[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 13, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H288-H292]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE STATUS OF CENSUS 2000
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is a significant day
in the history of our Republic. For only the 22nd time since our
founding, those charged with the constitutional mandate to conduct a
decennial census will report to the Nation on the preliminary results
of their work. The Census acting director appears before Congress, and
he will give us the first report on the quality and completeness of
that count, under oath.
Rumor has it that the results are good, I think. I say that because
there is still quite a bit we do not know. Apparently, the net national
undercount from the 2000 census is about 1 percent. These results are a
significant improvement over 1990. The 2000 census may well be the best
ever conducted.
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It is also my obligation to report to this House that all may not be
well with the census. If what I read in the papers is right, there is
an ongoing plan by the Republican leadership to stop the Bureau from
completing its job by blocking the use of modern scientific methods to
achieve the most accurate picture of America.
This is not a charge that I make or any Democrat makes, it is a
charge made by the investigative staff of none other than the Wall
Street Journal in a story which appeared last Thursday quoting
Republican sources that such a plan is afoot.
Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record this issue of the Wall Street
Journal.
[From the Wall Street Journal, Feb. 8, 2001]
Bush's Next Recount Battle: Should Census Tallies Be Adjusted?
(By Jim VandeHei)
Washington.--Amid warnings of protests from minorities,
President Bush must decide soon whether to use revised census
data to redraw congressional boundaries and to divvy up
roughly $185 billion a year in federal funds
At issue is the way the U.S. counts its people. Republicans
want the person-by-person head count conducted in 2000 to
stand; Democrats are demanding the use of statistical
``sampling'' models that they believe more accurately count
hard-to-reach minority families in inner cities.
With potentially greater representation of minorities--and,
therefore, Democrats--in Congress at stake, plus billions of
dollars for minority communities, New York Democratic Rep.
Carolyn Maloney calls the dispute the ``bloodiest political
war'' she has ever seen. If Democrats lose, Mr. Bush's
decision ``will clearly make Florida look like a case of
petty theft,'' she says.
But Republicans on Capitol Hill insist the war is over: The
White House, they say, has privately promised to block states
from using sampled numbers to redraw any of the nation's 435
congressional districts. This would brighten Republicans'
prospects for retaining their tenuous five-seat House
majority in 2002. Missouri GOP Rep. Roy Blunt, a Bush
confidant, says he does ``not believe there is any reason''
that the president would change his mind and permit the use
of ``statistical sampling'' for redistricting, which the GOP
argues is unconstitutional.
Mr. Bush, however, may be willing to use sampled data for
the distribution of federal funds if it becomes clear that
the revised figures will increase government funding for
urban, minority areas. This potential ``compromise,''
Republicans say, underscores the president's sensitivity to
the racial overtones of this debate. That could hardly
placate Democrats, given the enormous political stakes.
Working Toward a Solution
Scott McClellan, a spokesman for President Bush, says no
decisions have been made yet. But officials at the Commerce
Department, which oversees the Census Bureau, are working to
craft a solution. Commerce Department officials have been
advised by two stauch critics of sampling: Tom Hoffeler, a
redistricting guru at the Republican National Committee, and
Jane Cobb, the GOP staff director on the House subcommittee
that overseas the census. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans,
who was Mr. Bush's campaign chairman, also will play an
influential role. * * * this month. If the bureau finds that
the 2000 head count was off significantly, it could release
the sampled figures when it begins providing states a
breakdown of the original census on March 1 for
redistricting. A final decision, by law, must be made by the
end of March.
Mr. Bush's father faced a similar situation 10 years ago.
Finally, then-Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher blocked the
Census Bureau from using sampled numbers. He provided the
younger Bush a precedent for possible compromise by later
finding that sampled data, if based on sound science, could
be preferable for distributing government funds.
This time, the White House has an array of options to stop
the use of sampled data for redistricting. All are loaded
with political and practical consequences.
Mr. Bush could revoke a Clinton administration rule that
empowers the head of the Census Bureau to make the final call
on whether to use sampled data. The courts have ruled that
only unadjusted data could be used to determine how many
House seats each state gets, but they left open the question
of whether sampling could be used to redraw districts. Mr.
Bush would have to overturn the rule before the new figures
are released publicly, which gives him about a month to act.
Or the president could appoint a new Census Bureau
director, who would make the final call on release of sampled
data and possibly provide cover to Mr. Bush. Kenneth Prewitt,
the bureau's director under former President Clinton and a
staunch advocate of sampling, left last month. Career civil
servant William Barron, the acting director, would not
hesitate to release the sampled data if it showed a
noticeable difference, observers say. But it would be nearly
impossible for Mr. Bush to get a new director in place in
time.
There is still a slim chance that Mr. Bush won't have to
make a decision at all. If the Census Bureau finds that the
2000 person-by-person head count was nearly dead-on; there
would be no reason to use revised numbers. That is unlikely,
but Mr. Prewitt does say the 2000 census was the most
accurate count ever taken. Democrats concede that it was
probably far more accurate than the 1990 count, which they
say underestimated the U.S. population by a net of about four
million people, mostly poor people from big cities.
guarding `their civil rights'
But Rep. Maloney says it is likely that 2000 census, at the
very least, missed huge pockets of people of inner cities
that ``must have their civil rights protected.''
It is impossible to determine what effect the sampled data
will have on the distribution of federal funds until the
numbers are released. But if the 1990 census is any
indication, it could boost government spending by billions of
dollars over 10 years in cities such as New York and Chicago,
according to various studies, because the government
allocates much of its funds based on population.
Rep. Thomas Davis of Virginia, chairman of the GOP's
congressional committee, accuses the Democrats of ``using the
funding issue to try to scare people'' and mask their true
intent, which is to pick up House seats. ``Every seat
counts,'' when a swing of five seats would cost the GOP
control of the House, he says. Indeed, experts predict that
sampling could significantly increase the number of
Democratic voters in as many as 12 House districts currently
held by Republicans.
Most of these seats are swing districts on the shoulders of
the country's largest cities. Consider Los Angeles. Democrats
control the entire redistricting process, which is done by
the governor and the state Legislature. If the Census
Bureau's sampling data finds that minorities inside Los
Angeles were undercounted, it could correct the problem by
adding thousands of residents, presumably Democrats, to its
original count. When the state redraws its congressional
districts, Democrats then could simply draw pockets of
minority-rich neighborhoods into GOP districts in neighboring
suburbs.
In California alone, Republicans worry that this could cost
them at least two House seats. Sampling, says Rep. Blunt,
could ``change'' the control of the House.
In the end, it is likely that the courts will decide this
dispute. Indeed, both sides have promised to file lawsuits if
they lose.
Mr. Speaker, as we all learned in high school, no single action by
this government other than the census does more to reapportion
political power here and in our State legislatures and local
communities. No single action, other than the census, does more to
fairly distribute billions in Federal, State, and local tax dollars or
private investment. No single act does more to recognize who we are as
individuals, or together as communities assembled into a single Nation.
The impact of each new census is far-reaching because each occurs
only once every 10 years. We have just completed our 22nd decennial
census. Indeed, our fighting men and women have been sent abroad to
defend liberty more times than we have conducted a full count of our
own people to ensure that liberty is guaranteed.
A successful effort to interfere with a modern scientific count to
achieve a purely partisan advantage of one political party over the
other, as the Wall Street Journal suggests is under way, denies liberty
and disenfranchises the unrepresented for an entire decade. That is why
many call this moment in our history the most important civil rights
issue of this decade.
Mr. Speaker, I remind this House of the recent election process in
Florida. Those who felt denied access to the polls or disenfranchised
by having their ballots set aside, or those stripped of their right to
choose their political leadership, they still have recourse. Next year
they can go to the polls again in local, State, and Federal elections
and make their voices heard. Believe me, the whole world will be
watching.
To those left out of the census, however, those that are
disenfranchised by a purely partisan intervention to ensure that they
are not counted or recognized or represented, to them there is no
recourse, not for 10 long years. Billions of dollars in Federal funding
will be unfairly spent, private investment will be redirected to those
less deserving, local planners and school boards will overlook again
those uncounted, unless we do everything we can to improve the census
and ensure that it is as complete and accurate as possible.
What we are likely to hear tomorrow is that the net national
undercount is better than in 1990. It may be 3 million people missed
instead of 4 million. In any case, we know that they are most
[[Page H290]]
likely, most probably, minorities and children who are undercounted,
the urban and rural poor. Mostly affluent whites have been double-
counted. Mr. Speaker, we cannot make up for not counting minorities by
double-counting whites.
There are those in the administration rushing to prejudge the results
without having all the facts. They claim this is the most accurate
census in American history. We hope so, but the whole story is not
known.
The key to this challenge is not just how many were missed, but who
was missed? Where do they reside? Were some groups missed at higher
rates than others? What if we learned that nationally a net of 3
million residents were missed, but that one million were in Florida.
Would Florida not insist on an adjustment?
Equality of outcome, for all types of communities and for all
population groups, is what we need to ensure the fair allocation of
resources to areas most in need, as well as the obvious, equal
representation for everyone in our democracy.
This is my pledge to the Members of the House and to those we
represent. Through my position on the Census Subcommittee, and through
whatever power I can muster, we will ultimately learn if any political
influence by this administration is used to interfere with the
scientific process of a complete and accurate Census. I led the fight
to ensure that career professionals at the Census Bureau would make
this decision when the prior Democratic administration was in power.
The same process should apply to the new administration. I want to
ensure the Secretary of Commerce and the President that we are
watching. There can be no more unseemly act than the one suggested in
these press accounts. To have the very government elected to serve the
people use its power to block the exercise of every political right on
the part of millions of Americans is wrong.
We are on the verge in this Nation of redrawing every political
jurisdiction in every state from congressional districts to state
legislatures to city councils and school boards and even local taxing
districts. Only the census numbers which give us the most complete
accounting of everyone residing in our country should be used for that
purpose. To think that this Federal Government, the very instrument of
political empowerment in the last century for people of color, women,
and youth, would be turned against those same groups is unimaginable.
We shall not have ended the poll tax, given suffrage to women,
lowered the voting age to 18, ensured all qualified citizens the right
to vote, arrested those who intimidated voters at the polls, to just
turn away now while millions are left uncounted, unrecognized and
unempowered. The struggle for full voting rights cannot and must not be
undone by the swipe of a political appointee's pen.
PUBLICATION OF THE RULES OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE 107TH
CONGRESS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, on February 7, 2001, the Committee on Energy
and Commerce, meeting in open markup session, adopted the following
Rules for the 107th Congress.
RULES FOR THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE 107TH CONGRESS
Rule 1. General Provisions. (a) Rules of the Committee. The
Rules of the House are the rules of the Committee on Energy
and Commerce (hereinafter the ``Committee'') and its
subcommittees so far as is applicable, except that a motion
to recess from day to day, and a motion to dispense with the
first reading (in full) of a bill or resolution, if printed
copies are available, are nondebatable and privileged in the
Committee and its subcommittees.
(b) Rules of the Subcommittees. Each subcommittee of the
Committee is part of the Committee and is subject to the
authority and direction of the Committee and to its rules so
far as applicable. Written rules adopted by the Committee,
not inconsistent with the Rules of the House, shall be
binding on each subcommittee of the Committee.
Rule 2. Time and Place of Meetings. (a) Regular Meeting
Days. The Committee shall meet on the fourth Tuesday of each
month at 10 a.m., for the consideration of bills,
resolutions, and other business, if the House is in session
on that day. If the House is not in session on that day and
the Committee has not met during such month, the Committee
shall meet at the earliest practicable opportunity when the
House is again in session. The chairman of the Committee may,
at his discretion, cancel, delay, or defer any meeting
required under this section, after consultation with the
ranking minority member.
(b) Additional Meetings. The chairman may call and convene,
as he considers necessary, additional meetings of the
Committee for the consideration of any bill or resolution
pending before the Committee or for the conduct of other
Committee business. The Committee shall meet for such
purposes pursuant to that call of the chairman.
(c) Vice Chairmen; Presiding Member. The chairman shall
designate a member of the majority party to serve as vice
chairman of the Committee, and shall designate a majority
member of each subcommittee to serve as vice chairman of each
subcommittee. The vice chairman of the Committee or
subcommittee, as the case may be, shall preside at any
meeting or hearing during the temporary absence of the
chairman. If the chairman and vice chairman of the Committee
or subcommittee are not present at any meeting or hearing,
the ranking member of the majority party who is present shall
preside at the meeting or hearing.
(d) Open Meetings and Hearings. Except as provided by the
Rules of the House, each meeting of the Committee or any of
its subcommittees for the translated of business, including
the markup of legislation, and each hearing, shall be open to
the public including to radio, television and still
photograph coverage, consistent with the provisions of Rule
XI of the Rules of the House.
Rule 3. Agenda. The agenda for each Committee or
subcommittee meeting (other than a hearing), setting out the
date, time, place, and all items of business to be
considered, shall be provided to each member of the Committee
at least 36 hours in advance of such meeting.
Rule 4. Procedure. (a)(1) Hearings. The date, time, place,
and subject matter of any hearing of the Committee or any of
its subcommittees shall be announced at least one week in
advance of the commencement of such hearing, unless the
Committee or subcommittee determines in accordance with
clause 2(g)(3) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House that
there is good cause to begin the hearing sooner.
(2)(A) Meetings. The date, time, place, and subject matter
of any meeting (other than a hearing) scheduled on a Tuesday,
Wednesday, or Thursday when the House will be in session,
shall be announced at least 36 hours (exclusive of Saturdays,
Sundays, and legal holidays except when the House is in
session on such days) in advance of the commencement of such
meeting.
(B) Other Meetings. The date, time, place, and subject
matter of a meeting (other than a hearing or a meeting to
which subparagraph (A) applies) shall be announced at least
72 hours in advance of the commencement of such meeting.
(b)(1) Requirements for Testimony. Each witness who is to
appear before the Committee or a subcommittee shall file with
the clerk of the Committee, at least two working days in
advance of his or her appearance, sufficient copies, as
determined by the chairman of the Committee or a
subcommittee, of a written statement of his or her proposed
testimony to provide to members and staff of the Committee or
subcommittee, the news media, and the general public. Each
witness shall, to the greatest extent practicable, also
provide a copy of such written testimony in an electronic
format prescribed by the chairman. Each witness shall limit
his or her oral presentation to a brief summary of the
argument. The chairman of the Committee or subcommittee, or
the presiding member, may waive the requirements of this
paragraph or any part thereof.
(2) Additional Requirements for Testimony. To the greatest
extent practicable, the written testimony of each witness
appearing in a non-government capacity shall include a
curriculum vitae and disclosure of the amount and source (by
agency and program) of any federal grant (or subgrant
thereof) or contract (or subcontract thereof) received during
the current fiscal year or either of the two preceding fiscal
years by the witness or by an entity represented by the
witness.
(c) Questioning Witnesses. The right to interrogate the
witnesses before the Committee or any of its subcommittees
shall alternate between majority and minority members. Each
member shall be limited to 5 minutes in the interrogation of
witnesses until such time as each member who so desires has
had an opportunity to question witnesses. No member shall be
recognized for a second period of 5 minutes to interrogate a
witness until each member of the Committee present has been
recognized once for that purpose. While the Committee or
subcommittee is operating under the 5-minute rule for the
interrogation of witnesses, the chairman shall recognize in
order of appearance members who were not present when the
meeting was called to order after all members who were
present when the meeting was called to order have been
recognized in the order of seniority on the Committee or
subcommittee, as the case may be.
(d) Explanation of Subcommittee Action. No bill,
recommendation, or other matter reported by a subcommitt4ee
shall be considered by the full explanation, has been
available to members of the Committee for at least 36 hours.
Such explanation shall include a summary of the major
provisions of the legislation, an explanation of the
relationship of the matter to present law, and a summary of
the need for the legislation. All subcommittee actions shall
be reported promptly by the clerk of the Committee to all
members of the Committee.
(e) Opening Statements. Opening statements by members at
the beginning of any hearing or markup of the Committee or
any of its subcommittees shall be limited to 5 minutes each
for the chairman and ranking minority member (or their
respective designee) of the Committee or subcommittee, as
[[Page H291]]
applicable, and 3 minutes each for all other members.
Rule 5. Waiver of Agenda, Notice, and Layover Requirements.
Requirements of rules 3, 4(a)(2), and 4(d) may be waived by a
majority of those present and voting (a majority being
present) of the Committee or subcommittee, as the case may
be.
Rule 6. Quorum. Testimony may be taken and evidence
received at any hearing at which there are present not fewer
than two members of the Committee or subcommittee in
question. A majority of the member of the Committee shall
constitute a quorum for the purposes of reporting any measure
or matter, or authorizing a subpoena, or of closing a meeting
or hearing pursuant to clause 2(g) of Rule XI of the Rules of
the House (except as provided in clause 2(g)(2)(A) and (B)).
For the purposes of taking any action other than those
specified in the preceding sentence, one-third of the members
of the Committee or subcommittee shall constitute a quorum.
Rule 7. Official Committee Records. (a)(1) Journal. The
proceedings of the Committee shall be recorded in a journal
which shall, among other things, show those present at each
meeting, and include a record of the vote on any question on
which a record vote is demanded and a description of the
amendment, motion, order, or other proposition voted. A copy
of the journal shall be furnished to the ranking minority
member.
(2) Recorded Votes. A record vote may be demanded by one-
fifth of the members present or, in the apparent absence of a
quorum, by any one member. No demand for a record vote shall
be made or obtained except for the purpose of procuring a
record vote or in the apparent absence of a quorum. The
result of each record vote in any meeting of the Committee
shall be made available in the Committee office for
inspection by the public, as provided in Rule XI, clause 2(e)
of the Rules of the House.
(b) Archived Records. 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. 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. The chairman shall consult
with the ranking minority member on any communication from
the Archivist of the United States or the Clerk of the
House concerning the disposition of noncurrent records
pursuant to clause 3(b) of the Rule.
Rule 8. Subcommittees. There shall be such standing
subcommittees with such jurisdiction and size as determined
by the majority party caucus of the Committee. The
jurisdiction, number, and size of the subcommittees shall be
determined by the majority party caucus prior to the start of
the process for establishing subcommittee chairmanships and
assignments.
Rule 9. Powers and Duties of Subcommittees. Each
subcommittee is authorized to meet, hold hearings, receive
testimony, mark up legislation, and report to the Committee
on all matters referred to it. Subcommittee chairmen shall
set hearing and meeting dates only with the approval of the
chairman of the Committee with a view toward assuring the
availability of meeting rooms and avoiding simultaneous
scheduling of Committee and subcommittee meetings or hearings
whenever possible.
Rule 10. Reference of Legislation and Other Matters. All
legislation and other matters referred to the Committee shall
be referred to the subcommittee of appropriate jurisdiction
within two weeks of the date of receipt by the Committee
unless action is taken by the full committee within those two
weeks, or by majority vote of the members of the Committee,
consideration is to be by the full Committee. In the case of
legislation or other matter within the jurisdiction of more
than one subcommittee, the chairman of the Committee may, in
his discretion, refer the matter simultaneously to two or
more subcommittees for concurrent consideration, or may
designate a subcommittee of primary jurisdiction and also
refer the matter to one or more additional subcommittees for
consideration in sequence (subject to appropriate time
limitations), either on its initial referral or after the
matter has been reported by the subcommittee of primary
jurisdiction. Such authority shall include the authority to
refer such legislation or matter to an ad hoc subcommittee
appointed by the chairman, with the approval of the
Committee, from the members of the subcommittee having
legislative or oversight jurisdiction.
Rule 11. Ratio of Subcommittees. The majority caucus of the
Committee shall determine an appropriate ratio of majority to
minority party members for each subcommittee and the chairman
shall negotiate that ratio with the minority party, provided
that the ratio of party members on each subcommittee shall be
no less favorable to the majority than that of the full
Committee, nor shall such ratio provide for a majority of
less than two majority members.
Rule 12. Subcommittee Membership. (a) Selection of
Subcommittee Members. Prior to any organizational meeting
held by the Committee, the majority and minority caucuses
shall select their respective members of the standing
subcommittee.
(b) Ex Officio Members. The chairman and ranking minority
member of the Committee shall be ex officio members with
voting privileges of each subcommittee of which they are not
assigned as members and may be counted for purposes of
establishing a quorum in such subcommittees.
Rule 13. Managing Legislation on the House Floor. The
chairman, in his discretion, shall designate which member
shall manage legislation reported by the Committee to the
House.
Rule 14. Committee Professional and Clerical Staff
Appointments. (a) Delegation of Staff. Whenever the chairman
of the Committee determines that any professional staff
member appointed pursuant to the provisions of clause 9 of
Rule X of the House of Representatives, who is assigned to
such chairman and not to the ranking minority member, by
reason of such professional staff member's expertise or
qualifications will be of assistance to one or more
subcommittees in carrying out their assigned
responsibilities, he may delegate such member to such
subcommittees for such purpose. A delegation of a member of
the professional staff pursuant to this subsection shall be
made after consultation with subcommittee chairmen and with
the approval of the subcommittee chairman or chairmen
involved.
(b) Minority Professional Staff. Professional staff members
appointed pursuant to clause 9 of Rule X of the House of
Representatives, who are assigned to the ranking minority
member of the Committee and not to the chairman of the
Committee, shall be assigned to such Committee business as
the minority party members of the Committee consider
advisable.
(c) Additional Staff Appointments. In addition to the
professional staff appointed pursuant to clause 9 of Rule X
of the House of Representatives, the chairman of the
Committee shall be entitled to make such appointments to the
professional and clerical staff of the Committee as may be
provided within the budget approved for such purposes by the
Committee. Such appointee shall be assigned to such business
of the full Committee as the chairman of the Committee
considers advisable.
(d) Sufficient Staff. The chairman shall ensure that
sufficient staff is made available to each subcommittee to
carry out its responsibilities under the rules of the
Committee.
(e) Fair Treatment of Minority Members in Appointment of
Committee Staff. The chairman shall ensure that the minority
members of the Committee are treated fairly in appointment of
Committee staff.
(f) Contracts for Temporary or Intermittent Services. Any
contract for the temporary services or intermittent service
of individual consultants or organizations to make studies or
advise the Committee or its subcommittees with respect to any
matter within their jurisdiction shall be deemed to have been
approved by a majority of the members of the Committee if
approved by the chairman and ranking minority member of the
Committee. Such approval shall not be deemed to have been
given if at least one-third of the members of the Committee
request in writing that the Committee formally act on such a
contract, if the request is made within 10 days after the
latest date on which such chairman or chairmen, and such
ranking minority member or members, approve such contract.
Rule 15. Supervision, Duties of Staff. (a) Supervision of
Majority Staff. The professional and clerical staff of the
Committee not assigned to the minority shall be under the
supervision and direction of the chairman who, in
consultation with the chairmen of the subcommittees, shall
establish and assign the duties and responsibilities of such
staff members and delegate such authority as he determines
appropriate.
(b) Supervision of Minority Staff. The professional and
clerical staff assigned to the minority shall be under the
supervision and direction of the minority members of the
Committee, who may delegate such authority as they determine
appropriate.
Rule 16. Committee Budget. (a) Preparation of the Committee
Budget. The chairman of the Committee, after consultation
with the ranking minority member of the Committee and the
chairmen of the subcommittees, shall for the 107th Congress
prepare a preliminary budget for the Committee, with such
budget including necessary amounts for professional and
clerical staff, travel, investigations, equipment and
miscellaneous expenses of the Committee and the
subcommittees, and which shall be adequate to fully discharge
the Committee's responsibilities for legislation and
oversight. Such budget shall be presented by the chairman to
the majority party caucus of the Committee and thereafter to
the full Committee for its approval.
(b) Approval of the Committee Budget. The chairman shall
take whatever action is necessary to have the budget as
finally approved by the Committee duly authorized by the
House. No proposed Committee budget may be submitted to the
Committee on House Administration unless it has been
presented to and approved by the majority party caucus and
thereafter by the full Committee. The chairman of the
Committee may authorize all necessary expenses in accordance
with these rules and within the limits of the Committee's
budget as approved by the House.
(c) Monthly Expenditures Report. Committee members shall be
furnished a copy of each monthly report, prepared by the
chairman for the Committee on House Administration, which
shows expenditures made during the reporting period and
cumulative for the year by the Committee and subcommittees,
anticipated expenditures for the projected Committee program,
and detailed information on travel.
[[Page H292]]
Rule 17. Broadcasting of Committee Hearings. Any meeting or
hearing that is open to the public may be covered in whole or
in part by radio or television or still photography, subject
to the requirements of clause 4 of Rule XI of the Rules of
the House. The coverage of any hearing or other proceeding of
the Committee or any subcommittee thereof by television,
radio, or still photography shall be under the direct
supervision of the chairman of the Committee, the
subcommittee chairman, or other member of the Committee
presiding at such hearing or other proceeding and may be
terminated by such member in accordance with the Rules of the
House.
Rule 18. Comptroller General Audits. The chairman of the
Committee is authorized to request verification examinations
by the Comptroller General of the United States pursuant to
Title V, Part A of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act
(Public Law 94-163), after consultation with the members of
the Committee.
Rule 19. Subpoenas. The Committee, or any subcommittee, may
authorize and issue a subpoena under clause 2(m)(2)(A) of
Rule XI of the House, if authorized by a majority of the
members of the Committee or subcommittee (as the case may be)
voting, a quorum being present. Authorized subpoenas may be
issued over the signature of the chairman of the Committee or
any member designated by the Committee, and may be served by
any person designated by such chairman or member. The
chairman of the Committee may authorize and issue subpoenas
under such clause during any period for which the House has
adjourned for a period in excess of 3 days when, in the
opinion of the chairman, authorization and issuance of the
subpoena is necessary to obtain the material set forth in the
subpoena. The chairman shall report to the members of the
Committee on the authorization and issuance of a subpoena
during the recess period as soon as practicable but in no
event later than one week after service of such subpoena.
Rule 20. Travel of Members and Staff. (a) Approval of
Travel. Consistent with the primary expense resolution and
such additional expense resolutions as may have been
approved, travel to be reimbursed from funds set aside for
the Committee for any member or any staff member shall be
paid only upon the prior authorization of the chairman.
Travel may be authorized by the chairman for any member and
any staff member in connection with the attendance of
hearings conducted by the Committee or any subcommittee
thereof and meetings, conferences, and investigations which
involve activities or subject matter under the general
jurisdiction of the Committee. Before such authorization is
given there shall be submitted to the chairman in writing the
following: (1) the purpose of the travel; (2) the dates
during which the travel is to be made and the date or dates
of the event for which the travel is being made; (3) the
location of the event for which the travel is being made; and
(4) the names of members and staff seeking authorization.
(b) Approval of Travel by Minority Members and Staff. In
the case of travel by minority party members and minority
party professional staff for the purpose set out in (a), the
prior approval, not only of the chairman but also of the
ranking minority member, shall be required. Such prior
authorization shall be given by the chairman only upon the
representation by the ranking minority member in writing
setting forth those items enumerated in (1), (2), (3), and
(4) of paragraph (a).
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