[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5258 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5258

 To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require Congress to 
  establish a unified and searchable database on a public website for 
                        congressional earmarks.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 11, 2010

 Mr. Cassidy (for himself, Ms. Speier, Mr. Reichert, and Mr. Smith of 
 Washington) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require Congress to 
  establish a unified and searchable database on a public website for 
                        congressional earmarks.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Earmark Transparency Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. UNIFIED AND SEARCHABLE DATABASE FOR CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED 
              SPENDING ITEMS.

    (a) In General.--Title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``unified and searchable database for congressionally directed spending 
                                 items

    ``Sec. 316.  (a) Establishment of Database.--Within six months 
after the date of enactment of this section, the Clerk of the House of 
Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall jointly establish 
a searchable website, available to the public at no cost, listing all 
requests by Members of Congress for congressionally directed spending 
items.
    ``(b) Content.--The website established under subsection (a) shall 
be comprised of a database including the following information for each 
congressionally directed spending item requested by a Member of 
Congress:
            ``(1) The fiscal year in which the item would be funded.
            ``(2) The number of the bill or joint resolution for which 
        the request is made, if available.
            ``(3) The amount of the initial request made by the Member 
        of Congress.
            ``(4) The amount approved by the committee of jurisdiction.
            ``(5) The amount carried in the bill or joint resolution 
        (or accompanying report) as passed by the House, as passed by 
        the Senate, and as transmitted to the President, as applicable.
            ``(6) The name of the department or agency, and the account 
        or program, through which the item will be funded.
            ``(7) The name and the State or district of the Member of 
        Congress who made the request.
            ``(8) The name and address of the intended recipient.
            ``(9) The type of organization (public, private nonprofit, 
        or private for profit entity) of the intended recipient.
            ``(10) The project name, description, and estimated 
        completion date.
            ``(11) A justification of the benefit to taxpayers.
            ``(12) Whether the request is for a continuing project and 
        if so, when funds were first appropriated for such project.
            ``(13) A description, if applicable, of all non-Federal 
        sources of funding.
            ``(14) Its current status in the legislative process, 
        including whether it was carried in any bill or joint 
        resolution (or accompanying report) passed by either House, 
        added in a committee of conference between the Houses (or joint 
        explanatory statement of managers) or in an amendment between 
        the Houses, or included in a bill or joint resolution enacted 
        into law, including any changes in the final dollar amount.
    ``(c) Accessibility of Data.--The website established under 
subsection (a) shall allow the public to--
            ``(1) search, sort, and download all information in the 
        database in a machine-readable format;
            ``(2) ascertain through a single search, by individual 
        Member of Congress, the total number and dollar value of 
        congressionally directed spending items requested by that 
        Member and the total number and dollar value of such items 
        contained in bills or joint resolutions as passed by either 
        House or enacted into law by fiscal year;
            ``(3) search and aggregate data based on any category set 
        forth in subsection (b); and
            ``(4) access the website from the home page of the website 
        of the Clerk of the House of Representatives and of the 
        Secretary of the Senate.
    ``(d) Timeliness of Data.--(1) Within 5 calendar days of receipt of 
a request for a congressionally directed spending item from a Member of 
Congress, each committee of the House of Representatives and of the 
Senate shall provide to the Clerk of the House of Representatives or 
the Secretary of the Senate, as applicable, the initial information 
regarding that request that is required under this section to be placed 
on the website established under subsection (a). That committee shall 
provide up-to-date information to the Clerk or Secretary, as 
applicable.
    ``(2) The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary 
of the Senate shall post on the website established under subsection 
(a) the information received under paragraph (1) within 2 calendar days 
(excluding Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays except when the House 
or Senate is in session on such a day).
    ``(e) Point of Order.--(1) It shall not be in order to consider any 
bill or joint resolution, or amendment thereto or conference report 
thereon unless it meets the requirements of this section.
    ``(2) Subsections (c)(1) and (d)(2) of section 904 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 are each amended by inserting `316, ' 
after `313, '.
    ``(f) Definitions.--As used in this section--
            ``(1) the term `congressionally directed spending item' 
        means a provision or report language included primarily at the 
        request of a Member of Congress providing, authorizing, or 
        recommending a specific amount of discretionary budget 
        authority, credit authority, or other spending authority for a 
        contract, loan, loan guarantee, grant, loan authority, or other 
        expenditure with or to an entity, or targeted to a specific 
        State, locality, or congressional district, other than through 
        a statutory or administrative formula-driven or competitive 
        award process; and
            ``(2) the term `Member of Congress' means a Senator in, a 
        Representative in, or a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, 
        the Congress.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents set forth in 
section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 
1974 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 315 the 
following new item:

``Sec. 316. Unified and searchable database for congressionally 
                            directed spending items.''.
                                 <all>