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Rules of the Committee on House Administration - 115th

Congress

COMMITTEE RESOLUTION 115-1

Resolved, that the rules of the Committee on House Administration for the 115th Congress are hereby

adopted, as follows:

Rules of the

Committee on House Administration

One Hundred Fifteenth Congress

Rule No. 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

(a) The Rules of the House are the rules of the Committee so far as applicable, except that a motion to

recess from day to day is a privileged motion in the Committee.

(b) The Committee is authorized at any time to conduct such investigations and studies as it may

consider necessary or appropriate in the exercise of its responsibilities under House Rule X and, subject

to the adoption of expense resolutions as required by House Rule X, clause 6, to incur expenses

(including travel expenses) in connection therewith.

(c) The Committee is authorized to have printed and bound testimony and other data presented at

hearings held by the Committee, and to make such information available to the public. All costs of

stenographic services and transcripts in connection with any meeting or hearing of the Committee shall

be paid from the appropriate House account.

(d) The Committee shall submit to the House, not later than January 2 of each odd-numbered year, a

report on the activities of the committee under House Rules X and XI.

(e) The Committee's rules shall be made publicly available in electronic form and published in the

Congressional Record not later than 30 days after the Committee is elected in each odd-numbered year.

Rule No. 2

REGULAR AND SPECIAL MEETINGS

(a) The regular meeting date of the Committee on House Administration shall be the second Wednesday

of every month when the House is in session in accordance with Clause 2(b) of House Rule XI. If the

House is not in session on the second Wednesday of a month, the regular meeting date shall be the third

Wednesday of that month. Additional meetings may be called by the Chair of the Committee as she or he

may deem necessary or at the request of a majority of the members of the Committee in accordance with

Clause 2(c) of House Rule XI. The determination of the business to be considered at each meeting shall

be made by the Chair subject to Clause 2(c) of House Rule XI. A regularly scheduled meeting may be

dispensed with if, in the judgment of the Chair, there is no need for the meeting.

(b) If the Chair is not present at any meeting of the Committee, the ranking member of the majority party

who is present shall preside at the meeting.

(c) The Chair, in the case of meetings to be conducted by the Committee shall make public

announcement of the date, place, and subject matter of any meeting to be conducted on any measure or

matter. Such meeting shall not commence earlier than the third day on which members have notice

thereof. If the Chair, with the concurrence of the ranking minority member, determines that there is good

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cause to begin the meeting sooner, or if the Committee so determines by majority vote, a quorum being

present, the Chair shall make the announcement at the earliest possible date. The announcement shall

promptly be made publicly available in electronic form and published in the Daily Digest.

(d) The Chair, in the case of meetings to be conducted by the Committee shall make available on the

Committee’s web site the text of any legislation to be marked up at a meeting at least 24 hours before

such meeting (or at the time of an announcement made within 24 hours of such meeting). This

requirement shall also apply to any resolution or regulation to be considered at a meeting.

Rule No. 3

OPEN MEETINGS

As required by Clause 2(g), of House Rule XI, each meeting for the transaction of business, including the

markup of legislation of the Committee shall be open to the public except when the Committee in open

session and with a quorum present determines by record vote that all or part of the remainder of the

meeting on that day shall be closed to the public because disclosure of matters to be considered would

endanger national security, would compromise sensitive law enforcement information, or would tend to

defame, degrade or incriminate any person, or otherwise would violate any law or rule of the House.

Provided, however, that no person other than members of the Committee, and such congressional staff

and such other persons as the Committee may authorize, shall be present in any business or markup

session which has been closed to the public. To the maximum extent practicable, the Chair shall cause to

be provided audio and video coverage of each hearing or meeting that allows the public to easily listen to

and view the proceedings and maintain the recordings of such coverage in a manner that is easily

accessible to the public.

Rule No. 4

RECORDS AND ROLLCALLS

(a)(1) A record vote shall be held if requested by any member of the Committee.

(2) The result of each record vote in any meeting of the Committee shall be made available for inspection

by the public at reasonable times at the Committee offices, including a description of the amendment,

motion, order or other proposition; the name of each member voting for and against; and the members

present but not voting.

(3) The Chairman shall make the record of the votes on any question on which a record vote is

demanded available on the Committee’s website not later than 48 hours after such vote is taken

(excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays). Such record shall include a description of the

amendment, motion, order, or other proposition, the name of each member voting for and each member

voting against such amendment, motion, order, or proposition, and the names of those members of the

Committee present but not voting.

(4) The Chairman shall make available on the Committee’s website not later than 24 hours (excluding

Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after the adoption of any amendment to a measure or matter the

text of such amendment.

(b)(1) Subject to subparagraph (2), the Chairman may postpone further proceedings when a record vote

is ordered on the question of approving any measure or matter or adopting an amendment. The Chair

may resume proceedings on a postponed request at any time.

(2) In exercising postponement authority under subparagraph (1), the Chairman shall take all reasonable

steps necessary to notify members on the resumption of proceedings on any postponed record vote.

(3) When proceedings resume on a postponed question, notwithstanding any intervening order for the

previous question, an underlying proposition shall remain subject to further debate or amendment to the

same extent as when the question was postponed.

(c) All Committee hearings, records, data, charts, and files shall be kept separate and distinct from the

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congressional office records of the member serving as Chair; and such records shall be the property of

the House and all members of the House shall have access thereto.

(d) House records of the Committee which are at the National Archives shall be made available pursuant

to House Rule VII. The Chairman shall notify the ranking minority member of any decision to withhold a

record pursuant to the rule, and shall present the matter to the Committee upon written request of any

Committee member.

(e) To the maximum extent feasible, the Committee shall make its publications available in electronic

form.

Rule No. 5

PROXIES

No vote by any member in the Committee may be cast by proxy.

Rule No. 6

POWER TO SIT AND ACT; SUBPOENA POWER

(a) For the purpose of carrying out any of its functions and duties under House Rules X and XI, the

Committee is authorized (subject to subparagraph (b)(1) of this paragraph)--

(1) to sit and act at such times and places within the United States, whether the House is in session, has

recessed, or has adjourned, and to hold such hearings; and

(2) to require, by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and testimony of such witnesses and the

production of such books, records, correspondence, memorandums, papers, documents and other

materials as it deems necessary, including materials in electronic form. The Chair, or any member

designated by the Chair, may administer oaths to any witness.

(b)(1) A subpoena may be authorized and issued by the Committee in the conduct of any investigation or

series of investigations or activities, only when authorized by a majority of the members voting, a majority

being present. The power to authorize and issue subpoenas under subparagraph (a)(2) may be

delegated to the Chair pursuant to such rules and under such limitations as the Committee may

prescribe. Authorized subpoenas shall be signed by the Chair or by any member designated by the

Committee, and may be served by any person designated by the Chair or such member.

(2) Compliance with any subpoena issued by the Committee may be enforced only as authorized or

directed by the House.

Rule No. 7

QUORUMS

No measure or recommendation shall be reported to the House unless a majority of the Committee is

actually present. For the purposes of taking any action other than reporting any measure, issuance of a

subpoena, closing meetings, promulgating Committee orders, or changing the rules of the Committee,

one-third of the members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum. For purposes of taking testimony

and receiving evidence, two members shall constitute a quorum.

Rule No. 8

AMENDMENTS

Any amendment offered to any pending legislation before the Committee must be made available in

written form when requested by any member of the Committee. If such amendment is not available in

written form when requested, the Chair will allow an appropriate period of time for the provision thereof.

Rule No. 9

HEARING PROCEDURES

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(a) The Chair, in the case of hearings to be conducted by the Committee shall make public

announcement of the date, place, and subject matter of any hearing to be conducted on any measure or

matter at least one (1) week before the commencement of that hearing. If the Chair, with the concurrence

of the ranking minority member, determines that there is good cause to begin the hearing sooner, or if the

Committee so determines by majority vote, a quorum being present, the Chair shall make the

announcement at the earliest possible date. The clerk of the Committee shall promptly notify the Daily

Digest Clerk of the Congressional Record as soon as possible after such public announcement is made.

(b) Unless excused by the Chair, each witness who is to appear before the Committee shall file with the

clerk of the Committee, at least 48 hours in advance of his or her appearance, a written statement of his

or her proposed testimony and shall limit his or her oral presentation to a summary of his or her

statement.

(c) When any hearing is conducted by the Committee upon any measure or matter, the minority party

members on the Committee shall be entitled, upon request to the Chair by a majority of those minority

members before the completion of such hearing, to call witnesses selected by the minority to testify with

respect to that measure or matter during at least one day of hearings thereon.

(d) Reserved.

(e) Committee members may question witnesses only when they have been recognized by the Chair for

that purpose, and only for a 5-minute period until all members present have had an opportunity to

question a witness. The 5-minute period for questioning a witness by any one member can be extended

as provided by House Rules. The questioning of a witness in Committee hearings shall be initiated by the

Chair, followed by the ranking minority member and all other members alternating between the majority

and minority. In recognizing members to question witnesses in this fashion, the Chair shall take into

consideration the ratio of the majority to minority members present and shall establish the order of

recognition for questioning in such a manner as not to disadvantage the members of the majority. The

Chair may accomplish this by recognizing two majority members for each minority member recognized.

(f)The following additional rules shall apply to hearings of the Committee as applicable:

(1) The Chair at a hearing shall announce in an opening statement the subject of the investigation.

(2) A copy of the Committee rules and this clause shall be made available to each witness as provided by

clause 2(k)(2) of Rule XI.

(3) Witnesses at hearings may be accompanied by their own counsel for the purpose of advising them

concerning their constitutional rights.

(4) The Chair may punish breaches of order and decorum, and of professional ethics on the part of

counsel, by censure and exclusion from the hearings; and the Committee may cite the offender to the

House for contempt.

(5) If the Committee determines that evidence or testimony at a hearing may tend to defame, degrade,

or incriminate any person, it shall--

(A) afford such person an opportunity voluntarily to appear as a witness;

(B) receive such evidence or testimony in executive session; and

(C) receive and dispose of requests from such person to subpoena additional witnesses.

(6) Except as provided in subparagraph (f)(5), the Chair shall receive and the Committee shall dispose of

requests to subpoena additional witnesses.

(7) No evidence or testimony taken in executive session may be released or used in public sessions

without the consent of the Committee.

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(8) In the discretion of the Committee, witnesses may submit brief and pertinent sworn statements in

writing for inclusion in the record. The Committee is the sole judge of the pertinence of testimony and

evidence adduced at its hearing.

(9) A witness may obtain a transcript copy of his testimony given at a public session or, if given at an

executive session, when authorized by the Committee.

Rule No. 10

PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING MEASURES OR MATTERS

(a)(1) It shall be the duty of the Chair to report or cause to be reported promptly to the House any

measure approved by the Committee and to take or cause to be taken necessary steps to bring the

matter to a vote.

(2) In any event, the report of the Committee on a measure which has been approved by the Committee

shall be filed within 7 calendar days (exclusive of days on which the House is not in session) after the day

on which there has been filed with the clerk of the Committee a written request, signed by a majority of

the members of the Committee, for the reporting of that measure. Upon the filing of any such request, the

clerk of the Committee shall transmit immediately to the Chair notice of the filing of that request.

(b)(1) No measure or recommendation shall be reported to the House unless a majority of the Committee

is actually present.

(2) With respect to each record vote on a motion to report any measure or matter of a public character,

and on any amendment offered to the measure or matter, the total number of votes cast

for and against, and the names of those members voting for and against, shall be included in the

Committee report on the measure or matter.

(c) The report of the Committee on a measure or matter which has been approved by the Committee

shall include the matters required by Clause 3(c) of Rule XIII of the Rules of the House.

(d) If, at the time any measure or matter is ordered reported by the Committee, any member of the

Committee gives notice of intention to file supplemental, minority, additional, or dissenting views, that

member shall be entitled to not less than two additional calendar days after the day of such notice,

commencing on the day on which the measure or matter(s) was approved, excluding Saturdays,

Sundays, and legal holidays, in which to file such views, in writing and signed by that member, with the

clerk of the Committee. All such views so filed by one or more members of the Committee shall be

included within, and shall be a part of, the report filed by the Committee with respect to that measure or

matter. The report of the Committee upon that measure or matter shall be printed in a single volume

which --

(1) shall include all supplemental, minority, additional or dissenting views, in the form submitted, by the

time of the filing of the report, and

(2) shall bear upon its cover a recital that any such supplemental, minority, additional, or dissenting views

(and any material submitted under subparagraph (c)) are included as part of the report. This

subparagraph does not preclude --

(A) the immediate filing or printing of a Committee report unless timely request for the opportunity to file

supplemental, minority, additional, or dissenting views has been made as provided by paragraph (c); or

(B) the filing of any supplemental report upon any measure or matter which may be required for the

correction of any technical error in a previous report made by the Committee upon that measure or

matter.

(3) shall, when appropriate, contain the documents required by Clause 3(e) of Rule XIII of the Rules of

the House.

(e) The Chair, following consultation with the ranking minority member, is directed to offer a motion under

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clause 1 of Rule XXII of the Rules of the House, relating to going to conference with the Senate,

whenever the Chair considers it appropriate.

(f) If hearings have been held on any such measure or matter so reported, the Committee shall make

every reasonable effort to have such hearings published and available to the members of the House prior

to the consideration of such measure or matter in the House.

(g) The Chair may designate any majority member of the Committee to act as "floor manager" of a bill or

resolution during its consideration in the House.

Rule No. 11

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT

The Committee shall conduct oversight of matters within the jurisdiction of the Committee in accordance

with House Rule X, clause 2 and clause 4. Not later than February 15 of the first session of a Congress,

the Committee shall, in a meeting that is open to the public and with a quorum present, adopt its

authorization and oversight plan for that Congress in accordance with House Rule X, clause 2(d).

Rule No. 12

REVIEW OF CONTINUING PROGRAMS; BUDGET ACT PROVISIONS

(a) The Committee shall, in its consideration of all bills and joint resolutions of a public character within its

jurisdiction, ensure that appropriation for continuing programs and activities of the Federal Government

will be made annually to the maximum extent feasible and consistent with the nature, requirement, and

objectives of the programs and activities involved. For the purposes of this paragraph a Government

agency includes the organizational units of government listed in Clause 4(e) of Rule X of House Rules.

(b) The Committee shall review, from time to time, each continuing program within its jurisdiction for

which appropriations are not made annually in order to ascertain whether such program could be

modified so that appropriations therefore would be made annually.

(c) The Committee shall, on or before February 25 of each year, submit to the Committee on the Budget

(1) its views and estimates with respect to all matters to be set forth in the concurrent resolution on the

budget for the ensuing fiscal year which are within its jurisdiction or functions, and (2) an estimate of the

total amounts of new budget authority, and budget outlays resulting there from, to be provided or

authorized in all bills and resolutions within its jurisdiction which it intends to be effective during that fiscal

year.

(d) As soon as practicable after a concurrent resolution on the budget for any fiscal year is agreed to, the

Committee (after consulting with the appropriate committee or committees of the Senate) shall subdivide

any allocation made to it in the joint explanatory statement accompanying the conference report on such

resolution, and promptly report such subdivisions to the House, in the manner provided by section 302 of

the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

(e) Whenever the Committee is directed in a concurrent resolution on the budget to determine and

recommend changes in laws, bills, or resolutions under the reconciliation process it shall promptly make

such determination and recommendations, and report a reconciliation bill or resolution (or both) to the

House or submit such recommendations to the Committee on the Budget, in accordance with the

Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

Rule No. 13

BROADCASTING OF COMMITTEE HEARINGS AND MEETINGS

Whenever any hearing or meeting conducted by the Committee is open to the public, those proceedings

shall be open to coverage by television, radio, and still photography, as provided in Clause 4 of House

Rule XI, subject to the limitations therein. Operation and use of any Committee Internet broadcast system

shall be fair and nonpartisan and in accordance with Clause 4(b) of rule XI and all other applicable rules

of the Committee and the House.

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Rule No. 14

COMMITTEE STAFF

The staff of the Committee on House Administration shall be appointed as follows:

(a) The staff shall be appointed by the Chair except as provided in paragraph (b), and may be removed

by the Chair, and shall work under the general supervision and direction of the Chair;

(b) All staff provided to the minority party members of the Committee shall be appointed by the ranking

minority member, and may be removed by the ranking minority member of the Committee, and shall work

under the general supervision and direction of such member;

(c) The appointment of all professional staff shall be subject to the approval of the Committee as provided

by, and subject to the provisions of, clause 9 of Rule X of the Rules of the House;

(d) The Chair shall fix the compensation of all staff of the Committee, after consultation with the ranking

minority member regarding any minority party staff, within the budget approved for such purposes for the

Committee.

Rule No. 15

TRAVEL OF MEMBERS AND STAFF

(a) Consistent with the primary expense resolution and such additional expense resolutions as may have

been approved, the provisions of this rule shall govern travel of Committee members and staff. Travel for

any member or any staff member shall be paid only upon the prior authorization of the Chair or her or his

designee. Travel may be authorized by the Chair for any member and any staff member in connection

with the attendance at hearings conducted by the Committee and meetings, conferences, and

investigations which involve activities or subject matter under the general jurisdiction of the Committee.

Before such authorization is given there shall be submitted to the Chair in writing the following:

(1) The purpose of the travel;

(2) The dates during which the travel will occur;

(3) The locations to be visited and the length of time to be spent in each; and

(4) The names of members and staff seeking authorization.

(b)(1) In the case of travel outside the United States of members and staff of the Committee for the

purpose of conducting hearings, investigations, studies, or attending meetings and conferences involving

activities or subject matter under the legislative assignment of the committee, prior authorization must be

obtained from the Chair. Before such authorization is given, there shall be submitted to the Chair, in

writing, a request for such authorization. Each request, which shall be filed in a manner that allows for a

reasonable period of time for review before such travel is scheduled to begin, shall include the following:

(A) the purpose of the travel;

(B) the dates during which the travel will occur;

(C) the names of the countries to be visited and the length of time to be spent in each;

(D) an agenda of anticipated activities for each country for which travel is authorized together with a

description of the purpose to be served and the areas of committee jurisdiction involved; and

(E) the names of members and staff for whom authorization is sought.

(2) At the conclusion of any hearing, investigation, study, meeting or conference for which travel outside

the United States has been authorized pursuant to this rule, members and staff attending meetings or

conferences shall submit a written report to the Chair covering the activities and other pertinent

observations or information gained as a result of such travel.

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(c) Members and staff of the Committee performing authorized travel on official business shall be

governed by applicable laws, resolutions, or regulations of the House and of the Committee on House

Administration pertaining to such travel.

Rule No. 16

Reserved.

Rule No. 17

Reserved.

Rule No. 18

OTHER PROCEDURES AND REGULATIONS

The Chair may establish such other procedures and take such actions as may be necessary to carry out

the foregoing rules or to facilitate the effective operation of the committee.

Rule No. 19

DESIGNATION OF CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE

For the purposes of these rules and the Rules of the House of Representatives, the staff director of the

Committee shall act as the clerk of the Committee.

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