A bill to authorize an Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs.
Public Law 97-195 · S. 1808 · 97th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on Jun 16, 1982 · Government Operations and Politics
Sponsor: Sen. Robert Packwood (R-OR)
Cosponsors (7): Sen. Howard Cannon, Sen. Slade Gorton,
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.
Establishes the position of Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs in the Department of Commerce. Declares that the Under Secretary shall be appointed by the President with the Senate's approval.
Eliminates one of the positions of Assistant Secretary of Commerce.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
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.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 11 actions.
- Jun 16, 1982Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 97-195.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Jun 9, 1982PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- May 27, 1982Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to House amendment. By Unanimous Consent.
- May 11, 1982FloorFloor · Passed House (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- FloorFloor · Called up by House by Unanimous Consent.
- Dec 15, 1981FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.
- Dec 11, 1981CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
- Dec 10, 1981CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
- Nov 4, 1981CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.