[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON HOUSE
ADMINISTRATION
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
FEBRUARY 10, 2021
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available on the Internet:
http://www.govinfo.gov/committee/house-administration
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
46-265 PDF WASHINGTON : 2021
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COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION
ZOE LOFGREN, California, Chairperson
JAMIE RASKIN, Maryland RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois,
G. K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina Ranking Member
PETE AGUILAR, California BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia
MARY GAY SCANLON, Pennsylvania BRYAN STEIL, Wisconsin
TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2021
House of Representatives,
Committee on House Administration,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 1:03 p.m., via
Webex, Hon. Zoe Lofgren [Chairperson of the Committee]
presiding.
Present: Representatives Lofgren, Butterfield, Aguilar,
Scanlon, Leger Fernandez, Davis, Loudermilk, and Steil.
Staff Present: Jamie Fleet, Majority Staff Director; Khalil
Abboud, Deputy Staff Director; David Tucker, Parliamentarian;
Brandon Jacobs, Legislative Clerk; Peter Whippy, Communications
Director; Natalie Young, Press Secretary; Jen Daulby,
Republican Staff Director; Tim Monahan, Republican Deputy Staff
Director; Caleb Hays, Republican General Counsel.
The Chairperson. The Committee on House Administration will
come to order.
I want to acknowledge the presence of a forum and have
Members to mute their mikes if they are not speaking and to
decrease the background noise.
I would like to note that we have present with us Mr.
Butterfield, Mr. Aguilar, Ms. Scanlon, Ms. Leger Fernandez,
Ranking Member Rodney Davis, and Mr. Steil, I believe. I hope I
am pronouncing that correctly. A quorum is present. Mr. Raskin
is otherwise engaged over in the Senate side today. Mr.
Loudermilk will not be able to attend apparently, but we do
have a quorum present.
As we begin, I want to note we are holding this hearing in
compliance with the regulations for remote committee hearings
pursuant to House Resolution 8. As I mentioned, generally, the
Members will mute unless they are speaking, and you need to
unmute if you are seeking recognition.
Under the rules, we need to keep our cameras on at all
times. Even if you need to step away for a moment, please don't
turn your camera off, just let it just look at the background.
I would like to remind everyone that pursuant to
regulations governing remote proceedings, we are not permitted
to participate in more than one committee proceeding
simultaneously.
At this time, I would ask unanimous consent that all
Members have five legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and that any written statements be made part the
record. And hearing no objection, that is----
Mr. Davis. Madam Chairperson, real quick.
The Chairperson. Yes, sir.
Mr. Davis. Just for technology folks, I think--Mr.
Loudermilk just texted me he is on as an attendee. Can somebody
move him over to the panelist side so we can get his video?
The Chairperson. We will do that right now.
Mr. Davis. Thank you.
The Chairperson. Thank you very much.
As mentioned, hearing no objection, the remarks may be part
of the record.
Today, the House Administration Committee will organize so
we can begin the important work that we will undertake during
this Congress. We will adopt Committee rules of procedure,
reestablish our Subcommittee on Elections, adopt the parking
policy for this Congress, address several matters that the
Committee has responsibility for regulating.
I am pleased that we have been able to reach bipartisan
agreement on every one of these resolutions. I appreciate that
the Ranking Member and his staff have worked so collaboratively
with us so that we can reach this bipartisan agreement.
This Congress, we are going to be very busy again. The work
of the Committee and its staff is always important, but we have
unique and challenging issues of historic proportions to
confront and solve in this Congress.
Five weeks ago today, we gathered together what should have
been a demonstration of a fundamental feature of our democracy,
a peaceful transition of power. The voters in States have done
their work and it was time for Congress to count the electoral
college votes. I was honored, along with Ranking Member Rodney
Davis and our two Senate colleagues, to play a small role in
that session as a teller to read the results. Tragically, the
attack on the Capitol on January 6 transformed a day that
should have been a celebration of our democracy, as much as it
is of any winning candidate, into a day of violence and
bloodshed.
We are grateful beyond words for the sacrifices of the
police officers who lost their lives because of the attack, the
more than 140 officers who were injured, some grievously, and
dozens more who subsequently tested positive for COVID. We all
owe thanks to the men and women of law enforcement who
literally fought to defend the Capitol, and to those who
responded, to the citizen soldiers of the National Guard who
answered the call, to the institutional workforce who helped
Congress carry on, even as they all faced dire threats to their
safety. Because of their courage and their sacrifice, that very
night, we were able to resume and complete our constitutional
duty. That was a powerful symbol of resilience to our country
and to the world.
As we move forward, we must ensure that the Capitol is safe
and secure, while remaining accessible to the public. And even
after what experts widely concluded that this past election was
the most secure in American history, we must also ensure that
the democracy the Capitol serves is also safe and secure.
Now, our friend and colleague, as I mentioned, Jamie Raskin
spoke powerfully and eloquently yesterday on the Senate floor
about the ramifications of the attack, not just for the safety
and well-being of all who work here, but for our shared future
and the future of our democratic self-government. We must
continue to expand access to civic participation in our
elections in a secure manner, while confronting the role of
misinformation and undermining them.
And, of course, these are not the only historic challenges
we face. One year ago last Saturday, a 57-year-old technology
worker from San Jose died after a bout of what might have been
the flu. It wasn't until months later that experts confirmed
that Patricia Dowd was actually the first known American to
have died of COVID in the United States. Now just a year later,
nearly 470,000 Americans have been killed by the virus, more
than died in all of World War II.
I keep the Dowd family in my heart, as well as the families
of our friend Representative Ron Wright and Representative-
elect Luke Letlow, a former staffer who was about to return to
represent his community as a Member and is now mourned by them.
So many families have suffered this year. We must ensure
that Congress can continue to function in the face of the
pandemic to work for them and for all Americans. And that means
helping the House operate the legislative branch, have
employees who are safe and healthy during a global pandemic.
Now I would like to, before recognizing the Ranking Member
for any remarks he might have introduce the Members of the
Committee. As we know, we have worked together very closely. We
have a talented and thoughtful group of Members who will work
on these issues. And I want to mention the returning Members
first. Representative Jamie Raskin, who represents the Eighth
District we know so well. He is unable to join us today because
he is an impeachment manager and is currently participating in
those proceedings in the Senate. Next, we have Representative
G.K. Butterfield, who represents the First District of North
Carolina. We are honored that this former judge is a member of
our panel. Representative Pete Aguilar, the former mayor,
represents the 31st District of California. We also miss two
valued friends and colleagues who were with us in the last
Congress, Susan Davis, who is enjoying her well-earned
retirement in sunny San Diego, and Representative Marcia Fudge,
who President Biden has chosen to be an outstanding next
Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
I am pleased to introduce two new Members who are joining
us. First, Representative Mary Gay Scanlon, who represents the
Fifth District of Pennsylvania and who, without objection, is
named Vice Chairperson of the Committee. Prior to coming to
Congress, Representative Scanlon served as president of her
local school board and as national pro bono counsel at a major
law firm.
And next is Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez, who
represents the Third District of New Mexico. Representative
Leger Fernandez is a 17th generation northern New Mexican. And
before coming to Congress, she worked as an attorney and an
advocate to advance voting rights for rural, underserved, and
Native American communities.
And also, I am, of course, glad to welcome back our Ranking
Member, Mr. Davis, who will make a few remarks and recognize
the Members on his side of the aisle.
Mr. Davis.
[The statement of Chairperson Lofgren follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Davis. Thank you, Madam Chairperson. It is great to be
back on this committee with you. I appreciate our friendship.
And I also appreciate the opportunity to serve once again with
my good friend, Mr. Butterfield, and my okay friend, Mr.
Aguilar. Pete, love you man.
But I would like to welcome the new Members. Ms. Scanlon
and Ms. Leger Fernandez, welcome to what I think is one of the
best committees that we have in Congress, because it is our job
to make this Capitol complex work and work together.
I am glad to be joined once again for the third term in a
row by my colleague Mr. Loudermilk, who I know like me is in
the midst of multiple markups and I know he will go back soon.
But I am really proud to welcome our newest Member, Mr. Bryan
Steil from Wisconsin. For those of you who don't know, Bryan
was our co-chair of the Franking Commission as a freshman. He
worked hand in hand with former Representative Susan Davis to
really reform our franking system to make it easier for offices
to be able to communicate with their constituents. It was long
overdue and well done on his behalf. And for that great work,
he has been promoted to the full committee to have to deal with
each and every one of us.
So welcome, Mr. Steil. I am very proud of you and what you
have done.
And I am glad we have seen our former colleague, Ms. Fudge,
move on to bigger and brighter pastures. I had a chance to see
her last week, wish her well. And I think that probably her and
I both, we miss each other as much on this Committee or the
Election Subcommittee as we will look forward to working
together to address housing needs in districts like mine. I am
very proud of her for her service, and I wish her the best in
the future.
And with that, I will go ahead and go to my opening
remarks.
It is my honor to serve again as Ranking Member of this
committee again this Congress. From elections, to Capitol
security and everything in between, this Committee has a lot of
work to do. I want to welcome again all the new Members to this
Committee. I look forward to working with each and every one of
you.
As Chairperson Lofgren mentioned, on January 6, this
Capitol was attacked, and we have to make sure what we saw
happen that day never happens again. This Committee can play an
important role by exercising our oversight of the United States
Capitol Police, Sergeant at Arms, and other House officers at
this critical time. There are immediate short-term changes we
can make now to ensure the Capitol is secure and address
threats against Members of Congress.
I am also hopeful we can work together on a bipartisan,
bicameral commission to figure out exactly where the breakdown
in security occurred on January 6, and also secure our Capitol
long term.
I was encouraged by President Biden's call for unity in his
inaugural speech, and I hope this Committee will follow that
call to action. We have a responsibility to the taxpayers to,
not only work together, but to also run this Committee in a
transparent way.
I think it is important to have more public hearings on
very pressing issues within our jurisdiction and be less
reliant on committee polls to weigh in on various committee
matters. I know that polls have a purpose, and there are times
that it is not practical to have a committee meet to discuss
and vote on matters, but I feel we are becoming too reliant on
the convenience of these committee polls.
Additionally, it is important taxpayers know exactly how
much it is costing this Committee to move forward with an
election contest in Iowa's Second District, where we already
have a sitting Member of Congress whose race was unanimously
certified by the bipartisan State canvassing board after a full
bipartisan recount was conducted. Any expenditure for any
contested election effort needs to be disclosed in a
consolidated location within the statement of disbursement. I
believe getting this Committee back to regular order can help
us increase transparency and hopefully it will improve
bipartisan relations as well.
We should focus on making sure our Member handbook is up-
to-date to meet the needs of our members, ensuring reports,
such as the end-of-year expense report, are turned in on time,
and MRA letters and committee budgets are issued as soon as we
can at the beginning of the new year. This Committee held zero
markups last year and less than 10 full Committee hearings.
Despite COVID-19 completely changing the way this House
operates, not one of those hearings was on how to get our
campus back to normal operational status. Our internal COVID
task force has not met since last summer. I have often had to
learn of changes to our operations in Dear Colleagues.
It is not how we should be operating. Instead, this
committee's focus has been on how we can permanently implement
remote voting so Members don't ever have to come to Washington
again, something that I believe gives power to leadership. It
leaves the rank and file behind and, frankly, it only further
divides this House. Common ground is when we are together, when
we are face to face, when we can harass each other on a
baseball field, like Pete and I do every year, in every normal
year, and have those personal relationships, which can't be
formed over Zoom on opposite sides of the country or in
different States.
I am hopeful our hearing room will reopen soon so we can
work together in person, and figure out how we return the House
to some sense of normalcy, secure our campus, and find common
ground on the many issues facing this Committee.
With that, Chairperson Lofgren, I do look forward to
working with you again on this Committee. I welcome, again, all
of our new Members to this House Administration Committee for
the 117th Congress. We are going to have a good time.
I yield back.
[The statement of Mr. Davis follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
The Chairperson. The gentleman yields back.
I will now be calling up resolutions 117-01 through 117-09
to consider en bloc.
Resolution 117-01 adopts the committee rules for the 117th
Congress as required by Clause A of House Rule XI. A copy of
the proposed rules is before each Member. The rules proposed
for the 117th Congress are the same rules this Committee
operated under during the 116th Congress, save for technical
and conforming changes made to bring them in line with House
Resolution 8 and the rules of the House.
Resolution 117-02 establishes the membership of the
Subcommittee on Elections. The Subcommittee will be chaired by
Representative G.K. Butterfield. The other members will be
Representative Pete Aguilar and Representative Teresa Leger
Fernandez, and the Ranking Member will be Representative Steil.
Resolution 117-03 provides for the parking policy of the
117th Congress. A policy for this Congress follows that of 298
the last Congress, with several improvements and enhancements,
including requiring an individual requesting a temporary permit
for more than 14 business days in a 16-month period to submit
the request to the Committee for approval on a standardized
form, prohibiting the parking of multiple vehicles with the
same permit on the campus at one time, and stiffening the
violation discipline regime, making fewer violations more
severely punished, and creating a class of certain aggravated
offenses, and we know who they are, such as parking in another
person's reserved spot and unauthorized parking on the G3 level
of the Rayburn garage.
Resolution 117-04 requires all employing offices covered by
the Congressional Accountability Act to adopt anti-
discrimination and anti-harassment policies for their
workplace.
Resolution 117-05 requires all employing offices, including
Members' district offices, to post notices that explain and
remind employees about their workplace rights and protections.
Resolution 117-06 adopts regulations governing the student
loan repayment program available to House staff. This will be
the first update to the program's regulations since the year
2008, and is prompted by two recent statutory policy changes.
First, the CARES Act provided for an extension of a tax
exemption of up to $5,250 in borrower payments and also
extended administrative forbearance of Federal student loans.
Eligible employees with Federal loans in administrative
forbearance pursuant to the Act are now eligible for payments.
Secondly, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021
increased the aggregate lifetime limit on the borrower be half
payments, from $60,000 to $80,000, and will allow eligible
employees who had otherwise exhausted their eligibility to
continue to participate.
Resolution 117-07 adopts regulations governing the House
paid internship program and allows each congressional
membership organization one paid intern.
Resolution 117-08 updates the regulations regarding
eligible congressional membership organizations, or ECMOs, and
updates to the ECMO regulations for the 117th Congress include
requiring eligible ECMOs to disclose proposed annual amount of
dues and budgets to Members and to the committee, prohibiting
hiring discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender
identity.
Finally, Resolution 117-09 provides regulations prohibiting
the use of House exercise facilities by former Members who are
registered lobbyists or by foreign agents.
I now recognize Ranking Member Davis for any remarks he
might care to make on any of these resolutions.
Mr. Davis.
Mr. Davis. Thank you, Madam Chairperson.
The only remarks I would say is I am just excited to see
the student loan program that has been very successful in
helping congressional staffers be able to pay off their student
debt. This was an issue that Representative Scott Peters and I
led in the last Congress. I am excited we were able to make
sure that, not just congressional staffers, but every single
American now has student debt treated when it is paid by an
employer exact same as tuition reimbursement and it is tax free
for the first $50, $250 a year. That is a win-win and it is a
good, voluntary, bipartisan approach that the private sector, I
hope, takes advantage of too, because we have more student debt
in this country than we do all our credit card debt combined.
So that is bipartisan success. That is what I hope to continue
in this Committee, and I would not object to any of the
resolutions today. time.
The Chairperson. Very good.
Does it any other Member wish to be heard on these
resolutions?
I am not seeing virtual or real hands. So, with that, I
will call up these resolutions and ask unanimous consent they
be considered en bloc.
All in favor, say aye.
Opposed, no.
And there are no noes.
I ask unanimous consent that further reading of these
resolutions be dispensed with, open for amendment at any time.
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
The question is now on the en bloc resolutions.
All those who are in favor may unmute and say aye. Any
opposed?
Hearing no noes, the ayes have it. The en bloc resolutions
are agreed to.
Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the
table.
Pursuant to Clause 2(a) of House Rule XI, the rules adopted
by the Committee on House Administration for the 117th Congress
will be published in the Congressional Record and made
available to Members and to the public on the Committee's
website.
So this concludes the business before the Committee today.
Without objection, staff is authorized to make any necessary
and technical and conforming changes.
I would like to thank everybody for their participation. I
look forward to a very challenging and important year for this
Committee and for the Congress. I look forward to working with
every Member of this Committee so that our country is safe and
prosperous and our Capitol Hill community is committed and able
to do its important work for the American people.
And with that and without objection, we are adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 1:25 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
[all]