Weekly Legislative Activities Report

The Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs puts out weekly reports on hearings, new legislation and other activities on the Hill. The following is the January 30th summary.

In order to obtain the full text of any of the bills that appear below, click on the following link: http://thomas.loc.gov/ . That will take you to Thomas, the Library of Congress legislative tracking system. Enter the bill number in the “Search Bill Text” block, being sure to also click on the “Bill Number” option below the block.

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New Public Laws

No new laws.

Floor Action

On January 28th, the House passed H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, by a vote of 244-188.  Division A, Title VIII--Interior and Environment, allocates $1.7 billion to the National Park Service for deferred maintenance needs; this includes $200 million for projects related to preservation and repair of historical and cultural resources, of which $15 million is to be used for projects at historically black colleges and universities.  An additional $100 million is allocated for Centennial Challenge signature projects and programs.  Title XII--Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development specifies that $250 million of the $30 billion for Highway Infrastructure Investment shall be used for park roads and parkways.

Markups

No markups.

Hearings

No hearings.

New Bills Introduced

The following new bills were introduced:

• H.R. 1 (Obey, D-WI) - Making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for fiscal year ending September 30, 2009.
• H.R. 685 (Clay, D-MO) - A bill to require a study of the feasibility of establishing the United States Civil Rights Trail System.
• H.R. 714 (Christensen, D-VI) - To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease certain lands in Virgin Islands National Park, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 715 (Grijalva, D-AZ) - To expand the boundary of Saguaro National Park, to study additional land for future adjustments to the boundary of the Park, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 718 (Jones, W., R-NC) - A bill to reinstate the Interim Management Strategy governing off-road vehicle use in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina, pending the issuance of a final rule for off-road vehicle use by the National Park Service.
• S. 336 (Inouye, D-HI) - An original bill making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes.
• S. 349 (Casey, D-PA) - A bill to establish the Susquehanna Gateway National Heritage Area in the State of Pennsylvania, and for other purposes.