Summary
# Read the Bills Act – Plain English Translation
## WHAT THIS BILL DOES
This bill requires Congress to publish the full text of bills online at least 7 days before voting and to read bills aloud to members before passage. Each bill must include a statement explaining which powers in the Constitution allow Congress to pass it. Members must sign a statement confirming they either listened to the entire reading or read the bill themselves before voting.
## WHO IT AFFECTS
Members of Congress (Senators and House Representatives), the Clerk of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of the Senate, the public, and anyone harmed by laws passed without following these requirements.
## KEY PROVISIONS
* Congress must include in every bill a statement citing the specific constitutional powers that allow Congress to pass that bill, including all its parts (Sec. 4, § 105a)
* Any bill that changes existing law must show the current law word-for-word, the changes being made, and how the law would read after the changes, unless the bill removes an entire section completely (Sec. 4, § 105b)
* Before voting on final passage, the full text of a bill must be published on the House or Senate website at least 7 days before the vote in a format the public can easily search and download (Sec. 4, § 105c)
* The Clerk or Secretary must read the entire bill aloud word-for-word to members with a required quorum (minimum number needed to conduct business) present throughout the reading (Sec. 4, § 105c)
* Each Senator and House member voting for a bill must sign a sworn statement confirming they either listened to the entire reading or read the bill completely before voting (Sec. 4, § 105c)
* If a law is passed without following these requirements, it has no legal effect and cannot be enforced (Sec. 4, § 105d)
## WHAT CHANGES
Laws passed without meeting these requirements cannot be enforced in court. People harmed by actions taken under such laws can sue the federal government for relief. Members of Congress can also sue if their chamber does not follow these rules. The Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate must reject any bill that lacks the required constitutional statement or fails to show current law being changed.
## IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS
**Quorum:** The minimum number of members who must be physically present for Congress to conduct official business (not defined in bill but referenced).
**Private bills:** Bills that affect specific individuals rather than the general public (mentioned but not formally defined).
**Enrolled bill:** A bill that has been passed by both chambers of Congress and is ready for the President (referenced but not formally defined).
## EFFECTIVE DATE
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 328
To preserve the constitutional authority of Congress and ensure accountability
and transparency in legislation.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 9, 2023
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 Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Read the Bills Act’’.
4
SEC. 2. CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT.
5
(a) IN GENERAL.—This Act is enacted pursuant to
6
the power conferred by the Constitution of the United
7
States upon each House of Congress by—
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•S 328 IS
(1) article I, section 5, clauses 2 and 3 to deter-
1
mine the rules and keep a journal of its proceedings,
2
respectively;
3
(2) article I, section 7, clause 2 to ensure that
4
bills that become law have been actually passed by,
5
not just passed through, each House of Congress;
6
and
7
(3) article I, section 8, clause 18, which author-
8
izes Congress to make all laws that are necessary
9
and proper for carrying into execution the rules of
10
each House of Congress.
11
(b) STANDING PROVISION.—The provision of this Act
12
under which any person who is aggrieved by the enforce-
13
ment of any law enacted either in violation of the rules
14
of proceedings of either House of Congress, or by the sus-
15
pension of the rules, as prescribed herein, shall have
16
standing in a court of law, is enacted pursuant to article
17
III, section 2 of the Constitution of the United States.
18
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
19
Congress finds the following:
20
(1) The Constitution of the United States vests
21
all legislative powers granted therein in Congress.
22
(2) Each Member of Congress is elected by the
23
people to whom the Member is accountable, and
24
Members must represent the people of their respec-
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•S 328 IS
tive State or District in exercising their legislative
1
powers.
2
(3) Establishing a Government of enumerated
3
powers, article I, section 1 of the Constitution of the
4
United States obliges Congress to exercise only those
5
legislative powers provided for in the Constitution of
6
the United States, and article VI of the Constitution
7
of the United States requires that each Member of
8
Congress be bound by oath or affirmation to support
9
the Constitution of the United States by enacting
10
only those laws, and making only those resolutions,
11
that are pursuant to the Constitution of the United
12
States and not prohibited thereby.
13
(4) To ensure that Congress is politically and
14
legally accountable to the people, article I, section 5
15
of the Constitution of the United States requires
16
each House of Congress to keep a journal of its pro-
17
ceedings and from time to time publish the same.
18
(5) To ensure that no legislation is passed with-
19
out effective representation of the interests of the
20
people by the elected Members of Congress, article
21
I, section 7 of the Constitution of the United States
22
provides that only a bill ‘‘which shall have passed
23
the House of Representatives and the Senate,’’ and
24
not vetoed by the President, shall ‘‘become a law’’.
25
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•S 328 IS
(6) According to section I of the Manual of
1
Parliamentary Practice for the Use of the Senate of
2
the United States, written by Thomas Jefferson in
3
1801 (referred to in this section as ‘‘Jefferson’s
4
Manual’’), ‘‘nothing tended more to throw power
5
into the hands of administration and those who
6
acted with the majority . . . than a neglect of, or
7
departure from, the rules of proceeding [which] op-
8
erated as a check and control of the actions of the
9
majority [and] a shelter and protection to the minor-
10
ity’’.
11
(7) According to sections XXII and XL of Jef-
12
ferson’s Manual, it was the rule of the Senate that
13
every bill receive 3 readings, 2 full readings by the
14
Clerk of the Senate, and a third reading of the title
15
of the bill only, because ‘‘every Member of the Sen-
16
ate had a printed copy [of the bill] in his hand.’’.
17
(8) According to sections XXIV, XXV, and XL
18
of Jefferson’s Manual, it was the rule of the House
19
of Representatives, following the parliamentary pro-
20
cedure of the English House of Commons, that every
21
bill receive 2 full readings by the Clerk of the House
22
of Representatives, and a reading of the whole con-
23
tents of the bill verbatim by the Speaker of the
24
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•S 328 IS
House of Representatives before the House of Rep-
1
resentatives voted on the bill.
2
(9) Under the current rules of the Senate, the
3
Senate has departed from its original practice of a
4
full first and second reading of each bill, and of en-
5
suring that each Senator has a printed or other ver-
6
batim copy of each bill before passage thereof, hav-
7
ing by rule XIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate
8
limited each reading of a bill to the reading of the
9
title of the bill only, unless the Senate in any case
10
shall otherwise order.
11
(10) Under the current rules of the House of
12
Representatives, the House of Representatives has
13
by rule XVI (8) and rule XVIII (5) embraced its
14
original practice of full first and second readings of
15
each bill, but has regularly departed from this prac-
16
tice by unanimous consent of the House of Rep-
17
resentatives, and has dispensed altogether its origi-
18
nal practice of a verbatim third reading of each bill
19
before passage, limiting such third reading to the
20
reading of the title only, including the reading of the
21
title only even when Members of the House of Rep-
22
resentatives have no printed or other verbatim copy
23
of the bill before passage.
24
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•S 328 IS
(11) Although section 106 of title 1, United
1
States Code, requires a bill to be made available in
2
written form to each Member of Congress before
3
final passage, Congress has by statute conferred
4
upon itself the power, during the last 6 days of a
5
session of Congress, by concurrent resolution, to
6
vote for passage of a bill that is not in written form
7
at the time of final passage.
8
(12) As a direct consequence of the departure
9
of the Senate and the House of Representatives
10
from the salutary practice of full, verbatim readings
11
of each bill before final passage, and further, as a
12
direct consequence of Congress, by concurrent reso-
13
lution and otherwise, having permitted certain ap-
14
propriation, budget, and regulatory bills to be en-
15
acted into law without such bills being printed and
16
presented to Congress in written form prior to final
17
passage, Congress has—
18
(A) imposed upon the people of the United
19
States excessively long bills, largely written by
20
an unelected bureaucracy, resulting in generally
21
incomprehensible, cumbersome, oppressive, and
22
burdensome laws, containing hidden provisions
23
for special interests;
24
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•S 328 IS
(B) deprived the people of the United
1
States and their elected Senators and Members
2
of a full and fair opportunity to examine the
3
text of bills, and all amendments thereto, prior
4
to passage;
5
(C) undermined the confidence of the peo-
6
ple of the United States as a result of its fail-
7
ure to provide adequate notice to the people be-
8
fore a vote is taken on the bills and amend-
9
ments thereto; and
10
(D) called into question the integrity and
11
reliability of the legislative processes in both
12
Houses of Congress by its failure to ensure that
13
each Senator and each Member of the House of
14
Representatives has, prior to passage, either lis-
15
tened attentively to the reading of the full text
16
of each bill, and amendments thereto, or has
17
personally read the text thereof.
18
(13) Federal law currently sets forth various re-
19
quirements relating to the form of bills and resolu-
20
tions, and the procedure for enacting laws, includ-
21
ing—
22
(A) the form of the enacting clause of all
23
Acts of Congress (section 101 of title 1, United
24
States Code);
25
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(B) the form of the resolving clause of all
1
joint resolutions (section 102 of title 1, United
2
States Code);
3
(C) a limitation on the use of enacting or
4
resolving words (section 103 of title 1, United
5
States Code);
6
(D) the requirement regarding the num-
7
bering of sections and the requirement that
8
each contain a single proposition (section 104
9
of title 1, United States Code);
10
(E) the style and title for all bills making
11
appropriations (section 105 of title 1, United
12
States Code); and
13
(F) the process by which each bill or joint
14
resolution is handled after passage (section 106
15
of title 1, United States Code).
16
SEC. 4. TEXT OF BILL OR RESOLUTION TO SPECIFY ITS
17
CONSTITUTIONAL
AUTHORITY,
CURRENT
18
LAW.
19
Chapter 2 of title 1, United States Code, is amended
20
by inserting after section 105 the following:
21
‘‘§ 105a. Text of bill or resolution to specify its con-
22
stitutional authority
23
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—
24
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•S 328 IS
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any bill or resolution intro-
1
duced in either House of Congress shall contain a
2
provision citing the specific powers granted to Con-
3
gress in the Constitution of the United States to
4
enact the proposed bill or resolution, including all
5
the provisions thereof.
6
‘‘(2) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—Any bill or resolu-
7
tion that does not comply with paragraph (1) shall
8
not be accepted by the Clerk of the House of Rep-
9
resentatives or the Secretary of the Senate.
10
‘‘(b) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.—
11
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of sub-
12
section (a)(1) shall apply to any bill or resolution
13
presented for consideration on the floor of either
14
House of Congress, including a bill or resolution re-
15
ported from a committee of either House of Con-
16
gress, produced by conference between the 2 Houses
17
of Congress, or offered as a manager’s amendment.
18
‘‘(2) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—Any bill or resolu-
19
tion that does not comply with paragraph (1) shall
20
not be submitted for a vote on final passage.
21
‘‘(c) NO WAIVER OR MODIFICATION.—Neither House
22
of Congress, nor Congress jointly, by concurrent resolu-
23
tion, unanimous consent, or any other order, resolution,
24
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•S 328 IS
vote, or other means, may dispense with, or otherwise
1
waive or modify, the requirements under this section.
2
‘‘§ 105b. Text of bill or resolution to set forth current
3
law
4
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—
5
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any bill or resolution intro-
6
duced in either House of Congress that is intended
7
to amend or modify the effect of, or would have the
8
effect of amending or modifying the effect of, any
9
current provision of law, including the expiration
10
date of any law, shall set forth—
11
‘‘(A) the current version of the entire sec-
12
tion of the current law that the bill or resolu-
13
tion proposes to amend, verbatim;
14
‘‘(B) the amendments proposed in the bill
15
or resolution; and
16
‘‘(C) the section of law as it would read as
17
modified by the amendments proposed, except
18
that this subparagraph shall not apply to any
19
bill or resolution that would strike the text of
20
an entire section of a law.
21
‘‘(2) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—Any bill or resolu-
22
tion that does not comply with paragraph (1) shall
23
not be accepted by the Clerk of the House of Rep-
24
resentatives or the Secretary of the Senate.
25
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•S 328 IS
‘‘(b) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.—
1
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The requirements under
2
subsection (a)(1) shall apply to any bill or resolution
3
presented for consideration on the floor of either
4
House of Congress, including a bill or resolution re-
5
ported from a committee of either House of Con-
6
gress, produced by conference between the 2 Houses
7
of Congress, or offered as a manager’s amendment.
8
‘‘(2) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—Any bill or resolu-
9
tion that does not comply with paragraph (1) shall
10
not be submitted to a vote on final passage.
11
‘‘(c) NO WAIVER OR MODIFICATION.—Neither House
12
of Congress, nor Congress jointly, by concurrent resolu-
13
tion, unanimous consent, or any other order, resolution,
14
vote, or other means, may dispense with, or otherwise
15
waive or modify, the requirements under this section.
16
‘‘§ 105c. Procedures prior to vote on bill or resolution
17
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—
18
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
VOTE.—A vote on
19
final passage of a bill (except for private bills) or a
20
resolution may not occur in either House of Con-
21
gress, unless—
22
‘‘(A) the full text of the bill or resolution
23
is published at least 7 days before the vote on
24
an official internet website of each House of
25
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•S 328 IS
Congress, easily available to and readily usable
1
by the public, using an open format that is
2
platform independent, machine readable, and
3
available without restrictions on searchability,
4
retrieval, downloading, and indexing, separate
5
and apart from the calendar of the Senate or
6
the House of Representatives;
7
‘‘(B) public notice of the specific calendar
8
week during w
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]