Read the Bills Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Read the Bills Act
This bill establishes requirements relating to the introduction and consideration of any bill or resolution in either chamber of Congress.
Specifically, the bill requires any measure introduced in either chamber to contain a provision citing the specific powers granted to Congress in the Constitution to enact the proposed measure, including all of its provisions. Further, the text must also set forth the current law such measure is amending and the proposed modifications to the law.
Additionally, a vote on final passage of a measure (except private bills) may not occur in either chamber unless (1) the full text of the measure is published on an official website of each chamber at least seven days before the vote, (2) public notice of the specific calendar week during which the vote is scheduled to take place is posted on the respective website at least six days before the Monday of such week, and (3) there is a reading of its full text verbatim by the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate to the respective chamber.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on February 9, 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 February 9, 2023: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
- 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 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?
Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced it on February 9, 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 February 9, 2023, 1309 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1309 days ago, on February 9, 2023.
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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers