H.R. 546 · 117th Congress

Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act

Introduced on Jan 28, 2021 by Hakeem S. Jeffries (D-NY-8). 11 cosponsors, 7 of them from another party. Latest action (Feb 25, 2021): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Jan 28, 2021
Cosponsors
11
7 from the other party
Policy area
Crime and Law Enforcement
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Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To regulate monitoring of electronic communications between an incarcerated person in a Bureau of Prisons facility and that person’s attorney or other legal representative, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Correctional facilities and imprisonment
  • Criminal justice information and records
  • Detention of persons
  • Evidence and witnesses
  • Lawyers and legal services
  • Right of privacy
  • Telephone and wireless communication

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Passed House, Feb 24, 2021). Public domain.

Effective Assistance of Counsel in the Digital Era Act

This bill prohibits the Department of Justice from monitoring the contents of a privileged electronic communication between an incarcerated person and his or her legal representative.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Hakeem S. JeffriesD-NY-8Sponsor

Democrats · 4

Republicans · 7

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass
    Feb 24, 2021· House· Passage· Passed 414–11

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jan 28, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Jan 28, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Jan 28, 2021 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
  4. Feb 23, 2021 · HouseMs. Jackson Lee moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
  5. Feb 23, 2021 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H557-560)
  6. Feb 23, 2021 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 546.
  7. Feb 23, 2021 · HouseAt the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  8. Feb 24, 2021 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H610-611)
  9. Feb 24, 2021Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 414 - 11 (Roll no. 36).(text: 02/23/2020 CR H557-558)House · Roll call 36
  10. Feb 24, 2021 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 414 - 11 (Roll no. 36). (text: 02/23/2020 CR H557-558)House · Roll call 36
  11. Feb 24, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  12. Feb 25, 2021 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 5, 2026 · loaded Oct 5, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.