I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8597 
To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1946, the Duncan Hunter National Defense Au-
thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986, the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, the Financial Sta-
bility Act of 2010, and the Federal Funding Accountability and Trans-
parency Act of 2006 to improve access to information in the legislative 
and executive branches of the Government, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 3, 2024 
Mr. QUIGLEY (for himself and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, 
and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, the Judici-
ary, Ethics, Financial Services, and Rules, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Lobbying Disclosure 
Act of 1995, the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, 
the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act 
for Fiscal Year 2009, the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986, the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, the 
Financial Stability Act of 2010, and the Federal Fund-
ing Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 to 
improve access to information in the legislative and exec-
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utive branches of the Government, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transparency in Gov-
ernment Act of 2024’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
TITLE I—IMPROVING ACCESS TO INFORMATION ABOUT 
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES 
Sec. 101. Greater disclosure and electronic filing of personal financial informa-
tion. 
Sec. 102. Greater disclosure of travel reports. 
Sec. 103. Greater disclosure of gift reports. 
Sec. 104. Greater disclosure of earmarks. 
Sec. 105. GAO study and report on effects of written requests by members of 
Congress for funding of projects. 
TITLE II—ENHANCING PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE WORK OF 
CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES, LEGISLATION, AND VOTES 
Sec. 201. Increased transparency of committee work. 
Sec. 202. Increased transparency of recorded votes. 
Sec. 203. Electronic format. 
Sec. 205. Use of data standards by congressional support offices. 
Sec. 206. Inclusion of digital version of funding tables in reports accompanying 
appropriations bills. 
Sec. 207. Select committee on the modernization of congress. 
Sec. 208. Expanded information in house staff directory. 
TITLE III—EXPANDING ACCESS TO CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH 
SERVICE REPORTS ON LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WEBSITE 
Sec. 301. Inclusion of reports from archive. 
Sec. 302. Availability of reports in structured format. 
Sec. 303. Report on making other materials available. 
Sec. 304. Effective date. 
TITLE IV—LOBBYING DISCLOSURE 
Sec. 401. Short title. 
Sec. 402. Modifications to enforcement. 
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Sec. 403. Definition of lobbyist. 
Sec. 404. Expedited online registration of lobbyists; thresholds for certain orga-
nizations whose employees are lobbyists. 
Sec. 405. Disclosure of political contributions. 
Sec. 406. Identification numbers for lobbyists. 
Sec. 407. Ethics training for lobbyists. 
Sec. 408. Repeal of exemption of reporting lobbying contacts reported under 
Foreign Agents Registration Act. 
Sec. 409. Repeal of use of estimates based on tax reporting system. 
TITLE V—TRANSPARENCY IN FEDERAL AWARDS 
Sec. 501. Improving application programming interface and website data ele-
ments. 
Sec. 502. Improving data quality. 
Sec. 503. Requirements relating to reporting of award data. 
Sec. 504. Recipient performance transparency. 
Sec. 505. Improvement of responsibility/qualification information. 
Sec. 506. Federal contractor compliance. 
Sec. 507. Improving access to information disclosed on lobbying activities. 
Sec. 508. Inclusion of narratives on USASpending.gov. 
Sec. 509. Suspension and debarment database. 
TITLE VI—EXECUTIVE BRANCH TRANSPARENCY 
Subtitle A—Public Availability of Information 
Sec. 601. Agency defined. 
Sec. 602. Requirement for disclosure of Federal sponsorship of all Federal ad-
vertising or other communications. 
Sec. 603. Improving access to influential executive branch official’s visitor ac-
cess records. 
Sec. 604. Improving rulemaking disclosure for the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs. 
Sec. 605. Improving registration information from agents of foreign principals. 
Sec. 606. Government-wide entity identifier. 
Sec. 607. Grants transparency requirements. 
Subtitle B—Publication of Opinions of Office of Legal Counsel 
Sec. 611. Short title. 
Sec. 612. Schedule of publication for final OLC opinions. 
Sec. 613. Exceptions and limitation on public availability of final OLC opinions. 
Sec. 614. Method of publication. 
Sec. 615. Index of opinions. 
Sec. 616. Private right of action. 
Sec. 617. Severability. 
Sec. 618. Definitions. 
Subtitle C—Contempt of Congress Procedures and Enforcement 
Sec. 621. Availability of civil action to enforce House of Representatives sub-
poenas. 
Sec. 622. Alternate procedures for enforcement of criminal contempt of Con-
gress. 
Sec. 623. Increase in penalty for contempt of Congress. 
Sec. 624. Authority of United States Capitol Police to enforce citations. 
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Sec. 625. Collection of penalties imposed by the House of Representatives on 
persons cited for contempt of House. 
Sec. 626. No effect of expiration of Congress on pending actions. 
Subtitle D—Promoting Accountability and Security in Transitions 
Sec. 631. Short title. 
Sec. 632. Sense of Congress. 
Sec. 633. Definitions. 
Sec. 634. Management and custody of Presidential records. 
Sec. 635. Restrictions on access to Presidential records. 
Sec. 636. Exceptions to restricted access. 
Sec. 637. Regulations. 
Sec. 638. Disclosure requirement for official business conducted using non-offi-
cial electronic messaging accounts. 
Sec. 639. Presidential Transition Act of 1963. 
Sec. 640. Former Presidents. 
Sec. 641. Presidential archival depository. 
TITLE VII—STRENGTHENING THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION 
ACT 
Sec. 701. Digital access to records made available under the Freedom of Infor-
mation Act. 
Sec. 702. Freedom of Information Act Amendments. 
Sec. 703. Other matters. 
TITLE VIII—IMPROVING TRANSPARENCY WITHIN THE JUDICIAL 
SYSTEM 
Sec. 801. Televising Supreme Court proceedings. 
Sec. 802. Audio recording of Supreme Court proceedings. 
Sec. 803. Availability on the internet of financial disclosure reports of judicial 
officers. 
Sec. 804. GAO audit of pacer. 
Sec. 805. Electronic court records reform. 
TITLE IX—ENFORCEMENT 
Sec. 901. Report by the Government Accountability Office. 
TITLE X—MISCELLANEOUS 
Sec. 1001. Transfer of certain records to archivist of United States. 
Sec. 1002. Data standards. 
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TITLE I—IMPROVING ACCESS TO 
INFORMATION ABOUT MEM-
BERS 
OF 
CONGRESS 
AND 
CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES 
SEC. 101. GREATER DISCLOSURE AND ELECTRONIC FILING 
OF PERSONAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION. 
(a) ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REQUIRE-
MENTS.—(1) Section 102(a)(1)(B) of the Ethics in Gov-
ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 102(a)(1)(B)) is 
amended in clause (iv) by striking ‘‘$15,000’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘$25,000’’ and by striking clauses (v) through (ix) and 
inserting the following new clauses: 
‘‘(v) greater than $25,000 but not 
more than $100,000, rounded to the near-
est $10,000, 
‘‘(vi) greater than $100,000 but not 
more than $1,000,000, rounded to the 
nearest $100,000, or 
‘‘(vii) greater than $1,000,000, round-
ed to the nearest $1,000,000.’’. 
(2) Section 102(d)(1) of such Act (5 U.S.C. App. 
102(d)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(3), (4), (5), and (8)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(5) and (8)’’. 
(3) Section 102(d) of such Act (5 U.S.C. App. 
102(d)) is amended by redesignating paragraph (2) as 
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paragraph (3) and by inserting after paragraph (1) the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(2) The categories for reporting the amount or 
value of the items covered in paragraphs (3) or (4) 
of subsection (a) are as follows: 
‘‘(A) Not more than $15,000. 
‘‘(B) Greater than $15,000 but not more 
than $25,000. 
‘‘(C) Greater than $25,000 but not more 
than 
$100,000, 
rounded 
to 
the 
nearest 
$10,000. 
‘‘(D) Greater than $100,000 but not more 
than $1,000,000, rounded to the nearest 
$100,000. 
‘‘(E) Greater than $1,000,000, rounded to 
the nearest $1,000,000.’’. 
(b) MORE FREQUENT DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL 
TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING LARGE SUMS OF MONEY.— 
(1) Section 101 of such Act (5 U.S.C. App. 
101) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection: 
‘‘(j) In addition to any other report required to be 
filed by a Member of Congress or officer or employee of 
the Congress, each such individual is required to file a 
quarterly report on April 30, July 30, October 30, and 
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January 30 of each year covering the preceding calendar 
quarter if that individual (or the spouse or any dependent 
child of that individual) purchased, sold, or exchanged any 
property described in subsection (a)(5) valued at not less 
than $250,000 during that calendar quarter. For any such 
transaction of not less than $250,000, such report shall 
contain all of the information required under subsection 
(a)(5).’’. 
(2)(A) Clause 1 of rule XXVI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives is amended by insert-
ing ‘‘(a)’’ after ‘‘1.’’ and by adding at the end the 
following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(b) If any report is filed with the Clerk for a cal-
endar quarter pursuant to section 101(i) of the Ethics in 
Government Act of 1978, the Clerk shall compile all such 
reports sent to the Clerk by Members and have them 
printed as a House document, which shall be made avail-
able to the public, as soon as practicable. 
‘‘(c) Each individual required to file a report with the 
Clerk under title I under the Ethics in Government Act 
of 1978 shall file and maintain such report in electronic 
form.’’. 
(B) Comparable language to be added by the 
Senate. 
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(c) AVAILABILITY ON THE INTERNET OF REPORTS 
FILED UNDER THIS TITLE WITH THE CLERK OF THE 
HOUSE OR THE SECRETARY OF THE SENATE.—Section 
103 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
App. 103) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection: 
‘‘(m) The Clerk of the House of Representatives and 
the Secretary of the Senate shall each make available any 
report filed with them under this title (whether the report 
is filed in paper or electronic form) within 48 hours of 
the applicable submission deadline on the website of the 
Clerk or the Secretary, as applicable, in a searchable, sort-
able, downloadable, machine-readable format.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to reports filed for calendar years 
or calendar quarters beginning after the date of enactment 
of this Act. 
SEC. 102. GREATER DISCLOSURE OF TRAVEL REPORTS. 
(a) FOREIGN TRAVEL.—Clause 8(b)(3) of rule X of 
the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by 
adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘Within 48 
hours after any such report is filed with the chair of a 
committee, the chair shall post the report on the Internet 
site of the committee in a searchable, sortable, 
downloadable, machine-readable format.’’. 
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(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply to travel commencing after the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 103. GREATER DISCLOSURE OF GIFT REPORTS. 
(a) REQUIRING CLERK OF THE HOUSE TO POST RE-
PORTS
ON INTERNET NOT LATER THAN 48 HOURS 
AFTER RECEIPT.—(1) Clause 5(b)(5) of rule XXV of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘shall make available’’ and in-
serting ‘‘shall post on the public Internet site of the 
Clerk and otherwise make available’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘as possible’’ and inserting the 
following: ‘‘as possible, but in no event later than 48 
hours,’’. 
(2) Comparable language to be added by the Senate. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to reports filed on 
or after the date of the adoption of this resolution. 
SEC. 104. GREATER DISCLOSURE OF EARMARKS. 
(a) ELECTRONIC DISCLOSURE BY MEMBERS.—(1) 
Rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives 
is amended by redesignating clause 22 as clause 23 and 
by inserting after clause 21 the following: 
‘‘22. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner 
who requests a congressional earmark, a limited tax ben-
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efit, or a limited tariff benefit shall, within 24 hours after 
making such request— 
‘‘(1) post on his or her public website for the 
remainder of the Congress the following— 
‘‘(A) the name and address of the intended 
recipient; 
‘‘(B) whether the intended recipient is a 
for-profit or not-for-profit entity; 
‘‘(C) the requested amount (only in the 
case of congressional earmarks); and 
‘‘(D) an explanation of the request, includ-
ing the purpose, and why it is a valuable use 
of taxpayer funds; 
‘‘(2) electronically submit to the committee of 
subject-matter jurisdiction the webpage address 
where such information is posted; 
‘‘(3) identify each request as having been sub-
mitted to the committee of subject-matter jurisdic-
tion; and 
‘‘(4) display on the homepage of such website a 
hypertext link that contains the words ‘Earmarks’, 
‘Appropriations Requests’, ‘Limited Tax Benefits’, 
or ‘Limited Tariff Benefits’ and that directs to such 
webpage address, and maintain that link for at least 
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30 calendar days after the last such request is made 
during the Congress.’’. 
(2) The last sentence of clause 16 of rule XXIII of 
the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by 
striking ‘‘and clause 17’’ and inserting ‘‘, clause 17, and 
clause 22’’. 
(b) ELECTRONIC DISCLOSURE BY COMMITTEES.— 
Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is 
amended by adding at the end the following new clause: 
‘‘Earmark disclosure websites 
‘‘(a) Any committee that accepts any request of a 
Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner for a con-
gressional earmark, a limited tax benefit, or a limited tar-
iff benefit shall maintain a public website with an earmark 
disclosure webpage that contains the following for each 
such request— 
‘‘(1) the bill name; 
‘‘(2) the name, State, and district of that indi-
vidual; 
‘‘(3) the name and address of the intended re-
cipient; 
‘‘(4) whether the intended recipient is a for- 
profit or not-for-profit entity; 
‘‘(5) the requested amount (only in the case of 
congressional earmarks); 
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‘‘(6) a brief description; and 
‘‘(7) the applicable department or agency of the 
Government, and the account or program (if pro-
vided to the committee in the request); 
and 
‘‘is in a downloadable format that is searchable 
and sortable by such characteristics. 
‘‘(b) Any written statement received by a committee 
under clause 17(a) of rule XXIII shall be posted on the 
earmark disclosure webpage of the committee. 
‘‘(c) The earmark disclosure webpage of a committee 
shall list the names of any Member, Delegate, and Resi-
dent Commissioner who requests a congressional earmark, 
a limited tax benefit, or a limited tariff benefit and link 
directly to their webpage addresses referred to in clause 
18(2) of rule XXIII. 
‘‘(d) The earmark disclosure webpage of a committee 
shall post the information required under paragraphs (a) 
through (c) within one week of receipt, and shall maintain 
that information on that webpage for the remainder of the 
Congress. 
‘‘(e) For purposes of this clause, the terms ‘congres-
sional earmark’, ‘limited tax benefit’, and ‘limited tariff 
benefit’ shall have the meaning given them in clause 9 of 
rule XXI.’’. 
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(c) POINT OF ORDER.—Clause 9 of rule XXI of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by re-
designating paragraphs (e), (f), and (g) as paragraphs (f), 
(g), and (h), respectively, and by inserting after paragraph 
(d) the following: 
‘‘(e) It shall not be in order to consider any bill or 
joint resolution, or an amendment thereto or conference 
report thereon, that carries a congressional earmark, lim-
ited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit for which a Mem-
ber, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner failed to comply 
with any applicable requirement of clause 18 of rule 
XXIII.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to requests for congressional ear-
marks, limited tax benefits, and limited tariff benefits 
made after the date this resolution is agreed to. 
(e) CENTRALIZED DATABASE FOR EARMARKS, LIM-
ITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF BENEFITS.— 
(1) The Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Sec-
retary of the Senate, and the chairs of the Committee on 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate shall collaborate to create one centralized database 
where all requests for earmark, limited tax benefits, and 
limited tariff benefits are available on the Internet in a 
searchable, sortable, downloadable format to the public. 
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‘‘(b) OMB REPORT.—Not later than April 1 of each 
year, the Director shall make each report submitted under 
subsection (a) for the previous fiscal year available to the 
public, including a review of the findings of the audit and 
recommendations to improve data quality, through the 
website established under section 2. 
‘‘(c) FEDERAL SUBAWARD REPORTING SYSTEM.— 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 
of this section, the Inspector General of the General Serv-
ices Administration shall submit to Congress a report that 
includes the results of a comprehensive review of the 
FFATA Subaward Reporting System that identifies prob-
lems within the system that contribute to inaccurate and 
incomplete subaward reporting and provide specific rec-
ommendations for improvements. The review shall include 
an assessment of the effectiveness and efficiency of the 
system, including the following: 
‘‘(1) 
The 
accuracy 
and 
completeness 
of 
subaward data reported through the system. 
‘‘(2) The consistency of reporting requirements 
across Federal agencies. 
‘‘(3) The burden on Federal award recipients to 
comply with reporting requirements. 
‘‘(4) The accessibility and availability of 
subaward data to the public and stakeholders. 
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