[Senate Prints 106-3]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress S. Prt
1st Session COMMITTEE PRINT 106-3
_______________________________________________________________________
RULES
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
UNITED STATES SENATE
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
53-709cc WASHINGTON : 1998
COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
JOHN H. CHAFEE, Rhode Island, Chairman
JOHN W. WARNER, Virginia MAX BAUCUS, Montana
ROBERT SMITH, New Hampshire DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN, New York
JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey
CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming HARRY REID, Nevada
CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri BOB GRAHAM, Florida
GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut
MICHAEL D. CRAPO, Idaho BARBARA BOXER, California
ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah RON WYDEN, Oregon
KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas
Jimmie Powell, Staff Director
J. Thomas Sliter, Minority Staff Director
(ii)
COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
Jurisdiction
Rule XXV, Standing Rules of the Senate
1. The following standing committees shall be appointed at
the commencement of each Congress, and shall continue and have
the power to act until their successors are appointed, with
leave to report by bill or otherwise on matters within their
respective jurisdictions:
* * * * * * *
(h)(1) Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which
committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages,
petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the
following subjects:
1. Air pollution.
2. Construction and maintenance of highways.
3. Environmental aspects of Outer Continental Shelf lands.
4. Environmental effects of toxic substances, other than
pesticides.
5. Environmental policy.
6. Environmental research and development.
7. Fisheries and wildlife.
8. Flood control and improvements of rivers and harbors,
including environmental aspects of deepwater ports.
9. Noise pollution.
10. Nonmilitary environmental regulation and control of
nuclear energy.
11. Ocean dumping.
12. Public buildings and improved grounds of the United
States generally, including Federal buildings in the District
of Columbia.
13. Public works, bridges, and dams.
14. Regional economic development.
15. Solid waste disposal and recycling.
16. Water pollution.
17. Water resources.
(2) Such committee shall also study and review, on a
comprehensive basis, matters relating to environmental
protection and resource utilization and conservation, and
report thereon from time to time.
RULES OF PROCEDURE
Rule 1. Committee Meetings in General
(a) Regular Meeting Days: For purposes of complying with
paragraph 3 of Senate Rule XXVI, the regular meeting day of the
committee is the first and third Thursday of each month at
10:00 A.M. If there is no business before the committee, the
regular meeting shall be omitted.
(b) Additional Meetings: The chairman may call additional
meetings, after consulting with the ranking minority member.
Subcommittee chairmen may call meetings, with the concurrence
of the chairman of the committee, after consulting with the
ranking minority members of the subcommittee and the committee.
(c) Presiding Officer:
(1) The chairman shall preside at all meetings of the
committee. If the chairman is not present, the ranking
majority member who is present shall preside.
(2) Subcommittee chairmen shall preside at all
meetings of their subcommittees. If the subcommittee
chairman is not present, the Ranking Majority Member of
the subcommittee who is present shall preside.
(3) Notwithstanding the rule prescribed by paragraphs
(1) and (2), any member of the committee may preside at
a hearing.
(d) Open Meetings: Meetings of the committee and
subcommittees, including hearings and business meetings, are
open to the public. A portion of a meeting may be closed to the
public if the committee determines by rollcall vote of a
majority of the members present that the matters to be
discussed or the testimony to be taken--
(1) will disclose matters necessary to be kept secret
in the interests of national defense or the
confidential conduct of the foreign relations of the
United States;
(2) relate solely to matters of committee staff
personnel or internal staff management or procedure; or
(3) constitute any other grounds for closure under
paragraph 5(b) of Senate Rule XXVI.
(e) Broadcasting:
(1) Public meetings of the committee or a
subcommittee may be televised, broadcast, or recorded
by a member of the Senate press gallery or an employee
of the Senate.
(2) Any member of the Senate Press Gallery or
employee of the Senate wishing to televise, broadcast,
or record a committee meeting must notify the staff
director or the staff director's designee by 5:00 p.m.
the day before the meeting.
(3) During public meetings, any person using a
camera, microphone, or other electronic equipment may
not position or use the equipment in a way that
interferes with the seating, vision, or hearing of
committee members or staff on the dais, or with the
orderly process of the meeting.
Rule 2. Quorums
(a) Business Meetings: At committee business meetings, six
members, at least two of whom are members of the minority
party, constitute a quorum, except as provided in subsection
(d).
(b) Subcommittee Meetings: At subcommittee business
meetings, a majority of the subcommittee members, at least one
of whom is a member of the minority party, constitutes a quorum
for conducting business.
(c) Continuing Quorum: Once a quorum as prescribed in
subsections (a) and (b) has been established, the committee or
subcommittee may continue to conduct business.
(d) Reporting: No measure or matter may be reported by the
committee unless a majority of committee members cast votes in
person.
(e) Hearings: One member constitutes a quorum for
conducting a hearing.
Rule 3. Hearings
(a) Announcements: Before the committee or a subcommittee
holds a hearing, the chairman of the committee or subcommittee
shall make a public announcement and provide notice to members
of the date, place, time, and subject matter of the hearing.
The announcement and notice shall be issued at least one week
in advance of the hearing, unless the chairman of the committee
or subcommittee, with the concurrence of the ranking minority
member of the committee or subcommittee, determines that there
is good cause to provide a shorter period, in which event the
announcement and notice shall be issued at least twenty-four
hours in advance of the hearing.
(b) Statements of Witnesses:
(1) A witness who is scheduled to testify at a
hearing of the committee or a subcommittee shall file
100 copies of the written testimony at least 48 hours
before the hearing. If a witness fails to comply with
this requirement, the presiding officer may preclude
the witness' testimony. This rule may be waived for
field hearings, except for witnesses from the Federal
Government.
(2) Any witness planning to use at a hearing any
exhibit such as a chart, graph, diagram, photo, map,
slide, or model must submit one identical copy of the
exhibit (or representation of the exhibit in the case
of a model) and 100 copies reduced to letter or legal
paper size at least 48 hours before the hearing. Any
exhibit described above that is not provided to the
committee at least 48 hours prior to the hearing cannot
be used for the purpose of presenting testimony to the
committee and will not be included in the hearing
record.
(3) The presiding officer at a hearing may have a
witness confine the oral presentation to a summary of
the written testimony.
Rule 4. Business Meetings: Notice and Filing Requirements
(a) Notice: The chairman of the committee or the
subcommittee shall provide notice, the agenda of business to be
discussed, and the text of agenda items to members of the
committee or subcommittee at least 72 hours before a business
meeting.
(b) Amendments: First-degree amendments must be filed with
the chairman of the committee or the subcommittee at least 24
hours before a business meeting. After the filing deadline, the
chairman shall promptly distribute all filed amendments to the
members of the committee or subcommittee.
(c) Modifications: The chairman of the committee or the
subcommittee may modify the notice and filing requirements to
meet special circumstances, with the concurrence of the ranking
member of the committee or subcommittee.
Rule 5. Business Meetings: Voting
(a) Proxy Voting:
(1) Proxy voting is allowed on all measures,
amendments, resolutions, or other matters before the
committee or a subcommittee.
(2) A member who is unable to attend a business
meeting may submit a proxy vote on any matter, in
writing, orally, or through personal instructions.
(3) A proxy given in writing is valid until revoked.
A proxy given orally or by personal instructions is
valid only on the day given.
(b) Subsequent Voting: Members who were not present at a
business meeting and were unable to cast their votes by proxy
may record their votes later, so long as they do so that same
business day and their vote does not change the outcome.
(c) Public Announcement:
(1) Whenever the committee conducts a rollcall vote,
the chairman shall announce the results of the vote,
including a tabulation of the votes cast in favor and
the votes cast against the proposition by each member
of the committee.
(2) Whenever the committee reports any measure or
matter by rollcall vote, the report shall include a
tabulation of the votes cast in favor of and the votes
cast in opposition to the measure or matter by each
member of the committee.
Rule 6. Subcommittees
(a) Regularly Established Subcommittees: The committee has
four subcommittees: Transportation and Infrastructure; Clean
Air, Wetlands, Private Property, and Nuclear Safety; Superfund,
Waste Control, and Risk Assessment; and Fisheries, Wildlife,
and Drinking Water.
(b) Membership: The committee chairman shall select members
of the subcommittees, after consulting with the ranking
minority member.
Rule 7. Statutory Responsibilities and Other Matters
(a) Environmental Impact Statements: No project or
legislation proposed by any executive branch agency may be
approved or otherwise acted upon unless the committee has
received a final environmental impact statement relative to it,
in accordance with section 102(2)(C) of the National
Environmental Policy Act, and the written comments of the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in
accordance with section 309 of the Clean Air Act. This rule is
not intended to broaden, narrow, or otherwise modify the class
of projects or legislative proposals for which environmental
impact statements are required under section 102(2)(C).
(b) Project Approvals:
(1) Whenever the committee authorizes a project under
Public Law 89-298, the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1965;
Public Law 83-566, the Watershed Protection and Flood
Prevention Act; or Public Law 86-249, the Public
Buildings Act of 1959, as amended; the chairman shall
submit for printing in the Congressional Record, and
the committee shall publish periodically as a committee
print, a report that describes the project and the
reasons for its approval, together with any dissenting
or individual views.
(2) Proponents of a committee resolution shall submit
appropriate evidence in favor of the resolution.
(c) Building Prospectuses:
(1) When the General Services Administration submits
a prospectus, pursuant to section 7(a) of the Public
Buildings Act of 1959, as amended, for construction
(including construction of buildings for lease by the
government), alteration and repair, or acquisition, the
committee shall act with respect to the prospectus
during the same session in which the prospectus is
submitted. A prospectus rejected by majority vote of
the committee or not reported to the Senate during the
session in which it was submitted shall be returned to
the GSA and must then be resubmitted in order to be
considered by the committee during the next session of
the Congress.
(2) A report of a building project survey submitted
by the General Services Administration to the committee
under section 11(b) of the Public Buildings Act of
1959, as amended, may not be considered by the
committee as being a prospectus subject to approval by
committee resolution in accordance with section 7(a) of
that Act. A project described in the report may be
considered for committee action only if it is submitted
as a prospectus in accordance with section 7(a) and is
subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) of this
rule.
(d) Naming Public Facilities: The committee may not name a
building, structure or facility for any living person, except
former Presidents or former Vice Presidents of the United
States, former Members of Congress over 70 years of age, or
former Justices of the United States Supreme Court over 70
years of age.
Rule 8. Amending the Rules
The rules may be added to, modified, amended, or suspended
by vote of a majority of committee members at a business
meeting if a quorum is present.