Earmark Transparency Act of 2010 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate to establish jointly a free public searchable website, listing all requests by Members of Congress for congressionally directed spending items (congressional earmarks).
Requires each congressional committee, within five calendar days of receipt of a request for a congressional earmark from a Member of Congress, to provide to the Clerk and the Secretary, as applicable, the initial required information regarding that request that is required to be placed on the website.
Makes it out of order to consider any legislation unless it meets the requirements of this Act.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5258 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5258
To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require Congress to
establish a unified and searchable database on a public website for
congressional earmarks.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 11, 2010
Mr. Cassidy (for himself, Ms. Speier, Mr. Reichert, and Mr. Smith of
Washington) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require Congress to
establish a unified and searchable database on a public website for
congressional earmarks.
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 ``Earmark Transparency Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. UNIFIED AND SEARCHABLE DATABASE FOR CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED
SPENDING ITEMS.
(a) In General.--Title III of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``unified and searchable database for congressionally directed spending
items
``Sec. 316. (a) Establishment of Database.--Within six months
after the date of enactment of this section, the Clerk of the House of
Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall jointly establish
a searchable website, available to the public at no cost, listing all
requests by Members of Congress for congressionally directed spending
items.
``(b) Content.--The website established under subsection (a) shall
be comprised of a database including the following information for each
congressionally directed spending item requested by a Member of
Congress:
``(1) The fiscal year in which the item would be funded.
``(2) The number of the bill or joint resolution for which
the request is made, if available.
``(3) The amount of the initial request made by the Member
of Congress.
``(4) The amount approved by the committee of jurisdiction.
``(5) The amount carried in the bill or joint resolution
(or accompanying report) as passed by the House, as passed by
the Senate, and as transmitted to the President, as applicable.
``(6) The name of the department or agency, and the account
or program, through which the item will be funded.
``(7) The name and the State or district of the Member of
Congress who made the request.
``(8) The name and address of the intended recipient.
``(9) The type of organization (public, private nonprofit,
or private for profit entity) of the intended recipient.
``(10) The project name, description, and estimated
completion date.
``(11) A justification of the benefit to taxpayers.
``(12) Whether the request is for a continuing project and
if so, when funds were first appropriated for such project.
``(13) A description, if applicable, of all non-Federal
sources of funding.
``(14) Its current status in the legislative process,
including whether it was carried in any bill or joint
resolution (or accompanying report) passed by either House,
added in a committee of conference between the Houses (or joint
explanatory statement of managers) or in an amendment between
the Houses, or included in a bill or joint resolution enacted
into law, including any changes in the final dollar amount.
``(c) Accessibility of Data.--The website established under
subsection (a) shall allow the public to--
``(1) search, sort, and download all information in the
database in a machine-readable format;
``(2) ascertain through a single search, by individual
Member of Congress, the total number and dollar value of
congressionally directed spending items requested by that
Member and the total number and dollar value of such items
contained in bills or joint resolutions as passed by either
House or enacted into law by fiscal year;
``(3) search and aggregate data based on any category set
forth in subsection (b); and
``(4) access the website from the home page of the website
of the Clerk of the House of Representatives and of the
Secretary of the Senate.
``(d) Timeliness of Data.--(1) Within 5 calendar days of receipt of
a request for a congressionally directed spending item from a Member of
Congress, each committee of the House of Representatives and of the
Senate shall provide to the Clerk of the House of Representatives or
the Secretary of the Senate, as applicable, the initial information
regarding that request that is required under this section to be placed
on the website established under subsection (a). That committee shall
provide up-to-date information to the Clerk or Secretary, as
applicable.
``(2) The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary
of the Senate shall post on the website established under subsection
(a) the information received under paragraph (1) within 2 calendar days
(excluding Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays except when the House
or Senate is in session on such a day).
``(e) Point of Order.--(1) It shall not be in order to consider any
bill or joint resolution, or amendment thereto or conference report
thereon unless it meets the requirements of this section.
``(2) Subsections (c)(1) and (d)(2) of section 904 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 are each amended by inserting `316, '
after `313, '.
``(f) Definitions.--As used in this section--
``(1) the term `congressionally directed spending item'
means a provision or report language included primarily at the
request of a Member of Congress providing, authorizing, or
recommending a specific amount of discretionary budget
authority, credit authority, or other spending authority for a
contract, loan, loan guarantee, grant, loan authority, or other
expenditure with or to an entity, or targeted to a specific
State, locality, or congressional district, other than through
a statutory or administrative formula-driven or competitive
award process; and
``(2) the term `Member of Congress' means a Senator in, a
Representative in, or a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to,
the Congress.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents set forth in
section 1(b) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of
1974 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 315 the
following new item:
``Sec. 316. Unified and searchable database for congressionally
directed spending items.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to House Rules
Referred to the Committee on Rules, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to House Budget
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