Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008
Latest action. The conference committeeA temporary House-Senate panel that negotiates one compromise text when the chambers pass different versions of a measure.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on the part of the House are discharged and H.R. 3093 is laid on the table pursuant to H. Res. 860.
Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 - Makes appropriations for FY2008 for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, for science-related programs, and related agencies.
Title I: Department of Commerce - Department of Commerce Appropriations Act, 2008 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Commerce for FY2008 for: (1) the International Trade Administration; (2) the Bureau of Industry and Security; (3) the Economic Development Administration; (4) the Minority Business Development Agency; (5) economic and statistical analysis programs; (6) the Bureau of the Census; (7) the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, including for grants for public telecommunications facilities planning and construction and for construction of broadband services; (8) the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); (9) the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), including amounts for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the Advanced Technology Program, and for construction of new research facilities; (10) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including transfers of funds, and an amount for procurement, acquisition, and construction of capital assets; (11) restoration of Pacific salmon populations; (12) the Coastal Zone Management Fund, including a transfer of funds; (13) the fisheries finance program account; (14) departmental management, including for the Office of Inspector General; (15) the renovation and modernization of the Herbert C. Hoover Building; and (16) the National Intellectual Property Law Enforcement Coordination Council.
(Sec. 101) Allows Department of Commerce funds to be made available for certain functions and activities of the Department and for advanced payments not otherwise authorized upon the certification of a Department of Commerce official that such payments are in the public interest.
(Sec. 102) Authorizes funding for hire of passenger motor vehicles, for services, and for uniforms or allowances.
(Sec. 103) Restricts the transfer of current fiscal year appropriations for the Department of Commerce in this Act. Makes special provision for transfers among appropriations made only to NOAA.
(Sec. 104) Permits a transfer of funds to cover certain costs incurred resulting from personnel actions taken in response to funding reductions.
The summary continues for 93 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed Senate amended" stage on October 16, 2007. 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 December 12, 2007: The conferees on the part of the House are discharged and H.R. 3093 is laid on the table pursuant to H. Res. 860.
- 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 110th Congress (2007-08), 460 of the 11,228 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.1 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?
ALAN MOLLOHAN (D-WV) introduced it on July 19, 2007. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 July 19, 2007, 7040 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 6894 days ago, on December 12, 2007.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 110th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2009 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