III

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. RES. 124

To establish a special committee of the Senate to address the cultural crisis

facing America.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 17, 1999

Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. LOTT, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr.

COVERDELL, Mr. SESSIONS, and Mr. CRAIG) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

RESOLUTION

To establish a special committee of the Senate to address

the cultural crisis facing America.

1 Resolved,

2 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a special

4 committee of the Senate to be known as the Special Com5 mittee on Culture (hereafter in this resolution referred to

6 as the ‘‘special committee’’).

7 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the special committee

8 is—
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1 (1) to study the causes and reasons for the sub2 stantial social and cultural regression;

3 (2) to make such findings of fact as are war4 ranted and appropriate, including the impact that

5 such negative cultural trends and developments have

6 had on our broader society, particularly in regards

7 to child well-being; and

8 (3) to explore a means of cultural renewal and

9 make recommendations, including such recommenda10 tions for new legislation and amendments to existing

11 laws and any administrative or other actions, as the

12 special committee may determine to be necessary or

13 desirable.

14 No proposed legislation shall be referred to the special

15 committee, and the committee shall not have power to re16 port by bill, or otherwise have legislative jurisdiction.

17 (c) TREATMENT AS STANDING COMMITTEE.—For

18 purposes of paragraphs 1, 2, 7(a) (1) and (2), and 10(a)

19 of rule XXVI and rule XXVII of the Standing Rules of

20 the Senate, and section 202 (i) and (j) of the Legislative

21 Reorganization Act of 1946, the special committee shall

22 be treated as a standing committee of the Senate.

23 SEC. 2. MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION OF THE SPECIAL

24 COMMITTEE.

25 (a) MEMBERSHIP.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The special committee shall

2 consist of 7 members of the Senate—

3 (A) 4 of whom shall be appointed by the

4 President pro tempore of the Senate from the

5 majority party of the Senate upon the rec6 ommendation of the Majority Leader of the

7 Senate; and

8 (B) 3 of whom shall be appointed by the

9 President pro tempore of the Senate from the

10 minority party of the Senate upon the rec11 ommendation of the Minority Leader of the

12 Senate.

13 (2) VACANCIES.—Vacancies in the membership

14 of the special committee shall not affect the author15 ity of the remaining members to execute the func16 tions of the special committee and shall be filled in

17 the same manner as original appointments to it are

18 made.

19 (3) SERVICE.—For the purpose of paragraph 4

20 of rule XXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate,

21 service of a Senator as a member, chairman, or vice

22 chairman of the special committee shall not be taken

23 into account.

24 (b) CHAIRMAN.—The chairman of the special com25 mittee shall be selected by the Majority Leader of the Sen-
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1 ate and the vice chairman of the special committee shall

2 be selected by the Minority Leader of the Senate. The vice

3 chairman shall discharge such responsibilities as the spe4 cial committee or the chairman may assign.

5 SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF SPECIAL COMMITTEE.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this resolu7 tion, the special committee is authorized, in its

8 discretion—

9 (1) to make expenditures from the contingent

10 fund of the Senate;

11 (2) to employ personnel;

12 (3) to hold hearings;

13 (4) to sit and act at any time or place during

14 the sessions, recesses, and adjourned periods of the

15 Senate;

16 (5) to require, by subpoena or otherwise, the at17 tendance of witnesses and the production of cor18 respondence, books, papers, and documents;

19 (6) to take depositions and other testimony;

20 (7) to procure the services of individual con21 sultations or organizations thereof, in accordance

22 with the provisions of section 202(i) of the Legisla23 tive Reorganization Act of 1946; and

24 (8) with the prior consent of the Government

25 department or agency concerned and the Committee
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1 on Rules and Administration, to use on a non2 reimbursable basis the services of personnel of any

3 such department or agency.

4 (b) OATHS FOR WITNESSES.—The chairman of the

5 special committee or any member thereof may administer

6 oaths to witnesses.

7 (c) SUBPOENAS.—Subpoenas authorized by the spe8 cial committee may be—

9 (1) issued over the signature of the chairman

10 after consultation with the vice chairman, or any

11 member of the special committee designated by the

12 chairman after consultation with the vice chairman;

13 and

14 (2) served by any person designated by the

15 chairman or the member signing the subpoena.

16 (d) OTHER COMMITTEE STAFF.—The special com17 mittee may use, with the prior consent of the chairman

18 of any other Senate committee or the chairman of any

19 subcommittee of any committee of the Senate and on a

20 nonreimbuseable basis, the facilities or services of any

21 members of the staff of such other Senate committee

22 whenever the special committee or its chairman, following

23 consultation with the vice chairman, considers that such

24 action is necessary or appropriate to enable the special
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1 committee to make the investigation and study provided

2 for in this resolution.

3 (e) USE OF OFFICE SPACE.—The staff of the special

4 committee may be located in the personal office of a Mem5 ber of the special committee.

6 SEC. 4. REPORT AND TERMINATION.

7 The special committee shall report its findings, to8 gether with such recommendations as it deems advisable,

9 to the Senate prior to December 31, 2000.

10 SEC. 5. FUNDING.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the date this resolution is

12 agreed to through December 31, 2000, the expenses of

13 the special committee incurred under this resolution shall

14 be paid out of the miscellaneous items account of the con15 tingent fund of the Senate and shall not exceed $250,000

16 for the period beginning on the date of adoption of this

17 resolution through March 1, 2000, and $250,000 for the

18 period of March 1, 2000 through December 31, 2000, of

19 which amount not to exceed $75,000 shall be available for

20 each period for the procurement of the services of indi21 vidual consultants, or organizations thereof, as authorized

22 by section 202(i) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of

23 1946 (2 U.S.C. 72a(i)).

24 (b) PAYMENT OF BENEFITS.—The retirement and

25 health benefits of employees of the special committee shall
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1 be paid out of the miscellaneous items account of the con2 tingent fund of the Senate.

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