Congress·In Committee·H.R. 8422

CLEAN Act

Ethics: Making the Office of Congressional Ethics Permanent

Apr 21·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Next up: A house committee

The CLEAN Act is in the early stages of the legislative process after being introduced in the House. Since April 20, 2026, the bill has been sitting with the Committee on House Administration and the Committee on Rules for review. No further action has occurred, and the bill is currently stalled as it waits for these committees to consider it.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

While ethics reform is popular with the public, members of Congress are often slow to pass laws that make oversight of their own actions permanent and harder to change.

Key Points

This bill makes the Office of Congressional Ethics a permanent part of federal law. Right now, this office is created by a House rule that must be renewed every two years. Making it permanent ensures the office stays active even if political leadership changes.
The office is an independent group that looks into claims of misconduct by members of the House of Representatives. By making it permanent, the bill aims to keep the ethics process stable and less likely to be shut down for political reasons.
New rules would limit board members to serving four terms of two years each. It also requires vacancies on the board to be filled within 60 days so the office can keep doing its work without long delays.
The bill protects the rights of people being investigated by making sure they are told they have a right to a lawyer. It also states that using a lawyer cannot be held against them during the investigation.

Impact Analysis

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

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Apr 21, 2026House

Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Apr 21, 2026

Introduced in House

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

No votes, news coverage, or related bills recorded for this bill yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

CLEAN Act

Bill NumberHR 8422

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)

R: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.