H.R. 5598: Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act

116th Congress · introduced 2020-01-14 · Public Lands and Natural Resources · Latest: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 556.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2020-01-14 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 556. 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

Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act

Plain summary

Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act This bill withdraws approximately 234,328 acres of federal land and waters in a specified area in the Rainy River Watershed of Superior National Forest in Minnesota from entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws; location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws. The area is adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Mining Protection Area. Land or interest in land within such area that is acquired by the United States shall be immediately withdrawn in accordance with this bill. The Forest Service is authorized to permit the removal of sand, granite, iron ore, and taconite from national forest system lands within such area if the removal is not detrimental to the water quality, air quality, and health of forest habitat within the Rainy River Watershed.

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House), 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

Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House)

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The strongest published arguments

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4] · 48 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Joe Neguse (D-CO), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Ed Case (D-HI), Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Sean Casten (D-IL), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Thomas R. Suozzi (D-NY), Joyce Beatty (D-OH)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4] reported raising $1.5 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

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 (3)

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.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116hr5598.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/hr>

Record fed-us-cong116-hr5598 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116