Congressional Blind Trust Act of 2011
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Congressional Blind Trust Act of 2011 - Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require each Member of Congress to place all of his or her stocks, bonds, commodities futures, and other forms of securities, including securities held jointly with a spouse, in a qualified blind trust.
Exempts from such requirement any financial interests in or income derived from: (1) the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS), including the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP); (2) any other federal retirement system for U.S. officers and employees, including the President, or for members of the uniformed services; or (3) benefits received under the Social Security Act.
Requires new Members to comply with this Act within 30 days after taking office, and incumbent Members within 30 days after enactment of this Act. Allows a Member to file, as appropriate, with the Clerk of the House of Representative or the Secretary of the Senate for an additional 30-day extension in order to comply.
Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action against any Member of Congress for noncompliance.
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 2, 2011. 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 December 2, 2011: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
- 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?
SPENCER BACHUS (R-AL) introduced it on December 2, 2011, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 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 2, 2011, 5396 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5396 days ago, on December 2, 2011.
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