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Search Results: keywords:"government transparency"

  • H.R. 9175 aims to honor Technical Sergeant E. Huston James by naming the United States Postal Service facility at 24837 Goddard Road in Taylor, Michigan, after him. Once enacted, all legal and official references to this post office will recognize it by its new name, the...

    Simple Explanation

    The bill wants to change the name of a post office in Taylor, Michigan, to honor a person named Technical Sergeant E. Huston James. This means when people talk about this post office, they'll use his name to show respect and remember him.

  • H. R. 8753 is a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that requires the United States Postal Service to assign single, unique ZIP Codes to specific communities across 17 different states. The designated communities are listed in the bill and include places like...

    Simple Explanation

    The bill asks the postal service to give special codes, called ZIP Codes, to certain towns in 17 states, so they each have their own unique number. These changes need to happen within about nine months after the bill becomes a law.

  • The bill, S. 4678, allocates funds for the operation of the U.S. Legislative Branch for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025. It covers expenses for the Senate, Capitol Police, Library of Congress, and other related offices. The bill also includes provisions for debt...

    Simple Explanation

    The bill is like a big shopping list for running the U.S. Congress, where they decide how much money to spend on things like paying the people who work there, keeping everything safe, and taking care of the library. It also talks about being careful with what they buy from other countries and making sure they're not wasting money or hurting the environment.

  • S. 4390, known as the “No Foreign Emoluments Without Congressional Consent Act,” seeks to amend title 5 of the United States Code to prevent the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, and other senior federal officials from accepting foreign payments without Congress's consent. The...

    Simple Explanation

    The bill is like a rule that says important people in the U.S., like the President and Congress members, can't accept gifts or money from other countries unless all the grown-ups in charge agree. If they break this rule, they might have to give the gifts back, pay a big fine, or even face trouble.

  • S. 3639 designates the United States Postal Service facility located at 2075 West Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as the "Robert Hayden Post Office." This renaming applies to all references in laws, maps, regulations, and documents related to this facility, ensuring...

    Simple Explanation

    In this bill, the post office on West Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is getting a new name! It will be called the "Robert Hayden Post Office" in honor of that person.

  • S. 4688, known as the “Counter Kleptocracy Coordination Act of 2024,” proposes to create a special position within the National Security Council to tackle foreign corruption and kleptocracy. This bill requires the President to appoint an officer responsible for assessing...

    Simple Explanation

    S. 4688 wants to create a new job to help the U.S. government work together to stop bad guys in other countries from stealing money. This person would make sure everyone is doing their part and tell the government leaders how they are doing once a year.

  • H. RES. 1005 emphasizes the importance of local print and digital journalism for maintaining the welfare, transparency, and prosperity of government at all levels in the United States. The resolution points out the decline of local journalism due to decreasing subscriptions,...

    Simple Explanation

    H. RES. 1005 is about how important local news is for making sure governments work well and are honest. It asks for help from the government to make sure these local newspapers and websites can keep going, but doesn't say exactly how to do it or who will help.

  • The S. CON. RES. 40 proposes new congressional oversight to improve regulatory reforms. It aims to establish a Joint Select Committee on Regulatory Reform to review how rules are made by federal agencies, suggest reducing unnecessary regulations, and recommend legislative...

    Simple Explanation

    The S. CON. RES. 40 wants to make sure the rules made by the government are good for people and the economy by having a special group of Congress members check them carefully, like how a teacher might check a student's homework to make sure it's done right and fair. This group will have the power to ask for a lot of information and even call important meetings to find the best ways to make rules that don't cause problems or waste money.

  • S. 4698 seeks to reauthorize and make changes to the Joint Task Forces within the Department of Homeland Security. It amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require staffing plans for each Joint Task Force and mandates annual reports on their performance and any changes...

    Simple Explanation

    The bill wants to make sure certain groups in the Department of Homeland Security have enough staff and resources to do their jobs well. It also says these groups should tell Congress how they are doing every year.

  • H.R. 9566, also known as the "Source code Harmonization And Reuse in Information Technology Act" or the "SHARE IT Act," aims to promote governmentwide sharing of source code. It mandates that federal agencies must make their custom-developed software code available in...

    Simple Explanation

    The "SHARE IT Act" is a new rule that says government workers should share the computer code they create, a bit like sharing toys at school, so other workers can use it too. Some secret codes stay hidden to keep us safe, and the rule doesn’t need extra money to start.

  • The bill, H. R. 9973, titled the “COINTELPRO Full Disclosure Act,” proposes the public release of records related to COINTELPRO, a covert FBI program aimed at surveilling and disrupting domestic organizations from 1956. It seeks to establish a COINTELPRO Records Collection at...

    Simple Explanation

    The bill wants to make old secret FBI papers about a program called COINTELPRO available for everyone to see, keep them safe in a big library, and have a special team to check these papers before they are shared. It also wants to change the name of the FBI's main building.

  • The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act of 2024 aims to combat climate change by imposing a tax on fossil fuel companies based on their carbon dioxide emissions. The revenue collected will be used to establish the Polluters Pay Climate Fund, which will finance initiatives related...

    Simple Explanation

    The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act of 2024 is like a rule that says companies using fossil fuels (like oil and coal) have to pay money for the pollution they make. This money goes into a big pot to help protect the environment and help people who are most hurt by pollution.

  • H.R. 9592, titled the “Federal Register Modernization Act of 2024,” seeks to update processes related to the Federal Register, a publication for federal government documents. It proposes amendments to various sections of title 44 of the United States Code, replacing terms...

    Simple Explanation

    The Federal Register Modernization Act of 2024 aims to update how the government shares important documents, like replacing "printing" with "publishing" to use more modern ways, like the internet, to ensure people can see these documents easily, even during emergencies.

  • H. R. 8308 aims to extend the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003 by changing the expiration date from 2025 to 2030. Additionally, the bill makes a technical correction to the original act by revising a punctuation error. This legislation was passed by the House of...

    Simple Explanation

    H. R. 8308 is like pressing the snooze button on an alarm clock, but for a program that helps get rid of a pesky kind of animal called nutria. It also fixes a little mistake in the wording of the original law.

  • S. 4197 proposes changes to the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. The bill aims to extend certain surveillance authorities under title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act from April 19, 2024, to May 17, 2024. The changes will be applied as if they were enacted on...

    Simple Explanation

    S. 4197 is like a rule that helps people who watch out for bad guys to keep using their special tools to do so, without stopping, for one more month. This way, they can keep us safe without any breaks.

  • H. RES. 949 is a resolution passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on January 9, 2024. It formally announces that a sufficient number of House members are present, establishing a quorum, and states that the House is prepared to begin its legislative session. The Clerk of...

    Simple Explanation

    H. RES. 949 is like a big "We're ready!" message from the U.S. House of Representatives saying that enough people are there to start working, and they let the Senate know about it.

  • S. 5312, known as the "ORG CHART Act," requires government agencies to create and maintain clear organizational hierarchies. The agencies must provide diagrams and lists showing the relationships between their offices and positions, identify leaders, note if any positions are vacant or filled...

    Simple Explanation

    The ORG CHART Act says that government offices have to make easy-to-understand family tree-like diagrams to show who is in charge and how they are connected, and this information should be available online, but they can't use extra money to do it.

  • H. RES. 40 is a resolution from the House of Representatives dated January 14, 2025. It outlines the election of specific members to several standing committees within the House. These committees include Armed Services, Education and Workforce, Energy and Commerce, Homeland...

    Simple Explanation

    H. RES. 40 is like picking team members for a big project at school. It tells who will help with important jobs like keeping everyone safe and making new rules, but it doesn't say how they were picked or what exactly they will do.

  • H.R. 8424 is a bill referred to as the “UAP Transparency Act” that aims to make all government documents, reports, and other records related to unidentified anomalous phenomena available to the public. The bill requires the President to ensure that relevant federal...

    Simple Explanation

    H.R. 8424 wants the government to share all its secret papers and reports about strange and unidentified things in the sky with everyone. The President has to make sure this happens within about 9 months and tell Congress how it's going after about a year.

  • H. R. 7032, also known as the "Congressional Budget Office Data Sharing Act," aims to improve the data-sharing process between executive branch agencies and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill allows the CBO director to request information from these agencies...

    Simple Explanation

    The bill wants to make it easier for a helpful office in Congress to get important information from other parts of the government to do their job better. It also says they should keep any secrets they learn while doing this.