Top Legislation - View All

Latest Action: 07/10/2008 - Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Bill Text
To amend title 44, United States Code, to require preservation of certain electronic records by Federal agencies, to require a certification and reports relating to Presidential records, and for other purposes. 4/15/2008--Introduced. Electronic Communications Preservation Act - Requires: (1) the Archivist of the United States to promulgate regulations governing agency preservation of electronic communications that are records; (2) agencies to comply with such regulations and to report to the Archivist on their compliance; and (3) the Archivist to report to specified congressional committees on such compliance.Requires the Archivist to promulgate regulations that include provisions for establishing standards necessary for the economical and efficient management of presidential records during a President's term of office.Requires the Archivist to: (1) annually certify whether the records management controls established by the President meet this Act's requirements;[...]

show full description
Latest Action: 06/05/2008 - Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Bill Text
To reauthorize the sound recording and film preservation programs of the Library of Congress, and for other purposes. 4/24/2008--Introduced. Library of Congress Sound Recording and Film Preservation Programs Reauthorization Act of 2008 - Amends the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000 (the Act) to authorize appropriations through FY2014 for: (1) the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress for the purpose of maintaining and preserving sound recordings that are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant; and (2) the National Recording Preservation Foundation to accept and administer private gifts to promote and ensure the preservation and public accessibility of the nation's sound recording heritage held at the Library of Congress and other public and nonprofit archives. Amends the National Film Preservation Act of 1996 to authorize appropriations through FY2014 for the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress. Updates [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 07/18/2008 - House Committee on Agriculture Granted an extension for further consideration ending not later than Aug. 1, 2008.

Bill Text
To provide for the protection of paleontological resources on Federal lands, and for other purposes. 1/18/2007--Introduced. Paleontological Resources Preservation Act - Directs the the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary) to: (1) manage and protect paleontological resources on federal land, using scientific principles and expertise; and (2) develop plans for inventorying, monitoring, and deriving the scientific and educational use of such resources. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to increase public awareness about such resources. Prohibits a person from collecting a paleontological resource from federal land without a permit issued under this Act by the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to allow casual collecting of a reasonable amount of common invertebrate and plant paleontological resources for non-commercial personal uses without a permit on certain federal lands. Recognizes as valid permits issued before [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 06/25/2008 - Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

Bill Text
To require disclosure of Holocaust-era policies by insurers and establish a federal cause of action for claims arising out of a covered policy. 3/28/2007--Introduced. Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2007 - Amends federal law governing the National Archives and Records Administration to direct the Archivist of the United States to: (1) establish a collection of records known as the Holocaust Insurance Registry, consisting of specified information provided under the Holocaust Victims Insurance Relief Act of 2007; and (2) make it accessible to the public. Requires the Secretary of State to seek agreements with European countries to make information on covered policies available to the Registry. Requires: (1) insurers to file certain disclosures of Holocaust-Era policies with the Secretary of Commerce; and (2) the Secretary to provide them to the Archivist. Subjects insurer noncompliance to a civil penalty. Requires the Secretary to notify [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 06/11/2008 - Indefinitely postponed by Senate by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S5530)

Bill Text
A bill to authorize certain programs and activities in the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the Department of Energy, and to amend the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003, and for other purposes. 10/17/2007--Introduced. Natural Resource Projects and Programs Authorization Act of 2007 - Authorizes specified programs and activities in the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the Department of Energy concerning, among other things, national monuments, conservation areas, resource protection, historic sites, national trails, national heritage areas, and the clean coal power initiative. Makes amendments to various public laws, including the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act, the National Trails System Act, the Steel Industry American Heritage Area Act of 1996, the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 04/11/2007 - Senate Committee on Foreign Relations discharged by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S4391)

Bill Text
A resolution observing Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, and calling on the remaining member countries of the International Commission of the International Tracing Service to ratify the May 2006 amendments to the 1955 Bonn Accords immediately to allow open access to the Bad Arolsen archives. 4/11/2007--Passed Senate without amendment.    (There is 1 other summary) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Joins people around the world in observing Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, and mourning the millions who were lost during the Holocaust. Commends the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Poland, and the Netherlands as the member countries of the International Commission of the International Tracing Service that have ratified the May 2006 amendments to the Agreement Constituting an International Commission for the International Tracing Service (Bonn Accords).[...]

show full description
Latest Action: 05/01/2007 - Senate Committee on Foreign Relations discharged by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S5435)

Bill Text
A resolution urging all member countries of the International Commission of the International Tracing Service who have yet to ratify the May 2006 amendments to the 1955 Bonn Accords to expedite the ratification process to allow for open access to the Holocaust archives located at Bad Arolsen, Germany. 5/1/2007--Passed Senate without amendment.    (There is 1 other summary) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Commends the countries that have: (1) ratified the amendments to the Agreement Constituting an International Commission for the International Tracing Service ("Bonn Accords'') to allow for open access to the Holocaust archives of the International Tracing Service (ITS) located at Bad Arolsen, Germany; and (2) committed to expedite the archives' release. Urges: (1) countries that have not ratified the amendments to abide by the May 2006 treaty obligations [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 11/14/2007 - Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Date of scheduled consideration. SD-342. 10:00 a.m.

Bill Text
To require the establishment of a national database in the National Archives to preserve records of servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction and to provide grants to State and local entities to establish similar local databases. 1/22/2007--Passed House without amendment.    (There is 1 other summary) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.) Preservation of Records of Servitude, Emancipation, and Post-Civil War Reconstruction Act - Requires the Archivist of the United States to: (1) establish, as part of the National Archives, an electronically searchable database of historic records of servitude, emancipation, and post-Civil War reconstruction contained within federal agencies, including the Southern Claims Commission Records, Records of the Freedmen's Bank, Slave Impressments Records, Slave Payroll Records, and the Slave Manifest, [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 02/15/2007 - Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Bingaman without amendment. With written report No. 110-18.

Bill Text
A bill to provide for the protection of paleontological resources on Federal lands, and for other purposes. 2/15/2007--Reported to Senate without amendment.    (There is 1 other summary) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.) Paleontological Resources Preservation Act - (Sec. 3) Directs the the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary) to: (1) manage and protect paleontological resources on federal land, using scientific principles and expertise; and (2) develop plans for inventorying, monitoring, and deriving the scientific and educational use of such resources. (Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary to establish a program to increase public awareness about such resources. (Sec. 5) Prohibits a person from collecting a paleontological resource from federal land without [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 03/19/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives.

Bill Text
To establish a servitude and emancipation archival research clearinghouse in the National Archives.

1/12/2007--Introduced.

Servitude and Emancipation Archival Research ClearingHouse Act or the SEARCH Act - Directs the Archivist of the United States to establish, as part of the National Archives, a national database consisting of historic records of servitude and emancipation in the United States to assist African Americans in researching their genealogy. Requires the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to maintain the database.

Latest Legislation - View All

Latest Action: 06/05/2008 - Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Bill Text
To reauthorize the sound recording and film preservation programs of the Library of Congress, and for other purposes. 4/24/2008--Introduced. Library of Congress Sound Recording and Film Preservation Programs Reauthorization Act of 2008 - Amends the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000 (the Act) to authorize appropriations through FY2014 for: (1) the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress for the purpose of maintaining and preserving sound recordings that are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant; and (2) the National Recording Preservation Foundation to accept and administer private gifts to promote and ensure the preservation and public accessibility of the nation's sound recording heritage held at the Library of Congress and other public and nonprofit archives. Amends the National Film Preservation Act of 1996 to authorize appropriations through FY2014 for the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress. Updates [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 07/10/2008 - Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Bill Text
To amend title 44, United States Code, to require preservation of certain electronic records by Federal agencies, to require a certification and reports relating to Presidential records, and for other purposes. 4/15/2008--Introduced. Electronic Communications Preservation Act - Requires: (1) the Archivist of the United States to promulgate regulations governing agency preservation of electronic communications that are records; (2) agencies to comply with such regulations and to report to the Archivist on their compliance; and (3) the Archivist to report to specified congressional committees on such compliance.Requires the Archivist to promulgate regulations that include provisions for establishing standards necessary for the economical and efficient management of presidential records during a President's term of office.Requires the Archivist to: (1) annually certify whether the records management controls established by the President meet this Act's requirements;[...]

show full description
Latest Action: 12/13/2007 - Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text of measure as introduced: CR S15475)

Bill Text
A resolution congratulating all member states of the International Commission for the International Tracing Service (ITS) on ratifying the May 2006 protocol granting open access to a vast archives on the Holocaust and other World War II materials, located at Bad Arolsen, Germany. 12/13/2007--Introduced. Commends all countries that worked to ratify the amendments to the Bonn Accords to allow for open access to the Holocaust Archives located in Bad Arolsen, Germany. Congratulates the efforts of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Department of State, and the International Committee of the Red Cross to open the archives. Encourages the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the International Committee of the Red Cross to act with urgency to ensure that survivors, their families, and researchers have access to, and assistance in using, the archives. Remembers the murder of six million innocent Jews and of more than five million other innocent [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 03/11/2008 - Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H1459-1462)

Bill Text
Expressing gratitude to all of the member states of the International Commission of the International Tracing Service on ratifying the May 2006 Agreement to amend the 1955 Bonn Accords granting access to vast Holocaust and other World War II related archives located in Bad Arolsen, Germany. 3/11/2008--Passed House amended.    (There is 1 other summary) Expresses the appreciation of the House of Representatives to all countries that worked to ratify the amendments to the Bonn Accords to allow for open access to the Holocaust Archives located in Bad Arolsen, Germany. Congratulates the efforts of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Department of State, and the International Committee of the Red Cross to open the archives. Encourages the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the International Committee of the Red Cross to act with urgency to ensure that survivors, their families, and researchers have access to, and assistance [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 06/11/2008 - Indefinitely postponed by Senate by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S5530)

Bill Text
A bill to authorize certain programs and activities in the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the Department of Energy, and to amend the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003, and for other purposes. 10/17/2007--Introduced. Natural Resource Projects and Programs Authorization Act of 2007 - Authorizes specified programs and activities in the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the Department of Energy concerning, among other things, national monuments, conservation areas, resource protection, historic sites, national trails, national heritage areas, and the clean coal power initiative. Makes amendments to various public laws, including the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act, the National Trails System Act, the Steel Industry American Heritage Area Act of 1996, the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 09/11/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities.

Bill Text
Recognizing the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library in Fulton, Missouri, as "America's National Churchill Museum", and commending its efforts to recognize the importance of the historic legacy of Sir Winston Churchill and to educate the people of the United States about his legacy of character, leadership, and citizenship. 7/18/2007--Introduced. Recognizes: (1) the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library in Fulton, Missouri, as "America's National Churchill Museum"; (2) the importance of the continuing collection, preservation, and interpretation of the historical materials held by the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library toward enhancing the knowledge and understanding of Sir Winston Churchill's historic legacy; and (3) the immense importance of World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. Commends the "Lessons of Leadership" offered by the Winston Churchill Memorial and Library educational outreach programs about the life and leadership of Sir Winston [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 07/13/2007 - Committee on Appropriations. Reported by Senator Durbin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 110-129.

Bill Text
Making appropriations for financial services and general government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, and for other purposes. 7/13/2007--Reported to Senate amended.    (There are 3 other summaries) Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2008 - Title I: Department of the Treasury - Department of the Treasury Appropriations Act, 2008 - Makes appropriations for FY2008 to the Department of the Treasury for: (1) departmental offices; (2) department-wide systems and capital investments programs; (3) the Office of Inspector General; (4) the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; (5) the Air Transportation Stabilization Program Account; (6) the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; (7) the Financial Management Service; (8) the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau; (9) the U.S. Mint for the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund; (10) the Bureau of the Public Debt; (11) the Community Development Financial Institutions [...]

show full description
Latest Action: 10/03/2007 - Committee Hearings Held.

Bill Text
To provide for administrative procedures to extend Federal recognition to certain Indian groups, and for other purposes. 6/22/2007--Introduced. Indian Tribal Federal Recognition Administrative Procedures Act - Establishes the Commission on Indian Recognition. Sets forth procedures for an Indian group to submit letters of intent and a petition to the Commission requesting federal recognition as an Indian tribe (effectively transferring the federal recognition process from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to the Commission). Specifies the requirements of a petition for recognition. Requires the Commission upon receiving a petition to: (1) send acknowledgment of receipt in writing to the petitioner; and (2) conduct a review to determine whether the petitioner is entitled to be recognized as an Indian tribe. Authorizes the petitioner to seek judicial review of a final determination with respect to a petition in the United States District Court for the District [...]

show full description