The Read the Bills Act (RTBA) is proposed legislation intended to require the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

to read the legislation that it passes. It was originally written in 2006 by Downsize DC, a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

focused on decreasing the size of the federal government. The proposed act is a response to the passing of bills that are thousands of pages long and are passed without copies being made available to the members of Congress who vote on the bill. The bill is aimed at limiting the size and growth of the federal government. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) stated his support for it in November 2010. Paul went on to sponsor and propose the bill in the 112th congress as S.3360 on June 28, 2012. Similarly, a separate bill nicknamed the "Read the Bill Act" would require bills to be posted publicly 72 hours prior to consideration in Congress. Unlike the Downsize DC proposal, this bill is supported by ReadTheBill.org (part of the Sunlight Foundation) with the primary aim to increase transparency in government. It was introduced in the U.S. House (by

Brian Baird Brian Norton Baird (born March 7, 1956) is an American psychologist and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2011. After leaving the U.S. House of Representatives, he served as the ...

in 2006 , 2007 , and 2009 ) and Senate (by

Jim Bunning James Paul David Bunning (October 23, 1931 – May 26, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher and politician who represented Kentucky in both chambers of the United States Congress. He was the sole Major League Baseball athlete to ha ...

in 2009 , and by

John Ensign John Eric Ensign (born March 25, 1958) is an American veterinarian and former politician from Nevada. A member of the Republican Party, Ensign was a Congressman and United States Senator from Nevada; he served in the latter seat from January 2001 ...

in 2011 ). The Senate version differs in a few ways, including a requirement to have the

Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. Ins ...

provide an evaluation of the proposed legislation.

References

External links

Downsize DC's page on the act
{{Rand Paul United States proposed federal government administration legislation Rand Paul Proposed legislation of the 112th United States Congress Proposed legislation of the 113th United States Congress Proposed legislation of the 114th United States Congress Proposed legislation of the 115th United States Congress Proposed legislation of the 116th United States Congress Proposed legislation of the 117th United States Congress

See also

References

External links