[Senate Prints 108-3]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress
1st Session COMMITTEE PRINT S. Prt.
108-3
_______________________________________________________________________
GUIDE FOR THE PREPARATION
OF
LEGISLATIVE REPORTS
__________
prepared for the
COMMITTEE ON
ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
UNITED STATES SENATE
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED]
JANUARY 2003
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
84-448 WASHINGTON : 2003
___________________________________________________________________________
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COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico, Chairman
DON NICKLES, Oklahoma JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico
LARRY E. CRAIG, Idaho DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii
BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota
CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming BOB GRAHAM, Florida
LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee RON WYDEN, Oregon
LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota
JAMES M. TALENT, Missouri MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana
CONRAD BURNS, Montana EVAN BAYH, Indiana
GORDON SMITH, Oregon DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California
JIM BUNNING, Kentucky CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York
JON KYL, Arizona MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
Alex Flint, Staff Director
James P. Beirne, Chief Counsel
Robert M. Simon, Democratic Staff Director
Sam E. Fowler, Democratic Chief Counsel
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
__________
Page
Guide for the Preparation of Legislative Reports................. 1
General Outline for Committee Reports............................ 2
1. Cover Page............................................... 2
Cover Page Example...................................... 3
2. Report Table of Contents................................. 4
3. Amendments............................................... 4
4. Purpose of the Measure................................... 5
5. Summary of Major Provisions.............................. 5
6. Background and Need...................................... 6
7. Legislative History...................................... 6
8. Committee Recommendation and Tabulation of Votes......... 7
9. Committee Amendments..................................... 8
10. Section-by-Section Analysis.............................. 8
11. Cost and Budgetary Considerations including Congressional
Budget Office Estimates................................. 8
12. Regulatory Impact Evaluation............................. 10
13. Executive Communications................................. 11
14. Supplemental, Minority or Additional Views............... 12
15. Changes in Existing Law.................................. 12
16. Appendix................................................. 14
Preparing a Bill to be Reported.................................. 14
Review and Filing of Reports..................................... 14
Sample Bill to be Reported....................................... 15
(iii)
GUIDE FOR THE PREPARATION OF
LEGISLATIVE REPORTS
----------
When proposed legislation or other matters are recommended
to the Senate by the Committee, they are accompanied by a
report of the Committee. The most usual case is a report on a
legislative measure (bill or resolution). Reports of oversight
investigations, nominations, and other matters require special
treatment and cannot be easily generalized. The Rules of the
Senate (paragraph 10(b), Rule XXVI) provide that: ``It shall be
the duty of the chairman of each Committee to report . . .
promptly to the Senate any measure reported by his Committee.''
Thus, when the Committee orders a bill or other matter
reported, the preparation of the Committee report automatically
becomes a high priority task for the Committee staff.
Uniformity in format among reports is not a formal
requirement of the Senate, although several parts of the report
are prescribed by law or Senate rule. The principal reasons for
following the format set forth in this guide are:
1. It provides the writer with a checklist to avoid
inadvertent omissions of material;
2. It expedites completion of reports because
``boilerplate'' sections need not be composed anew for
each report;
3. It facilitates teamwork or assistance with report
preparation by other professional and clerical people
when necessary; and
4. It facilitates review of reports which are being
written by several individuals.
The following is a general outline of the major parts of a
legislative report. Unless there are compelling reasons to do
otherwise and the staff has received clearance to do so by the
Chief Counsel, the sequence of parts shown in the outline
should be used and all of the parts with asterisks must be
included. Parts without asterisks can be omitted if the
situation dictates.
A template for reports is avilable as a macro in the
Committee's word processor software. The template includes the
mandatory sections of the report together with the boilerplate
introductory language for the sections. Optional sections may
be added as necessary, but all mandatory sections must be
included in the report. To the extent that portions of the
background memoranda for hearings or the agenda items for the
business meeting reflect sections of the report and had
previously been cleared with the Minority, the process of
preparation, clearance, and filing of the report can be
expedited.
GENERAL OUTLINE FOR COMMITTEE REPORTS
*1. Cover page
2. Table of Contents
3. Amendments
*4. Purpose of the Measure
5. Summary of Major Provisions
*6. Background and Need
*7. Legislative History
*8. Committee Recommendation and Tabulation of Votes
9. Committee Amendments (explanation)
10. Section-by-Section Analysis
*11. Cost and Budgetary Considerations including
Congressional Budget Office estimates
*12. Regulatory Impact Evaluation
*13. Executive Communications
14. Supplemental, Minority and/or Additional Views
*15. Changes in Existing Law
16. Appendix
Each of the parts listed is discussed in the following
pages.
1. Cover Page
The preprinted cover page form is filled out as shown on
the attached example. The numbered items are described below:
1. Self explanatory.
2. Self explanatory.
3. Leave blank.
4. Leave blank.
5. Provide a brief, cogent title. The short title of
the bill, if any, or some other descriptive phrase may
be used. Strive to avoid confusion with other reports,
similar reports in earlier years, etc.
6. Leave the date blank.
7. The Full Committee Chairman files the Committee
report.
8. Number of bill being reported.
9. Self explanatory.
10. Self explanatory.
11. Fill in the complete title of the measure as it
was introduced.
12. The Secretary of the Senate has requested us to
characterize the nature of the amendment or amendments
by indicating on the cover whether they amend the text,
preamble, and/or title of the measure.
13. Self explanatory.
14. Begin the body of the report on a new page.
After a measure is reported, the printer will normally
provide a completed cover page for the report to the staff
responsible for preparing the report together with the text of
any amendments adopted by the Committee.
2. Report Table of Contents
On very voluminous reports (there should be very few in the
course of a normal Congress) a table of contents will be of
assistance to users who do not intend to read the entire
document or who are using it for reference. Very short reports
obviously do not require a table of contents and including one
needlessly adds to the printing and proofreading job.
3. Amendments
The amendments which are being recommended by the Committee
should be formally set forth at the outset of the report. If a
substitute text was adopted it should be printed at this point.
The printer will normally prepare the amendment and attach it
to the cover page before giving it to the professional staff.
The professional staff must ensure that the printer has a copy
of all amendments adopted by the Committee and that the text
attached to the cover page is accurate.
The amendments must follow rigorously the action taken by
the Committee in the markup. Rule 7(d) of the Committee rules
authorizes the staff to make necessary, technical and clerical
corrections in the measure.
While this is not intended to be a short course in
legislative drafting, the following rules must be observed.
In defining amendments to a Senate bill, the page and line
numbers of the bill as originally introduced and printed must
be used. Committee prints and other intermediate documents have
no formal standing. The Committee must report to the Senate
(and the Bill Clerk) the changes which it recommends be made to
the text of the measure formally before the Senate.
When the Committee is reporting a House measure already
passed by the House, the page and line numbers of the text of
the House ``Act'' which was referred to the Committee must be
used to describe amendments. If the ``Act'' has not been
printed, the official papers must be used as the reference.
When an entire new text is substituted, it constitutes only
one amendment and it states:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert
the following:
An amendment to the title of a bill must be stated as a
separate amendment and is shown as the final amendment if there
are any others:
Amend the title so as to read: ``a bill to provide .
. .''
Clarity in describing amendments often requires some
ingenuity in determining how much to strike and revise; how to
handle punctuation changes, and how to avoid ambiguity. The
principal tradeoff is between economy of presentation (striking
and replacing extensive text encompassing several changes) and
specificity about the effect of the amendment. Liberties may
not be taken with the Committee's instructions.
The formal descriptions of amendments set forth in the
report must conform exactly with the graphic representation of
the changes shown in the text of the reported bill.
This section of the report is simply a technical statement
of the amendments which the Committee is recommending. The
narrative discussion of the intent of the justification for the
amendments will be included later in the report.
4. Purpose of the Measure
This part of the report should be a concise statement, in
plain language of the principal objectives of the measure. It
should quickly inform a reader of the main thrust of the
measure. It is not a section-by-section analysis or a sales
pitch.
5. Summary of Major Provisions
A report on an uncomplicated measure may omit this part as
it will be encompassed by the discussion of the ``Purpose of
the Measure'' above. If a bill has multiple provisions and
several sections or titles, it will assist the users of the
report if the major provisions are set forth in summary at the
outset. This part should be in plain language, and it may omit
less significant provisions. It should emphasize significant
changes in policy that are included in the measure. It should
not paraphrase the bill nor should it duplicate the section-by-
section analysis. If it is not a concise summary, it adds
nothing to the report.
6. Background and Need
This part is intended to set forth the situation that gave
rise to the measure and to provide a justification for the
policies and actions proposed in the measure. An historical
background is appropriate, including a discussion of the origin
of, and experience under, existing programs and policies
affected by the measure.
The need section is the appropriate place for a
justification (sales pitch). Each report should set forth the
reasons why the Committee believes the Senate should pass the
measure as reported. The statement need not be lengthy, but it
should reflect any discussion in Committee.
A carefully crafted background discussion will strive to be
responsive to the questions which would logically occur to a
person studying the measure. The purpose of this section, as of
the entire report, is to efficiently and effectively inform the
reader of the circumstances giving rise to the legislation. The
measure of the report writer's competence is the ability to
select those facts that are essential for an appreciation of
the measure and will be required for its comprehension.
It is a disservice to everyone who must use the report to
spill the contents of the hearing record and the staff person's
files into the background section. Excessive length actually
reduces the effectiveness of the report as a persuasive
argument because material must be read before it convinces.
Unnecessary or peripheral discussion in reports may
gratuitously raise sincere but irrelevant concerns about
legislative proposals or provide material for opponents who
seek to introduce doubts into debate on the Floor or in
conference. Everything put into a report should have a reason
for being there.
Quotes from the hearing transcript usually should be
avoided. The information in a quote almost always can be more
economically restated. It is not the purpose of the report to
enshrine the utterances of favorite agency officials or client
group representatives, or to create a personal identity with
the legislation on the parts of various individuals.
7. Legislative History
This section should be an abbreviated, factual account of
the legislative history of the measure which took place
preceding the report. It should include:
Related measures introduced in earlier Congresses
and the action taken.
Similar pending measures that will be preempted by
the reported measure.
History of the reported measure, including
introduction, hearing dates, markup dates, etc.
A complete list of cosponsors at the time, including
those added after introduction.
8. Committee Recommendation and Tabulation of Votes
If there was a record vote on reporting the measure or if
individual members specifically requested that their support or
opposition be recorded, the vote or statement should be
recorded at the conclusion of this section.
The Senate rules require that all roll call votes taken in
markup sessions be announced and permanently recorded. We have
developed the convention that such votes on amendments will be
announced in open markup when they occur and included in the
permanent record of the meeting. The staff person handling a
measure shares the responsibility to insure that the minutes of
the markup are accurate, but votes on amendments should not be
included in reports. Roll call votes on reporting the measure
must be tabulated in the report, showing which votes were by
proxy. Make sure that listing members and the vote count agree.
A sample of the format is as follows:
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION
OF VOTES
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on May __, 1995, by majority vote of a
quorum present recommends that the Senate pass S. ____, if
amended as described herein.
The rollcall vote on reporting the measure was 14 yeas, 4
nays as follows:
YEAS NAYS
Mr. Murkowski Mr. Dorgan
Mr. Hatfield Mr. Campbell
Mr. Domenici * Mr. Nickles
Mr. Craig Mr. Thomas
Mr. Kyl
Mr. Grams
Mr. Jeffords
Mr. Burns
Mr. Johnston
Mr. Bumpers
Mr. Ford
Mr. Bradley
Mr. Bingaman
Mr. Akaka
* Indicates vote by proxy.
9. Committee Amendments
This part explains the amendments recommended by the
Committee. The actual amendments will have been set forth at
the beginning of the report and may be referred to in this
section by number. Obviously, if an entire new text has been
substituted, it is important to describe, in some detail, all
of the significant changes resulting from the substitution.
The Committee's reason for recommending the amendments
should be included in the explanation. It is important,
however, to accurately reflect the discussion that took place
in the markup or the explanations that were set forth in
written discussions of the amendments that were before the
members at the time. The staff should scrupulously resist any
temptation to extemporize upon the Committee's views and make
unwarranted legislative history on the amendments. It is the
responsibility of the professional staff associated with each
report to police this matter. Infractions can result in most
serious reflections upon staff integrity.
10. Section-by-Section Analysis
This part is necessary in complex or extensive measures to
amplify the proposed statutory language by filling in
references to other existing law or policy, providing guidance
in interpretation of qualitative words and phrases, and
expressing Committee attitudes and expectations. The discussion
should be of the bill as amended by the Committee. Differences
between the bill as introduced and as reported normally would
be discussed in ``Committee amendments.''
The previous caveats about extending the discussion beyond
the Committee's expressed intent are applicable. If the
statutory language of a section is clear on its face and no
amplifying Committee expression was made in markup, no
explanation need be included in the section-by-section
analysis. Simply state ``The section is self explanatory''.
Paraphrasing statutory language without adding or subtracting
meaning is difficult. Great care should be exercised in writing
both the Committee Amendments and Section-by-Section Analysis.
These sections often are referred to in litigation to interpret
the intent of Congress, and it is imperative that the
discussion reflect what was intended by the Committee and only
what was intended by the Committee.
11. Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, as amended
(paragraph 11(a), Rule XXVI), requires that each report include
an estimate of the cost of carrying out the proposed measure
for the five fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year in
which the bill is reported. This estimate normally will be
prepared by the Congressional Budget Office and provided in
letter form. The text of the letter usually is simply included
in the report with the following preamble:
The following estimate of costs of this measure has
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office.
Absence of this part of the report is grounds for a point
of order on the Floor of the Senate.
Every effort should be made by the professional staff
member responsible for the measure to facilitate timely receipt
of the CBO estimate. The responsible staff member should alert
CBO to the need for a CBO estimate and furnish them with any
amendments or other materials needed to make the cost estimate.
It may be necessary to assist CBO in the interpretation of the
measure and amendments. It is not necessary to furnish CBO with
a draft copy of the report.
If the urgency of reporting or other circumstances require
the report to be filed prior to receipt of the CBO report, the
Committee should include its own best estimate of costs along
with the following remark:
The Congressional Budget Office estimate of the costs
of this measure has been requested but was not received
at the time the report was filed. When the report is
available, the Chairman will request it to be printed
in the Congressional Record for the advice of the
Senate.
Of course, the responsible professional staff person should
be sure that the report is included in the Record when received
by providing the Chief Counsel with a copy and appropriate
statement for the Chairman.
The budgetary impact of legislation can be an important
factor in Floor debate. Cost implications can become a
convenient argument for opponents of a measure. Where
significant costs are involved, therefore, it will be useful to
include in this section of the report some discussion and, if
necessary, justification of the costs associated with the
measure and its relation to the President's budget, the
Congressional budget resolutions, and current appropriations
levels, if any.
Coordination with CBO and the Budget Committee will usually
insure that there is no disagreement concerning the estimate of
the cost impact of a particular measure. Estimates, however,
sometimes involve considerable judgment. The responsibility for
expressing the intent of the measure, as reported, rests
primarily with the Committee of jurisdiction. If the CBO
estimate is at variance with the professional staff's judgment
of the Committee's intent or of the programmatic impact of the
measure, every effort should be made to resolve the
disagreement by informal discussion. If it cannot be resolved,
it is entirely appropriate to include the Committee's own
estimate in the report along with that of CBO. If this is done,
it should be presented as objectively as possible with some
discussion of the nature of disagreement on assumptions.
12. Regulatory Impact Evaluation
The Senate rules require that all Committee reports contain
an ``evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be
incurred in carrying out the bill or joint resolution.'' The
text of the rule (paragraph 11(b), Rule XXVI) is set forth
below; it has a fairly straightforward description of each of
the four points to be addressed in this section. Please note
that the rule provides an alternative in subsection (2) if
compliance is ``impracticable.''
11(b) Each such report (except those by the Committee
on Appropriations) shall also contain--
(1) an evaluation, made by such Committee, of the
regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying
out the bill or joint resolution. The evaluation shall
include (A) an estimate of the numbers of individuals
and businesses who would be regulated and a
determination of the groups and classes of such
individuals and businesses, (B) a determination of the
economic impact of such regulation on the individuals,
consumers, and businesses affected, (C) a determination
of the impact of the personal privacy of the
individuals affected, and (D) a determination of the
amount of additional paperwork that will result from
the regulations to be promulgated pursuant to the bill
or joint resolution, which determination may include,
but need not be limited to, estimates of the amount of
time and financial costs required of affected parties,
showing whether the effects of the bill or joint
resolution could be substantial, as well as reasonable
estimates of the record keeping requirements that may
be associated with the bill or joint resolution; or
(2) in lieu of such evaluation, a statement of the
reasons why compliance by the committee with the
requirements of clause (1) is impracticable.
The following introduction is set forth in the template:
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of Rule XXVI of
the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes
the following evaluation of the regulatory impact which
would be incurred in carrying out S. ____.
If the bill has no regulatory impact, the following
language (also set forth in the template) may be adopted and
expanded to fit the program involved:
The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of
imposing Government established standards or
significant economic responsibilities on private
individuals and businesses (Characterize the type of
program in the bill).
No personal information would be collected in
administering the program. Therefore, there would be no
impact on personal privacy.
Little if any additional paperwork would result from
the enactment of S. ____.
13. Executive Communications
In this part of the report, the full text of pertinent
letters from Executive agencies communicating the
recommendations of the agencies concerning the proposed measure
should be set forth. The comments of all agencies which
submitted formal legislative reports should be included even if
they are repetitive. If formal reports had not been requested
previously, they should be requested when hearings are
scheduled.
Where legislative reports include lengthy attachments, some
discretion should be exercised. Material included in printed
hearing records should be omitted from the report provided the
omission is noted and does not detract from the meaning of the
formal recommendations. A reference to the hearing record
should be included.
The following introduction is set forth in the template:
The pertinent legislative reports received by the
Committee from the Department of
setting forth Executive agency recommendations relating
to S. (H.R.) ____ are set forth below:
In some instances, formal agency reports may not have been
received. The report should reflect that such views were
requested and not received at time of filing and may, in
appropriate circumstances, include testimony by agencies
presented at a hearing in lieu of such a report.
If the Committee has not received a report, insert the
following language which is set forth in the template:
On ____________________, the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources requested legislative reports from
the Department of ____________________ and the Office
of Management and Budget setting forth executive views
on ____________________. These reports had not been
received at the time the report on S. (H.R.) ____ was
filed. When the reports become available, the Chairman
will request that they be printed in the Congressional
Record for the advice of the Senate. The testimony
provided by (agency) at the Subcommittee hearing
follows:
14. Supplemental, Minority or Additional Views
The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as amended
(paragraph 10(c), Rule XXVI), provides that if a member of the
Committee gives notice of his intention at the time of
Committee approval of a measure, he may file supplemental,
minority, or additional views to be included as part of the
report. The member or members shall be entitled to not less
than three calendar days to file such views with the clerk
(Staff Director) of the Committee.
If supplemental, minority, or additional views are included
in a report, the cover shall state that fact as follows:
Mr. ------------------, from the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources, submitted the following
REPORT
together with
MINORITY AND ADDITIONAL VIEWS
(or appropriate other designation)
(To accompany S. ____)
Supplemental or additional views or ``minority'' views of
members must be signed by the member. Where several members
join in a set of views, each member must sign.
15. Changes in Existing Law
When any proposed measure would result in amendments to the
statutory language of existing law, the report must include a
statement of the changes (paragraph 12, Rule XXVI, known as the
Cordon Rule). The pertinent portions of existing law should be
set forth in roman type. It is not necessary to include an
entire Act, but sufficient context--sections, title, etc.--must
be displayed to make the changes meaningful without reference
to other sources. The existing law, of course, must be
corrected to incorporate any earlier amendments already
enacted.
Note that except for those titles of the United States Code
that have been enacted into positive law, the United States
Code is not law and not the statute being amended. The United
States Code is an effort to assemble the various statutes of
the United States into an organized format and to reflect the
current status of the laws. Most of the areas of Federal law
dealt with by the Committee are included in Titles of the
United States Code that have not been enacted into positive law
(e.g. Titles 15, 16, 30, 42, 43, and 48). Unless the title has
been enacted into positive law, staff should not assume that
the Code is accurate. The Code will routinely delete expired
authorizations even though they remain part of the statute.
Changes in existing law must be to the statute (as amended) and
it is the responsibility of the staff, if necessary, to
reproduce the relevant section of the statute and incorporate
all subsequent amendments. The Code can be helpful, but is not
a substitute. If the staff determines that the language of the
Code does reflect current law, it may be used but it is still
necessary to replace the Code citation (48 U.S.C. 1423) with
the proper statutory citation:
Act of August 1, 1950 (64 Stat. 387)
On House-passed measures, staff should not assume that the
changes in existing law reflected in the House report are
accurate. Staff should also remember that the report the
Committee is filing is being done pursuant to Senate rules, not
House rules.
The deletions that would be made by the proposed measure
are enclosed in heavy brackets, and the new matter which would
be inserted is shown in italic.
Changes in existing law shall be introduced as set forth in
the template and as shown below:
[Sample]
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law
made by the bill S. ____, as ordered reported, are
shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted
is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in
italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is
shown in roman):
If there are no changes in existing law made by the
measure, the following statement also set forth in the template
should be included:
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that
no changes in existing law are made by the bill S. ____
as ordered reported.
16. Appendix
Upon rare occasions, an appendix may be included in a
legislative report. It is appropriate where special
circumstances dictate the inclusion of a document, map,
tabulation, or other matter which is essential to the utility
or necessary for the comprehension of the report, but which is
not integral to the discussion or a part of the executive
communications.
An example might be a report on a resolution approving an
international agreement. The text of the agreement could be
included in an appendix to the report. The appendix should not
be used to salvage extraneous matter pruned out of the body of
the report.
PREPARING A BILL TO BE REPORTED
A sample bill to be reported is attached and filled out
accordingly. The numbered items are described below:
First page of bill
1. Calendar No. ______
2. Report No. ______
3. Reported by ______ with or without an amendment.
4. Strike all language to be deleted from bill and
mark as shown with the word ``linetype''.
5. New language inserted should be indicated with the
word ``italic.''
Please remember when preparing a bill to be reported to
show each page with text on one side only as shown on the
attached sample.
The printer will normally prepare the text of the bill and
include the amendments adopted by the Committee. It remains the
responsibility of the professional staff to ensure that all
amendments are included as adopted by the Committee.
REVIEW AND FILING OF REPORTS
Reports are printed by the Senate after they have been
filed by the Chairman. One copy each of the report and the
accompanying bill must be filed with the Bill Clerk after the
review process is complete.
The report may be filed in typed copy and reasonable
amounts of legible pen and ink corrections are acceptable.
Reports which are unusually long or complex or which include
numerical data, tabulations, or other difficult material may be
set in galley or page proofs at the request of the Committee so
that the typesetting errors can be corrected before the report
is filed.
Discretion should be used in requesting galleys on reports.
The majority of short reports are filed in typed form, and the
errors are not noticeably greater than those found in reports
pre-typeset before filing. Serious errors which are entirely
typesetting errors will be corrected by the Government Printing
Office (GPO) in a ``star print.''
When a report is to be preset, the copy sent to GPO should
be as complete and accurate as it would be if it were to be
filed in typescript. Setting pieces of reports in type while
drafting other parts while still in progress would be resorted
to only under the most extraordinary time constraints and only
with the approval of the Staff Director or Chief Counsel.
When typeset copy is changed drastically to insert and
remove matter and to make extensive revisions, the probability
of typesetting errors is as great, or perhaps greater, than
when typesetting is done originally from clean copy. Obviously,
the advantage of presetting the report is lost.
The responsible staff person should work with appropriate
Minority staff and carefully consider their suggestion for
material to be included in the report. The value of preparing
joint background memoranda that follow the format of a report
for hearings should be obvious. To the extent possible, most
sections of a report can be precleared with the Minority prior
to a business meeting. The draft report should be completed as
quickly as possible so that measures can be filed within one
week of Committee action. When the responsible staff person is
satisfied that the report is complete and accurate, the pages
of the report should be numbered and stapled to avoid loss of a
page in handling. The accompanying bill should be stapled
separately and the two packages attached by paper clip.
The responsible staff person should then have the Committee
printer check the report to insure legibility and mark the
cover concerning additional copies, etc.
The report should then be given to the Chief Counsel.
The Staff Director or Chief Counsel will arrange for filing
of the report. This review process is not only necessary to
ensure the adequacy of reports, it is an integral part of the
communications network of the Committee. Considering the nature
of the Senate procedure, shortcuts in clearance or review of
reports presents risks out of all proportion with the minimal
delays of the process.
It is the prerogative of the Committee Chairman to file
reports.
Only a Senator can file a report while the Senate is in
session. In special circumstances, reports can be filed while
the Senate is in recess if unanimous consent is obtained in
advance. The Staff Director or Chief Counsel will arrange for
such permission. This procedure should be used sparingly and
only where there is a real need. Late filing inconveniences the
Bill Clerk, contributes to the possibility of clerical or
printing errors, and complicates the clearance of reports with
the Committee.