Sponsors
The bill trades increased legislative competency, clearer expectations, and greater transparency for risks of disrupted representation, privacy exposure for examinees, and added administrative costs.
Voters and the public would likely see improved legislative competency and better committee decision-making because Members of Congress must demonstrate baseline knowledge before serving.
Members of Congress would face clearer, standardized expectations for committee service, making committee roles more transparent and consistent.
The public would gain more transparency and accountability because approved exam questions and model answers would be published in the House journal.
Voters and constituents could experience disrupted representation because failed exams might create vacancies, force rapid replacement or special elections, and limit committee assignments—potentially reducing expertise and bypassing voter input.
Taxpayers and examinees could face privacy risks because public databases or certificates of successful examinees could expose personal information about candidates or members.
Congressional offices and committees would incur ongoing administrative and staffing costs to develop, administer, score, and publish exams, creating a financial and workload burden.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires Members to pass a 25-question civics exam (from a 100-question pool) to be seated and to serve on committees; Congress must create, publish, and administer the exams.
Introduced February 9, 2026 by Wesley Hunt · Last progress February 9, 2026
Requires Congress to create and use a standardized civics exam each 10-year "census term." To be seated as a Member of Congress an elected or appointed individual must pass a 25-question test (questions randomly drawn from a publicly approved pool of 100 questions); failing to pass within two weeks after election or appointment produces a vacancy. Separately, each House must require Members to pass a similar 25-question exam as a condition for assignment to any House committee or joint committee. The Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate must administer the exams online for free, publish approved questions and model answers, keep a public database of successful examinees, and issue certificates. The seating requirement is tied to ratification of a related constitutional amendment; the committee-assignment rule takes effect with the 120th Congress and ends when the amendment-based seating rule becomes effective.