Duty of Transparency Act

Members must disclose long absences

This bill would require any Member of Congress who reasonably believes they will be absent from their House's proceedings for at least 21 consecutive calendar days to file a disclosure within 5 calendar days after forming that belief. The disclosure would list expected dates, explain the reason, say whether the Member can perform official duties (including remote work) and describe those duties, and give contact details for an employee paid from the Member's representational allowance who can access the Member. If a Member is incapacitated and cannot file on time, the Member would have 5 calendar days after the incapacity ends to file. Members would have to update the disclosure every 30 days while the absence continues, and the designated attending officer would post each disclosure on a public website within 2 calendar days. Members would not be required to disclose protected health information. Failures to comply would be matters for the applicable House ethics committee. The rule would apply to absences that begin after enactment.