Community Question and Answer

Welcome to GovTrack's unique community-driven question and answer system. Bills are getting so long and complicated that we need to help each other out if we are going to make heads or tails of the major policy debates.

Here visitors to the site like you can pose questions about any bill in Congress, and if you know answers to other questions or are willing to do some research you can do a good civic deed by helping others out with an answer. All questions and answers are anonymous submissions from visitors like you, moderated by the website administrator.

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To get started, start by finding the bill you have a question about. There is a Q&A box on the page for every bill.

Recent questions...

H.R. 5403 [109th]: Safe and Timely Interstate Placement of Foster Children Act of 2006
Feb 17, 2011 9:46 AM
Is there a penalty for states who do not adhere to the 60 day rule? - Answer This Question
S. 1859 [111th]: Child Support Protection Act of 2009
Jan 26, 2011 1:26 PM
The Center for Public Policy Programs states President Obama has included a 1 yr extentsion of the child support funding restoration. Is this accurate? - Answer This Question
S. 1132 [111th]: Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Improvements Act of 2010
Feb 8, 2011 9:11 AM
Does this allow for the carry of hollow point bullets by sworn & retired law enforcement? - Answer This Question
S. 1132 [111th]: Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Improvements Act of 2010
Jan 31, 2011 6:56 PM
Are Retired Level 1 Reserves, with I.D.'s with ten or more years, approved for the S.1132? - Answer This Question
S. 1132 [111th]: Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Improvements Act of 2010
Jan 21, 2011 9:02 PM
Does a section in S-1132 designate, Who is a qualified instructor?, I cannot seem to find the section that specifies that the instructor be a Law Enforcement trainer. Would NRA Pistol and a State concealed carry instructor following "Police Academy 101" firearms course be sufficient?, Seems like my home state, (NC DOJ) nor the NRA can answer that one. - Answer This Question
H. Con. Res. 13: Reaffirming "In God We Trust" as the official motto of the United States and...
Jan 31, 2011 10:19 AM
Isn't this bill a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the US Constitution? - Answer This Question
H.R. 91: Better Use of Light Bulbs Act
Feb 8, 2011 8:43 PM
Will the bill provide for safe disposal of CFLs and mercury contamination? - Answer This Question
H.R. 408: Spending Reduction Act of 2011
Jan 30, 2011 7:37 PM
Does this bill delay incentive payments to providers? - Answer This Question
H.R. 308: Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act
Feb 5, 2011 2:45 PM
Doesn't Sec 2 (b)(2)(C) violate "equal protection under the law" because retired officers are ordinary civilians like every other person the law applies to. - Answer This Question
H.R. 358: Protect Life Act
Feb 8, 2011 5:03 PM
Let's suppose a woman is taken to an emergency room, and it is clear that the only way to save her life is to abort her fetus, but the hospital refuses. As a result of this denial of service, the woman dies. Who is then legally liable for what seems to be a wrongful death, or death due to negligence? - Answer This Question
H.R. 3: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act
Feb 1, 2011 8:30 PM
Ref. Sec. 309 - what would the legal definition, as related to this bill, of "forcible rape" & "incest"? What about statutory or coerced rape? - Show 1 Answer
H.R. 3: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act
Jan 28, 2011 9:36 PM
What constitutes "forcible rape?" - Answer This Question
H.R. 299: To repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and...
Jan 26, 2011 3:21 PM
Would this bill do away with the mandated fines if one does not buy insurance? - Answer This Question
H.R. 186: To amend title 10, United States Code, to expand the eligibility for concurrent receipt...
Jan 29, 2011 5:50 AM
Would this mean that the person receiving a 100% VA and Pension would have to decide which one he or she would want by Jan, 2012? - Answer This Question
H.R. 6034 [111th]: To amend title 36, United States Code, to designate the musical piece commonly...
Jan 24, 2011 1:52 AM
Is Section 306 (b)(1) in conflict with Public Law 110-417? - Answer This Question
H.R. 3082 [111th]: Continuing Appropriations and Surface Transportation Extensions Act, 2011
Jan 24, 2011 7:49 PM
According to Continuing Resolution (CR) law, "New Starts" are not allowed under CR. If a program is funded by two separate branches of the military, one branch has been providing funding since 2006 and the other starts their portion of the funding during a CR, is that considered a New Start for the second branch and therefore their portion of the funding would not be authorized? - Answer This Question
H.R. 3 [110th]: Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007
Feb 4, 2011 11:58 AM
How does this bill define forcible rape? Does it include a victim that is drunk? - Answer This Question
H.R. 3825 [110th]: Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2008
Jan 20, 2011 12:59 PM
What data is collected to the registry besides DNA? Does each DNA sampling being labeled with the name and identification data of the newborn or its parents? Thank you. - Answer This Question
S. 510 [111th]: FDA Food Safety Modernization Act
Jan 13, 2011 3:33 PM
As of late 2009, I am a patient who attends a regular checkup by a diet specialist who is a naturopath. The doctor has prescribed to me to undergo acupuncture therapy. He also handed me a pamphlet with the list of foods, including organic ones which he recommends that I consume. Are there any problems with consuming or for that matter growing organic food even in my own backyard? - Answer This Question
S. 3481 [111th]: A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify Federal...
Jan 12, 2011 10:48 AM
Will this allow municipalities to have authority to inspect and enforce on state and/or federal construction projects? - Answer This Question