United States 119th Congress Status: Passed House Bipartisan · 16 R · 6 D cosponsors

HR 227 — Clergy Act

Last action — Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has passed the House. Introduced January 07, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Moderate chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a moderate chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 74% · high confidence

  • Passed House

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 22 sponsors

    1 primary, 21 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (16 R · 6 D) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 1 recorded vote so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

The bill proposes amendments to existing tax laws.

This legislation aims to amend certain tax regulations. It has been reviewed and approved by a committee in the House.

Summary

Clergy ActThis bill establishes a two-year window for certain members of the clergy and Christian Science practitioners to revoke their exemption from Social Security and Medicare taxes on ministerial earnings. Under current law, such individuals who object to participation in public insurance programs on religious or conscientious grounds may apply to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for an irrevocable exemption and will not receive Social Security or Medicare benefits in retirement unless they have qualifying credits from other employment.The IRS must develop a plan to inform members of the clergy and Christian Science practitioners of their eligibility to revoke prior exemptions, pursuant to the bill's changes.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

5 added · 1 removed

Plain-language change summary

The change indicates that H.R. 227 was received in the Senate, read twice, and referred to the Committee on Finance. This transition from the House to the Senate marks a step in the legislative process, allowing for further discussion and potential amendments in the Senate committee.

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227 Engrossed in House (EH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H.
227 Referred in Senate (RFS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H.
227 _______________________________________________________________________ AN ACT To allow a period in which members of the clergy may revoke their exemption from Social Security coverage, and for other purposes.
227 _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 28, 2026 Received;
read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance _______________________________________________________________________ AN ACT To allow a period in which members of the clergy may revoke their exemption from Social Security coverage, and for other purposes.
Clerk.
KEVIN F.
119th CONGRESS 2d Session H.
MCCUMBER, Clerk.
R.
227 _______________________________________________________________________ AN ACT To allow a period in which members of the clergy may revoke their exemption from Social Security coverage, and for other purposes.
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What Congress says this changes

H. Rept. 119-425

Published by the reporting committee Not generated — this is the committee's own “Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported”.

Text to be removed appears in [brackets]. Newly inserted text is italicised in the official report and cannot be marked in this plain-text rendition — read the official PDF ↗ for the authoritative formatting. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL,
 AS REPORTED

 A. Changes in Existing Law Proposed by the Bill, as Reported

 Pursuant to clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 227, as reported by the 
Committee, makes no changes to existing law.

 VII. ADDITIONAL VIEWS

 Mr. Chairman, first I would like to thank my Republican 
colleague, Representative Fong, for his partnership on this 
issue. This is how the legislative process should work: 
Democrats and Republicans coming together to solve real 
problems for the people we serve. For nine decades, Social 
Security has done exactly what it has promised, protecting 
workers, retirees, people with disabilities, and saving 
families from poverty. Because it is so successful, our job 
here should be to make it easier, not harder, for Americans to 
participate and benefit from Social Security.
 Under current law, clergy can opt out of paying Social 
Security taxes if they choose not to receive the benefits when 
they retire. Our clergy members are pillars of every community, 
providing spiritual and emotional guidance in times of joy and 
times of hardship. My Clergy Act would provide members of the 
clergy a two-year window to opt back in, pay their Social 
Security taxes, and secure these earned benefits.
 But if we are going to make Social Security work better for 
the American people, we must double down on protecting it from 
those who wish to tear it down. We cannot talk about 
strengthening this program on one hand while ignoring ongoing 
efforts on the other side to weaken it or to privatize it. 
Repeatedly, we have heard proposals from our Republican 
colleagues who have called for reforms or ``tough choices.'' 
Let us be honest about what that means: cuts to benefits, 
delayed retirement, a move to privatization, and undermining 
guaranteed benefits that generations have come to count on.
 Democrats reject that proposal; we believe Social Security 
is a promise, not a bargaining chip. In this committee, we have 
a choice. We can work together to ensure Social Security 
remains strong for generations to come, or we can go down the 
road of cuts and uncertainty that jeopardizes the retirement 
security of millions of Americans. I believe we should make 
sure Social Security stands strong for future generations.

 Mike Thompson.

Source: H. Rept. 119-425 · govinfo

Action History

  1. Introduced in House

  2. Introduced in House

  3. Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

  4. Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held

  5. Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 40 - 0.

  6. Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-425.

  7. Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Ways and Means. H. Rept. 119-425.

  8. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 370.

  9. Mr. Carey moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

  10. Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3115-3116)

  11. DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 227.

  12. At 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.

  13. Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H3118-3119)

  14. Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 350 - 5 (Roll no. 139). (text: CR H3115-3116)

  15. On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 350 - 5 (Roll no. 139). (text: CR H3115-3116)

  16. Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

  17. Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 21 co-sponsors · 525 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (21)

Not signed on (525)

525 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 525 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Subjects

taxation civil-rights labor
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HR 227 do?
Clergy ActThis bill establishes a two-year window for certain members of the clergy and Christian Science practitioners to revoke their exemption from Social Security and Medicare taxes on ministerial earnings. Under current law, such individuals who object to participation in public insurance programs on religious or conscientious grounds may apply to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for an irrevocable exemption and will not receive Social Security or Medicare benefits in retirement unless they have qualifying credits from other employment.The IRS must develop a plan to inform members of the clergy and Christian Science practitioners of their eligibility to revoke prior exemptions, pursuant to the bill's changes.
Who sponsors HR 227?
HR 227 is sponsored by Fong, Vince (Republican), Thompson, Mike (Democratic), Kelly, Mike (Republican), Ciscomani, Juan (Republican), LaHood, Darin (Republican), DelBene, Suzan K. (Democratic), Smucker, Lloyd (Republican), Yakym, Rudy (Republican), Estes, Ron (Republican), Smith, Adrian (Republican), Carey, Mike (Republican), Moran, Nathaniel (Republican), Bilirakis, Gus M. (Republican), Tenney, Claudia (Republican), Murphy, Gregory F. (Republican), Panetta, Jimmy (Democratic), Van Duyne, Beth (Republican), Letlow, Julia (Republican), Costa, Jim (Democratic), Suozzi, Thomas R. (Democratic), Davis, Danny K. (Democratic), and Fitzpatrick, Brian K. (Republican).
What is the current status of HR 227?
This bill has passed the House. Introduced January 07, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track HR 227?
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