Senate bill · 111th Congress · Did not become law
Where it went
- IntroducedJan 15, 2009
- Committee actionAug 5, 2009
- Passed SenateOct 5, 2009 · by unanimous consent
- Passed House—
- To the President—
- Became law—
Latest action: Oct 19, 2009 — Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
Cost and committee reports
Official records Congress.gov attaches to S. 251.
- CBO cost estimateThe Congressional Budget Office published “S. 251, Safe Prisons Communications Act of 2009” on September 2, 2009. CBO’s description reads “<p>Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on August 8, 2009</p>”.Read the CBO estimate ↗Source: Congressional Budget Office, September 2, 2009 ↗
Evidence
- Field in the Congress.gov record
- cboCostEstimates
- CBO publication
- https://www.cbo.gov/publication/41244
- CBO publication date
- September 2, 2009
- Congress.gov bill record
- S. 251, 111th Congress
- Congress.gov API record
- https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/111/s/251
- Record last updated by Congress.gov
- September 8, 2026
- PORKER copy retrieved
- September 13, 2026
- Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file
5cae04a0c86e66018f5929f74a7d1981a886357d668743ff256d3bf09e1d12ac
- CBO cost estimateThe Congressional Budget Office published “S. 251, Safe Prisons Communications Act of 2009” on September 2, 2009. CBO’s description reads “Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on August 8, 2009”.Read the CBO estimate ↗Source: Congressional Budget Office, September 2, 2009 ↗
Evidence
- Field in the Congress.gov record
- cboCostEstimates
- CBO publication
- https://www.cbo.gov/publication/41244
- CBO publication date
- September 2, 2009
- Congress.gov bill record
- S. 251, 111th Congress
- Congress.gov API record
- https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/111/s/251
- Record last updated by Congress.gov
- September 8, 2026
- PORKER copy retrieved
- September 13, 2026
- Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file
5cae04a0c86e66018f5929f74a7d1981a886357d668743ff256d3bf09e1d12ac
PORKER links to the estimate and does not repeat its dollar figures. Each estimate is for the version of the bill its description names; the bill may have changed since.
- Committee reportCongress.gov lists 1 committee report for this bill: S. Rept. 111-79 ↗. The Congress.gov committee record lists a “Reported By” entry for the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on September 24, 2009.Source: Congress.gov, reported September 24, 2009 ↗
Evidence
- Field in the Congress.gov record
- committeeReports
- Report API records
- https://api.congress.gov/v3/committee-report/111/SRPT/79
- Congress.gov bill record
- S. 251, 111th Congress
- Congress.gov API record
- https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/111/s/251
- Record last updated by Congress.gov
- September 8, 2026
- PORKER copy retrieved
- September 13, 2026
- Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file
5cae04a0c86e66018f5929f74a7d1981a886357d668743ff256d3bf09e1d12ac
A committee report is the committee’s own explanation of the bill. PORKER lists it and links to it; reading it is up to you.
From the Congress.gov bill record for S. 251, last updated September 8, 2026. PORKER’s copy was retrieved September 13, 2026 and is refreshed nightly. Open “Evidence” on any line for the record, field and file fingerprint.
Vote results
No recorded roll-call votes on this bill in PORKER’s records (voice votes and unanimous consent are not roll calls; roll-call records start in 2011).
Cosponsors
13 cosponsors — 7 Republicans, 5 Democrats, 1 independent
6 of 13 cosponsors (46%) are from the other party.
Mark Begich (D-AK), Thad Cochran (R-MS), John Cornyn (R-TX), James DeMint (R-SC), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mark Pryor (D-AR), John Thune (R-SD), David Vitter (R-LA), Roger Wicker (R-MS).
More from the sponsor
Other 111th Congress bills sponsored by Sen. Kay Hutchison.
- S. 614 (111th) A bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Women Airforce Service Pilots ("WASP").
- S.Res. 344 (111th) A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the tragic shooting at Fort Hood, Texas on November 5, 2009.
- S.Res. 326 (111th) A resolution recognizing the 40th anniversary of the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas.
- S. 3191 (111th) Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010
- S. 3614 (111th) Oil Spill Response Act
- S. 601 (111th) Weather Mitigation Research and Development Policy Authorization Act of 2009
Sponsor’s state and district
Data as of Sep 26, 2026 · bill record checked by PORKER from Congress.gov · votes from Senate.gov and the House Clerk. PORKER is non-partisan.