[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 526 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 526
Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to implement the
first set of recommendations adopted by the Select Committee on the
Modernization of Congress.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 25, 2019
Mr. Kilmer (for himself, Mr. Graves of Georgia, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Rodney
Davis of Illinois, Mrs. Brooks of Indiana, Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Cleaver,
Mr. Woodall, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Timmons, and Mr. Newhouse)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Rules, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration,
and the Judiciary, 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
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to implement the
first set of recommendations adopted by the Select Committee on the
Modernization of Congress.
Resolved,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This resolution may be cited as the ``Improving Transparency for
the American People Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. ADOPTION OF STANDARDIZED FORMAT FOR LEGISLATIVE DOCUMENTS.
The Clerk is authorized and directed to provide periodic updates to
the Committee on House Administration and the Committee on Rules
regarding the implementation of the U.S. Legislative Markup and a plan
for its completion including a timeline.
SEC. 3. LEGISLATION COMPARISON PROJECT.
The Clerk shall report to the Committee on House Administration and
the Committee on Appropriations an assessment of the funding and other
resources needed to expedite and complete the legislation comparison
project, including the training of staff.
SEC. 4. ASSIGNMENT OF UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS FOR REPORTS FILED BY
REGISTERED LOBBYISTS.
(a) Assignment of Identifiers.--The Clerk, in consultation with the
Secretary of the Senate, shall establish and implement a process under
which the Clerk shall assign a unique identification number with
respect to each person who files a registration statement or other
report required to be filed with the Clerk under the Lobbying
Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and shall ensure that
such unique identification number will be used for all purposes under
such Act (including the public availability of such statements and
reports) with respect to each statement or report filed by that person
with the Clerk under such Act.
(b) Deadline.--The Clerk shall establish and implement the process
required under subsection (a) not later than 180 days after the date of
the adoption of this resolution.
SEC. 5. DATABASE OF INFORMATION ON EXPIRATION OF AUTHORIZATIONS OF
PROGRAMS.
(a) Duties of the Clerk.--Clause 2 of rule II of the Rules of the
House of Representatives is amended by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(l) The Clerk shall--
``(1) establish and maintain on its public website an up-
to-date database of the expiration dates of all Federal
programs and the committee of subject matter jurisdiction over
each such program;
``(2) provide that such database is searchable, sortable,
and downloadable; and
``(3) post all such information within 30 days after
receipt of such information.''.
(b) Duties of Committees.--Rule X of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is amended by adding at the end the following new
clause:
``Duty to provide certain information to the Clerk
``12.(a) Except as provided by paragraph (b), each standing
committee shall provide to the Clerk on an ongoing basis an up-to-date
list of the expiration dates of all programs within its subject matter
jurisdiction so the Clerk can post the information required by clause
2(l) of rule II.
``(b) The requirements described in paragraph (a) do not apply to
the following committees: the Committee on Appropriations, the
Committee on Ethics, and the Committee on Rules, and the Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The committees referred to in the amendment
made by subsection (b) to clause 12(a) of rule X of the Rules of the
House of Representatives shall provide to the Clerk the information so
required not later than 90 days after the date of adoption of this
subsection.
SEC. 6. DATABASE OF VOTES TAKEN IN COMMITTEES.
(a) Duties of the Clerk.--Clause 2 of rule II of the Rules of the
House of Representatives (as amended by section 5) is further amended
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(m) The Clerk shall--
``(1) establish and maintain on its public website a
separate database for the 116th and each subsequent Congress of
all recorded votes in committees except for the Committee on
Ethics or for any votes taken in executive session, and ensure
that the database is up-to-date, sortable, and downloadable on
a committee-by-committee basis; and
``(2) incorporate information on such votes on the database
with respect to a committee immediately upon receipt of the
relevant information from the committee under clause 13 of rule
X.''.
(b) Duties of Committees.--Rule X of the Rules of the House of
Representatives (as amended by section 5) is further amended by adding
at the end the following new clause:
``Duty to provide certain information to the Clerk
``13.(a) Each standing and select committee shall provide to the
Clerk the information respecting recorded votes in that committee so
the Clerk can post on a timely basis on its website the information
required by clause 2(l) of rule II. For any recorded vote, such
information shall be transmitted to the Clerk not later than the 72
hours after the vote is recorded.
``(b) In providing information to the Clerk under paragraph (a),
the committee shall include a brief description of the matter on which
the recorded vote was taken, including the name of each member of the
committee voting on that matter and whether the vote was in the
affirmative or the negative and the total tally of the votes.
``(c) The requirements described in this clause do not apply to the
Committee on Ethics or to any vote taken in executive session.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b)
shall apply to votes taken 72 or more hours after the Clerk notifies
all committees that the database established under clause 2 of rule II
of the Rules of the House of Representatives has been established.
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