One Subject at a Time Act

Key Points

• Every bill or joint resolution passed by Congress would be limited to a single subject, and that subject must be clearly stated in the title. This is designed to end the practice of massive omnibus bills that bundle unrelated topics into one vote.
• Spending bills would be restricted from including new laws or policy changes that are not related to the money being spent. However, the bill still allows provisions that put limits on how appropriated money is used.
• If a bill's title covers two or more unrelated subjects, the entire law would be thrown out. If the title covers one subject but the bill contains unrelated provisions, only those unrelated provisions would be voided.
• Any regular person harmed by a law that violates these rules, or any member of Congress, could sue the federal government to block enforcement of the offending law. Courts would review these challenges with no deference to Congress, using a fresh (de novo) standard.
• This bill would fundamentally change how Congress writes and passes legislation, making it much harder to use must-pass spending bills as vehicles for unrelated policy changes. It could slow down the legislative process but increase transparency about what lawmakers are actually voting on.

Impact Analysis

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Votes

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