Protecting Our Democracy Act
Latest action. Received in the Senate.
Protecting Our Democracy Act
This bill addresses issues involving (1) abuses of presidential power; (2) checks and balances, accountability, and transparency; and (3) election integrity and security.
Specifically, regarding abuses of presidential power, the bill
requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the President to submit to Congress specified materials relating to certain pardons,
prohibits presidential self-pardons,
suspends the statute of limitations for federal offenses committed by a sitting President or Vice President,
prohibits the acceptance of foreign or domestic emoluments, and
sets forth provisions regarding Office of Government Ethics and Office of Special Counsel jurisdiction and enforcement authority.
To address checks and balances, accountability, and transparency, the bill
authorizes specified actions to enforce congressional subpoenas,
imposes limits on presidential declarations of emergencies,
requires DOJ to maintain a log of specified communications between it and the White House,
requires cause for removal of inspectors general,
increases whistleblower protections, and
requires a candidate for President or Vice President to provide copies of tax returns for the 10 most recent taxable years to the Federal Election Commission.
To address election integrity and security, the bill
requires federal campaign reporting of foreign contacts,
makes various changes to requirements concerning foreign donations to political campaigns and candidates and foreign contributions to online electioneering communications,
prohibits distribution of materially deceptive audio or visual media prior to an election (i.e., deepfakes), and
establishes a program to support states and localities transition to ranked choice voting systems.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Passed House" stage on December 9, 2021. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Received in the Senate.
Civibrief does not map this action to a stage in the process. See the official record.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
The latest action on file does not map to a stage Civibrief recognizes, so the page will not name one. The record's own words are the reliable fact here.
The record's latest action, on December 13, 2021: Received in the Senate.
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 117th Congress (2021-22), 362 of the 15,242 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one has no outstanding steps 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?
ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA) introduced it on September 21, 2021, and 168 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 168 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 September 21, 2021, 1815 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1732 days ago, on December 13, 2021.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 117th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2023 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
- HouseReceived in the Senate.
- SenateNot stated in the latest action
- PresidentNot stated in the latest action