Skip to main content
HR 397 115th Congress House

Members of Congress Tax Accountability Act of 2017

Official title: To require Members of Congress to disclose delinquent tax liability and to require an ethics inquiry into, and the garnishment of the wages of, a Member with Federal tax liability.

Introduced: January 10, 2017 See on congress.gov
Congress Congressional oversightCorporate finance and managementDebt collectionGovernment employee pay, benefits, personnel management
More subjectsShow fewer subjects
Government ethics and transparency, public corruptionGovernment studies and investigationsMembers of CongressTax administration and collection, taxpayers
Sign in to write a letter Sign in to watch
This bill died when the 115th Congress ended
It never became law before the 115th Congress (2017–2018) 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 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jan 10, 2017
Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, 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.
Jan 10, 2017
Introduced in House
 Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

 Latest action January 10, 2017

Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, 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.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Members of Congress Tax Accountability Act of 2017

This bill amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require Members of Congress to include in their annual financial disclosure reports the amount of any delinquent tax liability owed to the United States or any state or local government entity.

The appropriate congressional ethics committee is required to open an inquiry immediately into the tax delinquency of that Member to determine: (1) his or her total delinquent tax liability and reason for such delinquency, (2) whether the Member has a plan to eliminate it, and (3) whether it has reflected poorly on Congress.

Such Member shall arrange with the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, as appropriate, and the Internal Revenue Service to have an appropriate amount of his or her salary designated to pay the taxes owed to the United States within a reasonable time period.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 397: Members of Congress Tax Accountability Act of 2017. 115th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-397/
MLA
"H.R. 397: Members of Congress Tax Accountability Act of 2017." 115th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-397/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 397, 115th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-397/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 397: Members of Congress Tax Accountability Act of 2017](https://openamerica.io/bill/115-HR-397/)
Report a problem