Congress passed the following bills last week:
HOUSE
H.R. 1595 – Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act – 12 pages
H.R. 407 – Columbia-Pacific National Heritage Area Study – 5 pages
H.R. 1080 – Grand Teton National Park Extension Act of 2007 – 6 pages
H.R. 487 – Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Equitable Compensation Amendments Act of 2007 – 16 pages
H.R. 1737 -City of Oxnard Water Recycling and Desalination Act of 2007 – 3 pages
H.R. 30 – Eastern Municipal Water District Recycled Water System Pressurization and Expansion Project – 3 pages
H.R. 1025 – Lower Republican River Basin Study Act – 4 pages
H.R. 1114 – Alaska Water Resources Act of 2007 – 4 pages
H.R. 1140 – South Orange County Recycled Water Enhancement Act – 6 pages
H.R. 1642 – Homeless Veterans Housing at Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center Promotion Act – 5 pages
H.R. 2080 – To amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to conform the District charter to revisions made by the Council of the District of Columbia relating to public education – 4 pages
H.R. 2081 – To amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to increase the salary of the Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia – 2 pages
H.R. 1294 – Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act – 60 pages
S.Con.Res. 21 – Setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2008 and including the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2007 and 2009 through 2012 – 62 pages
H.R. 890 – Student Loan Sunshine Act – 34 pages
H.R. 1873 – Small Business Fairness in Contracting Act – 26 pages
H.R. 1684-Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 – 174 pages
H.R. 2206 – U.S. Troops Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, FY 2007- 227 pages
H.R. 2207 – Agricultural Disaster Assistance and Western States Emergency Unfinished Business Appropriations Act, FY 2007 – 23 pages
H.R. 2082 – Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 – 74 pages
SENATE
S. 1082 – Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act – 500 pages
CONCLUSION
The House passed 20 bills totaling an astounding 750 pages. The Senate passed just one bill, but it alone was an incredible 500 pages. It is all too much for one organization to keep track of or understand. Since most bills have provisions that amend previous laws, it is virtually impossible for a member of Congress to keep up with and understand so many pages of legislation. Yet Congress passes these bills anyway, making government bigger and bigger every day. The only way to prevent Big Government from growing is to change the way Congress does things. Through the Read the Bills Act, members of Congress will be required to have read and understood the laws they pass. This will encourage bills to be simplified and shorter. It will also cut down on the volume of legislation because Congress will only have time to consider urgent bills that have widespread support. Tell Congress to pass the Read the Bills Act by clicking here.
DownsizeDC.org publishes this feature on weeks when Congress is in session. To see how your represenatives voted on particular bills, or to read the bills themselves, go here for the House and here for the Senate. You may also keep abreast of day-to-day activities in Congress by going to the Congressional Record Main Page and click for recent issues of the Daily Digest.