Fast-track passage of a bill “to repeal certain provisions relating to notification to Senate offices regarding legal process...” (HR 6019)

The bill

To repeal certain provisions relating to notification to Senate offices regarding legal process on disclosure of Senate data, and for other purposes.

Topic: Congress

What the bill does

This bill repeals the authority for a Senator to bring a civil action against the federal government if an internet service provider or the Senate Sergeant at Arms (SAA) accessed or disclosed, or accesses or discloses, data from the Senator's office to provide to a federal agency without following prescribed notice requirements. The authority applies to a qualifying instance occurring on or after January 1, 2022. The authority for the civil action was enacted in H.R. 5371, the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, which was signed by the President on November 12, 2026. The relevant provision requires written notice from the internet service provider or the SAA to the Senate office upon receipt of any legal process seeking access or disclosure of covered data. A Senator affected by a federal violation of the provision may sue the federal government for the greater of $500,000 per violation or the actual damages, plus attorney's fees and related costs.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary

Bill on congress.gov(opens in a new tab)