PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jan 3, 2025
Citizen Legislature Anti-Corruption Reform of Congress Act or the CLEAN Congress Act
This bill (1) requires bills, orders, resolutions, or votes submitted by Congress to the President to include only one subject that is clearly and descriptively expressed in the measure's title; and (2) makes ineffective any provision of law that excludes its application to a Member of Congress or to an employee in a Member's office.
People & committees
Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] · R–PA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Feb 10, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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Analyze H.R.157 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-01-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This proposal would require measures Congress sends to the President to cover only one subject and describe it clearly in the title. It would also remove legal exceptions for members of Congress and their office employees, while preserving provisions that let them perform official duties directly tied to lawmaking. These are proposed changes, not evidence of enacted law.
Each bill, order, resolution, or vote submitted by Congress to the President under section 7 of article I of the Constitution of the United States shall embrace no more than one subject, and that subject shall be clearly and descriptively expressed in the title of the bill, order, resolution or vote.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any provision of law that provides an exception in its application to a Member of Congress or an employee of the office of a Member of Congress shall have no effect.
Subsection (a) shall not be construed to apply to provisions of law or rules which permit Members of Congress or employees of offices of Members of Congress to carry out official duties that are tied directly to lawmaking
Source snapshot updated 2025-02-10T19:41:39Z. 2025-01-03: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. 2025-01-03: Introduced in House
Section 2 would limit each bill, order, resolution, or vote submitted by Congress to the President under Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution to one subject. Its title would have to describe that subject clearly.
Each bill, order, resolution, or vote submitted by Congress to the President under section 7 of article I of the Constitution of the United States shall embrace no more than one subject, and that subject shall be clearly and descriptively expressed in the title of the bill, order, resolution or vote.
The proposed one-subject requirement would apply to the 119th Congress and every Congress after it.
Subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress and each succeeding Congress.
Section 3 would make legal provisions granting exceptions to members of Congress or employees of their offices ineffective, subject to the official-duty protection described below. It would apply despite conflicting provisions elsewhere in law.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any provision of law that provides an exception in its application to a Member of Congress or an employee of the office of a Member of Congress shall have no effect.
Subsection (a) shall not be construed to apply to provisions of law or rules which permit Members of Congress or employees of offices of Members of Congress to carry out official duties that are tied directly to lawmaking
The proposal would preserve laws and rules allowing members and their office employees to perform official duties directly tied to lawmaking. This includes permission to enter and use the Capitol, its grounds, and other buildings and facilities.
Subsection (a) shall not be construed to apply to provisions of law or rules which permit Members of Congress or employees of offices of Members of Congress to carry out official duties that are tied directly to lawmaking, including provisions or rules permitting Members and employees to enter and use the United States Capitol, the United States Capitol grounds, and other buildings and facilities.
For Section 3, members of Congress would include Senators, Representatives, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner.
In this section, the term Member of Congress means a Senator or a Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated February 10, 2025, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Judiciary Committee on January 3, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2025-02-10T19:41:39Z. 2025-01-03: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. 2025-01-03: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-01-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No qualifying unrelated provision or appropriations policy rider was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not extend to other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish the absence of earmarks in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No qualifying targeted benefit beyond routine official-duty administration was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Feb 10, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI