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 March 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

On March 11th, the President signed into law H.R. 1105 (Obey), the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009.  Under Division E, the bill provides appropriations for FY 2009 to the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other related agencies.  It is P.L. 111-8.

Floor Action

On March 11th, the House considered but failed to pass S. 22 (Bingaman), the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, as amended. The bill includes nearly 80 measures affecting the National Park Service, including wilderness designations, boundary revisions, special resource studies, national heritage area designations, and special authorities.  The vote was 282-144, two votes short of the 2/3 majority that is needed to pass bills considered under the “suspension of the rules” procedure. 

Markups

No markups.

Hearings

On March 12th, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (Bingaman) held a confirmation hearing on the nomination of David Hayes to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior. 

New Bills Introduced

The following bills were introduced:

• H.R. 1373 (Boozman, R-AR)  - To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a resource study along the "Ox-Bow Route" of the Butterfield Overland Trail in the States of Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
• H.R. 1376 (Edwards, D-TX) - To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Waco Mammoth National Monument in the State of Texas.
• H.R. 1388 (McCarthy, D-NY) - To reauthorize and reform the national service laws.
• S. 553 (Klobuchar, D-MN) - To revise the authorized route of the North Country National Scenic Trail in northeastern Minnesota to include existing hiking trails along Lake Superior's north shore and in Superior National Forest and Chippewa National Forest.
• H.R. 1435 (Coffman, R-CO) - To amend the National Trails System Act to clarify Federal authority relating to land acquisition from willing sellers for the majority of the trails in the System.
• H.R. 1443 (Matsui, D-CA) - To ensure that all users of the transportation system, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, children, older individuals, and individuals with disabilities, are able to travel safely and conveniently on and across federally funded streets and highways.
• H.R. 1446 (Norton, D-DC) - To amend title 40, United States Code, to authorize the National Capital Planning Commission to designate and modify the boundaries of the National Mall area in the District of Columbia reserved for the location of commemorative works of preeminent historical and lasting significance to the United States and other activities, to require the Secretary of the Interior and the Administrator of General Services to make recommendations for the termination of the authority of a person to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs.
• H.R. 1471 (Bishop, D-GA) - To expand the boundary of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in the State of Georgia, to redesignate the unit as a National Historical Park, and for other purposes.
• S. 584 (Harkin, D-IA) - To ensure that all users of the transportation system, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, children, older individuals, and individuals with disabilities, are able to travel safely and conveniently on and across federally funded streets and highways.
• H.R. 1286 (Visclosky, D-IN) - To amend the Act titled ``An Act to provide for the establishment of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and for other purposes'' to clarify the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to accept donations of lands that are contiguous to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
• H.R. 1287 (Visclosky, D-IN) - To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a partnership with the Porter County Convention, Recreation and Visitor Commission regarding the use of the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center as a visitor center for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
• H.R. 1297 (Abercrombie, D-HI) - To establish the Hawai'i Capital National Heritage Area.