# 119-s-2838: Protecting Our Democracy Act 119-s-2838, Protecting Our Democracy Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2838 - As of: 2026-08-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-s-2838 - Congress: 119 - Title: Protecting Our Democracy Act - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2025-09-17 - Sponsor: Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA) - Cosponsors: 10 - Policy area: Government Operations and Politics - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-08-12 ## Summary **This bill would tighten presidential accountability** by creating new oversight of pardons and emoluments and by strengthening ethics, disclosure, and enforcement across the Executive Branch. - Presidents, pardon recipients, and former Presidents would face new limits and disclosures. The Attorney General would have to send prosecution materials to congressional committee leaders within 30 days after a pardon for defined "covered offenses", the bill bans a President's self‑pardon, and pardon recipients must disclose gifts from the prior 365 days and file annual gift reports for five years. - Executive branch officials and appointees would face upgraded ethics rules and enforcement. Agencies would require enforceable ethics pledges, the Office of Government Ethics could impose fines and order disgorgement or divestiture, the Executive Office of the President would get an Inspector General appointed within 120 days, and whistleblowers would gain broader protections including new private remedies in the intelligence community. - Elections, Congress, and the public would get stronger transparency and oversight tools. The bill would expand congressional subpoena and budget enforcement, limit emergency powers, require political committees to report certain foreign contacts and platforms to keep ad records, and it would require Presidents and major party candidates to disclose 10 years of tax returns while capping inaugural donations at $50,000. ## Cosponsors (10) - Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-09-17T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-09-17T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-09-17T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-09-17T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ] (D-AZ), 2025-09-17T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Alsobrooks, Angela D. [D-MD] (D-MD), 2025-09-17T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT), 2025-09-17T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI), 2025-09-17T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-10-03T00:00:00.000Z - Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA), 2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - Limit national emergencies and reporting: benefit, high. If enacted, this bill would sharply limit how long a presidential national emergency can run without Congress approving it. An emergency and any specified emergency powers would end after one year unless the President renews and Congress enacts a joint resolution. Emergency powers generally would a… - More accountability for President and Vice President: benefit, high. If enacted, this bill would tighten legal limits and oversight for Presidents, Vice Presidents, and former Presidents. It would declare any presidential self-pardon void and treat pardons or offers of pardons as official acts that can be bribery evidence. DOJ could give Congress required pardon mat… - Stronger whistleblower and petition protections: benefit, medium. If enacted, this bill would broaden and speed up protections for federal whistleblowers and for employees who petition Congress. It would extend protections to fellows, interns, certain public health and NOAA officers, and some appointees. Some investigations and referrals would count as personnel… - Bigger whistleblower and IG protections: benefit, medium. If enacted, whistleblowers in the Executive Branch and Intelligence Community would get stronger protections. The bill would speed MSPB stays and appeals, let prevailing claimants recover attorney fees, treat some short furloughs as adverse actions, and allow some MSPB claims to be filed in distric… - Shorter acting-official terms and notices: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would tighten who may serve in acting jobs and for how long. First assistants would generally need 30 days in the job before filling in, starting 180 days after enactment. Acting officers would generally need one year of agency service before serving. Some acting-service limits… - More transparency for legal opinions and spending: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would limit when the Office of Legal Counsel can withhold final opinions and require written withholding reasons and unclassified summaries. Withholding would normally last no more than three years. The bill would expand the detail agencies must include when reporting Antidefic… - Public access to legal advice and visitors: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would make more executive-branch legal and visitor records public. The Justice Department would post final Office of Legal Counsel opinions on a searchable website on a staged timetable. The President would post a public, searchable White House visitor list every 90 days. The A… - Stronger tools to enforce subpoenas: benefit, medium. If enacted, either House or a committee could sue in federal court to enforce a congressional subpoena. Courts must handle these cases quickly and may use three-judge panels with fast appeals. People who withhold subpoenaed material must give a detailed log explaining the withholding. Courts could… - Tougher emoluments and pardon oversight: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would broaden and define what counts as an "emolument" and bar officials, including the President and Vice President, from accepting some foreign or domestic payments without Congress's consent. Congress could sue in D.C. court to enforce the ban and get injunctions, disgorgeme… - More budget and emergency oversight: benefit, medium. If enacted, agencies must tell Congress when apportionments or fund availability are delayed. GAO could sue to compel release of budget authority or documents. The Attorney General would review Antideficiency Act reports and send an annual report to Congress by March 31. Impoundment violations woul… - Protect noncitizen journalistic expression: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would make clear that its rules are not meant to stop legitimate journalism or political expression by people living in the United States who are not U.S. citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents. - Higher standards for acting officials: benefit, low. If enacted, people who serve as acting heads of agencies must meet the same legal qualifications as the permanent office. Acting officials would also have to appear before the relevant Senate and House committees at least once every 60 days, unless committees waive the requirement. - Stricter Hatch Act penalties for employees: cost, high. If enacted, knowingly violating the Hatch Act could become a crime with a fine up to $50,000 and up to 1 year in jail. Repeat violations would double the fine each time. The Merit Systems Protection Board could compel testimony in certain investigations. OSC must publish final determinations quickl… - New rules for political ads and donations: mixed, high. If enacted, paid online ads would count as electioneering and face stricter disclosure rules. Platforms would need clearer disclaimers and safe-harbor rules for text, audio, and video. Giving opposition research or non-public polling from foreign nationals would be barred. The bill would ban foreig… - New rules on foreign contacts and political ads: mixed, high. If enacted, the bill would make political committees adopt rules so staff report certain foreign contacts quickly and keep records for three years. Candidates and campaign staff would have to report some foreign contacts within 3 days. Willful failures to report could bring fines up to $500,000 and… - Stricter rules for appointees and recusal: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would bar people finally convicted of listed crimes while serving as a CEO from being appointed to executive-branch jobs. Officials must recuse from matters touching organizations they served in during the prior four years in many listed roles. The nepotism ban would extend to… - Ethics pledges and OGE enforcement rules: mixed, medium. If enacted, most political appointees starting January 20, 2025 would have to sign an ethics pledge. The pledge would bar gifts from registered lobbyists, impose recusal and post-employment limits, and require written ethics agreements for some conflicts. OGE must write rules on legal expense funds… ## Related bills - 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026 - 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act - 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026 - 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act - 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act - 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026 ## Sources - [119-s-2838 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2838) ## Related - [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066) - [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283) - [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990) - [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823) - [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51) - [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2838 (as of 2026-08-12).