Good Bills for a Better Congress

We hope to pass these bills in the next Congress if we can hold our House majority and increase our Senate majority enough to render Manchin and Sinema powerless to block progressive legislation. These bills show what the government can and should be doing for the American people as a whole rather than just the top one percent. We hope you can use them to inspire your friends and family to vote in the midterm election. 

Look up additional information on bills by number or topic at GovTrack.us.

JUDICIARY

Supreme Court Ethics Act — HR.4766, S.2512

House intro: 7/28/2021

Senate intro: 7/28/2021

All other federal judges are subject to the offi­cial Code of Conduct for United States Judges, which requires them to uphold the integ­rity and inde­pend­ence of the judi­ciary and governs matters like recusal, finan­cial disclos­ure, outside employ­ment, partisan polit­ical engage­ment, and gifts. This bill would require the Judi­cial Confer­ence of the United States to issue a code of ethics for the entire federal judi­ciary, includ­ing the Supreme Court, within one year of enact­ment.

The Judiciary Act of 2021 — H.R. 2584, S.1141

House intro: 4/15/2021

Senate intro: 4/15/2021

Expands the United States Supreme Court by four seats, bringing the number of seated justices to 13.

Congressional Inherent Contempt Resolution of 2022 — H.R. 869

House intro 1/12/2022

Introduced by Rep Ted Lieu to enable Congress to independently enforce subpoenas and other Congressional actions by directly levying penalties against those refusing to comply. Amends House rules to provide a clear and fair method to implement Congress’ inherent ability to hold individuals in contempt and levy penalties if they refuse to comply with subpoenas. Co-sponsors: Joe Neguse (D-CO), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Val Demings (D-FL), David Cicilline (D-RI), Madeleine Dean (D-PA)

George Floyd Justice in Policing Act — H.R. 1280

House intro: 3/3/2021

Measures designed to remove barriers to holding law enforcement officers accountable for police brutality, including: 

CLIMATE ACTION

Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax — H.R. 7061, S.3802

House intro: 3/10/2022

Senate intro: 3/10/2022

Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are introducing the bicameral Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax to curb profiteering by oil companies and provide Americans relief at the gas pump. 

Climate Emergency Act of 2021 — H.R. 794, S.938

House into 2/4/2021

Senate intro 3/23/2021

The National Emergencies Act of 1976 allows a president to declare an official national emergency, which in turn unlocks a number of concurrent presidential powers and authorities. 

FEMA Climate Change Preparedness Act — H.R. 744, S.280 

House intro: 2/3/2021

Senate intro: 2/8/2021

Requires Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to revise its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan to ensure it (and future plans) explicitly mentions climate change and addresses the implications of climate change on homeland security and near- and long-term national disaster risk, and (2) ensure that future strategic plans do likewise.

  • DHS must establish a Climate Change Subcommittee to advise FEMA on how to best incorporate climate change, including risk assessments and strategies for adaptation and mitigation, into and throughout FEMA's policies, plans, programs, and operations. 

  • FEMA must publish as a report, submit to specified congressional committees, and make available to Congress and the public, a comprehensive assessment of climate change risks and preparedness.

  • Clarke Introduces Legislation to Combat the Impacts of Climate Change - Congresswoman Yvette Clarke 

  • Co-Sponsors: House 49 Democrats

Climate Risk Disclosure Act of 2021 — S.1217, H.R. 2570

Senate intro 4/19/2021

Passed in House: 6/16/2021

This bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to require an issuer of securities to annually disclose information regarding climate change-related risks posed to the issuer, including an issuer's strategies and actions to mitigate these risks.

Global Climate Change Resilience Strategy, to authorize the admission of climate-displaced persons — H.R. 2826, S.1335

House intro: 4/22/2021

Senate intro: 4/22/2021

Establishes an immigration pathway to admit climate-displaced persons into the United States. Individuals (1) who need durable resettlement because of an environmental change that adversely affects their living conditions, and (2) whose government cannot or will not provide a resettlement solution. Persons admitted to the United States under this pathway are entitled to the same resettlement assistance and benefits available to refugees.

Women and Climate Change Act of 2022 — H.R. 260, S.3774

House intro 1/11/2021

Senate intro 3/8/2022

This bill addresses climate change and its effects on women and girls and establishes the Federal Interagency Working Group on Women and Climate Change within the Department of State. The bill outlines its functions, including the coordination of agencies' policies and activities relating to combating the effects of climate change on women and improving the government's response to and strategy for climate change. Requires submission of a strategy to prevent and respond to the effects of climate change on women.

CIVIL RIGHTS

Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) — S.1975, H.R. 3755

Passed House: 9/24/2021

Filibustered in Senate: 2/28/2022

A bill to protect a person's ability to determine whether to continue or end a pregnancy, and to protect a health care provider's ability to provide abortion services. Governments may not: 

  • Limit a provider's ability to prescribe certain drugs, offer abortion services via telemedicine, or immediately provide abortion services when the provider determines a delay risks the patient's health. 

  • Require a provider to perform unnecessary medical procedures, provide medically inaccurate information, comply with credentialing or other conditions that do not apply to providers whose services are medically comparable to abortions, or carry out all services connected to an abortion. 

  • Require patients to make medically unnecessary in-person visits before receiving abortion services or disclose their reasons for obtaining such services, or (2) prohibit abortion services before fetal viability or after fetal viability when a provider determines the pregnancy risks the patient's life or health.

  • Co-Sponsors: House:  215 Democrats.  Senate: 45 Democrats, 2 Independents

  • Senate Fails to Advance Women's Health Protection Act (WHPA) | Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law 

  • Issues - Planned Parenthood Action 

  • Issues - NARAL Pro-Choice California 

John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act — H.R. 4, S.4

Passed the House: 8/24/2021

Filibustered in Senate: 11/3/2021

A bill to amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to revise the criteria for determining which States and political subdivisions are subject to section 4 of the Act, and for other purposes, and restore provisions weakened by the Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby v. Holder decision.

  • Co-Sponsors: House 223 Democrats, Senate: 46 Democrats, 2 Independents

For The People Act — H.R.1  S.1

Passed the House: 3/3/2021

Senate intro: 3/17/2021

To expand Americans' access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for other purposes.

  • Title I: Modern­iz­ing Voter Regis­tra­tion, Restor­ing Voting Rights, Protect­ing the Ballot

  • Title II: Restor­ing the Voting Rights Act, DC and Territ­orial Voting Rights, Ending Gerry­man­der­ing

  • Title III: Elec­tion Secur­ity

  • Title IV: Campaign Trans­par­ency, Coun­ter­ing Foreign Inter­fer­ence

  • Title V: Empower­ing Small Donors and Related Reforms

  • Title VI: Enfor­cing Campaign Finance Laws, Strength­en­ing Campaign Contri­bu­tion Limits

  • Title VII: Supreme Court Ethics Reform, Expand­ing Lobby­ist Disclos­ure, FARA Reform, Recusal of Pres­id­en­tial Appointees

  • Title VIII: Exec­ut­ive Branch Ethics Reforms

  • Title IX: Congres­sional Ethics Reforms

  • Title X: Disclos­ure of Pres­id­en­tial Tax Returns

  • Annotated Guide to the For the People Act of 2021 | Brennan Center for Justice 

Proposed alternative to For the People Act and the John Lewis VRAA proposed by Manchin team: Freedom to Vote Act, S.2747. Introduced: 9/24/2021. Filibustered 10/20/2021.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM

Bipartisan Ban on Congressional Stock Ownership Act — H.R.6678, S.3631

Senate intro 2/10/2022

House intro 2/9/2022

Goes beyond other proposals to ban stock trading, and additionally bans the ownership of individual stocks, by Members of Congress and their spouses. 

The DISCLOSE Act — H.R. 1334, S.443

House intro: 2/25/2021

Senate intro: 2/25/2021

Introduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse in every Congress since 2012, requires organizations spending money in elections – including super PACs and 501(c)(4) dark money groups – to promptly disclose donors who have given $10,000 or more during an election cycle. This will permit Americans to see who is really spending to influence elections. 

ECONOMIC JUSTICE

Prohibiting Anticompetitive Mergers Act — H.R.7101, S.3847

House intro: 3/16/2022

Senate intro: 3/16/2022

Bans the biggest, most anticompetitive mergers. Strengthens the FTC’s and DOJ’s tools to break up harmful mergers. Overhauls the merger review process to allow the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reject deals without a court order. Requires regulators to evaluate the impacts of a merger on communities of color. 

Billionaires Income Tax — Not introduced in Congress yet

Requires billionaires to start paying taxes on the gains in their wealth each year. just like workers pay taxes on their paychecks each year.

GUN SAFETY

Ghost Guns Are Guns Act — H.R. 1454

House intro: 3/1/2021

Would treat “firearm assembly kits” as firearms, for purposes of federal law and subject anybody who buys one to the federal background checks required for handguns purchased through licensed firearms dealers. The ATF recovered 10,000 ghost guns in 2019. 

Gun Violence Prevention Research Act of 2021 — H.R. 825, S.281 

House intro: 2/4/2021

Senate intro: 2/8/2021

Authorizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct or support research on firearms safety or gun violence prevention.

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

Democrats in Congress worked hard to finally obtain protection of our reproductive rights in 1973, via Roe v. Wade.. Democrats in Congress have never stopped fighting to restore and strengthen our reproductive rights since the Supreme Court issued its Dobbs v. Jackson decision on June 24, 2022. These bills are also written to protect those who provide or facilitate abortion care. They are designed to define and expand our rights legislatively to make all of us less vulnerable to the whims of a highly partisan Supreme Court.

My Body, My Data Act of 2022 – H.R. 8111, S.1656

Introduced 6/16/2022 by Rep. Sara . Cosponsors: 118, all Democrats. Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Establishes protections for personal reproductive or sexual health information. This includes information relating to past, present, or future surgeries or procedures, such as the termination of a pregnancy. Specifically, commercial entities, including individuals, nonprofits, and common carriers, may not collect, retain, use, or disclose personal reproductive or sexual health information.

Senate bill S.1656 introduced 5/17/2023 by Senator Mazie Hirono. Cosponsors: 15 Democrats

Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act of 2022 – S. 4504 

Introduced: 7/12/2022, by Senator Cortez-Masto. Cosponsors: 39 Democrats, 1 Independent. Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Freedom to Travel for Healthcare Act of 2023– S.4503. Reintroduced 6/20/2023, by Senator Cortes Masto.

Prohibits anyone from interfering with a person's ability to access out-of-state reproductive health care. (Reproductive health care is defined as medical, surgical, counseling, or referral services related to pregnancy, the termination of a pregnancy, contraception services, and other reproductive care.)

Reproductive Freedom for All Act – S.4688

Introduced: 8/1/2022 by Senator Tim Kaine. Cosponsors: Kyrsten Sinema, Lisa Murkowski & Susan Collins. Referred to the Judiciary Committee.)

Establishes a general right of all persons to make certain reproductive decisions without undue government interference. It specifically provides statutory authority for the Supreme Court's prior holdings in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. In Roe, the Court held that the Constitution protects a woman's decision to terminate her pregnancy. 

Protecting National Access to Reproductive Care Act of 2022 – S.4748

Introduced: 8/2/2022 by Senator Booker. Cosponsors: 5 Democrats, 1 Independent. 

A bill to provide for national uniformity for reproductive health products.


Let Doctors Provide Reproductive Healthcare Act – H.R.8650 , S.1297

Introduced 8/2/2022 by Rep. Kim Shriver. Cosponsors: 3 Democrats.

Sets out protections for and establishes programs to support health care providers (and those who assist such providers) who offer reproductive health care services that are lawful in the state where the services are provided. Reproductive health care services refer to abortion services; contraceptive services; in vitro fertilization; or other reproductive care, education,

Senate Bill, S.1297, introduced 4/26/2023 by Senator Patty Murray. Cosponsors: 28 Democrats, 1 Independent 


Reproductive Healthcare Accessibility Act – S.4764, H.R.9040

Introduced 8/03/2022 by Senator Murray. Cosponsors: 10 Democrats.1 Independent.

Establishes various grants and related programs that address sexual and reproductive health care for individuals with disabilities. 

House bill introduced 9/30/2022 by Rep Cori Bush. Cosponsors: 24 Democrats.


SHIELD Act – H.R.8838 

Introduced 9/15/2022 by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. Cosponsors: 2 Democrats

Safeguard Healthcare Industry Employees from Litigation and Distress Act or the SHIELD Act This bill establishes a framework to limit interference with persons seeking to provide or access reproductive health services at the state level. For the purposes of this summary, interference with persons seeking to provide or access reproductive health services includes acts to prevent, restrict, impede, or retaliate against a health care provider.

SAFE for Patients Act – H.R.8667 

Introduced 9/15/2022 by Rep. Jackie Speier. Cosponsors:10 Democrats

To establish a cause of action with respect to reproductive health services, and for other purposes.

HHS Reproductive and Sexual Health Ombuds Act of 2022 – H.R.9254

Introduced 10/28/2022 by Rep. Nikema Williams. Cosponsors: 4 Democrats

To establish within the Department of Health and Human Services an Ombuds for Reproductive and Sexual Health.


Right to Build Families Act of 2022 – S.5276 

Introduced 12/15/2022 by Senator Tammy Duckworth. Cosponsors: 3 Democrats/

A bill to prohibit the limitation of access to assisted reproductive technology, and all medically necessary care surrounding such technology.

Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act — H.R. 782 

Introduced: 2/02/2023. Cosponsors: 176 Democrats

Prohibits anyone acting under state law from interfering with a person's ability to access out-of-state abortion services. (Abortion services include the use of any drugs that are approved to terminate pregnancies and any health care services related to an abortion, whether or not the services are provided at the same time or on the same day as the abortion.)

Specifically, the bill prohibits any person acting under state law from preventing, restricting, impeding, or retaliating against health care providers who provide legal abortion services to out-of-state residents, any person or entity who helps health care providers to provide such services, any person who travels to another state to obtain such services, any person or entity who helps another person travel to another state to obtain such services, or the movement in interstate commerce of drugs that are approved to terminate pregnancies. The Department of Justice may enforce this bill through civil actions; the bill also establishes a private right of action for violations.

Reproductive Health Patient Navigator Act of 2023 – S.2439

Introduced 7/20/2023 by Senator Cortez-Masto. Cosponsors:10 Democrats.

A bill to establish a grant program to fund reproductive health patient navigators for individuals seeking abortion services.


Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act — H.R. 782 

Introduced: 2/02/2023. Cosponsors: 176 Democrats

This bill prohibits anyone acting under state law from interfering with a person's ability to access out-of-state abortion services. (Abortion services include the use of any drugs that are approved to terminate pregnancies and any health care services related to an abortion, whether or not the services are provided at the same time or on the same day as the abortion.)