To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, the Financial Stability Act of 2010, and the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 to improve access to information in the legislative and executive branches of the Government, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · June 3, 2024
Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, the Judiciary, Ethics, Financial Services, and 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.
# Summary of H.R. 8597: Transparency in Government Act of 2024
This comprehensive legislation aims to increase public access to information across Congress and the executive branch through multiple reforms. The bill requires members of Congress to disclose personal financial information more frequently and with greater granularity, post travel and gift reports online within 48 hours, and disclose earmarks through centralized databases within specific timeframes. It also enhances public access to congressional committee work, legislation, and voting records by requiring digital publication of hearing materials, transcripts, and recorded votes within 45 days.
The bill significantly strengthens lobbying disclosure requirements by reducing registration timelines from 45 days to 10 days, requiring lobbyist ethics training, eliminating certain exemptions, and establishing an enforcement task force within the Department of Justice. It expands federal spending transparency by improving data quality on USASpending.gov and requiring detailed information about contracts, grants, and federal awards in searchable, machine-readable formats. Additionally, the legislation mandates publication of Office of Legal Counsel opinions within 30 days to four years depending on the opinion's age, establishes procedures for enforcing congressional subpoenas, and requires the Archivist to oversee presidential record preservation during transitions.
The bill also reforms Freedom of Information Act procedures to expand disclosable records, permits television coverage of Supreme Court proceedings, and requires consolidation of court electronic filing systems. The legislation applies various implementation deadlines ranging from 30 days to three years, with no specific overall funding amounts identified in the bill text.
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