To make technical amendments to update statutory references to certain provisions classified to title 7, title 20, and title 43, United States Code, and to correct related technical errors.
H.R. 5204 is a technical, housekeeping bill that updates and corrects statutory cross-references in multiple titles of the United States Code. Its main purpose is to align references to provisions that have been recodified or restructured, particularly replacing older citations (notably those referencing 7 U.S.C. 450i and similar older cross-references) with current codified sections (such as 7 U.S.C. 3157, and related subsections). The bill makes numerous precise edits across Titles 5, 7, 11, 16, 20, 21, 26, 42, 43, and 48, affecting statutes in areas like federal agencies, agriculture, education, wildlife and land management, and related acts. No new programs or funding are created; the changes are aimed at ensuring statutes point to the correct, current code references and correcting minor technical errors. Sponsor: Rep. Moskowitz; Status: Introduced in the 119th Congress and referred to the Judiciary Committee. The proposed changes appear to be non-controversial technical corrections intended to improve legal clarity and consistency across the federal code.
Key Points
- 1Wide scope of cross-reference updates: The bill amends numerous sections across Titles 5, 7, 11, 16, 20, 21, 26, 42, 43, and 48 to replace outdated or incorrect citations with current codified references (for example, replacing references to 7 U.S.C. 450i with 7 U.S.C. 3157 or related subsections).
- 2Specific cross-reference replacements in agriculture and related programs: Many amendments update references within the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. chapters) and related agricultural acts to reflect current statutory structure (e.g., sections within 7 U.S.C. 3157, 3157(b), (c), (f), (g), (i), etc.).
- 3Education and federal student aid alignment: The bill adjusts references in Title 11 (bankruptcy) and Title 20 to ensure cross-references to the Higher Education Act and related student aid provisions use current codified sections (e.g., 20 U.S.C. 1087-51 et seq.).
- 4National wildlife, land management, and federal lands references: Several amendments in Titles 16 and 43 update cross-references to the Bankhead-Jones Act and related land and wildlife statutes, ensuring consistent citations to the current U.S. Code sections (e.g., 43 U.S.C. 2601 et seq., 2605, 2621 et seq.).
- 5Administrative and housekeeping nature: The changes are technical corrections to references and do not appear to alter policy, programs, funding, or substantive rights and responsibilities. They are designed to reduce ambiguity and ensure statutes point to the correct, current code.