Latest Action: 09/08/2008 - Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 945.

Bill Text
Making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes. 8/1/2008--Passed House amended.    (There are 2 other summaries) Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2009 - Title I: Department of Defense - Appropriates funds for FY2009 for the Department of Defense (DOD) for: (1) military construction for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force (military departments), DOD, the Army and Air National Guard, and the Army, Navy, and Air Force reserves; (2) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program; (3) family housing construction and related operation and maintenance for the military departments and DOD; (4) the Department of Defense Family Housing Improvement Fund; (5) the Homeowners Assistance Fund; (6) chemical demilitarization construction; and (7) the Department of Defense [...]

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Latest Action: 06/23/2008 - Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Bill Text
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from gross income gain from the conversion of property by reason of eminent domain.

6/23/2008--Introduced.

Eminent Domain Tax Relief Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income gain from the conversion of property by reason of eminent domain.

Latest Action: 04/21/2008 - Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands.

Bill Text
To authorize the Forest Service to provide financial assistance to States for the acquisition of land to preserve and maintain such land for traditional use by the public, and for other purposes.

4/16/2008--Introduced.

Traditional Use Protection Act of 2008 - Directs the Forest Service to establish a grant program to allow states to acquire land rights in perpetuity in order to preserve and maintain such land for traditional use (hunting, fishing, access to water, motorized recreation, hiking, bird watching, and non-motorized recreational activities) by the public, or to make subgrants to an entity for such purposes.

Requires that land rights be acquired only from a willing seller. Prohibits acquisition through eminent domain.

Latest Action: 10/02/2008 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Bill Text
To amend the National Trails System Act to provide for the inclusion of new trail segments, land components, and campgrounds associated with the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, and for other purposes. 2/8/2008--Introduced. Amends the National Trails System Act to add as components of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail the following routes and land components by which the Cherokee Nation was removed to Oklahoma: (1) the Benge and Bell routes; (2) the land components of the designated water routes in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee; (3) the routes from the collection forts in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee to the emigration depots; and (4) the related campgrounds located along such routes and land components. Bars the Secretary of the Interior from using eminent domain to acquire lands for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. Requires the Secretary to only include lands in the Trail that are consistent with and appropriate [...]

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Latest Action: 09/27/2008 - Hearings Held by Subcommittee on Energy and Environment Prior to Introduction and Referral (05/15/2007)..

Bill Text
A bill to provide needed housing reform and for other purposes. 7/30/2008--Public Law.    (There are 4 other summaries) Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 - Division A: Housing Finance Reform - Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008 - Title I: Reform of Regulation of Enterprises - Subtitle A: Improvement of Safety and Soundness Supervision - (Sec. 1101) Amends the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 to replace the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (Agency), headed by a Director with regulatory authority over: (1) the Office of Finance; (2) the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs); (3) the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae); and (4) the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are referred to jointly as the enterprises.) [...]

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Latest Action: 11/14/2007 - On motion to recommit to conference committee Failed by the Yeas and Nays: 182 - 231 (Roll no. 1101). (consideration: CR H13903)

Bill Text
Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, and for other purposes. 9/12/2007--Passed Senate amended.    (There are 2 other summaries) Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 - Title I: Department of Transportation - Department of Transportation Appropriations Act, 2008 - Makes appropriations for FY2008 to the Department of Transportation, including: (1) the Office of the Secretary; (2) the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); (3) the Federal Highway Administration; (4) the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; (5) the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA); (6) the Federal Railroad Administration; (7) the Federal Transit Administration (FTA); (8) the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation; (9) the Maritime Administration; (10) the Pipeline and [...]

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Latest Action: 08/10/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.

Bill Text
To protect private property rights. 7/16/2007--Introduced. Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2007 - Prohibits a state or political subdivision from exercising its power of eminent domain, or allowing the exercise of such power by delegation, over property to be used for economic development or over property that is used for economic development within seven years after that exercise, if the state or political subdivision receives federal economic development funds during any fiscal year in which the property is so used or intended to be used. Prohibits the federal government from exercising its power of eminent domain for economic development. Establishes a private cause of action for any private property owner or tenant who suffers injury as a result of a violation of this Act. Prohibits state immunity in federal or state court. Sets the statute of limitations at seven years. Requires the Attorney General to bring an action to enforce this Act [...]

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Latest Action: 09/11/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.

Bill Text
To establish a United States Health Service to provide high quality comprehensive health care for all Americans and to overcome the deficiencies in the present system of health care delivery. 7/11/2007--Introduced. Josephine Butler United States Health Service Act - Establishes the United States Health Service as an independent executive branch entity to provide health care and supplemental health services to all individuals within the United States. Requires the President to appoint members to a National Health Board to exercise the authority of the Service. Establishes an Office of the Inspector General for Health Services. Requires the Service to ensure that every individual is given certain basic health rights, including the right to receive high quality care and supplemental services from any facility within the Service capable of providing such services without charge and without discrimination. Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide [...]

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Latest Action: 06/28/2007 - Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 240.

Bill Text
Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, and for other purposes. 6/27/2007--Passed House amended.    (There are 2 other summaries) Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 - Makes appropriations for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and related agencies for FY2008. Title I: Department of the Interior - Makes appropriations for FY2008 to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for: (1) land and resource management; (2) construction; (3) land acquisition; (3) Oregon and California grant lands; (4) range improvements; (5) service charges, deposits, and forfeitures with respect to public lands; (6) miscellaneous trust funds; and (7) wildland fire management (including transfer of funds). Appropriates funds for FY2008 to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) [...]

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Latest Action: 06/05/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities.

Bill Text
To prohibit the provision of Federal economic development assistance for any State or locality that uses the power of eminent domain power to obtain property for private commercial development or that fails to pay relocation costs to persons displaced by use of the power of eminent domain for economic development purposes. 2/8/2007--Introduced. Strengthening the Ownership of Private Property Act of 2007 or STOPP Act of 2007 - Prohibits federal financial assistance under defined federal economic development programs to a state or local government entity that: (1) uses the power of eminent domain to take property from a private entity and transfer ownership to another private entity; or (2) fails to provide, to any person displaced by the use of eminent domain for any economic development purpose, relocation assistance under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Excepts from the first clause property taken for: (1) use by a public [...]

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Latest Action: 02/06/2007 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.

Bill Text
To amend certain provisions of the Federal Power Act added by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 relating to the use of eminent domain authority for the construction of electric power lines, and for other purposes. 2/5/2007--Introduced. Protecting Communities from Power Line Abuse Act - Amends the Federal Power Act to repeal provisions regarding: (1) mandatory fair market value compensation for right-of-way acquisitions; (2) transmission facility modifications in accordance with state law; and (3) requirements for coordination of federal authorizations for interstate electric transmission facilities, including authorization to file an appeal with the President regarding denial of an application for such an authorization. Modifies requirements for acquisition of rights-of-way for electric transmission facilities located on property other than federal or state property. Provides that, if the permit holder cannot acquire by contract, or is unable to agree upon compensation [...]

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