Responsible Legislating Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry.
Responsible Legislating Act
This bill establishes or modifies various federal programs and requirements, including those related to retirement accounts, penalties for certain sex offenses, foreign investment and ownership, and appropriations.
The bill makes changes to retirement account contributions and distributions, including increasing the maximum amount that may be contributed to a Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to include certain contributions to a Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE IRA) or Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan, subject to limitations.
The bill establishes an enhanced penalty—an additional prison term of up to five years—for certain interstate human trafficking offenses or coercion of sexual activity that occurs in a school zone or related area.
The Department of Commerce must report on efforts to increase foreign direct investment in semiconductor-related manufacturing and production. The Federal Maritime Commission must evaluate the effect of foreign ownership of marine terminals at the 15 largest U.S. container ports on U.S. economic security.
The bill provides additional appropriations for the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, State, Defense, Homeland Security, and Energy.
The bill extends mandatory livestock market reporting requirements through FY2025.
The bill revises the required frequency of meetings held by a credit union's board of directors by decreasing the frequency for existing credit unions with satisfactory soundness ratings.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) enhanced-use leasing authority is reauthorized through 2033.
The bill requires hearings on the bill's implementation within one year of the date of enactment.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on January 3, 2025. 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 March 14, 2025: Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry.
- 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 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 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?
James McGovern (D-MA) introduced it on January 3, 2025. 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 January 3, 2025, 615 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 545 days ago, on March 14, 2025.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 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