[House Prints 113-1]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




                       [COMMITTEE ON RULES PRINT 113-1]

113th Congress
1st Session                HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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               OVERSIGHT PLAN OF THE COMMITTEE ON RULES FOR THE 
                      ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 ------

             FEBRUARY 13, 2013. Approved by the Committee on Rules.

                                 ------

         Mr. SESSIONS, from the Committee on Rules, submitted to the 
         Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Commit- 
                  tee on House Administration the following


                                  REPORT

    Clause 2(d)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives 
requires each standing Committee, not later than February 15 of the first 
session, to adopt an oversight plan for the 113th Congress. The oversight 
plan must be submitted simultaneously to the Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform and the Committee on House Administration.
    The following agenda constitutes the oversight plan of the Committee on 
Rules for the 113th Congress. It includes areas in which the Committee and 
its subcommittees expect to conduct oversight during this Congress, but does 
not preclude oversight or investigation of additional matters or programs as 
they arise. The Committee will consult, as appropriate, with other committees 
of the House that may share jurisdiction on any of the subjects listed below. 

                                  BACKGROUND

    The Committee on Rules has existed as part of the House committee 
structure since the First Congress, when it was established in 1789 as a 
select committee. The essential portion of the present jurisdiction of the 
Committee is set forth in clause 1(o) of rule X, which grants the Committee 
jurisdiction over:
    (1) Rules and joint rules (other than those relating to the Code of 
Conduct) and the order of business of the House.
    (2) Recesses and final adjournments of Congress.
    In addition, clause 3(j) of rule X assigns to the Committee special 
oversight responsibility over the congressional budget process. 
    The Committee on Rules has always been at the forefront of efforts to 
reform the processes and procedures of the House to improve the effectiveness 
of the institution. 
    The Committee also continues to play a lead role in providing 
recommendations for substantive changes to the rules of the House, which are 
adopted on the opening day of each Congress. Such changes have included 
streamlining the committee system to be more effective in conducting 
oversight and other business, ensuring the continuity of Congress in the 
face of man-made and natural disasters, increasing the transparency of 
committee and House actions, and modernizing the operations of the House. 
    Some of the substantive changes to House rules adopted on the opening 
day of the 113th Congress include: 
     Streamlining the voting process for several specific instances 
in the House and the Committee of the Whole, including reducing the time 
for voting on motions to recommit to not less than five minutes;
     Improving the readability of the comparative print required by 
clause 3(e) of rule XIII--commonly known as a ``Ramseyer''--by including other 
contiguous portions of law if they will be useful in understanding the 
change made by the amendment;
     Prohibiting the consideration of a concurrent resolution on 
the budget, or any proposed amendment to or conference report on, unless it 
includes specified information and estimates related to direct spending, 
including means-tested direct spending and nonmeans-tested direct spending;
     Continuing the requirement for ``spending reduction'' accounts 
in appropriations bills to ensure that spending cuts can reduce the costs 
of appropriations bills rather than be used exclusively as offsets for 
additional spending;
     Authorizing the chair of a committee to request that the 
Government Accountability Office perform a duplication analysis of any bill 
or joint resolution referred to that committee; and
     Requiring committee reports on bills or joint resolutions to 
include a statement estimating the number of directed rule-makings required 
by the measure.
    In addition to the items discussed below, the Committee will continuously 
monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the rules changes adopted at 
the beginning of this Congress.


                         MAJOR AREAS FOR OVERSIGHT

    Budget Process Reform. The annual budget process continues to present 
challenges to authorizing committees, appropriations committees, and the 
House as a whole. In each of the last sixteen fiscal years, Congress has 
failed to enact some or all of the annual appropriations bills prior to the 
start of the new fiscal year. In the second session of the 111th Congress, 
the House and Senate not only failed to adopt a concurrent resolution on 
the budget, but for the first time the House and Senate Budget Committees 
failed to even report a resolution. Congress also failed to enact even a 
single regular appropriations bill for fiscal year 2011.  In the 112th 
Congress, the House passed a concurrent resolution on the budget for two 
consecutive years, but the Senate did not consider a budget resolution 
during either session of the 112th Congress.
    To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the legislative budget 
process, the Committee will examine alternative budget processes, including 
the use of biennial budgeting. A two-year budget cycle could provide 
committees and Members much-needed flexibility and time for increased 
scrutiny of government programs and funding requests. 
    The Nation, and by extension the taxpayers, is facing record deficits 
and record levels of public debt. Congress must ensure that its processes 
are best structured to allow for comprehensive oversight and informed 
decision-making.
    The Committee will also continue to pursue the establishment of a joint 
select committee on budget process reform. The Committee recognizes that 
ultimately a bicameral solution is necessary in order to successfully 
implement reforms to the congressional budget process. 
    Dynamic Scoring. The American public and many in Congress continue to 
highlight the pressing need to reduce Federal government spending. This 
increased focus on government spending has also led to greater interest in 
the cost and revenue estimates of proposed legislation. In many cases, these 
estimates are also used to trigger budget enforcement mechanisms.
    The Committee is committed to ensuring that the most accurate and 
comprehensive analysis is available to Members and the public. In the 113th 
Congress, the Committee will examine current estimating models, including 
the feasibility of further incorporating macroeconomic impacts of legisla- 
tion in Congressional estimates in order to determine whether rules changes 
are necessary to improve the quality and accuracy of budget estimates.
    Effective and Efficient Committee Jurisdiction. The Committee on Rules 
has always played an integral role in modernizing the rules of the House, 
including its rules on jurisdiction. In the 104th Congress, the House 
streamlined what was considered to be a bloated and ineffective committee 
system, abolishing three full committees (Committees on Post Office and 
Civil Service, the District of Columbia, and Merchant Marine and Fisheries). 
In the 107th Congress, the trend toward jurisdictional efficiency continued 
with the establishment of a new Committee on Financial Services. In the 
108th Congress, the House responded to the changing security environment 
and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security by creating the 
Select Committee on Homeland Security, which became a standing committee of 
the House in the 109th Congress.  
    The House rules for the 113th Congress include two clarifications to 
rule X.  The changes include clarifying that the Committee on Homeland 
Security's jurisdiction includes the general management of the Department of 
Homeland Security. This change is intended to clarify the Committee's 
existing jurisdiction over the organization and administration of the 
department, and is not intended to alter the pattern of bill referrals to 
the Committee on Homeland Security, nor is it intended to alter the existing 
oversight jurisdiction of the Committee on Homeland Security. Additionally, 
the changes conform terminology used in the jurisdiction of the Committee 
on Natural Resources to terminology recognized by the Departments of State 
and Interior.
 	The Committee notes that there was a minimum of jurisdictional 
conflict in the 112th Congress.  In furtherance of this goal, the Committee 
on Rules will continue to review proposals to streamline the committee 
system and increase effective oversight of the Executive branch and the 
Federal budget during the remainder of the 113th Congress. 
    Impact of New Information Technologies on the House. In recent years, 
the House has adapted and upgraded its technological capabilities to improve 
efficiency, accessibility, and transparency. Members are communicating more 
effectively with their constituents through the use of websites, blogs, and 
tele-townhalls, and many Members communicate with their constituents in real 
time through social media applications. 
    Technology is also affecting the way Congress considers legislation. 
For example, more data and analysis is readily available to Members in the 
execution of their duties. Bills and committee reports are available and 
often searchable electronically, and the public can follow Congressional 
proceedings in real time through ``cybercasts.''
    Providing real-time information allows the broader public access to the 
day-to-day proceedings of the House. Technology is helping bridge the gaps 
of time and distance to bring representative government closer to the people 
and Members closer to their constituents. Technology is helping to create a 
more orderly process and to reduce costs and bureaucracy.
    The 113th Congress rules continue to embrace the work of the 112th 
Congress of recognizing electronic availability as an alternative to 
physical printing by the Government Printing Office. Like any major change, 
this one will require oversight and adjustment as the House gains experience 
with the new rule and its implementation.  In the 112th Congress, the House 
opened its portal for hosting electronic versions of text at 
http://docs.house.gov. At the beginning of this congress, the second phase 
of the project -- the committee ``repository'' -- came online to host 
electronic versions of committee documents. The House Office of Legislative 
Counsel, in conjunction with the Law Revision Counsel, is working on a 
series of electronic tools to facilitate ``comparative prints'' of 
legislation, amendments, and statutes.
    The Committee will continue to monitor the progress of these projects 
and determine whether any additional rule or policy changes are necessary.
    Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. As the House focuses its attention on 
creating jobs and restoring economic growth, it is critical that the Federal 
government not impose burdensome mandates on our nationï¿½s job creators nor 
on our state and local governments.
    In the 104th Congress, the 1996 Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) was 
enacted. Among a number of provisions designed to reduce or eliminate 
unfunded mandates, the law requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) 
to estimate the cost of unfunded public and private sector mandates. CBO 
cost estimates are required to be included in committee reports accompanying 
legislation brought to the House floor for consideration. 
    In 2013, this framework requires CBO to estimate the direct mandate 
costs of intergovernmental mandates exceeding $75 million and of private 
sector mandates exceeding $150 million proposed in any measure reported from 
a committee. It also establishes a point of order against consideration of 
legislation that contains intergovernmental mandates with mandate costs 
estimated to exceed the threshold amount. In addition, Title II requires 
Federal administrative agencies to assess the effects on state and local 
governments and the private sector of proposed and final Federal rules and 
to prepare a written statement of estimated costs and benefits for any 
mandate requiring an expenditure exceeding $100 million in any given year. 
	In the 113th Congress, the Committee will continue to examine the 
application of the procedures and enforcement mechanisms associated with 
UMRA, as well as proposals for expanding the application of the law to 
capture indirect costs.
    Health Care Reform Legislation. In March 2010, President Obama signed 
health care reform legislation into law (P.L. 111-148 & P.L. 111-152). The 
law created an Independent Payment Advisory Board and contains rules and 
procedures for congressional consideration of the Boardï¿½s proposals. The law 
also contains expedited procedures for consideration of a joint resolution 
for the dissolution of the Board.
    Section 3(a) of H. Res. 5 (113th Congress) contained a provision that 
suspends the procedures for congressional consideration of IPAB proposals.  
The Rules Committee will use this opportunity to review necessary changes to 
House procedures relating to IPAB.
    The Congressional Review Act of 1996. Job creation and economic growth 
continues to be the number one priority for the House in the 113th Congress. 
Part of this agenda includes a systematic review of existing Executive 
branch regulations that could hinder economic growth and job creation. 
While the House undertakes a review of existing regulations and their 
potential impacts on job creation and the economy, it is essential that 
Congress also be prepared to respond to future regulatory proposals.
    The Congressional Review Act (CRA) provides Congress with an opportunity 
to review--and stop--regulations before their final implementation. Under 
the expedited procedures established by P.L. 104-121, if a majority of the 
House and Senate vote to approve a joint resolution of disapproval and the 
President signs it into law within 60 legislative days of the regulation's 
publication in The Federal Register, the proposed regulation cannot go into 
effect.
    In the 113th Congress, the Rules Committee may examine the CRA, and its 
procedures, in order to determine if the CRA can be better utilized to 
ensure burdensome regulations do not impede job creation and economic growth. 
    Treatment of Confidential Business Information.  During the normal 
course of oversight, committees obtain a wide variety of information, 
including confidential business information. This can take the form of 
trade secrets, personnel information, attorney-client privileged matter, 
or other kinds of data that would not otherwise be publicly available. 
Sometimes that information comes to the committee from the owner of the 
information, and other times it comes via a Federal regulatory agency that 
receives the information during the normal course of regulatory enforcement.
    Often, this information is essential to providing committees with the 
background necessary to conduct effective oversight of public and private 
entities alike. However, if that same information is disclosed publicly, it 
has the potential to cause irreparable harm to the entity to which the 
information belongs. The firms providing this kind of information often 
have protections against disclosure by Federal agencies, but do not enjoy 
the same kinds of protections when this information is provided to the House.
    The Senate has a rule prohibiting disclosure of confidential business 
information in the possession of a Senate committee; the House has no 
analog. While House committees often deal with these questions on a case- 
by-case basis, some individuals have asked whether more robust protections 
are necessary to avoid disclosure of confidential business information when 
disclosure is not essential to the advancement of oversight. Any change in 
the regime governing this kind of committee information must balance the 
needs of the owner of the information with the needs of the House to conduct 
effective oversight. Further, the operation of the "speech and debate" 
clause of the Constitution must also inform any changes in this area.
    In the 113th Congress, the Committee will conduct a review of existing 
laws and committee rules and procedures governing the handling of 
confidential business information. This review is intended to provide the 
background necessary for the Committee to consider whether any changes to 
the Rules of the House are necessary.


                         COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    The Committee on Rules met in open session on February 13, 2013 and 
ordered the measure reported by a voice vote, a quorum being present.

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