Read theMandate

Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026Section 5 › Proposal

The Senate data rule applies to anything occurring on or after January 1, 2022

Making continuing appropriations and extensions for fiscal year 2026, and for other purposes, section 5, Sec. 5. Written by .

The Senate data rule applies to anything occurring on or after January 1, 2022

The document says “shall applyWho acts: CongressHow: statuteSec. 5 in the PDF
What the document says

“The amendments made by this section shall apply to any acquisition, subpoena, search, accessing, or disclosure of Senate data (as defined in section 10(a) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2005 (2 U.S.C. 6628(a)), as amended by this section), and to any failure to disclose such an acquisition, subpoena, search, accessing, or disclosure, occurring on or after January 1, 2022.”

Making continuing appropriations and extensions for fiscal year 2026, and for other purposes, Sec. 5

The new rules are given limited retroactive effect. Where a Senator already knew of a violation before enactment, the suit has to be brought within five years of the date of enactment rather than five years of that notice.

What the document actually says

“The amendments made by this section shall apply to any acquisition, subpoena, search, accessing, or disclosure of Senate data (as defined in section 10(a) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2005 (2 U.S.C. 6628(a)), as amended by this section), and to any failure to disclose such an acquisition, subpoena, search, accessing, or disclosure, occurring on or after January 1, 2022.”

Making continuing appropriations and extensions for fiscal year 2026, and for other purposes, Sec. 5
That sentence, in plain words

This rule reaches back. It covers records taken on or after January 1, 2022.

What this is about

Most new laws apply going forward. This one looks back four years. So old cases can be brought too.

No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.

Share this page

How to Read This Page

The quotation is the document's own words, exactly as printed, and we check the page number against the Act itself before publishing. The paragraph underneath is our summary, not the document's words. So is the plain English version, which is why it sits beside the quotation rather than replacing it.

All proposals in this section →