H.R. 5042: To amend the Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 to ensure that the dependents of employees of the Forest Service stationed in Puerto Rico receive a high-quality elementary and secondary education.

H.R. 5042: To amend the Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 to ensure that the dependents of employees of the Forest Service stationed in Puerto Rico receive a high-quality elementary and secondary education.

108th Congress · introduced 2004-09-09 · Government Operations and Politics · Latest: Received in the Senate.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2004-09-09 · official record
Who proposed it: Resident Commissioner Acevedo-Vila, Anibal [D-PR-At Large] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Received in the Senate. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

To amend the Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 to ensure that the dependents of employees of the Forest Service stationed in Puerto Rico receive a high-quality elementary and secondary education.

Plain summary

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.) Amends the Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 to make Forest Service appropriations available to cover the cost of primary and secondary schooling (which may include transportation costs) of dependents of Forest Service personnel who are stationed in Puerto Rico and are subject to transfer to other U.S. locations if the Secretary of Agriculture determines that the area schools are unable to provide adequately for such dependents' education. States that such coverage shall not exceed costs authorized by the Department of Defense for the same area for armed forces' dependents.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House without amendment), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

To amend the Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 to ensure that the dependents of employees of the Forest Service stationed in Puerto Rico receive a high-quality elementary and secondary education.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House without amendment)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Resident Commissioner Acevedo-Vila, Anibal [D-PR-At Large] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 5042, A bill to amend the Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 to ensure that the dependents of employees of the Forest Service stationed in Puerto Rico receive a high-quality (2004-09-28); CBO cost estimate: H.R. 5042, A bill to amend the Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 to ensure that the dependents of employees of the Forest Service stationed in Puerto Rico receive a high-quality (2004-09-28)

Agencies named in this bill

Department of Agriculture: its federal spending and other bills that name it

Found automatically: the agency's full official name appears in the bill title. A bill can affect agencies it does not name, so this list may be incomplete.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed House without amendment)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-108hr5042.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/108/hr>

Record fed-us-cong108-hr5042 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong108 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong108