The 108th United States Congress

	The 108th United States Congress

FRI Bill Watch(Last update: 11/6/2003)

Link to the 107th Congress (2001-2002).

Those elected to the United States Congress work year long. The first day of the current 108th session of the Congress begins on January 7, 2003 and consists of two annual sessions. Members of the the House of Representatives and the Senate introduce, consider and pass legislation, participate in committees and communicate with their constituents.

The Internet has become a wonderful tool to stay informed of issues and concerns being addressed in our nations' capitol. You can learn about the inner workings of both the House and the Senate, find out more about how a bill actually becomes law and link to other web sites that represent the other branches of government.

Thomas, a service of the Library of Congress, is an easy-to-use search tool to help you locate bills, public laws and committee schedules and hearings of both houses of the legislative branch. The home page also features links to other branches of government, news on featured bills and committees, and easy-to-access historical information. This is best place to start if you're searching for current or past legislative action.

Here are a few direct links to useful information about our federal legislative system:

Write your representative (search by zip code).

Senators of the 107th Congress, listed by state.

The U.S. Code, a subject list of all general and permanent laws of the United States. Features include a search by keyword, a chapter listing, and classification tables which show how recently enacted laws will affect the code.

A in-depth look at the legislative process.

Featured Legislation from the 107th Congress

H.C.R. 342:Supporting the Western Governors Association's "Collaborative Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and the Environment"(May 2002). Introduced 3/14/2002 by Rep. Richard W. Pombo

The Farm Security and Reinvestment Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-171) was signed by President Bush on Monday, May 13, 2002.
*Links to more information about the 2002 version of the Farm as signed into law:

USDA Farm Bill Gateway

Title VIII: Forestry (USDA) includes the Forest Land Enhancement Program (FLEP)

US House of Representatives Farm Bill Status ~ summaries, voting records, speeches and committee records.

FRI Bill Watch (Last update: 11/6/2003)

Here are selected bills from the 107th Congress on forestry, environment or land issues. If you'd like to include a bill not listed, please email Jimmi Fischer Rushing, FRI's Information Specialist.
Link here to enter the bill number as listed below to read the text and track the bill status.

Senate ~ House

Color Key
Passed in the HOUSE
Passed in the SENATE
Signed into LAW

Bill number	Description	Author(s); Date Introduced	Date/Last action
S.432	Public Lands Production Research Act of 2003: to authorize the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct and support research into alternative treatments for timber produced from public lands and lands withdrawn from the public domain for the National Forest System, and for other purposes.	Craig, Larry E. [ID] 2/24/2003	9/11/2003 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.
S.485	Clear Skies Act of 2003 : to amend the Clean Air Act to reduce air pollution through expansion of cap and trade programs, to provide an alternative regulatory classification for units subject to the cap and trade program, and for other purposes. Related: H.R.999	Inhofe, Jim [OK] (by request) 2/27/2003)	6/5/2003 Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate Change, and Nuclear Safety. Hearings held.
S.536	National Invasive Species Council Act: to establish the National Invasive Species Council, and for other purposes. Related:H.R.266	DeWine[OH] 3/5/2003	3/5/2003 Senate; Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
S. 1208	A bill to amend the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to establish a program to provide assistance to States and nonprofit organizations to preserve suburban forest land and open space and contain suburban sprawl, and for other purposes	Collins [ME]	6/9/2003 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
S. 1453	Forestry and Community Assistance Act of 2003: A bill to expedite procedures for hazardous fuels reduction activities and restoration in wildlife fire prone national forests and for other purposes.	Leahy [VT]	7/24/2003 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
H.R.266	National Invasive Species Council Act: to establish the National Invasive Species Council, and for other purposes. Related: S.536	Ehlers [MI-3] 1/8/2003	2/12/2003 House; Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health; Executive Comment Requested from Interior, Commerce, USDA.
H.R.387	Wildfire Prevention and Forest Health Protection Act: to authorize the Regional Foresters to exempt tree-thinning projects, which are necessary to prevent the occurrence of wildfire likely to cause extreme harm to the forest ecosystem, from laws that give rise to legal causes of action that delay or prevent such projects.	Shadegg [AZ-3] 1/27/2003	2/12/2003 House; Referred to Resources: Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health
H.R.460	Wildfire Prevention Act of 2003: to establish Institutes to conduct research on the prevention of, and restoration from, wildfires in forest and woodland ecosystems of the interior West.	Hayworth [AZ-5] 1/29/2003	2/13/2003 House; Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry
H.R.652	National Forest Ecosystem Protection Act of 2002: establishment of a National Forest Ecosystem Protection Program composed of lands within existing wilderness areas and adjacent primitive areas, and for other purposes.	Andrews, Robert [NJ-1] 2/7/2003	2/13/2003 House; Referred to Subcommittee on Livestock & Horticulture
H.R.999	Clear Skies Act of 2003: to amend the Clean Air Act to reduce air pollution through expansion of cap and trade programs, to provide an alternative regulatory classification for units subject to the cap and trade program, and for other purposes. Related: S.485	Barton, Joe [TX-6] (by request) 2/27/2003)	3/17/2003 House; Referred Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.
H.R. 1038	Public Lands Fire Regulations Enforcement Act of 2003: to increase the penalties to be imposed for a violation of fire regulations applicable to the public lands, National Park System lands, or National Forest System lands when the violation results in damage to public or private property, to specify the purpose for which collected fines may be used, and for other purposes.	Tancredo [CO-6] 2/27/2003	9/15/2003 House preparation for floor. Status: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 156
H.R. 1042	Forest Restoration and Fire Risk Reduction Act : to authorize collaborative forest restoration and wildland fire hazard mitigation projects on National Forest System lands and other public and private lands, to improve the implementation of the National Fire Plan, and for other purposes.	Udall [CO-2] 2/27/2003	3/10/2003 House; Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands; Executive Comment requested from USDA, Interior.
H.R. 1292	Remote Sensing Applications Act of 2003: To encourage the development and integrated use by the public and private sectors of remote sensing and other geospatial information, and for other purposes.	Udall [CO-2]	10/8/2003 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
H.R. 1310	Reforestation Tax Act of 2003: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify certain provisions relating to the treatment of forestry activities.	Dunn [WA-8]	3/18/2003 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
H.R. 1578	Global Change Research and Data Management Act of 2003: To provide for the continuation and coordination of a comprehensive and integrated United States observation and research program which will assist the Nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to the effects of human-induced and natural processes of global change.	Udall [CO-2]	5/1/2003 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Motion to Report Measure Defeated by the Yeas and Nays: 17 - 19.
H.R. 1904	Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003: An act to improve the capacity of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to conduct hazardous fuels reduction projects on National Forest System lands and Bureau of Land Management lands aimed at protecting communities, watersheds, and certain other at-risk lands from catastrophic wildfire, to enhance efforts to protect watersheds and address threats to forest and rangeland health, including catastrophic wildfire, across the landscape, and for other purposes.	McInnis [CO-3]	12/3/2003 Became Public Law 108-148.
H.R. 3186	Geospatial Preparedness Act: To establish and maintain geospatial preparedness for the Nation with the National Spatial Data Infrastructure and integrated applications and systems required for homeland security, national defense, electronic government, and for other purposes.	Clay[MO-1]	9/25/2003 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Science.
H.R. 3274	Regional Comprehensive Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Coordination Act of 2003: To enhance homeland security by encouraging the development of regional coordination plans for emergency and disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.	Kingston [GA-1]	10/27/2003 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.

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Passed in the SENATE

Signed into LAW