A bill to improve the oversight capabilities of the House of Representatives and the Senate and for other purposes.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Rules.
Provides that each standing legislative committee of either House of Congress, except the Appropriations and Rules Committees of the House of Representatives, and the Appropriations Committee of the Senate, shall maintain a separate staff for the purposes of assisting such committee in the analysis, appraisal, and evaluation of the application, administration, execution, and effectiveness of the laws enacted by the Congress. Requires that each program for which money is authorized to be appropriated for three years or more shall be reviewed annually by the legislative committee which had jurisdiction over the subject matter of such program, or by the General Accounting Office at the direction of such committee, and it shall be the duty of such committee to report as to the effectiveness of such program or project, and any recommendations. Provides that, at the beginning of the session of each odd numbered year, there shall be elected by each House a standing Committee on the Executive Office to oversee the functions of the White House and related executive office agencies, including the Office of Management and Budget. States that, on or before November 30 of each even-numbered year, each of the standing committees of the House shall submit to the Speaker and the minority leader a summary of its proposed oversight priorities for the succeeding Congress, from which the leadership shall present an oversight agenda which shall include a list of the program review priorities for each standing committee. Directs the General Accounting Office to establish procedures for categorization of constituent and other requests so that this information may be tabulated to permit an overall assessment regarding the pattern of problems that are affecting persons seeking the assistance of Members of Congress in the area of casework. Sets forth the effect of this Act on the House and Senate rulemaking powers.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 28, 1974. 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 bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 28, 1974: Referred to House Committee on Rules.
- 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.
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 93rd Congress (1973-74), 651 of the 23,396 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 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?
WAYNE OWENS (D-UT) introduced it on May 28, 1974. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 May 28, 1974, 19145 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 19145 days ago, on May 28, 1974.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 93rd Congress has not finished by January 3, 1975 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