IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 690 
Raising a question of the privileges of the House. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 29, 2009 
Mr. BOEHNER submitted the following resolution; which was laid on the table 
RESOLUTION 
Raising a question of the privileges of the House. 
Whereas page 5 of the ‘‘Regulations on the Use of the CON-
GRESSIONAL FRANK By Members of the House of 
Representatives’’ states, ‘‘It is the policy of the Congress 
that the privilege of sending mail as franked mail shall 
be established under this section in order to assist and 
expedite the conduct of the official business, activities 
and duties of the Congress of the United States. It is the 
intent of the Congress that such official business, activi-
ties and duties cover all matters which directly or indi-
rectly pertain to the legislative process or to any congres-
sional representative functions generally, or to the func-
tioning, working, or operating of the Congress and the 
performance of official duties in connection therewith, 
and shall include, but not be limited to, the conveying of 
information to the public, the requesting of the views of 
the public, or the views and information of other author-
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•HRES 690 LTH 
ity of government, as a guide or a means of assistance 
in the performance of those functions.’’; 
Whereas clause 5 of rule XXIV of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives provides, ‘‘Before making a mass 
mailing, a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner 
shall submit a sample or description of the mail matter 
involved to the House Commission on Congressional 
Mailing Standards for an advisory opinion as to whether 
the proposed mailing is in compliance with applicable 
provisions of law, rule, or regulation.’’; 
Whereas the House Commission on Congressional Mailing 
Standards, authorized in Public Law 91–191, is com-
monly referred to as the ‘‘Franking Commission’’; 
Whereas the Democratic staff director and Republican staff 
director of the Franking Commission have served in their 
respective positions for more than a decade and report to 
the Democratic and Republican members of the Franking 
Commission, respectively; 
Whereas during the 111th Congress the members of the 
Franking Commission are Representatives Susan Davis 
(D–CA), chairwoman; Rep. Dan Lungren (R–CA), rank-
ing Republican member; Rep. Donna Edwards (D–MD), 
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R–CA), Rep. Brad Sherman (D– 
CA) and Rep. Tom Price (R–GA); 
Whereas the aforementioned Franking Commission advisory 
opinions required for Members seeking approval to send 
mass mailings, or their electronic equivalents, are rou-
tinely signed on behalf of the Commission by its Demo-
cratic and Republican staff directors or their designees; 
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Whereas no Member may receive Franking Commission ap-
proval without signatures from both majority and minor-
ity staff; 
Whereas the Commission’s Democratic staff director has been 
permitted by the Commission’s Democratic Members to 
abuse her position during the current Congress by will-
fully and knowingly applying different standards to mate-
rial submitted for Franking Commission approval by Re-
publican Members than she applies to material submitted 
by Democratic Members; 
Whereas, on July 27, 2009, the Commission’s Democratic 
staff director refused to approve a mailing proposed by 
Representative Joe Barton of Texas which included the 
words ‘‘Democrat majority’’, but indicated she would ap-
prove the mailing if Representative Barton instead sub-
stituted the words ‘‘congressional majority’’, yet on Au-
gust 3, 2006, the same Democratic staff director signed 
a Franking Commission approval document for a mailing 
issued by then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi that in-
cluded the following sentence, ‘‘But too many here and 
across our nation are paying the price for the Republican 
Congressional majority’s special interest agenda . . .’’ 
Whereas the Democratic staff director has refused to grant 
permission to Republican Members wishing to provide 
their constituents with copies of a chart intended to illus-
trate in graphic form many of the provisions of the 
Democrats’ proposed health care legislation; 
Whereas charts similar in form and general purpose have for 
many years been approved routinely by the Commission’s 
Democratic staff director in mailings produced by Mem-
bers on both sides of the aisle; 
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Whereas, on December 12, 1993, the Franking Commission 
granted approval to Rep. David Levy of New York to dis-
seminate a similar chart, intended to illustrate graphi-
cally the provisions of comprehensive health care legisla-
tion proposed by the Clinton Administration; 
Whereas the Commission’s Democratic staff director has re-
fused to approve requests by Republican Members to in-
formally characterize certain features of the Democrats’ 
pending health care proposal as ‘‘government run health 
care’’ but has approved requests by Democratic Members 
to informally characterize the same aspects of the bill as 
‘‘the public option’’; 
Whereas the Commission’s Democratic staff director has re-
fused to approve more than twenty requests by Repub-
lican Members to use the phrase ‘‘cap and tax’’ to de-
scribe a Democratic proposal to reduce carbon emissions 
by imposing new fees, taxes and higher costs on Amer-
ican consumers and businesses; 
Whereas a search for the term ‘‘cap and tax’’ on the Google 
internet search engine yielded at least 4,478,000 appear-
ances of this commonly used phrase; 
Whereas an article in the April 27, 2009, edition of ‘‘Polit-
ico’’ newspaper quoted the most senior Member of the 
House, Democratic Representative John Dingell of Michi-
gan, the former chairman of the House Committee on 
Energy and Commerce, as saying, ‘‘Nobody in this coun-
try realizes that cap and trade is a tax, and it’s a great 
big one.’’; 
Whereas the Commission’s Democratic staff director has dis-
missed the proposed descriptive term, ‘‘cap and tax’’ as 
an informal and inappropriate characterization of the leg-
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islation, while at the same time granting approval to 
Democratic Members seeking to use the phrase ‘‘cap and 
trade’’ to informally and inappropriately characterize the 
same bill; 
Whereas the Commission’s Democratic staff director has re-
fused to approve material submitted by Republican Mem-
bers seeking to convey to the public those Members’ con-
cern about substantial job losses expected to result if the 
Democrats’ proposed national energy tax is enacted, 
while at the same time approving mailings submitted by 
Democratic Members informing the public about large 
numbers of new jobs the Democrats claim will be created 
by the same legislation; 
Whereas the Democratic staff director’s actions have prompt-
ed a steady stream of media reports describing a climate 
of partisan censorship imposed on the House by the 
Democratic majority; 
Whereas an article in the July 23, 2009, edition of Roll Call 
newspaper stated, ‘‘A dispute over the right of House Re-
publicans to use the chamber’s official franking service to 
send a mailer critical of Democratic health care plans has 
escalated beyond the Franking Commission to ‘high levels 
on the Democratic side,’ Franking Commission member 
Rep. Dan Lungren (R–CA) said at a Thursday press 
conference. Asked whether he believed the matter had 
been referred to Rep. Pelosis (D–CA) office, Lungren, 
the ranking member of the House Administration Com-
mittee, said, ‘All I’ve been told is that its above the 
Franking Commission and that it appears to be above 
our committee, so I don’t know where you go after 
that’.’’; 
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Whereas by permitting the Commission’s Democratic staff di-
rector to carry out her duties in a partisan and unfair 
manner, the Democratic Members of the Franking Com-
mission have brought discredit on the House; and 
Whereas clause 1 of rule XXXIII of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, also known as the Code of Official 
Conduct, provides ‘‘A Member, Delegate, Resident Com-
missioner, officer, or employee of the House shall behave 
at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on 
the House’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House views with disapproval the 
failure of the Democratic Members of the Franking Com-
mission to ensure that the Commission’s Democratic staff 
carries out its important responsibilities in a professional, 
fair, and impartial manner. 
Æ 
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