Congressman Burchett proposes new rules to increase House transparency in the 118th Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C., (Nov. 30, 2022) – U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (TN-02) spoke before the House Rules Committee to propose several changes in House legislative procedure in order to increase transparency in the U.S. House of Representatives during the 118th Congress.
At the start of each new Congress, House members vote on the rules and procedures that will be used to consider legislation over the next two years.
“My rule proposals are based on a simple concept: Americans should always have easy access to information about what’s happening in Congress,” said Rep. Burchett.
Rep. Burchett’s proposed rules would:
- Require House bill titles to accurately describe the bill’s content (modeled after the Tennessee legislature’s “caption” rule)
- Require the estimated cost of each bill to be made publicly available before it is brought to the House floor for a vote
- Require the House to vote on each bill individually
- Prohibit procedural bills from including unrelated legislation
- Prohibit bills from being brought to the House floor for a vote without going through the appropriate committee first
- Prohibit bills from undergoing substantial last-minute changes before being brought to the House floor for a vote
Rep. Burchett also sent a letter to House Republican Leader McCarthy outlining these rule proposals. You can watch Rep. Burchett's full speech to the Rules Committee on his official YouTube channel.