Caribbean National Forest Act of 2005
Public Law 109-118 · H.R. 539 · 109th Congress · began in the House
Signed by George W. Bush (R) on Dec 1, 2005 · Public Lands and Natural Resources
Sponsor: Rep. Luis Fortuño (R-PR)
Cosponsors (15): Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Rep. José Serrano,
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Caribbean National Forest Act of 2005 - Designates the El Toro Wilderness in the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
Prohibits anything in this Act from precluding the installation and maintenance of hydrologic, meteorological, climatological, or atmospheric data collection and remote transmission facilities that are essential to the scientific research purposes of the Luquillo Experimental Forest.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Natural Resources Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
1 bill the Library of Congress relates to this one.
S. 272Identical billRelated billText similarities
Caribbean National Forest Act of 2005
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 26 actions.
- Dec 1, 2005Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 109-118.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Nov 28, 2005FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Nov 16, 2005FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- OtherOther · Cleared for White House.
- Oct 19, 2005CalendarCalendar · Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 247.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Domenici without amendment. With written report No. 109-155.
- Sep 14, 2005CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- Sep 13, 2005FloorFloor · The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 539.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Fortuno moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Jun 14, 2005CalendarCalendar · Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 72.
- CommitteeCommittee · Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Resources. H. Rept. 109-126.
- May 18, 2005CommitteeCommittee · Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- CommitteeCommittee · Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health Discharged.
- May 11, 2005CommitteeCommittee · Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- Feb 16, 2005CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health.
- Feb 2, 2005CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on Resources.
- CommitteeCommittee · Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E160)
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
No amendments to this bill are on record.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.