[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 28 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 28

    Establishing a Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 16, 2017

 Mr. LaHood (for himself, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Kind, 
  Mr. Moulton, Mr. Walz, Mr. O'Halleran, Mrs. Murphy of Florida, Ms. 
Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Sires, Mr. Peters, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Huffman, Mr. 
Veasey, Mr. Loebsack, Mr. Reed, Mr. Hultgren, Mr. Moolenaar, Mr. Young 
of Iowa, Mr. Graves of Louisiana, Mr. Denham, Mr. Kinzinger, Mr. Byrne, 
  Mr. Bergman, Mr. Curbelo of Florida, Mr. Griffith, Mr. Renacci, Mr. 
Bost, Mr. Roskam, Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois, Mr. Thomas J. Rooney of 
 Florida, Mr. Messer, Mr. Coffman, Mr. Gallagher, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. 
   O'Rourke, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Costa, Ms. Brownley of California, Ms. 
 Sinema, Mr. Smucker, Mr. Joyce of Ohio, Mr. Donovan, Mr. Rouzer, and 
  Mr. Bacon) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
                   referred to the Committee on Rules

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
    Establishing a Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress.

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),

SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTEE.

    (a) Establishment and Membership.--There is established an ad hoc 
Joint Committee on the Organization of the Congress (referred to as the 
``Committee'') to be composed of--
            (1) 12 members of the Senate--
                    (A) 6 to be appointed by the majority leader; and
                    (B) 6 to be appointed by the minority leader; and
            (2) 12 members of the House of Representatives--
                    (A) 6 to be appointed by the Speaker; and
                    (B) 6 to be appointed by the minority leader.
    (b) Ex Officio Members.--The majority leader and the minority 
leader of the Senate and the majority leader and the minority leader of 
the House of Representatives shall be ex officio, voting members of the 
Committee, but shall not be counted for the purpose of ascertaining the 
presence of a quorum of the Committee.
    (c) Organization of Committee.--(1) A chairman from each House 
shall be designated from among the members of the Committee by the 
majority leader of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives.
    (2) A vice chairman from each House shall be designated from among 
the members of the Committee by the minority leader of the Senate and 
the minority leader of the House of Representatives.
    (3) The Committee may establish subcommittees comprised of only 
members from one House, who may consider only matters related solely to 
that House.
    (4)(A) No recommendation shall be made by the Committee except upon 
a majority vote of the members representing each House, respectively.
    (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), any recommendation with 
respect to the rules and procedures of one House which only affects 
matters related solely to that House may only be made and voted on by 
the members of the committee from that House, and upon its adoption by 
a majority of such members shall be considered to have been adopted by 
the full Committee as a recommendation of the Committee. Once such 
recommendation is adopted, the full Committee may vote to make an 
interim or final report containing any such recommendation.

SEC. 2. STUDY OF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION OF THE CONGRESS.

    (a) In General.--The Committee shall make a full and complete study 
of the organization, operations, functions, and relevant interactions 
of the Members of Congress and make recommendations that serve the 
following objectives:
            (1) Making the operations and the organization of the 
        Congress more effective and more efficient.
            (2) Making the Congress and its members more accountable to 
        the citizens they serve.
            (3) Improving the relationships between the Houses of 
        Congress.
            (4) Improving the relationships between and among other 
        branches of the Government, particularly relative to the 
        congressional oversight of those branches.
            (5) Improving the orderly, timely, and effective 
        consideration and disposal of legislation.
            (6) Improving the relationships among both elected Members 
        of the Congress and the staff of those Members, particularly 
        relating to relationships between the minority and majority 
        Members.
            (7) Improving the relationship between members and the 
        citizens they serve, especially in the opportunities citizens 
        have to participate in the process of governing.
    (b) Additional Matter To Be Studied.--The Committee shall also 
include in its study the role of the standing, select, and special 
committees and their effectiveness in addressing legislative 
responsibilities, particularly those involving the authorization of 
Federal programs and agencies and the future fiscal impact of 
entitlement programs.

SEC. 3. AUTHORITY AND EMPLOYMENT AND COMPENSATION OF STAFF.

    (a) Authority of Committee.--The Committee or any of its 
subcommittees may--
            (1) sit and act at such places and times as the Committee, 
        or any duly authorized subcommittee thereof, determines are 
        appropriate during the sessions, recesses, and adjourned 
        periods of Congress; and
            (2) require the attendance of witnesses and the production 
        of books, papers, and documents, administer oaths, take 
        testimony, and procure printing and binding.
    (b) Appointment and Compensation of Staff.--(1) The Committee may 
appoint and fix the compensation of such experts, consultants, 
technicians, and clerical personnel as it deems necessary, but shall 
utilize existing staff to the extent possible. Staff shall be 
compensated and reimbursed in accordance with current rules, statutes, 
practices, and procedures under which congressional staff are currently 
compensated and reimbursed for their official expenses.
    (2) The Committee may utilize such voluntary and uncompensated 
services as it deems necessary and may utilize the services, 
information, facilities, and personnel of other agencies of the 
legislative branch.
    (c) Witnesses.--Witnesses requested to appear before the Committee 
shall be reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary 
expenses incurred in traveling to and from Committee proceedings.
    (d) Expenses.--
            (1) Senate.--(A) The Senate members of the Committee shall 
        submit a budget of expenses allocable to the Senate to the 
        Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate. The 
        Committee may expend for expenses allocable to the Senate not 
        to exceed $___ from the contingent fund of the Senate subject 
        to approval by the Committee on Rules and Administration until 
        a Committee funding resolution is approved by the Senate or, if 
        no funding resolution is approved, until the conclusion of the 
        115th Congress.
            (B) The expenses of the Committee allocable to the Senate 
        shall be paid from the contingent fund of the Senate, upon 
        vouchers signed by the Senate chairman.
            (2) House of representatives.--There shall be paid out of 
        the applicable accounts of the House of Representatives such 
        sums as may be necessary for one-half of the expenses of the 
        Committee. Such payments shall be made on vouchers signed by 
        the chairman or vice chairman of the Committee who is a Member 
        of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, and 
        approved in the manner directed by the Committee on House 
        Administration of the House of Representatives. Amounts made 
        available under this paragraph shall be expended in accordance 
        with regulations prescribed by the Committee on House 
        Administration of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 4. COMMITTEE REPORT.

    The Committee shall report its findings to the House of 
Representatives and the Senate not later than the conclusion of each 
session of Congress during which the Committee is authorized. The 
report at the conclusion of each session shall include recommendations 
of the Committee for its continuation or designation of a similar 
entity to continue the pursuit of improvements in the congressional 
process.
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