[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 135 (Thursday, July 30, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H4177-H4178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          COMMUNICATIONS OUTREACH MEDIA AND MAIL STANDARDS ACT

  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
the Committee on House Administration, the Committee on Oversight and 
Reform, and the Committee on Rules be discharged from further 
consideration of the bill (H.R. 7512) to rename the House Commission on 
Congressional Mailing Standards as the House Communications Standards 
Commission, to extend the authority of the Commission to regulate mass 
mailings of Members and Member-elect of the House of Representatives to 
all unsolicited mass communications of Members and Members-elect of the 
House, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration 
in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Spanberger). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentlewoman from California?
  There was no objection.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 7512

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Communications Outreach 
     Media and Mail Standards Act'' or the ``COMMS Act''.

     SEC. 2. RENAMING HOUSE COMMISSION ON CONGRESSIONAL MAILING 
                   STANDARDS.

       (a) In General.--Section 5(a) of the Act entitled ``An Act 
     to amend title 39, United States Code, to clarify the proper 
     use of the franking privilege by Members of Congress, and for 
     other purposes'', approved December 18, 1973 (2 U.S.C. 
     501(a)), is amended by striking ``House Commission on 
     Congressional Mailing Standards'' and inserting ``House 
     Communications Standards Commission''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) Title 39.--Title 39, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking ``House Commission on Congressional Mailing 
     Standards'' and inserting ``House Communications Standards 
     Commission'' each place it appears in the following sections:
       (A) Section 3210(a)(5), (a)(6)(D), (b)(3), (d)(5), and 
     (d)(6)(A).
       (B) Section 3216(e)(1) and (e)(2).
       (C) Section 3220(b).
       (2) Other provisions.--Section 311 of the Legislative 
     Branch Appropriations Act, 1991 (2 U.S.C. 503) is amended by 
     striking ``House Commission on Congressional Mailing 
     Standards'' and inserting ``House Communications Standards 
     Commission'' each place it appears in subsections (a)(3), 
     (e)(1)(B), and (f).
       (c) References in Other Documents.--Any reference in any 
     rule, regulation, or other document to the House Commission 
     on Congressional Mailing Standards shall be deemed to be a 
     reference to the House Communications Standards Commission.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION OVER OFFICIAL MASS 
                   COMMUNICATIONS.

       (a) Authority To Provide Guidance Regarding Dissemination 
     of Mass Communications.--
       (1) In general.--Section 5(d) of the Act entitled ``An Act 
     to amend title 39, United States Code, to clarify the proper 
     use of the franking privilege by Members of Congress, and for 
     other purposes'', approved December 18, 1973 (2 U.S.C. 
     501(d)), is amended--
       (A) in the first sentence, by striking ``The Commission'' 
     and inserting ``(1) The Commission''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) In addition to the guidance, assistance, advice, and 
     counsel described in paragraph (1), the Commission shall 
     provide--
       ``(A) guidance, assistance, advice, and counsel, through 
     advisory opinions or consultations, in connection with any 
     law and with any rule or regulation of the House of 
     Representatives governing the dissemination of mass 
     communications other than franked mail; and
       ``(B) guidance, assistance, advice, and counsel in 
     connection with any law and with any rule or regulation of 
     the House of Representatives governing the official content 
     of other official communications of any quantity, whether 
     solicited or unsolicited.''.
       (2) Authority to investigate complaints.--Section 5(e) of 
     such Act (2 U.S.C. 501(e)) is amended--
       (A) in the first sentence, by striking ``Any complaint'' 
     and all that follows through ``is about to occur'' and 
     inserting the following: ``Any complaint that a violation of 
     any provision of law or any rule or regulation of the House 
     of Representatives to which subsection (d) applies is about 
     to occur''; and
       (B) in the sentence beginning with ``Notwithstanding any 
     other provision of law'', by striking ``a violation of the 
     franking laws or an abuse of the franking privilege by any 
     person listed under subsection (d) of this section as 
     entitled to send mail as franked mail,'' and inserting ``a 
     violation of any provision of law or any rule or regulation 
     of the House of Representatives to which subsection (d) 
     applies,''.
       (3) Mass communication defined.--Section 5 of such Act (2 
     U.S.C. 501) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(h) In this section, the term `mass communication' means 
     a mass mailing described in section 3210(a)(6)(E) of title 
     39, United States Code, or any other unsolicited 
     communication of substantially identical content which is 
     transmitted to 500 or more persons in a session of Congress, 
     as provided under regulations of the Commission, except that 
     such term does not include--
       ``(1) any communication from an individual described in 
     subsection (d) to another individual described in subsection 
     (d), a Senator, or any Federal, State, local, or Tribal 
     government official;
       ``(2) any news release to the communications media;
       ``(3) any such mass mailing or unsolicited communication 
     made in direct response to a communication from a person to 
     whom the mass mailing or unsolicited communication was 
     transmitted; or
       ``(4) in the case of any such unsolicited communication 
     which is transmitted in a digital format, a communication for 
     which the cost of the content is less than a threshold amount 
     established under regulations of the House Communications 
     Standards Commission.''.
       (b) Authority To Review All Unsolicited Mass 
     Communications.--
       (1) Requiring review before dissemination.--Section 311(f) 
     of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1991 (2 U.S.C. 
     503(f)) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``any mass mailing'' and inserting ``any 
     mass communication'';
       (B) by striking ``mail matter'' and inserting ``matter''; 
     and
       (C) by striking ``such proposed mailing'' and inserting 
     ``such proposed communication''.
       (2) Exception for certain communications.--Section 311(f) 
     of such Act (2 U.S.C. 503(f)) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``A Member'' and inserting ``(1) Except as 
     provided in paragraph (2), a Member''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply in the case of any type 
     of mass communication which is designated as exempt from the 
     requirements of such paragraph as provided under regulations 
     of the House Communications Standards Commission.''.
       (3) Definition.--Section 311(g) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 
     503(g)) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (1);
       (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (2) and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) the term `mass communication' means a mass mailing 
     described in section 3210(a)(6)(E) of title 39, United States 
     Code, or any other unsolicited communication of substantially 
     identical content which is transmitted to 500 or more persons 
     in a session of Congress, as provided under regulations of 
     the House Communications Standards Commission, except that 
     such term does not include--
       ``(A) any communication from a Member of the House of 
     Representatives to another Member of the House of 
     Representatives, a Senator, or any Federal, State, or local 
     government official;
       ``(B) any news release to the communications media;
       ``(C) any such mass mailing or unsolicited communication 
     made in direct response to a communication from a person to 
     whom the mass mailing or unsolicited communication was 
     transmitted; or
       ``(D) in the case of any such unsolicited communication 
     which is transmitted in a digital format, a communication for 
     which the cost of the content is less than a threshold amount 
     established under regulations of

[[Page H4178]]

     the House Communications Standards Commission.''.
       (c) Conforming Amendment to Rules of the House of 
     Representatives.--Clause 9 of rule XXIV of the Rules of the 
     House of Representatives is amended by inserting after ``that 
     session,'' the following: ``or any other unsolicited 
     communication of substantially identical content which is 
     transmitted to 500 or more persons in that session or, in the 
     case of a digital communication of substantially identical 
     content, which is disseminated at a cost exceeding a 
     designated amount, as provided under regulations of the House 
     Communications Standards Commission,''.

     SEC. 4. REVISION TO MASS MAILING NOTICE ON TAXPAYER FUNDING.

       Section 311(a) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations 
     Act, 1997 (2 U.S.C. 506(a)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``(a) Each mass mailing'' and inserting 
     ``(a)(1) Each mass mailing'';
       (2) by striking ``the following notice:'' and all that 
     follows through ``or a notice'' and inserting ``one of the 
     notices described in paragraph (2) or a notice''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(2) The notices described in this paragraph are as 
     follows:
       ``(A) `Paid for with official funds from the office of 
     _____.', with the blank filled in with the name of the Member 
     sending the mailing.
       ``(B) `Paid for by the funds authorized by the House of 
     Representatives for District __ of _____.', with the first 
     blank filled in with the name of the congressional district 
     number, and the second blank filled in with the name of the 
     State, of the Member sending the mailing.
       ``(C) `Paid for by official funds authorized by the House 
     of Representatives.' ''.

     SEC. 5. REVISIONS TO RESTRICTIONS ON MAIL MATTER CONSIDERED 
                   FRANKABLE.

       (a) Expressions of Congratulations.--Section 3210(a)(3)(F) 
     of title 39, United States Code, is amended by striking ``to 
     a person who has achieved some public distinction''.
       (b) Biographical Information Related to Official and 
     Representational Duties.--Section 3210(a)(3)(I) of such title 
     is amended by striking ``publication or in response to a 
     specific request therefor'' and inserting the following: 
     ``publication, in response to a specific request therefor, or 
     which relates to the Member's or Member-elect's official and 
     representational duties,''.
       (c) Photos and Likenesses Included in Newsletters or 
     General Mass Mailings.--Section 3210(a)(3) of such title is 
     amended--
       (1) by adding ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (H);
       (2) in subparagraph (I), by striking ``; or'' and inserting 
     a period; and
       (3) by striking subparagraph (J).
       (d) Clarification of Ability of Members to Use Franked Mail 
     To Send Personal Messages to Constituents.--Section 
     3210(a)(4) of such title is amended by striking the period at 
     the end and inserting the following: ``, except that nothing 
     in this paragraph may be construed to prohibit the use of the 
     franking privilege for the transmission of matter which is 
     purely personal to a recipient who is a constituent of a 
     Member of Congress and which is related to the official 
     business, activities, and duties of the Member.''.
       (e) Holiday Cards.--Section 3210(a)(5)(B)(iii) of such 
     title is amended by striking ``holiday greetings'' and 
     inserting ``religious holiday greetings''.
       (f) Uniform Blackout Period for All Members of Congress.--
       (1) Uniform period.--Section 3210(a)(6)(A) of such title is 
     amended--
       (A) in clause (i), by striking ``(or, in the case of a 
     Member of the House, fewer than 90 days)''; and
       (B) in clause (ii)(II), by striking ``90 days'' and 
     inserting ``60 days''.
       (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by paragraph (1) 
     shall apply with respect to the regularly scheduled general 
     election for Federal office held in November 2020 and each 
     succeeding election for public office.
       (g) Nonapplication of Blackout Period to Party Nominating 
     Conventions or Caucuses.--Section 3210(a)(6) of such title is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(G) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `primary 
     election' does not include a convention or caucus of a 
     political party which has authority to nominate a 
     candidate.''.
       (h) Information on Certain Matters.--Section 3210(a)(6)(E) 
     of such title is amended--
       (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of clause (ii);
       (2) by striking the period at the end of clause (iii) and 
     inserting ``; or''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new clause:
       ``(iv) providing information exclusively on competitions 
     which are officially sanctioned by the House of 
     Representatives or Senate, nominations to military service 
     academies, official employment listings for positions in the 
     House of Representatives (including listings for positions in 
     the Wounded Warrior Program or the Gold Star Family 
     Fellowship Program), or natural disasters or other threats to 
     public health and life safety.''.

     SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       Except as provided in section 5(f)(2), this Act and the 
     amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to 
     communications disseminated on or after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.

  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read 
the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

                          ____________________