Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2006
Latest action. Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Rules, Government Reform, Standards of Official Conduct, Armed Services, and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdictionA court's legal authority to hear a case: over the subject matter, the parties, and the territory.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) of the committee concerned.
Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2006 - Extends from one to two years the lobbying ban for former senior executive personnel, former Members of Congress, and legislative branch officers and employees.
Denies floor privileges to any former Members and House officers if he or she is a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal.
Requires public disclosure by Members of Congress and senior congressional staff of employment negotiations.
Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA) to revise requirements for lobbying disclosures reports.
Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to: (1) exclude gifts from lobbyists from the gift ban exceptions; and (2) prohibit privately funded travel by a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee.
Establishes the Office of Public Integrity within the Office of Inspector General of the House.
Amends the LDA to increase the penalty for failure to comply with lobbying disclosure requirements.
Requires certification that congressional travel meets certain conditions, subject to civil fines for false certifications.
Establishes mandatory annual ethics training for House employees.
Makes it out of order to consider any reconciliation legislation which has the net effect of reducing the surplus or increasing the deficit compared to the most recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate for any fiscal year.
Limits recorded electronic votes to 20 minutes, except in certain circumstances.
Makes requirements for earmarks in funding measures.
Makes it out of order to consider a resolution providing for adjournment sine die unless, during at least 20 weeks of the session, a quorum call or recorded vote was taken on at least four of the weekdays (excluding legal public holidays).
Makes it out of order, with certain exceptions, for the House to consider a bill or joint resolution until 24 hours, or in the case of legislation containing a district-oriented earmark or limited tax benefit, until three days after copies of such measure are available.
Makes a motion to request or agree to a conference on a general appropriation bill in order only if the House expresses its disagreements with the Senate in the form of numbered amendments.
The summary continues for 12 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 "Introduced in House" stage on February 1, 2006. 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 February 1, 2006: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Rules, Government Reform, Standards of Official Conduct, Armed Services, and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- 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 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 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?
NANCY PELOSI (D-CA) introduced it on February 1, 2006, and 162 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 161 Democrats, 1 independent.
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 February 1, 2006, 7527 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7527 days ago, on February 1, 2006.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 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