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HR 5109 114th Congress House

CLEAR Act

Official title: To amend the Federal Trade Commission Act to require annual reports to Congress regarding the status of investigations of unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.

Introduced: April 28, 2016 Introduced by: Guthrie, Brett Republican · Kentucky See on congress.gov
Commerce Competition and antitrustCongressional oversightConsumer affairsFederal Trade Commission (FTC)Government studies and investigations
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This bill died when the 114th Congress ended
It never became law before the 114th Congress (2015–2016) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Apr 29, 2016
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
Apr 28, 2016
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Apr 28, 2016
Introduced in House
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 Latest action April 29, 2016

Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Clarifying Legality and Enforcement Action Reasoning Act or the CLEAR Act

This bill amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to submit an annual report to Congress about its investigations concerning unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce. The reports must detail:

  • the number of such investigations the FTC has commenced and the disposition of investigations that concluded with official agency action; and
  • the number of investigations the FTC has closed with no official agency action, along with a description that indicates the legal analysis supporting the FTC's decision not to continue such investigations, and the industry sectors of the entities subject to each such investigation.

The bill prohibits the FTC from identifying a person who is the subject of an investigation in its description of an investigation that closed with no official agency action.

 Related & companion bills 2
  • HR 5315 Related bill CLEAR Act of 2016
  • HR 5510 Related bill FTC Process and Transparency Reform Act of 2016
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Republican 1
R
Sessions, Pete
Texas · Sep 9, 2016
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 5109: CLEAR Act. 114th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-5109/
MLA
"H.R. 5109: CLEAR Act." 114th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-5109/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 5109, 114th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-5109/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 5109: CLEAR Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-5109/)
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