Latest Action: 10/07/2008 - Signed by President.

Bill Text
To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to connect and support relative caregivers, improve outcomes for children in foster care, provide for tribal foster care and adoption access, improve incentives for adoption, and for other purposes. 10/7/2008--Public Law.    (There are 3 other summaries) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the House passed version is repeated here.) Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 - Title I: Connecting and Supporting Relative Caregivers - (Sec. 101) Amends part E (Federal Payments for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give state plans the option of providing for the state to enter into agreements to provide kinship guardianship assistance payments to grandparents and other relatives who have assumed legal guardianship of children for whom they have: (1) [...]

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Latest Action: 09/18/2008 - Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held.

Bill Text
A bill to amend the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act, the Indian Tribal Justice Act, the Indian Tribal Justice Technical and Legal Assistance Act of 2000, and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to improve the prosecution of, and response to, crimes in Indian country, and for other purposes. 7/23/2008--Introduced. Tribal Law and Order Act of 2008 - Amends the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to submit to Congress a long-term plan to address incarceration in Indian country. Authorizes each U.S. Attorney serving a district that includes Indian country to appoint Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys to prosecute crimes in Indian country when the crime rate, or the rate at which criminal offenses are declined to be prosecuted, exceeds the national average. Establishes in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) criminal division an Office of Indian Country Crime.Requires the United States to maintain concurrent jurisdiction [...]

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Latest Action: 07/23/2008 - Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions

Bill Text
To amend the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act, the Indian Tribal Justice Act, the Indian Tribal Justice Technical and Legal Assistance Act of 2000, and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to improve the prosecution of, and response to, crimes in Indian country, and for other purposes. 7/23/2008--Introduced. Tribal Law and Order Act of 2008 - Amends the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to submit to Congress a long-term plan to address incarceration in Indian country. Authorizes each U.S. Attorney serving a district that includes Indian country to appoint Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys to prosecute crimes in Indian country when the crime rate, or the rate at which criminal offenses are declined to be prosecuted, exceeds the national average. Establishes in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) criminal division an Office of Indian Country Crime.Requires the United States to maintain concurrent jurisdiction to [...]

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Latest Action: 07/28/2008 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

Bill Text
To establish a domestic violence volunteer attorney network to represent domestic violence victims. 5/20/2008--Introduced. National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Network Act - Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence to work in collaboration with the American Bar Association Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service and other organizations to create, recruit lawyers for, and provide training, mentoring, and technical assistance for a National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Network.Requires the Office on Violence Against Women of the Department of Justice to designate five states in which to implement the pilot program of a National Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Referral Project and distribute funds under this Act.Requires the Attorney General to award grants to national domestic violence legal technical assistance providers to expand their services to provide training and [...]

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Latest Action: 06/11/2008 - Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Bill Text
To authorize law enforcement and security assistance, and assistance to enhance the rule of law and strengthen civilian institutions, for Mexico and the countries of Central America, and for other purposes. 6/10/2008--Passed House amended.    (There are 2 other summaries) Merida Initiative to Combat Illicit Narcotics and Reduce Organized Crime Authorization Act of 2008 - Title I: Assistance for Mexico - Subtitle A: Law Enforcement and Security Assistance - (Sec. 112) Authorizes the President to provide assistance for Mexico for: (1) counternarcotics and countertrafficking; (2) port, airport, and related security to assist in controlling the Mexico-U.S. and Mexico-Central America borders; (3) intelligence gathering operational technology; and (4) public security and law enforcement, including assistance to the National Council Against Addiction (CONADIC). (Sec. 114) Prohibits assistance to any armed forces of Mexico or law enforcement unit [...]

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Latest Action: 03/31/2008 - Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2234)

Bill Text
A bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2009 for military activities of the Department of Defense, to prescribe military personnel strengths for fiscal year 2009, and for other purposes. 3/31/2008--Introduced. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 - Authorizes appropriations for the Department of Defense (DOD) for FY2009. Authorizes appropriations to DOD for: (1) procurement, including aircraft, missiles, weapons and tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, shipbuilding and conversion, and other procurement; (2) the Rapid Acquisition Fund; (3) the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Fund; (4) Defense Production Act purchases; (5) research, development, test, and evaluation; (6) operation and maintenance, including working capital funds, the Defense Health Program, chemical agents and munitions destruction, drug interdiction and counter-drug activities, and the Defense Inspector General; (6) active and reserve military personnel, including [...]

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Latest Action: 06/03/2008 - Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 758.

Bill Text
To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2009 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, to amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide for the protection of child custody arrangements for parents who are members of the Armed Forces deployed in support of a contingency operation, and for other purposes. 5/22/2008--Passed House amended.    (There is 1 other summary) Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 - Division A: Department of Defense Authorizations - Title I: Procurement - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for FY2009 for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force for aircraft, missiles, weapons and tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, shipbuilding and conversion, and other procurement. (Sec.[...]

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Latest Action: 04/25/2008 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry.

Bill Text
Expressing support for the designation of September 2008 as "National Link Awareness Month" and recognizing the link between animal cruelty and other forms of societal violence.

3/13/2008--Introduced.

Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Link Awareness Month. Recognizes that: (1) the link between animal cruelty and domestic violence is a national concern; and (2) laws that recognize such link are critical in protecting countless domestic violence survivors and their pets.

Latest Action: 01/28/2008 - Signed by President.

Bill Text
To provide for the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, as previously enrolled, with certain modifications to address the foreign sovereign immunities provisions of title 28, United States Code, with respect to the attachment of property in certain judgements against Iraq, the lapse of statutory authorities for the payment of bonuses, special pays, and similar benefits for members of the uniformed services, and for other purposes. 1/28/2008--Public Law.    (There are 2 other summaries) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the Senate passed version is repeated here.) National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 - Division A: Department of Defense Authorizations - Title I: Procurement - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for FY2008 for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force for aircraft,[...]

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Latest Action: 12/13/2007 - Star Print ordered on on the bill.

Bill Text
A bill to provide for programs that reduce the need for abortion, help women bear healthy children, and support new parents. 12/4/2007--Introduced. Pregnant Women Support Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to increase public awareness of resources available to pregnant women to carry their pregnancy to term and new parents. Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary to make grants for the purchase of ultrasound equipment for examinations of pregnant women. Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a health insurance issuer offering individual coverage from imposing a preexisting condition exclusion or a waiting period or otherwise discriminating against a woman on the basis that she is pregnant. Provides for continuation coverage for newborns. Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to allow states to extend health care coverage [...]

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Latest Action: 01/31/2008 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism.

Bill Text
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to strengthen enforcement of the immigration laws, to enhance border security, and for other purposes. 11/1/2007--Introduced. Border Enforcement, Employment Verification, and Illegal Immigration Control Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to: (1) take all appropriate actions, including development of a national border strategy, to maintain operational control over the U.S. international land and maritime borders; (2) report on cross-border security agreements with Mexico and Canada; (3) provide for biometric data enhancements; (4) increase port of entry inspection personnel; (5) report on the airspace security mission's impact on the National Capital Region; (6) reimburse private owners along the border for certain property damage; (7) establish at least one Border Patrol unit for the Virgin Islands; (8) report on Central American gang travel across the U.S.-Mexico border; and (9) deploy radiation portal [...]

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