I would love to see a page limit closer to five pages and also a requirement that whenever a new bill is passed you must delete an old bill.
Without the influence and incentives offered by lobbyists it would not be a career. Politicians with experience is a good thing, i believe, but the lobbyists controlling them must be banned
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This is amazing and my family and everyone I have spoken to are on board with this. Ive never heard one person disagree with this. And if they “congress” complain about the length of them being their to vote on the seperate bills. They can stick it, its our taxes paying for them to vote for us. Absolutely ridiculous with the minimal work most of them do to get paid as much as they do. Its disgusting.
This clearly is a important issue 
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I think voting in person is debatable. Why is tax money going to transport government officials to and from D.C.? Secure voting on bills can be done from their home state in a zoom type call. This would also keep them more available to the people they are supposed to represent.
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No more traitors that say garbage like this:
Pelosi: “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.”
I love the Single issue bills idea. No more finger pointing (by either party) saying the other party won’t pass such and such bill to save a Childs life when there are a handful of other corrupt policies hidden within the bill that they don’t mention.
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Yes. Single subject bills. Quit hiding add-ons in lengthy text.
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Do you mind sharing South Dakota’s verbiage?
I’m going through the comments and am going to consolidate and rewrite some of it. I’d love to compare to South Dakota’s version as well.
Excellent ideas here! Bravo! 
A government for and by the people of these United States of America!
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I agree, there should be a maximum page length to days to review the bill. Many of these bills are intentionally long and limit the time of review so they can push hidden aspects through due to the inability to adequately read the bill ahead of time. So two parts. 1. length of bill by page = time of days to review. 2. Maximum length of any Bill overall. We can’t have bills that take years to review, they need to be simple and concise.
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Absolutely. We can fix this government and this is the way. I have 5 other ways to end the corruption.
1 end lobbying it’s legal bribery for the rich
2 term limits. It’s public service not a career
3 campaign spending caps. Get the money out of politics
4 audit the fed we should know where our money goes
5 election integrity. I want open sourced blockchain tracking on every single ballot with verified proof of citizenship
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I agree with the single subject bill. So many of the bills with fluff have federal funds to states for just about everything. Why couldn’t we have some sort of special bill that would take care of states asking for federal funds. Adding these to bills causes our senators and congressmen to make deals with each other-you vote for my bill and everything it entails and I will vote for your state funding bill and everything it entails. States should stand on their own and if the federal government was out of the states business, states maybe could stand on their own. It would definitely trickle down to having states manage their budgets and economy a lot tighter.
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I dont believe this was a discussion against checks and balances; but to simplify, streamline and work effectively to push bills through or deny them
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It can be done in ome page. The attorneys love to make it complex. It needs to be simple and every American should be able to understand it.
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This would also show us the true loyalties of our elected officials. With massive grouped bills, one can never know which part of the bill said politician supports. With one issue bills, it would be clear if they are acting in the interest of their constituents or their money.
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EVERY $Spending Bill should have a death date. Permanent programs maybe made more solvent other programs can quietly “die on the vine”.
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Most of this applies to ballots as well. Readability level should be at grade 8-10 instead of 14-19. We have combined open primaries and RCV in one proposition on our current ballot.
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Every bill should have a page for signatures that the bill has been read and understood in order to vote on the bill.
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1000% this is why we the people give up on trying to read them. We have lives and don’t have time to read a 5,000 page bill.
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updated!
A BILL
To establish requirements for the drafting, consideration, and passage of legislation by Congress to enhance transparency, accountability, constitutional compliance, and public understanding, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Congressional Accountability and Streamlining Act.”
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.
Congress finds the following:
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Transparency and Accountability: Legislation often contains multiple unrelated subjects, excessive length, and complex language, hindering transparency and accountability.
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Informed Decision-Making: Members of Congress and the public should have sufficient time and ability to read and understand proposed legislation before votes are taken.
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Public Trust: Clear and accessible laws enhance public trust in the legislative process and ensure that laws serve the public interest.
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Equal Application of Laws: No citizen or group, including Members of Congress, should be exempt from adhering to the laws enacted.
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Constitutional Compliance: Ensuring all legislation aligns with the Constitution, its amendments, and the Bill of Rights is fundamental to upholding the rule of law.
(b) Purposes.
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Single-Subject Requirement: To mandate that all bills address only one subject to prevent the inclusion of unrelated provisions.
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Accessibility: To require that bills be written in plain language understandable to the average citizen.
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Adequate Review Time: To ensure sufficient time for Members of Congress and the public to review legislation before a vote.
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Accountability Measures: To include metrics for evaluating the success and effectiveness of enacted laws.
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Transparency in Naming: To require that the titles of bills accurately reflect their content.
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Participation Requirements: To require in-person attendance for voting and limit the number of bills voted on daily.
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Constitutionality Review: To ensure all proposed legislation is constitutionally sound before being presented for a vote.
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Legislative Reading and Accessibility: To require that bills be read aloud and made publicly accessible prior to voting.
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Clarity on Legal References: To define any references or contradictions to existing laws in common language, including their impact.
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Open Introduction of Legislation: To allow any in-good-standing Member of Congress to bring bills for a vote, preventing undue obstruction.
SEC. 3. SINGLE-SUBJECT REQUIREMENT.
(a) Single Subject per Bill.
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Limitation: Each bill or joint resolution shall embrace no more than one subject, and that subject shall be clearly expressed in the title.
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Prohibition of Riders: No bill shall contain any provision that is not germane to the single subject of the bill as expressed in the title.
(b) Enforcement Mechanism.
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Point of Order: Any Member of Congress may raise a point of order against a bill violating the single-subject rule, which shall be ruled upon by the presiding officer without debate.
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Severability of Provisions: If any provision is found not germane to the single subject, that provision shall be stricken from the bill before passage.
SEC. 4. PLAIN LANGUAGE AND LEGAL CLARITY REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Plain Writing Standard.
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Clarity and Simplicity: All bills shall be written in plain language, using clear and concise terms understandable to the general public.
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Elimination of Jargon: Technical terms and legal jargon shall be avoided where possible or clearly defined within the text.
(b) Summary Requirement.
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One-Page Summary: Each bill exceeding 20 pages shall include a one-page thorough summary outlining the key provisions, objectives, and potential impacts.
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Accessibility: The summary shall be made publicly available along with the full text of the bill.
(c) Clarity on Legal References.
- Common Language Definitions: Any inclusion, reference, or contradiction to existing bills or laws shall be defined in common language, including the impact on enforcement of prior legislation.
SEC. 5. CONSTITUTIONALITY REVIEW AND AUTHORITY.
(a) Constitutionality Review.
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Mandatory Review: All bills shall pass a constitutionality review prior to being presented for a vote, including review against the Constitution, constitutional amendments, and the Bill of Rights.
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Responsible Entity: A designated non-partisan body shall conduct the review and issue a report on the bill’s constitutionality.
(b) Statement of Constitutional Authority.
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Required Description: All bills shall include a section citing the specific constitutional authority under which they are allowed.
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Transparency: The statement of constitutional authority shall be made publicly available along with the full text of the bill.
SEC. 6. REVIEW PERIOD, READING REQUIREMENTS, AND VOTING PROCEDURES.
(a) Mandatory Review Period.
- Minimum Time for Review: No vote on a bill shall occur until a minimum of 72 hours after the final text has been made available to Members of Congress and the public.
(b) Reading Aloud Requirement.
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Full Reading: All bills must be read aloud in their entirety in a session of the chamber prior to a vote.
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Public Accessibility: The reading shall be streamed, recorded, broadcast, or otherwise made available to the public prior to the vote.
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Time Limitation: Any bill that exceeds a reading time of 16 hours (two contiguous business days) shall be removed from the floor and returned for revision and is ineligible for a vote.
(c) In-Person Voting Requirement.
- Presence for Quorum and Voting: Members of Congress must be physically present in the chamber to be counted for quorum purposes and to cast their votes on any bill or joint resolution.
(d) Daily Voting Limit.
- Maximum Number of Bills: No more than five bills or joint resolutions shall be scheduled for a final vote in either chamber on any given legislative day.
(e) Introduction of Legislation.
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Open Introduction: Bills or joint resolutions may be brought for a vote by any in-good-standing member of the chamber.
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Prohibition of Obstruction: No committee or individual shall block a bill that meets the requirements of this Act from being presented for a vote.
SEC. 7. METRICS FOR SUCCESS AND EFFECTIVENESS.
(a) Inclusion of Performance Measures.
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Required Metrics: Each bill shall include specific, measurable objectives and criteria for assessing its success and effectiveness.
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Reporting Requirements: The responsible agency or department shall submit annual reports to Congress evaluating the law’s outcomes based on the established metrics.
SEC. 8. ACCURATE TITLING OF BILLS.
(a) Truth in Legislation Naming.
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Reflective Titles: The title of each bill shall accurately and clearly reflect the content and purpose of the legislation.
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Prohibition of Misleading Titles: Titles designed to mislead or promote objectives not contained in the bill are prohibited.
(b) Oversight and Enforcement.
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Review by Committees: Relevant committees shall review bill titles for compliance with this section before reporting the bill.
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Point of Order: A point of order may be raised against any bill with a title that does not comply, subject to a ruling by the presiding officer.
SEC. 9. EQUAL APPLICATION OF LAWS.
(a) No Exemptions for Congress.
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Universal Applicability: All laws enacted by Congress shall apply equally to Members of Congress, their staff, and all citizens of the United States.
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Prohibition of Special Exemptions: No law shall include provisions that exempt any individual or group, including Members of Congress, from its application unless such exemption is constitutionally required.
SEC. 10. IMPLEMENTATION AND TRANSITION.
(a) Effective Date.
- Implementation: This Act shall take effect 60 days after the date of enactment.
(b) Transitional Provisions.
- Ongoing Legislation: Bills introduced before the effective date shall comply with the requirements of this Act if they are to be considered for passage thereafter.
SEC. 11. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.
End of Bill
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