[House Prints, 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



 
                           RULES OF PROCEDURE

                                 of the

                        COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET

                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                 of the

                             UNITED STATES

                             112th CONGRESS

                               2011-2012

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           Printed for the use of the Committee on the Budget



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                            C O N T E N T S

                         General Applicability

                                                                   Page
 1. Applicability of House Rules.................................     1

                                Meetings

 2. Regular meetings.............................................     1
 3. Additional and special meetings..............................     1
 4. Open business meetings.......................................     2
 5. Quorums......................................................     2
 6. Recognition..................................................     2
 7. Consideration of business....................................     2
 8. Availability of legislation..................................     2
 9. Procedure for consideration of budget resolution.............     3
10. Roll call votes..............................................     3

                                Hearings

11. Announcement of hearings.....................................     3
12. Open hearings................................................     3
13. Quorums......................................................     4
14. Questioning witnesses........................................     4
15. Subpoenas and oaths..........................................     4
16. Witnesses' statements........................................     4

                        Prints and Publications

17. Committee prints.............................................     5
18. Committee publications on the Internet.......................     5

                                 Staff

19. Committee staff..............................................     5
20. Staff supervision............................................     5

                                Records

21. Preparation and maintenance of committee records.............     6
22. Access to committee records..................................     6

                               Oversight

23. General oversight............................................     6

                                Reports

24. Availability before filing...................................     7
25. Report on the budget resolution..............................     7
26. Parliamentarian's Status Report and Section 302 Status Report     7
27. Activity report..............................................     8

                             Miscellaneous

28. Broadcasting of meetings and hearings........................     8
29. Appointment of conferees.....................................     8
30. Waivers......................................................     9
                         General Applicability

Rule 1--Applicability of House Rules
    (a) Except as otherwise specified herein, the Rules of the 
House are the rules of the Committee so far as applicable, 
except that a motion to recess from day to day, or a motion to 
recess subject to the call of the Chair (within 24 hours), or a 
motion to dispense with the first reading (in full) of a bill 
or resolution, if printed copies are available, is a non-
debatable motion of privilege in the Committee. A proposed 
investigative or oversight report shall be considered as read 
if it has been available to the members of the Committee for at 
least 24 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays 
except when the House is in session on such day).
    (b) The Committee's rules shall be publicly available in 
electronic form and published in the Congressional Record not 
later than 30 days after the Chair of the Committee is elected 
in each odd-numbered year.

                                Meetings

Rule 2--Regular meetings
    (a) The regular meeting day of the Committee shall be the 
second Wednesday of each month at 11 a.m., while the House is 
in session.
    (b) The Chairman is authorized to dispense with a regular 
meeting when the Chairman determines there is no business to be 
considered by the Committee.
    (c) Regular meetings shall be canceled when they conflict 
with meetings of either party's caucus or conference.
    (d) The Chairman shall give written notice of the date, 
place, and subject matter of any Committee meeting, which may 
not commence earlier than the third day on which members have 
notice thereof, unless the Chairman, with the concurrence of 
the Ranking Minority Member, or the Committee by majority vote 
with a quorum present for the transaction of business, 
determines there is good cause to begin the hearing sooner, in 
which case the Chair shall make the announcement at the 
earliest possible date. An announcement shall be published 
promptly in the Daily Digest and made publicly available in 
electronic form.

Rule 3--Additional and special meetings
    (a) The Chairman may call and convene additional meetings 
of the Committee as the Chairman considers necessary, or 
special meetings at the request of a majority of the members of 
the Committee in accordance with House Rule XI, clause 2(c).
    (b) In the absence of exceptional circumstances, the 
Chairman shall provide written notice of additional meetings to 
the office of each member at least 24 hours in advance while 
Congress is in session, and at least 3 days in advance when 
Congress is not in session.

Rule 4--Open business meetings
    (a) Meetings and hearings of the Committee shall be called 
to order and presided over by the Chair or, in the Chair's 
absence, by the member designated by the Chair as the Vice 
Chair of the Committee, or by the Ranking majority member of 
the Committee present as Acting Chair.
    (b) Each meeting for the transaction of Committee business, 
including the markup of measures, shall be open to the public 
except when the Committee, in open session and with a quorum 
present, determines by roll call vote that all or part of the 
remainder of the meeting on that day shall be closed to the 
public in accordance with House Rule XI, clause 2(g)(1).
    (c) No person, other than members of the Committee and such 
congressional staff and departmental representatives as the 
Committee may authorize, shall be present at any business or 
markup session which has been closed to the public.
    (d) Not later than 24 hours after commencing a meeting to 
consider a measure or matter, the Chair of the Committee shall 
cause the text of such measure or matter and any amendment 
adopted thereto to be made publicly available in electronic 
form.

Rule 5--Quorums
    A majority of the Committee shall constitute a quorum. No 
business shall be transacted and no measure or recommendation 
shall be reported unless a quorum is actually present.

Rule 6--Recognition
    Any member, when recognized by the Chairman, may address 
the Committee on any bill, motion, or other matter under 
consideration before the Committee. The time of such member 
shall be limited to 5 minutes until all members present have 
been afforded an opportunity to comment.

Rule 7--Consideration of business
    Measures or matters may be placed before the Committee, for 
its consideration, by the Chairman or by a majority vote of the 
Committee members, a quorum being present.

Rule 8--Availability of legislation
    (a) The Committee shall consider no bill, joint resolution, 
or concurrent resolution unless copies of the measure have been 
made available to all Committee members at least 24 hours prior 
to the time at which such measure is to be considered. When 
considering concurrent resolutions on the budget, this 
requirement shall be satisfied by making available copies of 
the complete Chairman's mark (or such material as will provide 
the basis for Committee consideration). The provisions of this 
rule may be suspended with the concurrence of the Chairman and 
Ranking Minority Member.
    (b) At least 24 hours prior to the commencement of a 
meeting for the markup of legislation the Chair shall cause the 
text of such legislation to be made publicly available in 
electronic form.

Rule 9--Procedure for consideration of budget resolution
    (a) It shall be the policy of the Committee that the 
starting point for any deliberations on a concurrent resolution 
on the budget should be the estimated or actual levels for the 
fiscal year preceding the budget year.
    (b) In the consideration of a concurrent resolution on the 
budget, the Committee shall first proceed, unless otherwise 
determined by the Committee, to consider budget aggregates, 
functional categories, and other appropriate matters on a 
tentative basis, with the document before the Committee open to 
amendment. Subsequent amendments may be offered to aggregates, 
functional categories, or other appropriate matters, which have 
already been amended in their entirety.
    (c) Following adoption of the aggregates, functional 
categories, and other matters, the text of a concurrent 
resolution on the budget incorporating such aggregates, 
functional categories, and other appropriate matters shall be 
considered for amendment and a final vote.

Rule 10--Roll call votes
    (a) A roll call of the members may be had upon the request 
of at least one-fifth of those present. In the apparent absence 
of a quorum, a roll call may be had on the request of any 
member.
    (b) No vote may be conducted on any measure or motion 
pending before the Committee unless a quorum is present for 
such purpose.
    (c) No vote by any member of the Committee on any measure 
or matter may be cast by proxy.
    (d) In accordance with clause 2(e)(1)(B) of rule XI, a 
record of the vote of each Committee member on each recorded 
vote shall be available for public inspection at the offices of 
the Committee and also made publicly available in electronic 
form within 48 hours of such record vote, and, with respect to 
any roll call vote on any motion to amend or report, shall be 
included in the report of the Committee showing the total 
number of votes cast for and against and the names of those 
members voting for and against.

                                Hearings

Rule 11--Announcement of hearings
    The Chairman shall make a public announcement of the date, 
place, and subject matter of any Committee hearing at least 1 
week before the hearing, beginning with the day in which the 
announcement is made and ending the day preceding the scheduled 
hearing unless the Chairman, with the concurrence of the 
Ranking Minority Member, or the Committee by majority vote with 
a quorum present for the transaction of business, determines 
there is good cause to begin the hearing sooner, in which case 
the Chairman shall make the announcement at the earliest 
possible date. Such announcement shall be published promptly in 
the Daily Digest and made publicly available in electronic 
form.

Rule 12--Open hearings
    (a) Each hearing conducted by the Committee or any of its 
task forces shall be open to the public except when the 
Committee or task force, in open session and with a quorum 
present, determines by roll call vote that all or part of the 
remainder of that hearing on that day shall be closed to the 
public because disclosure of testimony, evidence, or other 
matters to be considered would endanger the national security, 
or would compromise sensitive law enforcement information, or 
would tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person, or 
would violate any law or rule of the House of Representatives. 
The Committee or task forces may by the same procedure vote to 
close one subsequent day of hearing.
    (b) For the purposes of House Rule XI, clause 2(g)(2), the 
task forces of the Committee are considered to be 
subcommittees.

Rule 13--Quorums
    For the purpose of hearing testimony, not less than two 
members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum.

Rule 14--Questioning witnesses
    (a) Questioning of witnesses will be conducted under the 5-
minute rule unless the Committee adopts a motion pursuant to 
House Rule XI clause 2(j).
    (b) In questioning witnesses under the 5-minute rule:
    (1) First, the Chairman and the Ranking Minority Member 
shall be recognized;
    (2) Next, the Committee members present at the time the 
hearing is called to order shall be recognized in order of 
seniority; and
    (3) Finally, the Committee members not present at the time 
the hearing is called to order may be recognized in the order 
of their arrival at the hearing.
    (c) In recognizing Committee members to question witnesses, 
the Chairman may take into consideration the ratio of majority 
members to minority members and the number of majority and 
minority members present and shall apportion the recognition 
for questioning in such a manner as not to disadvantage the 
members of the majority.
    (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (A), the 
Chair and Ranking Minority Member may designate an equal number 
of members from each party to question a witness for a period 
not longer than 30 minutes, or may designate staff from each 
party to question a witness for a period not longer than 30 
minutes.

Rule 15--Subpoenas and oaths
    (a) In accordance with House Rule XI, clause 2(m) subpoenas 
authorized by a majority of the Committee or by the Chair 
(pursuant to such rules and limitations as the Committee may 
prescribe) may be issued over the signature of the Chairman or 
of any member of the Committee designated by him, and may be 
served by any person designated by the Chairman or such member.
    (b) The Chairman, or any member of the Committee designated 
by the Chairman, may administer oaths to witnesses.

Rule 16--Witnesses' statements
    (a) So far as practicable, any prepared statement to be 
presented by a witness shall be submitted to the Committee at 
least 24 hours in advance of presentation, and shall be 
distributed to all members of the Committee in advance of 
presentation.
    (b) To the greatest extent possible, each witness appearing 
in a nongovernmental capacity shall include with the written 
statement of proposed testimony a curriculum vitae and a 
disclosure of the amount and source (by agency and program) of 
any Federal grant (or sub-grant thereof) or contract (or 
subcontract thereof) received during the current fiscal year or 
either of the two preceding fiscal years.
    (c) Such statements, with appropriate redactions to protect 
the privacy of witnesses, shall be made publicly available in 
electronic form not later than one day after the witness 
appears.

                        Prints and Publications

Rule 17--Committee Prints
    All Committee prints and other materials prepared for 
public distribution shall be approved by the Committee prior to 
any distribution, unless such print or other material shows 
clearly on its face that it has not been approved by the 
Committee.
Rule 18--Committee publications on the Internet
    To the maximum extent feasible, the Committee shall make 
its publications available in electronic form.

                                 Staff

Rule 19--Committee staff
    (a) Subject to approval by the Committee, and to the 
provisions of the following paragraphs, the professional and 
clerical staff of the Committee shall be appointed, and may be 
removed, by the Chairman.
    (b) Committee staff shall not be assigned any duties other 
than those pertaining to Committee business, and shall be 
selected without regard to race, creed, gender, or age, and 
solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties of their 
respective positions.
    (c) All Committee staff shall be entitled to equitable 
treatment, including comparable salaries, facilities, access to 
official Committee records, leave, and hours of work.
    (d) Notwithstanding paragraphs a, b, and c, staff shall be 
employed in compliance with House rules, the Employment and 
Accountability Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, and 
any other applicable Federal statutes.

Rule 20--Staff supervision
    (a) Staff shall be under the general supervision and 
direction of the Chairman, who shall establish and assign their 
duties and responsibilities, delegate such authority as he 
deems appropriate, fix and adjust staff salaries (in accordance 
with House Rule X, clause 9(c)) and job titles, and, at his 
discretion, arrange for their specialized training.
    (b) Staff assigned to the minority shall be under the 
general supervision and direction of the minority members of 
the Committee, who may delegate such authority, as they deem 
appropriate.

                                Records

Rule 21--Preparation and maintenance of committee records
    (a) A substantially verbatim account of remarks actually 
made during the proceedings shall be made of all hearings and 
business meetings subject only to technical, grammatical, and 
typographical corrections.
    (b) The proceedings of the Committee shall be recorded in a 
journal, which shall among other things, include a record of 
the votes on any question on which a record vote is demanded.
    (c) Members of the Committee shall correct and return 
transcripts of hearings as soon as practicable after receipt 
thereof, except that any changes shall be limited to technical, 
grammatical, and typographical corrections.
    (d) Any witness may examine the transcript of his own 
testimony and make grammatical, technical, and typographical 
corrections.
    (e) The Chairman may order the printing of a hearing record 
without the corrections of any member or witness if he 
determines that such member or witness has been afforded a 
reasonable time for correction, and that further delay would 
seriously impede the Committee's responsibility for meeting its 
deadlines under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    (f) Transcripts of hearings and meetings may be printed if 
the Chairman decides it is appropriate, or if a majority of the 
members so request.

Rule 22--Access to committee records
    (a) (1) The Chairman shall promulgate regulations to 
provide for public inspection of roll call votes and to provide 
access by members to Committee records (in accordance with 
House Rule XI, clause 2(e)).
    (2) Access to classified testimony and information shall be 
limited to Members of Congress and to House Budget Committee 
staff and staff of the Office of Official Reporters who have 
appropriate security clearance.
    (3) Notice of the receipt of such information shall be sent 
to the Committee members. Such information shall be kept in the 
Committee safe, and shall be available to members in the 
Committee office.
    (b) The records of the Committee at the National Archives 
and Records Administration shall be made available for public 
use in accordance with Rule VII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives. The Chairman shall notify the Ranking Minority 
Member of any decision, pursuant to clause 3(b)(3) or clause 
4(b) of the rule, to withhold a record otherwise available, and 
the matter shall be presented to the Committee for a 
determination on the written request of any member of the 
Committee.

                               Oversight

Rule 23--General oversight
    (a) The Committee shall review and study, on a continuing 
basis, the application, administration, execution, and 
effectiveness of those laws, or parts of laws, the subject of 
which is within its jurisdiction.
    (b) The Committee is authorized at any time to conduct such 
investigations and studies as it may consider necessary or 
appropriate in the exercise of its responsibilities under 
clause (1)(d) of Rule X of the Rules of the House, and, subject 
to the adoption of expense resolutions as required by clause 6 
of Rule X, to incur expenses (including travel expenses) in 
connection therewith.
    (c) Not later than February 15 of the first session of a 
Congress, the Committee shall meet in open session, with a 
quorum present, to adopt its oversight plans for that Congress 
for submission to the Committee on House Administration and the 
Committee on Oversight & Government Reform in accordance with 
the provisions of clause (2)(d) of House Rule X.

                                Reports

Rule 24--Availability before filing
    (a) Any report accompanying any bill or resolution ordered 
reported to the House by the Committee shall be available to 
all Committee members at least 36 hours prior to filing with 
the House.
    (b) No material change shall be made in any report made 
available to members pursuant to section (a) without the 
concurrence of the Ranking Minority Member or by a majority 
vote of the Committee.
    (c) Notwithstanding any other rule of the Committee, either 
or both subsections (a) and (b) may be waived by the Chairman 
or with a majority vote by the Committee.

Rule 25--Report on the budget resolution
    The report of the Committee to accompany a concurrent 
resolution on the budget shall include a comparison of the 
estimated or actual levels for the year preceding the budget 
year with the proposed spending and revenue levels for the 
budget year and each out year along with the appropriate 
percentage increase or decrease for each budget function and 
aggregate. The report shall include any roll call vote on any 
motion to amend or report any measure.

Rule 26--Parliamentarian's Status Report and Section 302 Status Report
    (a) (1) In order to carry out its duty under sections 311 
and 312 of the Congressional Budget Act to advise the House of 
Representatives as to the current level of spending and 
revenues as compared to the levels set forth in the latest 
agreed-upon concurrent resolution on the budget, the Committee 
shall advise the Speaker on at least a monthly basis when the 
House is in session as to its estimate of the current level of 
spending and revenue. Such estimates shall be prepared by the 
staff of the Committee, transmitted to the Speaker in the form 
of a Parliamentarian's Status Report, and printed in the 
Congressional Record.
    (2) The Committee authorizes the Chairman, in consultation 
with the Ranking Minority Member, to transmit to the Speaker 
the Parliamentarian's Status Report described above.
    (b) (1) In order to carry out its duty under sections 302 
and 312 of the Congressional Budget Act to advise the House of 
Representative as to the current level of spending within the 
jurisdiction of Committees as compared to the appropriate 
allocations made pursuant to the Budget Act in conformity with 
the latest agreed-upon concurrent resolution on the budget, the 
Committee shall, as necessary, advise the Speaker as to its 
estimate of the current level of spending within the 
jurisdiction of appropriate Committees. Such estimates shall be 
prepared by the staff of the Committee and transmitted to the 
Speaker in the form of a Section 302 Status Report.
    (2) The Committee authorizes the Chairman, in consultation 
with the Ranking Minority Member, to transmit to the Speaker 
the Section 302 Status Report described above.

Rule 27--Activity report
    (a) After an adjournment of the last regular session of a 
Congress sine die, the Chair of the Committee may file any time 
with the Clerk the Committee's activity report for that 
Congress pursuant to clause (1)(d)(1) of rule XI of the Rules 
of the House without the approval of the Committee, if a copy 
of the report has been available to each member of the 
Committee for at least seven calendar days and the report 
includes any supplemental, minority, or additional views 
submitted by a member of the Committee.
    (b) Not later than the 30th day after June 1 and December 
1, the Committee shall submit to the House a semiannual report 
on the activities of the Committee. After adjournment sine die 
of a regular session of Congress, or after December 15, 
whichever occurs first, the Chair may file the second or fourth 
semiannual report with the Clerk at any time and without 
approval of the Committee, provided that a copy of the report 
has been available to each member of the Committee for at least 
seven calendar days and the report includes any supplemental, 
minority, or additional views submitted by a member of the 
Committee.

                             Miscellaneous

Rule 28--Broadcasting of meetings and hearings
    (a) It shall be the policy of the Committee to give all 
news media access to open hearings of the Committee, subject to 
the requirements and limitations set forth in House Rule XI, 
clause 4.
    (b) Whenever any Committee business meeting is open to the 
public, that meeting may be covered, in whole or in part, by 
television broadcast, radio broadcast, still photography, or by 
any of such methods of coverage, in accordance with House Rule 
XI, clause 4.

Rule 29--Appointment of conferees
    (a) Majority party members recommended to the Speaker as 
conferees shall be recommended by the Chairman subject to the 
approval of the majority party members of the Committee.
    (b) The Chairman shall recommend such minority party 
members as conferees as shall be determined by the minority 
party; the recommended party representation shall be in 
approximately the same proportion as that in the Committee.

Rule 30--Waivers
    When a reported bill or joint resolution, conference 
report, or anticipated floor amendment violates any provision 
of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Chairman may, if 
practical, consult with the Committee members on whether the 
Chairman should recommend, in writing, that the Committee on 
Rules report a special rule that enforces the Act by not 
waiving the applicable points of order during the consideration 
of such measure.

                                  
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