Transparency in Government Act of 2021
Latest action · Oct 19, 2021 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 18, 2021
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Transparency in Government Act of 2021
This bill establishes and otherwise modifies several reporting, disclosure, and other requirements across all branches of government to expand public access to information.
For example, with respect to the legislative branch, the bill- establishes additional financial disclosure requirements for Members of Congress,
- requires congressional committees to post certain materials (e.g., schedules and transcripts) within specified time frames, and
- provides for the creation of a centralized online database of congressionally mandated reports.
Additionally, with respect to the executive branch, the bill
- requires agencies to publicly disclose additional information relating to sponsored advertisements, budget requests, and grant recipients;
- requires certain legal advisory opinions and rulemaking materials to be published within specified time frames; and
- provides for the appointment of a special counsel to prosecute individuals in the executive branch for contempt of Congress.
Finally, with respect to the judicial branch, the bill
- requires the Supreme Court to allow proceedings that are conducted in open court to be televised,
- requires certain financial disclosure statements of judicial officers to be posted within specified time frames, and
- requires certain electronic filing systems to be consolidated and meet certain data standards (e.g., search functions).
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Mar 18, 2021.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Mar 18, 2021 |
Committees 7
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Oversight and Government Reform Committee | Referred Mar 18, 2021 |
| House | Committee on House Administration | Referred Mar 18, 2021 |
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Mar 18, 2021 |
| Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee | Referred Oct 19, 2021 | |
| House | Ethics Committee | Referred Mar 18, 2021 |
| House | Financial Services Committee | Referred Mar 18, 2021 |
| House | Budget Committee | Referred Mar 18, 2021 |
| House | Rules Committee | Referred Mar 18, 2021 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 19, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
- Mar 18, 2021Introduced in House
- Mar 18, 2021Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, the Judiciary, Ethics, Financial Services, the Budget, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 51, March 18, 2021, page H1584.
Printed hearings 3
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | FINANCIAL SERVICES AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 202328 pages | Appropriations Committee | Jun 14, 2022 |
| S. Hrg. 117-810 | FINANCIAL SERVICES AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023103 pages | Appropriations Committee | May 3, 2022–Jun 14, 2022 |
| S. Hrg. 117-762 | NOMINATIONS OF ROBERT MICHAEL GORDON, JANUARY CONTRERAS, AND REBECCA E. JONES GASTON118 pages | Finance Committee | Feb 9, 2022 |
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| TE10072 | Enhancing the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 | Testimony | Apr 8, 2022 |
Related bills 8
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 22 | Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act of 2021 | Related bill | Jan 6, 2021 |
| S 272 | Congressional Budget Justification Transparency Act of 2021 | Related bill | Sep 24, 2021 |
| S 807 | Cameras in the Courtroom Act | Related bill | Jun 24, 2021 |
| HR 2485 | Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act | Related bill | Jul 27, 2021 |
| S 2838 | Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act | Related bill | May 5, 2022 |
Titles 6
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, the Financial Stability Act of 2010, and the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 to improve access to information in the legislative and executive branches of the Government, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Transparency in Government Act of 2021
- Short Title(s) as Introduced for portions of this bill
- Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act
- Lobbyist Disclosure Enhancement Act
- See UNdisclosed Legal Interpretations and Get Honest Transparency Act of 2021
- SUNLIGHT Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Congress.
- Accounting and auditing
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Appropriations
- Banking and financial institutions regulation
- Budget process
- Civil actions and liability
- Congress
- Congressional agencies
- Congressional committees
- Congressional officers and employees
- Congressional operations and organization
- Congressional oversight
- Congressional Research Service (CRS)
- Congressional-executive branch relations
- Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
- Criminal justice information and records
- Debt collection
- Department of Justice
- Department of the Treasury
- Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
- Executive Office of the President
- Federal officials
- Financial crises and stabilization
- Financial Stability Oversight Council
- Freedom of information
- Government buildings, facilities, and property
- Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- House of Representatives
- Internet and video services
- Internet, web applications, social media
- Judicial procedure and administration
- Judicial review and appeals
- Law enforcement officers
- Lawyers and legal services
- Legislative rules and procedure
- Library of Congress
- Licensing and registrations
- Marketing and advertising
- Members of Congress
- Performance measurement
- Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
- Public contracts and procurement
- Public participation and lobbying
- Senate
- Sound recording
- Supreme Court
- Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
- Television and film
- Transportation costs
- U.S. Capitol
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 18, 2021Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
