About the bill
Imagine you’re a federal worker and your boss asks you to violate a federal law that’s been passed by Congress. If you refuse to do so — instead pledging fidelity to the law — you’re protected from employment retaliation thanks to the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989. It’s your superior who’s considered in the wrong for making the illegal request in the first place, not you for disobeying your boss.
But what if you disobey an order to violate a regulation instituted by the executive branch instead, rather than a law passed by Congress? The difference may seem minor, but the consequences are major: you’re not protected at all.
The Follow the Rules Act, labelled H.R. 657 in the House, was introduced by Rep. Sean ...
Sponsor and status
115th Congress (2017–2019)
Enacted — Signed by the President on Jun 14, 2017
This bill was enacted after being signed by the President on June 14, 2017.
Position statements
What legislators are saying
“House Passes Duffy-Connolly Follow the Rules Act”
—
Rep. Gerald Connolly [D-VA11]
(Co-sponsor)
on May 1, 2017
“On the House Floor This Week - 5/1/17”
—
Rep. John Delaney [D-MD6, 2013-2018]
(Co-sponsor)
on May 1, 2017
“Missouri First: McCaskill Sets Aside Party Politics to Deliver for Missourians”
—
Sen. Claire McCaskill [D-MO, 2007-2018]
on Feb 26, 2018
History
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Nov 30, 2016
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Earlier Version —
Passed House (Senate next)
This activity took place on a related bill, H.R. 6186 (114th). |
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Jan 24, 2017
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Introduced
Bills and resolutions are referred to committees which debate the bill before possibly sending it on to the whole chamber. |
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Jan 31, 2017
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Considered by House Committee on Oversight and Reform
A committee held a hearing or business meeting about the bill.
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Feb 2, 2017
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Ordered Reported
A committee has voted to issue a report to the full chamber recommending that the bill be considered further. Only about 1 in 4 bills are reported out of committee. |
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Mar 29, 2017
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Reported by House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
A committee issued a report on the bill, which often provides helpful explanatory background on the issue addressed by the bill and the bill's intentions. |
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May 1, 2017
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Passed House (Senate next)
The bill was passed in a vote in the House. It goes to the Senate next. |
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May 25, 2017
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Passed Senate
The bill was passed by both chambers in identical form. It goes to the President next who may sign or veto the bill. The vote was by Unanimous Consent so no record of individual votes was made. |
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Jun 14, 2017
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Enacted — Signed by the President
The President signed the bill and it became law.
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H.R. 657 (115th) was a bill in the United States Congress.
A bill must be passed by both the House and Senate in identical form and then be signed by the President to become law.
Bills numbers restart every two years. That means there are other bills with the number H.R. 657. This is the one from the 115th Congress.
This bill was introduced in the 115th Congress, which met from Jan 3, 2017 to Jan 3, 2019. Legislation not passed by the end of a Congress is cleared from the books.
How to cite this information.
We recommend the following MLA-formatted citation when using the information you see here in academic work:
“H.R. 657 — 115th Congress: Follow the Rules Act.” www.GovTrack.us. 2017. May 16, 2021 <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/115/hr657>
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Where is this information from?
GovTrack automatically collects legislative information from a variety of governmental and non-governmental sources. This page is sourced primarily from Congress.gov, the official portal of the United States Congress. Congress.gov is generally updated one day after events occur, and so legislative activity shown here may be one day behind. Data via the congress project.
