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HR 5116 114th Congress House Commerce Administrative law and regulatory procedures Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Government information and archives Public participation and lobbying

FREE Act

Introduced: April 28, 2016 See on congress.gov
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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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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Freeing Responsible and Effective Exchanges Act or the FREE Act

This bill amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to permit a bipartisan majority of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) commissioners to hold a nonpublic meeting to discuss official business if: (1) no votes or actions are taken, (2) each person at the meeting is an FTC commissioner or employee, and (3) an attorney from the FTC's Office of General Counsel is present.

"Bipartisan majority" means a group of at least three commissioners that includes, for each political party of which any commissioner is a member, at least one commissioner who is a member of such political party and, if any commissioner has no political party affiliation, at least one unaffiliated commissioner.

Within two business days after such a nonpublic meeting, the FTC must disclose on its website: (1) a list of persons who attended such meeting; and (2) a summary of discussed matters, except for matters that are classified or otherwise exempt from disclosure.

What's happening now April 29, 2016

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

 Related & companion bills 2
  • HR 5510 Related bill FTC Process and Transparency Reform Act of 2016
  • S 253 Related bill Federal Communications Commission Consolidated Reporting Act of 2015
 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 7, 2016
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 5116: FREE Act. 114th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-5116/
MLA
"H.R. 5116: FREE Act." 114th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-5116/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 5116, 114th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-5116/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 5116: FREE Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/114-HR-5116/)
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