IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1029 

Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives with respect to the 

enforcement of committee subpoenas to executive branch officials, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 29, 2020 

Mr. TED LIEU of California (for himself, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. 

DEAN, Mr. CICILLINE, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. 

MCNERNEY, Ms. WILD, Mr. CONNOLLY, and Mr. COHEN) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules 

RESOLUTION 

Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives with 

respect to the enforcement of committee subpoenas to 

executive branch officials, and for other purposes. 

1 Resolved, 

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

3 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Congressional 

4 Inherent Contempt Resolution’’. 

5 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL SUBPOENA ENFORCEMENT POWER. 

6 That rule XI of the Rules of the House of Represent7 atives is amended by adding at the end the following new 

8 clauses: 


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1 ‘‘Additional Subpoena Enforcement Power 

2 ‘‘7.(a)(1) Whenever any committee or subcommittee 

3 makes a written request to any department or agency of 

4 the Government, or to any individual, for the attendance 

5 of named witnesses or the production of such books, 

6 records, correspondence, memorandum, papers, docu7 ments, and electronic or digital files, data or information, 

8 in any form, including any electronic or digital files, data 

9 or information in any searchable formats in which they 

10 are available to or can be produced by the agency, as the 

11 committee or subcommittee considers necessary, a senior 

12 responsible official shall either comply with that request 

13 or file written objections within the time frame for re14 sponse set forth in the request. In the absence of a senior 

15 responsible official, the witness himself or herself is re16 sponsible for the duties that would otherwise have fallen 

17 on that official. 

18 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this clause shall be interpreted as 

19 preventing a witness from asserting personal privileges re20 gardless of the decisions and actions of the senior respon21 sible official. 

22 ‘‘(b) If the senior responsible official files written ob23 jections within the timeframe for response, the committee 

24 or subcommittee shall seek to resolve these objections 

25 through negotiation and accommodation. If a resolution 


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1 cannot be reached, staff shall so certify to the chair of 

2 the committee. 

3 ‘‘(c) If the senior responsible official fails to file ob4 jections or make available the designated witnesses or full 

5 production of responsive records and information within 

6 the timeframe for response, the chair of the committee 

7 may issue a subpoena to the senior responsible official for 

8 any unproduced records or information as to which no ob9 jection was filed, and to any designated witness to which 

10 no objection was filed. 

11 ‘‘(d) With respect to any portion of the written re12 quest for documents and witnesses to which timely objec13 tion was made, a subpoena to the senior responsible offi14 cial and to designated witnesses, may be issued, following 

15 conclusion of the negotiations referred to in paragraph (b), 

16 by— 

17 ‘‘(1) the chair, upon 48 hours notice to the 

18 ranking member, unless the ranking member objects 

19 during that period; or 

20 ‘‘(2) a vote of the committee. 

21 ‘‘(e) If the senior responsible official files written ob22 jections to a subpoena issued under paragraphs (c) or (d) 

23 within the timeframe for response, or the President per24 sonally and in writing asserts a claim of executive privilege 

25 with respect to the records, information, and witnesses at 


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1 issue, the committee may hold a hearing to consider these 

2 objections. The senior responsible official shall personally 

3 attend this hearing but may not assert Executive Privilege 

4 on behalf of the President, and the committee chair may 

5 grant an exception for good cause shown. 

6 ‘‘(f) If the committee overrules some or all of the ob7 jections asserted, it may issue an order of compliance 

8 which states the grounds for rejection of the objections, 

9 the date for compliance, and an advisement of the legal 

10 consequences of a failure to comply. 

11 ‘‘(g) On the failure of the senior responsible official 

12 to comply with the order, the committee shall meet to as13 sess whether the noncompliance rises to the level of a 

14 breach of the constitutional privilege and duty of the 

15 House to be fully informed in order to properly perform 

16 its legislative responsibilities without undue obstruction 

17 and thereby warrants condemnation and punishment. If 

18 so, the committee shall report a privileged resolution of 

19 contempt. The accompanying report shall include a de20 tailed history and nature of the controversy and attempts 

21 at accommodation; the legal issues raised; the legislative 

22 need for the information sought; the legal and practical 

23 reasons for the determination that the objections were re24 jected; and the recommended monetary penalties. 


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1 ‘‘(h) If the committee reports a resolution of con2 tempt, it shall be treated as a rule IX question of privilege 

3 of the House requiring precedence over all other questions 

4 until resolved and promptly scheduled for floor consider5 ation. The chair of the committee shall present the case 

6 for passage of the resolution. At the conclusion of the al7 lotted period for presentations, questions and debate, a 

8 vote on passage of the resolution (including any fine, if 

9 any). A proffer of an amendment to alter the rec10 ommended penalty is in order. 

11 ‘‘(i)(1) Upon House passage of the resolution of con12 tempt the contemnor shall be assessed by the body an ini13 tial penalty of not more than $25,000 and total penalties 

14 of not more than $100,000. The amount of the ultimate 

15 penalty depends on timeliness of the contemnor’s compli16 ance in providing information withheld. The initial penalty 

17 of not more than $25,000 may be increased by increments 

18 of not more than $25,000 after a one-time waiting period 

19 of 20 calendar days from the initial penalty until the 

20 $100,000 maximum is reached. The 20-day period must 

21 only be observed after the first penalty. On House passage 

22 of the resolution of contempt, the General Counsel is au23 thorized to file an immediate suit for a judicial order to 

24 freeze the contemnor’s assets. On expiration of the 20- 

25 day period for compliance, the General Counsel is authorVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:22 Jul 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1029.IH HR1029

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1 ized to file suit for recovery of any accrued penalties, but 

2 only if the contemnor has failed to comply with the sub3 poena before the end of such 20-day period. 

4 ‘‘(2) No appropriated funds, funds provided from any 

5 accounts in the Treasury, funds derived from collection 

6 of fees, or other Government funds shall be used to pay 

7 a monetary penalty imposed by the House under this 

8 clause. 

9 ‘‘(3) No person, group, entity, organization, or cor10 poration may make payments to, reimburse or offer remu11 neration of any kind to compensate a contemnor for, or 

12 assist a contemnor in paying, any portion of a monetary 

13 penalty imposed by the House. Nor shall any person, 

14 group, entity, organization, or corporation be permitted to 

15 pay any monetary penalties directly on behalf of a 

16 contemnor. The House may regard such actions to com17 pensate, reimburse or provide remunerations or payments 

18 to a contemnor as an obstruction of its investigative and 

19 information gathering prerogatives and responsibilities 

20 and a contempt of the House. 

21 ‘‘(j) As used in this clause: 

22 ‘‘(1) The term ‘senior responsible official’ refers 

23 to an executive branch official with control or cus24 tody over the records or information or the subordi25 nate officials or employees that are sought and who 


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1 is a civil officer subject to removal from the office 

2 under Article II, section 4, of the Constitution, un3 less no such civil officer has control or custody over 

4 the records or information sought. 

5 ‘‘(2) The term ‘objections’ includes an appro6 priate privilege log, which shall describe with par7 ticularity the records or information withheld and 

8 the basis for withholding. The log shall be in such 

9 form as instructed by the committee or, in the ab10 sence of such instruction, shall be in the form that 

11 would be required by the rules and practice of the 

12 United States District for the District of Columbia. 

13 Failure to file an appropriate and timely privilege 

14 log shall be a basis for overruling or disregarding 

15 any objection. 

16 ‘‘Additional Subpoena Enforcement Power 

17 ‘‘8.(a) Whenever any committee or subcommittee 

18 makes a written request to any person for the attendance 

19 of named witnesses or the production of such books, 

20 records, correspondence, memorandum, papers, docu21 ments, and electronic or digital files, data or information, 

22 in any form, including any electronic or digital files, data 

23 or information in any searchable formats in which they 

24 are available to or can be produced by that person, as the 

25 committee or subcommittee considers necessary, such perVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jun 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1029.IH HR1029

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1 son shall either comply with that request or file written 

2 objections within the time frame for response set forth in 

3 the request. 

4 ‘‘(b) If such person files written objections within the 

5 timeframe for response, the committee or subcommittee 

6 shall seek to resolve these objections through negotiation 

7 and accommodation. If a resolution cannot be reached, 

8 staff shall so certify to the chair of the committee. 

9 ‘‘(c) If such person fails to file objections or make 

10 available the designated witnesses or full production of re11 sponsive records and information within the timeframe for 

12 response, the chair of the committee may issue a subpoena 

13 to such person for any unproduced records or information 

14 as to which no objection was filed, and to any designated 

15 witness to which no objection was filed. 

16 ‘‘(d) With respect to any portion of the written re17 quest for documents and witnesses to which timely objec18 tion was made, a subpoena to designated witnesses may 

19 be issued, following conclusion of the negotiations referred 

20 to in paragraph (b), by— 

21 ‘‘(1) the chair, upon 48 hours notice to the 

22 ranking member, unless the ranking member objects 

23 during that period; or 

24 ‘‘(2) a vote of the committee. 


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1 ‘‘(e) If such person files written objections to a sub2 poena issued under paragraphs (c) or (d) within the time3 frame for response, the committee may hold a hearing to 

4 consider these objections. The person shall personally at5 tend this hearing, but the committee chair may grant an 

6 exception for good cause shown. 

7 ‘‘(f) If the committee overrules some or all of the ob8 jections asserted, it may issue an order of compliance 

9 which states the grounds for rejection of the objections, 

10 the date for compliance, and an advisement of the legal 

11 consequences of a failure to comply. The person shall com12 ply with such order within the timeframe for response. 

13 ‘‘(g) On the failure of the person to comply with the 

14 order of the compliance of the committee shall meet to 

15 assess whether the noncompliance rises to the level of a 

16 breach of the constitutional privilege and duty of the 

17 House to be fully informed in order to properly perform 

18 its legislative responsibilities without undue obstruction 

19 and thereby warrants condemnation and punishment. If 

20 so, the committee shall report a privileged resolution of 

21 contempt. The accompanying report shall include a de22 tailed history and nature of the controversy and attempts 

23 at accommodation; the legal issues raised; the legislative 

24 need for the information sought; the legal and practical 


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1 reasons for the determination that the objections were re2 jected; and the recommended monetary penalties. 

3 ‘‘(h) If the committee reports a resolution of con4 tempt, it shall be treated as a rule IX question of privilege 

5 of the House requiring precedence over all other questions 

6 until resolved and promptly scheduled for floor consider7 ation. The chair of the committee shall present the case 

8 for passage of the resolution. At the conclusion of the al9 lotted period for presentations, questions and debate, a 

10 vote on passage of the resolution (including any fine, if 

11 any). A proffer of an amendment to alter the rec12 ommended penalty is in order. 

13 ‘‘(i)(1) Upon House passage of the resolution of con14 tempt the contemnor shall be assessed by the body an ini15 tial penalty of not more than $25,000 and total penalties 

16 of not more than $100,000. The amount of the ultimate 

17 penalty depends on timeliness of the contemnor’s compli18 ance in providing information withheld. The initial penalty 

19 of not more than $25,000 may be increased by increments 

20 of not more than $25,000 after a one-time waiting period 

21 of 20 calendar days from the initial penalty until the 

22 $100,000 maximum is reached. The 20-day period must 

23 only be observed after the first penalty. On House passage 

24 of the resolution of contempt, the General Counsel is au25 thorized to file an immediate suit for a judicial order to 


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1 freeze the contemnor’s assets. On expiration of the 20- 

2 day period for compliance, the General Counsel is author3 ized to file suit for recovery of any accrued penalties, but 

4 only if the contemnor has failed to comply with the sub5 poena before the end of such 20-day period. 

6 ‘‘(2) No appropriated funds, funds provided from any 

7 accounts in the Treasury, funds derived from collection 

8 of fees, or other Government funds shall be used to pay 

9 a monetary penalty imposed by the House under this 

10 clause. 

11 ‘‘(3) No person, group, entity, organization, or cor12 poration may make payments to, reimburse or offer remu13 neration of any kind to compensate a contemnor for, or 

14 assist a contemnor in paying, any portion of a monetary 

15 penalty imposed by the House. Nor shall any person, 

16 group, entity, organization, or corporation be permitted to 

17 pay any monetary penalties directly on behalf of a 

18 contemnor. The House may regard such actions to com19 pensate, reimburse or provide remunerations or payments 

20 to a contemnor as an obstruction of its investigative and 

21 information gathering prerogatives and responsibilities 

22 and a contempt of the House. 

23 ‘‘(j) As used in this clause: 

24 ‘‘(1) The term ‘person’ includes an individual, 

25 partnership, corporation, association, or public or 


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1 private organization other than an department or 

2 agency of the Government. 

3 ‘‘(2) The term ‘objections’ has meaning given to 

4 such term in section 7(m).’’. 

Æ 


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