119 HR 8831 IH: Protecting Our Democracy Act U.S. House of Representatives 2026-05-14 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 119th CONGRESS2d Session H. R. 8831 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 14, 2026 Mr. Raskin (for himself, Mr. Garcia of California, Mr. Morelle, Mr. Amo, Ms. Ansari, Ms. Balint, Ms. Barragán, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Bell, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Carson, Mr. Case, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Courtney, Ms. Craig, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Crow, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Ms. DeGette, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Deluzio, Mr. DeSaulnier, Ms. Dexter, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Doggett, Mrs. Fletcher, Mr. Foster, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Mr. Frost, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. García of Illinois, Mr. Green of Texas, Mrs. Grijalva, Mr. Harder of California, Mr. Hoyer, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Ivey, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Kennedy of New York, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Latimer, Ms. Leger Fernandez, Mr. Levin, Mr. Lieu, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Magaziner, Mr. Mannion, Mrs. McClain Delaney, Ms. McCollum, Ms. Mejia, Mr. Mfume, Mr. Min, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Norton, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Quigley, Ms. Randall, Ms. Ross, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Simon, Ms. Stansbury, Mr. Stanton, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Subramanyam, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. Thompson of California, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Titus, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Tonko, Ms. Velázquez, Mr. Walkinshaw, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mrs. McIver, Ms. Houlahan, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Chu, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, and Ms. Waters) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, House Administration, the Budget, Transportation and Infrastructure, Rules, Foreign Affairs, Ways and Means, and Intelligence (Permanent Select), 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 protect our democracy by preventing abuses of Presidential power, restoring checks and balances and accountability and transparency in government, and defending elections against foreign interference, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Protecting Our Democracy Act.

2.

Organization of Act into divisions; table of contents

(a)

Divisions

This Act is organized into divisions as follows: (1)Division A—Preventing Abuses of Presidential Power. (2)Division B—Restoring Checks and Balances, Accountability, and Transparency. (3)Division C—Miscellaneous. (4)Division D—Severability. (b)

Table of contents

The table of contents of this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Organization of Act into divisions; table of contents. Division A—Preventing Abuses of Presidential Power Title XI—Abuse of the Pardon Power Prevention Sec. 1101. Short title. Sec. 1102. Congressional oversight relating to certain pardons. Sec. 1103. Bribery in connection with pardons and commutations. Sec. 1104. Prohibition on presidential self-pardon. Title XII—Ensuring No President Is Above the Law Sec. 1201. Short title. Sec. 1202. Tolling of statute of limitations. Sec. 1203. Contracts by the President, the Vice President, or a cabinet member. Sec. 1204. Forfeiture of benefits for former Presidents convicted of a felony. Title XIII—Enforcement Of The Emoluments Clauses Of The Constitution Sec. 1301. Short title. Sec. 1302. Definitions. Sec. 1303. Prohibition on acceptance of foreign emoluments. Sec. 1304. Civil actions by Congress concerning foreign emoluments. Sec. 1305. Prohibiting senior Federal officials from accepting foreign payments. Sec. 1306. Disclosures concerning foreign and domestic emoluments. Sec. 1307. Enforcement authority for Office of Government Ethics and financial disclosures. Sec. 1308. Jurisdiction of the Office of Special Counsel. Sec. 1309. Rulemaking for ethics requirements for legal expense funds. Sec. 1310. Limitations and disclosure of certain donations to, and disbursements by, inaugural committees. Sec. 1311. Prohibition on payments to the President of Federal or State government funds. Sec. 1312. Prohibition on payments to the President from individuals receiving government positions or grants of clemency from the President. Sec. 1313. Penalties. Sec. 1314. Exceptions. Sec. 1315. Severability. Title XIV—Investigative Integrity Protection Sec. 1401. Short title. Sec. 1402. Presidential oversight of Attorney General. Division B—Restoring Checks and Balances, Accountability, and Transparency Title XXI—Enforcement of Congressional Subpoenas Sec. 2101. Short title. Sec. 2102. Enforcement of congressional subpoenas. Sec. 2103. Compliance with congressional subpoenas. Sec. 2104. Rule of construction. Sec. 2105. Enforcement of requests for information from certain committees of Congress. Title XXII—Reasserting Congressional Power of the Purse Sec. 2201. Short title. Subtitle A—Strengthening Congressional Control and Review To Prevent Impoundment Sec. 2221. Strengthening congressional control. Sec. 2222. Strengthening congressional review. Sec. 2223. Updated authorities for and reporting by the Comptroller General. Sec. 2224. Advance congressional notification and litigation. Sec. 2225. Penalties for failure to comply with the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Subtitle B—Strengthening Transparency and Reporting Part 1—Funds Management and Reporting to the Congress Sec. 2241. Expired balance reporting in the President’s budget. Sec. 2242. Cancelled balance reporting in the President’s budget. Sec. 2243. Lapse in appropriations—reporting in the President’s budget. Sec. 2244. Transfer and other repurposing authority reporting in the President’s budget. Part 2—Empowering Congressional Review Through Nonpartisan Congressional Agencies and Transparency Initiatives Sec. 2251. Requirement to respond to requests for information from the Comptroller General for budget and appropriations law decisions. Sec. 2252. Reporting requirements for Antideficiency Act violations. Sec. 2253. Department of Justice reporting to Congress for Antideficiency Act violations. Sec. 2254. Publication of budget or appropriations law opinions of the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel. Sec. 2255. Treatment of requests for information from Members of Congress. Subtitle C—Strengthening Congressional Role in and Oversight of Emergency Declarations and Designations Sec. 2261. Improving checks and balances on the use of the National Emergencies Act. Sec. 2262. National Emergencies Act declaration spending reporting in the President’s budget. Sec. 2263. Disclosure to Congress of presidential emergency action documents. Sec. 2264. Congressional designations. Title XXIII—Security From Political Interference in Justice Sec. 2301. Short title. Sec. 2302. Definitions. Sec. 2303. Communications logs. Sec. 2304. Rule of construction. Title XXIV—Protecting Whistleblowers Sec. 2401. Short title. Subtitle A—Whistleblower Protection Improvement Sec. 2421. Additional whistleblower protections. Sec. 2422. Enhancement of whistleblower protections. Sec. 2423. Classifying certain furloughs as adverse personnel actions. Sec. 2424. Codification of protections for disclosures of censorship related to research, analysis, or technical information. Sec. 2425. Title 5 technical and conforming amendments. Subtitle B—Whistleblowers of the intelligence community Sec. 2441. Limitation on sharing of intelligence community whistleblower complaints with persons named in such complaints. Sec. 2442. Disclosures to Congress. Sec. 2443. Prohibition against disclosure of whistleblower identity as reprisal against whistleblower disclosure by employees and contractors in intelligence community. Title XXV—Accountability for Acting Officials Sec. 2501. Short title. Sec. 2502. Clarification of Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. Title XXVI—Strengthening Hatch Act Enforcement and Penalties Sec. 2601. Short title. Subtitle A—Strengthening Hatch Act Enforcement and Penalties Sec. 2621. Strengthening Hatch Act enforcement and penalties against political appointees. Sec. 2622. Including Executive Office of the President under limitation on nepotism in the civil service. Sec. 2623. Disclosure of Hatch Act investigations for certain political employees. Sec. 2624. Clarification on candidates visiting Federal property. Sec. 2625. Applying Hatch Act to President and Vice President while on Federal property. Sec. 2626. Granting the Office of Special Counsel rulemaking authority. Sec. 2627. Greater accountability for political appointees. Sec. 2628. Investigating former political employees. Sec. 2629. GAO review of reimbursable political events. Subtitle B—Strengthening Ethics Enforcement and Penalties for Federal Executive Employees Sec. 2641. Definitions. Sec. 2642. Ethics pledge. Sec. 2643. Waivers. Sec. 2644. Administration. Sec. 2645. Enforcement. Sec. 2646. General provisions. Title XXVII—Presidential and vice presidential Tax Transparency Sec. 2701. Presidential and vice presidential tax transparency. Title XXVIII—Bringing Executive Accountability, Clarity, and Oversight Sec. 2801. Short title. Sec. 2802. Office of Inspector General in the Executive Office of the President. Division C—Miscellaneous Title XXXI—Reporting Foreign Interference in Elections Sec. 3101. Federal campaign reporting of foreign contacts. Sec. 3102. Federal campaign foreign contact reporting compliance system. Sec. 3103. Criminal penalties. Sec. 3104. Report to congressional intelligence committees. Sec. 3105. Rule of construction. Title XXXII—Eliminating Foreign Interference in Elections Sec. 3201. Clarification of application of foreign money ban. Sec. 3202. Requiring acknowledgment of foreign money ban by political committees. Sec. 3203. Prohibition on contributions and donations by foreign nationals in connections with ballot initiatives and referenda. Title XXXIII—Honest Ads Sec. 3301. Short title. Sec. 3302. Expansion of definition of public communication. Sec. 3303. Expansion of definition of electioneering communication. Sec. 3304. Application of disclaimer statements to online communications. Sec. 3305. Political record requirements for online platforms. Sec. 3306. Preventing contributions, expenditures, independent expenditures, and disbursements for electioneering communications by foreign nationals in the form of online advertising. Sec. 3307. Requiring online platforms to display notices identifying sponsors of political advertisements and to ensure notices continue to be present when advertisements are shared. Title XXXIV—Preventing a Patronage System Sec. 3401. Short title. Sec. 3402. Limitations on excepting positions from competitive service and transferring positions. Title XXXV—Use of Federal Property; Visitor Records Sec. 3501. Prohibition on use of Federal property for political conventions. Sec. 3502. Improving access to influential visitor access records. Title XXXVI—No Corporate Crooks Sec. 3601. Short title. Sec. 3602. Restriction on service in the executive branch. Title XXXVII—Recusal of executive branch officers and employees Sec. 3701. Short title. Sec. 3702. Recusal of executive branch officers and employees in matters affecting financial interests of previous employers. Title XXXVIII—Clarification of definition of official act Sec. 3801. Short title. Sec. 3802. Clarification of definition of official act. Division D—Severability Title XLI—Severability Sec. 4101. Severability.

A

Preventing Abuses of Presidential Power

B

Restoring Checks and Balances, Accountability, and Transparency

. (b)

Technical and clerical amendments

(1)

Transfer

The National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) is amended as follows: (A)Section 1104 (50 U.S.C. 3234) is— (i)transferred to title XII of such Act, as added by subsection (a); (ii)inserted before section 1202 of such Act, as added by such subsection; and (iii)redesignated as section 1201. (B)Section 1106 (50 U.S.C. 3236) is— (i)amended by striking section 1104 each place it appears and inserting section 1201; (ii)transferred to title XII of such Act, as added by subsection (a); (iii)inserted after section 1202 of such Act, as added by such subsection; and (iv)redesignated as section 1203. (2)

Clerical amendments

The table of sections at the beginning of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended— (A)by striking the items relating to section 1104 and section 1106; and (B)by adding after the items relating to title XI the end the following new items: Title XII—Matters regarding Inspectors General of elements of the intelligence community Sec. 1201. Prohibited personnel practices in the intelligence community. Sec. 1202. Limitation on sharing of intelligence community whistleblower complaints with persons named in such complaints. Sec. 1203. Inspector general external review panel.. (c)

Definitions

Section 3 of such Act (50 U.S.C. 3003) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: (8)The term covered Inspector General means each of the following: (A)The Inspector General of the Intelligence Community. (B)The Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency. (C)The Inspector General of the Defense Intelligence Agency. (D)The Inspector General of the National Reconnaissance Office. (E)The Inspector General of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. (F)The Inspector General of the National Security Agency. (9)The term whistleblower means a person who makes a whistleblower disclosure. (10)The term whistleblower disclosure means a disclosure that is protected under section 1201 of this Act or section 3001(j)(1) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (50 U.S.C. 3341(j)).. (d)

Conforming amendment

Section 5331 of the Damon Paul Nelson and Matthew Young Pollard Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2018, 2019, and 2020 (division E of Public Law 116–92; 50 U.S.C. 3033 note) is amended by striking section 1104 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3234) and inserting section 1201 of the National Security Act of 1947.

2442.

Disclosures to Congress

(a)

In general

Title XII of the National Security Act of 1947, as added by section 2441, is further amended by inserting after section 1203, as designated by section 2441(b), the following new section:

1204.

Procedures regarding disclosures to Congress

(a)

Guidance

(1)

Obligation to provide security direction upon request

Upon the request of a whistleblower, the head of the relevant element of the intelligence community, acting through the covered Inspector General for that element, shall furnish on a confidential basis to the whistleblower information regarding how the whistleblower may directly contact the congressional intelligence committees, in accordance with appropriate security practices, regarding a complaint or information of the whistleblower pursuant to section 103H(k)(5)(D) or other appropriate provision of law. (2)

Nondisclosure

Unless a whistleblower who makes a request under paragraph (1) provides prior consent, a covered Inspector General may not disclose to the head of the relevant element of the intelligence community— (A)the identity of the whistleblower; or (B)the element at which such whistleblower is employed, detailed, or assigned as a contractor employee. (b)

Oversight of obligation

If a covered Inspector General determines that the head of an element of the intelligence community denied a request by a whistleblower under subsection (a), directed the whistleblower not to contact the congressional intelligence committees, or unreasonably delayed in providing information under such subsection, the covered Inspector General shall notify the congressional intelligence committees of such denial, direction, or unreasonable delay. (c)

Permanent security officer

The head of each element of the intelligence community may designate a permanent security officer in the element to provide to whistleblowers the information under subsection (a).

. (b)

Clerical amendment

The table of sections at the beginning of the National Security Act of 1947 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1203, as added by section 2411(b)(2), the following new item: Sec. 1204. Procedures regarding disclosures to Congress.. (c)

Conforming amendment

Section 103H(k)(5)(D)(i) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3033(k)(5)(D)(i)) is amended by adding at the end the following: The employee may request information pursuant to section 1204 with respect to contacting such committees..

2443.

Prohibition against disclosure of whistleblower identity as reprisal against whistleblower disclosure by employees and contractors in intelligence community

(a)

In general

Paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of section 1201 of the National Security Act of 1947, as designated by section 2441(b)(1)(A), is amended— (1)in subparagraph (I), by striking ; or and inserting a semicolon; (2)by redesignating subparagraph (J) as subparagraph (K); and (3)by inserting after subparagraph (I) the following new subparagraph: (J)a knowing and willful disclosure revealing the identity or other personally identifiable information of such employee or such contractor employee without the express written consent of such employee or such contractor employee or if the Inspector General determines such disclosure is necessary for the exclusive purpose of investigating a complaint or information received under section 416 of title 5, United States Code; or. (b)

Applicability to detailees

Such subsection is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (5)

Employee

The term employee, with respect to an agency or a covered intelligence community element, includes an individual who has been detailed to such agency or covered intelligence community element.. (c)

Private right of action for unlawful disclosure of whistleblower identity

Subsection (f) of such section is amended to read as follows: (f)

Enforcement

(1)

In general

Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the President shall provide for the enforcement of this section. (2)

Private right of action for unlawful, willful disclosure of whistleblower identity

In a case in which an employee of an agency, or other employee or officer of the Federal Government, takes a personnel action described in subsection (a)(3)(J) against an employee of a covered intelligence community element as a reprisal in violation of subsection (b) or in a case in which a contractor employee takes a personnel action described in such subsection against another contractor employee as a reprisal in violation of subsection (c), the employee or contractor employee against whom the personnel action was taken may bring a private action for all appropriate remedies, including injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, against the employee or contractor employee who took the personnel action, in a Federal district court of competent jurisdiction within 180 days of when the employee or contractor employee first learned of or should have learned of the violation..

C

Miscellaneous

D

Severability