H.Res. 689: Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to ensure that Members, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner have a reasonable amount of time to read legislation that will be voted upon, and for other purposes.

H.Res. 689: Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to ensure that Members, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner have a reasonable amount of time to read legislation that will be voted upon, and for other purposes.

111th Congress · introduced 2009-07-29 · Congress · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on Rules.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2009-07-29 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Posey, Bill [R-FL-15] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on Rules. 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

Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to ensure that Members, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner have a reasonable amount of time to read legislation that will be voted upon, and for other purposes.

Plain summary

Adds Rule XXIX (Time to Read Legislation Before Voting) to the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit consideration by the House of legislation between the chambers unless: (1) the text of the measure and its related accompanying comparative print has been available to all Members and their staffs in both printed and electronic format for at least three legislative days; and (2) any manager's amendment or other amendment which makes substantive changes to the legislation has been made available in such format for at least such period before such consideration. Exempts from such prohibition: (1) the intelligence authorization bill, other legislation containing classified information, or any such conference report, if Members have at least seven days to study the measure's contents; and (2) congressional declarations of war or authorization of military force to respond to attacks on the United States. Amends Rule XIII (Calendars and Committee Reports) to prohibit the Committee on Rules from reporting a rule or order waiving Rule XXIX. Amends Rule XVI (Motions and Amendments) to prohibit consideration in the House of any measure amending existing law, or any amendment to such measure, unless the Chair of the applicable committee or the Member proposing the amendment also presents the Clerk, at least three legislative days before consideration, an electronic version of a comparative print of any part of the measure, or the amendment, showing by appropriate typographical devices the omissions and insertions proposed.

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

Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to ensure that Members, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner have a reasonable amount of time to read legislation that will be voted upon, and for other purposes.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Posey, Bill [R-FL-15] · 36 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Michael T. McCaul (R-TX), Frank D. Lucas (R-OK), John Boozman (R-AR), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Sam Graves (R-MO), Robert E. Latta (R-OH), Steve Scalise (R-LA), Cynthia M. Lummis (R-WY)

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 (6)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
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).
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-111hres689.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/111/hres>

Record fed-us-cong111-hres689 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111