News release: “U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters today directed the Federal Highway Administration to take immediate steps to protect the solvency of the highway account of the Highway Trust Fund and called on Congress to act quickly to finally address this long-predicted problem…The Secretary said the legislation was needed now because Congress had… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Category Archives: Legislation
FCC Seeks Comment on Implementation of NET 911 Improvement Act
USDOJ: “Enhanced 911 systems would accommodate calls from Internet Protocol (IP)-enabled phones under rules proposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Electronic 911 (e-911) calls are routed to about 6,000 call centers nationwide (known as public safety answering points) using various technical protocols to identify the caller’s location and the appropriate answering point to handle… Continue Reading
New: Congressional Committee Prints Browse Feature
GPO Access: “To browse the current catalog of Congressional Committee Prints – available from 110th Congress, 1st Session (2007-2008) forward, click here. Links are included with each Congressional Committee print listed in the catalog, which retrieve the text of the corresponding document as an ASCII text or PDF file.” Continue Reading
CRS: Journalists Privilege: Overview of the Law and Legislation in the 109th and 110th Congresses
Via FAS – CRS: Journalists Privilege: Overview of the Law and Legislation in the 109th and 110th Congresses, Updated July 29, 2008 “In Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665, 679-680 (1972), the Supreme Court wrote journalists claim that to gather news it is often necessary to agree either not to identify the source of information… Continue Reading
New Congressional Database of Lobbyist Campaign Contributions
Senate Lobbying Contributions Database House Lobbying Contributions Database “The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 requires lobbying registrants and individual lobbyists to file a semi-annual report of certain contributions, along with a certification that the filer understands the gift and travel rules of both the House and the Senate. These reports are due… Continue Reading
House Approves Consumer Product Safety Legislation
News release: “The U.S. House of Representatives today approved the Conference Report on H.R. 4040 the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act under suspension of the rules…This conference report represents the most significant overhaul of U.S. consumer product safety laws since the creation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said House Committee on Energy and Commerce… Continue Reading
New on LLRX.com – Commentary: Congress and Immunity for Telecom Eavesdropping
Commentary: Immunity for Telecom Eavesdropping – Beth Wellington’s commentary tracks the legislative path of retroactive immunity for telecom eavesdropping. Published July 30, 2008. Continue Reading
Murtha Summary of the FY09 Defense Appropriations Bill
“Congressman John P. Murtha, Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, announced today that the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense has marked-up the Fiscal Year 2009 Defense Appropriations Bill. The $487.7 billion bill is $4 billion below the Presidents budget request and $28.4 billion above the Fiscal Year 2008 enacted level.” Continue Reading
President Bush Signs Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 Into Law
Follow up to Senate Passes American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, from the White House July 30, 2008 as the President signed the bill: “The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, which authorizes the Department of the Treasury to purchase obligations of housing Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs); reforms the regulatory supervision… Continue Reading
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 Report Available Online
The text of the Conference Report for H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (183 pages, PDF). August 15, 2008 news release: “Bipartisan legislation was signed into law on Thursday that protects children and consumers from toxic toys and other dangerous products by strengthening the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and providing… Continue Reading
Senate Passes American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008
Follow up to July 23, 2008 posting on the House passage of H.R. 3221, on July 26 the Senate passed the bill, which now goes to the President for signature. CBS/AP: “Congress approved mortgage relief for 400,000 struggling homeowners Saturday as part of an election-year housing plan that also aims to calm jittery financial markets… Continue Reading
House Passes American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008
New York Times: “The House approved far-reaching government assistance on Wednesday for the nations housing market, including broad authority for the Treasury Department to protect the nations two largest mortgage finance companies from collapse.” House Committee on Financial Services, H.R. 3221, the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, and Detailed Summary of… Continue Reading
