I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8587 

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 13, 2020 

Mr. HASTINGS (for himself, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. PHILLIPS, 

and Mr. CARSON of Indiana) 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 Commission 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 

7 There is established a commission to be known as the 

8 ‘‘Congressional Commission to Strengthen Representative 


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1 Democracy’’ (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 

2 ‘‘Commission’’). 

3 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 

4 The Commission shall— 

5 (1) analyze the current size of the membership 

6 of the House of Representatives considering the re7 quirement for the institution to carry out its respon8 sibilities in an effective manner; 

9 (2) examine alternatives to the current method 

10 by which Representatives are elected (including 

11 ranked choice voting, cumulative voting, and other 

12 forms of proportional representation) to determine if 

13 such alternatives would make the House of Rep14 resentatives a more representative body and include 

15 more citizens in the electoral process; 

16 (3) examine the use of gerrymandering in the 

17 creation of single-member districts; 

18 (4) to the extent necessary, formulate proposals 

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

20 the method of electing Representatives to, the House 

21 of Representatives; and 

22 (5) not later than the end of the One Hundred 

23 Seventeenth Congress, submit to the President and 

24 the Congress a report of the work of the Commis25 sion, together with a draft of legislation (including 


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1 technical and conforming provisions) to implement 

2 the proposals referred to in paragraph (5). 

3 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 

4 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 

5 shall be composed of 15 members as follows: 

6 (1) Five members appointed by the Speaker of 

7 the House of Representatives. 

8 (2) Five members appointed by the minority 

9 leader of the House of Representatives. 

10 (3) Two members appointed by the majority 

11 leader of the Senate. 

12 (4) Two members appointed by the minority 

13 leader of the Senate. 

14 (5) One member appointed by the other 14 

15 members to serve as Chairman of the Commission, 

16 by a vote in which at least 9 members approve of 

17 the appointment, including at least 1 member ap18 pointed by the Speaker of the House of Representa19 tives, 1 member appointed by the minority leader of 

20 the House of Representatives, 1 member appointed 

21 by the majority leader of the Senate, and 1 member 

22 appointed by the minority leader of the Senate. 

23 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—In making appointments 

24 under this section, the appointing authorities shall make 

25 a special effort to appoint individuals who are particularly 


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1 qualified to perform the functions of the Commission, by 

2 reason of either practical experience or academic expertise 

3 in politics or government. 

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

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

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

7 original appointment was made. 

8 (d) PAY AND TRAVEL.—Each member of the Com9 mission, other than a full-time officer or employee of the 

10 United States— 

11 (1) shall be paid the daily equivalent of the an12 nual rate of basic pay payable for level V of the Ex13 ecutive Schedule for each day (including travel time) 

14 during which the member is engaged in the actual 

15 performance of duties vested in the Commission; and 

16 (2) shall receive travel expenses, including per 

17 diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with appli18 cable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of 

19 title 5, United States Code. 

20 (e) QUORUM.—Eight members of the Commission 

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

22 hearings. 

23 (f) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 

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


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1 SEC. 5. STAFF. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—With the approval of the Commis3 sion, the Chairman may appoint and fix the pay of not 

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

5 Such individuals may be appointed without regard to the 

6 provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing ap7 pointments in the competitive service, and may be paid 

8 without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub9 chapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to classifica10 tion and General Schedule pay rates, except that an indi11 vidual so appointed may not receive pay in excess of the 

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

13 15 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 

14 5, United States Code. 

15 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap16 proval of the Commission, the Chairman may procure tem17 porary and intermittent services in the manner prescribed 

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

19 rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of 

20 the maximum annual rate of basic pay payable for grade 

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

22 5, United States Code. 

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

24 of the Commission, the head of any Federal department 

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


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1 personnel of that department or agency to the Commission 

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

3 SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 

4 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may, for the pur5 pose of carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act 

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

7 as the Commission considers appropriate. 

8 (b) SUBPOENA POWER.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may issue 

10 subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of 

11 witnesses and the production of any evidence relat12 ing to any matter considered by the Commission in 

13 carrying out this Act. The attendance of witnesses 

14 and the production of evidence may be required from 

15 any place within the United States at any des16 ignated place of hearing within the United States. 

17 (2) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a per18 son refuses to obey a subpoena issued under para19 graph (1), the Commission may apply to a United 

20 States district court for an order requiring that per21 son to appear before the Commission to give testi22 mony, produce evidence, or both, relating to the 

23 matter involved. The application may be made with24 in the judicial district where the hearing is con25 ducted or where that person is found, resides, or 


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1 transacts business. Any failure to obey the order of 

2 the court may be punished by the court as civil con3 tempt. 

4 (3) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The subpoenas 

5 of the Commission shall be served in the manner 

6 provided for subpoenas issued by a United States 

7 district court under the Federal Rules of Civil Pro8 cedure for the United States district courts. 

9 (4) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of any 

10 court to which application is made under paragraph 

11 (2) may be served in the judicial district in which 

12 the person required to be served resides or may be 

13 found. 

14 (c) MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any member or agent 

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

16 take any action which the Commission is authorized to 

17 take by this section. 

18 (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 

19 States mails in the same manner and under the same con20 ditions as departments and agencies of the United States. 

21 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon 

22 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of Gen23 eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim24 bursable basis, the administrative support services necVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8587.IH H8587

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1 essary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities 

2 under this Act. 

3 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

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

6 SEC. 8. TERMINATION. 

7 The Commission shall terminate on the last day of 

8 the month in which the Commission submits the report 

9 required under section 3. 

Æ 


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