Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on National Parks, Forests, and public landsLand owned by the federal government, about a quarter of the country, managed by agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and Park Service.Read the full definition (opens a new tab).
Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area Act
This bill directs the Department of the Interior to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating a study area comprised of cities and counties in Virginia and counties in North Carolina as a National Heritage Area to be known as the Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area.
The study shall include analysis, documentation, and determinations on whether the study area (1) has an assemblage of natural, historic, and cultural resources that represent distinctive aspects of the people and culture of the United States; and (2) are worthy of recognition, conservation, interpretation, and continuing use.
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 11, 2020. 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 21, 2020: Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands.
- 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 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 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?
A. McEachin (D-VA) introduced it on February 11, 2020, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 3 Democrats, 1 Republican.
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 11, 2020, 2403 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2393 days ago, on February 21, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 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