EIDL grants. TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS--THIS ACT\n\n(Sec. 301) This section specifies that the funds provided by this division are in addition to funds otherwise appropriated for the fiscal year involved.\n\n(Sec. 302) Funds provided by this division may not remain available beyond the current fiscal year, unless this division provides otherwise.\n\n(Sec. 303) Unless otherwise specified by this division, the funds provided by this division are subject to the authorities and conditions that apply to the applicable appropriations account for FY2020.\n\n(Sec. 304) This section specifies that certain funds provided or transferred by this division may only be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus outbreak.\n\n(Sec. 305) For the purposes of this division, the term coronavirus means SARS-CoV-2 or another coronavirus with pandemic potential.\n\n(Sec. 306) This section provides that amounts designated by this division as emergency requirements are only available (or rescinded, if applicable) if the President subsequently designates the amounts and transmits the designations to Congress.\n\n(Sec. 307) This section specifies that the emergency funds that are transferred pursuant to this division retain the emergency designation.\n\n(Sec. 308) This section exempts the budgetary effects of this division from the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO), (2) the Senate PAYGO rule, and (3) certain budget scorekeeping rules.", - "company_name": "Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.", - "company_description": "Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by our management, and may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the potential benefits and commercial potential of ULTOMIRIS\u00ae, SOLIRIS\u00ae, STRENSIQ\u00ae and KANUMA\u00ae for approved indications and any expanded uses; sales of our products in various markets worldwide, pricing for our products, level of insurance coverage and reimbursement for our products, timing regarding development and regulatory approvals for our products or for additional indications or in additional territories; plans for clinical trials (and proof of concept trials and exploratory clinical studies), status of our ongoing clinical trials for our product candidates, commencement dates for new clinical trials, clinical trial results and evaluation of our clinical trial results by regulatory agencies; potential benefits offered by product candidates, including improved dosing intervals and potential to improve treatment in a number of IgG-mediated and neurological diseases; the medical and commercial potential of additional indications for our products; the expected timing for the completion and/or regulatory approval of our facilities and facilities of our third-party manufacturers; future expansion of our commercial organization and transition to third-parties in certain jurisdictions to perform sales, marketing and distribution functions; future governmental and regulatory decisions regarding pricing (and discounts) and the adoption, implementation and interpretation of healthcare laws and regulations (and the impact on our business); \u2022 plans to grow our product pipeline (and diversify our business, including through acquisitions) and anticipated benefits to the Company; impact of accounting standards; \u2022 future costs, operating expenses (including research and development, sales, general and administrative and restructuring expenses) and capital requirements, capital investment, sufficiency of cash to fund operations for at least the next 12 months, ability to make payment on our credit facility and make contingent payment obligations, the sufficiency of our existing capital resources and projected cash needs, price approval and funding processes in various countries; anticipated future milestone, contingent and royalty payments and lease payments (and, in each case, expected impact on liquidity); collection of accounts receivable and impact of any delay in the future in collecting accounts receivable on financial condition and operations, as well as the ability of counterparties to our derivatives to perform their obligations; \u2022 the safety and efficacy of our products and our product candidates; \u2022 the adequacy of our pharmacovigilance and drug safety reporting processes; \u2022 the uncertainties involved in the drug development process and manufacturing; \u2022 performance and reliance on third party service providers; \u2022 our future research and development activities, plans for acquired programs, our ability to develop and commercialize products with our collaborators and anticipated regulatory approval of acquisitions; \u2022 periods of patent, regulatory and market exclusivity for our products; \u2022 Overview Alexion is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on serving patients and families affected by rare diseases through the discovery, development and commercialization of life-changing therapies. As the global leader in complement biology and inhibition for more than 20 years, Alexion has developed and commercializes two approved complement inhibitors to treat patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), as well as the first and only approved complement inhibitor to treat anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody-positive generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) in patients who are anti-aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody positive. Alexion also has two highly innovative enzyme replacement therapies and the first and only approved therapies for patients with life-threatening and ultra-rare metabolic disorders, hypophosphatasia (HPP) and lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (LAL-D). In addition to our marketed therapies, we have a diverse pipeline resulting from internal innovation and business development. Alexion focuses its research efforts on novel molecules and targets in the complement cascade and its development efforts on the core therapeutic areas of hematology, nephrology, neurology, metabolic disorders and cardiology. We focus our product development programs on life-transforming therapeutics for rare diseases for which current treatments are either non-existent or inadequate. We have developed or are developing innovative products for, among others, the following indications: Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) PNH is a chronic, progressive, debilitating and life-threatening ultra-rare blood disorder characterized by intravascular hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells) that is mediated by an uncontrolled activation of the complement system, a part of the immune system. Chronic hemolysis in patients with PNH may be associated with life-threatening thromboses, recurrent pain, kidney disease, disabling fatigue, impaired quality of life, severe anemia, pulmonary hypertension, shortness of breath and intermittent episodes of dark-colored urine (hemoglobinuria). aHUS is a severe and life-threatening, ultra-rare genetic disease characterized by chronic uncontrolled complement activation and thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA), the formation of blood clots in small blood vessels throughout the body, causing a reduction in platelet count (thrombocytopenia) and life-threatening damage to the kidney, brain, heart and other vital organs. ", - "id": "db7a7e41-82be-4657-ad9d-cd984b33ffaa" - }, - { - "is_relevant": true, - "explanation": "The bill aims to improve care and treatment for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, which aligns with Acorda Therapeutics' focus on neurological disorders. Enhancements in Alzheimer's diagnostics and treatment strategies could influence market dynamics and opportunities for Acorda, especially as they are developing therapies for neurological conditions. Therefore, the legal consequences of this bill are relevant to the company's business model and activities.", - "index": "489", - "bill_title": "To provide better care and outcomes for Americans living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and their caregivers while accelerating progress toward prevention strategies, disease modifying treatments, and, ultimately, a cure.", - "bill_summary": "Concentrating on High-value Alzheimer's Needs to Get to an End Act of 2019 or the CHANGE Act of 2019 This bill modifies the requirements under Medicare for diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive impairments in older adults. Specifically, the bill expands the cognitive impairment detection benefit during annual wellness visits to require the use of validated detection tools and documentation of the results in the patient's medical record. Further, when a cognitive impairment is detected, the patient must be referred to an appropriate diagnostic service provider and other specified supports. Additionally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services must implement Medicare policies that increase the identification and response to patients' Alzheimer's disease risk factors and incentivize providers to utilize high-quality cognitive impairment diagnosis practices. The Government Accountability Office also must conduct a study of policies that may accelerate progress in Alzheimer's disease research and enhance the quality of care for individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.", - "company_name": "Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.", - "company_description": "We are a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies that restore function and improve the lives of people with neurological disorders. We are preparing for our launch of commercial sales of Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder), which is approved for intermittent treatment of OFF episodes, also known as OFF periods, in people with Parkinson's disease treated with carbidopa/levodopa. Inbrija is an on-demand treatment that utilizes our innovative ARCUS pulmonary delivery system, a technology platform designed to deliver medication through inhalation that we believe has potential to be used in the development of a variety of inhaled medicines. Our New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on December 21, 2018. The approval is for a single dose of 84 mg, with no titration required. We expect Inbrija to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2019 and to be distributed through a network of specialty pharmacies. Our preparations for the commercial sale of Inbrija continue, including sales force training and education, managed care discussions, market research and social media initiatives. We are seeking approval to market Inbrija in the European Union, and accordingly we filed a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in March 2018. After the adoption of a Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, opinion, we expect a final decision regarding the MAA from the European Commission before the end of 2019. We currently derive substantially all of our revenue from the sale of Ampyra. We have been engaged in litigation with certain generic drug manufacturers relating to our five initial Orange Book-listed Ampyra patents. In 2017, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the \"District Court\") issued a ruling that upheld our Ampyra Orange Book-listed patent that expired on July 30, 2018, but invalidated our four other Orange Book-listed patents pertaining to Ampyra that were set to expire between 2025 and 2027. Under this decision, our patent exclusivity with respect to Ampyra terminated on July 30, 2018. We appealed the District Court decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the \"Federal Circuit\"), which issued a ruling on September 10, 2018 upholding the District Court's decision (the \"Appellate Decision\"). In January 2019, the Federal Circuit denied our petition for rehearing en banc. We have experienced a significant decline in Ampyra sales due to competition from generic versions of Ampyra that are being marketed following the Appellate Decision. We expect that additional manufacturers will market generic versions of Ampyra, which may accelerate the decline in our Ampyra sales. Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder) : Launching the commercial sale of Inbrija in the U.S.; obtaining approval of our European MAA for Inbrija; and continuing with potential partnering discussions for commercialization outside of the U.S. ARCUS Platform : Advancing our efforts to develop additional therapeutics based on our proprietary ARCUS pulmonary drug delivery technology, looking at central nervous system, or CNS, as well as non-CNS opportunities, including our program to develop an ARCUS-based treatment for acute migraine. Company Highlights Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder)/Parkinson's Disease Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder) is the first and only inhaled levodopa, or L-dopa, for intermittent treatment of OFF episodes, also known as OFF periods, in people with Parkinson's disease treated with carbidopa/levodopa regimen. Our New Drug Application, or NDA, for Inbrija was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on December 21, 2018. The approval is for a single dose of 84 mg, with no titration required. We expect Inbrija to be commercially available in the first quarter of 2019 and to be distributed through a network of specialty pharmacies. We are seeking approval to market Inbrija in the European Union, and accordingly we filed a Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in March 2018. After the adoption of a Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, opinion, we expect a final decision regarding the MAA from the European Commission before the end of 2019.", - "id": "712fe44c-5745-423f-a3ad-88e24d89eba4" - } -] \ No newline at end of file