Evening star., 1954-05-27
Senate e-House Group
Offers Fair Play Code
For Probe Procedure
By ]. A. oIenn

House members joined today in
sponsoring a new code of fair
play in the conduct of congress
Sional Investigations.
The sponsors said they were
prompted by growing awareness
in and out of Congress of abuses
that have seriously damaged the
prestige and legitimacy of con-
gresSional Investigations"
They also pointed out that ex-
panded coverage of hearings by
newspaper, radio and television
has made millions of citizens
familiar with "the dilatory, time
wasting and improper procedures
followed in many committee in
vestigations.
Under present practice, each
committee and subcommittee
makes its own rules, and some
committees have no rules, they
said.
Self Regulatory Panel.
A feature of the new proposal
S'is its enforcement machinery.
Each branch of Congress would
( have a panel of five members,
including the presiding officer,
(which would receive complaints
from aggrieved individuals and
make recommendations for cor
rective action.
The code would consist of six
rules to govern the organization
of committees, and five rules de-
@fining the rights of witnesses.
The provisions covering COM
mittee organization follow:
/. Approval of full committee
required for appointment of in
veStigating subcommittee with
less than three members.
2. Selection of. investigating
committee staff subject to ap-
proval of the majority of the
committee members.
3. Written notice required 16
hours before a committee meet
ing, unless waived by majority.
4. The resolution setting forth.
the scope of an investigation
would have to be specific and
could be amended only by a ma
ssjority vote.
5. Any proposed committe re-
port would have to be submitted
to all members "a hours before
it's consideration.
6. Testimony taken in execu-
tive sessions could not be re-
leased by members of the staff
without prior authorization by a
majority.
Witness Protection.
The rules to protect witnesses
follow:
/. Witnesses would have to be
given "a hours notice of the sub
ject matter on which they are to
be interrogated.
2. Every witness would have
the right to make an oral state
ment or submit sworn state
ment for inclusion in the record.
5. Release of statements or
material adversely affecting an
individual by a member or staff
employe would be prohibited, un-
less there has been prior or SIM
ultaneous release of rebuttal
statement.
4. Persons adversely affected
by testimony taken in public
hearings would have the right
to cross-examine witnesses in
public hearings be represented
by counsel and subpoena wit
nesses and documents on their
behalf at the discretion of the
committee.
5. Persons adversely affected
by the release of testimony
taken in executive sessions
would have the same rights as
if the testimony had been taken
in public hearings.
The plan is to be submitted
separately in the two Houses.
The sponsors in the Senate are
Senators Kefauver, Lehman,
Douglas, Anderson, Humphrey,
Hill, Mansfield, Green, Gillette,
Chavez, Hunt, Murray, Neely,
Magnuson, Gore, Hennings,
Sparkman and Pastore, all
Democrats, and Morse, Inde-
pendent of Oregon.
In the House the sponsors are
Representatives Celler of New
York, Roosevelt of New York,
Yates of Illinois, Howell of New
Jersey. Rhodes of Pennsylvania
.sand Evins of Tennessee, all
Democrats.
Senate Republican Leader
KnoWland predicted recently
that the rules governing COM
mittee procedure will be over
hauled early in the new Con-
greSS.