IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 443 

To establish the Joint Select Committee on Reorganization and Reform of 

Foreign Assistance Agencies and Programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 10, 2008 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. 

FORTENBERRY, and Mr. FORTUN ̃O) submitted the following concurrent 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

To establish the Joint Select Committee on Reorganization 

and Reform of Foreign Assistance Agencies and Programs. 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), 

3 SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT. 

4 There is hereby established in the Senate and the 

5 House of Representatives a joint select committee to be 

6 known as the ‘‘Joint Select Committee on Reorganization 

7 and Reform of Foreign Assistance Agencies and Pro8 grams’’ (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Joint Select Com9 mittee’’). 


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1 SEC. 2. FUNCTIONS. 

2 The Joint Select Committee is authorized and di3 rected to conduct a full and complete investigation of— 

4 (1) the organization of the various Federal 

5 agencies and departments that oversee and imple6 ment United States foreign assistance programs, 

7 and the interaction and coordination of such agen8 cies and departments with respect to such programs; 

9 (2) the objectives of United States foreign as10 sistance programs, including the relationship be11 tween development goals and United States national 

12 security goals; 

13 (3) the staffing levels and funding levels of 

14 United States foreign assistance programs; 

15 (4) the performance of United States foreign 

16 assistance programs in meeting United States na17 tional interests; and 

18 (5) legislative procedures, practices, and organi19 zation related to the authorization and appropriation 

20 of funding for and oversight of United States foreign 

21 assistance programs and agencies and departments 

22 which implement such programs. 

23 SEC. 3. REPORT. 

24 (a) REPORT ON RESULTS OF INVESTIGATION.—The 

25 Joint Select Committee shall submit a report to the Sen26 ate and House as soon as practicable, but not later than 


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1 January 20, 2010, on the results of its investigation under 

2 section 2, and may include in the report such rec3 ommendations, including proposed legislation to carry out 

4 such recommendations, as it deems advisable. 

5 (b) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED LEG6 ISLATION.— 

7 (1) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of sec9 tion 2908 (other than subsection (a)) of the De10 fense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 

11 1990 shall apply to the consideration of a bill 

12 described in paragraph (2) in the same manner 

13 as such provisions apply to a joint resolution 

14 described in section 2908(a) of such Act. 

15 (B) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of ap16 plying subparagraph (A) with respect to such 

17 provisions, the following rules shall apply: 

18 (i) Any reference to the Committee on 

19 Armed Services of the House of Represent20 atives shall be deemed a reference to the 

21 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

22 House of Representatives and any ref23 erence to the Committee on Armed Serv24 ices of the Senate shall be deemed a refVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:14 Dec 11, 2008 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC443.IH HC443

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1 erence to the Committee on Foreign Rela2 tions of the Senate. 

3 (ii) Any reference to the date on 

4 which the President transmits a report 

5 shall be deemed a reference to the date on 

6 which a bill described in paragraph (2) is 

7 introduced in the House of Representatives 

8 or Senate (as the case may be). 

9 (2) BILL DESCRIBED.—For purposes of para10 graph (1), a bill described in this paragraph is a 

11 bill— 

12 (A) which is introduced in the House of 

13 Representatives by the designated House mem14 ber described in paragraph (3)(A) or which is 

15 introduced in the Senate by the designated Sen16 ate member described in paragraph (3)(B); 

17 (B) which is introduced during the 30-day 

18 period which begins on the date the Joint Select 

19 Committee submits the report required under 

20 subsection (a); 

21 (C) which consists solely of the proposed 

22 legislation which is included in such report to 

23 carry out the recommendations made by the 

24 Joint Select Committee in the report; and 


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1 (D) the title of which is as follows: ‘‘A bill 

2 to carry out the recommendations of the Joint 

3 Select Committee on Reorganization and Re4 form of Foreign Assistance Agencies and Pro5 grams.’’. 

6 (3) DESIGNATED MEMBERS DESCRIBED.—For 

7 purposes of paragraph (2)(A), the ‘‘designated 

8 House member’’ and ‘‘designated Senate member’’ 

9 shall be determined as follows: 

10 (A) If the chair of the Joint Select Com11 mittee is a Member of the House of Represent12 atives, the chair shall be the designated House 

13 member. If the vice chair of the Joint Select 

14 Committee is a Member of the House of Rep15 resentatives and the chair is not a Member of 

16 the House of Representatives, the vice chair 

17 shall be the designated House member. If nei18 ther the chair or vice chair is a Member of the 

19 House of Representatives, a member of the 

20 Joint Select Committee who is a Member of the 

21 House of Representatives shall be selected joint22 ly by the chair and vice chair as the designated 

23 House member. 

24 (B) If the chair of the Joint Select Com25 mittee is a Member of the Senate, the chair 


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1 shall be the designated Senate member. If the 

2 vice chair of the Joint Select Committee is a 

3 Member of the Senate and the chair is not a 

4 Member of the Senate, the vice chair shall be 

5 the designated Senate member. If neither the 

6 chair or vice chair is a Member of the Senate, 

7 a member of the Joint Select Committee who is 

8 a Member of the Senate shall be selected jointly 

9 by the chair and vice chair as the designated 

10 Senate member. 

11 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 

12 (a) COMPOSITION AND APPOINTMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), 

14 the Joint Select Committee shall be composed of 60 

15 Members of the House of Representatives and Sen16 ate, of whom— 

17 (A) 30 shall be Members of the House of 

18 Representatives (of whom 15 shall represent the 

19 majority political party and 15 shall represent 

20 the minority political party) and shall be ap21 pointed by the Speaker of the House of Rep22 resentatives with the concurrence of the minor23 ity leader of the House of Representatives; and 

24 (B) 30 shall be Members of the Senate (of 

25 whom 15 shall represent the majority political 


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1 party and 15 shall represent the minority polit2 ical party) and shall be appointed by the major3 ity leader of the Senate with the concurrence of 

4 the minority leader of the Senate. 

5 (2) TREATMENT OF DELEGATE AND RESIDENT

6 COMMISSIONER.—For purposes of this subsection, a 

7 ‘‘Member’’ of the House of Representatives includes 

8 a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Con9 gress. 

10 (b) PRIORITY OF APPOINTMENT.—Each of the fol11 lowing individuals shall be appointed by the Speaker or 

12 the President pro Tempore (as the case may be) to serve 

13 as one of the 60 Members of the Joint Select Committee: 

14 (1) The Speaker of the House of Representa15 tives (or the Speaker’s designee). 

16 (2) The majority leader and minority leader of 

17 the House of Representatives (or their designees). 

18 (3) The majority leader and minority leader of 

19 the Senate (or their designees). 

20 (4) The chairman and ranking minority mem21 ber of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

22 House of Representatives (or their designees). 

23 (5) The chairman and ranking minority mem24 ber of the Committee on Armed Services of the 

25 House of Representatives (or their designees). 


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1 (6) The chairman and ranking minority mem2 ber of the Committee on Rules of the House of Rep3 resentatives (or their designees). 

4 (7) The chairman and ranking minority mem5 ber of the Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 House of Representatives (or their designees). 

7 (8) The chairman and ranking minority mem8 ber of the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Oper9 ations and Related Programs of the Committee on 

10 Appropriations of the House of Representatives (or 

11 their designees). 

12 (9) The chairman and ranking minority mem13 ber of the Committee on Agriculture of the House 

14 of Representatives (or their designees). 

15 (10) The chairman and ranking minority mem16 ber of the Committee on Financial Services of the 

17 House of Representatives (or their designees). 

18 (11) The chairman and ranking minority mem19 ber of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

20 Senate (or their designees). 

21 (12) The chairman and ranking minority mem22 ber of the Committee on Armed Services of the Sen23 ate (or their designees). 


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1 (13) The chairman and ranking minority mem2 ber of the Committee on Rules and Administration 

3 of the Senate (or their designees). 

4 (14) The chairman and ranking minority mem5 ber of the Committee on Appropriations of the Sen6 ate (or their designees). 

7 (15) The chairman and ranking minority mem8 ber of the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Oper9 ations and Related Programs of the Committee on 

10 Appropriations of the Senate (or their designees). 

11 (16) The chairman and ranking minority mem12 ber of the Committee on Agriculture of the Senate 

13 (or their designees). 

14 (17) The chairman and ranking minority mem15 ber of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

16 Urban Affairs of the Senate. 

17 (c) LEADERSHIP.— 

18 (1) CHAIR.—The members of the Joint Select 

19 Committee who represent the majority political party 

20 shall designate one of those members to serve as 

21 chair of the Joint Select Committee. 

22 (2) VICE CHAIR.—The members of the Joint 

23 Select Committee who represent the minority polit24 ical party shall designate one of those members to 

25 serve as vice-chair of the Joint Select Committee. 


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1 (d) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the membership of the 

2 Joint Select Committee shall not affect the power of the 

3 remaining members to execute the functions of the Joint 

4 Select Committee, and shall be filled in the same manner 

5 as in the case of the original appointment. 

6 SEC. 5. POWERS. 

7 (a) HEARINGS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES.—For the 

8 purpose of carrying out its duties, the Joint Select Com9 mittee may hold such hearings and undertake such other 

10 activities as the Joint Select Committee determines to be 

11 necessary to carry out its duties, whether the Congress 

12 is in session, has recessed, or has adjourned. 

13 (b) OBTAINING INFORMATION.— 

14 (1) AUTHORITY TO USE SUBPOENAS.—The 

15 Joint Select Committee may require by subpoena the 

16 attendance of such witnesses and the production of 

17 such books, papers, and documents, as it considers 

18 appropriate. 

19 (2) PROCEDURES.—Subpoenas may be issued 

20 over the signature of the chair of the Joint Select 

21 Committee or of any member designated by the 

22 chair or by the Joint Select Committee to the extent 

23 the chairman or such member is authorized by a 

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1 poenas, and may be served by any person designated 

2 by such chairman or member. 

3 (c) ACCESS TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH SERVICES.— 

4 The Joint Select Committee shall have access to the serv5 ices of the Government Accountability Office, the Congres6 sional Budget Office, and the Congressional Research 

7 Service in the same manner and under the same terms 

8 and conditions as any standing committee of the House 

9 of Representatives or Senate. 

10 (d) ADOPTION OF RULES.—Not later than 30 days 

11 after all of its members have been appointed, the Joint 

12 Select Committee shall adopt rules governing its oper13 ations and shall submit such rules to the Clerk of the 

14 House of Representatives and Secretary of the Senate for 

15 publication in the Congressional Record. 

16 SEC. 6. STAFF; TRAVEL. 

17 (a) APPOINTMENT OF STAFF.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Joint Select Committee 

19 may appoint, prescribe the duties and responsibil20 ities of, and fix the pay of such personnel as the 

21 chair and vice chair consider appropriate to assist 

22 the Joint Select Committee in carrying out its du23 ties, except that no individual appointed under this 

24 authority may receive pay at a rate greater than the 

25 highest annual rate of pay which may be paid under 


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1 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 

2 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (2) ALLOCATION OF APPOINTMENTS.—Of the 

4 full-time equivalent personnel positions appointed 

5 under this subsection— 

6 (A) 50 percent shall be appointed by the 

7 chair (with the concurrence of the vice chair); 

8 and 

9 (B) 50 percent shall be appointed by the 

10 vice chair (with the concurrence of the chair). 

11 (3) DETAIL OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Upon 

12 the joint request of the chair and vice chair, the 

13 head of any Federal agency or of any office in the 

14 legislative branch is authorized to detail, without re15 imbursement, any of the personnel of such agency or 

16 office to the Joint Select Committee to assist the 

17 Joint Select Committee in carrying out its duties. 

18 (b) REIMBURSEMENT OF TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Sub19 ject to the rules adopted by the Joint Select Committee 

20 pursuant to section 5(d), the chair and vice chair may re21 imburse members and staff of the Joint Select Committee 

22 for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses in23 curred in the performance of their duties and responsibil24 ities for the Joint Select Committee, other than expenses 

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1 mittee, or any subcommittee thereof, held in the District 

2 of Columbia. 

3 SEC. 7. FUNDING. 

4 (a) VOUCHERS.—Payments for expenses of the Joint 

5 Select Committee shall be made using vouchers authorized 

6 by the Joint Select Committee, signed by the chair and 

7 vice chair of the Joint Select Committee, and approved 

8 in a manner directed by the Committee on Rules and Ad9 ministration of the Senate and the Committee on House 

10 Administration of the House of Representatives. 

11 (b) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—There are authorized to be 

12 appropriated not more than $7,000,000 for the operation 

13 of the Joint Select Committee, of which— 

14 (1) 50 percent shall be derived from the appli15 cable accounts of the House of Representatives; and 

16 (2) 50 percent shall be derived from the contin17 gent fund of the Senate. 

18 SEC. 8. TERMINATION. 

19 (a) TERMINATION DATE.—The Joint Select Com20 mittee shall terminate 30 days after filing the report re21 quired under section 3 or upon the expiration of the 1- 

22 year period which begins on the date of the adoption of 

23 this resolution, whichever occurs earlier. 

24 (b) TRANSFER OF RECORDS.—Upon termination of 

25 the Joint Select Committee, the records of the Joint Select 


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1 Committee shall be transferred jointly to, and held jointly 

2 by, the Clerk of the House of Representatives and Sec3 retary of the Senate. 

Æ 


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