Bill extends time to charge people for lying to Congress.
H.R. 10838 — Honesty in Government Act of 2026 · Filed by Eugene Vindman (D-VA) · Introduced Oct 15, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
The bill extends the time to charge someone with lying to Congress. The government now has 10 years instead of 5. It covers anyone who lies or hides facts in any Congress hearing or probe. The new rule only applies to lies told after the bill becomes law.
Who it affects
People who testify before Congress or talk to Congress could face charges. They could be charged for up to 10 years after they speak. This includes witnesses and people who give statements in Congress probes or hearings.
One thing to notice
The text does not say if Congress members who lie face the same charges.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Oct 15, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Oct 15, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- Congress — The part of the federal government that makes laws.
- testify — To give facts or tell what you know under oath.
- probe — When Congress looks into facts or conduct.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,637 characters) on Oct 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,388 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-21.
“Bill extends time to charge people for lying to Congress.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr10838/simple Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.