I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1989

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 

APRIL 28, 2005

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida 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 2008 Com5 mission Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 

2 There is established a commission to be known as the 

3 ‘‘Congress 2008 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) to the extent necessary, formulate proposals 

26 for changes in the size of the membership of, and 
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1 the method of electing Representatives to, the House 

2 of Representatives; and 

3 (6) not later than the end of the One Hundred 

4 Ninth Congress, submit to the President and the 

5 Congress a report of the work of the Commission, 

6 together with a draft of legislation (including tech7 nical and conforming provisions) to implement the 

8 proposals referred to in paragraph (5). 

9 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 

10 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 

11 shall be composed of 17 members as follows: 

12 (1) 3 members appointed by the President. 

13 (2) 10 members appointed by the House of 

14 Representatives, of whom 5 shall be appointed by 

15 the Speaker and 5 shall be appointed by the Minor16 ity Leader. 

17 (3) 4 members appointed by the Senate, of 

18 whom 2 shall be appointed by the Majority Leader 

19 and 2 shall be appointed by the Minority Leader. 

20 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—In making appointments 

21 under this section, the appointing authorities shall make 

22 a special effort to appoint individuals who are particularly 

23 qualified to perform the functions of the Commission, by 

24 reason of either practical experience or academic expertise 

25 in politics or government. 
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1 (c) TERMS AND VACANCIES.—Each member shall be 

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

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

4 original appointment was made. 

5 (d) PAY AND TRAVEL.—Each member of the Com6 mission, other than a full-time officer or employee of the 

7 United States—

8 (1) shall be paid the daily equivalent of the an9 nual rate of basic pay payable for level V of the Ex10 ecutive Schedule for each day (including travel time) 

11 during which the member is engaged in the actual 

12 performance of duties vested in the Commission; and 

13 (2) shall receive travel expenses, including per 

14 diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with appli15 cable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of 

16 title 5, United States Code. 

17 (e) QUORUM.—9 members of the Commission shall 

18 constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold hear19 ings. 

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

21 shall be elected by the members. 

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

23 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) MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any member or agent 

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

10 take any action which the Commission is authorized to 

11 take by this section. 

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

13 States mails in the same manner and under the same con14 ditions as departments and agencies of the United States. 

15 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon 

16 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of Gen17 eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim18 bursable basis, the administrative support services nec19 essary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities 

20 under this Act. 

21 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

23 this Act $5,000,000, to remain available until expended. 
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1 SEC. 8. TERMINATION. 

2 The Commission shall cease to exist on the last day 

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

4 3.

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