Clean Up Government Act of 2011
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 499.
Clean Up Government Act of 2011 - Amends the federal criminal code to revise and expand prohibitions against bribery, theft of public money, and other public corruption offenses.
(Sec. 2) Modifies general venue rules for criminal prosecutions to allow prosecutions in any district in which an act in furtherance of an offense is committed.
(Sec. 3) Increases the maximum term of imprisonment for theft or bribery involving federally assisted programs from 10 to 20 years. Reduces from $5,000 to $1,000 the threshold amount for bribery offenses.
(Sec. 4) Increases the maximum term of imprisonment for theft and embezzlement of public property or records from 10 to 15 years.
(Sec. 5) Increases the maximum term of imprisonment for: (1) bribery of public officials and witnesses from 15 to 20 years, and (2) seeking or accepting anything of value personally for testimony as a witness or for such witness's absence from 2 to 5 years.
Modifies elements relating to the crime of bribery of public officials and witnesses to prohibit public officials from accepting any thing or things of value, other than what is permitted by rule or regulation of the House of Representatives or the Senate, including those rules and regulations governing the acceptance of campaign contributions.
.Modifies the crime of illegal gratuities to require: (1) knowledge that a gratuity is being received by or given to a public official because of his or her position or status, and (2) that such gratuity has a value of not less than $1,000.
(Sec. 6) Extends the prohibition against the theft or embezzlement of public property or records to property or records of the District of Columbia.
(Sec. 7) Expands the crime of illegal gratuities to include gratuities given to a public official because of such official's position.
(Sec. 8) Expands the definition of "official act," for purposes of the prohibition against bribery, to include conduct that falls within the range of official duties of the public official, which may be more than a single act or a course of conduct.
The summary continues for 9 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House with amendment(s)" stage on September 21, 2012. 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 September 21, 2012: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 499.
- 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 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 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?
F. SENSENBRENNER (R-WI) introduced it on July 15, 2011, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Democrats.
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 July 15, 2011, 5536 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5102 days ago, on September 21, 2012.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 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