Congressional Evidence-Based Policymaking Resolution

Establishing the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking to review, analyze, and make recommendations to Congress to promote the use of Federal data for evidence-building and evidence-based policymaking, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This concurrent resolution may be cited as the Congressional Evidence-Based Policymaking Resolution 2. Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking (a) Establishment There is established in the legislative branch the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking (in this section referred to as the Commission (b) Membership The Commission shall be composed of 12 members, appointed not later than 180 days after the date of the adoption of this resolution, as follows: (1) Three shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, of whom— (A) one shall be an academic researcher specializing in Congress or data science; (B) one shall be a former Member or senior staffer of the House; and (C) one shall be an employee of an office that participates in the Congressional Data Task Force or other legislative branch support agency as appropriate for the purposes of studying and developing the recommendations under subsection (f). (2) Three shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, of whom— (A) one shall be an academic researcher specializing in Congress or data science; (B) one shall be a former Member or senior staffer of the House; and (C) one shall be an employee of an office that participates in the Congressional Data Task Force or other legislative branch support agency as appropriate for the purposes of studying and developing the recommendations under subsection (f). (3) Three shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, of whom— (A) one shall be an academic researcher specializing in Congress or data science; (B) one shall be a former Member or senior staffer of the Senate; and (C) one shall be an employee of an office that participates in the Congressional Data Task Force or other legislative branch support agency as appropriate for the purposes of studying and developing the recommendations under subsection (f). (4) Three shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate, of whom— (A) one shall be an academic researcher specializing in Congress or data science; (B) one shall be a former Member or senior staffer of the Senate; and (C) one shall be an employee of an office that participates in the Congressional Data Task Force or other legislative branch support agency as appropriate for the purposes of studying and developing the recommendations under subsection (f). (c) Prohibition against service by current Members of Congress An individual is not eligible to serve on the Commission if the individual is a current Member of Congress (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress). (d) Co-Chairs The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the majority leader of the Senate shall each select one member of the Commission to serve as co-chairs. (e) Staff (1) Director The Commission shall have a Director who shall be appointed jointly by the co-chairs. The Director shall be paid at a rate of pay established by the co-chairs, not to exceed the annual rate of basic pay payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. (2) Other staff The Director may appoint and fix the pay of not more than 8 full-time equivalent employees and 4 part-time employees. (3) Coverage under Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 For purposes of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 ( 2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq. (A) the Commission shall be treated as an employing office under the Act; and (B) an employee of the Commission shall be treated as a covered employee under the Act. (4) Detail of employees At the request of the Commission, an employee of an office of the House of Representatives or Senate may be detailed to the Commission to assist the Commission with carrying out its duties. (f) Recommendations (1) In general The Commission shall study and consider approval of applicable recommendations with respect to evidence-based policymaking within the Federal Government, including— (A) how to incorporate outcomes measurement, rigorous impact analysis, and implementation-aligned language into the lawmaking process; (B) how Congress can access and incorporate real-time, structured, and machine-readable data into the lawmaking process; (C) the potential need for and duties of a congressional Chief Data Officer, including whether the officer should be located in a stand-alone office or housed within another existing agency and how such an office would function with existing data and transformation units in Congress; (D) ways to increase data expertise in Congress through the incorporation of technologists, data scientists, and engineers to assist in policy evaluation and legislative drafting; and (E) how Congress may encourage Federal agencies to produce evidence on effectiveness for major new programs and reauthorizations, consistent with the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 ( Public Law 115–435 (2) Adoption of recommendations Any recommendation considered by the Commission shall only be considered adopted by the Commission upon receiving the votes of at least two-thirds of the members of the Commission. (g) Reports (1) Interim reports The Commission may submit to the Speaker of the House and the majority leader of the Senate interim reports containing such findings, conclusions, and recommendations as have been agreed to by at least two-thirds of the members of the Commission. (2) Final report Not later than 2 years after the date of the adoption of this resolution, the Commission shall submit a report to the Speaker of the House and the majority leader of the Senate on the activities and findings of the Commission. (h) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section, of which— (1) 50 percent shall be derived from the applicable accounts of the House of Representatives; and (2) 50 percent shall be derived from the contingent fund of the Senate.

Summary: Congressional Evidence-Based Policymaking Resolution This concurrent resolution establishes the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking to review, analyze, and make recommendations with respect to promoting the use of federal data for evidence-building and evidence-based policymaking. An individual is not eligible to serve on the commission if the individual is currently a Member of Congress (including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress).