H.R. 227 · 119th Congress · Social welfare
Clergy Act
How the House voted
Yea from the left, nay from the right, each side by party
House · Apr 27, 2026
Roll call ↗350
5
Passed the House.
Law 651 days after it was introduced
Public Law 119-125. Each step dated from the congress.gov record
- IntroducedJan 7, 2025
- CommitteeJan 7, 2026
- Passed HouseApr 27, 2026
- Passed SenateSep 30, 2026
- Became lawOct 20, 2026
On the record
- Cosponsors
- 21
- 6 Democrats, 15 Republicans
- Committees
- Senate Committee on FinanceHouse Committee on Ways and Means
- Lobbying
- At least 3
- organizations named it2025 Q1 to 2026 Q3
What it does
This bill reopens a window for clergy to undo an earlier choice to opt out of Social Security.
How each member voted
The House roll call, passed the House, April 27, 2026
Yea unless marked
D · House · NC-12
D · House · CA-33
R · House · MO-4
R · House · GA-12
This bill reopens a window for clergy to undo an earlier choice to opt out of Social Security. Members of the clergy can exempt themselves from Social Security coverage on their ministerial earnings under section 1402(e) of the tax code. This bill lets those who already hold that exemption revoke it and pay back into the system. Eligibility is limited to ordained, commissioned, or licensed ministers, members of a religious order, and Christian Science practitioners whose exemption is in effect for the tax year the bill is enacted. To revoke, they file an application with the IRS no later than the return due date for their second taxable year beginning after December 31, 2028. The revocation takes effect for the first or second taxable year beginning after that date and cannot be reversed. Anyone who files late for a year already underway must pay the full self-employment taxes they would have owed for that year. Within 90 days of enactment, the IRS Commissioner, working with the Social Security Commissioner, must give Congress a plan to notify eligible clergy that they can revoke.
Each stop is a step the bill’s own record states, with the date it happened. A ring is a step not yet taken. A bill becomes law when the President signs it or Congress overrides a veto.
At least 3 organizations named this measure in a lobbying filing. A floor, not a total: they were counted by the client name on 29 quarterly reports filed by 1 lobbying firm and by 1 organization lobbying for itself in 2025 Q1, 2025 Q2, 2025 Q3, 2025 Q4, 2026 Q1, 2026 Q2 and 2026 Q3. An organization that lobbied this measure without naming it is not counted here.
6 of those filings did not cite this bill by number. They named a short title it shares with its Senate companion, S 639, so the reference belongs to the pair rather than to one chamber’s vehicle.
The filings record that lobbying was reported on the measure. The form has no per-bill dollar figure and no field for a position, so nothing here says how much was spent or which side an organization took.
The organizations named: The First Church of Christ, Scientist; Church Alliance; AARP. Listed as filed. They are every client name on the filings counted here.
From the LD-2 quarterly lobbying filings published at lda.gov by the Senate Office of Public Records. Read for 2025 Q1, 2025 Q2, 2025 Q3, 2025 Q4, 2026 Q1, 2026 Q2 and 2026 Q3. Our copy holds 24 fewer filings for 2025 Q1, 39 fewer filings for 2025 Q2, 42 fewer filings for 2025 Q3, 33 fewer filings for 2025 Q4, 28 fewer filings for 2026 Q1, 48 fewer filings for 2026 Q2 and 218 fewer filings for 2026 Q3 than the Senate's register counts, so those quarters are the filings we could read rather than every one filed. 2026 Q4 is still inside its filing window, so that quarter is only the filings posted so far.
Congress.gov bill status and cosponsor records; the House Clerk and Senate roll calls; lobbying reports filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (lda.gov); the plain summary and provisions are read from the bill text, each with its section.