# 119-hres-997: Enabling the House of Representatives to be responsive to its membership.

119-hres-997, Enabling the House of Representatives to be responsive to its membership., is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2] (D-MA); status introduced (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hres-997
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hres-997
- Congress: 119
- Title: Enabling the House of Representatives to be responsive to its membership.
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-01-14
- Sponsor: Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2] (D-MA)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Congress
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Strengthen House rules and oversight** by requiring strict compliance with House and committee rules and by narrowing when the House can suspend its rules. - Members, Delegates, the Resident Commissioner, officers, and employees would be required to follow both the letter and the spirit of House rules and the rules of duly constituted committees. This codifies a written standard of conduct for people who work in the House. - Suspending House rules would face tighter limits: suspensions could pass only by a two-thirds vote of Members voting with a quorum present, and suspension motions would be debatable for 40 minutes split evenly between supporters and opponents. The Speaker could only consider suspension motions on early weekdays and during the final days of a session, and while a suspension is pending the Speaker may allow one motion to adjourn but no other motions. - The Clerk would install clocks in the House Chamber showing every U.S. time zone in real time, placed where Members can see them and implemented under rules from the Committee on House Administration.

## Provisions PRIA read

- Clocks showing all U.S. time zones: benefit, low. If adopted, the resolution would direct the Clerk of the House to place clocks in the House Chamber that show each United States time zone in real time. The clocks would be placed where Members can clearly see them, and the Clerk would follow rules from the Committee on House Administration. This r…
- House officials must follow rules: mixed, low. If adopted, the resolution would require every Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, and employee of the House to follow the House Rules and the rules of duly constituted committees in both spirit and letter. This requirement would take effect upon adoption.
- New limits on suspending rules: mixed, low. If adopted, the resolution would amend House procedure so a rule could only be suspended by a two-thirds vote of the Members voting, a quorum being present. The Speaker could only entertain a motion to suspend the rules on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and the last six days of a session. While a s…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-185: Responsible Legislating Act
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-6039: Commonsense Legislating Act
- 119-hr-2038: American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act

## Sources
- [119-hres-997 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-resolution/997)

## Related
- [119-hr-185: Responsible Legislating Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-185)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-6039: Commonsense Legislating Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6039)
- [119-hr-2038: American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2038)
- [119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3971)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hres-997 (as of 2026-04-21).