Congress·In Committee·H.R. 1387

COST Act

Federal Spending Disclosure Requirements

Feb 14, 2025·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is one vehicle in a longer effort. See the full story across every version.View effort →

StalledNext up: A house committeeNo action in 16 months

The COST Act was recently introduced in the House and is currently being reviewed by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. This is the first step in the legislative process, and no further actions are scheduled at this time. The bill is considered active as it begins its journey through Congress.

Legislative Progress

House

No action since February 2025

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

While transparency is often popular, this bill is sponsored by a small group of Republicans and lacks broad bipartisan support. Most bills introduced early in a session without many cosponsors do not become law.

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 2968 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 2968 (118th) →

Key Points

This bill requires anyone using federal money for a project to tell the public exactly how much tax money is being spent. This includes government agencies, state and local governments, and groups receiving federal research grants.
When these groups talk about their projects in press releases, bid requests, or other documents, they must list the total dollar amount of federal funds used. They also have to show what percentage of the project's total cost comes from the federal government versus private sources.
The rule does not apply to very short messages, like social media posts under 280 characters. This ensures that the focus is on official reports and announcements rather than quick updates.
To make sure people follow the rules, the Office of Management and Budget will check random samples of public announcements every year. They will also set up a way for the public to anonymously report any group that is not being honest about their spending.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Feb 14, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Feb 14, 2025

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

No votes or news coverage recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

COST Act

Bill NumberHR 1387

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(3)

R: 3

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.