H.R. 1256, To protect the public health by providing the Food and Drug Administration with certain authority to regulate tobacco products… – which gives the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate the amount of nicotine in tobacco products, to curtail cigarette advertising, and to demand more prominent warning labels on cigarette packs – passed the Senate today. The legislation is a response to FDA v. Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp., 529 U.S. 120, in which the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that the Food and Drug Administration lacked authority under then current law to regulate tobacco as a drug.

The Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2009 was passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday, as Title VII of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 (H.R. 2410). It goes to the Senate, where S. 473 to establish the Foundation was referred to the Foreign Relations Committee in March.