I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5590 

To require an officer or employee of the Federal Government who is required 

by law to appear on a regular basis to give oral testimony at a hearing 

of a committee of Congress to remain at the hearing until each member 

of the committee has been provided with the opportunity to question 

the officer or employee. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023 

Mr. DONALDS (for himself, Mr. NORMAN, Ms. HAGEMAN, Mr. MOYLAN, Ms. 

MACE, Mrs. BOEBERT, and Mr. OGLES) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, 

and in addition to the Committee on Rules, 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 require an officer or employee of the Federal Government 

who is required by law to appear on a regular basis 

to give oral testimony at a hearing of a committee of 

Congress to remain at the hearing until each member 

of the committee has been provided with the opportunity 

to question the officer or employee. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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•HR 5590 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No More Hard Stops 

3 Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REQUIRING FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS 

5 TESTIFYING AT HEARINGS OF COMMITTEES 

6 OF CONGRESS TO REMAIN UNTIL EACH MEM7 BER HAS BEEN PROVIDED THE OPPOR8 TUNITY TO QUESTION. 

9 (a) REQUIREMENT.—An officer or employee of the 

10 Federal Government who is subject to a requirement 

11 under law to appear on a regular basis to give oral testi12 mony at a hearing of a committee of Congress shall not 

13 be considered to meet such requirement unless the officer 

14 or employee remains at the hearing until each member of 

15 the committee who is present at the hearing has been pro16 vided with the opportunity to question the officer or em17 ployee. 

18 (b) ENSURING OPPORTUNITY TO QUESTION FOR

19 EACH MEMBER.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The chair of a committee of 

21 Congress who presides at a hearing of the committee 

22 at which an officer or employee of the Federal Gov23 ernment appears pursuant to a requirement de24 scribed in subsection (a) may not provide a member 

25 of the committee with a second opportunity to ques26 tion the officer or employee at the hearing until each 


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•HR 5590 IH

1 member of the committee who seeks to question the 

2 officer or employee has been provided with an oppor3 tunity to do so. 

4 (2) EXERCISE OF RULEMAKING POWER.—This 

5 subsection is enacted by Congress— 

6 (A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power 

7 of the Senate and House of Representatives, re8 spectively, and as such it is deemed a part of 

9 the rules of each House, respectively, but appli10 cable only with respect to the procedure to be 

11 followed in that House in the case of a Commis12 sion joint resolution, and it supersedes other 

13 rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent 

14 with such rules; and 

15 (B) with full recognition of the constitu16 tional right of either House to change the rules 

17 (so far as relating to the procedure of that 

18 House) at any time, in the same manner, and 

19 to the same extent as in the case of any other 

20 rule of that House. 

21 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall apply with re22 spect to hearings held on or after the date of the enact23 ment of this Act. 

Æ 


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