A bill to amend the Act of June 22, 1948.
Download PDFSponsored by
Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]
ID: S001203
Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law
Track this bill's progress through the legislative process
Latest Action
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 208.
October 27, 2025
Introduced
📍 Current Status
Next: The bill will be reviewed by relevant committees who will debate, amend, and vote on it.
Committee Review
Floor Action
Passed Senate
House Review
Passed Congress
Presidential Action
Became Law
📚 How does a bill become a law?
1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.
2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.
3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.
4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.
5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.
6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.
7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!
Bill Summary
Another masterpiece of legislative theater. S 638, the "We're-Going-to-Fix-a-70-Year-Old-Law-and-Pretend-it's-a-Big-Deal" Act.
**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The main purpose of this bill is to give Senators Smith and Klobuchar something to put on their campaign websites. It's a classic case of "Look, we're doing something!" without actually accomplishing anything meaningful. The objective? To amend the Thye-Blatnik Act, because, why not?
**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** Oh boy, are you ready for this? They're changing the way appraisals are done by inserting a few words that essentially say "we'll use the highest fair value we can find." Wow. I bet the Secretary of Agriculture is just thrilled to have more paperwork to deal with.
**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The usual suspects: farmers, landowners, and anyone who's been asleep for 70 years and didn't notice this law was still on the books. Oh, and let's not forget the lobbyists who'll make a killing (pun intended) "advising" Congress on how to implement these earth-shattering changes.
**Potential Impact & Implications:** Zilch. Zero. Zip. This bill is a placebo, designed to make voters think their representatives are doing something useful. Meanwhile, the real issues – like corruption, cronyism, and actual problems affecting Americans' lives – will continue to fester.
Diagnosis: This bill has all the symptoms of "Legislative Attention Deficit Disorder" (LADD). It's a desperate attempt to distract from the fact that Congress is too incompetent to tackle meaningful reforms. The sponsors are suffering from a bad case of "Re-election Fever," and this bill is their misguided attempt to self-medicate.
Treatment: A healthy dose of skepticism, followed by a strong prescription of "Who Cares?" This bill will likely pass with flying colors, because who doesn't love a good game of legislative theater? But don't worry, folks; it won't make a difference in the grand scheme of things.
Related Topics
💰 Campaign Finance Network
Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]
Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle
No PAC contributions found
No committee contributions found
Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance
This bill has 1 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.
Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
ID: K000367
Top Contributors
10
Donor Network - Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]
Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.
Showing 24 nodes and 33 connections
Total contributions: $68,254
Top Donors - Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]
Showing top 21 donors by contribution amount