[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 20 (Monday, February 6, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S741-S743]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MORNING BUSINESS

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                          COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

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                           RULES OF PROCEDURE

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, the Committee on Finance has adopted rules 
governing its procedures for the 115th Congress. Pursuant to rule XXVI, 
paragraph 2, of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I ask unanimous 
consent that the accompanying rules for the Senate Committee on Finance 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                          COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

                         I. RULES OF PROCEDURE

       Rule 1. Regular Meeting Days.--The regular meeting day of 
     the committee shall be the second and fourth Tuesday of each 
     month, except that if there be no business before the 
     committee the regular meeting shall be omitted.
       Rule 2. Committee Meetings.--(a) Except as provided by 
     paragraph 3 of Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate 
     (relating to special meetings called by a majority of the 
     committee) and subsection (b) of this rule, committee 
     meetings, for the conduct of business, for the purpose of 
     holding hearings, or for any other purpose, shall be called 
     by the chairman after consultation with the ranking minority 
     member. Members will be notified of committee meetings at 
     least 48 hours

[[Page S742]]

     in advance, unless the chairman determines that an emergency 
     situation requires a meeting on shorter notice. The 
     notification will include a written agenda together with 
     materials prepared by the staff relating to that agenda. 
     After the agenda for a committee meeting is published and 
     distributed, no nongermane items may be brought up during 
     that meeting unless at least two-thirds of the members 
     present agree to consider those items.
       (b) In the absence of the chairman, meetings of the 
     committee may be called by the ranking majority member of the 
     committee who is present, provided authority to call meetings 
     has been delegated to such member by the chairman.
       Rule 3. Presiding Officer.--(a) The chairman shall preside 
     at all meetings and hearings of the committee except that in 
     his absence the ranking majority member who is present at the 
     meeting shall preside.
       (b) Notwithstanding the rule prescribed by subsection (a) 
     any member of the committee may preside over the conduct of a 
     hearing.
       Rule 4. Quorums.--(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) 
     one-third of the membership of the committee, including not 
     less than one member of the majority party and one member of 
     the minority party, shall constitute a quorum for the conduct 
     of business.
       (b) Notwithstanding the rule prescribed by subsection (a), 
     one member shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of 
     conducting a hearing.
       Rule 5. Reporting of Measures or Recommendations.--No 
     measure or recommendation shall be reported from the 
     committee unless a majority of the committee is actually 
     present and a majority of those present concur.
       Rule 6. Proxy Voting; Polling.--(a) Except as provided by 
     paragraph 7(a)(3) of Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
     Senate (relating to limitation on use of proxy voting to 
     report a measure or matter), members who are unable to be 
     present may have their vote recorded by proxy.
       (b) At the discretion of the committee, members who are 
     unable to be present and whose vote has not been cast by 
     proxy may be polled for the purpose of recording their vote 
     on any rollcall taken by the committee.
       Rule 7. Order of Motions.--When several motions are before 
     the committee dealing with related or overlapping matters, 
     the chairman may specify the order in which the motions 
     shall be voted upon.
       Rule 8. Bringing a Matter to a Vote.--If the chairman 
     determines that a motion or amendment has been adequately 
     debated, he may call for a vote on such motion or amendment, 
     and the vote shall then be taken, unless the committee votes 
     to continue debate on such motion or amendment, as the case 
     may be. The vote on a motion to continue debate on any motion 
     or amendment shall be taken without debate.
       Rule 9. Public Announcement of Committee Votes.--Pursuant 
     to paragraph 7(b) of Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
     Senate (relating to public announcement of votes), the 
     results of rollcall votes taken by the committee on any 
     measure (or amendment thereto) or matter shall be announced 
     publicly not later than the day on which such measure or 
     matter is ordered reported from the committee.
       Rule 10. Subpoenas.--Witnesses and memoranda, documents, 
     and records may be subpoenaed by the chairman of the 
     committee with the agreement of the ranking minority member 
     or by a majority vote of the committee. Subpoenas for 
     attendance of witnesses and the production of memoranda, 
     documents, and records shall be issued by the chairman, or by 
     any other member of the committee designated by him.
       Rule 11. Nominations.--In considering a nomination, the 
     committee may conduct an investigation or review of the 
     nominee's experience, qualifications, and suitability, to 
     serve in the position to which he or she has been nominated. 
     To aid in such investigation or review, each nominee may be 
     required to submit a sworn detailed statement including 
     biographical, financial, policy, and other information which 
     the committee may request. The committee may specify which 
     items in such statement are to be received on a confidential 
     basis. Witnesses called to testify on the nomination may be 
     required to testify under oath.
       Rule 12. Open Committee Hearings.--To the extent required 
     by paragraph 5 of Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
     Senate (relating to limitations on open hearings), each 
     hearing conducted by the committee shall be open to the 
     public.
       Rule 13. Announcement of Hearings.--The committee shall 
     undertake consistent with the provisions of paragraph 4(a) of 
     Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate (relating to 
     public notice of committee hearings) to issue public 
     announcements of hearings it intends to hold at least one 
     week prior to the commencement of such hearings.
       Rule 14. Witnesses at Hearings.--(a) Each witness who is 
     scheduled to testify at any hearing must submit his written 
     testimony to the staff director not later than noon of the 
     business day immediately before the last business day 
     preceding the day on which he is scheduled to appear. Such 
     written testimony shall be accompanied by a brief summary of 
     the principal points covered in the written testimony. Having 
     submitted his written testimony, the witness shall be allowed 
     not more than ten minutes for oral presentation of his 
     statement.
       (b) Witnesses may not read their entire written testimony, 
     but must confine their oral presentation to a summarization 
     of their arguments.
       (c) Witnesses shall observe proper standards of dignity, 
     decorum, and propriety while presenting their views to the 
     committee. Any witness who violates this rule shall be 
     dismissed, and his testimony (both oral and written) shall 
     not appear in the record of the hearing.
       (d) In scheduling witnesses for hearings, the staff shall 
     attempt to schedule witnesses so as to attain a balance of 
     views early in the hearings. Every member of the committee 
     may designate witnesses who will appear before the committee 
     to testify. To the extent that a witness designated by a 
     member cannot be scheduled to testify during the time set 
     aside for the hearing, a special time will be set aside for 
     the witness to testify if the member designating that witness 
     is available at that time to chair the hearing.
       Rule 15. Audiences.--Persons admitted into the audience for 
     open hearings of the committee shall conduct themselves with 
     the dignity, decorum, courtesy, and propriety traditionally 
     observed by the Senate. Demonstrations of approval or 
     disapproval of any statement or act by any member or witness 
     are not allowed. Persons creating confusion or distractions 
     or otherwise disrupting the orderly proceeding of the hearing 
     shall be expelled from the hearing.
       Rule 16. Broadcasting of Hearings.--(a) Broadcasting of 
     open hearings by television or radio coverage shall be 
     allowed upon approval by the chairman of a request filed with 
     the staff director not later than noon of the day before the 
     day on which such coverage is desired.
       (b) If such approval is granted, broadcasting coverage of 
     the hearing shall be conducted unobtrusively and in 
     accordance with the standards of dignity, propriety, 
     courtesy, and decorum traditionally observed by the Senate.
       (c) Equipment necessary for coverage by television and 
     radio media shall not be installed in, or removed from, the 
     hearing room while the committee is in session.
       (d) Additional lighting may be installed in the hearing 
     room by the media in order to raise the ambient lighting 
     level to the lowest level necessary to provide adequate 
     television coverage of the hearing at the then current state 
     of the art of television coverage.
       (e) The additional lighting authorized by subsection (d) of 
     this rule shall not be directed into the eyes of any members 
     of the committee or of any witness, and at the request of any 
     such member or witness, offending lighting shall be 
     extinguished.
       Rule 17. Subcommittees.--(a) The chairman, subject to the 
     approval of the committee, shall appoint legislative 
     subcommittees. The ranking minority member shall recommend to 
     the chairman appointment of minority members to the 
     subcommittees. All legislation shall be kept on the full 
     committee calendar unless a majority of the members present 
     and voting agree to refer specific legislation to an 
     appropriate subcommittee.
       (b) The chairman may limit the period during which House-
     passed legislation referred to a subcommittee under paragraph 
     (a) will remain in that subcommittee. At the end of that 
     period, the legislation will be restored to the full 
     committee calendar. The period referred to in the preceding 
     sentences should be 6 weeks, but may be extended in the event 
     that adjournment or a long recess is imminent.
       (c) All decisions of the chairman are subject to approval 
     or modification by a majority vote of the committee.
       (d) The full committee may at any time by majority vote of 
     those members present discharge a subcommittee from further 
     consideration of a specific piece of legislation.
       (e) The chairman and ranking minority members shall serve 
     as nonvoting ex officio members of the subcommittees on which 
     they do not serve as voting members.
       (f) Any member of the committee may attend hearings held by 
     any subcommittee and question witnesses testifying before 
     that subcommittee.
       (g) Subcommittee meeting times shall be coordinated by the 
     staff director to ensure that--
       (1) no subcommittee meeting will be held when the committee 
     is in executive session, except by unanimous consent;
       (2) no more than one subcommittee will meet when the full 
     committee is holding hearings; and
       (3) not more than two subcommittees will meet at the same 
     time.
       Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (3), a subcommittee may 
     meet when the full committee is holding hearings and two 
     subcommittees may meet at the same time only upon the 
     approval of the chairman and the ranking minority member of 
     the committee and subcommittees involved.
       (h) All nominations shall be considered by the full 
     committee.
       (i) The chairman will attempt to schedule reasonably 
     frequent meetings of the full committee to permit 
     consideration of legislation reported favorably to the 
     committee by the subcommittees.
       Rule 18. Transcripts of Committee Meetings.--An accurate 
     record shall be kept of all markups of the committee, whether 
     they be open or closed to the public. A transcript, marked as 
     ``uncorrected,'' shall be available for inspection by Members 
     of the Senate, or members of the committee together with 
     their staffs, at any time. Not later than 21 business days 
     after the meeting occurs, the committee shall make publicly 
     available through the Internet--

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       (a) a video recording;
       (b) an audio recording; or
       (c) after all members of the committee have had a 
     reasonable opportunity to correct their remarks for 
     grammatical errors or to accurately reflect statements, a 
     corrected transcript.
       Notwithstanding the above, in the case of the record of an 
     executive session of the committee that is closed to the 
     public pursuant to Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
     Senate, the record shall not be published or made public in 
     any way except by majority vote of the committee after all 
     members of the committee have had a reasonable opportunity to 
     correct their remarks for grammatical errors or to accurately 
     reflect statements made.
       Rule 19. Amendment of Rules.--The foregoing rules may be 
     added to, modified, amended, or suspended at any time.

II. EXCERPTS FROM THE STANDING RULES OF THE SENATE RELATING TO STANDING 
                               COMMITTEES

                                RULE XXV


                          standing committees

       1. The following standing committees shall be appointed at 
     the commencement of each Congress, and shall continue and 
     have the power to act until their successors are appointed, 
     with leave to report by bill or otherwise on matters within 
     their respective jurisdictions:

                              *    *    *

       (i) Committee on Finance, to which committee shall be 
     referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, 
     memorials, and other matters relating to the following 
     subjects:
       1. Bonded debt of the United States, except as provided in 
     the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
       2. Customs, collection districts, and ports of entry and 
     delivery.
       3. Deposit of public moneys.
       4. General revenue sharing.
       5. Health programs under the Social Security Act and health 
     programs financed by a specific tax or trust fund.
       6. National social security.
       7. Reciprocal trade agreements.
       8. Revenue measures generally, except as provided in the 
     Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
       9. Revenue measures relating to the insular possessions.
       10. Tariffs and import quotas, and matters related thereto.
       11. Transportation of dutiable goods.

                              *    *    *

                               RULE XXVI


                          committee procedure

                              *    *    *

       2. Each committee shall adopt rules (not inconsistent with 
     the Rules of the Senate) governing the procedure of such 
     committee. The rules of each committee shall be published in 
     the Congressional Record not later than March 1 of the first 
     year of each Congress, except that if any such committee is 
     established on or after February 1 of a year, the rules of 
     that committee during the year of establishment shall be 
     published in the Congressional Record not later than sixty 
     days after such establishment. Any amendment to the rules of 
     a committee shall not take effect until the amendment is 
     published in the Congressional Record.

                              *    *    *

       5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the rules, 
     when the Senate is in session, no committee of the Senate or 
     any subcommittee thereof may meet, without special leave, 
     after the conclusion of the first two hours after the meeting 
     of the Senate commenced and in no case after two o'clock post 
     meridian unless consent therefor has been obtained from the 
     majority leader and the minority leader (or in the event of 
     the absence of either of such leaders, from his designee). 
     The prohibition contained in the preceding sentence shall not 
     apply to the Committee on Appropriations or the Committee on 
     the Budget. The majority leader or his designee shall 
     announce to the Senate whenever consent has been given under 
     this subparagraph and shall state the time and place of 
     such meeting. The right to make such announcement of 
     consent shall have the same priority as the filing of a 
     cloture motion.
       (b) Each meeting of a committee, or any subcommittee 
     thereof, including meetings to conduct hearings, shall be 
     open to the public, except that a meeting or series of 
     meetings by a committee or a subcommittee thereof on the same 
     subject for a period of no more than fourteen calendar days 
     may be closed to the public on a motion made and seconded to 
     go into closed session to discuss only whether the matters 
     enumerated in clauses (1) through (6) would require the 
     meeting to be closed, followed immediately by a record vote 
     in open session by a majority of the members of the committee 
     or subcommittee when it is determined that the matters to be 
     discussed or the testimony to be taken at such meeting or 
     meetings--
       (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) will relate solely to matters of committee staff 
     personnel or internal staff management or procedure;
       (3) will tend to charge an individual with crime or 
     misconduct, to disgrace or injure the professional standing 
     of an individual, or otherwise to expose an individual to 
     public contempt or obloquy, or will represent a clearly 
     unwarranted invasion of the privacy of an individual;
       (4) will disclose the identity of any informer or law 
     enforcement agent or will disclose any information relating 
     to the investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense 
     that is required to be kept secret in the interests of 
     effective law enforcement;
       (5) will disclose information relating to the trade secrets 
     of financial or commercial information pertaining 
     specifically to a given person if--
       (A) an Act of Congress requires the information to be kept 
     confidential by Government officers and employees; or
       (B) the information has been obtained by the Government on 
     a confidential basis, other than through an application by 
     such person for a specific Government financial or other 
     benefit, and is required to be kept secret in order to 
     prevent undue injury to the competitive position of such 
     person; or
       (6) may divulge matters required to be kept confidential 
     under other provisions of law or Government regulations.
       (c) Whenever any hearing conducted by any such committee or 
     subcommittee is open to the public, that hearing may be 
     broadcast by radio or television, or both, under such rules 
     as the committee or subcommittee may adopt.
       (d) Whenever disorder arises during a committee meeting 
     that is open to the public, or any demonstration of approval 
     or disapproval is indulged in by any person in attendance at 
     any such meeting, it shall be the duty of the Chair to 
     enforce order on his own initiative and without any point of 
     order being made by a Senator. When the Chair finds it 
     necessary to maintain order, he shall have the power to clear 
     the room, and the committee may act in closed session for so 
     long as there is doubt of the assurance of order.
       (e) Each committee shall prepare and keep a complete 
     transcript or electronic recording adequate to fully record 
     the proceeding of each meeting or conference whether or not 
     such meeting or any part thereof is closed under this 
     paragraph, unless a majority of its members vote to forgo 
     such a record.

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