[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 28, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S774-S775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RULES OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, in accordance with the rules of 
the Senate, I ask that the rules of the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works, adopted by the committee January 28, 1997, be printed in 
the Record.
  The rules follow:

                           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) 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 Drinking 
     Water, Fisheries and Wildlife.
       (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

[[Page S775]]

     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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