Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Ordering Authentication in The House’s Swearing-in Act” or the “OATHS Act”.
Ordering Authentication in The House’s Swearing-in Act
A BILL
To direct the Clerk of the House of Representatives to provide Members-elect of the House with written copies of the oath of office prior to the first session of a Congress and to provide that a Member-elect who signs such copies shall be considered to have taken the oath of office.
Sec. 2 Use of signed written copy for taking oath of office by Members of House of Representatives
by striking the first undesignated paragraph; and
by striking the remaining paragraph and inserting the following:
“(a) Provision of written oath of office by Clerk—Prior to the first session of Congress after every general election of Representatives, the Clerk of the House of Representatives shall cause the oath of office to be printed and shall furnish 2 copies to each Representative-elect, Delegate-elect, and Resident Commissioner-elect, who shall sign the copies and return them to the Clerk.
“(b) Filing of signed copies—Upon receiving a signed copy of the oath of office under subsection (a), the Clerk shall file one copy in the records of the House of Representatives, and shall cause the other copy to be recorded in the Journal of the House and in the Congressional Record.
“(c) Legal effect of returning signed copies—The signed copy of the oath of office, or a certified copy thereof, or the copy filed or recorded under subsection (b), shall be admissible in evidence in any court of the United States, and shall be held conclusive proof of the fact that the individual who signed the copies duly took the oath of office in accordance with law, effective—
“(1) at noon on the first day of the first session of Congress, in the case of an individual who returns the signed copies to the Clerk prior to noon on the first day of the first session of the Congress; or
“(2) at the time the individual returns the signed copies to the Clerk, in the case of an individual who does not return the signed copies to the Clerk prior to noon on the first day of the first session of the Congress.”
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress and each succeeding Congress.