PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.
H.R.2340 / 112th Congress

Transparency in Government Act of 2011

Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jun 23, 2011

Transparency in Government Act of 2011 - Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to revise or prescribe requirements for greater disclosure and electronic filing of personal financial information by Members of Congress and congressional officers and employees.

Amends Rule XXVI (Financial Disclosure) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate to make each financial quarterly report filed by a Member, congressional officer, or employee available within 48 hours after its receipt on the Clerk's or Secretary's website.

Amends Rule X (Organization of Committees) to require reports filed on foreign travel with the chair of a committee to be posted on the committee's Internet site within 48 hours after their receipt.

Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.

Read full official summaryShow less

Amends Rule XXV (Limitations on Outside Earned Income and Acceptance of Gifts) to require all advance authorizations, certifications, and gift reports filed with the Clerk to be posted publicly on the Clerk's Internet site within 48 hours after their receipt.

Amends Rule XXIII (Code of Official Conduct) to require any Member who requests a congressional earmark, a limited tax benefit, or a limited tariff benefit to post on his or her public website, within 24 hours after making such request, and for the remainder of the Congress: (1) the name and address of the intended recipient; (2) whether the recipient is a for-profit or not-for-profit entity; (3) the requested congressional earmark amount; and (4) an explanation of the request, including the purpose, and why it is a valuable use of taxpayer funds.

Amends Rule XI (Procedures of Committees and Unfinished Business) to require any committee that accepts a Member's request for a congressional earmark or a limited tax or tariff benefit to maintain a public website with an earmark disclosure webpage that contains specified earmark information.

Requires the Clerk, the Secretary, and the chairs of specified congressional committees to create one centralized database where all requests for earmarks and limited tax and tariff benefits are publicly available on the Internet.

Amends Rule XI to require each committee to post on its Internet website its public hearings and markup schedules, as well as those of its subcommittees, at the same time that information is made available to members of the committee.

Requires a committee or subcommittee to post on its Internet website, within 24 hours after ordering any bill or resolution to be reported, all amendments agreed to, except technical or conforming amendments.

Amends Rule II (Other Officers and Officials) to require: (1) the House Committees to provide to the Clerk a list of all committee and subcommittee public hearings and markup schedules, including links to committee websites; and (2) the Clerk to post such information on the Clerk's website.

Prescribes requirements for increased transparency of recorded votes.

Requires the Clerk to make the following Congressional Research Service (CRS) information publicly available on the Internet: (1) CRS Issue Briefs, (2) CRS Reports that are available to Members through the CRS website, and (3) CRS Authorization of Appropriations and Appropriations Products. Exempts from this requirement information deemed confidential by the Director of CRS and confidential research requests made by an individual, office, or committee.

Lobbyist Disclosure Enhancement Act - Requires the Attorney General to establish the Lobbying Disclosure Act Enforcement Task Force, which shall have primary responsibility for investigating and prosecuting cases referred to him under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA). Requires the Task Force to: (1) collect and disseminate information on the enforcement of such Act; (2) audit at least annually the extent of compliance with such Act; and (3) establish, publicize, and operate a toll-free telephone hotline for members of the public to report noncompliance with lobbyist disclosure requirements.

Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to: (1) require notifications of noncompliance of lobbyist disclosure requirements to the Attorney General (instead of to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia); (2) amend the definition of "lobbyist" under such Act to eliminate the exemption from such Act of certain lobbyists who work for a client on a part-time basis; (3) require lobbyists to register with the Senate and House of Representatives within 5 days after a lobbying contact (currently, 45 days); and (4) expand disclosure requirements relating to contacts with executive and legislative branch officials and political contributions.

Amends the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 to provide transparency in federal contracting by revising the application programming interface and data elements of the federal funding website established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Requires each Inspector General (IG) to: (1) audit annually for the previous fiscal year the data used on the website created by this Act for the IG's federal agency, in compliance with generally accepted federal auditing standards; and (2) report on such audit to OMB.

Requires OMB to: (1) revise OMB guidance to federal agencies on reporting federal awards, and (2) ensure that the unique identifier used to link information on the searchable website about the award recipient is also used to link information about that recipient on the Federal Awardee Performance Integrity Information System.

Amends the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2009 to revise or prescribe requirements for the System's database.

Prescribes compliance requirements for federal contractors for procurement of property or services in excess of: (1) the simplified acquisition threshold; or (2) $500,000.

Requires the IG of the General Services Administration (GSA) to study the use of identifying numbers for federal awardees to: (1) determine if the current system of awardee identifying numbers is adequately tracking federal awardees, (2) assess the feasibility of developing a new unique identification system, and (3) determine whether the new system would more effectively track federal awardees.

Prescribes requirements for: (1) disclosure of federal sponsorship of all federal advertising or other communications paid for by certain federal agencies, either directly or through a contract awarded by such agencies; and (2) digital access to completed agency responses to requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA requests).

Read the summary on Congress.gov
PlainBill analysis is coming later. This page presents official source data. We have not yet published a PlainBill explanation for this bill.

Who introduced it

Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5] · D–IL

Committees

  • Judiciary Committee
  • Oversight and Government Reform Committee
  • Ethics Committee
  • Committee on House Administration
  • Rules Committee
1 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

  1. Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution.

  2. Referred to the Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform .

  3. Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Rules, House Administration, the Judiciary, and Ethics, 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.

  4. Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Rules, House Administration, the Judiciary, and Ethics, 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.

  5. Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Rules, House Administration, the Judiciary, and Ethics, 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.

  6. Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Rules, House Administration, the Judiciary, and Ethics, 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.

  7. Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on Rules, House Administration, the Judiciary, and Ethics, 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.

  8. Introduced in House

  9. Introduced in House

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

Explore the bill from different angles

Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.

Neutral evidence review

Objective

Analyze H.R.2340 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.

View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact

Progressive lens

Examine H.R.2340 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.

View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope

Conservative lens

Examine H.R.2340 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.

View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power

Liberty lens

Examine H.R.2340 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.

View full prompt & sources