[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.

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