[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 659 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 659

   Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to protect the 
                     integrity of the institution.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 31, 2006

 Mr. Obey (for himself, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Price of North 
   Carolina, Mr. Allen, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Baca, Mr. 
 Baird, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Barrow, Mr. Becerra, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Berman, 
  Mr. Berry, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Boswell, Mr. 
 Boren, Mr. Boyd, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Butterfield, Mrs. Capps, Mr. 
 Cardoza, Ms. Carson, Mr. Case, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Cooper, 
Mr. Costello, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Davis of Alabama, Mr. Davis of Illinois, 
 Mrs. Davis of California, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Delahunt, Ms. 
DeLauro, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Doggett, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Etheridge, Mr. Evans, 
   Mr. Farr, Mr. Filner, Mr. Ford, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. 
Gordon, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Harman, Mr. Hastings 
 of Florida, Ms. Herseth, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. 
 Holt, Mr. Honda, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Israel, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. 
 Jackson-Lee of Texas, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. Kaptur, 
 Mr. Kennedy of Rhode Island, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Langevin, 
 Mr. Lantos, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Ms. 
  Lee, Mr. Levin, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Markey, Mr. 
  Marshall, Ms. Matsui, Mrs. McCarthy, Ms. McCollum of Minnesota, Mr. 
  McDermott, Mr. McGovern, Mr. McIntyre, Mr. Meehan, Mr. Michaud, Mr. 
    Miller of North Carolina, Mr. George Miller of California, Ms. 
 Millender-McDonald, Mr. Moore of Kansas, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. 
Moran of Virginia, Mr. Nadler, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Norton, Mr. Olver, 
   Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Owens, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. 
 Rangel, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Ross, Mr. Rothman, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Ryan 
 of Ohio, Mr. Salazar, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of California, Ms. Loretta 
    Sanchez of California, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Ms. 
  Schakowsky, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Skelton, Mr. 
    Snyder, Ms. Solis, Mr. Spratt, Mr. Strickland, Mr. Stupak, Mrs. 
    Tauscher, Mr. Taylor of Mississippi, Mr. Tierney, Mr. Udall of 
 Colorado, Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. 
 Watson, Mr. Watt, Mr. Waxman, Ms. Woolsey, and Mr. Wu) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules, and 
 in addition to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to protect the 
                     integrity of the institution.

    Resolved,

SECTION 1. LIMITING INFLUENCE BY LOBBYISTS.

    (a) Requirements for Accepting Payment of Travel Expenses.--Clause 
5 of rule XXV of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (e) and (f) as paragraphs 
        (f) and (g); and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (d) the following new 
        paragraph:
    ``(e) Before a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or 
employee of the House may accept transportation or lodging or 
reimbursement for such expenses which are otherwise permitted to be 
accepted or reimbursed under this clause, the Member, Delegate, 
Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee (as the case may be) shall 
obtain a written certification from the sponsoring organization or 
person stating that--
            ``(1) no registered lobbyist has been invited to 
        participate in the transportation, lodging, or any associated 
        meetings;
            ``(2) the organization or person conducts no lobbying 
        activities as defined in section 501 of the Internal Revenue 
        Code of 1986;
            ``(3) the organization or person neither employs nor 
        contracts for the services of a registered lobbyist nor is 
        affiliated with an organization that employs or contracts for 
        the services of a registered lobbyist; and
            ``(4) no part of the trip is financed by a corporation or 
        person, unless the trip is financed by contributions that are 
        deductible under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the 
        source of all such contributions are disclosed in the written 
        certification.
Each such certification shall be signed by the individual receiving it 
and filed with the Clerk who shall make such signed certification 
available to the public in a timely manner.''.
    (b) Floor Privileges of Former Members and Heads of Departments.--
            (1) Clause 4(a) of rule IV of the Rules of the House of 
        Representatives is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (1);
                    (B) by striking the period and inserting ``; and'' 
                at the end of subparagraph (2); and
                    (C) by inserting at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
            ``(3) they sign a declaration each time they are admitted 
        to the Hall of the House or the rooms leading thereto, to be 
        maintained by the Sergeant-at-Arms, stating that the conditions 
        set forth in subparagraphs (1) and (2) are true and also that 
        they will not lobby for the passage, amendment, or defeat of 
        any legislative measure pending before the House, reported by a 
        committee, or under consideration in any of its committees or 
        subcommittees.''.
            (2) Clauses 2(a)(12) and (14) of rule IV of the Rules of 
        the House of Representatives are each amended by inserting 
        ``(subject to clause (4)'' before the period.

SEC. 2. FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY.

    (a) Reconciliation.--Clause 10 of rule XVIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph:
    ``(d) It shall not be in order to consider any reconciliation 
legislation which has the net effect of reducing the surplus or 
increasing the deficit compared to the most recent Congressional Budget 
Office estimate for any fiscal year.''.
    (b) Application of Points of Order Under Congressional Budget Act 
to All Bills and Joint Resolutions Considered Under Special Orders of 
Business.--Rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is 
amended by adding at the end the following new clause:
    ``7. For purposes of applying section 315 of the Congressional 
Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the term `as reported' 
under such section shall be considered to include any bill or joint 
resolution considered in the House pursuant to a special order of 
business.''.

SEC. 3. CURBING ABUSES OF POWER.

    (a) Limit on Time Permitted for Recorded Electronic Votes.--Clause 
2(a) of rule XX of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended 
by inserting after the second sentence the following sentence: ``The 
maximum time for a record vote by electronic device shall be 20 
minutes, except that the time may be extended with the consent of both 
the majority and minority floor managers of the legislation involved or 
both the majority leader and the minority leader.''.
    (b) Congressional Integrity.--Rule XXIII of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives (the Code of Official Conduct) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating clause 14 as clause 16; and
            (2) by inserting after clause 13 the following new clauses:
    ``14. A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner shall not 
condition the inclusion of language to provide funding for a district-
oriented earmark, a particular project which will be carried out in a 
Member's congressional district, or a limited tax benefit in any bill 
or joint resolution (or an accompanying report thereof) or in any 
conference report on a bill or joint resolution (including an 
accompanying joint statement of managers thereto) on any vote cast by 
the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner in whose Congressional 
district the project will be carried out.
    ``15. (a) A Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner who 
advocates to include a district-oriented earmark in any bill or joint 
resolution (or an accompanying report) or in any conference report on a 
bill or joint resolution (including an accompanying joint statement of 
managers thereto) shall disclose in writing to the chairman and ranking 
member of the relevant committee (and in the case of the Committee on 
Appropriations to the chairman and ranking member of the full committee 
and of the relevant subcommittee)--
            ``(1) the name of the Member, Delegate, or Resident 
        Commissioner;
            ``(2) the name and address of the intended recipient of 
        such earmark;
            ``(3) the purpose of such earmark; and
            ``(4) whether the Member, Delegate, or Resident 
        Commissioner has a financial interest in such earmark.
    ``(b) Each committee shall make available to the general public the 
information transmitted to the committee under paragraph (a) for any 
earmark included in any measure reported by the committee or conference 
report filed by the chairman of the committee or any subcommittee 
thereof.
    ``(c) The Joint Committee on Taxation shall review any revenue 
measure or any reconciliation bill or joint resolution which includes 
revenue provisions before it is reported by a committee and before it 
is filed by a committee of conference of the two Houses, and shall 
identify whether such bill or joint resolution contains any limited tax 
benefits. The Joint Committee on Taxation shall prepare a statement 
identifying any such limited tax benefits, stating who the 
beneficiaries are of such benefits, and any substantially similar 
introduced measures and the sponsors of such measures. Any such 
statement shall be made available to the general public by the Joint 
Committee on Taxation.''.
    (c) Restrictions on Reporting Certain Rules.--Clause 6(c) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (1);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (2) 
        and inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
            ``(3) a rule or order for consideration of a bill or joint 
        resolution reported by a committee that makes in order as 
        original text for purposes of amendment, text which differs 
        from such bill or joint resolution as recommended by such 
        committee to be amended unless the rule or order also makes in 
        order as preferential a motion to amend that is neither 
        divisible nor amendable but, if adopted will be considered 
        original text for purposes of amendment, if requested by the 
        chairman or ranking minority member of the reporting committee, 
        and such rule or order shall waive all necessary points of 
        order against that amendment only if it restores all or part of 
        the text of the bill or joint resolution as recommended by such 
        committee or strikes some or all of the original text inserted 
        by the Committee on Rules that was not contained in the 
        recommended version;
            ``(4) a rule or order that waives any points of order 
        against consideration of a bill or joint resolution, against 
        provisions in the measure, or against consideration of 
        amendments recommended by the reporting committee unless the 
        rule or order makes in order and waives the same points of 
        order against one germane amendment if requested by the 
        minority leader or a designee;
            ``(5) a rule or order that waives clause 10(d) of rule 
        XVIII, unless the majority leader and minority leader each 
        agree to the waiver and a question of consideration of the rule 
        is adopted by a vote of two-thirds of the Members voting, a 
        quorum being present; or
            ``(6) a rule or order that waives clause 12(a) of rule 
        XXII.''.

SEC. 4. ENDING 2-DAY WORK WEEKS.

    Rule XV of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by 
adding at the end the following new clause:
    ``8. It shall not be in order to consider a resolution providing 
for adjournment sine die unless, during at least 20 weeks of the 
session, a quorum call or recorded vote was taken on at least 4 of the 
weekdays (excluding legal public holidays).''.

SEC. 5. KNOWING WHAT THE HOUSE IS VOTING ON.

    (a) Bills and Joint Resolutions.--
            (1) In general.--Rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
        Representatives is amended by adding at the end the following 
        new clause:
    ``8. Except for motions to suspend the rules and consider 
legislation, it shall not be in order to consider in the House a bill 
or joint resolution until 24 hours after or, in the case of a bill or 
joint resolution containing a district-oriented earmark or limited tax 
benefit, until 3 days after copies of such bill or joint resolution 
(and, if the bill or joint resolution is reported, copies of the 
accompanying report) are available (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, or 
legal holidays except when the House is in session on such a day).''.
            (2) Prohibiting waiver.--Clause 6(c) of rule XIII of the 
        Rules of the House of Representatives, as amended by section 
        3(a), is further amended--
                    (A) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (5);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of 
                subparagraph (6) and inserting ``; or''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
            ``(7) a rule or order that waives clause 8 of rule XIII or 
        clause 8(a)(1)(B) of rule XXII, unless a question of 
        consideration of the rule is adopted by a vote of two-thirds of 
        the Members voting, a quorum being present.''.
    (b) Conference Reports.--Clause 8(a)(1)(B) of rule XXII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by striking ``2 
hours'' and inserting ``24 hours or, in the case of a conference report 
containing a district-oriented earmark or limited tax benefit, until 3 
days after''.

SEC. 6. FULL AND OPEN DEBATE IN CONFERENCE.

    (a) Numbered Amendments.--Clause 1 of rule XXII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives is amended by adding at the end the following 
new sentence: ``A motion to request or agree to a conference on a 
general appropriation bill is in order only if the Senate expresses its 
disagreements with the House in the form of numbered amendments.''.
    (b) Promoting Openness in Deliberations of Managers.--Clause 12(a) 
of rule XXII of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
    ``(3) All provisions on which the two Houses disagree shall be open 
to discussion at any meeting of a conference committee. The text which 
reflects the conferees' action on all of the differences between the 
two Houses, including all matter to be included in the conference 
report and any amendments in disagreement, shall be available to any of 
the managers at at least one such meeting, and shall be approved by a 
recorded vote of a majority of the House managers. Such text and, with 
respect to such vote, the total number of votes cast for and against, 
and the names of members voting for and against, shall be included in 
the joint explanatory statement of managers accompanying the conference 
report of such conference committee.''.
    (c) Point of Order Against Consideration of Conference Report Not 
Reflecting Resolution of Differences as Approved.--
            (1) In general.--Rule XXII of the Rules of the House of 
        Representatives is amended by adding at the end the following 
        new clause:
    ``13. It shall not be in order to consider a conference report the 
text of which differs in any material way from the text which reflects 
the conferees' action on all of the differences between the two Houses, 
as approved by a recorded vote of a majority of the House managers as 
required under clause 12(a).''.
            (2) Prohibiting waiver.--Clause 6(c)(6) of rule XIII of the 
        Rules of the House of Representatives, as added by section 
        3(c)(3), is further amended by striking ``clause 12(a)'' and 
        inserting ``clause 12(a) or clause 13''.

SEC. 7. REIMBURSEMENT AND DISCLOSURE OF NONCOMMERCIAL TRAVEL.

    (a) Market Value.--Clause 5(a)(3) of rule XXV of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives is amended by inserting ``(i)'' after ``(A)'' 
and by adding at the end the following:
            ``(ii) Market value for a flight on an airplane that is not 
        licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration to operate for 
        compensation or hire, taken in connection with the official 
        duties of a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, 
        or employee, shall be the fair market value of a charter 
        flight. The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall 
        make public information received under this item as soon as 
        possible after it is received.''.
    (b) Disclosure.--Clause 5 of rule XXV of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or 
employee of the House who takes a flight described in paragraph 
(a)(3)(A)(ii) shall, with respect to the flight, cause to be published 
in the Congressional Record within 10 days after the flight--
            ``(1) the name of the owner or lessee of the aircraft;
            ``(2) the date of the flight;
            ``(3) the destination of the flight;
            ``(4) who else was on the flight, other than those 
        operating the plane;
            ``(5) the purpose of the trip; and
            ``(6) the reason that a commercial airline was not used.''.
                                 <all>