Department of Justice Litigation Improvement Act
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
Department of Justice Litigation Improvement Act - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) submit a copy of any agreement with another agency which affects the litigation authority of the Department to the congressional judiciary committees 30 days before its effectiveness; (2) resolve all legal disputes between two or more agencies, absent other specific statutory authority; and (3) report to such committees at the beginning of each Congress on the status of litigation authority, coordinating efforts, and legislative proposals. Amends title V of the Ethics in Government Act (Post Employment Conflict of Interest) to extend the current criminal penalty to anyone who knowingly accepts employment with a business involving personal participation with respect to a Government grant or contract which such individual was involved with during the previous five years as a Government employee. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) submit to the congressional judiciary committees a systems development plan for the activation and coordination within the Department of compatible, comprehensive case management information and tracking systems for each judicial district; and (2) include in the authorization request a report on the status of cases referred to the Department by any Inspector General of an agency, until completion of such systems.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on September 23, 1980. 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 September 23, 1980: Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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?
MAX BAUCUS (D-MT) introduced it on September 23, 1980. 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 23, 1980, 16788 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16788 days ago, on September 23, 1980.
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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers