Acid Rain and National Atmospheric Fallout Act of 1980
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Science and Technology.
Acid Rain and National Atmospheric Fallout Act of 1980 - Title I: Objectives - States findings concerning atmospheric fallout and acid rain caused by industrial processes, fossil fuel plants, electrical generating plants, home heating, motorized vehicles, municipal waste disposal, and certain intensive agriculture and forestry operations. Declares it to be the policy of the United States that programs of national research, emission source identification, monitoring, and other specified activities, studies, and plans be established to study and solve the problems of atmospheric fallout from the operations described above. Title II: Interagency Committee - Establishes the Interagency Committee on Atmospheric Fallout to perform specified duties to minimize or eliminate the harmful effects of atmospheric fallout. Sets forth membership requirements for such Committee and other requirements relating to staffing. Directs the Committee to review plans and reports on atmospheric fallout made by other bodies, including the Council on Environmental Quality, and to develop a plan to provide for the amelioration of the harmful effects of atmospheric fallout. Sets forth the elements of such plan and requires that it provide for a coordinated monitoring, management, and research program. Requires the submission of such plan to Congress and to the President no later than twelve months after the date of enactment of this Act. Directs the Committee to submit annual reports to Congress and to the President on publicly and privately supported atmospheric fallout activities, and on progress in implementing the Committee's plan for atmospheric fallout control. Requires that such reports be submitted annually for ten years. Title III: National Advisory Council - Establishes the National Advisory Council on Atmospheric Fallout to review the decisions and actions of the Committee and to increase cooperation and coordination among Federal and State public and private organizations and agencies involved in controlling atmospheric fallout. Sets forth membership and staffing requirements for such Council. Title IV: General Provisions - Authorizes the Committee and the Council to obtain directly from any Federal agency or department any information necessary to enable them to carry out their functions and specifies support services at their disposal. Terminates the authority of the Committee and the Council.
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 19, 1980. 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 19, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Science and Technology.
- 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 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 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?
JAMES JEFFORDS (R-VT) introduced it on February 19, 1980. 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 February 19, 1980, 17005 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17005 days ago, on February 19, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 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