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Senator Leahy's Bills in the 109th Congress
(updated April 19, 2006)

Below is a sampling of bills Sen. Leahy has written and introduced, or co-sponsored, in the 109th Congress, which began in January 2005 and will end in December 2006.  (Bill summaries provided from the Library of Congress.)

  • S. 94 - Lugar/Leahy Good Samaritan Hunger Tax Relief - An Act to allow restaurants, grocery stores, and other businesses to deduct the full market value of food donated to a food bank or any other charitable group.

  • S. 167 - The Family Entertainment and Copyright Act - The FECA bill is a bipartisan package of intellectual property legislation, similar to a bill Senator Leahy co-sponsored in the 108th Congress.  The FECA bill includes Senator Leahy’s Film Preservation Act of 2005.  Many priceless film treasures are literally disintegrating faster than they can be saved.  Senator Leahy’s bill would ensure that a Library of Congress program dedicated to film preservation can continue to protect culturally significant films, avant-garde works, news reels, and home movies, all of which shed important light on America’s past.  Among the bill’s other provisions, the bill gives law enforcement new tools in fighting movie piracy by making it a crime to surreptitiously make bootleg copies of films using a camcorder in a movie theater. 

  • S. 301 - Upper Connecticut River Partnership Act - The Upper Connecticut River Partnership Act of 2005 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to give technical and financial help for the Upper Connecticut River through the Connecticut River Joint Commissions.  The Joint Commissions consist of New Hampshire's Connecticut River Valley Resource Commission and Vermont's Connecticut River Watershed Advisory Commission.  Since 1989 the two advisory panels have been working cooperatively to protect and preserve the Connecticut River.

  • S. 311 - Early Treatment for HIV Act of 2005 - Legislation to Amend the Social Security Act to permit States the option to provide medicaid coverage for low-income individuals infected with HIV.

  • S. 312 - Low Power FM Legislation - Legislation would increase the number of FM frequencies available to low power FM radio stations that rarely broadcast farther than three to four miles and typically provide local and community programming.

  • S. 329 - Bankruptcy Fairness Act - Legislation to increase the amount of unsecured claims for salaries and wages given priority in bankruptcy and to provide for cash payments to retirees to compensate for lost health insurance benefits resulting from bankruptcy of their former employer.

  • S. 322 - Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership Act of 2005 - Legislation to establish the Champlain valley National Heritage Partnership in the States of Vermont and New York.

  • S. 372 - The Artist-Museum Partnership Act Of 2005 - Legislation to enable our country to keep cherished art works in the United States and to preserve them in our public institutions, while erasing an inequity in our tax code that currently serves as a disincentive for artists to donate their works to museums and libraries.

  • S. 394 - OPEN Government Act of 2005 - Legislation to promote accessibility, accountability, and openness in Government by strengthening the Freedom of Information Act.

  • S. 425 - Green Mountain National Forest Land Adjustment Act of 2005 - Legislation to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to sell or exchange specific National Forest System land in the State of Vermont.

  • S. 472 - Anti-Phishing Act of 2005 - Legislation to criminalize Internet scams involving fraudulently obtained personal information, commonly known as phishing.

  • S. 491 - Christopher Kangas Fallen Firefighter Apprentice Act - Legislation to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to expand the definition of firefighter to include apprentices and trainees, regardless of age or duty limitations.

  • S. 589 - Faster FOIA Act of 2005 - Legislation to establish the Commission on Freedom of Information Act Processing Delays.

  • S. 622 - Restoration of Freedom of Information Act of 2005 - Legislation to provide for the protection of voluntarily furnished confidential information.

  • S. 654 - Convention Against Torture Implementation Act of 2005 - Legislation to prohibit the expulsion, return, or extradition of persons by the United States to countries engaging in torture.

  • S. 664 - Green Mountain National Forest Adjustment Act of 2005 - Legislation to adjust the boundaries of the Green Mountain National Forest.

  • S. 730 - Mercury Emission Act of 2005 - Legislation to amend the Clean Air Act to establish requirements concerning the operation of fossil fuel-fired electric utility steam generating units, commercial and industrial boiler units, solid waste incineration units, medical waste incinerators, hazardous waste combustors, chlor-alkali plants, and Portland cement plants to reduce emissions of mercury to the environment.

  • S. 852 - The FAIR Act - Legislation to create a fair and efficient system to resolve claims of victims for bodily injury caused by asbestos exposure.

  • S. 936 - E-Mail Privacy Act of 2005 - Legislation to ensure privacy for e-mail communications.

  • S. 938 - National Guard and Reserves Housing Equity Act of 2005  - Legislation to require members of the National Guard and Reserves called or ordered to active duty for a period of more than 30 days to receive a basic allowance for housing at the same rate as similarly situated members of the regular components of the uniformed services.

  • S. 1095 - Protecting American Goods and Services Act of 2005 - Legislation to clarify the prohibition on the trafficking in goods or services.

  • S. 1169 - Federal Agency Data-Mining Reporting Act of 2005 - Legislation to require reports to Congress on Federal agency use of data-mining.

  • S. 1278 - Permanent Partners Immigration Act - Legislation to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide a mechanism for United States citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor their permanent partners for residence in the United States.

  • S. 1322 - ANTI-GANG Act - Legislation to allow for the prosecution of members of criminal street gangs.

  • S. 1332 - Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2005 - Legislation to prevent and mitigate identity theft, to ensure privacy, and to enhance criminal penalties, law enforcement assistance, and other protections against security breaches, fraudulent access, and misuse of personally identifiable information.

  • S. 1525 - Medical Malpractice Insurance Antitrust Act of 2005 - Legislation to ensure that commercial insurers cannot engage in price fixing, bid rigging, or market allocations to the detriment of competition and consumers.

  • S. 1699 - Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act - Legislation to amend the United States Code to provide criminal penalties for trafficking in counterfeit marks.

  • S. 1739 - Legislation to amend the material witness statute to strengthen procedural safeguards.

  • S. 1785 - Vessel Hull Design Protection Amendments of 2005 - Legislation to amend the United States Code to clarify the distinction between a hull and a deck, to provide factors for the determination of the protectability of a revised design, and to provide guidance for assessments of substantial similarity.

  • S. 1796 - SAFE Act - Legislation to promote the economic security and safety of victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

  • S. 1958 - Northern Border Prosecution Initiative Reimbursement Act - Legislation to authorize the Attorney General to establish and carry out a program, known as the Northern Border Prosecution Initiative, to provide funds to northern border States to reimburse county and municipal governments for costs associated with certain criminal activities.

  • S. 2011 - Tire-Derived Fuel Safety Act of 2005 - Legislation to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish performance standards for fine particles for certain pulp and paper mills.

  • S. 2059 - Hudson-Fulton-Champlain 400th Commemoration Commission Act of 2005 - Legislation to establish the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain 400th Commemoration Commission.

  • S. 2075 - DREAM Act of 2005 - Legislation to amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to permit States to determine State residency for higher education purposes and to authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain alien students who are long-term United States residents and who entered the United States as children.

  • S. 2202 - Federal Judiciary Ethics Reform Act of 2006 - Legislation to provide for ethics reform of the Federal judiciary and to instill greater public confidence in the Federal courts.

  • S. 2356 - War Profiteering Prevention Act of 2006 - Legislation to prohibit profiteering and fraud relating to military action, relief, and reconstruction efforts.

  • S. 2447 - Legislation to re-designate the White Rocks National Recreation Area in the State of Vermont as the "Robert T. Stafford White Rocks National Recreation Area."

  • S. 2557 - Oil and Gas Industry Antitrust Act of 2006 - Legislation to improve competition in the oil and gas industry, and to strengthen antitrust enforcement with regard to industry mergers.

  • S. 2559 - Honest Services Act of 2006 - Legislation to make it illegal for anyone to defraud and deprive the American people of the right to the honest services of a Member of Congress and to instill greater public confidence in the United States Congress.

  • S. 2565 - Vermont Wilderness Act of 2006 - Legislation to designate certain National Forest System land in the State of Vermont for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation system and designate a National Recreation Area.

Sen. Leahy has also co-authored and cosponsored several pieces of legislation, several amendments and resolutions.

The Library of Congress has information on all bills, along with committee reports and the full text of the Congressional Record

For information on legislation from a previous Congress, follow the links below:

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