The Read the Bills Act (RTBA) is proposed legislation intended to require the United States Congress to read the legislation that it passes. It was originally written in 2006[1] by Downsize DC, a non-profit organization focused on decreasing the size of the federal government. The proposed act is a response to the passing of bills that are thousands of pages long and are passed without copies being made available to the members of Congress who vote on the bill. The bill is aimed at limiting the size and growth of the federal government.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) stated his support for it in November 2010.[2] Paul went on to sponsor and propose the bill in the 112th congress as S.3360 on June 28, 2012.
Congress
Short title
Bill number(s)
Date introduced
Sponsor(s)
# of cosponsors
Latest status
112th Congress
Read the Bills Act
S. 3360
June 28, 2012
Rand Paul
(R-KY)
0
Died in committee
113th Congress
H.R. 1831
May 6, 2013
Kerry Bentivolio
(R-MI)
1
Died in committee
S. 1665
November 7, 2013
Rand Paul
(R-KY)
0
Died in committee
114th Congress
S. 1571
June 15, 2015
Rand Paul
(R-KY)
0
Died in committee
115th Congress
S. 3709
December 5, 2018
Rand Paul
(R-KY)
0
Died in committee
116th Congress
S. 3879
June 3, 2020
Rand Paul
(R-KY)
0
Died in committee
117th Congress
S. 103
January 28, 2021
Rand Paul
(R-KY)
0
Referred to committee
Similarly, a separate bill nicknamed the "Read the Bill Act" would require bills to be posted publicly 72 hours prior to consideration in Congress. Unlike the Downsize DC proposal, this bill is supported by ReadTheBill.org (part of the Sunlight Foundation) with the primary aim to increase transparency in government.[3] It was introduced in the U.S. House (by Brian Baird in 2006 H.Res. 688, 2007 H.Res. 504, and 2009 H.Res. 554) and Senate (by Jim Bunning in 2009 S.Res. 307, and by John Ensign in 2011 S.Res. 16). The Senate version differs in a few ways, including a requirement to have the Congressional Budget Office provide an evaluation of the proposed legislation.[4]
^"RTBA Full Text". Downsize DC. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
^"The Grand New—and Old—Party". Wall Street Journal. November 6, 2010.
^"Read The Bill: About Read The Bill". ReadTheBill.org. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
^"Read the Bill Act Stalled in Congress". OMB Watch. October 14, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
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