Equal Access to Information Act of 2020
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Equal Access to Information Act of 2020
This bill requires federal agencies to take specified steps to ensure that individuals with limited English proficiency and people with disabilities can access the services, activities, programs, and benefits of those agencies, particularly during national or public health emergencies or under other specified circumstances.
Specifically, each federal agency shall, within specified timeframes
conduct demographic assessments of individuals with limited English proficiency and individuals with disabilities who are eligible to be served or likely to be encountered by that agency,
establish within the agency a Language Access Working Group,
prepare and submit to the Department of Justice (DOJ) an access plan for federally conducted programs and activities, and
issue guidance for recipients of federal financial assistance under the agency's jurisdiction.
DOJ shall review (1) each plan submitted within 120 days after receipt of the plan, and (2) the most recently submitted plan from each relevant agency not later than 7 days after an emergency has been declared.
Agencies shall ensure stakeholder input to ensure meaningful access.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on August 6, 2020. 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 August 6, 2020: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- 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 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 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 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?
Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced it on August 6, 2020, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 5 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 August 6, 2020, 2226 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2226 days ago, on August 6, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 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