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 20th summary. NOTE: The House and Senate were in recess from February 14th to February 22nd.

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

On February 17th, the President signed into law 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.   It is P.L. 111-5.

Floor Action

No floor action.

Markups

No markups.

Hearings

No hearings.

New Bills Introduced

One new bill was introduced:

H.R. 1078 (Arcuri) -  A bill to establish the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in Auburn, New York, and the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Caroline, Dorchester, and Talbot Counties, Maryland.



Upcoming Hearings and Markups

On February 25th, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife will hold a hearing on H.R. 860 (Bordallo), to reauthorize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000.  The hearing is scheduled for 2:00 pm in Room 1334 Longworth.  The DOI witness will be Nikolao Pula, Director, Office of Insular Affairs.

On March 3rd, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks will hold a hearing on H.R. 715 (Grijalva), Saguaro National Park boundary expansion and study act, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 1334 Longworth.  The witness is not yet determined.

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For additional information, please visit the Legislative and Congressional Affairs Office website at http://www.nps.gov/legal/