I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3972 

To establish a commission to make recommendations on the appropriate 

size of membership of the House of Representatives and the method 

by which Members are elected. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 29, 2009 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. SABLAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish a commission to make recommendations on the 

appropriate size of membership of the House of Representatives and the method by which Members are elected. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Congress 2014 Com5 mission Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 

2 There is established a commission to be known as the 

3 ‘‘Congress 2014 Commission’’ (hereafter in this Act re4 ferred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

5 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 

6 The Commission shall— 

7 (1) analyze the current size of the membership 

8 of the House of Representatives considering the re9 quirement for the institution to carry out its respon10 sibilities in an effective manner under the challenges 

11 of the new century; 

12 (2) examine alternatives to the current method 

13 by which Representatives are elected (including cu14 mulative voting and proportional representation) to 

15 determine if such alternatives would make the House 

16 of Representatives a more representative body; 

17 (3) provide consideration to the continuing dis18 solution of adherence to the platforms and can19 didates of the Nation’s two major political parties as 

20 well as to the reduction in electoral participation by 

21 the citizenry; 

22 (4) consider whether alternative methods of 

23 electing House Members might include more citizens 

24 in the electoral process; 

25 (5) examine methods of providing greater rep26 resentation in the House of Representatives for the 


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1 people of the District of Columbia, the Common2 wealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the 

3 Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States 

4 Virgin Islands; 

5 (6) to the extent necessary, formulate proposals 

6 for changes in the size of the membership of, and 

7 the method of electing Representatives to, the House 

8 of Representatives; and 

9 (7) not later than the end of the One Hundred 

10 Twelfth Congress, submit to the President and the 

11 Congress a report of the work of the Commission, 

12 together with a draft of legislation (including tech13 nical and conforming provisions) to implement the 

14 proposals referred to in paragraph (6). 

15 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 

16 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 

17 shall be composed of 17 members as follows: 

18 (1) 3 members appointed by the President. 

19 (2) 10 members appointed by the House of 

20 Representatives, of whom 5 shall be appointed by 

21 the Speaker and 5 shall be appointed by the minor22 ity leader. 

23 (3) 4 members appointed by the Senate, of 

24 whom 2 shall be appointed by the majority leader 

25 and 2 shall be appointed by the minority leader. 


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1 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—In making appointments 

2 under this section, the appointing authorities shall make 

3 a special effort to appoint individuals who are particularly 

4 qualified to perform the functions of the Commission, by 

5 reason of either practical experience or academic expertise 

6 in politics or government. 

7 (c) TERMS AND VACANCIES.—Each member shall be 

8 appointed for the life of the Commission. A vacancy in 

9 the Commission shall be filled in the manner in which the 

10 original appointment was made. 

11 (d) PAY AND TRAVEL.—Each member of the Com12 mission, other than a full-time officer or employee of the 

13 United States— 

14 (1) shall be paid the daily equivalent of the an15 nual rate of basic pay payable for level V of the Ex16 ecutive Schedule for each day (including travel time) 

17 during which the member is engaged in the actual 

18 performance of duties vested in the Commission; and 

19 (2) shall receive travel expenses, including per 

20 diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with appli21 cable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of 

22 title 5, United States Code. 

23 (e) QUORUM.—Nine members of the Commission 

24 shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold 

25 hearings. 


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1 (f) CHAIRMAN.—The Chairman of the Commission 

2 shall be elected by the members. 

3 (g) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 

4 call of the Chairman or a majority of its members. 

5 SEC. 5. STAFF. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—With the approval of the Commis7 sion, the Chairman may appoint and fix the pay of not 

8 more than six individuals for the staff of the Commission. 

9 Such individuals may be appointed without regard to the 

10 provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing ap11 pointments in the competitive service, and may be paid 

12 without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub13 chapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to classifica14 tion and General Schedule pay rates, except that an indi15 vidual so appointed may not receive pay in excess of the 

16 maximum annual rate of basic pay payable for grade GS– 

17 15 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 

18 5, United States Code. 

19 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap20 proval of the Commission, the Chairman may procure tem21 porary and intermittent services in the manner prescribed 

22 in section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at 

23 rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of 

24 the maximum annual rate of basic pay payable for grade 


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1 GS–15 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 

2 5, United States Code. 

3 (c) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request 

4 of the Commission, the head of any Federal department 

5 or agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the 

6 personnel of that department or agency to the Commission 

7 to assist it in carrying out its duties under this Act. 

8 SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

9 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may, for the pur10 pose of carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act 

11 at times and places, take testimony, and receive evidence 

12 as the Commission considers appropriate. 

13 (b) MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any member or agent 

14 of the Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, 

15 take any action which the Commission is authorized to 

16 take by this section. 

17 (c) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 

18 States mails in the same manner and under the same con19 ditions as departments and agencies of the United States. 

20 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon 

21 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of Gen22 eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim23 bursable basis, the administrative support services nec24 essary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities 

25 under this Act. 


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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this Act $5,000,000, to remain available until expended. 

4 SEC. 8. TERMINATION. 

5 The Commission shall cease to exist on the last day 

6 of the month in which its report is submitted under section 

7 3. 

Æ 


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