H.Res. 417: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that President Barack Obama should immediately work to reverse damaging and illegal actions taken by the Bush/Cheney Administration and collaborate with Congress to proactively prevent any further abuses of executive branch power.

H.Res. 417: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that President Barack Obama should immediately work to reverse damaging and illegal actions taken by the Bush/Cheney Administration and collaborate with Congress to proactively prevent any further abuses of executive branch power.

111th Congress · introduced 2009-05-07 · Government Operations and Politics · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2009-05-07 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI-2] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that President Barack Obama should immediately work to reverse damaging and illegal actions taken by the Bush/Cheney Administration and collaborate with Congress to proactively prevent any further abuses of executive branch power.

Plain summary

Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that President Obama should : (1) reaffirm the nation's commitment to the rule of law, checks and balances, the legislative process, and the Bill of Rights; (2) support Congress's right of access to information to perform its legislative and oversight functions; (3) cooperate with congressional investigations into the lack of prosecutions under the War Crimes Act and the Federal Anti-Torture Act despite allegations of serious violations; (4) reaffirm U.S. treaty obligations under the Geneva Conventions and ensure that all individuals held by the United States have access to petition for a writ of habeas corpus; (5) ensure that all suspected terrorists at Guantanamo are immediately tried in fair judicial proceedings; (6) engage the international community to ensure the release of innocent detainees; (7) require independent judicial review of claims of state secrets privilege by executive branch officials; (8) reaffirm that the Office of the Vice President is part of the executive branch; (9) collaborate with Congress to investigate presidential pardons and articulate comprehensive standards to guide future pardons; and (10) commit to providing all signing statements for publication, affirm Congress' right to participate in court proceedings regarding the constitutionality of such statements, and ensure that Congress can obtain testimony from administration officials claiming executive privilege to justify such statements. Calls on the President to cooperate with congressional efforts to: (1) establish an independent investigation to hold all Bush Administration officials accountable for any crimes; (2) ensure that the disclosure of the identity of any U.S. intelligence agent could give rise to criminal liability; (3) restore faith in the American justice system by investigating and censuring officials for misconduct in office; (4) repeal the redefinition of grave abuses of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions included in the Military Commissions Act of 2006; (5) tighten standards for when a declaration of war is required for military action; (6) strengthen federal perjury laws to prohibit the issuance of false statements, concealment, or false documentation in any matter related to a presidential request for a declaration of war; (7) codify strong anti-torture language and approve uniform standards for interrogation of individuals in U.S. custody; and (8) prohibit the transfer of persons by the U.S. for detention, interrogation, or trial to a country that supports torture, cruel, or degrading treatment in the detention or interrogation of individuals.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

A Yea supports adopting this resolution.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that President Barack Obama should immediately work to reverse damaging and illegal actions taken by the Bush/Cheney Administration and collaborate with Congress to proactively prevent any further abuses of executive branch power.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI-2] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI-2] reported raising $3.5 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (5)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Obligation: A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.
Resolution: A formal statement or decision by a legislative body. Simple resolutions often only express an opinion or set rules for one chamber; they do not become law.
Roll-call vote: A vote where each member's position is recorded by name, so the public can see how every member voted. "Yea" means yes, "Nay" means no, "Present" means the member was there but did not take a side.
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-111hres417.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/111/hres>

Record fed-us-cong111-hres417 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111