[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 55 (Wednesday, March 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1762-S1763]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS RULES OF PROCEDURE

  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works has adopted rules governing its procedures for the 117th 
Congress. Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 2, of the Standing Rules of 
the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the committee rules 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

         Committee on Environment and Public Works Jurisdiction


          (pursuant to rule xxv, standing rules of the senate)

       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:
       (h)(1) Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which 
     committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, 
     messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to 
     the following subjects:
       1. Air pollution.
       2. Construction and maintenance of highways.
       3. Environmental aspects of Outer Continental Shelf lands.
       4. Environmental effects of toxic substances, other than 
     pesticides.
       5. Environmental policy.
       6. Environmental research and development.
       7. Fisheries and wildlife.
       8. Flood control and improvement of rivers and harbors, 
     including environmental aspects of deepwater ports.
       9. Noise pollution.
       10. Nonmilitary environmental regulation and control of 
     nuclear energy.
       11. Ocean dumping.
       12. Public buildings and improved grounds for the United 
     States generally, including Federal buildings in the District 
     of Columbia.
       13. Public works, bridges, and dams.
       14. Regional economic development.
       15. Solid waste disposal and recycling.
       16. Water pollution.
       17. Water resources.
       (2) Such committee shall also study and review, on a 
     comprehensive basis, matters relating to environmental 
     protection and resource utilization and conservation, and 
     report thereon from time to time.

                           Rules of Procedure


                 rule 1. committee meetings in general

       (a) Regular Meeting Days: For purposes of complying with 
     paragraph 3 of Senate Rule XXVI, the regular meeting day of 
     the committee is the first and third Thursday of each month 
     at 10:00 a.m. If there is no business before the committee, 
     the regular meeting shall be omitted.
       (b) Additional Meetings: The chair may call additional 
     meetings, after consulting with the ranking minority member. 
     Subcommittee chairs may call meetings, with the concurrence 
     of the chair, after consulting with the ranking minority 
     members of the subcommittee and the committee.
       (c) Presiding Officer:
       (1) The chair shall preside at all meetings of the 
     committee. If the chair is not present, the ranking member 
     shall preside. If neither the chair nor the ranking member is 
     present, the responsibility for presiding shall alternate 
     between the parties, beginning with the chair's party and 
     based on seniority.
       (2) Subcommittee chairs shall preside at all meetings of 
     their subcommittees. If the subcommittee chair is not 
     present, the ranking majority member of the subcommittee 
     shall preside.
       (3) Notwithstanding the rule prescribed by paragraphs (1) 
     and (2), any member of the committee may preside at a 
     hearing.
       (d) Open Meetings: Meetings of the committee and 
     subcommittees, including hearings and business meetings, are 
     open to the public. A portion of a meeting may be closed to 
     the public if the committee determines by roll call vote of a 
     majority of the members present that the matters to be 
     discussed or the testimony to be taken--
       (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) relate solely to matters of committee staff personnel 
     or internal staff management or procedure; or
       (3) constitute any other grounds for closure under 
     paragraph 5(b) of Senate Rule XXVI.
       (e) Broadcasting:
       (1) Public meetings of the committee or a subcommittee may 
     be televised, broadcast, or recorded by a member of the 
     Senate press gallery or an employee of the Senate.
       (2) Any member of the Senate Press Gallery or employee of 
     the Senate wishing to televise, broadcast, or record a 
     committee meeting must notify the staff director or the staff 
     director's designee by 5:00 p.m. the day before the meeting.
       (3) During public meetings, any person using a camera, 
     microphone, or other electronic equipment may not position or 
     use the equipment in a way that interferes with the seating, 
     vision, or hearing of committee members or staff on the dais, 
     or with the orderly process of the meeting.


                            rule 2. quorums

       (a) Business Meetings: At committee business meetings, and 
     for the purpose of approving the issuance of a subpoena or 
     approving a committee resolution, six members of the 
     committee, at least three of whom are members of the minority 
     party, constitute a quorum, except as provided in subsection 
     (d).
       (b) Subcommittee Meetings: At subcommittee business 
     meetings, a majority of the subcommittee members, at least 
     one of whom is a member of the minority party, constitutes a 
     quorum for conducting business.
       (c) Continuing Quorum: Once a quorum as prescribed in 
     subsections (a) and (b) has been established, the committee 
     or subcommittee may continue to conduct business.
       (d) Reporting: No measure or matter may be reported to the 
     Senate by the committee unless a majority of committee 
     members cast votes in person.
       (e) Hearings: One member constitutes a quorum for 
     conducting a hearing.

[[Page S1763]]

  



                            rule 3. hearings

       (a) Announcements: Before the committee or a subcommittee 
     holds a hearing, the chair of the committee or subcommittee 
     shall, after consultation with the ranking member, make a 
     public announcement and provide notice to members of the 
     date, place, time, and subject matter of the hearing. The 
     announcement and notice shall be issued at least one week in 
     advance of the hearing, unless the chair of the committee or 
     subcommittee, with the concurrence of the ranking minority 
     member of the committee or subcommittee, determines that 
     there is good cause to provide a shorter period, in which 
     event the announcement and notice shall be issued at least 
     twenty-four hours in advance of the hearing. The chair and 
     the ranking member shall seek to attain an equal balance of 
     the two parties when selecting subjects for and scheduling 
     hearings.
       (b) Statements of Witnesses:
       (1) A witness who is scheduled to testify at a hearing of 
     the committee or a subcommittee shall file 100 copies of the 
     written testimony at least 48 hours before the hearing. If a 
     witness fails to comply with this requirement, the presiding 
     officer may preclude the witness' testimony. This rule may be 
     waived for field hearings, except for witnesses from the 
     Federal Government.
       (2) Any witness planning to use at a hearing any exhibit 
     such as a chart, graph, diagram, photo, map, slide, or model 
     must submit one identical copy of the exhibit (or 
     representation of the exhibit in the case of a model) and 100 
     copies reduced to letter or legal paper size at least 48 
     hours before the hearing. Any exhibit described above that is 
     not provided to the committee at least 48 hours prior to the 
     hearing cannot be used for purpose of presenting testimony to 
     the committee and will not be included in the hearing record.
       (3) The presiding officer at a hearing may have a witness 
     confine the oral presentation to a summary of the written 
     testimony.
       (4) For any hearing, both the chair and the ranking member 
     are entitled to an equal number of non-federal government 
     witnesses.
       (5) Notwithstanding a request that a document be embargoed, 
     any document that is to be discussed at a hearing, including, 
     but not limited to, those produced by the General Accounting 
     Office, Congressional Budget Office, Congressional 
     Research Service, a Federal agency, an Inspector General, 
     or a nongovernmental entity, shall be provided to all 
     members of the committee at least 72 hours before the 
     hearing.


       rule 4. business meetings: notice and filing requirements

       (a) Notice: The chair of the committee or the subcommittee 
     shall, after consultation with the ranking member of the 
     committee or the subcommittee, provide notice, the agenda of 
     business to be discussed, and the text of agenda items to 
     members of the committee or subcommittee at least 72 hours 
     before a business meeting. If the 72 hours falls over a 
     weekend, all materials will be provided by close of business 
     on Friday. The chair and the ranking member shall seek to 
     attain an equal balance of the interests of the two parties 
     when setting the agenda of business meetings.
       (b) Amendments: First-degree amendments must be filed with 
     the chair of the committee or the subcommittee at least 24 
     hours before a business meeting. After the filing deadline, 
     the chair shall promptly distribute all filed amendments to 
     the members of the committee or subcommittee.
       (c) Modifications: The chair of the committee or the 
     subcommittee may modify the notice and filing requirements to 
     meet special circumstances, with the concurrence of the 
     ranking member of the committee or subcommittee.


                   rule 5. business meetings: voting

       (a) Proxy Voting:
       (1) Proxy voting is allowed on all measures, amendments, 
     resolutions, or other matters before the committee or a 
     subcommittee.
       (2) A member who is unable to attend a business meeting may 
     submit a proxy vote on any matter, in writing, orally, or 
     through personal instructions.
       (3) A proxy given in writing is valid until revoked. A 
     proxy given orally or by personal instructions is valid only 
     on the day given.
       (b) Subsequent Voting: Members who were not present at a 
     business meeting and were unable to cast their votes by proxy 
     may record their votes later, so long as they do so that same 
     business day and their vote does not change the outcome.
       (c) Public Announcement:
       (1) Whenever the committee conducts a rollcall vote, the 
     chair shall announce the results of the vote, including a 
     tabulation of the votes cast in favor and the votes cast 
     against the proposition by each member of the committee.
       (2) Whenever the committee reports any measure or matter by 
     rollcall vote, the report shall include a tabulation of the 
     votes cast in favor of and the votes cast in opposition to 
     the measure or matter by each member of the committee.


                         rule 6. subcommittees

       (a) Regularly Established Subcommittees: The committee has 
     four subcommittees: Transportation and Infrastructure; Clean 
     Air, Climate and Nuclear Safety; Chemical Safety, Waste 
     Management, Environmental Justice and Regulatory Oversight; 
     and Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife.
       (b) Membership: The committee chair, after consulting with 
     the ranking minority member, shall select members of the 
     subcommittees.


          rule 7. statutory responsibilities and other matters

       (a) Environmental Impact Statements: No project or 
     legislation proposed by any executive branch agency may be 
     approved or otherwise acted upon unless the committee has 
     received a final environmental impact statement relative to 
     it, in accordance with section 102(2)(C) of the National 
     Environmental Policy Act, and the written comments of the 
     Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in 
     accordance with section 309 of the Clean Air Act. This rule 
     is not intended to broaden, narrow, or otherwise modify the 
     class of projects or legislative proposals for which 
     environmental impact statements are required under section 
     102(2)(C).
       (b) Project Approvals:
       (1) Whenever the committee authorizes a project under 
     Public Law 89-298, the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1965; Public 
     Law 83-566, the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention 
     Act; or Public Law 86-249, the Public Buildings Act of 1959, 
     as amended; the chairman shall submit for printing in the 
     Congressional Record, and the committee shall publish 
     periodically as a committee print, a report that describes 
     the project and the reasons for its approval, together with 
     any dissenting or individual views.
       (2) Proponents of a committee resolution shall submit 
     appropriate evidence in favor of the resolution.
       (c) Building Prospectuses:
       (1) When the General Services Administration submits a 
     prospectus, pursuant to section 7(a) of the Public Buildings 
     Act of 1959, as amended, for construction (including 
     construction of buildings for lease by the government), 
     alteration and repair, or acquisition, the committee shall 
     act with respect to the prospectus during the same session in 
     which the prospectus is submitted.
       A prospectus rejected by majority vote of the committee or 
     not reported to the Senate during the session in which it was 
     submitted shall be returned to the General Services 
     Administration and must then be resubmitted in order to be 
     considered by the committee during the next session of the 
     Congress.
       (2) A report of a building project survey submitted by the 
     General Services Administration to the committee under 
     section 11(b) of the Public Buildings Act of 1959, as 
     amended, may not be considered by the committee as being a 
     prospectus subject to approval by committee resolution in 
     accordance with section 7(a) of that Act. A project described 
     in the report may be considered for committee action only if 
     it is submitted as a prospectus in accordance with section 
     7(a) and is subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) of 
     this rule.
       (d) Naming Public Facilities: The committee may not name a 
     building, structure or facility for any living person, except 
     former Presidents or former Vice Presidents of the United 
     States, former Members of Congress over 70 years of age, 
     former Justices of the United States Supreme Court over 70 
     years of age, or Federal judges who are fully retired and 
     over 75 years of age or have taken senior status and are over 
     75 years of age.


                       rule 8. amending the rules

       The rules may be added to, modified, amended, or suspended 
     by vote of a majority of committee members at a business 
     meeting if a quorum is present.

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