Title: A resolution relative to Senate procedure in the 117th Congress.
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
This resolution establishes certain procedures for the Senate during the 117th Congress.
Specifically, the resolution requires that the committees of the Senate, including joint committees and special committees, be equally composed of members of both parties. The budgets and office space for these committees must also be equal. These ratios shall remain in effect for the duration of the 117th Congress unless a party attains a majority of the whole number of Senators, at which time the ratios must be adjusted to reflect the ratio of the parties in the Senate.
Further, the resolution establishes procedures for discharging committees and subcommittees from further consideration of items that have not been reported due to a tie vote, and it prohibits a cloture motion from being filed on an amendable item of business during its first 12 hours of debate.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 27 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 27

          Relative to Senate procedure in the 117th Congress.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 3, 2021

 Mr. Schumer submitted the following resolution; which was considered 
                             and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
          Relative to Senate procedure in the 117th Congress.

    Resolved,
    Section 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, or any other provision of the Standing 
Rules or Standing Orders of the Senate--
            (1) the committees of the Senate, including joint 
        committees and special committees, for the 117th Congress shall 
        be composed equally of members of both parties, to be appointed 
        at a later time by the two Leaders;
            (2) the budgets and office space for such committees, and 
        all other subgroups, shall likewise be equal, with up to an 
        additional 10 percent to be allocated for administrative 
        expenses to be determined by the Committee on Rules and 
        Administration, with the total administrative expenses 
        allocation for all committees not to exceed historic levels; 
        and
            (3) the Chairman of a full committee may discharge a 
        subcommittee of any Legislative or Executive Calendar item 
        which has not been reported because of a tie vote and place it 
        on the full committee's agenda.
    Sec. 2.  The committee ratios under section 1 shall remain in 
effect for the remainder of the 117th Congress, except that if at any 
time during the 117th Congress either party attains a majority of the 
whole number of Senators, then each committee ratio shall be adjusted 
to reflect the ratio of the parties in the Senate, and the provisions 
of this resolution shall have no further effect, except that the 
members who were first appointed by the two Leaders to such committees 
in the 117th Congress, pursuant to the authority in this resolution, 
shall no longer be members of the committees, and the committee 
chairmanships shall be held by the party which has attained a majority 
of the whole number of Senators.
    Sec. 3.  Pursuant to the provisions and exceptions described in 
sections 1 and 2, the following additional Standing Orders of the 
Senate shall be in effect for the 117th Congress:
            (1) If a committee has not reported out a measure or matter 
        because of a tie vote, then--
                    (A) the Chairman of the committee shall transmit a 
                notice of a tie vote to the Secretary of the Senate and 
                such notice shall be printed in the Record; and
                    (B) after such notice of a tie vote has been 
                transmitted, the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader 
                may, only after consultation with the Chairman and 
                Ranking Member of the committee, make a motion to 
                discharge such measure or matter, and time for debate 
                on such motion shall be limited to 4 hours, to be 
                equally divided between the two Leaders or their 
                designees, with no other motions, points of order, or 
                amendments in order:  Provided, That following the use 
                or yielding back of time, the Senate vote on the motion 
                to discharge, without any intervening action, motion, 
                or debate, and if agreed to, the measure or matter be 
                placed immediately on the appropriate Calendar.
            (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII of the 
        Standing Rules of the Senate, to ensure that any cloture motion 
        shall be offered for the purpose of bringing to a close debate, 
        in no case shall it be in order for any cloture motion to be 
        presented on an amendable item during its first 12 hours of 
        Senate debate:  Provided, That all other provisions of rule 
        XXII remain in status quo.
    Sec. 4.  It is the sense of the Senate that both Leaders shall seek 
to attain an equal balance of the interests of the two parties when 
scheduling and debating legislative and executive business generally, 
and in keeping with the present Senate precedents, a motion to proceed 
to any Legislative or Executive Calendar item shall continue to be 
considered the prerogative of the Majority Leader, although the 
Standing Rules of the Senate do not prohibit the right of the 
Republican Leader, or any other Senator, to move to proceed to any 
item.
                                 <all>