IV

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 5

Adopting the Rules of the House of Representatives for the One Hundred

Fifth Congress.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 7, 1997

Mr. ARMEY submitted the following resolution; which was considered and

agreed to

RESOLUTION

Adopting the Rules of the House of Representatives for

the One Hundred Fifth Congress.

1 Resolved, That the Rules of the House of Representa2 tives of the One Hundred Fourth Congress, including ap3 plicable provisions of law or concurrent resolution that

4 constituted rules of the House at the end of the One Hun5 dred Fourth Congress, are adopted as the Rules of the

6 House of Representatives of the One Hundred Fifth Con7 gress, with the following amendments:

8 SECTION 1. POSTPONEMENT OF CORRECTIONS VOTES.

9 In clause 5(b)(1) of rule I, strike subdivisions (E) and

10 (F), and insert in lieu thereof the following:
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1 ‘‘(E) the question of agreeing to a motion to re2 commit a bill considered pursuant to clause 4 of rule

3 XIII;

4 ‘‘(F) the question of ordering the previous ques5 tion on a question described in subdivision (A), (B),

6 (C), (D), or (E);

7 ‘‘(G) the question of agreeing to an amendment

8 to a bill considered pursuant to clause 4 of rule

9 XIII; and

10 ‘‘(H) the question of agreeing to a motion to

11 suspend the rules.’’.

12 SEC. 2. OBSOLETE REFERENCES TO ‘‘CONTINGENT FUND’’.

13 (a) In clause 8 of rule I—

14 (1) in the first sentence, strike ‘‘contingent

15 fund of the House’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘appli16 cable accounts of the House described in clause

17 1(h)(1) of rule X’’; and

18 (2) in the second sentence, strike ‘‘contingent

19 fund’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘applicable accounts

20 of the House described in clause 1(h)(1) of rule X’’.

21 (b) In clause 1(c) of rule XI, strike ‘‘contingent fund

22 of the House’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘applicable ac23 counts of the House described in clause 1(h)(1) of rule

24 X’’.
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1 (c) In clause 4(a) of rule XI, strike ‘‘contingent fund

2 of the House’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘applicable ac3 counts of the House described in clause 1(h)(1) of rule

4 X’’.

5 (d) In clause 6(f) of rule XI, strike ‘‘contingent fund’’

6 and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘applicable accounts of the

7 House described in clause 1(h)(1) of rule X’’.

8 SEC. 3. DRUG TESTING IN THE HOUSE.

9 In rule I, add the following new clause at the end:

10 ‘‘13. The Speaker, in consultation with the Minority

11 Leader, shall develop through an appropriate entity of the

12 House a system for drug testing in the House of Rep13 resentatives. The system may provide for the testing of

14 any Member, officer, or employee of the House, and other15 wise shall be comparable in scope to the system for drug

16 testing in the executive branch pursuant to Executive

17 Order 12564 (Sept. 15, 1986). The expenses of the system

18 may be paid from applicable accounts of the House for

19 official expenses.’’.

20 SEC. 4. POLICY DIRECTION AND OVERSIGHT OF CHIEF AD21 MINISTRATIVE OFFICER.

22 (a) In clause 1 of rule V, strike ‘‘the Speaker and’’

23 in both places it appears.

24 (b) In clause 2 of rule V, strike ‘‘the Speaker or’’.
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1 SEC. 5. BUDGET JURISDICTION CHANGES.

2 (a) In clause 1(d)(3) of rule X (relating to the Com3 mittee on the Budget), strike ‘‘congressional budget proc4 ess’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘budget process’’.

5 (b) In clause 1(g)(4) of rule X (relating to the Com6 mittee on Government Reform and Oversight), strike

7 ‘‘Budget and accounting measures, generally’’ and insert

8 in lieu thereof ‘‘Government management and accounting

9 measures, generally’’.

10 SEC. 6. DESIGNATING COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND

11 THE WORKFORCE.

12 (a) In clause 1(f) of rule X, strike ‘‘Committee on

13 Economic and Educational Opportunities’’ and insert in

14 lieu thereof ‘‘Committee on Education and the

15 Workforce’’.

16 (b) In clause 3(c) of rule X, strike ‘‘Committee on

17 Economic and Educational Opportunities’’ and insert in

18 lieu thereof ‘‘Committee on Education and the

19 Workforce’’.

20 SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT OF APPROVAL FOR SETTLEMENT OF

21 CERTAIN COMPLAINTS.

22 In clause 4(d) of rule X—

23 (a) strike ‘‘The Committee’’ and insert in lieu

24 thereof ‘‘(1) The Committee’’;

25 (b) strike ‘‘(1) examining’’ and insert in lieu

26 thereof ‘‘(A) examining’’;
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1 (c) strike ‘‘(2) providing’’ and insert in lieu

2 thereof ‘‘(B) providing’’;

3 (d) strike ‘‘(3) accepting’’ and insert in lieu

4 thereof ‘‘(C) accepting’’; and

5 (e) add the following new subparagraph at the

6 end:

7 ‘‘(2) An employing office of the House of Representa8 tives may enter a settlement of a complaint under the Con9 gressional Accountability Act of 1995 that provides for the

10 payment of funds only after receiving the joint approval

11 of the chairman and the ranking minority party member

12 of the Committee on House Oversight concerning the

13 amount of such payment.’’.

14 SEC. 8. SPECIAL AUTHORITIES FOR CERTAIN REPORTS.

15 (a) In clause 1(b) of rule XI—

16 (1) designate the existing matter as subpara17 graph (1); and

18 (2) add the following new subparagraphs at the

19 end:

20 ‘‘(2) A proposed investigative or oversight report

21 shall be considered as read in committee if it has been

22 available to the members for at least 24 hours (excluding

23 Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays except when the

24 House is in session on such a day).
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1 ‘‘(3) A report of an investigation or study conducted

2 jointly by more than one committee may be filed jointly,

3 provided that each of the committees complies independ4 ently with all requirements for approval and filing of the

5 report.

6 ‘‘(4) After an adjournment of the last regular session

7 of a Congress sine die, an investigative or oversight report

8 may be filed with the Clerk at any time, provided that

9 if a member gives timely notice of intention to file supple10 mental, minority, or additional views, that member shall

11 be entitled to not less than seven calendar days in which

12 to submit such views for inclusion with the report.’’.

13 (b) In clause 1(d) of rule XI, add the following new

14 subparagraph at the end:

15 ‘‘(4) After an adjournment of the last regular session

16 of a Congress sine die, the chairman of a committee may

17 file a report pursuant to subparagraph (1) with the Clerk

18 at any time and without approval of the committee, pro19 vided that a copy of the report has been available to each

20 member of the committee for at least seven calendar days

21 and includes any supplemental, minority, or additional

22 views submitted by a member of the committee.’’.

23 SEC. 9. COMMITTEE DOCUMENTS ON INTERNET.

24 In clause 2(e) of rule XI, add the following new sub25 paragraph at the end:
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1 ‘‘(4) Each committee shall, to the maximum extent

2 feasible, make its publications available in electronic

3 form.’’.

4 SEC. 10. INFORMATION REQUIRED OF PUBLIC WITNESSES.

5 In clause 2(g) of rule XI, amend subparagraph (4)

6 to read as follows:

7 ‘‘(4) Each committee shall, to the greatest extent

8 practicable, require witnesses who appear before it to sub9 mit in advance written statements of proposed testimony

10 and to limit their initial oral presentations to the commit11 tee to brief summaries thereof. In the case of a witness

12 appearing in a nongovernmental capacity, a written state13 ment of proposed testimony shall include a curriculum

14 vitae and a disclosure of the amount and source (by agen15 cy and program) of any Federal grant (or subgrant there16 of) or contract (or subcontract thereof) received during the

17 current fiscal year or either of the two previous fiscal years

18 by the witness or by an entity represented by the wit19 ness.’’.

20 SEC. 11. COMMITTEES’ SITTINGS.

21 In clause 2(i) of rule XI, strike subparagraph (1) and

22 the designation ‘‘(2)’’.

23 SEC. 12. EXCEPTIONS TO FIVE-MINUTE RULE IN HEARINGS.

24 In clause 2(j)(2) of rule XI—
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1 (a) strike ‘‘Each’’ and insert in lieu thereof

2 ‘‘(A) Subject to subdivisions (B) and (C), each’’; and

3 (b) add the following new subdivisions at the

4 end:

5 ‘‘(B) A committee may adopt a rule or motion permit6 ting an equal number of its majority and minority party

7 members each to question a witness for a specified period

8 not longer than 30 minutes.

9 ‘‘(C) A committee may adopt a rule or motion permit10 ting committee staff for its majority and minority party

11 members to question a witness for equal specified peri12 ods.’’.

13 SEC. 13. REPEAL OF INFLATION IMPACT STATEMENT RE14 QUIREMENT; ESTABLISHMENT OF CONSTITU15 TIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT REQUIRE16 MENT.

17 In clause 2(l) of rule XI, amend subparagraph (4)

18 to read as follows:

19 ‘‘(4) Each report of a committee on a bill or joint

20 resolution of a public character shall include a statement

21 citing the specific powers granted to the Congress in the

22 Constitution to enact the law proposed by the bill or joint

23 resolution.’’.

24 SEC. 14. FILING OF REPORTS AFTER TIME FOR VIEWS.

25 In clause 2(l)(5) of rule XI—
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1 (a) in the first sentence, strike ‘‘three calendar

2 days’’ and insert ‘‘two additional calendar days after

3 the day of such notice’’; and

4 (b) after the second sentence, insert the follow5 ing new sentence: ‘‘When time guaranteed by this

6 subparagraph has expired (or, if sooner, when all

7 separate views have been received), the committee

8 may arrange to file its report with the Clerk not

9 later than one hour after the expiration of such

10 time.’’.

11 SEC. 15. COMMITTEE RESERVE FUND.

12 In clause 5(a) of rule XI, strike ‘‘Any such primary

13 expense resolution’’ and insert in lieu thereof the follow14 ing: ‘‘A primary expense resolution may include a reserve

15 fund for unanticipated expenses of committees. An

16 amount from such a reserve fund may be allocated to a

17 committee only by the approval of the Committee on

18 House Oversight. A primary expense resolution’’.

19 SEC. 16. CORRECTIONS CALENDAR CHANGES.

20 In clause 4(a) of rule XIII—

21 (a) strike ‘‘On’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘At

22 any time on’’;

23 (b) strike ‘‘after the Pledge of Allegiance,’’; and

24 (c) strike ‘‘the bills in numerical order which

25 have’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘any bill that has’’.
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1 SEC. 17. DYNAMIC ESTIMATION OF EFFECTS OF MAJOR TAX

2 LEGISLATION.

3 In clause 7 of rule XIII, add the following new para4 graph at the end:

5 ‘‘(e)(1) A report from the Committee on Ways and

6 Means on a bill or joint resolution designated by the Ma7 jority Leader (after consultation with the Minority Lead8 er) as major tax legislation may include a dynamic esti9 mate of the changes in Federal revenues expected to result

10 from enactment of the legislation. The Joint Committee

11 on Taxation shall render a dynamic estimate of such legis12 lation only in response to a timely request from the chair13 man of the Committee on Ways and Means (after con14 sultation with the ranking minority member of the com15 mittee). A dynamic estimate pursuant to this paragraph

16 may be used only for informational purposes.

17 ‘‘(2) In this paragraph, ‘dynamic estimate’ means a

18 projection based in any part on assumptions concerning

19 probable effects of macroeconomic feedback. A dynamic

20 estimate shall include a statement identifying all such as21 sumptions.’’.

22 SEC. 18. APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS CHANGES.

23 In clause 2 of rule XXI—

24 (a) in paragraph (a), strike ‘‘in any’’ and insert

25 in lieu thereof ‘‘in a’’;

26 (b) amend paragraph (b) to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(b) No provision changing existing law shall be re2 ported in a general appropriation bill, including a provi3 sion making the availability of funds contingent on the re4 ceipt or possession of information not required by existing

5 law for the period of the appropriation, except germane

6 provisions that retrench expenditures by the reduction of

7 amounts of money covered by the bill, which may include

8 those recommended to the Committee on Appropriations

9 by direction of a legislative committee having jurisdiction

10 over the subject matter thereof, and except rescissions of

11 appropriations contained in appropriation Acts.’’;

12 (c) amend paragraph (c) to read as follows:

13 ‘‘(c) No amendment to a general appropriation bill

14 shall be in order if changing existing law, including an

15 amendment making the availability of funds contingent on

16 the receipt or possession of information not required by

17 existing law for the period of the appropriation. Except

18 as provided in paragraph (d), no amendment shall be in

19 order during consideration of a general appropriation bill

20 proposing a limitation not specifically contained or author21 ized in existing law for the period of the limitation.’’; and

22 (d) in paragraph (d), strike ‘‘and amendments

23 not precluded by paragraphs (a) or (c) of this clause

24 have been considered’’.
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1 SEC. 19. CLARIFYING DEFINITION OF INCOME TAX RATE IN2 CREASE.

3 (a) In clause 5(c) of rule XXI, add the following new

4 sentence at the end: ‘‘For purposes of the preceding sen5 tence, the term ‘Federal income tax rate increase’ means

6 any amendment to subsection (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e) of

7 section 1, or to section 11(b) or 55(b), of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986, that imposes a new percentage as a

9 rate of tax and thereby increases the amount of tax im10 posed by any such section.’’.

11 (b) In clause 5(d) of rule XXI, amend the second sen12 tence to read as follows: ‘‘For purposes of the preceding

13 sentence—

14 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Federal income tax rate in15 crease’ means any amendment to subsection (a), (b),

16 (c), (d), or (e) of section 1, or to section 11(b) or

17 55(b), of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, that

18 imposes a new percentage as a rate of tax and there19 by increases the amount of tax imposed by any such

20 section; and

21 ‘‘(2) a Federal income tax rate increase is ret22 roactive if it applies to a period beginning prior to

23 the enactment of the provision.’’.

24 SEC. 20. UNFUNDED MANDATE CLARIFICATION.

25 In clause 5 of rule XXIII, amend paragraph (c) to

26 read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(c)(1) In the Committee of the Whole, an amend2 ment proposing only to strike an unfunded mandate from

3 the portion of the bill then open to amendment, if other4 wise in order, may be precluded from consideration only

5 by specific terms of a special order of the House.

6 ‘‘(2) In this paragraph, ‘unfunded mandate’ means

7 a Federal intergovernmental mandate the direct costs of

8 which exceed the threshold otherwise specified for a re9 ported bill or joint resolution in section 424(a)(1) of the

10 Congressional Budget Act of 1974.’’.

11 SEC. 21. DISCHARGE PETITION CLARIFICATION.

12 In clause 3 of rule XXVII—

13 (a) strike ‘‘either a special order of business,

14 or’’;

15 (b) strike ‘‘any public bill or resolution favor16 ably reported’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘a public

17 bill or resolution reported’’;

18 (c) Strike ‘‘Provided’’ the first place it appears

19 and insert in lieu thereof the following: ‘‘Provided,

20 That a Member may not file a motion to discharge

21 the Committee on Rules from consideration of a res22 olution providing for the consideration of more than

23 one public bill or resolution, or admitting or

24 effecting a nongermane amendment to a public bill

25 or resolution: Provided further’’.
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1 SEC. 22. PROHIBITING THE DISTRIBUTION OF CAMPAIGN

2 CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE HALL OF THE

3 HOUSE.

4 In rule XXXII, add the following new clause at the

5 end:

6 ‘‘5. No Member, officer, or employee of the House

7 of Representatives, or any other person entitled to admis8 sion to the Hall of the House or rooms leading thereto

9 by this rule, shall knowingly distribute any political cam10 paign contribution in the Hall of the House or rooms lead11 ing thereto.’’.

12 SEC. 23. REPEAL OF OBSOLETE EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES

13 RULE.

14 (a) Rule LI (Employment Practices) is repealed.

15 (b) Rule LII (Gift Rule) is redesignated as rule LI.

16 SEC. 24. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

17 (a) In clause 5(a) of rule I, insert before the last sen18 tence the following: ‘‘A recorded vote taken pursuant to

19 this paragraph shall be considered a vote by the yeas and

20 nays.’’.

21 (b) In clause 1(h)(1) of rule X, strike ‘‘House Infor22 mation Systems’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘House Infor23 mation Resources’’.

24 (c) In clause 2(g)(3) of rule XI, strike ‘‘the House

25 Information Systems’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘House

26 Information Resources’’.
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1 (d) In clause 2(k)(5)(B) of rule XI—

2 (1) strike ‘‘a majority of the members of’’; and

3 (2) strike ‘‘determine’’ and insert ‘‘determines’’.

4 (e) In clause 2(l)(6) of rule XI, insert after ‘‘concur5 rent resolution on the budget’’ the following: ‘‘(except that

6 a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday on which the House

7 is in session shall not be excluded under such section)’’.

8 (f) In clause 4(a) of rule XXII, strike ‘‘indorsed’’ and

9 insert in lieu thereof ‘‘endorsed’’.

10 (g) In clause 6 of rule XXIII, strike ‘‘after the report11 ing of the bill by the committee but’’.

12 (h) In clause 4 of rule XLIII—

13 (1) strike ‘‘excepted’’ and insert in lieu thereof

14 ‘‘except’’; and

15 (2) strike ‘‘rule LII’’ and insert in lieu thereof

16 ‘‘rule LI’’.

17 (i) In clause 13 of rule XLIII, strike ‘‘by House’’ and

18 insert in lieu thereof ‘‘by the House’’.

19 SEC. 25. SELECT COMMITTEE ON ETHICS.

20 In clause 4(e) of rule X, add the following new sub21 paragraph at the end:

22 ‘‘(3) Effective as of noon on January 3, 1997, there

23 is hereby established in the One Hundred Fifth Congress

24 a Select Committee on Ethics. Effective as of noon on

25 January 3, 1997, each Member who served as a member
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1 of the standing Committee on Standards of Official Con2 duct at the expiration of the One Hundred Fourth Con3 gress is hereby appointed as a member of the select com4 mittee. A resignation from the select committee shall be

5 deemed effective upon notice to the House. A vacancy on

6 the select committee shall be filled by appointment by the

7 Leader of the party concerned. The select committee shall

8 have jurisdiction only to resolve the Statement issued by

9 the Investigative Subcommittee of the standing Committee

10 on Standards of Official Conduct in the One Hundred

11 Fourth Congress relating to the official conduct of Rep12 resentative Gingrich of Georgia and otherwise report to

13 the House on the activities of that investigative sub14 committee. In the exercise of that jurisdiction, the select

15 committee shall possess the same authority as, and shall

16 conduct its proceedings under the same rules, terms, and

17 conditions (including extension of the service and author18 ity of the staff and of the outside counsel commissioned

19 by the investigative subcommittee under the same terms

20 and conditions as in the One Hundred Fourth Congress

21 and effective as of noon on January 3, 1997) as those

22 applicable to the standing Committee on Standards of Of23 ficial Conduct in the One Hundred Fourth Congress, ex24 cept that the select committee may file reports in separate

25 volumes with the Clerk when the House is not in session
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1 and the time otherwise guaranteed by clause 2(l)(5) of

2 rule XI for submission of separate views shall be computed

3 as two calendar days after the day on which the report

4 is ordered. Expenses of the select committee may be paid

5 from applicable accounts of the House. The select commit6 tee shall cease to exist upon final disposition by the House

7 of a report designated by the select committee as its final

8 report on the matter, or at the expiration of January 21,

9 1997, whichever is earlier.’’.

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