Title: Read the Bills Act
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
Read the Bills Act
This bill requires any bill or resolution introduced in either chamber of Congress to contain a provision citing the specific powers granted to Congress in the Constitution to enact the proposed measure, including all of its provisions. The text must also set forth the current law that measure is amending and the proposed modifications to the law.
A vote on final passage of a measure (except private bills) may not occur in either chamber unless

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3709 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3709

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 5, 2018

   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 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 of Congress.
    (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 the rules, as prescribed herein, shall have 
standing in a court of law, is enacted 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.
            (2) Each Member of Congress is elected by the people to 
        whom the Member is accountable, and Members must represent the 
        people of their respective State or District in exercising 
        their legislative powers.
            (3) Establishing a Government of enumerated powers, article 
        I, section 1 of the Constitution of the United States obliges 
        Congress to exercise only those legislative powers provided for 
        in the Constitution of the United States, and article VI of the 
        Constitution of the United States requires that each Member of 
        Congress be bound by 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.
            (4) To ensure that Congress is 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.
            (5) To ensure that no legislation is passed without 
        effective representation of the interests of the people by the 
        elected Members of Congress, article I, section 7 of the 
        Constitution of the United States provides that only a bill 
        ``which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the 
        Senate,'' and not vetoed by the President, shall ``become a 
        law''.
            (6) According to section I of the Manual of Parliamentary 
        Practice for the Use of the Senate of the United States, 
        written by Thomas Jefferson in 1801 (referred to in this 
        section 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''.
            (7) 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, because ``every 
        member of the Senate had a printed copy [of the bill] in his 
        hand.''.
            (8) 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 receive 2 full readings by the Clerk 
        of the House of Representatives, and a reading of the whole 
        contents of the bill verbatim by the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives before the House of Representatives voted on 
        the bill.
            (9) Under the current rules of the Senate, 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 title of 
        the bill only, unless the Senate in any case shall otherwise 
        order.
            (10) Under the current rules of 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 
        of Representatives, 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 of Representatives have no printed or 
        other verbatim copy of the bill before passage.
            (11) 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.
            (12) As a direct consequence of the departure of the Senate 
        and the House of Representatives 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 people of the United States 
                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 people of the United States and 
                their elected Senators and Members 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 people of the 
                United States as a result of its failure to provide 
                adequate notice to the people before a vote is taken on 
                the bills and amendments thereto; 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 Senator 
                and each Member of the House of Representatives has, 
                prior to passage, either listened attentively to the 
                reading of the full text of each bill, and amendments 
                thereto, or has personally read the text thereof.
            (13) Federal law currently sets forth various requirements 
        relating to the form of bills and resolutions, and the 
        procedure for enacting 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) the requirement regarding the numbering of 
                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 bills 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 that does 
        not comply with paragraph (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 a bill or resolution 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 that does 
        not comply with paragraph (1) 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, unanimous consent, or any 
other order, resolution, vote, or other means, may dispense with, or 
otherwise waive or modify, the requirements under 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 that is intended to amend or modify 
        the effect of, or 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 current law that the bill or resolution proposes to 
                amend, verbatim;
                    ``(B) the amendments proposed in the bill or 
                resolution; and
                    ``(C) the 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 
                that would strike the text of an entire section of a 
                law.
            ``(2) Failure to comply.--Any bill or resolution that does 
        not comply with paragraph (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 under subsection (a)(1) 
        shall apply to any bill or resolution presented for 
        consideration on the floor of either House of Congress, 
        including a bill or resolution 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 that does 
        not comply with paragraph (1) 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, unanimous consent, or any 
other order, resolution, vote, or other means, may dispense with, or 
otherwise waive or modify, the requirements under this section.
``Sec. 105c. Procedures prior to vote on bill or resolution
    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) Requirements for vote.--A vote on final passage of a 
        bill (except for private bills) or a resolution may not occur 
        in either House of Congress, unless--
                    ``(A) 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 on 
                searchability, retrieval, downloading, and indexing, 
                separate and apart from the calendar of the Senate or 
                the House of Representatives;
                    ``(B) public notice of the specific calendar week 
                during which the vote is scheduled to take place is 
                posted on the official Internet websites described in 
                subparagraph (A) 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 under this 
                subparagraph; and
                    ``(C) except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
                Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary 
                of the Senate has read the full text of the bill or 
                resolution, verbatim, to the respective body of each 
                House of Congress, which have been called to order and 
                physically assembled with a constitutionally required 
                quorum to do business being present throughout the time 
                of the full reading of the text of the bill or 
                resolution.
            ``(2) If a bill or resolution is enrolled by either the 
        House of Representatives or the Senate, for any subsequent 
        consideration of the enrolled bill or resolution--
                    ``(A) it is not necessary for the full text of the 
                bill or resolution to be reread to the House of 
                Congress in which the bill or resolution passed; and
                    ``(B) the full text of any amendment to the text of 
                the enrolled bill or resolution shall be read, 
                verbatim, to each House of Congress.
    ``(b) Affidavit.--
            ``(1) In general.--Before voting in favor of final passage 
        of a bill (except a private bill) or resolution, each Senator 
        and each Member of the House of Representatives, except as 
        provided in paragraph (2), shall sign an affidavit executed 
        under penalty of perjury under section 1621 of title 18 
        attesting that the Senator or Member--
                    ``(A) was present throughout the entire reading of 
                each such bill or resolution, and listened attentively 
                to such reading in its entirety; or
                    ``(B) prior to voting for passage of such bill or 
                resolution, read attentively each such bill or 
                resolution in its entirety.
            ``(2) Vote against passage.--A Senator or a Member of the 
        House of Representatives shall not be required to sign an 
        affidavit described in paragraph (1) if the Senator or Member 
        voted against passage of the bill or resolution.
            ``(3) Records.--Copies of each affidavit described in 
        paragraph (1) signed by a Senator or a Member of the House of 
        Representatives shall be maintained by the Secretary of the 
        Senate or 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 satisfied.
    ``(d) No Waiver or Modification.--Neither House of Congress, nor 
Congress jointly, by concurrent resolution, unanimous consent, or 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 
section 105a, 105b, or 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 section 105a, 
105b, or 105c) may be brought by--
            ``(1) a person aggrieved by an action of an officer or 
        employee in the executive branch of the Federal Government 
        under an Act of Congress that did not comply with sections 
        105a, 105b, and 105c;
            ``(2) a Member of Congress aggrieved by the failure of the 
        House of Congress of which the Member is a Member to comply 
        with section 105a, 105b, or 105c; and
            ``(3) a person individually aggrieved by the failure of a 
        Senator for the State in which the aggrieved person resides or 
        by the failure of a Member of the House of Representatives for 
        the District in which the aggrieved person resides to fulfill 
        the obligations of the Senator or Member under section 105a, 
        105b, or 105c.''.

SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    The table of sections for chapter 2 of title 1, United States Code, 
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 105 the 
following:

``105a. Text of bill or resolution to specify its constitutional 
                            authority.
``105b. Text of bill or resolution to set forth current law.
``105c. Procedures prior to vote on bill or resolution.
``105d. Enforcement clause.''.

SEC. 6. 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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