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 February 13th 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 February 13th, the House passed the conference report on H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  Division A, Title VIII—Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriates $750 million for the National Park Service; this includes $146 million for operations, which includes deferred maintenance of facilities and trails and for other critical repair and rehabilitation projects; $15 million for projects at historically black colleges and universities; and $589 million for construction.  Title XII—Transportation and Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies specifies that $170 million of the $27.5 billion for Federal Highway Administration Highway Infrastructure Investment shall be used for park roads and parkways.  The Senate is expected to vote on the conference report this weekend. 

Markups

No markups.

Hearings

No hearings.

New Bills Introduced

The following new bills were introduced:

• H.R. 920 (Kanjorski, PA) - To amend the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Act of 1988 regarding the local coordinating entity of the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 926 (Markey, D-CO) - To establish the Cache La Poudre River National Heritage Area, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 928 (Thompson, D-MS) - To establish the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 965 (Sarbanes, D-MD) - To amend the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act of 1998 to provide for the continuing authorization of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network.
• H.R. 992 (Hill, D-IN) - To establish the James Madison Memorial Commission to develop a plan of action for the establishment and maintenance of a James Madison memorial in Washington, DC, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 1007 (Thompson, D-MS) - To establish the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 1041 (Melancon, D-LA) - To direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating sites in the Lower Mississippi River Area in the State of Louisiana as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 1044 (Miller, George, D-CA) - To provide for the administration of Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 500 (Ehlers, R-MI) - To establish a collaborative program to protect the Great Lakes, and for other purposes.
• S. 237 (Levin, D-MI) – To establish a collaborative program to protect the Great Lakes, and for other purposes.