Democracy in Congress Act of 2004

The Democracy in Congress Act of 2004 was a legislative proposal designed to increase transparency and accountability within the House of Representatives. It aimed to reform internal procedures by limiting late-night voting, ensuring legislative documents are available online before votes, and strengthening the rules for how committees disclose information.

For the public, the bill’s primary impact would have been greater visibility into the legislative process through a new, searchable database of lobbying activities and stricter ethics rules for former members of Congress. It also sought to improve government oversight by creating a bipartisan commission to evaluate how effectively Congress monitors the executive branch. While the bill was introduced in 2004, it did not advance past the committee stage to become law.