I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4948 

To abolish the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct in the House 

of Representatives, establish an Independent Ethics Commission, and 

provide for the transfer of the duties and functions of the committee 

to the Commission. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 14, 2006 

Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself and Mr. WALDEN of Oregon) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Rules and the Judiciary, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To abolish the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct 

in the House of Representatives, establish an Independent Ethics Commission, and provide for the transfer 

of the duties and functions of the committee to the 

Commission. 

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 ‘‘Ethics Reform Act 

5 of 2006’’. 


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1 TITLE I—TERMINATION OF COM2 MITTEE ON STANDARDS OF 

3 OFFICIAL CONDUCT IN THE 

4 HOUSE OF REPRESENTA5 TIVES 

6 SEC. 101. TERMINATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON STAND7 ARDS OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT. 

8 (a) TERMINATION.— 

9 (1) RULES.—(A) Clause 1 of rule X of the 

10 Rules of the House of Representatives is amended 

11 by striking paragraph (q) and by redesignating 

12 paragraphs (r), (s), and (t) as paragraphs (q), (r), 

13 and (s), respectively. 

14 (B) Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Rep15 resentatives is amended by striking clause 3 and re16 designating clauses 4 through 6 as clauses 3 

17 through 5, respectively. 

18 (2) LAW.—The Ethics Reform Act of 1989 

19 (Public Law 101–194) is amended by striking sub20 sections (b), (c), (d), and (i) of section 803 (2 

21 U.S.C. 29d). 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

23 (1) RULES.— 

24 (A) Clause 6(c)(5) of rule II of the Rules 

25 of the House of Representatives is amended— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘Committee on Stand2 ards of Official Conduct’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘Independent Ethics Commission’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘clause 3(a)(3) of rule 

5 XI’’ and inserting ‘‘section 202(3) the Eth6 ics Reform Act of 2006’’. 

7 (B) Clause 1(m)(1) of rule X of such 

8 Rules is amended by striking ‘‘(other than 

9 those relating to the Code of Official Con10 duct)’’. 

11 (C) Clause 2(a)(16) of the Rules of the 

12 House of Representatives is amended by strik13 ing ‘‘Committee on Standards of Official Con14 duct’’ and inserting ‘‘Independent Ethics Com15 mission’’. 

16 (D) Clause 5 of rule X of such Rules is 

17 amended— 

18 (i) in subparagraph (a), by striking 

19 subparagraph (3) and by redesignating 

20 subparagraph (4) as subparagraph (3); 

21 and 

22 (ii) in subparagraph (b), by striking 

23 item (ii) and by redesignating item (iii) as 

24 item (ii). 


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1 (E) Clause 2(g)(1) of rule XI of such 

2 Rules is amended by striking ‘‘(other than the 

3 Committee on Standards of Official Conduct or 

4 its subcommittees)’’ each place it appears. 

5 (F) Clause 2(m)(3)(A) of rule XI of such 

6 Rules is amended by— 

7 (i) striking ‘‘(i) Except as provided in 

8 subdivision (A)(ii), a’’ and inserting ‘‘A’’; 

9 and 

10 (ii) striking item (ii). 

11 (G) Clause 3 of rule XIII of such Rules is 

12 amended— 

13 (i) by striking the last sentence of 

14 subparagraph (b); and 

15 (ii) in subparagraph (d)(3)(B), by 

16 striking ‘‘, or the Committee on Standards 

17 of Official Conduct’’ and by inserting ‘‘or’’ 

18 before ’’the Committee on Rules’’. 

19 (H) Clause 5(a) of rule XIII of such Rules 

20 is amended by striking subparagraph (5). 

21 (I) Clause 12 of rule XXIII of such Rules 

22 is amended by striking ‘‘Committee on Stand23 ards of Official Conduct’’ and inserting ‘‘Inde24 pendent Ethics Commission’’. 


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1 (J) Clause 2(e) of rule XXV of such Rules 

2 is amended by striking ‘‘Committee on Stand3 ards of Official Conduct’’ and inserting ‘‘Inde4 pendent Ethics Commission’’. 

5 (K) Clause 3(b) of rule XXV of such Rules 

6 is amended by striking ‘‘Committee on Stand7 ards of Official Conduct’’ and inserting ‘‘Inde8 pendent Ethics Commission’’. 

9 (L) Clause 5 of rule XXV of such Rules is 

10 amended by striking ‘‘Committee on Standards 

11 of Official Conduct’’ each place it appears and 

12 inserting ‘‘Independent Ethics Commission’’. 

13 (M) Clause 1 of rule XVI of such Rules is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘Committee on Standards 

15 of Official Conduct’’ and inserting ‘‘Inde16 pendent Ethics Commission’’. 

17 (2) LAW.—The following provisions are each 

18 amended by striking ‘‘Committee on Standards of 

19 Official Conduct’’ and inserting ‘‘Independent Ethics 

20 Commission’’: 

21 (A) Section 5(e) of Public Law 93–191 (2 

22 U.S.C. 501(e)). 

23 (B) Section 7342(a)(6)(A) of title 5, 

24 United States Code. 


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1 (C) Section 7353(d)(1) of title 5, United 

2 States Code. 

3 (D) Section 103(j)(1) of the Ethics in Gov4 ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

5 (E) Section 109(1) of the Ethics in Gov6 ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

7 (F) Section 109(18)(B) of the Ethics in 

8 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

9 (G) Section 111(2) of the Ethics in Gov10 ernment Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

11 (H) Section 503(1)(A) of the Ethics in 

12 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

13 (I) Sections 416(e) and 503 of the Con14 gressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

15 1416(e) and 1433). 

16 (J) Section 803 of the Ethics Reform Act 

17 of 1989 (2 U.S.C 29d). 

18 SEC. 102. REFERENCE TO COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS OF 

19 OFFICIAL CONDUCT. 

20 Any reference in a law, regulation, document, paper, 

21 or other record of the United States to the ‘‘Committee 

22 on Standards of Official Conduct of the House of Rep23 resentatives’’ shall be deemed to be a reference to the 

24 ‘‘Independent Ethics Commission’’. 


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1 TITLE II—ESTABLISHMENT OF 

2 COMMISSION 

3 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP OF COMMIS4 SION. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an inde6 pendent commission within the legislative branch of the 

7 Government to be known as the Independent Ethics Com8 mission (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

9 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—(1) The Commission shall consist 

10 of 11 individuals, 5 appointed by the Speaker, 5 by the 

11 minority leader of the House of Representatives, and one 

12 selected by the members of the Commission. Appointments 

13 of the members of the Commission by the Speaker and 

14 the minority leader shall be completed not later than 90 

15 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 (2) The Speaker and the minority leader shall each 

17 make such appointments after consulting with a broad 

18 cross section of the membership of the House of Rep19 resentatives. 

20 (c) CHAIRMAN.—The chairman shall be appointed 

21 from members of the Commission jointly by the Speaker 

22 and the minority leader of the House of Representatives. 

23 (d) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

24 (1) SPECIFIC QUALIFICATIONS.—Selection and 

25 appointment of members shall be without regard to 


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1 political affiliation and solely on the basis of fitness 

2 to perform the duties of the office. To be eligible for 

3 appointment to the Commission, an individual shall 

4 be a former Member of the House of Representa5 tives. 

6 (2) DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR APPOINTMENTS.— 

7 (A) LOBBYING.—No individual who is a 

8 lobbyist registered under the Lobbying Disclo9 sure Act of 1995 or engages in, or is otherwise 

10 employed in, lobbying of the Congress or who is 

11 an agent of a foreign principal registered under 

12 the Foreign Agents Registration Act shall be el13 igible for appointment to, or service on, the 

14 Commission. 

15 (B) INCOMPATIBLE OFFICE.—No member 

16 of the Commission appointed under subsection 

17 (b) may hold or have held within 2 years of the 

18 date of appointment the position of Member of 

19 the House of Representatives. 

20 (3) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission 

21 shall be filled in the manner in which the original 

22 appointment was made. 

23 (e) TERM OF OFFICE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para25 graph (2), membership on the Commission shall be 


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1 for 2 Congresses. A member of the Commission who 

2 is appointed to a term of office shall only be eligible 

3 for appointment for a single term of office. 

4 (2) FIRST APPOINTMENTS.—Of the members 

5 first appointed to the Commission— 

6 (A) 3 appointed by the Speaker and 3 ap7 pointed by the minority leader shall have a term 

8 of office of 3 Congresses, 1 of whom shall be 

9 the Chair, as designated at the time of appoint10 ment by the Speaker, and 

11 (B) 4 shall have a term of office of 1 Con12 gress. 

13 (f) REMOVAL.— 

14 (1) AUTHORITY.—Any member of the Commis15 sion may be removed from office by agreement of 

16 the appointing authorities described in subsection 

17 (b), but only for— 

18 (A) disability that substantially prevents 

19 the member from carrying out the duties of the 

20 member, 

21 (B) incompetence, 

22 (C) neglect of duty, 

23 (D) malfeasance, including a felony or con24 duct involving moral turpitude, or 


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1 (E) holding an office or employment or en2 gaging in an activity that disqualifies the indi3 vidual from service as a member of the Com4 mission under subsection (d)(2). 

5 (2) STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR REMOVAL.— 

6 In removing a member of the Commission, the 

7 Speaker and the minority leader of the House of 

8 Representatives shall state in writing to the member 

9 of the Commission being removed the specific rea10 sons for the removal. 

11 (3) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission 

12 shall be filled in the manner in which the original 

13 appointment was made. 

14 (g) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Commis15 sion shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily 

16 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for 

17 level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of 

18 title 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel 

19 time) during which such member is engaged in the per20 formance of the duties of the Commission. 

21 (h) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

22 Commission shall constitute a quorum. 

23 (i) MEETINGS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall meet 

2 at the call of the chairperson or a majority of its 

3 members. 

4 (2) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall 

5 hold its initial meeting not later than 60 days after 

6 the date on which appointments are completed. 

7 (j) DEFINITION—As used in this title, the term 

8 ‘‘Member’’ or ‘‘Member of the House of Representatives’’ 

9 means any Representative in, or Delegate or Resident 

10 Commissioner to, the Congress. 

11 SEC. 202. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 

12 The Commission is authorized— 

13 (1) to recommend to the House of Representa14 tives, from time to time, such administrative actions 

15 as it may deem appropriate to establish or enforce 

16 standards of official conduct for Members, officers, 

17 and employees of the House of Representatives; 

18 (2)(A) to investigate any alleged violation, by a 

19 Member, officer, or employee of the House of Rep20 resentatives, of any law, rule, regulation, or other 

21 standard of conduct applicable to the conduct of 

22 such Member, officer, or employee in the perform23 ance of his duties or the discharge of his responsibil24 ities, and after notice and hearing (unless the right 

25 to a hearing is waived by the Member, officer, or 


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1 employee), shall report to the House of Representa2 tives its findings of fact and recommendations, if 

3 any, upon the final disposition of any such investiga4 tion, and such action as the Commission may deem 

5 appropriate in the circumstances; 

6 (B) to issue any letter of reproval or admonish7 ment with respect to such an alleged violation; 

8 (3) to report to the appropriate Federal or 

9 State authorities, with the approval of the House of 

10 Representatives, any substantial evidence of a viola11 tion, by a Member, officer, or employee of the House 

12 of Representatives, of any law applicable to the per13 formance of his duties or the discharge of his re14 sponsibilities, which may have been disclosed in a 

15 Commission investigation; 

16 (4) to give consideration to the request of any 

17 Member, officer, or employee of the House of Rep18 resentatives for an advisory opinion with respect to 

19 the general propriety of any current or proposed 

20 conduct of such Member, officer, or employee and, 

21 with appropriate deletions to assure the privacy of 

22 the individual concerned, to publish such opinion for 

23 the guidance of other Members, officers, and em24 ployees of the House of Representatives; 


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1 (5) to provide information and guidance to 

2 Members, officers, and employees of the House of 

3 Representatives regarding any laws, rules, regula4 tions, and other standards of conduct applicable to 

5 such individuals in their official capacities, and de6 velop and carry out periodic educational briefings for 

7 Members, officers, and employees of the House of 

8 Representatives on those laws, rules, regulations, or 

9 other standards; and 

10 (6) to review all reports filed by Members, offi11 cers, and employees of the House of Representatives 

12 and lobbyists for inconsistencies or mutual interests 

13 and expenditures between any of them and lobbyists. 

14 SEC. 203. PROCEDURAL RULES. 

15 (a) MAJORITY APPROVAL.—No resolution, report, 

16 recommendation, or advisory opinion relating to the offi17 cial conduct of a Member, officer, or employee of the 

18 House shall be made by the Commission, and no investiga19 tion of such conduct shall be undertaken by the Commis20 sion, unless approved by the affirmative vote of a majority 

21 of the members of the Commission. 

22 (b) INVESTIGATIONS.—Except in the case of an in23 vestigation undertaken by the Commission on its own ini24 tiative, the Commission may undertake an investigation 

25 relating to the official conduct of an individual Member, 


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1 officer, or employee of the House of Representatives 

2 only— 

3 (1) upon receipt of a complaint, in writing and 

4 under oath, made by or submitted to a Member of 

5 the House of Representatives and transmitted to the 

6 Commission by such Member, or 

7 (2) upon receipt of a complaint, in writing and 

8 under oath, directly from an individual not a Mem9 ber of the House of Representatives if the Commis10 sion finds that such complaint has been submitted 

11 by such individual to not less than three Members 

12 of the House who have refused, in writing, to trans13 mit such complaint to the Commission. 

14 (c) PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN INVESTIGATIONS.—No 

15 investigation shall be undertaken by the Commission of 

16 any alleged violation of a law, rule, regulation, or standard 

17 of conduct not in effect at the time of the alleged violation; 

18 nor shall any investigation be undertaken by the Commis19 sion of any alleged violation which occurred before the 

20 third previous Congress unless the Commission determines 

21 that the alleged violation is directly related to any alleged 

22 violation which occurred in a more recent Congress. 

23 (d) DISCLOSURE.—No information or testimony re24 ceived, or the contents of a complaint or the fact of its 

25 filing, shall be publicly disclosed by any member of the 


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1 Commission or staff of the Commission unless specifically 

2 authorized in each instance by a vote of the full Commis3 sion. 

4 SEC. 204. STAFF OF COMMISSION. 

5 The Commission may appoint and fix the compensa6 tion of such staff as the Commission considers necessary 

7 to perform its duties. The director shall be appointed 

8 jointly by the Speaker and minority leader for a term of 

9 7 years and shall be paid at a rate not exceed the rate 

10 of basic pay payable for Level IV of the Executive Sched11 ule. The director shall be eligible for reappointment for 

12 one additional term of 7 years. 

13 SEC. 205. ADVICE AND EDUCATION. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Independent Commission 

15 on House Ethics shall establish within the Commission an 

16 Office on Advice and Education (hereinafter in this section 

17 referred to as the ‘‘Office’’) under the supervision of the 

18 chairman of the Commission. 

19 (b) STAFF.—The head of the Office shall be ap20 pointed by the chairman and the Office shall be comprised 

21 of such staff as the chairman determines is necessary to 

22 carry out the responsibilities of the Office. 

23 (c) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The primary 

24 duties and responsibilities of the Office shall include: 


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1 (1) Providing information and guidance to 

2 Members, officers and employees of the House re3 garding any laws, rules, regulations, and other 

4 standards of conduct applicable to such individuals 

5 in their official capacities, and any interpretations 

6 and advisory opinions of the Commission. 

7 (2) Submitting to the chairman of the Commis8 sion any written request from any such Member, of9 ficer or employee for an interpretation of applicable 

10 laws, rules, regulations, or other standards of con11 duct, together with any recommendations thereon. 

12 (3) Recommending to the Commission for its 

13 consideration formal advisory opinions of general ap14 plicability. 

15 (4) Developing and carrying out, subject to the 

16 approval of the chairman, periodic educational brief17 ings for Members, officers and employees of the 

18 House on those laws, rules, regulations, or other 

19 standards of conduct applicable to them. 

20 (d) SPECIAL RULE.—No information provided to the 

21 Commission by a Member, officer or employee of the 

22 House of Representatives when seeking advice regarding 

23 prospective conduct of such Member, officer or employee 

24 may be used as the basis for initiating an investigation 


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1 if such Member, officer or employee acts in accordance 

2 with the written advice of the Commission. 

3 SEC. 206. LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT AMENDMENTS. 

4 (a) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS TO INDEPENDENT

5 ETHICS COMMISSION.—The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 

6 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended— 

7 (1) in section 4— 

8 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘Sec9 retary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House 

10 of Representatives’’ and inserting ‘‘Independent 

11 Ethics Commission’’; and 

12 (B) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘Sec13 retary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House 

14 of Representatives’’ and inserting ‘‘Independent 

15 Ethics Commission’’; 

16 (2) in section 6, by striking ‘‘Secretary of the 

17 Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representa18 tives’’ and inserting ‘‘Independent Ethics Commis19 sion’’; 

20 (3) in section 7, by striking ‘‘Secretary of the 

21 Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representa22 tives’’ and inserting ‘‘Independent Ethics Commis23 sion’’; and 

24 (4) in section 8, by striking ‘‘Secretary of the 

25 Senate or the Clerk of the House of RepresentaVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:39 Mar 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4948.IH H4948

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1 tives’’ and inserting ‘‘Independent Ethics Commis2 sion’’. 

3 (b) TIMING OF REPORTS; ELECTRONIC FILING.— 

4 Section 5 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

5 U.S.C. 1604) is amended— 

6 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(a) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—No later than 30 day 

9 after the end of the 3-month period beginning on January 

10 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1 of each year in which 

11 a registrant is registered under section 4, each registrant 

12 shall file a report with the Independent Ethics Commis13 sion on its lobbying activities during that 3-month period. 

14 A separate report shall be filed for each client of the reg15 istrant.’’; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC FILING.—Each report filed under 

18 subsection (a) shall be filed in electronic form, in addition 

19 to any other form that may be required by the Inde20 pendent Ethics Commission.’’. 

21 (c) AVAILABILITY OF ELECTRONIC FILINGS.—Sec22 tion 6(4) of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 

23 U.S.C. 1605) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘(4)(A) sub25 ject to subparagraph (B),’’; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after reports are 

3 filed in electronic form under section 5(d), make 

4 such reports available to the public over the Inter5 net, without a fee or other access charge;’’. 

6 TITLE III—GENERAL 

7 PROVISIONS 

8 SEC. 301. TRANSITION PROVISIONS. 

9 In the case of investigations pending before the Com10 mittee on Standards of Official Conduct on the day before 

11 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

12 proceedings shall be continued by the Independent Ethics 

13 Commission. 

14 SEC. 302. ACTION ON INDEPENDENT ETHICS COMMISSION 

15 RECOMMENDATIONS. 

16 (a) PRINTING OF REPORTS IN CONGRESSIONAL

17 RECORD.—Upon the receipt by the House of Representa18 tives of any report of the Independent Ethics Commission 

19 made to the House of Representatives under section 

20 202(2), the Speaker shall have the report printed in the 

21 Congressional Record. 

22 (b) HOUSE CONSIDERATION OF INDEPENDENT ETH23 ICS COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS.—Within 30 cal24 endar days after a report referred to in subsection (a) is 

25 printed in the Congressional Record, that portion of the 


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1 report recommending action by the House of Representa2 tives respecting any alleged violation, by a Member, offi3 cer, or employee of the House of Representatives, of any 

4 law, rule, regulation, or other standard of conduct applica5 ble to the conduct of such Member, officer, or employee 

6 in the performance of his duties or the discharge of his 

7 responsibilities shall be introduced (by request) in the 

8 House by the majority leader of the House, for himself 

9 and the minority leader of the House in the form of a 

10 resolution. This resolution shall constitute a question of 

11 privilege under rule IX of the Rules of the House of Rep12 resentatives. Any Member favoring the resolution may call 

13 it up as a question of privilege but only on the third day 

14 after the calendar date upon which such Member an15 nounces to the House his intention to do so. 

16 SEC. 303. EXERCISE OF CONGRESSIONAL RULEMAKING 

17 POWER. 

18 The provisions of title I amending the Rules of the 

19 House of Representatives and sections 301 and 302 are 

20 enacted by Congress— 

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

22 the House of Representatives, and as such they shall 

23 be considered a part of the rules of the House of 

24 Representatives and such rules shall supersede other 


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1 rules only to the extent that they are inconsistent 

2 therewith; and 

3 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional 

4 right of the House of Representatives to change 

5 such rules at any time in the same manner and to 

6 the same extent as in the case of any other rule of 

7 such House. 

8 SEC. 304. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

9 This Act and the amendments made by it shall take 

10 effect 6 months after the date of its enactment, except 

11 that sections 201, 204, and 205 shall take effect upon its 

12 date of enactment. 

Æ 


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