What Has Congress Accomplished So Far

As we're about to enter several weeks of stupid budget battles I thought it might be interesting to look back at the Laws Passed by the 113th Congress so far. Of the 31 laws passed, 8 are commemorative, about 4 strike me as real (13, 24, 26, 30) regarding some fishing laws and hydropower plants and the rest seem like temporary budget fixes and dumb fixes to austerity laws (9 was the airline fix) and other things. Pretty weak.

Public Law 113-1 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 41 Signed into law by the President 1/6/2013.

• To temporarily increase the borrowing authority of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for carrying out the National Flood Insurance Program.

Public Law 113-2 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 152 Signed into law by the President 1/29/2013.

• "Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013"

Public Law 113-3 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 325 Signed into law by the President 2/4/2013.

• To ensure the complete and timely payment of the obligations of the United States Government until May 19, 2013, and for other purposes.

Public Law 113-4 Passed Congress as bill S. 47 Signed into law by the President 3/7/2013.

• "Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013"

Public Law 113-5 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 307 Signed into law by the President 3/13/2013.

• "Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013"

Public Law 113-6 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 933 Signed into law by the President 3/26/2013.

• "Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013"

Public Law 113-7 Passed Congress as bill S. 716 Signed into law by the President 4/15/2013.

• A bill to modify the requirements under the STOCK Act regarding online access to certain financial disclosure statements and related forms.

Public Law 113-8 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 1246 Signed into law by the President 5/1/2013.

• "District of Columbia Chief Financial Officer Vacancy Act"
• To amend the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to provide that the District of Columbia Treasurer or one of the Deputy Chief Financial Officers of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia may perform the functions and duties of the Office in an acting capacity if there is a vacancy in the Office.

Public Law 113-9 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 1765 Signed into law by the President 5/1/2013.

• "Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013"
• To provide the Secretary of Transportation with the flexibility to transfer certain funds to prevent reduced operations and staffing of the Federal Aviation Administration, and for other purposes.

Public Law 113-10 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 1071 Signed into law by the President 5/17/2013.

• To specify the size of the precious-metal blanks that will be used in the production of the National Baseball Hall of Fame commemorative coins.

Public Law 113-11 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 360 Signed into law by the President 5/24/2013.

• To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, in recognition of the 50th commemoration of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church where the 4 little Black girls lost their lives, which served as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.

Public Law 113-12 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 258 Signed into law by the President 6/3/2013.

• "Stolen Valor Act of 2013"
• To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to fraudulent representations about having received military declarations or medals.

Public Law 113-13 Passed Congress as bill S. 982 Signed into law by the President 6/3/2013.

• "Freedom to Fish Act"
• A bill to prohibit the Corps of Engineers from taking certain actions to establish a restricted area prohibiting public access to waters downstream of a dam, and for other purposes.

Public Law 113-14 Passed Congress as bill S. 622 Signed into law by the President 6/13/2013.

• "Animal Drug and Animal Generic Drug User Fee Reauthorization Act of 2013"
• An original bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to reauthorize user fee programs relating to new animal drugs and generic new animal drugs.

Public Law 113-15 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 475 Signed into law by the President 6/25/2013.

• To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include vaccines against seasonal influenza within the definition of taxable vaccines.

Public Law 113-16 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 324 Signed into law by the President 7/12/2013.

• To grant the Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the First Special Service Force, in recognition of its superior service during World War II.

Public Law 113-17 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 1151 Signed into law by the President 7/12/2013.

• To direct the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to obtain observer status for Taiwan at the triennial International Civil Aviation Organization Assembly, and for other purposes.

Public Law 113-18 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 2383 Signed into law by the President 7/12/2013.

• To designate the new Interstate Route 70 bridge over the Mississippi River connecting St. Louis, Missouri, and southwestern Illinois as the "Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge".

Public Law 113-19 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 251 Signed into law by the President 7/18/2013.

• "South Utah Valley Electric Conveyance Act" To direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Federal features of the electric distribution system to the South Utah Valley Electric Service District, and for other purposes.

Public Law 113-20 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 254 Signed into law by the President 7/18/2013.

• "Bonneville Unit Clean Hydropower Facilitation Act" To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to facilitate the development of hydroelectric power on the Diamond Fork System of the Central Utah Project.

Public Law 113-21 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 588 Signed into law by the President 7/18/2013.

• "Vietnam Veterans Donor Acknowledgment Act of 2013" To provide for donor contribution acknowledgments to be displayed at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center, and for other purposes.

Public Law 113-22 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 2289 Signed into law by the President 7/25/2013.

• To rename section 219(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as the Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA.

Public Law 113-23 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 267 Signed into law by the President 8/9/2013.

• "Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013" To improve hydropower, and for other purposes.

Public Law 113-24 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 678 Signed into law by the President 8/9/2013.

• "Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act" To authorize all Bureau of Reclamation conduit facilities for hydropower development under Federal Reclamation law, and for other purposes.

Public Law 113-25 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 1092 Signed into law by the President 8/9/2013.

• To designate the air route traffic control center located in Nashua, New Hampshire, as the "Patricia Clark Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center".

Public Law 113-26 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 1171 Signed into law by the President 8/9/2013.

• "Formerly Owned Resources for Veterans to Express Thanks for Service (FOR VETS) Act of 2013" To amend title 40, United States Code, to improve veterans service organizations access to Federal surplus personal property.

Public Law 113-27 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 1344 Signed into law by the President 8/9/2013.

• "Helping Heroes Fly Act"
• To amend title 49, United States Code, to direct the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration) to provide expedited air passenger screening to severely injured or disabled members of the Armed Forces and severely injured or disabled veterans, and for other purposes.

Public Law 113-28 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 1911 Signed into law by the President 8/9/2013.

• "Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act of 2013"
• To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish interest rates for new loans made on or after July 1, 2013, to direct the Secretary of Education to convene the Advisory Committee on Improving Postsecondary Education Data to conduct a study on improvements to postsecondary education transparency at the Federal level, and for other purposes.

Public Law 113-29 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 2167 Signed into law by the President 8/9/2013.

• "Reverse Mortgage Stabilization Act of 2013"
• To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish additional requirements to improve the fiscal safety and soundness of the home equity conversion mortgage insurance program.

Public Law 113-30 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 2576 Signed into law by the President 8/9/2013.

• To amend title 49, United States Code, to modify requirements relating to the availability of pipeline safety regulatory documents, and for other purposes.

Public Law 113-31 Passed Congress as bill H.R. 2611 Signed into law by the President 8/9/2013.

• To designate the headquarters building of the Coast Guard on the campus located at 2701 Martin Luther King, Jr., Avenue Southeast in the District of Columbia as the "Douglas A. Munro Coast Guard Headquarters Building", and for other purposes.