Congress is on recess for a couple more weeks but they were busy before they left.

H.R.3120 : Great Lakes Assurance Program Verification Act of 2015
-The bill aims to reduce the effects of pesticides in water but it still allows the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers, and is only a voluntary measure.
H.R.3162 : Endangered Species Recovery Transparency Act
-Would require detailed expenditure reports on anything related to the ESA provide to House NRC and Senate ENR at the end of each fiscal year.
H.R.3173 : Sportsmen’s Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Enhancement Act
-Bipartisan (I know, right?!) legislation that contains seven provisions to reauthorize or implement legislation that helps fund conservation programs on federal and private lands, which boosts sportsmen and sportwomen’s access to quality hunting and fishing.
H.R.3176 : Protecting our National Parks Act of 2015
-Aims to reduce vandalism and crime at national parks.
H.R.3178 : Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act
-Aims to simplify the financial aid process, improve consumer information, provide financial aid counseling, and create a more flexible Pell Grant program.
H.R.3214 : National Icebreaker Fund Act of 2015
-Establishes the National Icebreaker Fund to pay the costs of construction, alteration, renovation, lease, or charter of icebreakers for the Coast Guard. This is actually a big deal because we only have one that works, and with the arctic opening up (cough cough climate change), there’s a new economy up there.
H.R.3282 : Protecting Honest Fishermen Act of 2015
-Bill aims to combat seafood fraud and illegal fishing.
H.R.3392 : Carbon Capture Research and Development Act
– Aims to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to spur research and development of carbon utilization technologies.
S.1886 : Coordinated Ocean Monitoring and Research Act
-Legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), a network that provides scientists and researchers with vital information about the nation’s coasts and oceans, as well as the Great Lakes.
S.1918 : Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large (CECIL) Animal Trophies Act
-Extends the current import and export protections of the ESA to animals that are proposed for listing as threatened or endangered, but don’t yet have those protections under the law.