July 31st, 2009 by B
Photographer: ccarlstead
A student who has been convicted of a drug offense and has stopped receiving financial aid for higher education, will once again be able to receive the aid thirty days after this bill becomes law. H.R. 3295 was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor.
July 31st, 2009 by B
Photographer: doug wilson
Vehicle donations to certain organization for a tax exemption may be suspended. Under this bill, if an organization’s employees maintain donated vehicles, or if a third party such as a mechanic is not used, or if twenty percent of the annual net proceeds from the vehicles does not go toward these third parties, then the organization will not be able to accept vehicles for donations with a tax exemption. H.R. 3248 was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
July 30th, 2009 by B
The House and Senate each have a Committee on Appropriations. It is the responsibility of this committee to allocate money for Congress. This bill sets a limitation on earmarks by allowing only one half of one percent of the allocated money toward earmarks. A Congressperson may request not more than 1/441 of the amount, and a Senator may request not more than 1/100th of the amount. If the money is not completely used it will go toward paying off the national debt. A Congressperson or Senator who requests an earmark will have five days to give certain information about the earmark to the Congressional record. This information will be given to the Clerks of the House of Representative and the Senate to be placed on their website for the public to view. H.R. 3233 was referred to the Committee on Rules and the Committee on the Budget.
July 30th, 2009 by B
Photographer: Eric McGregor
The bill reads as follows, “To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to complete at least 700 miles of reinforced fencing along the Southwest border by December 31, 2010, and for other purposes.” H.R. 3236 was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security.
July 29th, 2009 by B
It will be unlawful for anyone to possess a weapon that will harm humans from nuclear radiation. A violator of this law will be fined $2 million and imprisoned for a minimum of 25 years. US representatives will petition members of the UN to create a similar law in their respective countries. S. 1464 was referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
July 29th, 2009 by B
Photographer: Hey Paul
A task force, counsel, or a similar office created by the President may not be given money for salary without consent of the Senate. H.R. 3226 was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
July 28th, 2009 by B
A Nation Home Mortgage and Loan Performance Registry will be created to view trends in the mortgage industry, and have information on mortgage rates. Under this bill, the board which is to be created, will require loan institutions to give them any information they require on any loan they desire. H.R. 3195 was referred to the Committee on Financial Services.
July 28th, 2009 by B
Photographer: ninjapoodles
An Internet safety education program will be created to train and educate children and parents on how to use the Internet, and protect children from harm on the web. The amount of $25 million for the years 2010 – 2014 will be made available in grants for eligible entities to carry out this program. H.R. 3222 was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
July 27th, 2009 by B
Any major health bill that will be on the floor for debate in the House of Representatives, must be available in hardcopy form for any Congressperson one week prior to debate. H. RES. 643 was referred to the Committee on Rules.
July 27th, 2009 by B
Photographer: Alexey Klementiev
Each member of Congress is allotted a certain amount of money called Members’ Representational Allowance for official expenses, such as hiring a staff. This bill seeks to stop increasing the Members’ Representational Allowance in time of recession, and may not be increased past the allotment of the previous year. The Members’ Representational Allowance may be increased only if the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the unemployment rate to be six percent or lower for six months, and the amount of public debt is not greater than $5.5 trillion. H.R. 3189 was referred to the Committee on House Administration.