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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3360 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3360

    To preserve the constitutional authority of Congress and ensure 
            accountability and transparency in legislation.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 28, 2012

   Mr. Paul introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
    To preserve the constitutional authority of Congress and ensure 
            accountability and transparency in legislation.

    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 ``Read the Bills Act''.

SEC. 2. CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT.

    (a) In General.--This Act is enacted pursuant to the power 
conferred by the Constitution of the United States upon each House of 
Congress by--
            (1) article I, section 5, clauses 2 and 3 to determine the 
        rules and to keep a journal of its proceedings, respectively;
            (2) article I, section 7, clause 2 to ensure that bills 
        that become law have been actually passed by, not just passed 
        through, each House of Congress; and
            (3) article I, section 8, clause 18, which authorizes 
        Congress to make all laws that are necessary and proper for 
        carrying into execution the rules of each House.
    (b) Standing Provision.--The provision of this Act under which any 
person who is aggrieved by the enforcement of any law enacted either in 
violation of the rules of proceedings of either House of Congress, or 
by the suspension of such rules, as prescribed herein, shall have 
standing in a court of law, is pursuant to article III, section 2 of 
the Constitution of the United States.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Constitution of the United States vests all 
        legislative powers granted therein in Congress and Members of 
        the Senate and House of Representatives are elected by the 
        people to whom each Member is accountable to represent the 
        people of the State and of the District in the exercise of each 
        Member's legislative powers.
            (2) As a Government of enumerated powers, article I, 
        section 1 of the Constitution of the United States obliges 
        Congress to exercise only those legislative powers set forth in 
        the Constitution of the United States, and article VI of the 
        Constitution of the United States requires of each member of 
        Congress an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of 
        the United States by enacting only those laws, and making only 
        those resolutions that are pursuant to the Constitution of the 
        United States and not prohibited thereby.
            (3) To the end that Congress be politically and legally 
        accountable to the people, article I, section 5 of the 
        Constitution of the United States requires each House of 
        Congress to keep a journal of its proceedings and from time to 
        time publish the same.
            (4) To the end that no legislation be passed without 
        effective representation of the people's interest by the 
        elected Members of Congress, article I, section 7 of the 
        Constitution of the United States states that only those Bills 
        ``which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the 
        Senate,'' and not vetoed by the President, ``shall become'' 
        laws.
            (5) According to section I of Thomas Jefferson's 1812 
        Manual of Parliamentary Practice for the Use of the Senate of 
        the United States (in this section referred to as ``Jefferson's 
        Manual''), ``nothing tended more to throw power into the hands 
        of administration and those who acted with the majority . . . 
        than a neglect of, or departure from, the rules of proceeding 
        [which] operated as a check and control of the actions of the 
        majority [and] a shelter and protection to the minority.''.
            (6) According to sections XXII and XL of Jefferson's 
        Manual, it was the rule of the Senate that every bill receive 3 
        readings, 2 full readings by the Clerk of the Senate, and a 
        third reading of the title of the bill only in that ``every 
        member of the Senate had a printed copy [of the bill] in his 
        hand.''.
            (7) According to sections XXIV, XXV, and XL of Jefferson's 
        Manual, it was the rule of the House of Representatives, 
        following the parliamentary procedure of the English House of 
        Commons, that every bill received 2 full readings by the Clerk 
        of the House, and a reading of the whole contents of the bill 
        verbatim by the Speaker of the House before the House voted on 
        each bill.
            (8) Under current Senate rules, the Senate has departed 
        from its original practice of a full first and second reading 
        of each bill, and of ensuring that each Senator has a printed 
        or other verbatim copy of each bill before passage thereof, 
        having by rule XIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate limited 
        each reading of a bill to the reading of the bill's title only, 
        unless the Senate in any case shall otherwise order.
            (9) Under current rules for the House of Representatives, 
        the House of Representatives has by Rule XVI (8) and Rule XVIII 
        (5) embraced its original practice of full first and second 
        readings of each bill, but has regularly departed from this 
        practice by unanimous consent of the House, and has dispensed 
        altogether its original practice of a verbatim third reading of 
        each bill before passage, limiting such third reading to the 
        reading of the title only, including the reading of the title 
        only even when members of the House have no printed or other 
        verbatim copy of a bill before passage.
            (10) Although section 106 of title 1, United States Code, 
        requires a bill to be made available in written form to each 
        member of Congress before final passage Congress has by statute 
        conferred upon itself the power, during the last 6 days of a 
        session of Congress, by concurrent resolution, to vote for 
        passage of a bill that is not in written form at the time of 
        final passage.
            (11) As a direct consequence of the Senate and the House of 
        Representatives' departure from the salutary practice of full, 
        verbatim readings of each bill before final passage, and 
        further, as a direct consequence of Congress, by concurrent 
        resolution and otherwise, having permitted certain 
        appropriation, budget, and regulatory bills to be enacted into 
        law without such bills being printed and presented to Congress 
        in written form prior to final passage, Congress has--
                    (A) imposed upon the American people excessively 
                long bills, largely written by an unelected 
                bureaucracy, resulting in generally incomprehensible, 
                cumbersome, oppressive, and burdensome laws, containing 
                hidden provisions for special interests;
                    (B) deprived the American people and their elected 
                Senators and Representatives of a full and fair 
                opportunity to examine the text of bills, and all 
                amendments thereto, prior to passage;
                    (C) undermined the confidence of the American 
                people by its failure to give adequate notice to the 
                people before a vote is taken on said bills and their 
                amendments in the bills; and
                    (D) has called into question the integrity and 
                reliability of the legislative processes in both Houses 
                of Congress by its failure to ensure that each member 
                of the Senate and each member of the House has, prior 
                to passage, either listened attentively to the reading 
                of the full text of each bill, and its amendments, or 
                has personally read the text thereof.
            (12) Federal law currently sets forth various requirements 
        relating to the form of bills and procedure used regarding the 
        enactment of laws, including--
                    (A) the form of the enacting clause of all Acts of 
                Congress (section 101 of title 1, United States Code);
                    (B) the form of the resolving clause of all joint 
                resolutions (section 102 of title 1, United States 
                Code);
                    (C) a limitation on the use of enacting or 
                resolving words (section 103 of title 1, United States 
                Code);
                    (D) a requirement regarding the numbering sections 
                and the requirement that each contain a single 
                proposition (section 104 of title 1, United States 
                Code);
                    (E) the style and title for all Acts making 
                appropriations (section 105 of title 1, United States 
                Code); and
                    (F) the process by which each bill or joint 
                resolution is handled after passage (section 106 of 
                title 1, United States Code).

SEC. 4. TEXT OF BILL OR RESOLUTION TO SPECIFY ITS CONSTITUTIONAL 
              AUTHORITY, CURRENT LAW.

    Chapter 2 of title 1, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after section 105 the following:
``Sec. 105a. Text of bill or resolution to specify its constitutional 
              authority
    ``(a) Requirement.--
            ``(1) In general.--Any bill or resolution introduced in 
        either House of Congress shall contain a provision citing the 
        specific powers granted to Congress in the Constitution of the 
        United States to enact the proposed bill or resolution, 
        including all the provisions thereof.
            ``(2) Failure to comply.--Any bill or resolution not in 
        compliance with subsection (a)(1) shall not be accepted by the 
        Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the 
        Senate.
    ``(b) Floor Consideration.--
            ``(1) In general.--The requirements of subsection (a)(1) 
        shall apply to any bill or resolution presented for 
        consideration on the floor of either House of Congress, 
        including those bills or resolutions reported from a committee 
        of either House of Congress, produced by conference between the 
        2 Houses of Congress, or offered as a manager's amendment.
            ``(2) Failure to comply.--Any bill or resolution not 
        complying with subsection (A)(i) shall not be submitted for a 
        vote on final passage.
    ``(c) No Waiver or Modification.--Neither House of Congress, nor 
Congress jointly, by concurrent resolution, or by unanimous consent, or 
by any other order, resolution, vote, or other means, may dispense 
with, or otherwise waive or modify, the requirements set forth in this 
section.
``Sec. 105b. Text of bill or resolution to set forth current law
    ``(a) Requirement.--
            ``(1) In general.--Any bill or resolution introduced in 
        either House of Congress, designed to amend or modify the 
        effect of, or which would have the effect of amending or 
        modifying the effect of, any current provision of law, 
        including the expiration date of any law, shall set forth--
                    ``(A) the current version of the entire section of 
                the Act of Congress being amended, verbatim;
                    ``(B) the amendments being proposed by the bill; 
                and
                    ``(C) the current section of law as it would read 
                as modified by the amendments proposed, except that 
                this subparagraph shall not apply to any bill or 
                resolution which would strike the text of an entire 
                section of an Act of Congress.
            ``(2) Failure to comply.--Any bill or resolution not 
        complying with this subsection shall not be accepted by the 
        Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the 
        Senate.
    ``(b) Floor Consideration.--
            ``(1) In general.--The requirements of subsection (a)(1) 
        shall apply to all bills or resolutions presented for 
        consideration on the floor of either House of Congress, 
        including those reported from a committee of either House of 
        Congress, produced by conference between the 2 Houses of 
        Congress or offered as a manager's amendment.
            ``(2) Failure to comply.--Any bill or resolution not 
        complying with this subsection shall not be submitted to a vote 
        on final passage.
    ``(c) No Waiver or Modification.--Neither House of Congress, nor 
Congress jointly, by concurrent resolution, or by unanimous consent, or 
by any other order, resolution, vote, or other means, may dispense 
with, or otherwise waive or modify, the requirements set forth in this 
section.
``Sec. 105c. Procedures prior to vote on bill or resolution
    ``(a) In General.--A vote on final passage of a bill (except for 
private bills) or resolution may not occur in either House of Congress, 
unless--
            ``(1) the full text of the bill or resolution is published 
        at least 7 days before the vote on an official Internet website 
        of each House of Congress, easily available to and readily 
        usable by the public, using an open format that is platform 
        independent, machine readable, and available without 
        restrictions respecting searching, retrieval, downloading, and 
        indexing, separate and apart from the calendar of the Senate or 
        the House of Representatives;
            ``(2) public notice of the specific calendar week during 
        which the vote is scheduled to take place is posted on the 
        official Internet website described in paragraph (1) not less 
        than 6 days before the Monday of the calendar week during which 
        the vote is scheduled to take place, with failure to take the 
        vote during the noticed week requiring a new notice; and
            ``(3) reading of its full text verbatim by the Clerk of the 
        House of Representatives or Secretary of the Senate to the 
        respective body of each House called to order and physically 
        assembled with a constitutionally required quorum to do 
        business being present throughout the time of the full textual 
        reading of said bill, except that if a bill or resolution is 
        enrolled by either House of Congress, for any subsequent 
        consideration of the enrolled bill or resolution--
                    ``(A) the full text need not be reread before the 
                House of Congress which passed the bill; and
                    ``(B) the full text verbatim of any amendment to 
                the text of the enrolled bill or resolution shall be 
                read.
    ``(b) Affidavit.--
            ``(1) In general.--Before voting in favor of final passage 
        of any bill (except a private bill) or resolution, a Member of 
        the Senate and a Member of the House of Representatives shall 
        sign an affidavit executed under penalty of perjury as provided 
        in section 1621 of title 18, United States Code, that the 
        Member either--
                    ``(A) was present throughout the entire reading of 
                each such bill or resolution, and listened attentively 
                to such reading in its entirety;
                    ``(B) prior to voting for passage of such bill, 
                read attentively each such bill in its entirety; or
                    ``(C) some combination of clause (i) or (ii).
            ``(2) Vote against passage.--A Member of the Senate or a 
        Member of the House of Representatives shall not be required to 
        sign an affidavit described in paragraph if the Member votes 
        against the passage of a bill or resolution.
            ``(3) Records.--Copies of each affidavit described in 
        paragraph (1) signed by a Member of the Senate and a Member of 
        the House of Representatives shall be maintained by the 
        Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of 
        Representatives, respectively.
    ``(c) Journal.--With respect to each vote on final passage of a 
bill (except for a private bill) or resolution, each House of Congress 
shall cause to be recorded in the journal of its proceedings that the 
publishing, notice, reading, and affidavit requirements under this 
section have been met.
    ``(d) No Waiver or Modification.--Neither House of Congress, nor 
Congress jointly, by concurrent resolution, or by unanimous consent, or 
by any other order, resolution, vote, or other means, may dispense 
with, or otherwise waive or modify, the requirements set forth in this 
section.
``Sec. 105d. Enforcement clause
    ``(a) In General.--An Act of Congress that does not comply with 
sections 105a, 105b, and 105c shall have no force or effect and no 
legal, equitable, regulatory, civil, or criminal action may be brought 
under such an Act of Congress.
    ``(b) Cause of Action.--Without regard to the amount in 
controversy, a cause of action under sections 2201 and 2202 of title 
28, United States Code, against the United States seeking appropriate 
relief (including an injunction against enforcement of any law, the 
passage of which did not conform to the requirements of sections 105a, 
105b, and 105c) may be brought by--
            ``(1) any person aggrieved by any action of any officer or 
        employee in the executive branch of the Federal Government 
        under any Act of Congress that does not comply with sections 
        105a, 105b, and 105c;
            ``(2) any Member of Congress aggrieved by the failure of 
        the House of Congress of which the Member is a Member to comply 
        with sections 105a, 105b, and 105c; and
            ``(3) any person individually aggrieved by the failure of 
        the Senator of the State in which the aggrieved person resides 
        or Member of the House of Representatives for the District in 
        which the aggrieved person resides to fulfill the obligations 
        of the Senator or Member of the House of Representatives under 
        sections 105a, 105b, and 105c.''.

SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE.

    If any provision of this Act or an amendment made by this Act, or 
the application of a provision or amendment to any person or 
circumstance, is held to be invalid for any reason in any court of 
competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this Act and amendments made 
by this Act, and the application of the provisions and amendment to any 
other person or circumstance, shall not be affected.
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