I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2635
To establish a temporary commission to recommend reforms in the laws
relating to elections for Congress.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 14, 1995
Mr. WHITE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Oversight, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
A BILL
To establish a temporary commission to recommend reforms
in the laws relating to elections for Congress.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Elections Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) for Congress to address the existing prob-
lems in the Federal election laws, Congress must act
in a nonpartisan manner and engage in a debate
based on academic studies and empirical findings in-
stead of partisan rhetoric;
(2) when addressing Federal election laws, Con-
gress must be cognizant of the freedoms of speech
and association protected under the Constitution;
and
(3) the current Federal election laws unduly
favor incumbent Members of Congress, and, in pre-
vious years, Congress has not been able to eliminate
this bias when addressing the reform of the Federal
election laws.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE OF COMMISSION.
There is established a commission to be known as the
‘‘Fair Elections Commission’’ (hereinafter in this Act re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). The purposes of the Com-
mission are to study the laws relating to elections for Con-
gress and to report and recommend legislation to reform
those laws.
SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.
(a) APPOINTMENT.—The Commission shall be com-
posed of 12 members appointed within 15 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act by the President, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from
among individuals who are not incumbent Members of
Congress and who are specially qualified to serve on the
Commission by reason of education, training, or experi-
ence. In making appointments, the President shall con-
sult—
(1) the Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives with respect to the appointment of 3 members,
one of whom is not affiliated with either the Repub-
lican Party or the Democratic Party;
(2) the majority leader of the Senate with re-
spect to the appointment of 3 members, one of
whom is not affiliated with either the Republican
Party or the Democratic Party;
(3) the minority leader of the House of Rep-
resentatives with respect to the appointment of 2
members, one of whom is not affiliated with either
the Republican Party or the Democratic Party; and
(4) the minority leader of the Senate with re-
spect to the appointment of 2 members, one of
whom is not affiliated with either the Republican
Party or the Democratic Party.
(b) CHAIRMAN.—At the time of the appointment, the
President shall designate one member of the Commission
as Chairman of the Commission. The Chairman may not
be affiliated with either the Republican Party or the
Democratic Party.
forming provisions) recommended by the Commission to
reform the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2
U.S.C. 431 et seq.) and any other laws relating to elec-
tions for Congress.
SEC. 7. PRIMARY OBJECTIVES OF THE COMMISSION.
In formulating its draft of legislation under section
6, the Commission shall consider the following to be its
primary objectives:
(1) Encouraging fair and open Congressional
elections that provide voters with meaningful infor-
mation about candidates and issues.
(2) Eliminating the disproportionate influence
of special interest financing of Congressional elec-
tions.
(3) Creating a system in which incumbent
Members of Congress do not possess an inherent ad-
vantage over challengers.
SEC. 8. FAST-TRACK PROCEDURES.
(a) RULES OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND
SENATE.—This section is enacted by the Congress—
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of
the House of Representatives and the Senate, re-
spectively, and as such they shall be considered as
part of the rules of each House, respectively, or of
that House to which they specifically apply, and
such rules shall supersede other rules only to the ex-
tent that they are inconsistent therewith; and
(2) with full recognition of the constitutional
right of either House to change the rules (so far as
relating to such House) at any time, in the same
manner and to the same extent as in the case of any
other rule of that House.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term
‘‘Federal election bill’’ means only a bill of either House
of Congress which is introduced as provided in subsection
(c) to carry out the recommendations of the Commission
as set forth in the draft of legislation referred to in section
6.
(c) INTRODUCTION AND REFERRAL.—Within 3 days
after the Commission submits its draft legislation under
section 6, a Federal election bill shall be introduced (by
request) in the House by the majority leader of the House
and shall be introduced (by request) in the Senate by the
majority leader of the Senate. Such bills shall be referred
to the appropriate committees.
(d) AMENDMENTS PROHIBITED.—No amendment to
a Federal election bill shall be in order in either the House
of Representatives or the Senate; and no motion to sus-
pend the application of this subsection shall be in order
in either House; nor shall it be in order in either House
to entertain a request to suspend the application of this
subsection by unanimous consent.
(e) PERIOD FOR COMMITTEE AND FLOOR CONSIDER-
ATION.—
(1) If the committee of either House to which
a Federal election bill has been referred has not re-
ported it at the close of the 20th day after its intro-
duction, such committee shall be automatically dis-
charged from further consideration of the bill and it
shall be placed on the appropriate calendar. If prior
to the passage by one House of a Federal election
bill of that House, that House receives the same
Federal election bill from the other House, then—
(A) the procedure in that House shall be
the same as if no Federal election bill had been
received from the other House; but
(B) the vote on final passage shall be on
the Federal election bill of the other House.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), in comput-
ing a number of days in either House, there shall be
excluded the days on which that House is not in ses-
sion because of an adjournment of more than 3 days
to a day certain or an adjournment of the Congress
sine die.
(f) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN THE HOUSE.—
(1) A motion in the House of Representatives
to proceed to the consideration of a Federal election
bill shall be highly privileged except that a motion to
proceed to consider may only be made on the second
legislative day after the calendar day on which the
Member making the motion announces to the House
his intention to do so. The motion to proceed to con-
sider is not debatable. An amendment to the motion
shall not be in order, nor shall it be in order to move
to reconsider the vote by which the motion is agreed
to or disagreed to.
(2) Consideration of a Federal election bill in
the House of Representatives shall be in the House
with debate limited to not more than 10 hours,
which shall be divided equally between those favoring
and those opposing the bill. The previous question
on the Federal election bill shall be considered as or-
dered to final passage without intervening motion. It
shall not be in order to move to reconsider the vote
by which a Federal election bill is agreed to or dis-
agreed to.
(3) All appeals from the decisions of the Chair
relating to the application of the Rules of the House
of Representatives to the procedure relating to a
Federal election bill shall be decided without debate.
(g) FLOOR CONSIDERATION IN THE SENATE.—
(1) A motion in the Senate to proceed to the
consideration of a Federal election bill shall be privi-
leged and not debatable. An amendment to the mo-
tion shall not be in order, nor shall it be in order
to move to reconsider the vote by which the motion
is agreed to or disagreed to.
(2) Debate in the Senate on a Federal election
bill, and all debatable motions and appeals in con-
nection therewith, shall be limited to not more than
10 hours. The time shall be equally divided between,
and controlled by, the majority leader and the mi-
nority leader or their designees.
(3) Debate in the Senate on any debatable mo-
tion or appeal in connection with a Federal election
bill shall be limited to not more than 1 hour, to be
equally divided between, and controlled by, the
mover and the manager of the bill, except that in
the event the manager of the bill is in favor of any
such motion or appeal, the time in opposition there-
to, shall be controlled by the minority leader or his
designee. Such leaders, or either of them, may, from
time under their control on the passage of a Federal
election bill, allot additional time to any Senator
during the consideration of any debatable motion or
appeal.
(4) A motion in the Senate to further limit de-
bate is not debatable. A motion to recommit a Fed-
eral election bill is not in order.
SEC. 9. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.
(a) PAY AND TRAVEL EXPENSES OF MEMBERS.—(1)
Each member of the Commission, other than the Chair-
man, shall be paid at a rate equal to the daily equivalent
of the annual rate of basic pay payable for level IV of
the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5,
United States Code, for each day (including travel time)
during which the member is engaged in the actual per-
formance of duties vested in the Commission. The Chair-
man shall be paid for each day referred to in the preceding
sentence at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the an-
nual rate of basic pay payable for level III of the Executive
Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States
Code.
(2) Members of the Commission shall receive travel
expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in ac-
cordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United
States Code.
(b) STAFF DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall, with-
out regard to section 5311(b) of title 5, United States