The House voted on H.R.1424 Friday, October 3, 2008.  This 451 page Bill  passed:  263 YEAs,  171 NAYs, 0 Not Voting.  Roll Call Vote 681

The Senate voted on H.R. 1424 Wednesday, October 1, 2008.  This 451-page Bill  passed:  74 YEAs,  25 NAYs, 1 Not Voting.  Roll Call Vote 213

H.R. 3997 is a vehicle for the “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008” that failed on the House floor Monday, September 29, 2008.  Roll Call Vote 674

A “lame duck” session is a session of a Congress held after the election for the succeeding Congress and before the inauguration of the next Congress. 

Currently, for the second session of the 110th Congress  “lame duck” would occur if Congress came back into session after the November 4, 2008 elections and subsequently remained in session until January 3, 2009.

A “lame duck” is a Member of Congress who has not been re-elected, or did not seek re-election and is serving out the balance of his or her term.

“Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act” H.R.6899, introduced on September 15, 2008, is the latest bill passed in the House of Representatives on reducing the nation's dependency on oil.

The term “open fuel standard” is taken from “The Open Fuel Standard Act of 2008” or the shortened version “OFS Act”.  The act was introduced in the House of Representatives on July 22, 2008 by Representative Eliot L. Engel.

The “open fuel standard” requires automobile manufacturers to ensure that not less than 80 percent of the automobiles manufactured or sold in the United States by each such manufacturer to operate on fuel mixtures containing 85 percent ethanol, 85 percent methanol, or biodiesel.

House bill H.R. 6559 and Senate Bill S. 3303

The Federal National Mortgage Association, nicknamed "Fannie Mae," created in 1928, and the Federal Home Mortgage Corporation, nicknamed "Freddie Mac," created in 1970, are government-sponsored enterprises.

They are privately owned mortgage companies that are protected financially by the U.S. government, and they were created to assist with affordable housing. 

The government's takeover means that the government will put the two companies into conservatorship under the Federal Housing Finance Agency and bail them out financially.

As required by Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution, Members of Congress shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution. Representatives, delegates, and the resident commissioner all take the oath of office on the first day of the new Congress, immediately after the House has elected its Speaker. The Speaker of the House administers the oath of office as follows:

“I, (name of Member), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

Representatives elected in special elections during the course of a Congress generally take the oath of office on the floor of the House Chamber when the Clerk of the House has received a formal notice of the new Member’s election or appointment from state government authorities. On rare occasions, because of illness or other circumstances, a Member-elect has been authorized to take the oath of office at a place other than the House. In those circumstances, the Clerk of the House sees to the proper administration of the oath.

The House Library holds the  Resume of Congressional Activity from the 80th through the present Congresses.