Model Bills for the 120th Congress: Accountability Guide

Corey J. Biazzo, Esq.

12 min read

Accountability and Rebuilding: A Resource Guide and Eight Model Bills for the 120th Congress

In short: In 2025 and 2026, federal courts repeatedly ruled that executive actions exceeded the law. These rulings covered tariffs, National Guard deployments, the appointment of prosecutors, removals in violation of court orders, actions against law firms, election administration, and the use of public funds.

The Biazzo Law Government Oversight Program has prepared eight model bills that answer those rulings with durable rules for every future President. They are drafted to comply with the Constitution, built to win the two-thirds vote needed to override a veto, and paired with an investigative plan so Congress can build the factual record the courts expect. Members, staff, and the public may use them freely.

Key takeaways

The problems are documented by courts, not opinions. Every issue the bills address is tied to a published court ruling or public record from 2025–2026.
Eight bills, one framework. They cover war powers and domestic deployments, the power of the purse, compliance with court orders, congressional subpoenas, Justice Department integrity, election administration, ethics, and federal use of force.
Constitution first. The bills were checked against the Constitution and the Supreme Court's controlling decisions, including Trump v. United States (2024) and Trump v. Slaughter (2026). Every provision with a meaningful risk of being struck down was removed or redesigned.
Built for a veto override. Rules that bind the President take effect January 20, 2029, so they apply to the next President of either party.
A record, not a grievance. A detailed investigative plan shows how committees can substantiate each problem with nonpartisan evidence.
Free and transparent. The full package, including the constitutional analysis and every authority relied on, is available for anyone to review, verify, and use.

Why does the 120th Congress need a resource guide for accountability and rebuilding?

The first two years of the second Trump administration produced an unusual number of court rulings finding that executive actions went beyond what the Constitution or federal statutes allow. Many of those rulings came from judges appointed by Presidents of both parties, and several came from the Supreme Court. Court rulings resolve individual cases. Only Congress can write rules that prevent the same problems under any future President.

The record below is limited to rulings and public facts. Each row links to Biazzo Law's fuller analysis where one exists.

When	What the record shows	Bill that responds
Sept. 2025 onward	The armed forces conducted lethal strikes on vessels at sea without a declaration of war or specific authorization from Congress. See boat strikes and what Congress can do.	1
Dec. 23, 2025	In Trump v. Illinois, the Supreme Court left in place an order blocking a National Guard deployment, holding that the statute relied on likely did not authorize it. See National Guard in U.S. cities.	1
Feb. 20, 2026	In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the Supreme Court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize tariffs. See who has the power to tariff.	2
July 13, 2026	A federal court in Florida found that a lawsuit by the President against the IRS was collusive. The court voided a settlement that would have created a $1.776 billion fund. See the anti-weaponization fund.	2
Apr. 10, 2025	The Supreme Court required the government to facilitate the return of a man removed to El Salvador in violation of an order barring his removal there. See Abrego Garcia and due process.	3
Feb. 12, 2026	A federal court preliminarily enjoined the Secretary of Defense from punishing a sitting U.S. Senator, a retired Navy captain, for his speech. See the Mark Kelly case.	4
2025	Four federal judges struck down executive orders that targeted law firms because of the clients they represented. See executive orders against law firms.	5
Nov.–Dec. 2025	Federal courts held that interim U.S. Attorneys in New Jersey and the Eastern District of Virginia were unlawfully serving. One court dismissed indictments as a result.	5
Sept. 14 and Nov. 2, 2026	The Supreme Court declined to let a new Postal Service ballot-mail rule take effect before the midterm elections. It also denied a Justice Department request to set aside about 20,000 mailed ballots in California. See the USPS ballot-mail case.	6
Oct. 2026	A federal court halted taxpayer-funded television ads promoting the President weeks before a federal election. See taxpayer-funded ads.	6
2025–2026	Questions arose about foreign-government gifts, presidential library fundraising, and digital-asset ventures involving officials' families. See emoluments and the Trump library and crypto deals and oversight.	7
Jan. and July 2026	Federal immigration officers shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis, and state investigators were denied evidence. A man was shot and killed in Houston by officers without body cameras. See the Good and Pretti killings and the Houston shooting.	8

Some of these matters remain on appeal, and the guide will be updated as courts rule. The point is not to assign blame. It is to identify where existing law proved too weak, too slow, or too unclear, and to fix it for every administration that follows.

What do the eight model bills do?

Each bill rests on a specific power the Constitution gives Congress. Each uses tools Congress clearly controls: conditions on authority Congress granted by statute, limits on appropriated funds, disclosure, and rules for subordinate officers.

Bill	Main provisions	Constitutional basis
1. War Powers and Domestic Deployment Reform Act	Bars funds for hostilities beyond 60 days without authorization, with exceptions for sudden attack and rescue. Treats drug interdiction at sea as law enforcement. Conditions Guard federalization, with governor consent for interstate deployments and court review. Ends Insurrection Act deployments after 14 days unless Congress extends them. Requires reports on other domestic deployments.	War, armed forces, and militia powers (Art. I, § 8, cls. 11–16); Appropriations Clause
2. Power of the Purse and Taxing Power Restoration Act	New tariffs and national emergencies expire unless Congress approves them. Confirms that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs. Requires refunds of unlawful duties. Limits Judgment Fund payments to parties and requires court approval of large settlements. Adds conflict rules when the President or family members sue the government. Publishes apportionments.	Taxing and foreign-commerce powers (Art. I, § 8, cls. 1, 3); Appropriations Clause
3. Judicial Independence and Court Order Compliance Act	Requires sworn certification of compliance with court orders. Bars removal while a court order forbids it, requires verification before removal flights, and requires officials to facilitate the return of anyone wrongly removed. Requires notice before removal to a third country. Protects habeas jurisdiction and judicial security.	Power over the lower courts (Art. I, § 8, cl. 9; Art. III); naturalization power; Suspension Clause; Due Process Clause
4. Congressional Subpoena Enforcement and Legislative Independence Act	Creates a fast civil action to enforce subpoenas, authorized by a vote of the full House or Senate. Requires privilege logs and question-by-question rulings, and imposes civil penalties only after a final court order is defied. Requires preservation of records. Bars military retaliation against Members for their speech.	Power of inquiry; Art. I, § 5; power over the armed forces (Art. I, § 8, cl. 14)
5. Justice Department Integrity and Independence Act	Requires a written policy and records for White House staff contacts on specific cases, with an Inspector General audit; does not reach the President's own communications. Creates the office of special counsel by statute. Strengthens notice when inspectors general are removed. Limits the length of interim U.S. Attorney service. Bars retaliation against lawyers for their clients. Adds a press shield law.	Power to structure departments and vest appointments (Art. II, § 2, cl. 2); First and Sixth Amendments
6. Election Administration and Voter Protection Act	Freezes federal changes to ballot procedures from 180 days before to 30 days after a general election. Requires validated data, notice, and a quiet period before federal challenges to registered voters. Limits federal collection of voter lists. Bars taxpayer-funded ads featuring top officials within 90 days of an election.	Elections Clause (Art. I, § 4); power over federal agencies and funds
7. Presidential and Public Officials Ethics Act	Requires disclosure of foreign- and state-government payments to businesses of the President and Vice President and their families. Sets a consent procedure for foreign emoluments and makes high-value foreign gifts U.S. property. Discloses presidential library donors. Bans trading in individual securities by Members, judges, and senior officers. Tolls statutes of limitations for future presidential offenses. Requires registration of paid clemency advocates.	Foreign Emoluments Clause (Art. I, § 9, cl. 8); Property Clause; Commerce Clause
8. Federal-State Cooperation and Use-of-Force Accountability Act	Requires preservation and sharing of evidence with state investigators after federal shootings. Requires body cameras and visible identification for immigration officers. Requires judicial warrants for home entry in civil immigration arrests. Creates a damages remedy for constitutional violations by federal officers.	Power over federal agencies; Fourth and Fifth Amendments; Necessary and Proper Clause

The full text of each bill is in House format and can be pasted into a draft. Bracketed numbers mark policy choices sponsors can adjust.

Are the model bills constitutional?

They are drafted to be, though no one can guarantee how a court will rule. The Oversight Program reviewed every provision against the text of the Constitution and the Supreme Court's controlling opinions. Any provision with a meaningful risk of being struck down was removed or redesigned. Part II of the package explains each limit in plain language. The core limits are these:

Constitutional limit	Leading authority	How the bills respect it
Laws must pass both Houses and go to the President; no one-House veto	INS v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919 (1983)	Every approval or extension is a joint resolution enacted into law.
Congress cannot act on the President's exclusive powers, such as pardons, removal of officers he appoints, and his direction of investigations and prosecutions	Trump v. United States, 144 S. Ct. 2312 (2024); Ex parte Garland, 71 U.S. 333 (1866)	No bill limits pardons or removals, or the President's own communications with or direction of the Justice Department.
Officers under the President's control must be removable at will	Trump v. Slaughter, 146 S. Ct. 2283 (2026)	No bill restricts removal; the bills require only notice.
Congress may limit the use of force through its own war powers	Little v. Barreme, 6 U.S. 170 (1804); Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557 (2006); Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579 (1952)	Bill 1 uses funding limits and conditions on statutory authority, and preserves the President's power to repel sudden attacks.
Congress may not tell courts how to decide cases or reopen final judgments	United States v. Klein, 80 U.S. 128 (1871); Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, 514 U.S. 211 (1995); Bank Markazi v. Peterson, 578 U.S. 212 (2016)	The bills change the law prospectively, and no provision dictates a result or disturbs a final judgment.
No bills of attainder or retroactive punishment	Art. I, § 9, cl. 3; Nixon v. Administrator of General Services, 433 U.S. 425 (1977)	Every rule applies to an office, not a person. Most rules binding the President begin in 2029.
Congress may not commandeer the States	Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997)	Duties fall only on federal agencies and officers.
Individual rights	First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments	The bills add protections and never reduce them. Disclosure rules are narrowly tailored.

Two design choices matter most. First, the bills regulate staff, agencies, and funds rather than the President's exclusive powers. That gives a President fewer grounds to call them unconstitutional and gives Members of both parties more reason to support them. Second, where a statute applies to the President, the bill says so expressly, as courts require (Franklin v. Massachusetts, 505 U.S. 788 (1992)).

For background on these boundaries, see Presidential Immunity Is Not Absolute and Can Congress Check Presidential War Powers?

Can these bills pass over a presidential veto?

Only with members of both parties. Overriding a veto takes two-thirds of the members present and voting in each House (Art. I, § 7, cl. 2). With full attendance, that is 290 Representatives and 67 Senators. No party will hold those numbers in the 120th Congress, so each bill is designed to attract bipartisan support:

Prospective effect. Rules that bind the President personally take effect at noon on January 20, 2029, so they apply first to the next President, whoever that is.
Equal rules. Ethics provisions apply to officials in all three branches, including Members of Congress.
Familiar tools. The bills build on bipartisan proposals and existing law, such as the Trade Review Act, Sen. Mike Lee's ARTICLE ONE Act, the PRESS Act, and the inspector general reforms of 2022.
Must-pass vehicles. Less controversial provisions can travel in the annual defense authorization and appropriations bills, which have drawn veto-proof majorities before.

For the full strategy, see Veto-Proof Reform: Laws to Protect the Separation of Powers.

How should Congress build the factual record?

Courts give weight to legislative findings that rest on current, documented evidence. They also examine whether a legislative record shows an intent to punish, which the Constitution forbids (Nixon v. Administrator of General Services, 433 U.S. 425, 478 (1977)). Part III of the package therefore sets out a remedial, evidence-based investigative plan for each bill. It lists:

the issues to substantiate;
the records to request;
witnesses, including state officials and former officials of both parties;
the reports to request from GAO, inspectors general, CRS, and CBO;
the findings the record should support.

The plan follows a simple sequence:

January 2027: organize committees, send preservation letters, and file requests with nonpartisan fact-finders.
February to April: obtain documents, conduct interviews, and hold oversight hearings.
May to July: hold legislative hearings on bill text.
August to October: issue committee reports with numbered, sourced findings, then hold markups and floor votes.

Every request should state the legislative purpose it serves, as Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP, 591 U.S. 848 (2020), requires for presidential records. For the related impeachment-track plan, see Trump Impeachment Investigative Plan: Witnesses and Evidence. For why the investigation should start now, see Follow the Money: Why Congress Must Investigate in 2027.

How can the public, the legal community, and ethics professionals check this work?

Transparency is part of the design. Anyone should be able to test every claim in this guide.

Every authority is listed. The Appendix to the package lists each constitutional provision, statute, and case the bills rely on, with pin cites. It also identifies the Supreme Court opinions reviewed in full for this edition: Chadha, Youngstown, Little v. Barreme, Hamdan, Dalton v. Specter, Trump v. Cook, Trump v. Slaughter, Trump v. United States, Nixon v. Administrator of General Services, Ex parte Garland, United States v. Klein, Bank Markazi, Plaut, and Trump v. Illinois.
Open questions are disclosed. Several rulings cited here are on appeal. The guide says so, and it will be updated as courts rule.
Risk is disclosed. Part II explains each constitutional limit and how the bills respect it, and the drafter's notes explain the choices made.
Counterarguments are acknowledged. The package identifies the Executive Branch legal opinions opponents are likely to cite, so readers can weigh both sides.
No result is guaranteed. The bills are model text for Congress to consider. Each should be reviewed by the House or Senate Office of Legislative Counsel before introduction.

Disclosures. Biazzo Law, PLLC has taken public positions on several matters this guide discusses. These include an open letter opposing a nomination for Attorney General, a request to file an amicus brief in the Miami presidential library emoluments case, and model articles of impeachment. The model bills are a separate project. They are written to apply to every future administration, and they rest on court rulings rather than on those positions. [This work is not funded or directed by any client.]

Corrections. If you find an error in a citation or a fact, please contact the Oversight Program.

Get the model legislation

The package contains the eight bills in House format, Part II on Constitutional Limits, Part III on the Investigative Plan for Legislative Findings, and an Appendix of authorities. Members and staff may copy, adapt, and introduce any part of it without permission or attribution.

The Biazzo Law Government Oversight Program is available to brief Members and staff, testify, or provide drafting assistance. Contact Biazzo Law or call (703) 297-5777.

The resource guide: further reading by topic

Strategy for the 120th Congress

War powers and domestic deployment (Bill 1)

Purse, tariffs, and spending (Bills 2 and 6)

Courts, due process, and the Justice Department (Bills 3, 4, and 5)

Elections (Bill 6)

Ethics and emoluments (Bill 7)

Federal-state relations and use of force (Bill 8)

Frequently asked questions

What is the Biazzo Law Government Oversight Program? It is a nonpartisan program of Biazzo Law, PLLC that supports and defends the U.S. Constitution through legal analysis, amicus briefs, model legislation, and public education about the separation of powers and the rule of law.

Are these bills aimed at one President? No. Each rule applies to an office or a class of officials, and most rules that bind the President take effect January 20, 2029, so they apply first to the next President of either party. The events of 2025–2026 show where current law fell short. The bills fix the law for everyone.

Are the model bills constitutional? They were drafted and reviewed against the Constitution and the Supreme Court's controlling decisions. Provisions with meaningful constitutional risk were removed or redesigned. Part II of the package explains each limit.

Can Congress pass them over a veto? Only with bipartisan support. A veto override requires two-thirds of the members present and voting in each House. The bills are designed to attract that support through prospective effective dates, equal rules for all branches, and familiar tools.

Do the bills limit the pardon power or the President's control of the Justice Department? No. The Constitution places those powers beyond Congress's reach. The bills regulate staff, agencies, funds, and disclosure instead.

How can Congress prove the need for these laws? By building a current, documented record through hearings, documents, and nonpartisan reports from GAO, inspectors general, CRS, and CBO. Part III of the package sets out that plan bill by bill.

Can I use the model bills? Yes. Members, staff, and the public may copy, adapt, and use them without permission or attribution.

This article and the model legislation are provided for public education and legislative drafting assistance. They are not legal advice and do not create an attorney-client relationship. Some matters discussed remain in litigation, and the law may change. All authorities should be independently verified before use.