House Standing Committees’ Rules on Legislative Activities: Analysis of Rules in Effect in the 114th Congress
Released: 2016-10-11T00:00:00

Introduction

The primary legislative function of standing committees in the House of Representatives is to evaluate the thousands of bills and resolutions that Members introduce during each two-year Congress, which are normally referred upon introduction to the appropriate committee or committees. This evaluation process typically begins with an initial screening in which the majority-party committee leaders and staff, perhaps in conjunction with majority-party leadership, identify the relatively small number of measures referred to a committee that may merit more consideration. A committee or one of its subcommittees might conduct one or more days of public hearings to receive testimony on the policy issues in legislation selected for action and the merits of legislation proposed to address it.

Hearings might also be a part of a committee's oversight and investigations. The House depends on its committees to undertake oversight and investigations as another principal part of the legislative authority granted Congress under the Constitution, and to inform the House on the need and options for further legislative action.

If a committee wants to recommend that the House take action on legislation, hearings are followed by one or more markup meetings at which committee members propose and vote on amendments to a measure (or the draft of a measure). These meetings are called " markups " because committee members "mark up" the legislation before them as they debate and decide what amendments to recommend to the House. Finally, the committee votes to approve the bill or resolution with the amendments agreed to in the markup and to report the measure to the House for chamber consideration, with the recommended amendments.

This report examines in text and tables how committees implemented House rules in their individual committee rules for the 114 th Congress. The variety as well as consistency in committee rules is analyzed as these rules relate to legislative activities, principally hearings, oversight, and markups. Administrative provisions in House and committee rules are not analyzed in this report. Provisions of committee rules applicable to legislative activities are clustered by topic, rather than by House rule number.

What Rules Apply in Committees?

The rules of the House of Representatives are not consistently specific concerning the procedures that committees are to follow. There is detail in House rules on questioning of witnesses at a committee hearing, for example, but there is little guidance in House rules on the conduct of a markup. The House, however, requires its committees to adopt rules.

Rule XI, clause 2(a)(1) directs each standing committee to adopt "written rules governing its procedure." This paragraph continues: "Such rules … (B) may not be inconsistent with the Rules of the House or with those provisions of law having the force and effect of Rules of the House…." Rule XI, clause 1(a)(1)(A) in addition states: "The Rules of the House are the rules of its committees and subcommittees so far as applicable." Finally, Rule XI, clause 1(a)(1)(B) subordinates subcommittees to the committee of which they are a part: "Each subcommittee is a part of its committee and is subject to the authority and direction of that committee and to its rules, so far as applicable."

Rules of Direct Relevance to Committees

Many House rules applicable to committee procedures are contained in Rule XI, which includes at clause 3 a statement on the authority and specific procedures of the Committee on Ethics.

There are three other House rules that are specifically relevant to committees. Rule X contains the legislative and oversight jurisdiction of each standing committee, several clauses on committee procedures and operations, and a clause specifically addressing the jurisdiction and operation of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Rule XII concerns the referral of legislation and other matters. Rule XIII addresses the filing and content of committee reports, and addresses privileged reports, with individual provisions applicable to privileged reports of the Committee on Rules. (Clause 1 of this rule names the legislative calendars of the House (Union, House, Private, and Discharge Calendars), and clause 7 applies to committee reporting of resolutions of inquiry. )

This report analyzes House Rules X, XI, XII, and XIII, and relevant provisions of other House rules, such as Rule XXI, applicable to committees' legislative activities. It analyzes committees' rules for the 114 th Congress based on and implementing these House rules.

Importance of Procedure in Committee

House rules and precedents and committee rules are important to the majority and the minority, whether that is a party majority or minority or a policy majority or minority, and to committee leaders of both parties and to individual committee members. The rules allow the party majority to set committees' agendas and conduct hearings of their design, and normally allow the party majority to reach a conclusion in markup when it has the votes for its legislative policy. The rules allow the minority to present its views in hearings and markups and to seek changes in a legislative text being marked up. Adherence to established rules allows all members of a committee to understand that they have been treated fairly, and that they were able to represent their district and constituents and their political point of view, even if the positions they favored did not garner the support of a majority of the committee's members.

In addition, majority-party leaders expect their committee chairs to acquit themselves positively. Having conducted hearings and a markup with adherence to House rules and precedents and committee rules, a committee presents its leadership with a clean parliamentary record in anticipation of floor action. Alternatively, although a committee vote to report a measure largely wipes clean the parliamentary record that was created during committee consideration of a measure, decisions and rulings during the markup process could have compromised the majority-party leadership's strategy. The Rules Committee, acting at the reporting committee's or the leadership's behest, might believe it is compelled to include in a special rule waivers of rules and other provisions that could add procedural issues to the policy debate.

If a committee does not acquit itself well procedurally, it might erode the majority-party leadership's and the minority's trust in the committee's leadership. The majority-party leadership could assign leading roles on future legislation important to the majority to other committees or to the leadership itself. The minority of the committee, if it feels that it has been treated unfairly, could become intransigent and challenge procedurally future actions of the majority, both in committee and on the floor.

Committee Rules

A committee adopts its rules at its first meeting, soon after a new Congress convenes and committee members are elected. House committees are required by Rule XI, clause 2(a)(1) to adopt their own internal rules of procedure in an open committee meeting. These rules must incorporate the provisions of Rule XI, clause 2, which are numerous, "to the extent applicable." Committee rules must be published in the Congressional Record and made publicly available in electronic form not later than 30 days after the election of the committee chair at the beginning of a new Congress.

As already noted, Rule XI, clause 1(a)(1) also states: "The Rules of the House are the rules of its committees and subcommittees so far as applicable…." Committee rules generally restate the many requirements of Rule XI, but also modify or add new provisions consistent with the intent or meaning of Rule XI and other House rules. The effect of Rule XI is that committees have not only direction on hearing and markup procedure but also discretion in creating their own rules, procedures, and customary practices.

Neither House nor committee rules are self-enforcing, and it is left to each committee to enforce House rules and precedents and committee rules governing hearings and the process of debate, amendment, and reporting in a markup. A committee member must make a point of order if he or she believes that a House or committee rule is being violated.

A committee typically adopts the committee rules that were in effect in the previous Congress, with any changes agreed to being, usually, incremental. A committee's rules develop over time, fit the jurisdiction, practices, and culture of a committee, and favor the majority, leaving little reason for wholesale change, even when the House majority changes. A committee's chair might consider potential changes in light of the major policy issues the chair anticipates the committee to consider in that Congress and the political environment in which they will be debated, including the committee's party ratio and the ideological makeup of the majority-party members. A chair might also consider his or her party's leadership expectations for how committees will operate, for example, an enhanced or diminished role for subcommittees or the ability to report key legislation aligned with party political objectives. Among the aspects of committee rules that a committee member or staff member might examine to understand a committee's procedures are the following:

the role and authority of the committee's chair in scheduling meetings, referring legislation to and discharging it from subcommittees, issuing subpoenas, and taking other actions; the role and authority of the ranking minority member, for example, whether the chair may take specific actions without any involvement of the ranking minority member, after "notice" to that member, after "consultation" with that member, or with the "concurrence" of that member; the role and authority of the committee vis-à-vis the chair—whether specific actions by the committee may be taken only "by majority vote"; the role and authority of the minority party, for example, whether the presence of one or more members of the minority party will be required for a quorum for specific business; and the implementation of changes to House rules affecting committees, such as the change in the 112 th Congress (2011-2013), which required committee chairs to make available to committee members and the public at least 24 hours in advance of the markup the text of legislation to be marked up.

Subcommittees

As already noted, Rule XI, clause 1(a)(1)(B) states: "Each subcommittee is a part of its committee and is subject to the authority and direction of that committee and to its rules, so far as applicable." A number of committees repeat this provision or a variation on it in their own rules.

Some provisions of Rule XI and other rules governing committee activities apply specifically to subcommittees (e.g., subpoenas), although other provisions of these rules do not (e.g., committee reports). Subcommittees do not have the power to report legislation directly to the House without specific authority granted by the House to do so. Within the parameters of House rules, committees in their own rules may grant authority to or withhold it from their subcommittees.

Some committees' rules and practices provide extensive guidance concerning the prerogatives of subcommittees, while other committees' rules do not. Some committees grant a degree of autonomy and authority to their subcommittees, but the Committee on Small Business formally limits its subcommittees to the conduct of hearings. A rule of the Foreign Affairs Committee retains a number of legislative topics for the committee's consideration, but another rule of the committee disallows committee consideration of a matter in the absence of a subcommittee's recommendation, except in "extraordinary circumstances" to be determined by the chair in consultation with the ranking minority member. A committee's rules do not likely reflect all practices in a committee or within the committee's subcommittees.

Some committees' rules require measures referred to the committee to be referred to a subcommittee, although other committees' rules leave the decision to refer a measure to subcommittee to the committee chair's discretion (see Table 1 ). Several committees' rules state explicitly that the subcommittee service of a measure's author may not be a factor in referring a measure to a specific subcommittee.

The rules of a number of committees restrict subcommittees' scheduling. (See, below, " Scheduling Subcommittee Hearings and Meetings ," under " Scheduling Committees' Meetings and Hearings .")

A few committees provide funding or staff to subcommittees, while most committees require subcommittees to obtain funding and staff from the committee chair or ranking minority member to carry out their responsibilities. The Small Business Committee in its rules states that separate staff is not assigned to subcommittees.

Number of Subcommittees

Rule X, clause 5(d) limits most committees to 5 subcommittees. If a committee establishes an oversight subcommittee, however, the limit is increased to 6 subcommittees. This rule contains different limits for 2 committees: the Appropriations Committee may have not more than 13 subcommittees, and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee may have not more than 7 subcommittees.

Rule X, clause 2(b)(2) requires standing committees of more than 20 members, other than the Appropriations Committee, to establish an oversight subcommittee or to require its subcommittees to conduct oversight. The rule nonetheless requires any subcommittee with legislative jurisdiction to carry out oversight.

Other Committee Subunits than Subcommittees

Nine committees in their rules allow explicitly for the creation of ad hoc task forces and other committee subunits. These rules may grant or deny the subunits authority to report legislation to the full committee. Several of these rules contain detail on the creation and organization of these subunits. The Ethics Committee's rules contain special provisions applicable to investigative and adjudicatory subcommittees, reflecting ethics procedures in House rules. The Budget Committee's rules mention "task forces" in several places, but the committee does not have a rule on task forces.

Subcommittee Ratios and Ex Officio Membership

Committee rules, except Appropriations' and Ethics', name subcommittees.

Four committees have rules requiring only that subcommittee ratios reflect full committee party ratios. Five committees' rules go further and in addition list ratios for their subcommittees. Two committees have different rules on ratios: the rules of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Homeland Security Committee require subcommittees to reflect the committee party ratio but to have at least two more majority-party members than minority-party members.

House rules provide for equal party representation on the Ethics Committee; House rules also require equal representation on the committee's investigative and adjudicatory subcommittees. Ethics Committee rules require equal representation on all other subcommittees.

Under most committees' rules, the chair and ranking minority member of the full committee may serve as "regular" or "assigned" members of one or more of the committee's subcommittees. Under these rules, they may also serve as ex officio members of all other subcommittees. In their rules, committees may address whether ex officio members of subcommittees may vote, be counted when establishing a quorum, or affect the ratio of majority to minority members.

Six committees allow ex officio members to vote on matters before a subcommittee; Nine committees prohibit ex officio members from voting on subcommittees; Four committees allow ex officio members to be counted when determining a quorum; Eight committees prevent ex officio members from being counted for this purpose; Three committees count ex officio members of subcommittees when determining the ratio of majority to minority members; Three committees do not count ex officio members for this purpose; One committee does not address these matters related to ex officio subcommittee service; and Five committees did not explicitly address the issue of ex officio membership of subcommittees.

Allowing Other Committee Members to Participate

Nine committees allow other members of the committee to sit with a subcommittee on which the committee member does not serve. Six allow committee members to join subcommittee hearings and meetings; three allow committee members to join only subcommittee hearings. For hearings, these committees allow committee members to ask questions of witnesses—by committee rule, with the permission of the subcommittee by vote, with permission of the subcommittee by unanimous consent, with the agreement of the subcommittee chair in consultation with the subcommittee ranking minority member, or with the chair's permission.

Seven committees' rules proscribe committee members who are sitting with a subcommittee from voting, being counted for a quorum, or raising a point of order. Two committees' rules in addition disallow committee members from offering amendments at markups.

Temporary Assignments to Subcommittees

Under some committees' rules, committee members might also be temporarily assigned to a subcommittee. The Education and the Workforce Committee allows its chair to make temporary assignments to subcommittees for field hearings so that a quorum may be made or to allow a member not on a subcommittee to participate in a hearing. The Oversight and Government Reform Committee also allows its chair to make temporary assignments to subcommittees for field hearings so that a quorum may be made. The rule disallows a member with a temporary assignment to vote. Several committees' rules state that a subcommittee vacancy does not interrupt the work of the subcommittee. The Agriculture Committee's rules state that the committee chair may set the dates of a subcommittee's hearings and meetings during a vacancy of the subcommittee chairmanship.

Allowing Representatives Not on a Committee To Participate in a Subcommittee Hearing

Four committees have rules applicable to participation on the committee of Representatives who are not committee members. The Foreign Affairs and Veterans' Affairs Committees allow Representatives who are not committee members to sit with subcommittees at hearings by unanimous consent of the subcommittee. The Member may question witnesses after all subcommittee members have done so. The Small Business Committee requires a Representative who would like to participate in a hearing to notify the chair and ranking minority member 24 hours in advance of the hearing. The Science, Space, and Technology Committee allows Representatives not on the committee to ask questions of witnesses at hearings with the permission of the chair.

Subcommittee Reporting to Its Parent Committee

Several committees' rules contain a specific provision requiring a subcommittee chair to report promptly or to notify the committee or the committee's chair and ranking minority member of the subcommittee's action on a matter. In addition, a rule of the Agriculture Committee states that the majority staff director must notify all committee members of a subcommittee reporting. A rule of the Education and the Workforce Committee allows a majority of a subcommittee to force the subcommittee chair to file a bill or other matter favorably reported by the subcommittee.

A rule of the Homeland Security Committee treats a tie vote in subcommittee on a motion to report or forward a measure to the full committee as a vote to order a measure reported without recommendation. A rule of the Foreign Affairs Committee requires a majority of a subcommittee to be "actually present" to report a measure or recommendation to the full committee.

The Education and the Workforce Committee requires a subcommittee to provide a section-by-section analysis of a reported bill. The chair may also direct the subcommittee to provide a Ramseyer-type analysis (a comparative analysis showing proposed changes to existing law). The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's rules require, where practicable, both of these analyses to accompany a subcommittee-reported measure. The Science, Space, and Technology Committee explicitly allows the chair to direct a subcommittee on the form of a report to the committee. Several committees' rules direct subcommittees to provide the committee with records of roll-call votes and other documentation.

The Ways and Means Committee requires four analyses to accompany a measure reported by a subcommittee: a Ramseyer-type analysis, a section-by-section analysis, a section-by-section justification, and a draft statement of the measure's budget effects consistent with the requirements for committee-reported measures.

Layover Rules

In addition, some committees' rules contain a layover period before the committee may consider subcommittee recommendations. The Agriculture Committee has a two-day layover requirement that may be waived by the chair or a committee majority. The Ways and Means Committee also has a two-day layover rule, but the rule does not contain a waiver provision. The Armed Services Committee has a three-day layover that may be waived by a committee majority vote. The two-day layover rule of the Natural Resources Committee prohibits committee consideration before every committee member who requests it has a copy of the subcommittee-reported measure. The committee by majority vote may waive tis requirement.

The Education and the Workforce and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees have 48-hour layover rules that begin to toll once all committee members receive the reported measure or matter. The chair of the Transportation Committee may waive the layover rule. The Science, Space, and Technology Committee also has a 48-hour layover rule. The rule in addition requires printed hearings to be made available to committee members, although the chair in consultation with the ranking minority member may waive that provision.

Explanation of Table 1. Committee Referral of Measures or Matters to Subcommittee, House Committee Rules, 114th Congress

Table 1 compares committee rules in the 114 th Congress across the 21 standing House committees on referring measures or matters to subcommittees. Committees are listed in alphabetical order in the left column, except for the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which appears last. The first two rows of the headings contain key terms describing committees' rules, as explained immediately below. A check in a box indicates that a committee adopted a rule or a closely related variation on it. An empty box indicates that a committee did not address that subject, although a footnote may appear in an otherwise empty box to explain a committee rule different from the choices exercised by other committees. Certain checks are also footnoted to offer additional detail on a particular committee's rule. In some cases, a single footnote is used to offer additional detail on a rule that appears in more than one committee's rules.

The following list explains the headings in Table 1 :

Chair Must/May Refer to Subcommittee—indicates whether a chair must refer measures or matters to the subcommittee(s) of jurisdiction or whether the chair may decide to retain a measure or matter for consideration by the committee. Time Allowed before Referral—indicates whether committee rules require that a chair decide to refer or retain legislation within two weeks of receipt by the committee, or if the referring or retention may simply be done "expeditiously." Chair May Refer to ____ Subcommittee(s)—indicates whether committee rules explicitly grant a chair authority to refer legislation to one or more than one ("several") subcommittees; authority to refer to several subcommittees includes the authority to refer to one subcommittee. Authority to Reassign or Discharge—refers to whether authority to reassign measures or matters, or discharge a subcommittee of its consideration of a measure or matter, rests with a chair or with the majority of a committee. A check in both boxes indicates that both the chair and the committee have this authority.

Committee rules pertaining to scheduling hearings and meetings of subcommittees appear below at " Scheduling Subcommittee Hearings and Meetings ," under " Scheduling Committees' Meetings and Hearings ."

Scheduling Committees' Meetings and Hearings

Committees meet pursuant to House and individual committee rules regarding notice, the availability of documents, open-meeting requirements, and quorums (see " Quorum Requirements " below). Rule XI, clause 2(i) prohibits committees from meeting while the House and Senate are in a joint session or during a recess when a joint meeting is in progress.

Rule XI, clause 2(m)(1)(A) authorizes committees to meet and hold hearings, whether the House is in session or has recessed or adjourned, providing the meeting is in the United States. Rule XI, clause 6 allows business to be carried over to a successive session of Congress, normally to the second session from the first session.

Meeting Days

Rule XI, clause 2(b) requires standing committees to establish regular meeting days not less frequently than monthly for the consideration of committee business. Clause 2(b) also provides that a committee is to meet on its regular meeting day to consider legislation pending before the committee or for transacting other committee business if notice is given as provided in clause 2(g)(3). Nearly every committee has given the chair the authority to cancel a meeting at his or her discretion. Clause 2(c) grants the chair authority to call additional meetings, which make up the majority of committee meetings and might be held several times a month. A committee may also adopt rules pertaining to additional meetings. (See, below, " Notice and Documents .") Committees' rules implementing these House rules are analyzed in Table 2 .

Although there is no requirement that committees meet on their regular meeting day, an established day might provide a determined minority an opportunity to seek to force a meeting. Clause 2(c) also establishes a procedure by which committee members, including minority members, may request or call additional meetings. (See, below, " Members' Initiative to Meet to Consider a Measure .")

Vice Chair Presiding

Rule XI, clause 2(d) directs committee chairs to designate vice chairs of their committee and its subcommittees, and authorizes a vice chair to preside in the absence of a chair. A committee or subcommittee member appointed as a vice chair does not have to be the most senior member. In the absence of both a chair and vice chair, the ranking majority member present is authorized to preside.

Explanation of Table 2. Meetings of Committees, House Committee Rules, 114th Congress

Table 2 compares committee rules in the 114 th Congress across the 21 standing House committees for regularly scheduled meetings, scheduling additional meetings, and cancelling meetings. Committees are listed in alphabetical order in the left column, except for the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which appears last. The first three rows of the headings contain key terms describing committees' rules, as explained immediately below. A check in a box indicates that that committee adopted a rule or a closely related variation on it. An empty box indicates that a committee did not address that subject, although a footnote may appear in an otherwise empty box to explain a committee rule different from the choices exercised by other committees. Certain checks are footnoted to offer additional detail on a particular committee's rule. In some cases, a single footnote is used to offer additional detail on a rule that appears in more than one committee's rules.

The following list explains the headings in Table 2 :

Day—refers to the day of the week a committee rule establishes as the committee's regular meeting day. The numbers in the third row of the headings indicate, for example, the first Tuesday of the month, second Tuesday of the month, and so on. Committees with a check in every box for one weekday are scheduled to meet weekly. Committees' rules may formally dispense with the regular meeting if the House is not in session. Time—for committees that specify a meeting time in their rules. Additional—refers to the authority that rests with the chair in a committee's rules to call additional meetings. Cancel—refers to committee rules that allow a chair to cancel meetings at his or her discretion. The committees indicated in the second column have rules that state the chair should determine that there is no business to be considered in canceling a scheduled meeting.

Members' Initiative to Meet to Consider a Measure

If a chair has not called a meeting on a measure or matter, Rule XI, clause 2(c)(2) allows a majority of a committee's membership to convene a meeting. Under this rule, any three members of a committee in a letter to the chair may request a meeting of the committee to consider a specific measure or matter. The chair has three calendar days to call the requested meeting, which must be scheduled within seven calendar days after the request is filed. If the chair does not act, a majority of committee members may file a written notice in the committee offices ordering the meeting to occur and specifying the time of the meeting and the subject matter. If a majority files the notice, the committee clerk is then required to inform all committee members of the meeting, which will be held at the time identified in the notice.

Many committees repeat or reference this rule in their own rules.

This authority may be employed as a tactic by the minority, or by members having a minority policy viewpoint, in seeking action on a measure or matter. Such a tactic is unlikely to be successful if the chair has the backing of his or her party's members on the committee, but it might prove suasive in obtaining an assurance from the chair to schedule the desired business at a future date. A chair might also act if he or she believes that his own party's members are sympathetic to action on the subject at issue.

Notice and Documents

Rule XI, clause 2(c)(1) authorizes committees to adopt procedures for scheduling "additional and special" meetings; many committee meetings are scheduled pursuant to these committee rules. Under this authorization, committees minimally adopt "notice requirements" in their rules to inform committee members of a meeting a certain number of hours or days in advance of a meeting and of the agenda for the meeting.

In implementing House rules, committees distinguish between meetings , including markups, and hearings in their rules' notice requirements. Rule XI, clause 2(g)(3) states that "a committee meeting may not commence earlier than the third day on which members have notice thereof." This time is a minimum requirement; committees may adopt a rule requiring notice of more than three days.

Rule XI, clause 2(g)(3) also requires a committee chair to publicly announce the date, place, and subject matter of a hearing at least one week in advance of the hearing.

Pursuant to this same subparagraph (3), should a chair determine that there is "good cause" to shorten the notice for a meeting or hearing, he or she may do so either by obtaining the concurrence of the ranking minority member or by obtaining a majority vote of the committee, a quorum being present. A few committees' rules specifically allow only one of these options. A number of committees provide for waivers of their rules on distributing agendas and other documents, or alternate schedules for doing so, when notice is shortened.

A notice of a meeting or hearing is to appear "promptly" in the Daily Digest of the Congressional Record and to be published electronically.

Role of Ranking Minority Member

The notice requirement in a committee's rules might spell out a role for the ranking minority member, such as his or her concurrence in the chair's initiative or a requirement that the chair consult with or notify the ranking minority member. Committees might also allow for emergency meetings to be scheduled at the chair's discretion, such as the Rules Committee; or at the chair's initiative with the concurrence of the ranking minority member, such as the Judiciary Committee; or after the chair's consultation with or notification to the ranking minority member, such as the Veterans' Affairs Committee. Under their rules, committees by vote might also make scheduling decisions. Some committees have specific scheduling requirements applicable to their subcommittees, as discussed immediately below.

Electronic Notification

Committees have turned by practice to electronic notification in addition to or instead of written notification. Although some committees' rules do not make a distinction, committee chairs may clarify what a committee's practice will be, in the course of approval of the committee's rules or in a later committee meeting. If a committee is not of one understanding, a member could make a point of order of insufficient notice based on a violation of a committee's rules.

Notice Documents for Meetings

Committee rules might also list specific documents to be made available with the notice. For example, in order to avoid reading in its entirety a bill or resolution to be marked up, committees must supply a copy of a listed measure. With electronic notification, a committee might provide an electronic link to the measure to be marked up rather than a copy of it. Rule XI, clause 2(g)(4) specifies that the text of legislation to be marked up must be available at least 24 hours in advance of the markup and must be publicly available in electronic form. If a meeting is held sooner than 24 hours, with the concurrence of the ranking minority member or by a majority vote of the committee as provided in Rule XI, clause 2(g)(3)(B), the legislative text must accompany the announcement.

Committees have added interpretative provisions or requirements to the notice requirements of House rules. A rule of the House Administration Committee states that advance availability also applies to resolutions and regulations to be considered by the committee. A rule of the Budget Committee provides that the markup text is the chair's mark (or other material that will be considered by the committee) for a concurrent resolution on the budget. This rule also allows the chair with the concurrence of the ranking minority member to waive the 24-hour requirement for bills and resolutions.

The Appropriations Committee's notice rule requires texts, including those of reports, to be made available three days in advance, excluding weekend days and holidays unless the House is in session. The chair and ranking minority member may concur to waive this requirement.

A rule of the Homeland Security Committee requires markup texts to be made available 48 hours in advance and a substitute for an amendment in the nature of a substitute, to be available 24 hours in advance. A rule of the Veterans' Affairs Committee also requires markup texts to be made available 48 hours in advance, and requires all amendments to be provided 24 hours in advance. Amendments not so submitted are not in order, although the requirement may be waived by unanimous consent.

The Science, Space, and Technology Committee also makes markup texts available 48 hours in advance and requests that amendments be submitted to the chair and ranking minority member at least 24 hours in advance of a meeting. The rule indicates that the chair may oppose any amendment not submitted in advance.

A rule of the Judiciary Committee also requires markup texts to be made available 48 hours in advance and, by committee rule rather than practice, requests that amendments be submitted to the chair and ranking minority member at least 24 hours in advance of a meeting, to which the chair may give priority in a markup. The Education and the Workforce Committee and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee have the same rule applicable to amendments. The Education and the Workforce Committee also requires reports that will be considered to be available to committee members 48 hours in advance of a meeting.

A rule of the Small Business Committee makes the provision of markup texts 48 hours in advance a target, but indicates the committee rule is to provide the texts 24 hours in advance.

A rule of the Agriculture Committee allows chairs of the committee and its subcommittees to request amendments and motions to be submitted 24 hours in advance and asks the cooperation of members.

Rule XI, clause 1(a)(2)(A)(ii) allows a privileged, nondebatable motion in committee to dispense with the first (full) reading of a measure on the agenda if printed copies of the measure are available. Committees typically interpret the availability criterion to be met by distributing the measure (or link to the measure) with the meeting notice.

Additional Documents for Hearings

A committee might also have a rule on documents to be made available to committee members prior to a hearing. For example, a rule of the Natural Resources Committee requires that, in addition to a tentative witness list made available as soon as practicable, the majority staff make publicly available to the extent practicable a memorandum explaining the subject matter of the hearing, including relevant legislative reports and other necessary material. The rule continues that the chair make available to committee members department and agency reports on the subject matter "as they are received." The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's rule is similar.

The Small Business Committee rule requires the chair 48 hours in advance to provide a memorandum to committee members on the subject matter of the hearing and to also provide related reports from departments and agencies. These reports may be withheld by the chair in consultation with the ranking minority member. A rule of the Agriculture Committee also requires, to the extent practicable upon the announcement of a hearing, a summary of the subject matter, including legislative reports and relevant department and agency reports, to be distributed to committee members.

A rule of the Energy and Commerce Committee requires a memorandum on the purpose of a hearing and the list of witnesses be distributed to members 48 hours prior to the hearing. The Education and the Workforce and Homeland Security Committees also require their witness lists to be available 48 hours prior to a hearing. The Oversight and Government Reform Committee's rule requires a memorandum on the purpose of a hearing, a list of witnesses, and the reasons for witnesses' appearance to be distributed to committee members 3 days prior to a hearing.

A rule of the Financial Services Committee prohibits a witness list to be modified less than 24 hours before a hearing, unless the ranking minority member concurs in the change.

(See also, below, " Advance Testimony and "Truth in Testimony" " under " Hearings Procedures .")

A defective notice provides opponents with an opportunity to employ procedural roadblocks to a chair's desired action and schedule.

Scheduling Subcommittee Hearings and Meetings

Committees' rules vary greatly in how they address scheduling of subcommittees' hearings and meetings. Most committees, however, express at least a desire to avoid subcommittee hearings and meetings that conflict with the schedules of other subcommittees or, in particular, the parent committee. Some committees' rules do more than exhort subcommittees to coordinate:

six committees' rules indicate that subcommittees may not meet when the full committee is meeting; one committee's rules, those of Education and the Workforce, provide that the full committee chair designate dates on which specific subcommittees could meet; and six committees' rules require the full committee chair to approve scheduling of subcommittee meetings.

The rules of a number of committees that do not require the committee chair's approval to schedule a subcommittee hearing or meeting provide for consultation by a subcommittee chair with the committee chair before a subcommittee meeting is scheduled, and may require additional consultation as follows:

seven committees require the consultations by a subcommittee chair with the full committee chair and all subcommittee chairs; one committee, Agriculture, requires the full committee and the subcommittee chair to consult with other subcommittee chairs and relevant ranking minority members; another committee, Foreign Affairs, delegates this breadth of consultation to the subcommittee chair; one committee, Armed Services, requires a subcommittee chair to consult the committee chair, other subcommittee chairs, and the subcommittee ranking minority member; and two committees' rules require a subcommittee chair to consult with the full committee chair.

One committee's rules, those of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, require a subcommittee chair to notify the full committee chair two weeks in advance of a hearing and to provide details on witnesses. An Ethics subcommittee meets at the discretion of its chair.

Scheduling Subcommittee Field Hearings and Hearings during House Recesses or Adjournments

To schedule a field hearing, the Agriculture Committee requires a subcommittee chair to consult the committee chair, other subcommittee chairs, and the subcommittee's ranking minority member. To schedule a field hearing, or any hearing or meeting during a recess or adjournment of the House, the Education and the Workforce Committee requires the committee chair's authorization. Such subcommittee meetings are also subject to a 14-day notice rule. A subcommittee chair on the Foreign Affairs Committee must consult the subcommittee's ranking minority member to schedule a field hearing or to schedule a hearing in Washington, DC, before the first House vote or after the last House vote of the legislative week. The Small Business Committee permits subcommittees to hold field hearings, the scheduling of which is overlapping.

Open and Closed Meetings

Pursuant to Rule XI, clause 2(g)(1), committee and subcommittee meetings , including markups, must be open to the public and to media coverage. To hold an executive, or closed, markup session, a committee or subcommittee must vote in open session, with a majority present and by recorded vote, to close a meeting on "all or part of the remainder of the meeting on that day. " (Emphasis added.) A motion to close a committee meeting is not debatable. The rule states that a meeting may be closed only for one of four reasons:

"disclosure of matters to be considered would endanger national security"; "disclosure of matters to be considered … would compromise sensitive law enforcement information"; "disclosure of matters to be considered … would tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person"; or "disclosure of matters to be considered … otherwise would violate a law or rule of the House."

Rule XI, clause 2(g)(1) also lists persons permitted at an executive session as members of the committee and others "as the committee may authorize": other Members, including the Delegates and Resident Commissioner, not on the committee; congressional staff; and departmental representatives. Several committees' rules contain additional detail to this House rule; for example, the Armed Services Committee specifies staff who may attend a closed hearing or meeting.

Rule XI, clause 2(g)(2) applies the same requirements to hearings , with a different procedure applicable to the third reason listed above. First, if it is asserted by a committee member that testimony may "tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person" or by a witness that evidence may "tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate the witness," the committee by a majority vote makes a determination in executive session under Rule XI, clause 2(k)(5) of that assertion, the number of members required under committee rules for the receipt of testimony being present. If the vote determines that the testimony would tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person, the testimony must be received in executive session. If the committee determines, a majority being present, that the testimony will not tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person, then the testimony must be received in open session. (See also " Closing a Hearing Based on a Witness's Testimony ," below, under " Hearings Procedures ".)

In implementing House Rule X, cl. 11(d)(2) in its rules, the Intelligence Committee allows a vote to close a hearing so long as one member of the minority is present and votes. The committee's rules also state that briefings are closed to the public.

A Member, Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner may not be excluded from a hearing as an observer or nonparticipant unless the House by a majority vote closes one or more hearings to the membership (Rule XI, clause 2(g)(2)(C)). (See, above, " Subcommittee Ratios and Ex Officio Membership " under " Subcommittees .")

A committee by the same procedure may also vote to close a hearing for one additional day, although the Committees on Appropriations, Armed Services, and Intelligence may vote to close up to five "additional, consecutive" days of hearings.

There are generally three nondebatable motions available to close a committee's business: (1) a motion to close; (2) a motion to close pending discussion; and (3) a motion to close proceedings for an additional day.

There may be unanimity among committee members on the need for an executive session. However, tactical use could be made of any of these motions to delay proceedings, to identify differences among committee members, or for another purpose.

Rule XI, clause 2(k)(7) allows testimony received in an executive committee session to be released only by a vote of the committee, a majority being present. (See also " Record Keeping and Public Access ," below.)

Media Coverage

In response to campaigns for openness and changes in technology, House rules have been regularly amended over several decades to increase public access to hearings and meetings. Media access has been an important component of public access.

Rule XI, clause 4 regulates audio and visual coverage of open committee meetings and hearings and establishes procedures to be followed in the conduct of such coverage. Committees are directed to adopt rules implementing provisions in this clause, which most committees accomplish by referencing the clause or by duplicating it in their rules. Some features of this rule include—

radio and television recordings made under the authority of this rule provision are not to be used for partisan political campaign purposes; individuals at meetings where audio and visual coverage is allowed are to conduct themselves with "dignity, propriety, courtesy, and decorum" so as not to "distort the objects and purposes" of the meeting or to "cast discredit" on the House, committee, or members; meetings open to the public are open to audio and visual coverage; generally, not fewer than two television cameras and two still cameras must be allowed; live coverage must be presented without commercial sponsorship; television cameras may not obstruct the line of vision between any witness and any committee member; equipment may be installed only before a meeting commences and removed only after it concludes; television media may install additional lighting, but other supplemental lighting is not allowed; photographers may not occupy the space between the witness table and committee members during a meeting; media representatives must be accredited by the appropriate congressional correspondents committee; and allocation of television media positions and of photographers' positions is made in accordance with guidelines of the appropriate congressional correspondents committees.

Quorum Requirements

Committee quorum rules are most often expressed as a portion of a committee's (or subcommittee's) membership or as a specific number. A point of order would lie in committee against a committee or subcommittee proceeding in the absence of a quorum. A chair beginning or continuing a hearing, or, especially, a markup with a quorum but with a majority of minority members, could allow challenges to be mounted by the hearing's or markup's opponents. The failure of a committee to have a majority present to report a measure or matter, as required by House rule, will likely necessitate the committee reassembling with the proper quorum to vote again on the motion to report.

Meetings

Rule XI, clause 2(h)(3) sets the minimum quorum for committees (except the Appropriations, Budget, and Ways and Means Committees) to conduct business at not less than one-third of a committee's members and allows committees in their rules to set a higher quorum. Most committees have explicitly or implicitly adopted the House rule as their quorum rule for business meetings such as markups, although the Education and the Workforce Committee, Ethics Committee, and Natural Resources Committee require a majority to amend the committee's rules, and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee requires a majority for approval of five specific business items. A rule of the Natural Resources Committee contains a procedure for conducting a call of the roll when the committee needs to ascertain the presence of a quorum.

The Budget, Ethics, Rules, Veterans' Affairs, and Ways and Means Committees require a majority of their members to conduct business.

Pursuant to Rule XI, clause 2(h)(1), however, a majority of any committee must be "actually present" to report a measure or recommendation. Pursuant to Rule XI, clause 2(g)(1), a majority must also be present to close a business meeting, as explained above (see " Open and Closed Meetings "), or, pursuant to Rule XI, clause 2(k)(7), to release testimony received in executive session. Pursuant to Rule XI, clause 2(m)(3), a majority must be present to authorize and issue a subpoena, unless, as allowed by this rule, a committee has in its rules delegated this authority to its chair. (See, below, " Subpoenas .")

Hearings

All committees but one have adopted the House quorum rule of two members to take testimony and receive evidence (Rule XI, clause 2(h)(2)). The Rules Committee has a quorum requirement of five members to receive testimony on requests for special rules and three members to receive testimony on measures or matters within the original jurisdiction of the committee.

Several committees require or encourage the participation of minority-party members in achieving a quorum for a hearing. The Small Business Committees requires the presence of a minority-party member, although the requirement may be waived after a waiting period. The Ways and Means and Foreign Affairs Committees have rules that encourage the presence of minority-party members. The Intelligence Committee's rules require that at least one member present to receive testimony be a member of the majority party.

A rule of the Homeland Security Committee requires consultation between the majority and minority staff on the scheduling of meetings and hearings to "ensure that a quorum ... will include at least one Minority Member of the Committee."

Additional Observations

Quorums that are no greater than required by House rules tend to favor the majority, whose Members generally have more committee assignments than minority Members have. Such quorums also allow committees to proceed with business with less risk of being unable to assemble or keep a quorum.

Requiring or encouraging minority-member participation in a hearing favors the minority, and might be seen as contributing to comity among the membership of a committee. A refusal by any minority member of a committee to attend a hearing could also be a tactic available to the minority if it disputes the subject, witnesses, or other attributes of a hearing.

Opening Statements

Committee rules, supplemented by committee practices and ad hoc unanimous consent agreements, typically allow and regulate opening statements—short, initial statements made orally or submitted in writing by committee members on the business for which a chair has called a meeting or hearing. A committee's rules adopted at the beginning of a Congress may preclude oral opening statements or restrict them, often to oral statements made only by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee or a subcommittee. Some committees' practices also allow the relevant subcommittee chair and ranking minority member to make oral opening statements at full-committee markups, and allow a full committee's chair and ranking minority member, who serve ex officio on some or all subcommittees, to make oral opening statements at subcommittee meetings.

Rules, practices, or unanimous consent agreements normally require equivalency in treatment between the majority and minority in oral opening statements where a committee allows some discretion to a chair in permitting opening statements. By committee rule or practice or by unanimous consent, other committee members are allowed to submit opening statements in writing for the record; these statements are not read aloud.

Committee rules or practices may restrict oral opening statements to five minutes. Committees that allow more members than the chair and ranking minority member to make oral opening statements may restrict opening statements to less time, for example, three minutes or one minute, as the rules of Energy and Commerce Committee provide in certain circumstances. Committees as an alternative might also cap the total time for opening statements, as the rules of the Financial Services Committee and the Science, Space, and Technology Committee do. The Science Committee, nonetheless, makes five minutes available to the ex officio members of its subcommittees if such a member requests it.

The Education and the Workforce Committee by rule disallows oral opening statements. If, however, the chair wishes to make an oral statement, the ranking minority member is also entitled to make one. A rule of the Natural Resources Committee is similar, but extends the prerogative of an oral opening statement to the vice chair as well. If the vice chair chooses to make an oral statement, the ranking minority member may designate a minority member to also speak.

A rule of the Homeland Security Committee allows the chair with the concurrence of the ranking minority member to permit opening statements in addition to their own.

At the commencement of a hearing, a chair must announce the "subject" of a hearing (Rule XI, clause 2(k)(1)). Chairs may incorporate this requirement into their own opening statements. (See also, above, " Notice and Documents " under " Scheduling Committees' Meetings and Hearings .")

Hearings Procedures61

A standing committee is authorized in House rules to "hold such hearings as it considers necessary." (Rule XI, clause 2(m)(1)(A).) At the commencement of a hearing, a chair must announce the "subject" of the hearing (Rule XI, clause 2(k)(1)). (See also, above, " Notice and Documents " under " Scheduling Committees' Meetings and Hearings .")

Pursuant to Rule XI, clause 2(k)(4), a chair is charged with keeping order in a hearing, and empowered to punish "breaches of order and decorum." A chair's enforcement may be directed at the actions of anyone in the hearing room, including the "professional ethics" of a witness's counsel. The chair may punish breaches of order and decorum by censure and by exclusion of the individual from the hearing. The committee may cite an individual to the House for contempt. (See also, above, " Media Coverage " under " Scheduling Committees' Meetings and Hearings .")

Pursuant to Rule XI, clause 2(m)(2), the chair of a committee or a member designated by the chair may administer oaths to witnesses.

As explained above, Rule XI, clause 2(h)(2) requires a quorum of two members to receive testimony. (See " Hearings ," under " Quorum Requirements .")

Hearings rules specifically related to witnesses, including presenting testimony in executive session, are discussed below (see " Witnesses "). Additional discussion of conducting a hearing in executive session appears above (see " Open and Closed Meetings " under " Scheduling Committees' Meetings and Hearings .").

See generally the discussion above of rules applicable to meetings and hearings (" Scheduling Committees' Meetings and Hearings .")

Explanation of Table 3. Hearings, House Committee Rules, 114th Congress

Table 3 summarizes committee-by-committee several components of committees' rules in the 114 th Congress related to hearings. These components are the quorum needed for hearings, how time allocated for questioning witnesses may be extended, and the order of recognition to question witnesses—across the 21 standing House committees. Committees are listed in alphabetical order in the left column, with the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence listed last. The first four rows of the headings contain key terms describing committees' rules, as explained immediately below. A check in a box indicates that that committee adopted a rule or a closely related variation on it. An empty box indicates that a committee did not address that subject in its rules, although a footnote may appear in an otherwise empty box to explain a committee rule different from the choices exercised by other committees. Certain checks are footnoted to offer additional detail on a particular committee's rule. In some cases, a single footnote is used to offer additional detail on a rule that appears in more than one committee's rules.

The following list explains the headings in Table 3 :

Quorum (Two)—indicates that a committee has a rule requiring at least two members to be present in order to receive testimony: One Minority Member—indicates whether an "effort" must be made to have a minority member at a hearing or whether a minority member "must" be in attendance for a hearing to proceed. Extended Time to Question Witnesses—indicates how extended time for questioning witnesses may be obtained: Chair—the chair may grant a member additional time for questioning a witness: Ranking Minority Member (RMM)—the chair must "Consult" with the RMM before granting additional time for questioning witnesses or the RMM must "Concur" in the chair's request. Time—indicates the maximum amount of time that the chair may extend the questioning of witnesses: "1 Hour" or "½ Hour" for additional questioning of witnesses. Equal—indicates that committee rules state that, should extended time for questioning witnesses be granted, the time must be divided equally between the majority and minority, reflecting a provision of House rules.. Staff Questioning—some committee rules allow time for questioning of witnesses to be extended for designated staff members of each party. Order of Recognition for Questioning Witnesses—refers to how committee rules specify members will be recognized for questioning a witness: Seniority at Start—members present at the start of a hearing will be recognized in order of seniority. Arrival Order—members arriving after the start of a hearing will be recognized in order of arrival. Alternate—the chair alternates between members of the majority and minority parties when recognizing members for questioning witnesses. Consider Ratio—the chair "may" or "shall" consider the ratio of majority to minority members when recognizing members for questioning witnesses. Chair/RMM—the chair and RMM are by rule recognized to question witnesses before other members are recognized.

Witnesses

In practice, the chair of a committee (or subcommittee) determines most or all witnesses to be invited to a hearing, and issues invitations over his or her signature. The chair also plans the order of witnesses' appearance, panels, time allocations, and other matters. Under any agreement between the chair and ranking minority member on minority witnesses, the chair invites the minority's witnesses as well.

The Ways and Means Committee has a unique rule that oral and written testimony and statements will be accepted only from persons who are U.S. citizens or from entities organized under the laws of the United States (or the states or the District of Columbia), although the chair may make exceptions. In addition, the committee may accept a written statement from a non-citizen if it is submitted by written request by a Member of Congress.

Prior to a witness delivering testimony, the chair introduces the witness. A chair may also allow a committee member to briefly introduce a witness from the member's state or district.

A witness is entitled to a copy of a committee's rules upon request. A witness is entitled to be accompanied by counsel "for the purpose of [advice] concerning [his or her] constitutional rights." (Rule XI, clause 2(k)(2) and (3), respectively.) A witness may also submit a "brief and pertinent" written sworn statement for inclusion in the record. Whether to accept such a statement, and the determination of its pertinence, is within the sole discretion of the committee (clause 2(k)(8)). Finally, a witness may obtain a transcript of his or her testimony given in public session, but the witness may obtain a transcript of testimony given in executive session only "when authorized by the committee." (Rule XI, clause 2(k)(9).)

Pursuant to Rule XI, clause 2(m)(2), the chair of a committee, or a member designated by the chair, may administer oaths to witnesses.

The Committee on House Administration, in its role regulating spending by committee and Member offices, has indicated that reimbursement of travel expenses incurred by a witness is considered an "extraordinary measure" and will only be made when authorized by a committee chair. When being reimbursed by a committee, a witness travels at the government rate. If a witness resides outside of the United States, including its territories and possessions, reimbursement may be made to the witness for transportation expenses to and from the United States.

The Committee on Foreign Affairs has a rule that allows witnesses to present testimony other than in person. The rule states that, if a witness is presenting testimony other than in person, the chair of the full committee or subcommittee must notify the relevant ranking minority member no later than 48 hours beforehand. Witnesses testifying remotely may not present their testimony in an audio-only medium without concurrence of the chair and ranking minority member. The relevant chair must make reasonable efforts to verify the identity of any witness participating remotely. Another rule of the committee anticipates that some witnesses may need a translator, but the rule requires the witness to identify the translator in conjunction with the submission of advance testimony.

The chair of the Intelligence Committee has discretion under the committee's rules to withhold the name of a witness until a hearing or indefinitely.

Advance Testimony and "Truth in Testimony"

Rule XI, clause 2(g)(5) directs committees, to the extent practicable, to require witnesses to submit advance written statements of their testimony and to confine their oral presentation to a brief summary of their written testimony. Several committees in the 114 th Congress reiterated this language in their rules. Committees customarily allow witnesses five minutes to summarize their testimony. (See " Questioning Witnesses ," immediately below.)

In addition, many committees specify in their rules that testimony must be received 24 or 48 hours in advance. The Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees' rules, on the other hand, express time as "two working days," and the Financial Services and Foreign Affairs Committees provide for "two business days." The Appropriations Committee's rules are silent on this matter.

The Financial Services specifically requires a witness who wishes to present information in an electronic format to transmit the information one business day prior to a hearing.

Some committees specifically authorize the chair, the chair after consultation with the ranking minority member, or the committee by majority vote to waive advance testimony requirements. Some committees provide waivers of various rules when there is less notice than one week.

Most committees require that witnesses submit a sufficient number of copies of their advance statements for committee members, and some committees require electronic files to be submitted as well. Some committees set a goal or target for distribution of advance testimony to committee or subcommittee members, typically 24 hours in advance of a hearing.

Pursuant to clause 2(g)(5), under a provision applicable to a witness who is not a government employee, a witness must submit a curriculum vitae and a disclosure of "any Federal grants or contracts, or contracts or payments originating with a foreign government, received during the current calendar year or either of the two previous calendar years by the witness or by an entity represented by the witness and related to the subject matter of the hearing." House rules require that these witness disclosures, popularly known as "truth in testimony," be made available in electronic form "not later than one day after the witness appears" before a committee. A witness's private information is to be redacted from publication.

While a number of committees state in their rules that advance statements and truth-in-testimony information "shall" be submitted, seven committees further indicate that failing to comply with submission deadlines could or would result in a witness being denied the opportunity to testify. The Homeland Security and Ways and Means Committees' rules state that failure to comply with advance testimony requirements could result in a witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person. The Homeland Security Committee's rules state that the failure could result in the witness's written statement being excluded from the hearing record.

The Natural Resources Committee's rules indicate that failure to comply with the truth-in-testimony requirement could result in disallowing either oral testimony or written testimony or both. A rule of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee could result in disallowing oral or written testimony or both for failure to submit advance testimony. The Small Business Committee's rules indicate that failure to comply with either requirement could result in disallowing oral or written testimony or both.

The Armed Services Committee allows a chair, with the concurrence of the appropriate ranking minority member, to exclude a witness if the witness's testimony has not been timely submitted. A rule of the Foreign Affairs Committee allows a witness who is not a federal official to seek waiver of advance submission of testimony through a written explanation. In the absence of the explanation, the witness is "released" from testifying unless a majority of the committee votes to accept the witness's testimony.

Questioning Witnesses

Rule XI, clause 2(j)(2) provides a principal and two alternative committee procedures for questioning witnesses. The principal procedure is to allow each committee member five minutes to question a witness or panel of witnesses until each member has had five minutes' time for questioning. Under this paragraph, a committee may also adopt a rule or motion that allows a specified number of committee members longer than five minutes to question a witness, with time allocated equally between the majority and minority and not in total to exceed an hour. This paragraph also allows committees to adopt a rule or motion permitting committee staff to question a witness, with time allocated equally between the majority and minority and not in total to exceed an hour. This additional time for questioning by committee members or staff is referred to as "extended questioning" or "extended time for questioning."

Committees also use unanimous consent to achieve additional variations on how members or staff question witnesses. In addition, a committee member, once recognized, might also yield to another committee member to allow that individual to jump ahead of other members in asking questions or to have more than one opportunity to question a witness or panel of witnesses.

In practice, witnesses make brief oral statements—customarily five minutes—prior to questioning. These oral statements are intended to provide a summary of their written statements. Most committees provide for this practice in their rules.

All committees have explicitly or implicitly adopted the House rule allowing committee members five minutes each to question witnesses, and nearly all committees with a rule include the provision that five minutes for each member is allowed until all members have had one opportunity to question witnesses. While in practice many committees do not limit the chair and ranking minority member to five minutes for questioning witnesses, only the Armed Services Committee explicitly exempts these committee leaders from the time limit.

Subsequent Rounds of Questioning and Extended Questioning

Committee rules on subsequent rounds of questioning and on extended times for questioning vary. The rules for the Agriculture, Armed Services, and Foreign Affairs Committees describe additional rounds of questioning. The Agriculture Committee's rules state that the chair of the committee or a subcommittee may allow for additional rounds after giving consideration to the importance of the subject matter and the length of time available. The rules for the Armed Services Committee give the chair of the committee or subcommittee discretion over additional rounds of questioning. The rules of the Foreign Affairs Committee suggest that rounds of questioning continue.

With regard to extended time for questioning witnesses, committees' rules allow the chair to consult with the ranking minority member to permit a period of extended questioning for members or for staff, or require the chair to obtain the concurrence of the ranking minority member, or permit the committee by motion to make a decision on extended questioning. A number of committees include two or more of these options in their rules. A few committees in their rules reference the House rule, and a few committees' rules make no provision for extended questioning of witnesses.

Recognition to Question Witnesses

The order in which committee members are recognized to speak is addressed in many committees' rules. Ten committees explicitly give precedence to chairs and ranking minority members. Seven committees' rules require recognition by seniority of the members present when the chair convenes a hearing. Nine committees' rules base their recognition after a hearing commences on order of arrival.

Ten committees' rules explicitly require that the chair to alternate recognition to question witnesses between the majority and minority, but some of these same committees' and other committees' rules require the chair to take into consideration the ratio of majority to minority members in recognizing members. Most of these rules state or suggest that the chair should consider the majority-minority ratio on the committee in order to not disadvantage the majority.

New committee members on a large committee can be advantaged or disadvantaged by committee recognition rules.

Questions for the Record

At hearings, committee members may ask permission to submit questions for the record to one or more witnesses, or the chair may make an announcement concerning questions for the record. A rule of the Energy and Commerce Committee provides a process for questions for the record for all hearings. A provision in the rule requires members to submit questions to the committee chair within 10 business days. The rule of the Homeland Security also requires questions for the record to be submitted in 10 business days. A rule of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee limits committee members to two weeks from the date of a hearing to submit questions for the record. A rule of the Natural Resources Committee requires materials submitted for inclusion in a hearing record to address the hearing's subject matter and to be submitted to the clerk within ten business days of the last hearing day.

Minority Witnesses

Rule XI, clause 2(j)(1) provides the minority a right to call witnesses of its own choosing. If a committee has held a hearing, a majority of minority committee members may request of a chair, before completion of the hearing, a day of committee hearings to call their witnesses to receive testimony on the same subject matter. The chair must comply with the request, but he or she is not constrained in setting the day or time of the hearing. Nearly all committees repeat this House rule in their own rules.

In practice, a committee majority and minority normally negotiate to include minority witnesses as individual witnesses or on panels, obviating the minority's need to resort to their right under House rules. The majority and minority normally find cooperation to be beneficial to each side. The majority through cooperation can prevent its schedule from being changed. The minority normally finds it preferable to have its perspective represented at a regularly scheduled hearing than clustered at a perhaps inconvenient time and to be able to present another perspective to contrast with those of majority witnesses. When the House and the presidency are controlled by different parties, a committee majority sometimes seeks to count administration witnesses as minority witnesses, which the minority resists.

Closing a Hearing Based on a Witness's Testimony

Rule XI, clause 2(g)(2) applies the same requirements on open and closed committee sessions to hearings as it applies to committee business meetings (discussed above at " Open and Closed Meetings " under " Scheduling Committees' Meetings and Hearings "), with a difference concerning testimony that might defame a person: If it is asserted by a committee member that testimony may "tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person " (emphasis added) or by a witness that evidence may "tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate the witness " (emphasis added), the committee makes a determination in executive session under Rule XI, clause 2(k)(5) of that assertion by a majority vote, the number of members required under committee rules for the receipt of testimony being present. If the vote determines that the testimony would tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person, the testimony must be received in executive session. If the committee determines, a majority being present, that the testimony will not tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person, then the testimony must be received in open session.

Clause 2(k)(5) also requires that a committee allow a witness to voluntarily appear, and that a committee must receive and dispose of requests from a witness to subpoena additional witnesses.

Clause 2(k)(7) protects testimony received in executive session. Only by a vote of the committee, a majority being present, may such testimony be released to the public. A witness may also submit a "brief and pertinent" written sworn statement for inclusion in the record. Whether to accept such a statement, and the determination of its pertinence, is within the sole discretion of the committee (clause 2(k)(8)).

Subpoenas

Rule XI, clause 2(m)(1) and (3) authorizes committees and subcommittees to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents. Clause 2(m)(3) requires authorization by a committee or subcommittee, "a majority being present." (See also " Meetings " under " Quorum Requirements ", above.) Unless otherwise provided in their rules, a quorum of one-third is required to debate a subpoena, under Rule XI, clause 2(h)(3).

Rule XI, clause 2(m)(3) also allows committees to adopt rules to delegate the authorization and issuance of subpoenas to a committee's chair "under such rules and under such limitations as the committee may prescribe." Many committees in their rules have delegated authority to issue subpoenas to their chair, but have imposed requirements for consultation or notification on chairs that vary from committee to committee. This same subparagraph requires subpoenas to be signed by the chair or a member designated by the committee.

Rule XI, clause 2(m)(3)(B) allows a committee or subcommittee to designate another return than at a meeting or hearing. Clause 2(m)(3)(C) allows enforcement of a subpoena only as authorized or directed by the House.

If a committee meets to consider a subpoena, it meets in a markup session, and members may offer amendments and motions, make points of order, and engage the procedures and procedural strategy that could occur in a markup of legislation. The House Office of General Counsel maintains standard forms related to subpoenas to assist committees, although some committees, such as Oversight and Government Reform, have long experience with subpoenaing witnesses and documents from federal government officials and agencies and from outside of government.

Explanation of Table 4. Authorizing Subpoenas, House Committee Rules, 114th Congress

Table 4 compares committee rules in the 114 th Congress on whose authority a subpoena may be authorized and issued and on notifying all members of a committee that a subpoena has been issued. Committees are listed in alphabetical order in the left column, with the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence appearing last. The first three rows of the headings contain key terms describing committees' rules, as explained immediately below. A check in a box indicates that that committee adopted a rule or a closely related variation on it. An empty box indicates that a committee did not address that subject, although a footnote may appear in an otherwise empty box to explain a committee rule different from the choices exercised by other committees. Certain checks are footnoted to offer additional detail on a particular committee's rule. In some cases, a single footnote is used to offer additional detail on a rule that appears in more than one committee's rules.

The following list explains the headings in Table 4 :

Committee/Subcommittee by Majority Vote—a committee or subcommittee may issue a subpoena by a majority vote. Chair—indicates under what conditions a chair may issue a subpoena: On Own Initiative—a chair may use his or her discretion in authorizing subpoenas, subject to any conditions in the committee's rules. Ranking Minority Member—indicates the role of a ranking minority member in allowing the chair to issue a subpoena: Concurs—the ranking minority member must concur with the chair before a subpoena is issued. Consulted—the chair must consult with the ranking minority member before issuing the subpoena. Three Days—a chair may issue a subpoena only when the House has adjourned for more than three days. Notification to Committee (as soon as practicable)—a chair shall notify the committee as soon as practicable that a subpoena has been issued.

Oversight

Committees have both legislative and oversight jurisdiction. The former refers to the authority of a committee to report legislation on subject matter. The latter refers to the authority to conduct oversight on subject matter. Although oversight jurisdiction may be the product of a specific legislative enactment, it also accrues where committees have responsibilities for broad subject areas. Hence, overlaps in oversight jurisdiction among committees are more likely to occur than overlaps in legislative jurisdiction.

Authority

Rule X, clauses 2 and 3 assign oversight responsibilities to standing committees, and clause 4 assigns "additional functions" to four committees. Clause 2 requires committees on a "continuing basis" to study and review the execution of laws, departmental and agency organization, conditions that might necessitate "new or additional legislation," and "future research and forecasting." Clause 2(c) specifically allows committees to study the potential impact of tax policies on subjects within their jurisdiction.

Clause 3 assigns "special" oversight functions to committees, generally clarifying that the identified committees' oversight (not legislative) jurisdiction extends to broad subject matter that is not specifically named in their jurisdictional statements in Rule X, clause 1. Thirteen committees are named. For example, the Committee on Natural Resources is given a special oversight function for "laws, programs, and Government activities relating to Native Americans."

Clause 4 assigns "additional functions" to four standing committees: Appropriations, Budget, Oversight and Government Reform, and House Administration. These additional functions include directives or authority, or both, not granted elsewhere in House rules. For example, the House Administration Committee is directed to provide policy direction to the House inspector general; to conduct oversight of House officers (the clerk, sergeant-at-arms, chief administrative officer, and inspector general); to conduct oversight of the services provided to the House by the Architect of the Capitol (except those within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure); to accept gifts in behalf of the House, subject to named conditions, and to promulgate regulations for this activity; and to establish standards for making House and committee documents available in electronic formats. The chair and ranking minority member of the committee are also under this clause given authority to approve or disapprove proposed settlements by employing offices of the House under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995.

Clause 4 also directs every standing committee to study appropriations made for programs and activities of the federal and District of Columbia governments. The stated purpose of this activity is to ensure appropriations are made annually and consistent with program objectives. In instances where no appropriation is made, a committee is to determine whether program changes are suggested.

Rule XI, clause 1(b) authorizes committees to conduct "investigations and studies" at any time. Rule X, clause 4(c)(3) provides deposition authority to the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Other committees generally receive authority to conduct depositions through resolutions or another means. The 114 th Congress rules package, H.Res. 5 , provided deposition authority for the first session of the Congress to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Financial Services, Science, Space, and Technology, and Ways and Means.

Rule XI, clause 2(n), (o), and (p) contain additional oversight directives to committees. Clause 2(n) directs each standing committee, or a subcommittee of a committee, to hold a hearing within each 120 days (or three times a year) on "waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement" in federal programs authorized by a committee, specifically on the "most egregious instances" as documented by a department or agency inspector general or the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Clause 2(o) requires at least one hearing in a session of Congress by a committee or one of its subcommittees when a committee receives from an agency auditor "disclaimers of agency financial statements" of an agency within its jurisdiction. Clause 2(p) requires at least one hearing by a committee or one of its subcommittees when GAO has identified a federal program within the committee's jurisdiction as at high risk for waste, fraud, or mismanagement.

Organization, Planning, and Subsequent Reporting

Rule X, clause 2(b)(2) requires standing committees of more than 20 members, other than the Appropriations Committee, to establish an oversight subcommittee or to require its subcommittees to conduct oversight.

Each standing committee is also directed by February 15 of the first session of a Congress to adopt an oversight plan for that Congress, meeting in open session with a quorum present. Clause 2 details attributes of oversight plans. Once adopted, oversight plans are submitted to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on House Administration. The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is directed to consult the Speaker, majority leader, and minority leader before reporting committees' oversight plans to the House, with any recommendations by the Oversight and Government Reform Committee or the House leadership "to ensure the most effective coordination of oversight plans and otherwise to achieve the objectives of this clause."

Rule XIII, clause 3(c)(1) requires committees to include oversight findings and recommendations in reports on legislation.

Rule XI, clause(1)(d) requires each committee, by January 2 of odd-numbered years, to file with the House a so-called activities report for the preceding two-year Congress. This rule also authorizes the chair of a committee to file an activities report after the sine die adjournment of Congress, or after December 15, whichever occurs first, without the committee's approval, provided that the report was available to committee members for at least seven calendar days, and it includes any committee member's supplemental, minority, additional, or dissenting views.

The activities to be reported are those undertaken by the committee, with legislative and oversight activities appearing in separate sections. The requirements for the oversight section attempt to provide a measure of accountability by requiring a committee to summarize its oversight plan and additional oversight activities, and to summarize actions and recommendations made pursuant to the plan and the additional activities. This section must also list hearings held pursuant to the directives in Rule XI, clause (2)(n), (o), and (p), as explained just above (see " Authority ").

Committee Procedure for Oversight Reports

Rule XI, clause 1(b) contains four procedures applicable to oversight and investigative reports. First, it allows such a report to be considered as read if it has been available to committee members for 24 hours or longer, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays if the House was not in session. In this circumstance, such a report would not have to be read for a committee to consider it. Second, such a report conducted by more than one committee may be filed jointly with the House so long as each committee individually complied with requirements for approving and filing the report. Third, such a report may be filed with the clerk of the House after the sine die adjournment of a session of Congress. Fourth, a committee filing a report after the sine die adjournment of a session of Congress must have allowed committee members, who gave timely notice, seven calendar days (rather than the otherwise required two calendar days) to file supplemental, minority, additional, or dissenting views to be included in the report. (See also, below, " Party and Staff Reports " under " Committee Records .")

Referral of Legislation

Jurisdiction

Committee jurisdiction is determined by a variety of factors. Paramount is Rule X, which lists the subject matter within the jurisdictional purview of each standing committee. These jurisdictional statements, however, are very broadly worded and are the product of an era in which governmental activity was not so extensive and relationships among policies not so intertwined as now. Most of Rule X was drawn from 19 th and early 20 th century precedents and codified in the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946. Although the rule underwent modest revisions in 1974 and 1980, as well as more extensive changes in the 104 th and 109 th Congresses, topic omissions and a lack of clarity, as well as overlaps among committees in areas of jurisdiction, still exist. Accordingly, the formal provisions of Rule X are supplemented by an intricate series of precedents and informal agreements governing the referral of legislation.

In general, based on precedent, once a measure has been referred to a given committee, it is within the jurisdiction of that committee, and the committee is responsible for any subsequent legislative action on it. If the measure is enacted into law, amendments to the law are presumed to be within the originating committee's jurisdiction. Relatedly, bills that are more comprehensive than the measure they amend or supersede are presumed to be within the jurisdiction of the committee reporting the more comprehensive measure. The resultant accretion of subject responsibility may broaden the range and scope of jurisdictional subjects assigned to each committee.

Formal agreements, drafted among committees to stipulate their understanding of jurisdictional boundaries, are also used. House parliamentarians, in advising the Speaker, have generally considered agreements as authoritative when drafted with the assent of the Speaker and the guidance of the Office of the Parliamentarian and when they are signed by the chairs of the relevant committees of jurisdiction.

Legislative jurisdiction may generate conflict between committees. Committees carefully monitor legislative referrals and committee reports to ascertain any encroachment on their jurisdiction. A committee might seek a referral whenever it believes a new measure or a reported measure has provisions that fall within its jurisdiction or seek the removal of offending provisions from a measure under another committee's consideration. Committees might also formally waive a referral with the understanding that the waiver does not detract from their jurisdiction or from the committees' participation in later congressional action, such as a conference committee.

Referral

The Speaker refers legislation and other matters to committees pursuant to authority granted in Rule XII. The House might also by resolution or motion refer legislation or other matters, but referrals are made almost exclusively by the Speaker. Pursuant to Rule XII, clause 2, the Speaker—

refers legislation and other matters pursuant to the jurisdictional statements of Rule X and House precedents; refers a piece of legislation or other matter to all committees with jurisdiction over one or more provisions of the legislation or matter so that to the "maximum extent feasible" each committee may consider provisions within its jurisdiction; designates a committee of primary jurisdiction, unless "extraordinary circumstances justify" two or more committees acting as though primary; may refer a measure or matter sequentially to additional committees when it is introduced ("additional initial referral") or when it has been reported ("sequential referral"); may refer portions of a measure or matter to additional individual committees ("split referral"); may refer to an ad hoc committee approved by the House; may refer with time limits; and may "make such other provision as may be considered appropriate."

When a measure is introduced and referred to more than one committee, the referral language often includes the phrases "in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned" and "for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker." The former phrase places provisions of a measure that are clearly outside a committee's jurisdiction outside the committee's ability to report the measure with amendments to those provisions; a point of order could lie against amendments recommended by a committee to provisions outside its jurisdiction.

The latter phrase allows the Speaker at a later time to impose time limits on any or all of the committees that received a referral. In some instances, when the committee of primary jurisdiction has reported, the Speaker has discharged all other committees that received a referral. In other instances, the Speaker, at the time the committee of primary jurisdiction reported, has imposed a time limit on the other committees that received a referral. For example, when the Committee on Agriculture reported H.R. 1947 in the 113 th Congress on May 29, 2013, the Speaker sequentially referred the legislation to the Committees on Foreign Affairs and on the Judiciary and imposed a time limitation of June 7, 2013, on their consideration. He later extended the time for their consideration to June 10. The Committee of the Judiciary reported the measure, while the Committee on Foreign Affairs was discharged from further consideration of the measure.

As an example of a House referral decision , the House on June 19, 2002 (107 th Congress), agreed to H.Res. 449 , creating a Select Committee on Homeland Security. The resolution authorized the Speaker to refer a bill—creating a homeland security department to be introduced by the majority leader—to committees of the House; subject to any time limitation imposed by the Speaker, the resolution directed these committees to report their recommendations to the select committee. The select committee was directed to report legislation to the House. When the majority leader introduced H.R. 5005 on June 24, 2002, it was referred to 12 committees for a period set by the Speaker as not later than July 12.

The other clauses of Rule XII proscribe the introduction of measures for certain purposes; govern the introduction or referral of petitions, memorials, private bills, and executive communications; and regulate the sponsorship of legislation.

Committees operate within the Speaker's, or House's, referral decisions as well as House rules.

House Rules and Committee Markups

House rules contain few rules on committee markups and do not state which of the chamber's rules are applicable to committees and their subcommittees in markups. House rules contain different sets of procedures that the House uses under different circumstances to consider various bills and resolutions. It would be not be possible for all of these procedures to be applicable to committees or applicable at the same time. It would also not be possible for committees to adopt rules that avoid inconsistency with all House procedures.

The House parliamentarian, however, has provided important guidance relevant to committee markups in the parliamentarian's notes to Section XXX of Jefferson's Manual: "The procedures applicable in the House as in the Committee of the Whole generally apply to proceedings in committees of the House of Representatives.... " The phrase "House as in the Committee of the Whole" refers to a distinctive set of procedures that the House may, but rarely does, use to consider measures. These procedures are not listed in the House's rules; rather, they are a matter of well-established precedent. For example, the motion for the previous question is available in the House and in the House as in the Committee of the Whole, although it is not available in the Committee of the Whole. As the phrase suggests, the procedures applicable in the House as in the Committee of the Whole combine elements of the procedures that apply in the House and those that are followed in Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union (the Committee of the Whole).

Although no House rule specifically requires committees to follow these procedures in marking up legislation, committees typically do follow them—unless a committee agrees by unanimous consent to diverge from these procedures. To the extent feasible or applicable, House rules and precedents on reading measures, amending, voting, and other aspects of legislative procedures, including the authority of the presiding officer, are employed in committee and subcommittee markups.

There are in addition some well-established procedures in committees that differ from the procedures of the House as in the Committee of the Whole. For example, in the House as in the Committee of the Whole, a measure is considered as read and open to amendment at any point. However, the same parliamentarian's notes that indicate that the procedures of the House as in Committee of the Whole "generally apply" in committee proceedings also state, "except that a measure considered in committee must be read (by section) for amendment…."

Based on the parliamentarian's guidance and House rules, the key procedures applicable to House committees in the markup process are then as follows:

First Reading. A measure is first read in full. Pursuant to Rule XI, clause 1(a)(2), this first reading may be waived by a privileged, nondebatable motion, if printed copies of the measure are available. Reading Sections (or Paragraphs) of a Measure. A section (or paragraph) of a measure must be read verbatim before committee members offer amendments to it. This reading may be waived only by unanimous consent. Reading a Measure for Amendment. A measure must be read for amendment one section (or, if so organized, one paragraph) at a time, unless the committee agrees by unanimous consent to another reading procedure. Members offer their amendments to each section of a measure after that section has been read and before the next section is read. A committee may consider a measure as open for amendment in another way (e.g., by title or at any point or by use of an amendment roster) only by unanimous consent. Reading Amendments. Each amendment must be read before debate on it begins. Reading of an amendment may be waived only by unanimous consent. Debate. All debate on amendments and the legislative vehicle is conducted under the five-minute rule. The chair normally entertains parliamentary inquiries and debate on points of order at his or her discretion. Discussion under reservations of the right to object to a unanimous consent request is by practice normally brief, but is not limited by the five-minute rule. Motion to Limit or Close Debate. A committee member may move to limit or close debate on a pending section (and all amendments thereto) or on a pending amendment (and all amendments thereto). This motion may provide that debate end immediately, at a certain time, or after a specified number of minutes or hours. A motion is not in order to close debate on an entire measure if any portion of the measure has not yet been read. Previous Question. A nondebatable motion to close debate does precisely that: it stops the debate. It does not prevent committee members from offering additional amendments. To end debate and preclude further amendments, a member may move the previous question on a pending amendment and all amendments thereto. A member may also move the previous question on an entire measure (and all amendments thereto) only after the measure has been read in full. Vote to Report. After a committee disposes of the last amendment to a measure, it votes on a motion to report the measure, together with any amendments the committee has agreed to. The committee does not vote on passing the measure, and amendments agreed to are not changes to the measure but recommendations to the House for change. A majority of a committee must be "actually present" to vote to report a measure.

Additional sections, above, of this report also explain the conduct of committee markups. Regarding scheduling, see " Notice and Documents " and " Scheduling Subcommittee Hearings and Meetings ." Concerning markups being conducted as open meetings, see " Open and Closed Meetings " and " Media Coverage ." Regarding quorums, see " Meetings " under " Quorum Requirements ." See also, below, " Reports "

Motions

Three motions specific to committees are authorized in Rule XI.

Rule XI, clause 1(a)(2) provides a privileged motion to recess, either recessing subject to a call of the chair within a 24-hour period or recessing day to day. The motion to recess is not debatable.

Pursuant to Rule XI, clause 1(a)(2), the first reading of a measure may be waived at a markup by a privileged, nondebatable motion, if printed copies of the measure are available.

Rule XI, clause 2(a)(3) allows committees to adopt a rule to direct the committee's chair to offer a motion in the House under Rule XXII, clause 1 whenever the chair considers it appropriate. Such a rule provides authority for a chair at his or her discretion to initiate a request for or to agree to conference with the Senate in lieu of a specific committee authorization to a chair required by Rule XXII, clause 1. Otherwise, Rule XXII, clause 1 allows the Speaker to recognize the chair of the "primary committee" to make a motion to disagree to Senate amendments to a House proposition and to request or agree to a conference or to make a motion to insist on House amendments to a Senate proposition and to request or agree to conference.

Numerous other motions and requests, based on House rules or precedents applicable to the House as in the Committee of the Whole, are available in committees. A chair and individual members might also ask for unanimous consent to take procedural actions that violate a rule or precedent; individual members might pose parliamentary inquiries to a chair; and individual members might reserve or make points of order. Motions and requests can be used to facilitate committee action, to reach agreement, or to impede or delay committee action.

Recess

Rule XI, clause 1(a)(2) establishes a privileged motion to recess a committee (or subcommittee) subject to the call of the chair within a 24-hour period, or to recess day to day. This motion is not debatable.

Voting

Obtaining a Record Vote

Rule XX, clause 1(b) states that a recorded vote in the House, when requested by a Member, will be taken if one-fifth of a quorum supports the request. There is not a specific House rule applicable to obtaining a vote in committee. Rule XI, clause 2(h)(1) states, however, that committees may not report any measure or recommendation unless a majority of the committee is actually present.

As shown in Table 5 , sixteen committees specify the procedures to obtain a recorded vote in their rules. The Ethics Committee's rules address recorded votes. Four committees do not have a rule on obtaining a recorded vote: Homeland Security, Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Intelligence. These committees may follow the House rule, requiring a quorum to be present and the support of one-fifth of the members to obtain a recorded vote; may allow an individual member to call for a roll-call vote; or may follow another practice.

Proxy Voting

Proxy voting in committees is prohibited by Rule XI, clause 2(f).

Postponing Votes

Rule XI, clause 2(h)(4) authorizes each committee to adopt a rule to allow its chair to postpone proceedings to take a recorded vote on an amendment or approval of a measure and to permit a chair to resume proceedings after notice. This rule also provides that such a committee rule must allow the underlying proposition to be subject to further debate or amendment to the same extent as when the question was postponed. All but three committees (Budget, Ethics, and Rules) have adopted a rule allowing votes to be postponed, as shown in Table 5 . Some committees' rules provide a role for the ranking minority member in the decision to postpone votes.

In practice, most committees postpone votes to allow members to vote on the House floor or, for the convenience of members, to cluster votes in committee on amendments. Because floor votes are often clustered and might therefore consume much more time than the 15 minutes that a single vote could minimally take, committee chairs typically announce when proceedings will resume in committee after chamber votes, for example, 10 minutes following the conclusion of the last floor vote. A quorum must be reestablished when the committee reconvenes.

A chair might postpone votes as a tactical move so that he or she can assemble a majority of votes on the side of the proposition that the chair is supporting. It could be that the chair wishes to persuade additional committee members, to await the attendance of committee members not currently available, or to negotiate a compromise with an amendment's sponsor.

A determined minority might take tactical advantage of a recess to allow committee members to vote on the floor by not returning to committee in a timely fashion, requiring additional time for a quorum to be assembled and thereby delaying the resumption of business. They might also try to build support for their position in the interim.

Record Keeping

Rule XI, clause 2(e)(1) requires committees to keep a record of all roll-call votes, as detailed in this paragraph. With exceptions, these records must be available for inspection by Members, staff, and the general public in the committee offices. In addition, committee votes must be posted electronically within 48 hours. The text of any amendment agreed to in committee must be posted electronically within 24 hours of its adoption (Rule XI, clause 2(e)(6)). One committee in its rules (Armed Services) provides a means for members to explain their absence from a roll-call vote. (See also, above, " Subcommittee Reporting to Its Parent Committee " under " Subcommittees .")

Explanation of Table 5. Record Vote Procedures in Committees, House Committee Rules, 114th Congress

Table 5 compares committee rules in the 114 th Congress on calling for a record vote and on delaying further proceedings once a record vote has been demanded. Committees are listed in alphabetical order in the left column, with the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence appearing last. The first three rows of the headings contain key terms describing committees' rules, as explained immediately below. A check in a box indicates that that committee adopted a rule or a closely related variation on it. An empty box indicates that a committee did not address that subject, although a footnote may appear in an otherwise empty box to explain a committee rule different from the choices exercised by other committees. Certain checks are footnoted to offer additional detail on a particular committee's rule. In some cases, a single footnote is used to offer additional detail on a rule that appears in more than one committee's rules.

The following list explains the headings in Table 5 :

Record Vote—indicates under what circumstances a recorded vote may be obtained: One-fifth of the Members Present—if one-fifth of the members present request a recorded vote, assuming a quorum. Upon Request of 3 or More Members—if 3 or more members request a recorded vote. Upon Request from Any Member—if any member requests a recorded vote. Any Member in the Absence of a Quorum—if it is determined that there is not a quorum present, then one member may request a recorded vote. Postponing Further Proceedings—indicates under what circumstances further proceedings may be postponed if a record vote is requested: Chair—the chair may postpone further proceedings in the event a recorded vote is requested: On Own Initiative—Discretion resides with the chair. Ranking Minority Member Consultation—the chair must consult with the ranking minority member before postponing further proceedings in the event of a record vote. Ranking Minority Member Concurs—the chair must obtain the concurrence of the ranking minority member before postponing further proceeds in the event of a record vote. No Rule—the committee does not specify a rule on this issue.

Reports

The word "report" has several meanings in Congress. The chair of a committee or subcommittee or the presiding officer in the House or the Committee of the Whole might direct a clerk to report a measure or amendment. Depending on the parliamentary circumstances, the clerk is being directed to read the title or text of a measure or to read or designate an amendment.

At the conclusion of a committee markup, a committee member typically makes a motion to report the marked-up measure to the parent chamber. Assuming that a majority is "actually present" to vote on this motion, as required by Rule XI, clause 2(h)(1), and that the motion is agreed to, the chair must promptly report the measure to the House by submitting it to the Clerk of the House for printing and reference to the appropriate calendar. (See the explanation of filing adverse reports and of filing reports on privileged legislation below, " Filing .")

"Report" may also be a noun. When a committee approves a motion to report, it normally writes a report explaining the measure and advocating its passage by the House with any amendment(s) recommended by the committee. (What immediately follow are the requirements in House rules for the content of a House committee report.) Report is also used to designate a committee document submitted to the House on a committee investigation, study, or other activity.

Contents

Rule XIII, clause 3 delineates many, but not all, requirements for the content of committee reports. Clause 3 requires a report to be filed as a single volume, allowing a supplemental report only for the correction of a technical error in the main volume. Highlights of the content requirements include—

record votes on amendments and the motion to report; oversight findings (see, above, " Organization, Planning, and Subsequent Reporting "); new budget authority in spending bills; a cost estimate; performance goals and objectives; changes to existing law, the so-called Ramseyer rule; a list of unauthorized appropriations in a report on a general appropriation bill; and in measures reported by the Committee on Ways and Means, a tax complexity analysis of amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and an analysis of the budgetary effects of major legislation, as defined in the House rules.

A report on a special rule by the Rules Committee "shall to the maximum extent possible specify ... any waiver of a point of order against the measure or against its consideration." (Rule XIII, clause 6(g).) A committee rule paraphrases this provision. Practice, however, has not been to use specific waivers, but rather so-called blanket waivers to protect a measure against possible points of order.

Supplemental, Minority, Additional, and Dissenting Views

Rule XI, clause 2(l) allows any committee member to file supplemental, minority, additional, or dissenting views for inclusion in a committee report accompanying legislation reported to the House, provided that the views are filed "not less than two additional calendar days after the day of such notice (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays except when the House is in session on such a day)." Most committees explicitly or tacitly follow the House rule of two calendar days.

Rule XIII, clause 3(a)(1) requires committee reports to be filed as a single volume and to include supplemental, minority, additional, and dissenting views that are timely submitted. The cover must show that these views are included. Rule XIII, clause 2(c) also requires supplemental, minority, additional, and dissenting views that are timely filed to be printed as part of a committee's report. A committee may arrange to file its report with the clerk not more than one hour after time has expired, or earlier if all views have been received. This subparagraph also allows a committee to file a report if a request to file views is not timely made.

In practice, committees interpret differently the two days in the House rule. A committee might interpret two days as 48 hours from the time of a vote to order a measure reported or from the conclusion of the markup meeting, or might even interpret the first day as the day on which the vote occurred to order a measure reported. A committee might interpret two days to commence at midnight the day of the vote to order the reporting of a measure and count the second day as ending a midnight of that day or during business hours of that day. Potential later questions can be resolved if committee members discuss their committee's interpretation of the House and any related committee rule at the committee organization meeting.

Supplemental, minority, additional, and dissenting views may foreshadow arguments and amendments in the Rules Committee and on the House floor.

Restrictions on Reported Measures

In addition to requirements and restrictions on reports and reported measures already described, such as the requirement that a majority be actually present to report a measure or that a committee report be published as one volume, other restrictions appear in several places in House rules on what measures committees may report. For example, the Committee on Rules is prohibited from reporting a special rule preventing a motion to recommit, with or without instructions, from being made for a bill or joint resolution. This motion by tradition is a right of the House minority. (Rule XIII, clause 6(c).)

The House is also prohibited from considering a special rule waiving the rule requiring the disclosure of earmarks in bills, joint resolutions, committee amendments, and conference reports. The House, however, may dispose of a point of order that a special rule waives the disclosure requirement on a question of consideration. (Rule XXI, clause 9.) (The earmark disclosure rule is discussed below in this section.)

Rule XXI contains a number of restrictions on reported measures applicable to tax, appropriations, and budget measures.

With regard to tax or tariff measures and amendments, no committee may report a bill or joint resolution containing a tax or tariff unless the committee has jurisdiction to do so. Likewise, an amendment in the House or proposed by the Senate containing a tax or tariff is not in order when the House is considering a bill or joint resolution reported by a committee without jurisdiction over the tax or tariff. A point of order lies against the bill, joint resolution, or amendment while the measure is open for amendment. This rule protects the jurisdiction of the Ways and Means Committee. (Rule XXI, clause 5(a).)

The House may also not consider a bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report carrying a "retroactive Federal income tax rate increase." (Rule XXI, clause 5(c).)

Another clause of Rule XXI protects the jurisdiction of the Appropriations Committee. Clause 4 provides that a committee may not report a bill or joint resolution carrying an appropriation unless the committee has jurisdiction to report appropriations. Likewise, an amendment providing an appropriation to a bill or joint resolution reported by a committee, which is without jurisdiction to report appropriations, is not in order. A point of order lies against the bill, joint resolution, or amendment while the measure is open for amendment.

While a general appropriations bill and, after September 15, a continuing appropriations resolution may be called up by a privileged motion, an appropriation bill today is typically considered pursuant to a special rule. A special rule may be used to waive various points of order that would lie against an appropriations bill under Rule XXI, clauses 2 and 3. The restrictions in clause 2 disallow the Appropriations Committee from reporting measures, with limited exceptions, containing unauthorized appropriations or changing existing law. Other restrictions on bills and amendments appear in clause 2. The restriction in clause 3 prohibits the House from considering a general appropriation bill or joint resolution, or conference report on these measures, that provides spending from the Highway Trust Fund or reduces or limits balances accruing in the Highway Trust Fund, except for activities authorized for highways and mass transit.

Rule XXI also contains restrictions on various budgetary measures. Clause 7, for example, disallows the House from considering a concurrent resolution on the budget, an amendment to it, or a conference report on it, that contains reconciliation directives that would result in an increase in net direct spending. Direct spending is defined to include mandatory spending and changes in mandatory spending included in appropriations acts. Similarly, clause 10 disallows the House from considering bills, joint resolutions, amendments, or conference reports on bills and joint resolutions that have the net effect of increasing mandatory spending, including changes in mandatory spending included in appropriations acts, over 5-year and 10-year budget windows.

Rule XXI also disallows the consideration of legislation where earmarks have not been disclosed and of certain public works. Rule XXI, clause 9 disallows the House from considering a bill or joint resolution, whether or not reported from committee; a committee amendment; or a conference report—unless the report on a reported measure, the joint explanatory statement accompanying a conference report, or a list provided for an unreported measure or a committee amendment lists the earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits that the proposition contains and the sponsor of each, or carries a statement that the proposition contains no earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits. An additional requirement applies to the joint explanatory statement accompanying a conference report on a general appropriations bill: it must disclose any earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits included that had not been submitted to conference by either house. (The restriction on special rules was described above in this section.)

Rule XXI, clause 6 disallows the House from considering a bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report that designates or redesignates a public work in honor of a sitting Member of Congress.

Filing

Rule XIII, clause 2(b) requires a committee chair to "promptly" report a measure or matter approved by a committee and to "take steps necessary to bring the measure or matter to a vote." This paragraph also requires a report to be filed within seven calendar days, excepting days when the House is not in session, of the day that a majority of committee members file a written request with the committee clerk for filing of the report.

Rule XIII, clause 2(a) provides that committee reports are to be delivered to the clerk and referred to the appropriate calendar as directed by the Speaker. A report made adversely is laid on the table unless the committee requests its referral to the appropriate calendar or unless, within three days, any Member, Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner requests its referral to the appropriate calendar. (See also " Committee Procedure for Oversight Reports ," above.)

Privileged reports are listed in Rule XIII, clause 5, which identifies five committees and the specific matters they might report that are eligible under this clause. Unlike nonprivileged reports, privileged reports are filed from the floor and referred to the appropriate calendar.

If a resolution of inquiry has not been reported from the committee to which it was referred, a privileged motion to discharge the committee is available 14 days after the referral (see Rule XIII, clause 7.)

Availability

Rule XIII, clause 4(a) disallows the House from considering in the House a measure or matter reported by a committee until the third calendar day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays unless the House was in session) on which a report was available. In addition, this paragraph exempts five kinds of measures from the rule:

a resolution providing a rule, joint rule, or order of business reported by the Rules Committee; a committee funding resolution reported by the House Administration Committee; a question of the privileges of the House reported by any committee; a declaration of war or national emergency; and a measure disapproving of a government agency's decision or action that would be effective unless disapproved by one or both houses of Congress.

This layover requirement does not apply to a supplemental committee report to correct record votes (Rule XIII, clause 3(a)(2)).

A one-day layover rule applies to reports of the Rules Committee (Rule XIII, clause 6), although this layover may be waived by a two-thirds vote of members. The layover also does not apply during the last three days of a session or in two limited instances under Rule XXII pertaining to reaching agreement with the Senate. Other paragraphs of Rule XIII, clause 6 address additional aspects of the consideration of resolutions reported by the Rules Committee.

A measure to be called up under the suspension of the rules procedure might have been reported by a committee, might have been ordered reported by a committee, or might have another status in the legislative process. Since the motion is to "suspend the rules and pass" the measure, House rules are waived by the motion. Both parties have guidelines that the party leadership may follow in deciding whether to schedule a measure for House consideration by suspension of the rules.

Committee Records

Record Keeping and Public Access

Rule XI, clause 2(e)(1) requires committees to keep records of all committee actions, including "substantially verbatim" accounts of hearings and meetings, including markups, and a record of all roll-call votes. With exceptions, these records must be available for inspection by Members, staff, and the general public in committee offices. A committee's records must be kept by the committee, separately from the office records of the committee's chair. Public availability does not necessarily allow a person reviewing a record to photocopy it or make notes.

The House requires its committees to post a markup text not less than 24 hours in advance of a markup meeting (Rule XI, clause 2(g)(4)). Rule XI, clause 2(e)(5) requires committees, to the "maximum extent practicable," to provide audio and video coverage of each hearing or meeting in a way that allows for easy public viewing or hearing and then to maintain those recordings so that they are readily accessible to the public.

Committees are required to post electronically votes taken in a markup (within 48 hours) and amendments adopted (with 24 hours) (Rule XI, clause 2(e)(1)(b) and (6), respectively). Witnesses' "truth-in-testimony" filings are to be posted electronically within one day of a witness's appearance (Rule XI, clause 2(g)(5)).

Pursuant to Rule VII, each committee chair is responsible for transferring noncurrent records of the committee to the Clerk of the House, who is then responsible for transmitting those records to the National Archives. Committees are directed in Rule XI, clause 2(e)(3) to adopt in their rules "standards for availability" of committee records delivered to the National Archives, addressing specified policies. Rule VII contains additional provisions on the availability of records, including committee records, and assigns regulatory authority on implementation to Rule VII to the Committee on House Administration (Rule VII, clause 5(b)).

A number of committees have rules on access to or protection of classified, sensitive, or confidential information.

Publication

Pursuant to Rule XI, clause 1(c), committees are authorized to print hearings. Clause 2(e)(4) states that committee publications must be made available in electronic form "to the maximum extent feasible."

Rule XIII, clause 4(b) directs a committee that reports a measure or matter to make "every reasonable effort" to have its hearings printed and available before the measure or matter is considered by the House.

Party and Staff Reports

Committees might publish reports that have not been approved by a majority vote of the members of a committee. As a result, a report might be issued without the knowledge of certain members of the committee, perhaps minority members. In response to this possibility, some committees have added provisions to their rules that attempt to alleviate their committee members' concerns. Committees' responses may generally be characterized in two ways:

Disclaimer—the committee requires that any report not approved by a majority vote of the committee carry a disclaimer on its cover explaining that the report was not adopted by that committee and may not necessarily reflect the views of its members; or Individual Views—members would be afforded the opportunity to add their views to the report.

Six have rules requiring a disclaimer, and six committees allow individual views. A committee might also proscribe by rule the printing of a report not approved by a majority of a committee, as is the case with the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Additional Duties

Rule X, clause 4(f) requires each standing committee to submit to the Budget Committee its views and estimates six weeks after the President transmits the executive budget to Congress. This clause also requires the Ways and Means Committee, after undertaking public hearings, to recommend in its submission an "appropriate level" of public debt to be included in the concurrent resolution on the budget.

A rule of the Budget Committee governs information the committee provides to the Speaker in fulfillment of its duties under the Congressional Budget Act to inform floor debate on measures with a budgetary effect. This information is contained in the Parliamentarian's Status Report and the Section 302 Status Report. Another rule provides the committee chair with the opportunity to consult committee members on recommendations to the Rules Committee on waivers of Budget Act points of order. Modifications to the Budget Committee's reports and roles are regularly included as separate orders in the biennial rules packages.

Rule X, clause 6 governs aspects of committee expense resolutions reported by the House Administration Committee. Rule XI, clause 1(b)(1) allows committees to conduct "investigations and studies" subject to any expense resolution adopted pursuant to Rule X, clause 6.