Read the Bill Act

Read the Bill Act

This bill prohibits consideration of any bill or resolution in the House of Representatives or the Senate unless its text is published on an official website of the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate at least the applicable minimum number of hours (excluding those in which the chamber is not in session) before consideration of the bill or resolution, namely:

• 72 hours, for text of 300 or fewer pages; or
• for text of more than 300 pages, the sum of 72 hours plus 24 hours for each additional increment of text of 100 or fewer pages.

Whenever a House or Senate Committee reports a bill or joint resolution proposing to repeal or amend all or part of a statute, it must include in its report or in an accompanying document:

• the entire text of each section of the statute proposed to be repealed or amended, and
• a comparative print of each amendment to the section of the statute that the bill or joint resolution proposes to make.

Neither chamber, nor Congress jointly, may dispense with or otherwise waive or modify the requirements of this Act.

Any Act of Congress that was considered as a bill or resolution in the House or Senate in violation of this Act shall have no force or effect, and no legal, equitable, regulatory, civil, or criminal action may be brought under it.