Earmark Transparency Act
Latest action. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 692.
Earmark Transparency Act - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Secretary of the Senate, the Senate Sergeant of Arms, and the Clerk of the House of Representatives to begin the development of a single free public searchable website that specifies certain identifying information relating to each request by Members of Congress for congressionally directed spending items or limited tax or tariff benefits (congressional earmarks).
Requires a request for a congressional earmark from a Member of Congress to be made available on the website within five days after its submission to a congressional committee.
Places on the requesting Member the burden of providing the required information in a timely manner and in compliance with this Act to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House. Places on the chair of each committee to which the request is made, however, the burden of providing: (1) the amount approved by the committee; (2) the amount approved in the final legislation (if approved); and (3) the name of the federal department or agency through which the entity will receive the funding. Allows transfer to the office of the Secretary of the Senate, to pay for costs associated with the website, of any unobligated or unspent funds remaining at the end of FY2010 or FY2011 from the Official Personnel and Office Expense Account of any Senator who agrees to the transfer.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on December 14, 2010. 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 14, 2010: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 692.
- 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 111th Congress (2009-10), 383 of the 10,778 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.6 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?
TOM COBURN (R-OK) introduced it on May 11, 2010, and 27 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 10 Democrats, 17 Republicans.
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 May 11, 2010, 5966 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5749 days ago, on December 14, 2010.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 111th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2011 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