Recent Federal Bills

Below are summaries of Bills Introduced, Committee Reports, Chamber Actions, and Public Laws reported in the most recent issue of ELR's Weekly Update.

would strengthen implementation of the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 by improving the capacity of the federal government to implement, leverage, and monitor and evaluate programs to provide first-time or improved access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene to the world's poorest on an equitable and sustainable basis.

would grant the Secretary of the Interior permanent authority to authorize states to issue electronic duck stamps.

would revise the boundaries of several units in the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System.

would provide for a comprehensive assessment of the scientific and technical research on implications of the use of mid-level ethanol blends.

would direct the Secretary of the Interior to take certain land and mineral rights on the reservation of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana, and other culturally important land, into trust for the benefit of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

would implement the Amendment to the Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries, as adopted in Lisbon on September 28, 2007.

would implement the Convention on the Conservation and Management of the High Seas Fishery Resources in the South Pacific Ocean, as adopted in Auckland on November 14, 2009.

would implement the Convention on the Conservation and Management of the High Seas Fisheries Resources in the North Pacific Ocean, as adopted in Tokyo on February 24, 2012.

would require the Secretary of the Interior to assemble a team of technical, policy, and financial experts to address the energy needs of the insular areas of the United States and the Freely Associated States through the development of energy action plans aimed at promoting access to affordable, reliable energy, including increasing the use of indigenous clean-energy resources.

would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire approximately 44 acres of land in Martinez, California for the John Muir National Historic Site.