IV 

★

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 54 

Establishing the Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer 

Pension Plans. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 24, 2019 

Mr. STEIL submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Rules 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Establishing the Joint Select Committee on Solvency of 

Multiemployer Pension Plans. 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), 

3 SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act— 

5 (1) the term ‘‘joint committee’’ means the Joint 

6 Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pen7 sion Plans established under section 2(a); and 

8 (2) the term ‘‘joint committee bill’’ means a bill 

9 consisting of the proposed legislative language of the 

10 joint committee recommended in accordance with 


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1 section 2(b)(2)(B)(ii) and introduced under section 

2 4(a). 

3 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT SELECT COM5 MITTEE.—There is established a joint select committee of 

6 Congress to be known as the ‘‘Joint Select Committee on 

7 Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans’’. 

8 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

9 (1) GOAL.—The goal of the joint committee is 

10 to improve the solvency of multiemployer pension 

11 plans and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corpora12 tion. 

13 (2) DUTIES.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The joint committee 

15 shall provide recommendations and legislative 

16 language that will significantly improve the sol17 vency of multiemployer pension plans and the 

18 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. 

19 (B) REPORT, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND

20 LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 

22 April 30, 2020, the joint committee shall 

23 vote on— 

24 (I) a report that contains a de25 tailed statement of the findings, conVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC54.IH HC54

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1 clusions, and recommendations of the 

2 joint committee; and 

3 (II) proposed legislative language 

4 to carry out the recommendations de5 scribed in subclause (I). 

6 (ii) APPROVAL OF REPORT AND LEG7 ISLATIVE LANGUAGE.— 

8 (I) IN GENERAL.—The report of 

9 the joint committee and the proposed 

10 legislative language described in 

11 clause (i) shall only be approved upon 

12 receiving the votes of— 

13 (aa) a majority of joint com14 mittee members appointed by the 

15 Speaker of the House of Rep16 resentatives and the majority 

17 leader of the Senate; and 

18 (bb) a majority of joint com19 mittee members appointed by the 

20 minority leader of the House of 

21 Representatives and the minority 

22 leader of the Senate. 

23 (II) AVAILABILITY.—The text of 

24 any report and proposed legislative 

25 language shall be publicly available in 


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1 electronic form at least 24 hours prior 

2 to its consideration. 

3 (iii) ADDITIONAL VIEWS.—A member 

4 of the joint committee who gives notice of 

5 an intention to file supplemental, minority, 

6 or additional views at the time of the final 

7 joint committee vote on the approval of the 

8 report and legislative language under 

9 clause (ii) shall be entitled to 2 calendar 

10 days after the day of such notice in which 

11 to file such views in writing with the co12 chairs. Such views shall then be included 

13 in the joint committee report and printed 

14 in the same volume, or part thereof, and 

15 their inclusion shall be noted on the cover 

16 of the report. In the absence of timely no17 tice, the joint committee report may be 

18 printed and transmitted immediately with19 out such views. 

20 (iv) TRANSMISSION OF REPORT AND

21 LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.—If the report 

22 and legislative language are approved by 

23 the joint committee pursuant to clause (ii), 

24 the joint committee shall submit the joint 

25 committee report and legislative language 


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1 described in clause (i) to the President, the 

2 Vice President, the Speaker of the House 

3 of Representatives, and the majority and 

4 minority leaders of each House of Con5 gress not later than 15 calendar days after 

6 such approval. 

7 (v) REPORT AND LEGISLATIVE LAN8 GUAGE TO BE MADE PUBLIC.—Upon the 

9 approval of the joint committee report and 

10 legislative language pursuant to clause (ii), 

11 the joint committee shall promptly make 

12 the full report and legislative language, 

13 and a record of any vote, available to the 

14 public. 

15 (3) MEMBERSHIP.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The joint committee 

17 shall be composed of 16 members appointed 

18 pursuant to subparagraph (B). 

19 (B) APPOINTMENT.—Members of the joint 

20 committee shall be appointed as follows: 

21 (i) The Speaker of the House of Rep22 resentatives shall appoint 4 members from 

23 among Members of the House of Rep24 resentatives. 


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1 (ii) The minority leader of the House 

2 of Representatives shall appoint 4 mem3 bers from among Members of the House of 

4 Representatives. 

5 (iii) The majority leader of the Senate 

6 shall appoint 4 members from among 

7 Members of the Senate. 

8 (iv) The minority leader of the Senate 

9 shall appoint 4 members from among 

10 Members of the Senate. 

11 (C) CO-CHAIRS.—Two of the appointed 

12 members of the joint committee will serve as co13 chairs. The Speaker of the House of Represent14 atives and the majority leader of the Senate 

15 shall jointly appoint one co-chair, and the mi16 nority leader of the House of Representatives 

17 and the minority leader of the Senate shall 

18 jointly appoint the second co-chair. The co19 chairs shall be appointed not later than 14 cal20 endar days after the date of enactment of this 

21 Act. 

22 (D) DATE.—Members of the joint com23 mittee shall be appointed not later than 14 cal24 endar days after the date of enactment of this 

25 Act. 


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1 (E) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—Members 

2 shall be appointed for the life of the joint com3 mittee. Any vacancy in the joint committee 

4 shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled 

5 not later than 14 calendar days after the date 

6 on which the vacancy occurs, in the same man7 ner as the original appointment was made. If a 

8 member of the joint committee ceases to be a 

9 Member of the House of Representatives or the 

10 Senate, as the case may be, the member is no 

11 longer a member of the joint committee and a 

12 vacancy shall exist. 

13 (4) ADMINISTRATION.— 

14 (A) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—For purposes 

15 of enabling the joint committee to exercise its 

16 powers, functions, and duties under this Act, 

17 and consistent with the Standing Rules of the 

18 Senate, there is authorized from the date of en19 actment of this Act through June 30, 2020, 

20 $500,000 to be allocated— 

21 (i) in total during the period March 1, 

22 2019 through September 30, 2019; and 

23 (ii) any remaining amounts shall be 

24 carried forward for the period October 1, 

25 2019 through September 30, 2020. 


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1 (B) EXPENSES.—Expenses of the joint 

2 committee shall be paid from the contingent 

3 fund of the Senate upon vouchers approved by 

4 the co-chairs, subject to the rules and regula5 tions of the Senate. 

6 (C) QUORUM.—Nine members of the joint 

7 committee shall constitute a quorum for pur8 poses of voting and meeting, and 5 members of 

9 the joint committee shall constitute a quorum 

10 for holding hearings. 

11 (D) VOTING.—No proxy voting shall be al12 lowed on behalf of the members of the joint 

13 committee. 

14 (E) MEETINGS.— 

15 (i) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 

16 30 calendar days after the date of enact17 ment of this Act, the joint committee shall 

18 hold its first meeting. 

19 (ii) AGENDA.—The co-chairs of the 

20 joint committee shall provide an agenda to 

21 the joint committee members not less than 

22 48 hours in advance of any meeting. 

23 (F) HEARINGS.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—The joint com25 mittee may, for the purpose of carrying 


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1 out this section, hold such hearings, sit 

2 and act at such times and places, require 

3 attendance of witnesses and production of 

4 books, papers, and documents, take such 

5 testimony, receive such evidence, and ad6 minister such oaths as the joint committee 

7 considers advisable. 

8 (ii) HEARING PROCEDURES AND RE9 SPONSIBILITIES OF CO-CHAIRS.— 

10 (I) ANNOUNCEMENT.—The co11 chairs of the joint committee shall 

12 make a public announcement of the 

13 date, place, time, and subject matter 

14 of any hearing to be conducted, not 

15 less than 7 days in advance of such 

16 hearing, unless the co-chairs deter17 mine that there is good cause to begin 

18 such hearing at an earlier date. 

19 (II) EQUAL REPRESENTATION OF

20 WITNESSES.—Each co-chair shall be 

21 entitled to select an equal number of 

22 witnesses for each hearing held by the 

23 joint committee. 

24 (III) WRITTEN STATEMENT.—A 

25 witness appearing before the joint 


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1 committee shall file a written state2 ment of proposed testimony at least 2 

3 calendar days before the appearance 

4 of the witness, unless the requirement 

5 is waived by the co-chairs, following 

6 their determination that there is good 

7 cause for failure to comply with such 

8 requirement. 

9 (G) MINIMUM NUMBER OF PUBLIC MEET10 INGS AND HEARINGS.—The joint committee 

11 shall hold— 

12 (i) not less than a total of 5 public 

13 meetings or public hearings; and 

14 (ii) not less than 3 public hearings, 

15 which may include field hearings. 

16 (H) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Upon writ17 ten request of the co-chairs, a Federal agency, 

18 including legislative branch agencies, shall pro19 vide technical assistance to the joint committee 

20 in order for the joint committee to carry out its 

21 duties. 

22 (I) STAFFING.— 

23 (i) DETAILS.—Employees of the legis24 lative branch may be detailed to the joint 

25 committee on a nonreimbursable basis, 


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1 consistent with the rules and regulations of 

2 the Senate. 

3 (ii) STAFF DIRECTOR.—The co-chairs, 

4 acting jointly, may designate one such em5 ployee as staff director of the joint com6 mittee. 

7 (c) ETHICAL STANDARDS.—Members on the joint 

8 committee who serve in the House of Representatives shall 

9 be governed by the ethics rules and requirements of the 

10 House. Members of the Senate who serve on the joint com11 mittee shall comply with the ethics rules of the Senate. 

12 (d) TERMINATION.—The joint committee shall termi13 nate on April 30, 2020, or 30 days after submission of 

14 its report and legislative recommendations pursuant to 

15 this section whichever occurs first. 

16 SEC. 3. FUNDING. 

17 (a) SPECIAL RESERVE.—To enable the joint com18 mittee to exercise its powers, functions, and duties under 

19 this Act, within the funds in the account for ‘‘Expenses 

20 of Inquiries and Investigations’’ of the Senate, not more 

21 than $500,000 shall be allocated from the special reserve 

22 established in S. Res. 70, agreed to February 27, 2019 

23 (116th Congress), for use by the joint committee. 


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1 (b) EXPIRATION.—None of the funds made available 

2 by this section may be available for obligation by the joint 

3 committee after July 2, 2020. 

4 (c) AVAILABILITY REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of 

5 the joint committee, section 20(b) of S. Res. 70, agreed 

6 to February 27, 2019 (116th Congress), shall not apply. 

7 SEC. 4. CONSIDERATION OF JOINT COMMITTEE BILL IN 

8 THE SENATE. 

9 (a) INTRODUCTION.—Upon receipt of proposed legis10 lative language approved in accordance with section 

11 2(b)(2)(B)(ii), the language shall be introduced in the 

12 Senate (by request) on the next day on which the Senate 

13 is in session by the majority leader of the Senate or by 

14 a Member of the Senate designated by the majority leader 

15 of the Senate. 

16 (b) COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION.—A joint com17 mittee bill introduced in the Senate under subsection (a) 

18 shall be jointly referred to the Committee on Finance and 

19 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen20 sions, which committees shall report the bill without any 

21 revision and with a favorable recommendation, an unfavor22 able recommendation, or without recommendation, no 

23 later than 7 session days after introduction of the bill. If 

24 either committee fails to report the bill within that period, 

25 that committee shall be automatically discharged from 


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1 consideration of the bill, and the bill shall be placed on 

2 the appropriate calendar. 

3 (c) MOTION TO PROCEED TO CONSIDERATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding rule XXII 

5 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, it is in order, 

6 not later than 2 days of session after the date on 

7 which a joint committee bill is reported or dis8 charged from the Committee on Finance and the 

9 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen10 sions, for the majority leader of the Senate or the 

11 majority leader’s designee to move to proceed to the 

12 consideration of the joint committee bill. It shall also 

13 be in order for any Member of the Senate to move 

14 to proceed to the consideration of the joint com15 mittee bill at any time after the conclusion of such 

16 2-day period. 

17 (2) CONSIDERATION OF MOTION.—Consider18 ation of the motion to proceed to the consideration 

19 of the joint committee bill and all debatable motions 

20 and appeals in connection therewith shall not exceed 

21 10 hours, which shall be divided equally between the 

22 majority and minority leaders or their designees. A 

23 motion to further limit debate is in order, shall re24 quire an affirmative vote of three-fifths of Members 

25 duly chosen and sworn, and is not debatable. 


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1 (3) VOTE THRESHOLD.—The motion to proceed 

2 to the consideration of the joint committee bill shall 

3 only be agreed to upon an affirmative vote of three4 fifths of Members duly chosen and sworn. 

5 (4) LIMITATIONS.—The motion is not subject 

6 to a motion to postpone. All points of order against 

7 the motion to proceed to the joint committee bill are 

8 waived. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the 

9 motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in 

10 order. 

11 (5) DEADLINE.—Not later than the last day of 

12 the 116th Congress, the Senate shall vote on a mo13 tion to proceed to the joint committee bill. 

14 (6) COMPANION MEASURES.—For purposes of 

15 this subsection, the term ‘‘joint committee bill’’ in16 cludes a bill of the House of Representatives that is 

17 a companion measure to the joint committee bill in18 troduced in the Senate. 

19 (d) RULES OF SENATE.—This section is enacted by 

20 Congress— 

21 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of 

22 the Senate, and as such is deemed a part of the 

23 rules of the Senate, but applicable only with respect 

24 to the procedure to be followed in the Senate in the 

25 case of a joint committee bill, and supersede other 


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1 rules only to the extent that they are inconsistent 

2 with such rules; and 

3 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

4 right of the Senate to change the rules (so far as re5 lating to the procedure of the Senate) at any time, 

6 in the same manner, and to the same extent as in 

7 the case of any other rule of the Senate. 

Æ 


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