Responsible Legislating Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Health.
Responsible Legislating Act
This bill establishes or modifies various federal programs, including programs to increase participation in tax-exempt retirement plans, assist members of the Armed Forces, and increase penalties for human trafficking.
Among other provisions, the bill
extends through FY2024 livestock mandatory reporting requirements under the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999;
provides for apprenticeship training for members of the Armed Forces;
makes various changes to tax-exempt pension plan provisions, including expanding automatic enrollment, increasing the tax credit for retirement savings contributions, and increasing the age for mandatory minimum distributions;
establishes a Boots to Business Program to assist current and former members of the Armed Forces, including members of the National Guard and Reserves, interested in business ownership;
increases criminal penalties for human trafficking and coercion and enticement in school zones;
establishes the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture;
requires a report on increasing foreign direct investment in semiconductor-related manufacturing and production; and
directs the Federal Maritime Commission, through a federally-funded research and development center, to evaluate the effect of foreign ownership of marine terminals at the 15 largest U.S. container ports on U.S. economic security.
The bill appropriates funds in FY2024 for programs or divisions of the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, State, Defense, Homeland Security, and Energy.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on September 22, 2023. 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 17, 2024: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- 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 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 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?
JAMES MCGOVERN (D-MA) introduced it on September 22, 2023. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 22, 2023, 1084 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 632 days ago, on December 17, 2024.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 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