II
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1709
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 27, 2007
Mr. Biden (for himself, Mr. Specter, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Carper, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Levin, and Mr. Obama) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
A BILL
To amend the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998 to provide additional staff and oversight of funds to carry out the Act, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
National Underground Railroad Network
to Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2007
.
Hiring staff for the National Underground Railroad Network
Section 3 of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998 (16 U.S.C. 469l–1) is amended by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:
Staff
The Secretary shall appoint at least 8 full-time equivalent staff to assist the Secretary in carrying out duties under this Act, including providing oversight of the grant program established under section 4.
.
Authorization of appropriations
The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998 (16 U.S.C. 469l et seq.) is amended—
in section 4 (16 U.S.C. 469l–2), by striking subsection (d); and
by adding at the end the following:
Authorization of appropriations
In general
There is authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year to carry out this Act $2,500,000.
Allocation
Of the amounts made available under subsection (a)—
$2,000,000 shall be allocated to carry out section 3; and
$500,000 shall be allocated to carry out section 4.
Limitation
Any amounts made available under this section shall be made available only to the Secretary to carry out the responsibilities of the Secretary under this Act.
Availability
Amounts made available under this section shall remain available until expended.
.
Effective Date
The amendments made by sections 2 and 3 shall take effect at the beginning of the next fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act.