Single Issue Bills for Congress

Liberty
344

updated!

A BILL

To establish requirements for the drafting, consideration, and passage of legislation by Congress to enhance transparency, accountability, constitutional compliance, and public understanding, and for other purposes.

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 “Congressional Accountability and Streamlining Act.”

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) Findings.

Congress finds the following:

  1. Transparency and Accountability: Legislation often contains multiple unrelated subjects, excessive length, and complex language, hindering transparency and accountability.

  2. Informed Decision-Making: Members of Congress and the public should have sufficient time and ability to read and understand proposed legislation before votes are taken.

  3. Public Trust: Clear and accessible laws enhance public trust in the legislative process and ensure that laws serve the public interest.

  4. Equal Application of Laws: No citizen or group, including Members of Congress, should be exempt from adhering to the laws enacted.

  5. Constitutional Compliance: Ensuring all legislation aligns with the Constitution, its amendments, and the Bill of Rights is fundamental to upholding the rule of law.

(b) Purposes.

  1. Single-Subject Requirement: To mandate that all bills address only one subject to prevent the inclusion of unrelated provisions.

  2. Accessibility: To require that bills be written in plain language understandable to the average citizen.

  3. Adequate Review Time: To ensure sufficient time for Members of Congress and the public to review legislation before a vote.

  4. Accountability Measures: To include metrics for evaluating the success and effectiveness of enacted laws.

  5. Transparency in Naming: To require that the titles of bills accurately reflect their content.

  6. Participation Requirements: To require in-person attendance for voting and limit the number of bills voted on daily.

  7. Constitutionality Review: To ensure all proposed legislation is constitutionally sound before being presented for a vote.

  8. Legislative Reading and Accessibility: To require that bills be read aloud and made publicly accessible prior to voting.

  9. Clarity on Legal References: To define any references or contradictions to existing laws in common language, including their impact.

  10. Open Introduction of Legislation: To allow any in-good-standing Member of Congress to bring bills for a vote, preventing undue obstruction.

SEC. 3. SINGLE-SUBJECT REQUIREMENT.

(a) Single Subject per Bill.

  1. Limitation: Each bill or joint resolution shall embrace no more than one subject, and that subject shall be clearly expressed in the title.

  2. Prohibition of Riders: No bill shall contain any provision that is not germane to the single subject of the bill as expressed in the title.

(b) Enforcement Mechanism.

  1. Point of Order: Any Member of Congress may raise a point of order against a bill violating the single-subject rule, which shall be ruled upon by the presiding officer without debate.

  2. Severability of Provisions: If any provision is found not germane to the single subject, that provision shall be stricken from the bill before passage.

SEC. 4. PLAIN LANGUAGE AND LEGAL CLARITY REQUIREMENTS.

(a) Plain Writing Standard.

  1. Clarity and Simplicity: All bills shall be written in plain language, using clear and concise terms understandable to the general public.

  2. Elimination of Jargon: Technical terms and legal jargon shall be avoided where possible or clearly defined within the text.

(b) Summary Requirement.

  1. One-Page Summary: Each bill exceeding 20 pages shall include a one-page thorough summary outlining the key provisions, objectives, and potential impacts.

  2. Accessibility: The summary shall be made publicly available along with the full text of the bill.

(c) Clarity on Legal References.

  1. Common Language Definitions: Any inclusion, reference, or contradiction to existing bills or laws shall be defined in common language, including the impact on enforcement of prior legislation.

SEC. 5. CONSTITUTIONALITY REVIEW AND AUTHORITY.

(a) Constitutionality Review.

  1. Mandatory Review: All bills shall pass a constitutionality review prior to being presented for a vote, including review against the Constitution, constitutional amendments, and the Bill of Rights.

  2. Responsible Entity: A designated non-partisan body shall conduct the review and issue a report on the bill’s constitutionality.

(b) Statement of Constitutional Authority.

  1. Required Description: All bills shall include a section citing the specific constitutional authority under which they are allowed.

  2. Transparency: The statement of constitutional authority shall be made publicly available along with the full text of the bill.

SEC. 6. REVIEW PERIOD, READING REQUIREMENTS, AND VOTING PROCEDURES.

(a) Mandatory Review Period.

  1. Minimum Time for Review: No vote on a bill shall occur until a minimum of 72 hours after the final text has been made available to Members of Congress and the public.

(b) Reading Aloud Requirement.

  1. Full Reading: All bills must be read aloud in their entirety in a session of the chamber prior to a vote.

  2. Public Accessibility: The reading shall be streamed, recorded, broadcast, or otherwise made available to the public prior to the vote.

  3. Time Limitation: Any bill that exceeds a reading time of 16 hours (two contiguous business days) shall be removed from the floor and returned for revision and is ineligible for a vote.

(c) In-Person Voting Requirement.

  1. Presence for Quorum and Voting: Members of Congress must be physically present in the chamber to be counted for quorum purposes and to cast their votes on any bill or joint resolution.

(d) Daily Voting Limit.

  1. Maximum Number of Bills: No more than five bills or joint resolutions shall be scheduled for a final vote in either chamber on any given legislative day.

(e) Introduction of Legislation.

  1. Open Introduction: Bills or joint resolutions may be brought for a vote by any in-good-standing member of the chamber.

  2. Prohibition of Obstruction: No committee or individual shall block a bill that meets the requirements of this Act from being presented for a vote.

SEC. 7. METRICS FOR SUCCESS AND EFFECTIVENESS.

(a) Inclusion of Performance Measures.

  1. Required Metrics: Each bill shall include specific, measurable objectives and criteria for assessing its success and effectiveness.

  2. Reporting Requirements: The responsible agency or department shall submit annual reports to Congress evaluating the law’s outcomes based on the established metrics.

SEC. 8. ACCURATE TITLING OF BILLS.

(a) Truth in Legislation Naming.

  1. Reflective Titles: The title of each bill shall accurately and clearly reflect the content and purpose of the legislation.

  2. Prohibition of Misleading Titles: Titles designed to mislead or promote objectives not contained in the bill are prohibited.

(b) Oversight and Enforcement.

  1. Review by Committees: Relevant committees shall review bill titles for compliance with this section before reporting the bill.

  2. Point of Order: A point of order may be raised against any bill with a title that does not comply, subject to a ruling by the presiding officer.

SEC. 9. EQUAL APPLICATION OF LAWS.

(a) No Exemptions for Congress.

  1. Universal Applicability: All laws enacted by Congress shall apply equally to Members of Congress, their staff, and all citizens of the United States.

  2. Prohibition of Special Exemptions: No law shall include provisions that exempt any individual or group, including Members of Congress, from its application unless such exemption is constitutionally required.

SEC. 10. IMPLEMENTATION AND TRANSITION.

(a) Effective Date.

  1. Implementation: This Act shall take effect 60 days after the date of enactment.

(b) Transitional Provisions.

  1. Ongoing Legislation: Bills introduced before the effective date shall comply with the requirements of this Act if they are to be considered for passage thereafter.

SEC. 11. SEVERABILITY.

If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.

End of Bill

9 Likes
345

We need to make this happen ASAP like yesterday! I got my state congressman to bea sponsor, now we need everyone else to contact their representatives!
This is not a party matter, it’s a matter of common sense for greater good of the American People
Get it done, before they vote themselves a raise next session!
Don’t go bitch at the gas station cashier, your bartender, your banker, or your barber/beautician, pick up the phone and make an appointment to speak to your congressman either by phone or in-person if possible. Too many generations have stood back and done nothing, now its time we use common sense and make it happen, these are our rights!!

3 Likes
346

I’m in complete agreement with this. This needs to be coupled with the proposal for a Convention of States and it fits within that items call for a convention. Everyone who supports this should support that and tie these two together.

2 Likes
347

Our elected officials must be American citizens and value American policies. As we all see the “squad” and the likes with radical agendas and speech leading to public division by insighting riots, fighting amongst citizens; joining public rioters with hate speech, looting, burning the USA flag, smash n grab, unlawfulness, said radical idealist should be removed from their official office and banned from future agendas and leadership. These officials gaslighting others to commit crimes and getting free passes and bail to continue to commit crimes is treasonous and tyrrany. Period.

3 Likes
348

Great Idea. In addition. Regulatory Agency Power

Problem: Per the constitution ALL Regulatory Agencies should NOT have the power they have. That power should rest, per the constitution, with congress.

Solution: Go back to the constitution and make ALL Regulatory Agencies ADVISORY. They would do the same jobs but they would need to report to congress BEFORE they took any actions against Americans.

Yes this would slow things down in DC and yes that’s the point and is a VERY good thing.

9 Likes
349

This should be the requirement for states too. I know there are states’ rights which couldn’t force states to adopt such measures, but maybe base federal funding on it.

1 Like
350

#4 needs to be revised to reflect the supreme courts judgement on presidential immunity. Otherwise I agree :100::100::100::100:

1 Like
351

@applelamps - this is looking quite awesome :smiley:

Some other things that might be useful to consider, not sure where exactly they fit in, but have a look:

No Delegation Of Responsitility:

  • Bills are prohibited from delegating decision making regarding regulation, penalties (financial or legal), enforcement, or compliance standards to any non-elected division of government.

Sunsetting:

  • Bills/Laws that are funded through taxes (either specific or general) should have a 5-year sunset, and require re-authorization by a vote or are extinguished.

Source of Funding:

  • Bills/Laws that are funded through taxes have money allocated to the specific operation of the bill, and may not extract, borrow, reallocate, or slush money from other funds.

Request for Additional Funding:

  • If funding is found to be insufficient during the exercise of the bill, a revision of the bill’s funding shall be done using the same process as the review and approval of the bill (publishing time, public reading, in-person vote, etc.)
  • An accounting and justification for the revision must be provided as an addendum, including:
  1. An accounting of source of funds to-date
  2. An accounting of funds spent to-date
  3. An accounting of where and why additional funds are needed
  4. An audit of funds already received or spent under the bill
  5. An accounting of goals met / accomplished under the bill so far, or specific progress completed on goals under the bill
  6. An assessment of the opportunities for reducing operating costs under the bill or descoping activities defined within the bill
  7. A justification for where additional funds shall be sourced from.

And also consider how this might fit in - open to ideas on this one as I’m not sure I have all the implications right, but I think you’ll see where it’s going:

Revision of Pre-existing Bills/Laws

  • Any bill that modifies pre-existing law (passed prior to this act) shall replace the relevant section of the pre-existing law in its entirety and must be limited to a single issue.
  • If the section to be replaced contains more than a single issue, each issue must be submitted in a separate bill.
  • Such replacement bills must adhere to the length, reading, and voting requirements as provided in this bill.
  • Revision of pre-existing law must provide the same performance and financial assessments as required for requests for additional funding (per the section above.)

BTW, I’m appreciating the collaboration on this, happy to work with you on this excellent start!

6 Likes
352

This is a fantastic suggestion. I narrowed in on the bill expiration and renewal piece in my own proposal @PatriotAK and if not opposed would like to get your thoughts on the mechanism i’ve detailed for it to see if you’d like to include or discuss:

Basic principle of mine is all bills expire after 2 years by default, in order to pick up new HoR votes in renewal. If more than 2 years is needed for a bill,ive established a provision for a sliding supermajority vote requirement based on the extension of time, up to a max of 5 years.

I also detail that with this, and your proposal, we HAVE to push for the West Virginia vs EPA ruling to systematically invalidate EVERYTHING that hasnt been created, proposed and signed off solely by the Legislative branch.

2 Likes
353

I’m loving the no delegation of responsibility; that is another massively critical piece. We share opinions as well on the expiration time and renewal necessity of bills as well. Great suggestions all around.

2 Likes
354

West Virginia vs EPA has already paved the grounds for that decision. Someone just needs to push and it should all fall apart, in our favor.

2 Likes
355

I agree with this with one exception: single page bills takes it perhaps a step too far. There should definitely be a maximum allowed (say 20 pages), with one day per page given to review the bill from the time it is proposed until it is voted on. If changes are made to the wording, the time resets.

1 Like
356

This is good. The bill title should be the number bill of that years session only, no more names.

1 Like
357

If you’re liking this topic (one of the best on here so far I think), come have a look at one I put up and consider voting for it as well.
If we get the bills right (finally) as this would put us on track to do, we also need to get the members of both houses right as well. They need to do the job they were hired to do. Please come vote and add on to this with your excellent ideas:

3 Likes
358

One page for a bill seems prohibitive.

359

I kind of agree of the max pg limit maybe a little more than 1 pg, but for sure 5 pg max. I love your idea of the whole 5 days per pg before it can be brought up for a vote…that is brilliant. Nice job, Patriot!

1 Like
360

Amen! If there is a term limit for president, why not Congress? It’s ridiculous when you have a member of Congress vote on a bill and pass away the next day from an ongoing illness. I also think that Congress member should not be allowed to take money or other gifts/incentives from lobbyists or special interest groups once in office. They should receive their pay for the job they do, not become millionaires to the detriment of their constituents and our country.

2 Likes
361

Have loved this idea every since I heard Carl Higbe propose it! Every Congressional member should be present for a vote and the reading of the bill must be done prior to the vote!

1 Like
362

Absolutely not! I will look it up right away!

363

Main change I would make is that i don’t think you can describe the nuances of a proposal in one page. Maybe a 15-20 page limit. Too many times people can’t even read the bill entirely before its time to vote. Also, single issue bills will ensure that one side can’t say the other voted against it and it would have been the case because there was other stuff in it that they didn’t like. That leads to misleading the public on why someone voted against a bill. Single issue bills would completely eliminate that.

2 Likes