Congressional Oversight Access Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4337 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4337

  To prohibit the use of physical force by executive branch personnel 
  against Members of Congress conducting oversight in their official 
                   capacity, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 10, 2025

  Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania (for herself, Mr. Frost, Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. 
 Lynch, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Ansari, Mr. 
    Thanedar, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Simon, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. 
Salinas, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Hernandez, Ms. 
  Dexter, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, and Mr. Casar) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                    Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit the use of physical force by executive branch personnel 
  against Members of Congress conducting oversight in their official 
                   capacity, 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 Oversight Access 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FORCE AGAINST MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Prohibited Actions.--No officer, agent, contractor, or employee 
of the executive branch may use physical force, detain, remove, or 
otherwise physically interfere with a Member of Congress who--
            (1) is conducting a covered oversight activity;
            (2) presents valid congressional identification or 
        identifies themselves as a Member of Congress;
            (3) is present in or on the premises of any federally 
        controlled property; and
            (4) does not pose a clear and imminent physical threat to 
        persons or property.
    (b) Application.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to--
            (1) exempt a Member of Congress from lawful security 
        screening or building access procedures; or
            (2) prevent action in response to a clear and imminent 
        physical threat to persons or property.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Covered oversight activity.--The term ``covered 
        oversight activity'' means any activity that includes the 
        review, monitoring, supervision, investigation, visitation, 
        whether scheduled or unscheduled, by a Member of Congress 
        acting in their official capacity, with respect to the 
        execution of laws, compliance with court orders, or the 
        administration of Federal programs, policies, or operations.
            (2) Federally controlled property.--The term ``federally 
        controlled property'' means any building, land, or other real 
        property owned, leased, operated, occupied, or used under 
        contract, cooperative agreement, or intergovernmental service 
        agreement by the Federal Government or any executive branch 
        agency (including detention centers and field-control sites).
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