IV

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 5

Adopting the Rules of the House for the 103d Congress.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

Mr. GEPHARDT submitted the following resolution; which was considered and

agreed to

RESOLUTION

Adopting the Rules of the House for the 103d Congress.

Resolved, That the Rules of the House of Representatives of the One Hundred Second Congress, including applicable provisions of law or concurrent resolution that constituted

rules of the House at the end of the One Hundred Second

Congress, are adopted as the Rules of the House of Representatives of the One Hundred Third Congress, with the

following amendments to the standing rules, to wit:

(1) In clause 5(a) of rule I, strike ‘‘negative, if he still

doubts, or a count is required by at least one-fifth of a

quorum, he shall name one or more from each side of the

question to tell the Members in the affirmative and negative;
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which being reported, he shall rise and state the decision.

However, if’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘negative. If’’.

(2) At the end of rule I add the following new clauses:

‘‘11. There is established in the House of Representatives an office to be known as the Office of General Counsel

for the purpose of providing legal assistance and representation to the House. Legal assistance and representation shall

be provided without regard to political affiliation. The Office

of General Counsel shall function pursuant to the direction

of the Speaker, who shall consult with a Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, which shall include the majority and minority

leaderships. The Speaker shall appoint and set the annual

rate of pay for employees of the Office of General Counsel.

‘‘12. To suspend the business of the House for a short

time when no question is pending before the House, the

Speaker may declare a recess subject to the call of the

Chair.’’.

(3) After rule V, insert the following new rule VI:

‘‘RULE VI.

‘‘ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICIALS.

‘‘Director of Non-legislative and Financial

Services

‘‘1. (a) The Director of Non-legislative and Financial

Services shall be appointed for a Congress by the Speaker,

the majority leader, and the minority leader, acting jointly.
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The Director may be removed by the House or by the Speaker. The Director shall be paid at the same rate of basic pay

as the elected officers of the House.

‘‘(b) The Director of Non-legislative and Financial Services shall have extensive managerial and financial experience.

‘‘(c) Subject to the policy direction and oversight of the

Committee on House Administration, the Director shall have

operational and financial responsibility for functions assigned

by resolution of the House.

‘‘(d) Subject to the policy direction and oversight of the

Committee on House Administration, the Director shall develop employment standards that provide that all employment

decisions for functions under the Director’s supervision be

made in accordance with the non-discrimination provisions of

clause 9 of rule XLIII and of rule LI, without regard to political affiliation, and solely on the basis of fitness to perform

the duties involved. No adverse personnel action may be

taken by the Director without cause.

‘‘(e) All positions under the Director shall be subject to

the provisions of the House Employees Position Classification

Act.

‘‘Office of Inspector General

‘‘2. (a) There is established an Office of Inspector General.
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‘‘(b) The Inspector General shall be appointed for a Congress by the Speaker, the majority leader, and the minority

leader, acting jointly.

‘‘(c) Subject to the policy direction and oversight of the

Committee on House Administration, the Inspector General

shall be responsible only for—

‘‘(1) conducting periodic audits of the financial

functions under the Director of Non-legislative and Financial Services, Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, and Doorkeeper;

‘‘(2) informing the Director or other officer who is

the subject of an audit of the results of that audit and

suggesting appropriate curative actions;

‘‘(3) notifying the Speaker, the majority leader, the

minority leader, and the chairman and ranking minority

party member of the Committee on House Administration in the case of any financial irregularity discovered

in the course of carrying out responsibilities under this

rule; and

‘‘(4) submitting to the Speaker, the majority leader,

the minority leader, and the chairman and ranking minority party member of the Committee on House Administration and to the Subcommittee on Administrative

Oversight of the Committee on House Administration a

report of each audit conducted under this rule.
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‘‘(d) The position of Inspector General, and all positions

under the Inspector General, shall be subject to the provisions of the House Employees Position Classification Act.’’.

(4) Amend rule IX to read as follows:

‘‘QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE.

‘‘1. Questions of privilege shall be, first, those affecting

the rights of the House collectively, its safety, dignity, and

the integrity of its proceedings; and second, those affecting

the rights, reputation, and conduct of Members, individually,

in their representative capacity only.

‘‘2. (a)(1) A resolution reported as a question of the

privileges of the House, or offered from the floor by the majority leader or the minority leader as a question of the privileges of the House, or offered as privileged under clause 1,

section 7, article I of the Constitution, shall have precedence

of all other questions except motions to adjourn. A resolution

offered from the floor by a Member other than the majority

leader or the minority leader as a question of the privileges

of the House shall have precedence of all other questions except motions to adjourn only at a time or place, designated

by the Speaker, in the legislative schedule within two legislative days after the day on which the proponent announces to

the House his intention to offer the resolution and the form

of the resolution.

‘‘(2) The time allotted for debate on a resolution offered

from the floor as a question of the privileges of the House
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shall be equally divided between (A) the proponent of the resolution, and (B) the majority leader or the minority leader

or a designee, as determined by the Speaker.

‘‘(b) A question of personal privilege shall have precedence of all other questions except motions to adjourn.’’.

(5) In clause 1 of rule X—

(a) in paragraph (e)(1), strike the antepenultimate

sentence;

(b) in paragraph (l), strike ‘‘Committee on Interior

and Insular Affairs’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘Committee on Natural Resources’’;

(c) in paragraph (q), strike ‘‘(3)’’;

(d) in paragraph (r)(2) strike ‘‘Bureau of Standards’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘National Institute of

Standards and Technology’’;

(e) in paragraph (r)(4) strike ‘‘Aeronautics and’’;

and

(f) redesignate paragraphs (l), (m), and (n) as (n),

(l), and (m), respectively.

(6) In clause 3 of rule X—

(a) in paragraph (e), strike ‘‘Committee on Interior

and Insular Affairs’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘Committee on Natural Resources’’; and

(b) in paragraph (j), amend subparagraph (3) to

read as follows:
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‘‘(3) The Speaker, the majority leader, the minority

leader, and the chairman and ranking minority party member

of the Committee on House Administration shall be informed

by the chairman of the subcommittee of any matter that, by

reason of a tie vote, cannot be resolved by the subcommittee.’’.

(7) In clause 6 of rule X—

(a) in paragraph (f), insert after the first sentence

the following: ‘‘At any time after an original appointment, the Speaker may remove Members or appoint additional Members to select and conference committees.’’;

(b) in paragraph (h), strike ‘‘that is considering legislation reported from a committee on which they serve’’;

and

(c) strike paragraph (i).

(8) In clause 2 of rule XI—

(a) in paragraph (i)—

(i) strike ‘‘during five-minute rule and’’ from

the caption;

(ii) strike subparagraph (1); and

(iii) strike the designation of the remaining

text as subparagraph (2);

(b) in paragraph (l)(2)(A), strike ‘‘present.’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘present, which shall be deemed the

case if the records of the committee establish that a ma-
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jority of the committee responded on a rollcall vote on

that question. No point of order shall lie with respect to

a measure or recommendation on the ground that it was

reported without a majority of the committee actually

present unless such point of order was timely made in

committee.’’; and

(c) in paragraph (l)(3), strike ‘‘committee (A) shall

include the oversight findings’’ and insert in lieu thereof

‘‘committee shall include (A) the oversight findings’’.

(9) Amend rule XII to read as follows:

‘‘RESIDENT COMMISSIONER AND DELEGATES.

‘‘1. The Resident Commissioner to the United States

from Puerto Rico and each Delegate to the House shall be

elected to serve on standing committees in the same manner

as Members of the House and shall possess in such committees the same powers and privileges as the other Members.

‘‘2. In a Committee of the Whole House on the state of

the Union, the Resident Commissioner to the United States

from Puerto Rico and each Delegate to the House shall possess the same powers and privileges as Members of the

House.’’.

(10) In clause 5 of rule XIII, strike ‘‘clause 4 of rule

XXVII’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘clause 3 of rule XXVII’’.

(11) In clause 5 of rule XV—

(a) insert ‘‘(a)’’ before the first sentence;

(b) strike the last two sentences; and
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(c) add the following new paragraph at the end:

‘‘(b) The Speaker may, in his discretion, reduce to not

less than five minutes the time within which a rollcall vote

by electronic device may be taken—

‘‘(1) after a rollcall vote has been ordered on a motion for the previous question on a resolution reported

by the Committee on Rules providing a special order of

business, on the question of adoption of such resolution,

if the question of adoption follows without intervening

business the vote on the motion for the previous question;

‘‘(2) after a rollcall vote has been ordered on an

amendment reported from the Committee of the Whole

House on the state of the Union, on any subsequent

amendment to that bill or resolution reported from the

Committee of the Whole; or

‘‘(3) after a rollcall vote has been ordered on a motion to recommit a bill, resolution, or conference report

thereon, on the question of passage or adoption, as the

case may be, of such bill, resolution, or conference report

thereon, if the question of passage or adoption follows

without intervening business the vote on the motion to

recommit.’’.

(12) In rule XXI, strike clause 8.
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(13) In clause 1(a) of rule XXIII, insert ‘‘Member, Resident Commissioner, or Delegate as’’ before ‘‘Chairman’’.

(14) At the end of clause 2 of rule XXIII, add the following new paragraph:

‘‘(d) Whenever a recorded vote on any question has been

decided by a margin within which the votes cast by the Delegates and the Resident Commissioner have been decisive, the

Committee of the Whole shall automatically rise and the

Speaker shall put that question de novo without intervening

debate or other business. Upon the announcement of the vote

on that question, the Committee of the Whole shall resume

its sitting without intervening motion.’’.

(15) In clause 1(c) of rule XXVIII, strike ‘‘(but only on

the day after the calendar day on which the Member making

the motion announces to the House his intention to do so and

the form of the motion)’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘(but in

either case only at a time or place designated by the Speaker

in the legislative schedule of the day after the calendar day

on which the Member offering the motion announces to the

House his intention to do so and the form of the motion)’’.

(16) In clause 2(b) of rule XXVIII, insert ‘‘(1)’’ after

‘‘(b)’’ and add the following new subparagraph at the end:

‘‘(2) During consideration of such an amendment to a

general appropriation bill, if the original motion offered by

the floor manager proposes to change existing law, then
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pending such original motion and before debate thereon one

motion to insist on disagreement to the amendment proposed

by the Senate shall be preferential to any other motion to dispose of that amendment if offered by the chairman of a committee having jurisdiction of the subject matter of the amendment or by a designee. Such a preferential motion shall be

separately debatable for one hour equally divided between its

proponent and the proponent of the original motion. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on such a preferential motion to its adoption without intervening motion.’’.

(17) Amend rule XXX to read as follows:

‘‘USE OF EXHIBITS.

‘‘When the use of any exhibit in debate is objected to by

any Member, it shall be determined without debate by a vote

of the House.’’.

(18) In rule XLVI, amend clause 4 to read as follows:

‘‘4. A Member may not send any mass mailing outside

the congressional district from which the Member was elected.’’.

(19) Amend rule LI to read as follows:

‘‘EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.

‘‘1. The Committee on House Administration shall have

authority to issue rules and regulations applying the rights

and protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act in the

House, including, but not limited to, determination of exemption categories, permitting the use of compensatory time as
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compensation under the maximum work week provisions of

the Act, describing the recordkeeping requirements and providing that such recordkeeping provisions do not apply with

respect to employees exempted pursuant to the Committee’s

Rules and Regulations.

‘‘nondiscrimination in employment

‘‘2. (a) Personnel actions affecting employment positions

in the House of Representatives shall be made free from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex

(including marital or parental status), disability, or age.

‘‘(b)Interpretations under paragraph (a) shall reflect the

principles of current law, as generally applicable to employment.

‘‘(c) Paragraph (a) does not prohibit the taking into consideration of—

‘‘(1) the domicile of an individual with respect to a

position under the clerk-hire allowance; or

‘‘(2) the political affiliation of an individual with respect to a position under the clerk-hire allowance or a

position on the staff of a committee or a position under

all support offices, except as otherwise stated in the

Rules of the House of Representatives.

‘‘procedure

‘‘3. The procedure for consideration of alleged violations

of clause 2 consists of three steps as follows:
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‘‘(a) step I, Counseling and Mediation, as set forth

in clause 5;

‘‘(b) step II, Formal Complaint, Hearing, and Review by the Office of Fair Employment Practices, as set

forth in clause 6; and

‘‘(c) step III, Final Review by Review Panel, as set

forth in clause 7.

‘‘office of fair employment practices

‘‘4. There is established an Office of Fair Employment

Practices (hereafter in this rule referred to as the ‘‘Office’’),

which shall carry out functions assigned under this rule. Employees and Hearing Officers of the Office shall be appointed

by, and serve at the pleasure of, the Chairman and the ranking minority party member of the Committee on House Administration, acting jointly, and shall be under the administrative direction of the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

The Office shall be located in the District of Columbia.

‘‘step i: counseling and mediation

‘‘5. (a) An individual aggrieved by an alleged violation

of clause 2 may request counseling by counselors in the Office, who shall provide information with respect to rights and

related matters under that clause. A request for counseling

shall be made not later than one hundred and eighty days

after the alleged violation and may be oral or written, at the

option of the individual. The period for counseling is thirty
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days, unless the employee and the Office agree to reduce the

time period. The Office may not notify the employing authority of the counseling before the beginning of mediation or the

flling of a formal complaint, whichever occurs first.

‘‘(b) If, after counseling, the individual desires to proceed, the Office shall attempt to resolve the alleged violation

through mediation between the individual and the employing

authority.

‘‘step ii: formal complaint, hearing, and review

by the office of fair employment practices

‘‘6. (a) Not later than thirty days after the end of the

counseling period, the individual may file a formal complaint

with the Office. Not later than ten days after filing the formal complaint, the individual may file with the Office a written request for a hearing on the complaint.

‘‘(b) The hearing shall be conducted—

‘‘(1) not later than forty days after filing of the

written request under paragraph (a);

‘‘(2) on the record by a Hearing Officer of the Office appointed under the procedures set forth in clause

4; and

‘‘(3) to the greatest extent practicable, in accordance with the principles and procedures set forth in sections 555 and 556 of title 5, United States Code.
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‘‘(c) Not later than thirty days after the hearing, the Office shall issue a written decision to the parties. The decision

shall clearly state the issues raised by the complaint, and

shall contain a determination as to whether a violation of

clause 2 has occurred.

‘‘step iii: final review by review panel

‘‘7. (a) In General. Not later than twenty days after issuance of the decision under clause 6, any party may seek

formal review of the decision by filing a written request with

the Office. The formal review shall be conducted by a panel

constituted at the beginning of each Congress and composed

of—

‘‘(1) two elected officers or employees of the House

of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker;

‘‘(2) two employees of the House of Representatives

appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives;

‘‘(3) two members of the Committee on House Administration (one of whom shall be appointed as chairman of the panel), appointed by the Chairman of that

Committee; and

‘‘(4) two members of the Committee on House Administration, appointed by the ranking minority party

member of that Committee.
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If any member of the panel withdraws from a particular review, the appointing authority for such member shall appoint

another officer, employee, or Member of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, to be a temporary member

of the panel for purposes of that review only.

‘‘(b) The review under this clause shall consist of a hearing (conducted in the manner described in clause 6(b)(3)), if

such hearing is considered necessary by the panel, and an examination of the record, together with any statements or

other documents the panel deems appropriate. A tie vote by

the panel is an affirmation of the decision of the Office. The

panel shall complete the review and submit a written decision

to the parties and to the Committee on House Administration

not later than sixty days after filing of the request under

paragraph (a), except that when the House has adjourned

sine die, in which case an extension of up to sixty additional

days is authorized.

‘‘resolution by agreement

‘‘8. If, after a formal complaint is filed under clause 6,

the parties resolve the issues involved, the parties shall enter

into a written agreement, which shall be effective—

‘‘(1) in the case of a matter under review by the Office under clause 6, if approved by the Office; and

‘‘(2) in the case of a matter under review by a panel

under clause 7, if approved by the panel.
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‘‘remedies

‘‘9. The Office or a review panel, as the case may be,

may order one or more of the following remedies:

‘‘(a) monetary compensation, to be paid from the

clerk-hire allowance of a Member, or from personnel

finds of a committee of the House or other entity, as appropriate;

‘‘(b) monetary compensation, to be paid from the

contingent fund of the House of Representatives;

‘‘(c) injunctive relief;

‘‘(d) costs and attorney fees; and

‘‘(e) employment, reinstatement to employment, or

promotion (with or without back pay).

‘‘costs of attending hearings

‘‘10. An individual with respect to whom a hearing is

held under this rule shall be reimbursed for actual and reasonable costs of attending the hearing, if the individual resides outside the location of the hearing. Witnesses required

to attend the hearings by the Hearing Officer as necessary

to a fair and justiciable hearing shall be reimbursed for actual and reasonable costs of attending the hearing if they reside outside the location of the hearing. Expenses are to he

paid from the contingent fund of the House of Representatives.
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‘‘prohibition of intimidation

‘‘11. Any intimidation of, or reprisal against, any person

by an employing authority because of the exercise of a right

under this rule is a violation of clause 2.

‘‘closed hearings and confidentiality

‘‘12. All hearings under this rule shall be closed. All information relating to any procedure under this rule is confidential, except that a decision of the Office under clause 6

or a decision of a review panel under clause 7 shall be published, if the decision constitutes a final disposition of the

matter.

‘‘exclusivity of procedures and remedies

‘‘13. The procedures and remedies under this rule are

exclusive except to the extent that the Rules of the House of

Representatives and the Rules of the House Committee on

Standards of Official Conduct provide for additional procedures and remedies.

‘‘requests for witnesses and information

‘‘14. The Office of Fair Employment Practices and the

Fair Employment Practices Review Panel may issue, and the

addressees shall comply with, written requests for the production of documents and the attendance of witnesses, if such requests are necessary and relevant to the proper examination

of the issues.
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‘‘internal procedures for resolution of possible

violations

‘‘15. It is the policy of the House of Representatives to

encourage each employing authority to establish internal procedures for examining and resolving possible violations of this

rule. To the greatest extent practicable, the Office of Fair

Employment Practices shall take such action (consistent with

the rights of the parties) as may be necessary to encourage

initial use of such procedures.

‘‘definitions

‘‘16. As used in this rule—

‘‘(a) the term ‘‘employment position’’ means, with

respect to the House of Representatives, a position the

pay for which is disbursed by the Clerk of the House of

Representatives, or other official designated by the

House of Representatives, and any employment position

in a legislative service organization or other entity that

is paid through funds derived from the clerk-hire allowance;

‘‘(b) the term ‘‘employing authority’’ means, the

Member of the House of Representatives or elected officer of the House of Representatives, or the Director of

the Congressional Budget Office, with the power to appoint the employee;
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‘‘(c) the term ‘‘Member of the House of Representatives’’ means a Representative in, or a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress; and

‘‘(d) the term ‘‘elected officer of the House of

Representatives’’‘means an elected officer of the House

of Representatives (other than the Speaker and the

Chaplain).’’.

(20) Strike rules LII and LIII.

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