Drought Emergency Relief Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
Drought Emergency Relief Act - Makes available financial assistance for drought-striken areas under the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act. Authorizes the President, upon request by a Governor of a State, to declare a state of drought to exist in the areas designated by the Governor. Makes such district or districts eligible for Federal financial assistance for weather modification purposes. States that 60 percent of the cost of any weather modification program in a drought area shall be provided by the Secretary of Agriculture and the remaining 40 percent shall be paid by the districts in which the drought was declared. Authorizes a transfer of funds not in excess of $5,000,000 for the fiscal year 1976 from any funds included in the Agricultural and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for purposes of this Act. Authorizes appropriations in such amounts as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act not exceeding $5,000,000 annually through fiscal year 1979.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 25, 1976. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 25, 1976: Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 94th Congress (1975-76), 588 of the 21,097 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
GLENN ENGLISH (D-OK) introduced it on February 25, 1976, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 25, 1976, 18460 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 18460 days ago, on February 25, 1976.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 94th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1977 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers