[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 15 (Monday, January 30, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H733-H735]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     PUBLICATION OF COMMITTEE RULES


      RULES OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET FOR THE 115th CONGRESS

                                    U.S. House of Representatives,


                                      Committee on the Budget,

                                 Washington, DC, January 30, 2017.
       Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(2) of House rule XI, I 
     am submitting the rules of the Committee on the Budget for 
     the 115th Congress. The rules were adopted during our 
     Committee's organizational meeting on January 24, 2017.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Diane Black,
                                                 Interim Chairman.

                         General Applicability


                  Rule 1--Applicability of House Rules

       (a) Except as otherwise specified herein, the Rules of the 
     House of Representatives 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, if notice is given pursuant to paragraph (c) and 
     paragraph (g)(3) of clause 2(g)(3) of Rule XI of the Rules of 
     the House of Representatives.
       (b) Regular meetings shall be canceled when they conflict 
     with meetings of either party's caucus or conference.
       (c) The Chair 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 Chair, 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 Chair may call and convene additional meetings of 
     the Committee as the Chair considers necessary or special 
     meetings at the request of a majority of the members of the 
     Committee in accordance with clause 2(c) of Rule XI of the 
     Rules of the House of Representatives.
       (b) In the absence of exceptional circumstances, the Chair 
     shall provide public electronic notice of additional meetings 
     to the office of each member at least 24 hours in advance 
     while Congress is in session, and at least three 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 clause 2(g)(1) of Rule XI of the 
     Rules of the House of Representatives.
       (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) 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

       (a) Any member, when recognized by the Chair, 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

       (a) Measures or matters may be placed before the Committee, 
     for its consideration, by the Chair 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 Chair 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.

[[Page H734]]

       (d) In accordance with clause 2(e)(1)(B) of Rule XI of the 
     Rules of the House of Representatives, 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

       (a) The Chair shall make a public announcement of the date, 
     place, and subject matter of any Committee hearing at least 
     one week before the hearing, beginning with the day in which 
     the announcement is made and ending the day preceding the 
     scheduled hearing unless the Chair, 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. 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 clause 2(g)(2) of Rule XI of the Rules 
     of the House of Representatives, the task forces of the 
     Committee are considered to be subcommittees.


                            Rule 13--Quorums

       (a) 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 
     clause 2(j) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House of 
     Representatives.
       (b) In questioning witnesses under the 5-minute rule:
       (1) First, the Chair 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 Chair 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 clause 2(m) of Rule XI of the Rules 
     of the House of Representatives, 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 Chair or of any member of 
     the Committee designated by him, and may be served by any 
     person designated by the Chair or such member.
       (b) The Chair, or any member of the Committee designated by 
     the Chair, 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

       (a) 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

       (a) 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 Chair.
       (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 Chair, who shall establish and assign their 
     duties and responsibilities, delegate such authority as he 
     deems appropriate, fix and adjust staff salaries (in 
     accordance with Rule X, clause 9(c) of the Rules of the House 
     of Representatives) 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 taken.
       (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 Chair 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 Chair decides it is appropriate, or if a majority of the 
     members so request.


                  Rule 22--Access to Committee Records

       (a)(1) The Chair shall promulgate regulations to provide 
     for public inspection of roll call votes and to provide 
     access by members to Committee records (in accordance with 
     clause 2(e) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House of 
     Representatives).
       (b) 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.
       (c) 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.
       (d) 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 Chair 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

[[Page H735]]

     Rules of the House of Representatives, and, subject to the 
     adoption of expense resolutions as required by clause 6 of 
     rule X of the House Rules, 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, the Committee on Oversight and Government 
     Reform, and the Committee on Appropriations in accordance 
     with the provisions of clause (2)(d) of Rule X of the Rules 
     of the House of Representatives.

                                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 Chair or 
     with a majority vote by the Committee.


                Rule 25--Report on the Budget Resolution

       (a) 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 outyear 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 of 1974 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 Chair, 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 of 1974 to advise the 
     House of Representatives 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 Chair, 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 sine die of a regular session of a 
     Congress or after December 15 of an even-numbered year, 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 of 
     Representatives 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) Such report shall include separate sections summarizing 
     the legislative and oversight activities of the Committee; a 
     summary of the actions taken and recommendations made; a 
     summary of any additional oversight activities undertaken by 
     the Committee, and any recommendations made or actions taken 
     thereon; and a delineation of any hearings held.

                             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 clause 4 of 
     Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives.
       (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 clause 
     4 of Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives.


                   Rule 29--Appointment of Conferees

       (a) Majority party members recommended to the Speaker as 
     conferees shall be recommended by the Chair subject to the 
     approval of the majority party members of the Committee.
       (b) The Chair 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

       (a) When a reported bill or joint resolution, conference 
     report, or anticipated floor amendment violates any provision 
     of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Chair may, if 
     practical, consult with the Committee members on whether the 
     Chair 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.

                          ____________________