← Back to Bills
H.R. 10014House119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

Restoring Accountability in Appropriations Act

Sponsored by Donald S. Beyer, Jr.Rep. Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA)
Introduced August 3, 2026

AI-Generated Summary

Updated August 5, 2026 at 5:51 AM UTC

The Restoring Accountability in Appropriations Act would change the 1974 Impoundment Control Act so that individuals and the House of Representatives can sue the federal government when required budget authority is illegally withheld. It creates a private right of action and a specific congressional procedure for filing civil suits to force the release of that authority. The changes affect any federal department, agency, officer or employee that improperly impounds funds, as well as the courts and the House leadership that may bring the actions.

Key Provisions

  • Adds a new private right of action: any person harmed by an illegal withholding of budget authority can file a civil lawsuit in federal court for injunctions or other relief to make the funds available.
  • Creates a congressional right of action: designated House leaders (Speaker, party leaders, budget and oversight committee chairs/ranking members) can request a Comptroller General report and, if the President fails to act, the House can file a resolution to initiate or intervene in a civil suit on its behalf.
  • Specifies procedural rules for the House to introduce, fast‑track, and consider the resolution that triggers the congressional lawsuit, including tight timelines for committee reporting and limited debate.
  • Amends the table of contents of the Impoundment Control Act to insert the new sections on private suits (Sec. 1018) and congressional action (Sec. 1019).

Legislative Activity

Stay on top of the latest movement without scrolling through every action

1 earlier action
HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Budget Committee

August 3, 2026

View full timeline
HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

August 3, 2026

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Budget Committee

August 3, 2026

Bill Text

Latest available legislative text

Reading Mode
Latest
Raw Text PDF XML
Introduced in HouseIssued August 3, 2026

I

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 10014

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

August 3, 2026

Mr. Beyer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Budget, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To amend the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to establish a private and congressional right of action for violations of such Act, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Restoring Accountability in Appropriations Act.

2.

Private and congressional civil actions for Impoundment Control Act violations

(a)

Application

Section 1001 of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 681) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (3), by striking or at the end;

(2)

by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and

(3)

inserting after paragraph (3) the following:

(4)

affecting or precluding in any way private rights of action concerning any impoundment established by provision of law other than this Act; or

.

(b)

Private and congressional actions

Such Act is further amended by adding after section 1017 the following:

1018.

Suits by private aggrieved parties

(a)

In general

Any person aggrieved by a violation of this title with respect to the withholding of budget authority that is required to be made available under such title may institute a civil action in a United States district court against the United States and any Federal employee for preventive relief, including an application in a United States district court for a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or other order.

(b)

Relief

Such court is hereby expressly empowered to enter in such civil action, against any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United States, any decree, judgment, or order, which may be necessary or appropriate to make such budget authority available for obligation.

1019.

Action by Congress

(a)

In general

(1)

If the Comptroller General makes a report available to both Houses of Congress under section 1015(a) of this Act, the House of Representatives shall initiate civil actions if the resolution described in this section is adopted by the House.

(2)
(A)

If a covered individual believes that the President has failed to transmit a special message with respect to a reserve or a deferral of budget authority, such individual may submit a request (in writing) to the Comptroller General for a report to be issued under section 1015(a) with respect to such reserve or deferral. Such request shall include—

(i)

a description of the budget authority so reserved or deferred and the reasons why such a report is necessary; and

(ii)

the date by which such report shall be issued by the Comptroller General, which shall be no earlier than 90 calendar days after the submission of the request.

(B)

If such a report is not issued by the date described in clause (ii), the covered individual who submitted the request under paragraph (A) may introduce a resolution as described in this section, except that the following shall be substituted for section 1(c)(3) of the matter described in subsection (b)(3) of this section: (3) which is the subject of a request made to the Comptroller General by ___ on ___, but for which no report has been made available by the Comptroller General to both Houses of Congress under section 1015(a) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. (The blank spaces being filled in with the applicable name of the covered individual and the date, respectively).

(C)

In this paragraph, the term covered individual means the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the majority or minority leader of the House, the chair or ranking member of the Committee on the Budget of the House, or the chair or ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House.

(b)

Resolution

For the purpose of this section, the term resolution means a resolution that is introduced in the House of Representatives not later than 45 calendar days after the date on which the Comptroller General makes such a report available and—

(1)

which does not have a preamble;

(2)

the title of which is Providing for authority to initiate litigation for actions inconsistent with the Impoundment Control Act.; and

(3)

the matter after the resolving clause is as follows:

1.

Civil actions regarding improper deferral of budget authority

(a)

Civil actions

The Speaker is directed to initiate or intervene in one or more civil actions on behalf of the House of Representatives in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to require that budget authority described in subsection (c) to be made available for obligation.

(b)

OGC

The Office of the General Counsel of the House of Representatives, at the direction of the Speaker, shall represent the House in any civil action initiated, or in which the House intervenes, pursuant to this resolution, and may employ the services of outside counsel and other experts for this purpose.

(c)

Budget authority

Budget authority described in this subsection is any budget authority that—

(1)

is required to be made available for obligation;

(2)

is not made available for obligation on or before the date on which this resolution is introduced; and

(3)

which is the subject of a report made available on __ by the Comptroller General to both Houses of Congress under section 1015(a) of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.

. (The blank space being filled in with the applicable date).

(c)

Fast track consideration in house of representatives

(1)

Referral and discharge

Any committee of the House of Representatives to which a resolution is referred under this section shall report it to the House of Representatives without amendment not later than 2 legislative days after the date of introduction of the resolution. If a committee fails to report the resolution within that period, the committee shall be discharged from further consideration of the resolution and the resolution shall be referred to the appropriate calendar.

(2)

Proceeding to consideration

After each committee authorized to consider the resolution reports it to the House of Representatives or has been discharged from its consideration under paragraph (1), it shall be in order to move to proceed to consider the resolution in the House. All points of order against the motion are waived. Such a motion shall not be in order after the House has disposed of a motion to proceed on the resolution. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the motion to its adoption without intervening motion. The motion shall not be debatable. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion is disposed of shall not be in order.

(3)

Consideration

The resolution shall be considered as read. All points of order against the resolution and against its consideration are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the resolution to its passage without intervening motion except two hours of debate equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent. A motion to reconsider the vote on passage of the resolution shall not be in order.

(d)

Timely action by the speaker

The Speaker shall, in coordination with the Office of the General Counsel of the House of Representatives, initiate or intervene in one or more civil actions as directed by a resolution not later than 20 calendar days after passage of such resolution.

(e)

Application

Nothing contained in this section shall be construed as to limit the authority of the Government Accountability Office to initiate its own process for issuing a report under section 1015(a), or to limit the authority of Members of Congress other than covered individuals to submit requests to the Comptroller General to initiate such process.

(f)

Rules of House of Representatives

This section is enacted by Congress—

(1)

as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of Representatives and as such it is deemed a part of the rules of the House but applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in that House in the case of a resolution, and it supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and

(2)

with full recognition of the constitutional right of the House to change the rules (so far as relating to the procedure of the House) at any time, in the same manner, and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of the House.

.

(c)

Clerical amendment

The table of contents of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 set forth in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1017 the following:

Sec. 1018. Suits by private aggrieved parties.

Sec. 1019. Action by Congress.

.