Hot Bills

H.R.104 This bill would establish a commission to investigate policies of the Bush Administration, which were carried out under the premise of “unreviewable war powers”, for a period of 18 months and 60 days. Investigations and hearings would be held regarding detentions made by the Armed Forces and intelligence community, the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, the concealment of individuals' capture or detention, extraordinary rendition, and domestic electronic surveillance performed without a warrant. The bill would require the Commission to report its findings to the President and to Congress with in one year. It includes one Republican among its list of 47 co-sponsors -- Representative Walter Jones [R, NC-3].

H.R.3567 - Respect for Marriage Act of 2009

H.R.1283 - Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009 This bill seeks to establish a policy of nondiscrimination regarding sexual orientation (for which it provides a definition) in the Armed Forces, thereby repealing a 16 year policy held in the Department of Defense. The bill would also authorize the reappointment of otherwise qualified individuals previously discharged on the basis of their sexual orientation.

S.167 - COPS Improvements Act of 2009 This bill would extend funding for Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) up to 2014 and expand the authority of the Attorney General to make grants for public safety and community policing programs, particularly for school programs targeting issues of illicit drugs and gangs and for enhancing law enforcement personnel. See H.R.1139 for the House equivalent.

H.R.3245 - Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act of 2009 This bill seeks to eliminate increased and mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenses involving substances containing cocaine base. The intent is to promote fairness in subsequent sentences by not making crack cocaine more punishable than powder, for example. This is one of many pieces of legislation proposed this congressional session attempting to amend the sentences of crimes related to crack cocaine. These other bills are H.R. 18, H.R.1459, H.R.2178.

H.R.3126 - Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009 This bill is a central element of Congress' overhaul of financial regulations. It would establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency with the authority and accountability to supervise, examine, and enforce consumer financial protection laws. Financial transactions falling under the agency's jurisdiction would include mortgages, credit cards, student loans, auto loans, payday loans, and more. The agency would work in these areas to ban deceptive practices, ensure the safety and fairness of new consumer financial products that come on to the market and, generally, to promote transparency, simplicity, fairness, accountability, and access. It is scheduled to be voted on by the House Financial Services Committee on October 14, 2009. More information about the bill's provisions can be found at the OpenCongress blog.

H.R.1751 - American Dream Act This bill amends the Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 by giving states the authority to repeal the denial of an unlawful alien’s eligibility for higher education benefits, which have been previously tied state-residency. It additionally allows for the adjustment from status of alien to conditional permanent resident and outlines the criteria for such an adjustment by the Secretary of Homeland Security. The bill and its equivalent, S.729, fall no short of the controversy surrounding other immigration related bills, such as, H.R.1868 Birthright Citizenship Act of 2009.

H.R.2054 - No Child Left Inside Act of 2009 This bill seeks to enhance the environmental literacy of American students, from kindergarten to 12th grade, to foster understanding, analysis, and solutions to the major environmental challenges facing the student’s state and the Nation as a whole. Appropriations would be provided to train teachers for such instruction, provide innovative technology, and to develop studies assessing the worth of these programs in elementary and secondary school curriculums. While mainly addressing environmentalism, this legislation also seeks to touch on healthy living programs encouraging outdoor recreation and sound nutrition.

S.1733 - Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act

S.752 - Fair Elections Now Act This bill would establish a public funding system for Senate elections and subsequently outlines eligibility and contribution requirements as well as prohibitions such those on joint fundraising committees. The same provisions are put forth in H.R.1826 with regard to House elections.

H.Res.554 This resolution would require that the full text of House legislation and accompanying committee reports be continuously posted on the Internet. Moreover it seeks to establish a policy prohibiting the House from voting on legislation until 72 hours after its text is made available to Congress members and the general public. The bill’s stated purpose is to enhance public participation and improve the quality of proposed legislation by ensuring the opportunity for its review by actors ranging from State officials to members of the public.

H.R.1207 - Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 This bill would repeal special audit protections for the Federal Reserve (31 USC 714 – Sec. 714) and calls for a full Government Accountability Office audit of the central bank to be completed before the end of 2010 and submitted to Congress for review. More background and info here.

S.482 - Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act This bill, which mirrors S. 223 from the 110th session of Congress, would require the Senate to file their campaign finance forms electronically, rather than in paper forms. The Senate's current system, which involves a lot of mailing, scanning, printing, etc. slows down public disclosure of who is donating money to candidates for the U.S. Senate. Candidates for The House of Representatives and presidency already file their reports electronically. In the last session of Congress, the sponsors of this bill brought it to the floor for consideration on several occasions, but it was blocked from an otherwise quick passage by a hold from Sen. John Ensign [R, NV]. With the larger Democratic majority in the Senate this session and the support of many Republicans, it is likely to be passed.

S.J.Res.7 This resolution, along with H.J.Res.21in the House, proposes to alter the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, such that state-wide elections, rather than gubernatorial appointments, would be required for filling vacancies in the Senate. Introduced by Sen. Russell Feingold [D, WI] and co-sponsored by influential senators including Sen. John McCain [R, AZ], Sen. Richard Durban [D, IL], the resolutions comes after the controversy surrounding the appointment of Sen. Roland Burris [D, IL] by former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, as well as the high number of Senators appointed early in the year (four, which actually pales in comparison to the over a dozen appointed Senators in the 79th Congress).

H.R.197 - National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009 This bill would create a national standard allowing a person to carry a concealed weapon in a state in which they are not a resident, given that they have a valid permit and are in accordance with that state’s and this bill’s restrictions.

H.R.2401 - No Fly, No Buy Act of 2009 This bill would further specify the scope of the Second Amendment by prohibiting individuals who are prevented from boarding an aircraft because they have been put on the TSA's no-fly list from selling, transferring, or possessing firearms or ammunition. In other words, it calls for all names on the no-fly list to be automatically added to the no-buy list under the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Other noteworthy gun bill currently pending in Congress include H.R. 17 and H.R. 45.

H.R.17 - Citizens' Self-Defense Act of 2009 In correlation with the restrictions outlined by the 1993 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, this bill protects and provides context for the possession and use of fire arms, namely in defense of the self or family (or, when relevant, the home) against a reasonably perceived threat of unlawful bodily injury or violent felony. It also holds relevance in light of the H.R.45, the Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, which seeks to amend the afore mentioned Act of 1993.

S.179 - Health Information Technology Act of 2009 This bill encourages the use of clinical health care informatics systems and services by offering monetary incentives to health care providers in order to offset the related costs of such technology. It would also seek to develop national standards regarding data and communication health information technology, working towards the goals of efficient data exchange and improved health care quality while protecting patient privacy and security.

H.R.676 - United States National Health Care Act or the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act This bill establishes the United States National Health Care (USNHC) Program to provide all individuals residing in the United States and U.S. territories with free health care, which would encompass primary care and prevention, prescription drugs, emergency care, long-term care, mental health services, dental services, and vision care. Such a program would be financed by the USNHC Trust Fund via existing sources of government health care revenue, by increasing personal income taxes of the top 5% income earners and by instituting a progressive excise tax on payroll and self employment income, as well as on stock and bond transactions. While the Indian Health Services would eventually be integrated in the program, the independence of the Veterans Affairs health programs would remain under evaluation.

S.1679 - Affordable Health Choices Act This is the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's (HELP) health care bill, approved by the committee on July 15, 2009. It seeks to ensure that all Americans have health insurance through a combination of consumer protections, market reforms and mandates. Like the House bill, this bill would put in place a public option to compete with private insurers, require most employers to provide insurance or pay a penalty and require individuals who don't get insurance though their job to purchase their own (with new government subsidies, if eligible). Insurance companies would no longer be able to deny coverage for an individual based on existing conditions. A complete outline can be read in this pdf from the committee. Once the Senate Finance Committee has completed the mark-up of their health care bill, the two Senate bills will be reconciled and brought the the floor for consideration.

S.1796 - America's Healthy Future Act of 2009 This is the official legislative version of the Baucus health care bill as amended and approved by the Senate Finance Committee during their mark-up session from September 22, 2009 to October 13, 2009. It's the most conservative of the five health care bills in Congress. Unlike the four other bills that have been approved by congressional committees, this bill does not contain a government-run public insurance option. It also contains fewer subsidies to help low and middle-income people buy insurance. The bill has been estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to increase federal spending by $829 billion over 10 years, but also produce enough savings and new revenue over the same time period to result in a net reduction in the federal budget deficit of $81 billion. Senate Democrat leaders and White House officials are currently in negotiations to reconcile this bill with the version that was approved by the Senate HELP Committee, S. 1679. For a chart detailing the major differences that are being ironed out by the negotiators between this bill and the HELP bill, click here.

S.1681 - Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2009

H.R.2835 - Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act This bill would prohibit federal interference in state-run medical marijuana programs. It would also move marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule II drug, recognizing marijuana's medical value and making it possible for the FDA to begin setting up a regulatory framework for its use.

H.Res.615 This Resolution urges Members of Congress, who vote in favor of a public option in health insurance, to forgo their participation in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and agree to enroll under that public option.

H.R.3400 - Empowering Patients First Act

S.239 - Veterans Health Equity Act of 2009 This bill and its House equivalent, HR190, seek to ensure that veterans (except those residing the states of Alaska and Hawaii), who are eligible for medical services through the Department of Veterans Affairs, have access to full-service hospitals affiliated with the Veterans Health Administration or comparable medical services and hospital care.

S.21 - Prevention First Act Broadly this bill seeks to improve access to women’s health care and to expand access to preventative health care services relating to pregnancy. More specifically it would authorize the appropriation of grants to states and other entities for research, education, and preventative programs regarding teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. It would require that hospitals, receiving federal funding, offer and provide, upon request, emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault. Furthermore, it would prohibit health plans from excluding or restricting otherwise provided benefits related to prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services.

H.R.600 - FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform Act of 2009 This bill would reauthorize and reform downpayment assistance programs (DPA) for creditworthy home buyers, which include funds furnished directly or indirectly by the seller or any other party financially benefiting from the transaction.

H.R.37 - Systematic Foreclosure Prevention and Mortgage Modification Act Introduced for the second time by Rep. Maxine Walters [D, CA-35], the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, this bill attempts to reduce the number of foreclosures by establishing a systematic approach to modifying trouble mortgages. It would require mortgage servicers to review all loans and, in return, provide $1000 for each subsequently needed modification and require that the government share up to 50% of any loss of a modified loan that consequentially redefaulted. See S.73 for the Senate equivalent of the bill.

S.1261 - PASS ID Act This bill seeks to set out minimum requirements for State driver’s licenses and ID cards regarding what data is included and what documentation must be presented when receiving such ID cards. In turn, it would shift a degree of authority from the State to the Federal level by prohibiting a Federal agency from accepting, for any official purposes, a State ID card unless that State it is materially compliant with this bill’s minimum requirements.

H.R.1024 - Uniting American Families Act of 2009 This bill would expand current immigration law to include “permanent partners” (which it defines in Section 2 of its text), namely allowing U.S. citizens and permanent residents to sponsor same-sex partners, as they would spouses, for immigration visas and permanent residency status. See S. 484 for the Senate equivalent.

S.729 - DREAM Act of 2009 This bill would give states the authority to repeal the denial of an unlawful alien’s eligibility for higher education benefits, which have been previously tied state-residency. Additionally, it allows for the adjustment from status of alien to conditional permanent resident and outlines the criteria for such an adjustment by the Secretary of Homeland Security. The bill and its equivalent in the House, H.R.1751, is just as controversial as most other immigration related bills, such as, H.R.1868, the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2009.

H.R.264 - Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2009 This legislation seeks to provide increased protection and eligibility for family-sponsored immigrants. Eligibility is extended by doubling the number of available visas from 480,000 to 960,000, by offering legalization to aliens who have been in the US for five years or are children, and by providing undocumented Haitians in the US with access to lawful permanent resident status. Additionally, the bill includes immigrant protections relating to the context of sex-related crimes as well as calling for the enhancement of Border Patrol and Department of Homeland Security capacities.

S.1085 - Reuniting Families Act This legislation would reform the family-based immigration system and speed up the process for family members of legal immigrants to secure visas. Specifically, it would reclassify spouses and children of legal immigrants as immediate relatives, raise the per-country family-sponsored and employment-based immigration limits from 7 percent to 10 percent of total admissions, recapture visas that went unused in previous years due to bureaucratic errors, allow widows and spouses to remain eligible for visas after the death of a sponsoring family member, and more.

H.R.801 - Fair Copyright in Research Works Act This bill seeks to amend copyright code and create a new category of copyrighted works to the effect of reversing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy. This would prohibit the government from requiring scholarly journals to make federally funded studies accessible to the public. Proponents of the bill are largely limited to the American Association of Publishers and the bill’s sponsors, namely Rep. John Conyers, who introduced it for the second time after its exact replica, H.R. 6845, died in the 110th Congress.

H.R.2196 - Design Piracy Prohibition Act This bill seeks to extend copyright protection to fashion designs of apparel and accessories, setting the term of protection at three years.

H.R.578 - Iraqi Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement, and Security A... This bill advocates working with the international community and subsequently appropriating funds to international and nongovernmental organizations providing humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations in Iraq and Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries (namely Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, and Syria although the bill specifically prohibits providing bilateral assistance to Syria). The bill also proposes favoring citizens or nationals of Iraq who have become refugees due to the invasion of Iraq by imposing a minimum 20,000 numerical limit on other refugees.

S.560 - Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 This bill (aka "card check") would change the rules governing the formation of unions, the way first contracts between unions and employers are negotiated, and how employees' rights are enforced. Under the bill, workers would be able to decide whether to hold a secret ballot vote on union formation after a majority of employees have signed union authorization cards, or to have the union certified based on the cards alone. Under the current rules, employers have the power to make that decision. The bill also designates a time line for first contracts to be drawn up between unions and employees and stipulates that if no deal is reached within 120 days, an arbitration panel will render a decision that will be binding for two years. Finally, it would increase the fines employers must pay if found guilty of violating their employees' right to unionize. This bill is organized labor's number one legislative priority, and it is vigorously opposed by the business lobby. Democratic leader are expected to bring it to a vote in the Senate sometime this summer. The big question regarding its passage is whether or not the Democrats can find 60 votes in favor of breaking an inevitable Republican filibuster. The House version is H.R. 1490.

S.277 - Serve America Act The Serve America Act would dramatically increase funding for AmeriCorps and other volunteer programs, including those for seniors and veterans. It also establishes a goal of expanding from 75,000 government-supported volunteers to 250,000. It also would increase education funding and establish a summer service program for students, paying $500 (which would be applied to college costs) to high-school and middle-school students who participate. In its current form, the legislation does not include a mandate requiring service. The legislation advanced through Congress as a substitute amendment to H.R.1138.

H.R.1409 - Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 This bill (aka "card check") would change the rules governing the formation of unions, the way first contracts between unions and employers are negotiated, and how employees' rights are enforced. Under the bill, workers would be able to decide whether to hold a secret ballot vote on union formation after a majority of employees have signed union authorization cards, or to have the union certified based on the cards alone. Under the current rules, employers have the power to make that decision. The bill also designates a time line for first contracts to be drawn up between unions and employees and stipulates that if no deal is reached within 120 days, an arbitration panel will render a decision that will be binding for two years. Finally, it would increase the fines employers must pay if found guilty of violating their employees' right to unionize. This bill is organized labor's number one legislative priority, and it is vigorously opposed by the business lobby. Democratic leader are expected to bring it to a vote in the Senate sometime this summer. The big question regarding its passage is whether or not the Democrats can find 60 votes in favor of breaking an inevitable Republican filibuster. The Senate version is S. 560.

H.R.1147 - Local Community Radio Act of 2009 This bipartisan legislation and its Senate equivalent, S.592, would repeal restrictions Congress imposed on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2001 and allow them to make licenses available to low-powered FM radio stations at the local community level.

H.R.226 - Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2009 Although the Fairness Doctrine, requiring broadcasters to present opposing viewpoints on controversial issues, was abolished in 1987, this bill would inhibit the Federal Communications Commission from reintroducing it in the future.

H.R.25 - Fair Tax Act of 2009 Resurfacing for the 6th consecutive congressional session, this bill strives to repeal the income tax, employment tax, and estate and gift tax, and to replace them with a national sales tax at a rate of 23%. It sets forth provisions for the states’ collection of sales tax revenues and the Treasury’s handling of the remittances of such revenues while setting up two new tax bureaus in the Department of Treasury in the place of the IRS.

H.R.470 - Economic Recovery and Middle-Class Tax Relief Act of 2009 This bill was put forth as a stimulus alternative, and republican counter proposal, to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It suggests reducing government spending and providing permanent tax incentives for economic growth, namely through tax relief measures such as a five-percentage point income tax cut for all taxpayers.

S.155 - Unemployment Benefit Tax Suspension Act of 2009 This bill would suspend the taxation of unemployment compensation up to January 1st, 2010. A similar bill in the House, H.R.155 calls for the same provisions but extends them to January 1st, 2011.

S.436 - Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today’s Youth Act of 2009 This bill and its House equivalent, H.R.1076, seek to increase penalties for processing Internet materials relating to child exploitation. More controversially, they would also require Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) to retain certain user records for a minimum of two years. While few protest restrictions on child pornography, privacy advocates have taken issue with this data retention requirement (see Sec.5).

H.R.3458 - Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009

S.773 - Cybersecurity Act of 2009 This is comprehensive legislation designed to address our nation's vulnerabilities to cyber crime, global cyber espionage, and cyber attacks. It would establish a new Cybersecurity Advisory Panel within the White House and stream-line the cybersecurity effort through all levels of government. The bill also calls on the Department of Commerce to establish and maintain a clearinghouse on information related to cybsecurity threat and vulnerability information to public and private infrastructure deemed "critical" by the President. The Secretary of Commerce would be given access to this information "without regard to any provision of law, regulation, rule, or policy restricting such access." The bill would also give the President new authority to "declare a cybersecurity emergency and order the limitation or shutdown of Internet traffic to and from any compromised Federal Government or United States critical infrastructure information system or network."

H.R.414 - Camera Phone Predator Alert Act This bill would require that all mobile phones sold in the United States, which are equipped with digital cameras, make a sound when a photograph is taken.

H.R.231 - The Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009 This bill would require that a video game, rated T (Teen) or higher, carry a clear and conspicuous sign reading “WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior” (Sec. 1b).