A bill to amend the Act of June 22, 1948.

Download PDF
Bill ID: 119/s/638
Last Updated: December 12, 2025

Sponsored 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

Federal Budget & Appropriations Criminal Justice & Law Enforcement Congressional Rules & Procedures Transportation & Infrastructure Government Operations & Accountability National Security & Intelligence Small Business & Entrepreneurship State & Local Government Affairs Civil Rights & Liberties
Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)

💰 Campaign Finance Network

Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$59,154
21 donors
PACs
$0
Organizations
$32,754
Committees
$0
Individuals
$26,400

No PAC contributions found

1
OTOE MISSOURIA TRIBE OF OKLAHOMA
2 transactions
$6,600
2
MUSCOGEE CREEK NATION
3 transactions
$5,300
3
SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY
3 transactions
$3,300
4
CHOCTAW NATION OF OKLAHOMA
1 transaction
$3,300
5
POARCH BAND OF CREEK INDIANS
1 transaction
$2,900
6
MILLE LACS BAND OF OJIBWE INDIANS
2 transactions
$2,500
7
MIAMI TRIBE OF OKLAHOMA
1 transaction
$2,000
8
MS BAND OF CHOCTAW INDIANS
1 transaction
$1,500
9
FOND DU LAC BAND
1 transaction
$1,000
10
PRAIRIE ISLAND TRIBAL COUNCIL
1 transaction
$1,000
11
BILL HITTE TRUST
1 transaction
$1,000
12
PRECISION DIE TECHNOLOGIES
1 transaction
$1,000
13
LOWER SIOUX INDIAN COMMUNITY
1 transaction
$500
14
SOBOBA BAND OF LUISENO INDIANS
1 transaction
$500
15
THE CHICKASAW NATION
1 transaction
$250
16
WINRED
1 transaction
$104

No committee contributions found

1
HUSS, ALVIN JR
2 transactions
$6,600
2
HUSS, RUTH
2 transactions
$6,600
3
BLUE, ALLEN
2 transactions
$6,600
4
BROWN, TEAL
1 transaction
$3,300
5
BURNETT, JASON
1 transaction
$3,300

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

1
LEECH LAKE BAND OF OJIBWE
Organization CASS LAKE, MN
$3,300
Nov 5, 2024
2
SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY
Organization PRIOR LAKE, MN
$3,300
Aug 25, 2023
3
CHOCTAW NATION OF OKLAHOMA
Organization DURANT, OK
$2,500
Oct 7, 2024
4
SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY
Organization PRIOR LAKE, MN
$2,300
Jul 17, 2023
5
ARISTOTLE INTERNATIONAL
CONDUIT TOTAL LISTED IN AGG. FIELD
Organization WASHINGTON, DC
$500
Jul 19, 2024
6
SMITH, BRADFORD
MICROSOFT CORPORATION ATTORNEY
Individual BELLEVUE, WA
$6,600
Mar 30, 2023
7
SMITH, BRADFORD
Individual BELLEVUE, WA
$6,600
Mar 30, 2023
8
BADEN, DREW
PROFESSOR UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Individual BETHESDA, MD
$6,600
Feb 23, 2024
9
CAUCHY, CONSTANCE
NOT EMPLOYED NOT EMPLOYED
Individual MIDLAND, MI
$6,600
Jun 2, 2024
10
BADEN, DREW
Individual BETHESDA, MD
$6,600
Mar 11, 2024

Donor Network - Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]

PACs
Organizations
Individuals
Politicians

Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.

Loading...

Showing 24 nodes and 33 connections

Total contributions: $68,254

Top Donors - Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]

Showing top 21 donors by contribution amount

16 Orgs5 Individuals