Intelligence Agents Protection Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Intelligence Agents Protection Act of 1979 - Establishes maximum criminal penalties of 20 years imprisonment and/or a $100,000 fine for anyone who knowingly and willingly discloses classified information identifying an individual engaged in foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activities for the United States Government. Establishes maximum criminal penalties of ten years imprisonment and/or a $50,000 fine for anyone who falsely asserts, publishes, or otherwise claims that an individual is engaged in such activities. Directs the Attorney General to seek injunctive relief in the United States district court whenever the head of a department or agency engaged in such activities determines a person is about to engage in such prohibited conduct. Prohibits the payment of a Federal service annuity, retired pay, or gratuitous veterans benefits to an individual, or his survivor or beneficiary, convicted of such offenses. Directs the Attorney General to notify the Director of Office of Personnel Management and the Administrator of the Veterans' Administration of the advent and disposition of such criminal proceedings.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 4, 1979. 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 June 4, 1979: Referred to House Committee on Veterans' 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.
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?
ELDON RUDD (R-AZ) introduced it on June 4, 1979, and 40 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 16 Democrats, 24 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 June 4, 1979, 17313 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17313 days ago, on June 4, 1979.
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