OATHS Act

Subjects: Congress

Summary:  <p><b>Ordering Authentication in The House's Swearing-in Act or the OATHS Act</b></p> <p>This bill modifies procedures related to the oath of office that is taken by Members of the House of Representatives.</p> <p>First, the bill eliminates the statutory requirement that the oath of office be administered at the first session of Congress after every general election of Representatives.</p> <p>Second, the bill requires that the Clerk of the House of Representatives provide Members with two printed copies of the oath of office to sign before the first session of Congress rather than on the first day of that session. Generally, a Member shall be deemed to have taken the oath of office when they return the signed oath to the clerk for filing in official records. However, if a Member returns the signed oath before noon on the first day of the first session, the signed oath is effective at noon on the first day of that session.</p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1000 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1000

To direct the Clerk of the House of Representatives to provide Members-
 elect of the House with written copies of the oath of office prior to 
the first session of a Congress and to provide that a Member-elect who 
signs such copies shall be considered to have taken the oath of office.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2023

   Ms. Foxx (for herself, Mr. Guthrie, and Mr. Cole) introduced the 
     following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House 
                             Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Clerk of the House of Representatives to provide Members-
 elect of the House with written copies of the oath of office prior to 
the first session of a Congress and to provide that a Member-elect who 
signs such copies shall be considered to have taken the oath of office.

    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 ``Ordering Authentication in The 
House's Swearing-in Act'' or the ``OATHS Act''.

SEC. 2. USE OF SIGNED WRITTEN COPY FOR TAKING OATH OF OFFICE BY MEMBERS 
              OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

    (a) In General.--Section 30 of the Revised Statutes of the United 
States (2 U.S.C. 25) is amended--
            (1) by striking the first undesignated paragraph; and
            (2) by striking the remaining paragraph and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(a) Provision of Written Oath of Office by Clerk.--Prior to the 
first session of Congress after every general election of 
Representatives, the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall cause 
the oath of office to be printed and shall furnish 2 copies to each 
Representative-elect, Delegate-elect, and Resident Commissioner-elect, 
who shall sign the copies and return them to the Clerk.
    ``(b) Filing of Signed Copies.--Upon receiving a signed copy of the 
oath of office under subsection (a), the Clerk shall file one copy in 
the records of the House of Representatives, and shall cause the other 
copy to be recorded in the Journal of the House and in the 
Congressional Record.
    ``(c) Legal Effect of Returning Signed Copies.--The signed copy of 
the oath of office, or a certified copy thereof, or the copy filed or 
recorded under subsection (b), shall be admissible in evidence in any 
court of the United States, and shall be held conclusive proof of the 
fact that the individual who signed the copies duly took the oath of 
office in accordance with law, effective--
            ``(1) at noon on the first day of the first session of 
        Congress, in the case of an individual who returns the signed 
        copies to the Clerk prior to noon on the first day of the first 
        session of the Congress; or
            ``(2) at the time the individual returns the signed copies 
        to the Clerk, in the case of an individual who does not return 
        the signed copies to the Clerk prior to noon on the first day 
        of the first session of the Congress.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress and each 
succeeding Congress.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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