PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Oct 26, 2020
Protecting Our Democracy Act
This bill addresses issues involving (1) abuses of presidential power; (2) checks and balances, accountability, and transparency; and (3) foreign interference in elections.
Specifically, regarding abuses of presidential power, the bill
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the President to submit to Congress specified materials relating to certain pardons;
prohibits self-pardons by the President;
suspends the statute of limitations for any federal offense committed by a sitting President or Vice President;
prohibits the acceptance of foreign or domestic emoluments, authorizes civil actions by Congress concerning foreign emoluments, and requires the President to make certain disclosures; and
sets forth provisions regarding enforcement authority of the Office of Government Ethics and Office of Special Counsel jurisdiction.
To address checks and balances, accountability, and transparency, the bill, among other things
authorizes specified actions to enforce congressional subpoenas,
requires appropriations to be made available for obligation in a timely manner,
imposes limits on presidential declarations of emergencies,
requires DOJ to maintain a log of communications between it and the White House regarding certain investigations,
requires cause for removal of inspectors general,
increases whistleblower protections,
reauthorizes the Merit Systems Protection Board, and
establishes penalties for political appointees who engage in prohibited political activities.
To protect against foreign interference in elections, the bill
requires federal campaign reporting of foreign contacts,
requires federal campaigns to establish a foreign contacts compliance policy, and
specifies that foreign donations to political campaigns and candidates of nonpublic information relating to a candidate are prohibited.
People & committees
Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] · D–MN
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Jan 13, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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