Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 593.
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009 - Makes appropriations for FY2009 for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, science-related programs, and related agencies.
Title I: Department of Commerce - Department of Commerce Appropriations Act, 2009 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Commerce for FY2009 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; (8) the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; (9) the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), including amounts for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership of NIST and for construction of new research facilities; (10) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including amounts for procurement, acquisition, and construction of capital assets, restoration of Pacific salmon populations, the Coastal Zone Management Fund, and the fisheries finance program account; and (11) departmental management, including for the Office of Inspector General and renovation and modernization of the Herbert C. Hoover Building.
(Sec. 105) Prohibits the use of any funds under this Act to register, issue, transfer, or enforce any trademark of the phrase "Last Best Place."
(Sec. 107) Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to promulgate safety and health standards or regulations for scientific and occupational diving within NOAA.
Title II: Department of Justice - Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2009 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Justice (DOJ) for 2009 for: (1) general administration, including for information sharing technology, a nationwide Integrated Wireless Network supporting federal law enforcement, administration of pardon and clemency petitions and immigration-related activities, the Federal Detention Trustee, and the Office of Inspector General; (2) the U.S. Parole Commission; (3) legal activities, including reimbursement from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund for processing cases under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, antitrust enforcement, the Offices of the U.S. Attorneys, the U.S. Trustee Program, the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, fees and expenses of witnesses, the Community Relations Service, and the Assets Forfeiture Fund; (4) the U.S. Marshals Service; (5) the National Security Division; (6) interagency crime and drug enforcement; (7) the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (8) the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); (9) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); (10) the federal prison system, including for the construction of new buildings and facilities and for the Federal Prison Industries, Incorporated (subject to certain limitations on administrative expenses); (11) the Office on Violence Against Women for violence against women prevention and prosecution programs; and (12) Office of Justice Programs, including for state and local law enforcement assistance, the Office of Weed and Seed Strategies, community-oriented policing services (including a transfer of funds), juvenile justice programs, and public safety officers benefits.
The summary continues for 23 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 "Reported to House without amendment" stage on December 10, 2008. 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 10, 2008: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 593.
- 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 December 10, 2008. 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 December 10, 2008, 6483 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 6483 days ago, on December 10, 2008.
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