Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to increase openness and transparency in the annual appropriations process as it relates to earmarks.

Bill: 111-hres-1221
Sponsor: Rep. Chaffetz, Jason [R-UT-3]
Introduced: 2010-03-25 in the House
Policy area: Congress
Subjects: Appropriations
Constitution and constitutional amendments
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government information and archives
House of Representatives
Income tax credits
Income tax deductions
Income tax exclusion
Legislative rules and procedure
Members of Congress
Tariffs

Summary:
action_date: 2010-03-25
text: 
 Amends Rule XXI (Restrictions on Certain Bills) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to make it out of order to consider in the House any legislation (or any accompanying report or joint explanatory statement) that contains a congressional earmark for an organization other than a non-profit tax-exempt organization or a governmental entity. (Thus prohibits earmarks to for-profit entities.)
 
Makes it out of order to consider in the House any conference report (not just, as currently, a conference report accompanying a regular general appropriation bill) if it (or the accompanying joint explanatory statement) contains any congressional earmark or limited tax or tariff benefit that was not committed to the conference committee by either chamber, or in a committee report of either chamber, on such measure or on a companion measure.
 
Amends Rule XXIII (Code of Official Conduct) to require a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner (Member) requesting a congressional earmark in any legislation (or an accompanying report) or any conference report (or accompanying joint explanatory statement) to provide, in the required written statement to the chair and ranking minority member of the committee of jurisdiction, the federal nexus or specific power granted to Congress in the Constitution to enact such earmark and the previous authorization by law that supports it (federal nexus).
 
Amends Rule XXI to make it out of order to consider in the House any legislation, amendment, or conference report unless any accompanying report or joint explanatory statement containing any congressional earmark sets forth for each congressional earmark the same federal nexus.
 
Makes it out of order in the House to consider any general appropriation bill or any other measure making or continuing appropriations (or an amendment or conference report) if it includes any congressional earmark requested by any member of the Committee on Appropriations or inserted at the behest of the chair of that committee or of any of its subcommittees.
 
Amends Rule XXIII to require each Member to maintain an official website and include on it a comprehensive, sortable, and searchable database comprising all congressional earmark requests for the current fiscal year and for the budget year, including for each such request: (1) the name and address of any recipient; (2) the purpose of the earmark; and (3) the federal nexus and the amount requested.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2010-03-25
text: Referred to House Standards of Official Conduct
action_date: 2010-03-25
text: Referred to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, 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.
action_date: 2010-03-25
text: Referred to House Rules
action_date: 2010-03-25
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2010-03-25
text: Introduced in House