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H.R. 469: Congressional Article I Powers Strengthening Act

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H.R. 469: Congressional Article I Powers Strengthening Act

115th Congress · introduced 2017-01-12 · Government Operations and Politics · Latest: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2017-01-12 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Collins, Doug [R-GA-9] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: 4 recorded votes in our records. Latest: House roll call 585 (2017): On Agreeing to the Amendment, HR469 (2017-10-25), Failed. See all
  4. Where it stands now: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. 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

Congressional Article I Powers Strengthening Act

Plain summary

Sunshine for Regulations and Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2017 This bill establishes public notice and comment procedures and motion to intervene standards for civil actions seeking to compel agency action and alleging that an agency is unlawfully withholding or unreasonably delaying an agency action, and for consent decrees or settlement agreements that require agency action, relating to a regulatory action that would affect the rights of: (1) private persons other than the person bringing the action; or (2) a state, local, or tribal government. The bill sets forth requirements for: agencies against which such an action is brought to publish online, within 15 days after receipt, the notice of intent to sue and the complaint; courts to consider motions to intervene and allow amicus participation; and any settlement proceedings to include intervening parties and to be conducted pursuant to the mediation or alternative dispute resolution program of the court or by a district judge. Agencies seeking to enter such a consent decree or settlement agreement must: publish, and accept and respond to public comment on, the proposed agreement or decree for 60 days before filing it with the court; and make available to the court the administrative record and a summary of public comments and any public hearings. The Department of Justice, or an agency litigating a matter independently, must certify to the court its approval of such proposed: (1) consent decrees that include terms that convert into a nondiscretionary duty a discretionary authority of an agency to propose, promulgate, revise, or amend regulations, commit an agency to expend funds that have not been appropriated and budgeted or to seek a particular appropriation or budget authorization, divest an agency of discretion committed to it by statute or the Constitution, or otherwise afford any relief that the court could not enter under its own authority; or (2) settlement agreements that include terms that provide a remedy for a failure by the agency to comply with the terms of the agreement other than the revival of the civil action resolved by the agreement, interfere with the authority of an agency to revise, amend, or issue rules, or commit the agency to expend funds that have not been appropriated and budgeted or to exercise in a particular way discretion which was committed to the agency by statute or the Constitution. Courts: (1) shall not approve such consent decrees or settlement agreements unless they allow sufficient time and procedures to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act, rulemaking statutes, and executive orders; and (2) shall grant de novo review if an agency files a motion to modify such a decree or agreement on the basis that its terms are no longer fully in the public interest due to changed facts and circumstances or the agency's obligations to fulfill other duties.

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

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

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

Congressional Article I Powers Strengthening Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Collins, Doug [R-GA-9] · 21 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 469, Sunshine for Regulations and Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2017 (2017-09-19)

Cosponsors on this site

Earl L. "Buddy" Carter (R-GA), Eric A. "Rick" Crawford (R-AR), Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ), Robert E. Latta (R-OH), Brian Babin (R-TX), Andy Barr (R-KY), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Jason Smith (R-MO), Ted Budd (R-NC), Gary J. Palmer (R-AL)

Recorded votes

Words on this page, explained (8)
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).
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.
Public comment
A chance for anyone to tell a government agency what they think about a proposed rule or plan before it is final. Agencies must consider the comments they receive.
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.
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.
Statute
A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong115-hr469 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115