[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 24, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E528-E529]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RULES OF THE JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE ON BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS 
                             PROCESS REFORM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEVE WOMACK

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 24, 2018

  Mr. WOMACK. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of myself and Mrs. Lowey, co-
chairs of the Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations 
Process Reform, I include in the Record the rules of the Joint Select 
Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform. These rules were 
adopted during the Joint Committee's organizational meeting on April 
17, 2018.

                           Rule I--In General

       1. The provisions of subtitle B of title IV, division C of 
     the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123) governing 
     the proceedings of the Joint Select Committee on Budget and 
     Appropriations Process Reform (hereinafter ``Joint 
     Committee'') are hereby incorporated by reference and nothing 
     herein shall be construed as superseding any provision of 
     that Act.
       2. The rules of the House of Representatives--to the extent 
     that they are applicable to committees and do not conflict 
     with the rules of the Joint Committee or subtitle B of title 
     IV, division C of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018--shall 
     govern the proceedings of the Joint Committee.
       3. If a measure or matter is publicly available in 
     electronic form, it shall be considered to have been 
     available to members of the Joint Committee for purposes of 
     these rules.
       4. In each case where authority is granted to the Co-Chairs 
     of the Joint Committee, such authority may only be exercised 
     jointly by the Co-Chairs.

                     Rule II--Meetings and Hearings


                                Meetings

       1. (a) The Co-Chairs shall provide an agenda to the Joint 
     Committee members not less than 48 hours in advance of any 
     meeting.
       (b) The text of any report and proposed legislative 
     language shall be publicly available in electronic form at 
     least 24 hours prior to its consideration.


                                Hearings

       3. The Co-Chairs shall make a public announcement of the 
     date, place, time, and subject matter of any hearing to be 
     conducted not less than seven days in advance of such 
     hearing, unless the Co-Chairs determine that there is good 
     cause to begin such hearing at an earlier date.


                         Witnesses' Statements

       4. (a) A witness appearing before the Joint Committee shall 
     file a written statement of proposed testimony at least two 
     calendar days before the appearance of the witness, unless 
     this requirement is waived by the Co-Chairs, following their 
     determination that there is good cause for failure to comply 
     with such requirement.
       (b) Any witness appearing in a nongovernmental capacity 
     shall include with their written statement of testimony a 
     curriculum vitae and a disclosure of any Federal grants or 
     contracts, or contracts or payments originating with a 
     foreign government, received during the current calendar year 
     or either of the two previous calendar years by the witness 
     or an entity represented by the witness and related to the 
     subject matter of the hearing. These statements, with 
     appropriate redactions to protect the privacy or security of 
     a witness, shall be made publicly available in electronic 
     form not later than one day after the witness appears. Such 
     disclosure shall include:
       (i) the amount and source of each Federal grant (or 
     subgrant thereof) or contract (or subcontract thereof) 
     related to the subject matter of the hearing; and
       (ii) the amount and country of origin for any payment or 
     contract related to the subject matter of the hearing 
     originating with a foreign government.


                           Voting and Quorums

       5. (a) Nine members of the Joint Committee shall constitute 
     a quorum for purposes of voting and meeting.
       (b) Five members of the Joint Committee shall constitute a 
     quorum for holding hearings.
       6. A record vote on any motion, amendment, measure, or 
     matter may be ordered upon the request of any member of the 
     Joint Committee.
       7. The Co-Chairs may jointly agree to set a series of votes 
     on any amendment or agreeing to a measure or matter, or 
     postpone a requested record vote on such amendment, measure 
     or matter, to occur at a time certain. Reasonable notice 
     shall be given to members prior to resuming proceedings on 
     any postponed question.
       8. No proxy voting shall be allowed on behalf of the 
     members of the Joint Committee.

                    Rule III--Questioning Witnesses

       1. Questioning of witnesses will be conducted under the 
     five-minute rule. Each member of the Joint Committee shall be 
     allocated five minutes to question witnesses during the 
     initial round and any subsequent round of questioning.

                     Rule IV--Staffing and Records


                                 Staff

       1. The staff of the Joint Committee shall be appointed as 
     provided in sections 30442(b)(4)(I)(i) and 30442(b)(4)(I)(ii) 
     of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018.


                                Records

       2. The Joint Committee shall maintain a complete record of 
     all committee action, including--
       (a) in the case of a hearing or meeting transcript, a 
     substantially verbatim account of remarks actually made 
     during the proceedings, subject only to technical, 
     grammatical, and typographical corrections authorized by the 
     person making the remarks involved; and
       (b) the result of each record vote taken by the Joint 
     Committee, including a description of the amendment, motion, 
     order, or other proposition, the name of each member voting 
     for and voting against such amendment, motion, order, or 
     other proposition, and the names of the members of the Joint 
     Committee present but not voting.

                       Rule V--Content of Report

       1. In the report required under section 
     30442(b)(2)(B)(i)(I) of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, 
     the Joint Committee shall include--
       (a) with respect to each record vote on a motion to report 
     the Joint Committee's recommendations or accompanying 
     legislative language, and on any amendment offered to the 
     recommendations or language, the total number of votes cast 
     for and against, and the names of members voting for and 
     against; and

[[Page E529]]

       (b) a document, showing by appropriate typographical 
     devices the omissions and insertions proposed, the entire 
     text of each section of a statute that is proposed to be 
     repealed; and a comparative print of each amendment to the 
     entire text of a section of a statute that the bill or joint 
     resolution proposes to make. If the Joint Committee reports a 
     bill or joint resolution proposing to repeal or amend a 
     statute or part thereof with a recommendation that the bill 
     or joint resolution be amended, such comparative print shall 
     also reflect the changes in existing law proposed to be made 
     by the bill or joint resolution as proposed to be amended.

                Rule VI--Public Access and Transparency

       1. (a) Any report or legislative language approved by the 
     Joint Committee, the result of each record vote taken by the 
     Joint Committee, and any Committee Print published by the 
     Joint Committee shall be made available to the public in 
     electronic form.
       (b) Not later than 24 hours after the adoption of any 
     amendment to the report or legislative language, the Co-
     Chairs shall make the text of each such amendment publicly 
     available in electronic form.
       (c) Not later than 48 hours after a record vote is 
     completed, the information described in clause 2(b) of rule 
     IV shall be made publicly available in electronic form.
       2. To the maximum extent practicable, the Joint Committee 
     shall--
       (a) provide audio and video coverage of each hearing or 
     meeting for the transaction of business in a manner that 
     allows the public to easily listen to and view the 
     proceedings; and
       (b) maintain the recordings of such coverage in a manner 
     that is easily accessible to the public.

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