HRES1228Referred to Committee

Directing the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives to initiate or intervene in judicial proceedings.

Share:
Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-04-29
Introduced
20
Cosponsors
HRES
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Robert Garcia
Robert Garcia
Democrat · CA · Representative
Votes with party: 98.4% (572 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/G000598

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (20)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Referred to the House Committee on Rules.

2026-04-29

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

Previously

Plain-English Summary

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform would be authorized to start or join lawsuits on behalf of Congress, allowing the committee to defend the legislative branch's interests in court. This would give Congress a direct legal tool to challenge executive branch actions or defend its own powers without waiting for the Department of Justice to act. The measure affects how Congress can protect its constitutional authority and oversight responsibilities through the judicial system.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Congress

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H. Res. 1228 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1228 Directing the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives to initiate or intervene in judicial proceedings. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 29, 2026 Mr. Garcia of California (for himself, Ms. Ansari, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Min, Ms. Norton, Mr. Subramanyam, Ms. Simon, Ms. Randall, Mr. Bell, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Mfume, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Casar, Ms. Crockett, Ms. Stansbury, Ms. Brown, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Frost, and Mr. Walkinshaw) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules _______________________________________________________________________ RESOLUTION Directing the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives to initiate or intervene in judicial proceedings. Resolved, That the chair of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives, not later than 30 days after the date of the approval of this resolution, shall initiate or intervene in a judicial proceeding in any Federal court of competent jurisdiction, on behalf of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to seek declaratory judgment affirming the duty of Pamela J. Bondi to comply with the subpoena duly issued to her by the chair of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on March 17, 2026, for deposition testimony as part of its investigation into the Federal Government's enforcement of sex trafficking laws generally, and specifically the Department of Justice's collection, management, and production of documents and files relating to Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators, and to seek appropriate ancillary relief, including injunctive relief. Resolved, that the chair of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives shall report as soon as practicable to the House with respect to any judicial proceeding initiated or intervened in pursuant to this resolution. Resolved, that the Office of General Counsel of the House of Representatives shall represent the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives in any judicial proceeding initiated or intervened in pursuant to this resolution. Resolved, that the Office of General Counsel of the House of Representatives is authorized to retain private counsel, either for pay or pro bono, to assist in the representation of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives in any judicial proceeding initiated or intervened in pursuant to this resolution. <all>
Open clean-text viewRead on Congress.gov →

Related legislation

Bills by the same sponsor or covering overlapping subjects.