IV

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. RES. 578

Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to apply certain laws

to the House of Representatives, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 7, 1994

Mr. MOAKLEY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on Rules

OCTOBER 7, 1994

Considered and agreed to pursuant to H. Res. 579

RESOLUTION

Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to

apply certain laws to the House of Representatives, and

for other purposes.

1 Resolved,

2 SECTION 1. APPLICATION OF CERTAIN LAWS TO THE

3 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

4 The Rules of the House of Representatives are

5 amended by adding at the end the following new rule:
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1 ‘‘RULE LII.

2 ‘‘APPLICATION OF CERTAIN LAWS.

3 ‘‘1. There is established an Office of Compliance

4 which shall have a Board of Directors consisting of 5 indi5 viduals appointed jointly by the Speaker and the minority

6 leader. Appointments of the first 5 members of the Board

7 of Directors shall be completed not later than 120 days

8 after the beginning of the One Hundred Fourth Congress.

9 ‘‘2. (a) The Office of Compliance shall carry out the

10 duties and functions set forth in sections 2 through 16

11 of House Resolution ll, One Hundred Third Congress,

12 including the issuance of regulations, to implement the re13 quirements of the following laws to the House of Rep14 resentatives:

15 ‘‘(1) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

16 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), effective at the beginning

17 of the second session of the One Hundred Fourth

18 Congress.

19 ‘‘(2) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

20 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), effective at the beginning

21 of the second session of the One Hundred Fourth

22 Congress.

23 ‘‘(3) The Americans With Disabilities Act of

24 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), effective at the be-
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1 ginning of the second session of the One Hundred

2 Fourth Congress.

3 ‘‘(4) The Age Discrimination in Employment

4 Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.) (including rem5 edies available to private employees), effective at the

6 beginning of the second session of the One Hundred

7 Fourth Congress.

8 ‘‘(5) Titles I and V of the Family and Medical

9 Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611 et seq.), effec10 tive at the beginning of the second session of the

11 One Hundred Fourth Congress.

12 ‘‘(6) The Occupational Safety and Health Act

13 of 1970 (other than section 19) (29 U.S.C. 651 et

14 seq.) (subject to paragraph (c)), effective at the be15 ginning of the One Hundred Fifth Congress.

16 ‘‘(7) Chapter 71 (relating to Federal labor

17 management relations) of title 5, United States

18 Code, effective at the beginning of the One Hundred

19 Fifth Congress.

20 ‘‘(8) The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of

21 1988 (29 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.), effective at the be22 ginning of the second session of the One Hundred

23 Fourth Congress, except that this Act shall not

24 apply to the United States Capitol Police.
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1 ‘‘(9) The Worker Adjustment and Retraining

2 Notification Act (29 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.), effective

3 at the beginning of the second session of the One

4 Hundred Fourth Congress.

5 ‘‘(10) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29

6 U.S.C. 791), effective at the beginning of the second

7 session of the One Hundred Fourth Congress.

8 ‘‘(b) Any provision of Federal law shall, to the extent

9 that it relates to the terms and conditions of employment

10 (including hiring, promotion or demotion, salary and

11 wages, overtime compensation, benefits, work assignments

12 or reassignments, termination, protection from discrimina13 tion in personnel actions, health and safety of employees,

14 and family and medical leave) of employees apply to the

15 House in accordance with this rule.

16 ‘‘(c) The House shall comply with the Occupational

17 Safety and Health Act of 1970 as follows: If a citation

18 of a violation of such Act is received, action to abate the

19 violation shall take place as soon as possible, but no later

20 than the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the

21 citation is issued, subject to the availability of funds ap22 propriated for that purpose after the receipt of the

23 citation.

24 ‘‘3. (a)(1) The Chairperson of the Board of Directors

25 of the Office shall appoint, may establish the compensa-
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1 tion of, and may terminate, subject to the approval of the

2 Board of Directors, an Executive Director (referred to in

3 this rule as the ‘executive director’). The compensation of

4 the executive director may not exceed the compensation

5 for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316

6 of title 5, United States Code. The executive director shall

7 be an individual with training or expertise in the applica8 tion of the laws referred to in clause 2. The appointment

9 of the first executive director shall be completed no later

10 than 120 days after the initial appointment of the Board

11 of Directors.

12 ‘‘(2) The executive director may not be an individual

13 who holds or may have held the position of Member of

14 the House of Representatives or Senator. The executive

15 director may not be an individual who holds the position

16 of employee of the House or the Senate but the executive

17 director may be an individual who held such a position

18 at least 4 years before appointment as executive director.

19 The term of office of the executive director shall be a sin20 gle term of 5 years.

21 ‘‘(b)(1)(A) No individual who engages in, or is other22 wise employed in, lobbying of the Congress and who is re23 quired under the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act to

24 register with the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk shall
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1 be considered eligible for appointment to, or service on,

2 the Board of Directors.

3 ‘‘(B) No member of the Board of Directors may hold

4 or may have held the position of Member of the House

5 of Representatives or Senator, may hold the position of

6 employee of the House or Senate, or may have held such

7 a position within 4 years of the date of appointment.

8 ‘‘(2) If during a term of office a member of the Board

9 of Directors engages in an activity described in subpara10 graph (1)(A), such position shall be declared vacant and

11 a successor shall be selected in accordance with paragraph

12 (a)(1).

13 ‘‘(3) A vacancy in the Board of Directors shall be

14 filled in the manner in which the original appointment was

15 made.

16 ‘‘(c)(1) Except as provided in subparagraph (2),

17 membership on the Board of Directors shall be for 5 years.

18 A member shall only be eligible for appointment for a sin19 gle term of office.

20 ‘‘(2) Of the members first appointed to the Board

21 of Directors—

22 ‘‘(A) 1 shall have a term of office of 3 years,

23 ‘‘(B) 2 shall have a term of office of 4 years,

24 and

25 ‘‘(C) 2 shall have a term of office of 5 years,
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1 as designated at the time of appointment by the persons

2 specified in paragraph (a)(1).

3 ‘‘(3) Any member of the Board of Directors may be

4 removed from office by a majority decision of the appoint5 ing authorities described in paragraph (a)(1) and only

6 for—

7 ‘‘(A) disability that substantially prevents the

8 member from carrying out the duties of the member,

9 ‘‘(B) incompetence,

10 ‘‘(C) neglect of duty,

11 ‘‘(D) malfeasance, or

12 ‘‘(E) a felony or conduct involving moral turpi13 tude.

14 ‘‘(d) The Chairperson of the Board of Directors shall

15 be appointed from the members of the Board of Directors

16 by the members of the Board.’’.

17 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

18 As used in sections 2 through 16:

19 (1) The term ‘‘employee of the House’’ means

20 any individual (other than a Member) whose pay is

21 disbursed by the Director of Non-legislative and Fi22 nancial Services or any individual to whom super23 vision and all other employee-related matters were

24 transferred to the Sergeant at Arms pursuant to di25 rection of the Committee on Appropriations in
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1 House Report 103–517 of the One Hundred Third

2 Congress, and such term includes an applicant for

3 the position of employee and a former employee.

4 (2) The term ‘‘employing authority’’ means,

5 with respect to an employee, the Member of the

6 House of Representatives or elected officer of the

7 House of Representatives, or the Director of the

8 Congressional Budget Office, with the power to ap9 point the employee.

10 (3) The term ‘‘Member of the House of Rep11 resentatives’’ means a Representative in, or a Dele12 gate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress.

13 (4) The term ‘‘elected officer of the House of

14 Representatives’’ means an elected officer of the

15 House of Representatives (other than the Speaker

16 and the Chaplain).

17 (5) The term ‘‘Office’’ refers to the Office of

18 Compliance established by rule LII of the Rules of

19 the House of Representatives.

20 SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF LAWS.

21 (a) The laws set forth in clause 2 of rule LII of the

22 Rules of the House of Representatives shall apply, as pre23 scribed by that rule, to the House of Representatives.

24 (b) The laws referred to in rule LI of the Rules of

25 the House of Representatives which apply on December
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1 31, 1994, to House employees shall continue to apply to

2 such employees until the effective date such laws are made

3 applicable in accordance with this resolution.

4 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS RELATING TO THE

5 OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE.

6 (a)(1) Each member of the Board of Directors shall

7 be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of

8 the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the

9 Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United

10 States Code, for each day (including travel time) during

11 which such member is engaged in the performance of the

12 duties of the Board.

13 (2) Each member of the Board of Directors shall re14 ceive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsist15 ence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under

16 subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code,

17 for each day the member is engaged in the performance

18 of duties away from the home or regular place of business

19 of the member.

20 (b) The executive director may appoint and fix the

21 compensation of such staff, including hearing officers, as

22 are necessary to carry out this resolution.

23 (c) The executive director may, with the prior consent

24 of the Government department or agency concerned, use

25 the services of any such department or agency, including
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1 the services of members or personnel of the General Ac2 counting Office Personnel Appeals Board.

3 (d) The executive director may procure the temporary

4 (not to exceed 1 year) or intermittent services of individual

5 consultants or organizations thereof.

6 SEC. 5. STUDY AND REGULATIONS.

7 (a) The Board of Directors shall conduct a study of

8 the manner in which the laws referred to in clause 2(a)

9 of rule LII of the Rules of the House of Representatives

10 should apply to the House of Representatives. The Board

11 of Directors shall complete such study and report the re12 sults to House of Representatives not later than 180 days

13 after the date of the first appointment of the first execu14 tive director.

15 (b) On an ongoing basis the Board of Directors—

16 (1) shall determine which of the laws referred

17 to in clause 2(b) of rule LII of the Rules of the

18 House of Representatives should apply to the House

19 of Representatives and if it should, the manner in

20 which it should be made applicable;

21 (2) shall study the application to the House of

22 provisions of Federal law referred to in paragraphs

23 (a) and (b) of clause 2 of rule LII of the Rules of

24 the House of Representatives that are enacted after

25 the date of adoption of this resolution;
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1 (3) may propose regulations with respect to

2 such application in accordance with subsection (c);

3 and

4 (4) may review the regulations in effect under

5 subsection (e)(1) and make such amendments as

6 may be appropriate in accordance with subsection

7 (c).

8 (c)(1)(A) Not later than 180 days after the date of

9 the completion of the study under subsection (a), the

10 Board of Directors shall, in accordance with section 553

11 of title 5, United States Code, propose regulations to im12 plement the requirements of the laws referred to in clause

13 2(a) of rule LII of the Rules of the House of Representa14 tives. The Board of Directors shall provide a period of at

15 least 30 days for comment on the proposed regulations.

16 (B) In addition to publishing a general notice of pro17 posed rulemaking under section 553(b) of title 5, United

18 States Code, the Board of Directors shall concurrently

19 submit such notice for publication in the Congressional

20 Record.

21 (C) When proposing regulations under subparagraph

22 (A) to implement the requirements of a law referred to

23 in clause 2(a) of rule LII of the Rules of the House of

24 Representatives, the Board of Directors shall recommend

25 to the House of Representatives changes in or repeals of
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1 existing law to accommodate the application of such law

2 to the House.

3 (D) The Board of Directors shall, in accordance with

4 such section 553, issue final regulations not later than 60

5 days after the end of the comment period on the proposed

6 regulations.

7 (2)(A) Not later than 180 days after the date of the

8 completion of the study or a determination under sub9 section (b), the Board of Directors shall, in accordance

10 with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, propose

11 regulations that specify which of the provisions of Federal

12 law considered in such study shall apply to the House of

13 Representatives. The Board of Directors shall provide a

14 period of at least 30 days for comment on the proposed

15 regulations.

16 (B) In addition to publishing a general notice of pro17 posed rulemaking under section 553(b) of title 5, United

18 States Code, the Board of Directors shall concurrently

19 submit such notice for publication in the Congressional

20 Record.

21 (C) When proposing regulations under subparagraph

22 (A) specifying which of the provisions of Federal law re23 ferred to in clause 2(b) of rule LII of the Rules of the

24 House of Representatives shall apply to the House of Rep25 resentatives, the Board of Directors shall recommend to
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1 the House of Representatives changes in or repeals of ex2 isting law to accommodate the application of such law to

3 the House.

4 (D) The Board of Directors shall, in accordance with

5 such section 553, issue final regulations not later than 60

6 days after the end of the comment period on the proposed

7 regulations.

8 (3) Regulations under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall

9 be consistent with the regulations issued by an agency of

10 the executive branch of the Federal Government under the

11 provision of law made applicable to the House of Rep12 resentatives, including portions relating to remedies.

13 (4) If a regulation is disapproved by a resolution con14 sidered under subsection (e), not later than 60 days after

15 the date of the disapproval, the Board of Directors shall

16 propose a new regulation to replace the regulation dis17 approved. The action of the Board of Directors under this

18 paragraph shall be in accordance with the applicable re19 quirements of this subsection.

20 (d) A final regulation issued under subsection (c)

21 shall be transmitted to the House of Representatives for

22 consideration under paragraph (e).

23 (e)(1) Subject to subsection (f), a final regulation

24 which is issued under subsection (c) shall take effect upon

25 the expiration of 60 days from the date the final regula-
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1 tion is issued unless disapproved by the House of Rep2 resentatives by resolution.

3 (2) A resolution referred to in paragraph (1) may be

4 introduced in the House of Representatives within 5 legis5 lative days after the date on which the Board of Directors

6 issues the final regulation to which the resolution applies.

7 The matter after the resolving clause of the resolution

8 shall be as follows: ‘‘That the House of Representatives

9 disapproves the issuance of final regulations of the Office

10 of Compliance as issued on llllll (the blank

11 space being appropriately filled in).’’.

12 (3) A resolution referred to in paragraph (1) shall

13 be referred to the appropriate committee. If no resolution

14 is reported within 15 legislative days after the Board of

15 Directors issues final regulations under subsection

16 (c)(1)(D) or (c)(2)(D), the committee to which the resolu17 tion was referred shall be discharged from further consid18 eration of the first such resolution introduced and the res19 olution shall be placed on the appropriate calendar. Any

20 meeting of a committee on a resolution shall be open to

21 the public. Within 5 legislative days after the resolution

22 is reported or discharged, it shall be in order as a privi23 leged matter to move to proceed to its consideration and

24 such motion shall not be debatable. The resolution shall

25 be debatable for not to exceed 4 hours equally divided be-
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1 tween proponents and opponents and it shall not be sub2 ject to amendment.

3 (f) Any meeting of the Board of Directors held in

4 connection with a study under subsection (a) or (b) shall

5 be open to the public. Any meeting of the Board of Direc6 tors in connection with a regulation under subsection (c)

7 shall be open to the public.

8 SEC. 6. OTHER FUNCTIONS.

9 (a) The executive director shall adopt rules governing

10 the procedures of the Office, subject to the approval of

11 the Board of Directors, including the procedures of hear12 ing boards, which shall be submitted for publication in the

13 Congressional Record. The rules may be amended in the

14 same manner. The executive director may consult with the

15 Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United

16 States and the General Counsel of the House of Rep17 resentatives on the adoption of rules.

18 (b) The executive director shall have authority to con19 duct such investigations as the executive director requires

20 to implement sections 7 through 10.

21 (c) The Office shall—

22 (1) carry out a program of education for Mem23 bers of the House of Representatives and other em24 ploying authorities of the House of Representatives

25 respecting the laws made applicable to them and a
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1 program to inform individuals of their rights under

2 laws applicable to the House of Representatives and

3 under sections 7 through 10,

4 (2) in carrying out the program under para5 graph (1), distribute the telephone number and ad6 dress of the Office, procedures for action under sec7 tions 7 through 10, and any other information the

8 executive director deems appropriate for distribution,

9 distribute such information to Members and other

10 employing authorities of the House in a manner

11 suitable for posting, provide such information to new

12 employees of the House, distribute such information

13 to the residences of employees of the House, and

14 conduct seminars and other activities designed to

15 educate employers and employees in such informa16 tion,

17 (3) compile and publish statistics on the use of

18 the Office by employees of the House, including the

19 number and type of contacts made with the Office,

20 on the reason for such contacts, on the number of

21 employees who initiated proceedings with the Office

22 under sections 7 through 10 and the result of such

23 proceedings, and on the number of employees who

24 filed a complaint under section 10, the basis for the
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1 complaint, and the action taken on the complaint,

2 and

3 (4) within 180 days of the initial appointment

4 of the executive director and in conjunction with the

5 Clerk, develop a system for the collection of demo6 graphic data respecting the composition of employ7 ees of the House, including race, sex, and wages,

8 and a system for the collection of information on

9 employment practices, including family leave and

10 flexible work hours, in House offices.

11 (d) Within one year of the date the system referred

12 to in subsection (c)(4) is developed and annually there13 after, the Board of Directors shall submit to the House

14 of Representatives a report on the information collected

15 under such system. Each report after the first report shall

16 contain a comparison and evaluation of data contained in

17 the previous report.

18 SEC. 7. PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF ALLEGED

19 VIOLATIONS.

20 The procedure for consideration of alleged violations

21 of laws made applicable to the House of Representatives

22 under this rule consists of 3 steps as follows:

23 (1) Step I, counseling, as set forth in section 8.

24 (2) Step II, mediation, as set forth in section

25 9.
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1 (3) Step III, formal complaint and hearing by

2 a hearing board, as set forth in section 10.

3 SEC. 8. STEP I: COUNSELING.

4 (a) An employee of the House alleging a violation of

5 a law made applicable to the House of Representatives

6 under rule LII of the Rules of the House of Representa7 tives may request counseling through the Office. The Of8 fice shall provide the employee with all relevant informa9 tion with respect to the rights of the employee. A request

10 for counseling shall be made not later than 180 days after

11 the alleged violation forming the basis of the request for

12 counseling occurred.

13 (b) The period for counseling shall be 30 days unless

14 the employee and the Office agree to reduce the period.

15 The period shall begin on the date the request for counsel16 ing is received.

17 SEC. 9. STEP II: MEDIATION.

18 (a) Not later than 15 days after the end of the coun19 seling period under section 8, the employee who alleged

20 a violation of a law made applicable to the House of Rep21 resentatives under rule LII of the Rules of the House of

22 Representatives may file a request for mediation with the

23 Office. Mediation—

24 (1) may include the Office, the employee, the

25 employing authority, and individuals who are rec-
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1 ommended by organizations composed primarily of

2 individuals experienced in adjudicating or arbitrating

3 personnel matters, and

4 (2) shall be a process involving meetings with

5 the parties separately or jointly for the purpose of

6 resolving the dispute between the employee and the

7 employing authority.

8 (b) The mediation period shall be 30 days beginning

9 on the date the request for mediation is received and may

10 be extended for an additional 30 days at the discretion

11 of the Office. The Office shall notify the employee and

12 the head of the employing authority when the mediation

13 period has ended.

14 SEC. 10. STEP III: FORMAL COMPLAINT AND HEARING.

15 (a) Not later than 30 days after receipt by the em16 ployee of the House of notice from the Office of the end

17 of the mediation period under section 9, the employee of

18 the House may file a formal complaint with the Office

19 against the head of the employing authority involved. No

20 complaint may be filed unless the employee has made a

21 timely request for counseling and has completed the proce22 dures set forth in sections 8 and 9.

23 (b) A board of 3 independent hearing officers (herein24 after in this resolution referred to as a ‘‘hearing board’’),

25 who are not Members, officers, or employees of the House,
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1 chosen by the executive director (one of whom shall be

2 designated by the executive director as the presiding hear3 ing officer) shall be assigned to consider each complaint

4 filed under subsection (a). The executive director shall ap5 point hearing officers from candidates who are rec6 ommended by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation

7 Service or the Administrative Conference of the United

8 States. A hearing board shall act by majority vote.

9 (c) Prior to a hearing under subsection (d), a hearing

10 board may dismiss any claim that it finds to be frivolous.

11 (d) A hearing shall be conducted—

12 (1) in closed session on the record by a hearing

13 board; and

14 (2) no later than 30 days after filing of the

15 complaint under subsection (a), except that the Of16 fice may, for good cause, extend up to an additional

17 60 days the time for conducting a hearing.

18 (e) Reasonable prehearing discovery may be per19 mitted at the discretion of the hearing board.

20 (f)(1) A hearing board may authorize subpoenas,

21 which shall be issued by the presiding hearing officer on

22 behalf of the hearing board under the seal of the House

23 of Representatives for the attendance of witnesses at pro24 ceedings of the hearing board and for the production of

25 correspondence, books, papers, documents, and other
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1 records. The attendance of witnesses and the production

2 of evidence may be required from any place within the

3 United States.

4 (2) If a person refuses to obey a subpoena issued

5 under paragraph (1), the hearing board may report the

6 refusal to the Committee on Rules which may take any

7 action it deems appropriate, which shall be authorized by

8 the chairman and ranking minority member acting jointly.

9 Such action may include—

10 (A) a referral to the Committee on Standards

11 of Official Conduct if the refusal is by a current

12 Member of the House of Representatives or officer

13 or employee of the House of Representatives, or

14 (B) a report to the House of Representatives of

15 a resolution to certify a contempt pursuant to sec16 tions 102 and 104 of the Joint Resolution of June

17 22, 1938 (2 U.S.C. 192, 194) if the failure is by

18 someone other than a current Member of the House

19 of Representatives or officer or employee of the

20 House of Representatives.

21 (3) The subpoenas of the hearing board shall be

22 served in the manner provided for subpoenas issued by

23 a United States district court under the Federal Rules of

24 Civil Procedure for the United States district courts.
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1 (4) All process of any court to which application is

2 to be made under paragraph (2) may be served in the judi3 cial district in which the person required to be served re4 sides or may be found.

5 (5) The hearing board is an agency of the United

6 States for the purpose of part V of title 18, United States

7 Code (relating to immunity of witnesses).

8 (g) As expeditiously as possible, but in no case more

9 than 45 days after the conclusion of the hearing, the hear10 ing board shall make a decision in the matter for which

11 the hearing was held. The decision of the hearing board

12 shall be transmitted by the Office to the employee of the

13 House and the employing authority. The decision shall

14 state the issues raised by the complaint, describe the evi15 dence in the record, and contain a determination as to

16 whether a violation of a law made applicable to the House

17 of Representatives under this rule has occurred. Any deci18 sion of the hearing board shall contain a written statement

19 of the reasons for the hearing board’s decision. A final

20 decision of the hearing board shall be made available to

21 the public by the Office.

22 (h) If the decision of the hearing board under sub23 section (g) is that a violation of a law made applicable

24 to the House of Representatives under rule LII of the

25 Rules of the House of Representatives, it shall order the
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1 remedies under such law as made applicable to the House

2 of Representatives under that rule, except that no Member

3 of the House of Representatives or any other head of an

4 employing authority, or agent of such a Member shall be

5 personally liable for the payment of compensation. The

6 hearing board shall have no authority to award punitive

7 damages.

8 (i)(1) A House employee or an employing authority

9 may request the Board of Directors to review a decision

10 of the hearing board under subsection (g) (including a de11 cision after a remand under paragraph (2)(A)). Such a

12 request shall be made within 30 days of the date of the

13 decision of the hearing board. Review by the Board of Di14 rectors shall be based on the record of the hearing board.

15 (2) The Board of Directors shall issue a decision not

16 later than 60 days after the date of the request under

17 paragraph (1). The decision of the Board of Directors

18 may—

19 (A) remand to the hearing board the matter be20 fore the Board of Directors for the purpose of

21 supplementing the record or for further consider22 ation;

23 (B) reverse the decision of the hearing board

24 and enter a new decision and order in accordance

25 with subsection (h); or
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1 (C) direct that the decision and order of the

2 hearing board be considered as the final decision.

3 (j) There shall be established in the House of Rep4 resentatives a fund from which compensation (including

5 attorney’s fees) may be paid in accordance with an order

6 under subsection (h) or (i). From the outset of any pro7 ceeding in which compensation may be paid from a fund

8 of the House of Representatives, the General Counsel of

9 the House of Representatives may provide the respondent

10 with representation.

11 SEC. 11. RESOLUTION OF COMPLAINT.

12 If, after a formal complaint is filed under section 10,

13 the employee and the employing authority resolve the is14 sues involved, the employee may withdraw the complaint

15 or the parties may enter into a written agreement, subject

16 to the approval of the executive director.

17 SEC. 12. PROHIBITION OF INTIMIDATION.

18 Any intimidation of, or reprisal against, any employee

19 of the House by any Member, officer, or employee of the

20 House of Representatives because of the exercise of a right

21 under this resolution constitutes an unlawful employment

22 practice, which may be remedied in the same manner

23 under this resolution as is a violation of a law made appli24 cable to the House of Representatives under rule LII of

25 the Rules of the House of Representatives.
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1 SEC. 13. CONFIDENTIALITY.

2 (a) All counseling shall be strictly confidential except

3 that the Office and the employee may agree to notify the

4 head of the employing authority of the allegations.

5 (b) All mediation shall be strictly confidential.

6 (c) Except as provided in subsection (d), the hearings

7 and deliberations of the hearing board shall be confiden8 tial.

9 (d) At the discretion of the executive director, the ex10 ecutive director may provide to the Committee on Stand11 ards of Official Conduct access to the records of the hear12 ings and decisions of the hearing boards, including all

13 written and oral testimony in the possession of the hearing

14 boards, concerning a decision under section 10(g). The ex15 ecutive director shall not provide such access until the ex16 ecutive director has consulted with the individual filing the

17 complaint at issue in the hearing, and until the hearing

18 board has issued the decision.

19 (e) The executive director shall coordinate the pro20 ceedings with the Committee on Standards of Official

21 Conduct to ensure effectiveness, to avoid duplication, and

22 to prevent penalizing cooperation by respondents in their

23 respective proceedings.
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1 SEC. 14. POLITICAL AFFILIATION AND PLACE OF RESI2 DENCE.

3 (a) It shall not be a violation of a law made applicable

4 to the House of Representatives under rule LII of the

5 Rules of the House of Representatives to consider the—

6 (1) party affiliation,

7 (2) domicile, or

8 (3) political compatibility with the employing

9 authority,

10 of an employee of the House with respect to employment

11 decisions.

12 (b) For purposes of subsection (a), the term ‘‘em13 ployee’’ means—

14 (1) an employee on the staff of the House of

15 Representatives leadership,

16 (2) an employee on the staff of a committee or

17 subcommittee,

18 (3) an employee on the staff of a Member of

19 the House of Representatives,

20 (4) an officer or employee of the House of Rep21 resentatives elected by the House of Representatives

22 or appointed by a Member of the House of Rep23 resentatives, other than those described in para24 graphs (1) through (3), or
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1 (5) an applicant for a position that is to be oc2 cupied by an individual described in paragraphs (1)

3 through (4).

4 SEC. 15. EXCLUSIVITY OF PROCEDURES AND REMEDIES.

5 The procedures and remedies under rule LII of the

6 Rules of the House of Representatives are exclusive except

7 to the extent that the Rules of the House of Representa8 tives and the rules of the Committee on Standards of Offi9 cial Conduct provide for additional procedures and rem10 edies.

11 SEC. 16. STUDY.

12 (a) The Office shall conduct a study—

13 (1) of the ways that access by the public to in14 formation held by the House of Representatives may

15 be improved and streamlined, and of the application

16 of section 552 of title 5, United States Code to the

17 House of Representatives; and

18 (2) of the application of the requirement of sec19 tion 552a of title 5, United States Code, to the

20 House of Representatives.

21 (b) The study conducted under subsection (a) shall

22 examine—

23 (1) information that is currently made available

24 under such section 552 by Federal agencies and not

25 by the House of Representatives;
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1 (2) information held by the nonlegislative of2 fices of the House of Representatives, including—

3 (A) the Director of Non-legislative and Fi4 nancial Services,

5 (B) the Clerk,

6 (C) the Inspector General,

7 (D) the Sergeant at Arms,

8 (E) the Doorkeeper,

9 (F) the United States Capitol Police, and

10 (G) the House Commission on Congres11 sional Mailing Standards;

12 (3) financial expenditure information of the

13 House of Representatives; and

14 (4) provisions for judicial review of denial of ac15 cess to information held by the House of Represent16 atives.

17 (c) The Office shall conduct the study prescribed by

18 subsection (a) and report the results of the study to the

19 House of Representatives not later than one year after the

20 date of the initial appointment of the Board of Directors.

21 SEC. 17. EFFECTIVE DATE AND TRANSITION RULES.

22 (a) The amendments made by section 1 shall take

23 effect on November 1, 1994.

24 (b) Effective at the beginning of the second session

25 of the One Hundred Fourth Congress, rule LI of the Rules
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1 of the House of Representatives is repealed and rule LII

2 of such Rules is redesignated as rule LI and all references

3 to rule LII in sections 2 through 16 of this resolution are

4 deemed to be references to rule LI of such Rules.

5 (c) Notwithstanding subsection (b), until the begin6 ning of the second session of the One Hundred Fourth

7 Congress, the functions under rule LI of the Rules of the

8 House of Representatives that are the responsibility of the

9 Office of Fair Employment Practices shall continue to be

10 the responsibility of that Office.

11 (d) Any formal complaint filed under rule LI of the

12 Rules of the House of Representatives before the close of

13 the first session of the One Hundred Fourth Congress

14 which has not been finally disposed of shall be transferred

15 to the Office of Compliance for completion of all pending

16 proceedings relating to that complaint. The Office of Com17 pliance may make regulations to provide for the orderly

18 transfer and disposition of such complaints.

19 (e) In appointing staff under section 4(b), the execu20 tive director should give full consideration to employees

21 of the Office of Fair Employment Practices.

22 (f) Sections 1 through 16 and subsections (a) through

23 (e) of this section shall have no force or effect upon the

24 enactment by the One Hundred Third Congress of the

25 Congressional Accountability Act, whether by enactment
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1 of the bill H.R. 4822, by incorporation of the text of that

2 bill in another measure, or otherwise.

3 SEC. 18. The chairman and ranking minority member

4 of the Committee on House Administration, acting jointly,

5 shall study and report recommendations to the Speaker

6 and minority leader, no later than January 3, 1995, for

7 changes in House rule LII to be adopted by the House

8 to reconcile such rule with the existing jurisdiction of the

9 Committee on House Administration.

10 SEC. 19. The General Counsel of the House shall con11 duct a study to be submitted to the Speaker, minority

12 leader, and the chairmen and ranking minority members

13 of the Committees on House Administration and Rules no

14 later than January 3, 1995, on further changes in House

15 rules to provide to employees of the House (as defined in

16 section 2) the ability to bring a civil action in Federal dis17 trict court against an employing authority (as defined in

18 section 2) for an alleged violation under Federal law to

19 the extent that such violation relates to the terms and con20 ditions of employment, until the statutory provisions con21 tained in H.R. 4822, as passed by the House, are enacted.

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