[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3940 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3940


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 8, 2009

   Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To amend Public Law 96-597 to clarify the authority of the Secretary of 
   the Interior to extend grants and other assistance to facilitate 
 political status public education programs for the peoples of the non-
            self-governing territories of the United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    Congress reaffirms that it is the responsibility of the Secretary 
of the Interior to advance the economic, social, and political 
development of the territories of the United States.

SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE FOR POLITICAL STATUS PUBLIC EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 601 of the Act entitled ``An Act to 
authorize appropriations for certain insular areas of the United 
States, and for other purposes'', approved December 24, 1980 (48 U.S.C. 
1469d), is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) as 
        subsections (c) through (e), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(b) The Secretary of the Interior may extend to the governments 
of American Samoa, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands, and 
their agencies and instrumentalities, assistance, including assistance 
in the form of grants, research, planning assistance, studies, and 
agreements with Federal agencies, to facilitate public education 
programs regarding political status options for their respective 
territories.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 19(a)(2)(C) of the Food Stamp 
Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2028(a)(2)(C)) is amended by striking ``section 
601(c) of Public Law 96-597 (48 U.S.C. 1469d(c))'' and inserting 
``section 601(d) of Public Law 96-597 (48 U.S.C. 1469d(d))''.

            Passed the House of Representatives December 7, 2009.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.