I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 931 
To require Congress and the President to fulfill their constitutional duty 
to take personal responsibility for Federal laws. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 17, 2005 
Mr. HAYWORTH (for himself, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. OTTER, Mr. ENGLISH 
of Pennsylvania, and Mr. SIMPSON) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, 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 Congress and the President to fulfill their con-
stitutional duty to take personal responsibility for Fed-
eral laws. 
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 ‘‘Congressional Respon-
sibility Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to promote compliance 
with Article I of the United States Constitution, which
grants legislative powers solely to Congress. Article I en-
sures that Federal regulations will not take effect unless 
passed by a majority of the members of the Senate and 
House of Representatives and signed by the President, or 
that the members of the Senate and House of Representa-
tives override the President’s veto. This Act ends the prac-
tice whereby Congress delegates its responsibility for mak-
ing laws to unelected, unaccountable officials of the execu-
tive branch and requires that regulations proposed by 
agencies of the executive branch be affirmatively enacted 
by Congress before they become effective. The Act will re-
sult in a more democratic and accountable Congress and 
protect the public from regulations for which elected, ac-
countable officials are unwilling to take responsibility. 
SEC. 3. ENACTMENT OF AGENCY REGULATIONS. 
(a) CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL.—A regulation shall 
not take effect before the date of the enactment of a bill 
described in section 4(a) comprised solely of the text of 
the regulation. 
(b) AGENCY REPORT.—Whenever an agency promul-
gates a regulation, the agency shall submit to each House 
of Congress a report containing the text of the proposed 
regulation and an explanation of the proposed regulation. 
The explanation shall consist of the concise general state-
ment of their basis and purpose required by section 553
of title 5, United States Code and such explanatory docu-
ments as are mandated by other statutory requirements. 
SEC. 4. EXPEDITED CONGRESSIONAL PROCEDURES FOR 
AGENCY REGULATIONS. 
(a) INTRODUCTION.—Not later than 3 legislative 
days after the date on which an agency submits a report 
under section 3(b), the Majority Leader of each House of 
Congress shall introduce (by request) a bill comprised sole-
ly of the text of the regulation contained in the report. 
If such a bill is not introduced in a House of Congress 
as provided in the preceding sentence, then any Member 
of that House may introduce such a bill. 
(b) BILL.—For purposes of this section, the term 
‘‘bill’’ means a bill of the two Houses of Congress, the 
matter after the enacting clause of which is as follows: 
‘‘The following agency regulations are hereby approved 
and shall have the force and effect of law:’’ (the text of 
the regulations being set forth after the semicolon). 
(c) REFERRAL AND CONSIDERATION.—(1) A bill de-
scribed in subsection (b) shall not be referred to a com-
mittee. 
(2) It is in order for any Member of the respective 
House to move to proceed to the consideration of the bill. 
A Member may make the motion only on the day after 
the calendar day on which the Member announces to the
House concerned the Member’s intention to make the mo-
tion. All points of order against the bill (and against con-
sideration of the bill) are waived. The motion is highly 
privileged in the House of Representatives and is privi-
leged in the Senate and is not debatable. The motion is 
not subject to amendment, to a motion to postpone, or 
to a motion to proceed to the consideration of other busi-
ness. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion 
is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order. If a 
motion to proceed to the consideration of the bill is agreed 
to, the respective House shall immediately proceed to con-
sideration of the bill without intervening motion, order, 
or other business, and the bill shall remain the unfinished 
business of the respective House until disposed of. 
(3) Debate on the bill, and on all debatable motions 
and appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited to 
not more than one hour, which shall be divided equally 
between those favoring and those opposing the bill. An 
amendment to the bill is not in order. A motion further 
to limit debate is in order and not debatable. A motion 
to postpone, a motion to proceed to the consideration of 
other business, or a motion to recommit the bill is not 
in order. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the 
bill is agreed to or disagreed to is not in order.
(4) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating 
to the application of the regulations of the Senate or the 
House of Representatives, as the case may be, to the pro-
cedure relating to the bill shall be decided without debate. 
(d) FINAL PASSAGE.—A vote on final passage of a 
bill described in subsection (b) shall be taken in a House 
of Congress on or before the close of the 60th calendar 
day after the date of the introduction of the bill in that 
House. 
(e) EXCEPTION.—A motion to suspend the applica-
tion of subsections (c) and (d) is in order in either House 
of Congress and shall be considered as passed or agreed 
to by a vote of a majority of the Members voting. Upon 
the passage of such a motion, the bill shall be considered 
in the same manner as other bills. 
(f) TREATMENT
IF
THE
OTHER
HOUSE
HAS 
ACTED.—(1) If, before the passage by one House of a bill 
introduced in that House described in subsection (b), that 
House receives from the other House a bill described in 
subsection (b) comprised of the same text, then— 
(A) the bill of the other House shall not be re-
ferred to a committee and may not be considered in 
the House receiving it except in the case of final 
passage as provided in subparagraph (B)(ii); and