A joint resolution directing the President to take certain actions with respect to the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Directs the President, 60 days after the end of the meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe held in Madrid, to: (1) declare that the United States will no longer be bound by the terms of the Final Act; and (2) urge friendly countries to make similar declarations, unless the President certifies that the Soviet Union has made substantial progress toward compliance with and implementation of the principles set forth in the Final Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on December 1, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this joint resolution could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 1, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
What is a joint resolution, exactly?
A joint resolution travels the same road as a bill: both chambers pass it and the President signs it, and it then has the same force as any other law. The label is largely a matter of custom, often used for narrow or time-limited measures.
One exception matters. A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution is not sent to the President at all. It goes to the states, and three quarters of them have to ratify it.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JOHN PORTER (R-IL) introduced it on December 1, 1980, and 11 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 6 Democrats, 5 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 1, 1980, 16766 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16766 days ago, on December 1, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers