This joint resolution (HJRES 68) terminates a national emergency declared by President George W. Bush on October 27, 2006, under Executive Order 13413. It ends the legal authority granted by that emergency declaration, which had allowed the federal government to maintain certain emergency powers (such as sanctions or military actions) under the National Emergencies Act. The resolution directly affects federal agencies and officials who previously operated under the emergency framework. It does not create new policy but formally ends a decades-old executive declaration. The bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on June 12, 2023.
HJRES 44 is a congressional resolution seeking to block a 2021 rule by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The rule classified firearms with stabilizing braces as "short-barreled rifles," which would have required additional licensing and regulation. This resolution uses a specific legal process (under Title 5, U.S. Code) to formally disapprove the ATF rule, meaning the rule would no longer be in effect. It directly affects firearm owners, manufacturers, and dealers who would have been subject to the rule’s requirements.
Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act This bill provides for the conservation of specified lands in Colorado. Specifically, the bill designates specified federal lands within the White River National Forest as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, the proposed Williams Fork Mountains Wilderness as a potential wilderness area, the Tenmile Recreation Management Area, the Porcupine Gulch Wildlife Conservation Area, the Williams Fork Mountains Wildlife Conservation Area, the Camp Hale National Historic Landscape, the Sheep Mountain and Liberty Bell East Special Management Areas, the Curecanti National Recreation Area, and the interpretive site located beside U.S. Route 24 as the Sandy Treat Overlook. The bill adjusts the boundary of the White River National Forest and the Rocky Mountain National Park Potential Wilderness. The bill provides for the inclusion of additional federal lands in the National Wilderness Preservation System. The bill provides for the cancellation of all Thompson Divide oil or gas leases. The bill establishes the Greater Thompson Divide Fugitive Coal Mine Methane Use Pilot Program to promote the capture, beneficial use, mitigation, and sequestration of fugitive methane emissions to reduce methane emissions, improve air quality, and improve public safety, among other things.
For the People Act of 2021 This bill addresses voter access, election integrity and security, campaign finance, and ethics for the three branches of government. Specifically, the bill expands voter registration (e.g., automatic and same-day registration) and voting access (e.g., vote-by-mail and early voting). It also limits removing voters from voter rolls. The bill requires states to establish independent redistricting commissions to carry out congressional redistricting. Additionally, the bill sets forth provisions related to election security, including sharing intelligence information with state election officials, supporting states in securing their election systems, developing a national strategy to protect U.S. democratic institutions, establishing in the legislative branch the National Commission to Protect United States Democratic Institutions, and other provisions to improve the cybersecurity of election systems. Further, the bill addresses campaign finance, including by expanding the prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals, requiring additional disclosure of campaign-related fundraising and spending, requiring additional disclaimers regarding certain political advertising, and establishing an alternative campaign funding system for certain federal offices. The bill addresses ethics in all three branches of government, including by requiring a code of conduct for Supreme Court Justices, prohibiting Members of the House from serving on the board of a for-profit entity, and establishing additional conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions for federal employees and the White House. The bill requires the President, the Vice President, and certain candidates for those offices to disclose 10 years of tax returns.
