[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 10, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H147-H148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 118TH CONGRESS REGULATIONS FOR USE OF DEPOSITION AUTHORITY AND REMOTE 
                  PARTICIPATION OF COMMITTEE WITNESSES

                                         House of Representatives,


                                           Committee on Rules,

                                 Washington, DC, January 10, 2023.
     Hon. Kevin McCarthy,
     Speaker, House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Speaker Kevin McCarthy: Pursuant to section 3(j) and 
     section 3(k) of H. Res. 5, 118th Congress, I hereby submit 
     simultaneously the regulations for the remote participation 
     of committee witnesses and the regulations for the use of 
     deposition authority for printing in the Congressional 
     Record.
           Sincerely,
                                                Chairman Tom Cole.

            Regulations for the Use of Deposition Authority

       1. Notices for the taking of depositions shall specify the 
     date, time, and place of examination. Depositions shall be 
     taken under oath administered by a member or a person 
     otherwise authorized to administer oaths. Depositions may 
     continue from day to day.
       2. Consultation with the ranking minority member shall 
     include three days' notice before any deposition is taken. 
     All members of the committee shall also receive three days 
     written notice that a deposition will be taken, except in 
     exigent circumstances. For purposes of these procedures, a 
     day shall not include Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays 
     except when the House is in session on such a day.
       3. Witnesses may be accompanied at a deposition by two 
     designated personal, nongovernmental attorneys to advise them 
     of their rights. Only members, committee staff designated by 
     the chair or ranking minority member, an official reporter, 
     the witness, and the witness's two designated attorneys are 
     permitted to attend. Other persons, including government 
     agency personnel, may not attend.
       4. The chair of the committee noticing the deposition may 
     designate that deposition as part of a joint investigation 
     between committees, and in that case, provide notice to the 
     members of the committees. If such a designation is made, the 
     chair and ranking minority member of the additional 
     committee(s) may designate committee staff to attend pursuant 
     to regulation 3. Members and designated staff of the 
     committees may attend and ask questions as set forth below.
       5. A deposition shall be conducted by any member or 
     committee counsel designated by the chair or ranking minority 
     member of the Committee that noticed the deposition. When 
     depositions are conducted by committee counsel, there shall 
     be no more than two committee counsel permitted to question a 
     witness per round. One of the committee counsel shall be 
     designated by the chair and the other by the ranking minority 
     member per round.
       6. Deposition questions shall be propounded in rounds. The 
     length of each round shall not exceed 60 minutes per side and 
     shall provide equal time to the majority and the minority. In 
     each round, the member(s) or committee counsel designated by 
     the chair shall ask questions first, and the member(s) or 
     committee counsel designated by the ranking minority member 
     shall ask questions second.
       7. Objections must be stated concisely and in a non-
     argumentative and nonsuggestive manner. A witness's attorney 
     may not instruct a witness to refuse to answer a question, 
     except to preserve a privilege. In the event of professional, 
     ethical, or other misconduct by the witness's attorney during 
     the deposition, the Committee may take any appropriate 
     disciplinary action. The witness may refuse to answer a 
     question only to preserve a privilege. When the witness has 
     refused to answer a question to preserve a privilege, members 
     or staff may (i) proceed with the deposition, or (ii) either 
     at that time or at a subsequent time, seek a ruling from the 
     Chair either by telephone or otherwise. If the Chair 
     overrules any such objection and thereby orders a witness to 
     answer any question to which an objection was lodged, the 
     witness shall be ordered to answer. If a member of the 
     committee chooses to appeal the ruling of the chair, such 
     appeal must be made within three days, in writing, and shall 
     be preserved for committee consideration. The Committee's 
     ruling on appeal shall be filed with the clerk of the 
     Committee and shall be provided to the members and witness no 
     less than three days before the reconvened deposition. A 
     deponent who refuses to answer a question after being 
     directed to answer by the chair may be subject to sanction, 
     except that no sanctions may be imposed if the ruling of the 
     chair is reversed by the committee on appeal.
       8. The Committee chair shall ensure that the testimony is 
     either transcribed or electronically recorded or both. If a 
     witness's testimony is transcribed, the witness or the 
     witness's attorney shall be afforded an opportunity to review 
     a copy. No later than five days after the witness has been 
     notified of the opportunity to review the transcript, the 
     witness may submit suggested changes to the chair. Committee 
     staff may make any typographical and technical changes. 
     Substantive changes, modifications, clarifications, or 
     amendments to the deposition transcript submitted by the 
     witness must be accompanied by a letter signed by the witness 
     requesting the changes and a statement of the witness's 
     reasons for each proposed change. Any substantive changes, 
     modifications, clarifications, or amendments shall be 
     included as an appendix to the transcript conditioned upon 
     the witness signing the transcript.
       9. The individual administering the oath, if other than a 
     member, shall certify on the transcript that the witness was 
     duly sworn. The transcriber shall certify that the transcript 
     is a true record of the testimony, and the transcript shall 
     be filed, together with any electronic recording, with the 
     clerk of the committee in Washington, DC. Depositions shall 
     be considered to have been taken in Washington, DC, as well 
     as the location actually taken once filed there with the 
     clerk of the committee for the committee's use. The chair and 
     the ranking minority member shall be provided with a copy of 
     the transcripts of the deposition at the same time.
       10. The chair and ranking minority member shall consult 
     regarding the release of deposition testimony, transcripts, 
     or recordings, and portions thereof. If either objects in 
     writing to a proposed release of a deposition testimony, 
     transcript, or recording, or a portion thereof, the matter 
     shall be promptly referred to the committee for resolution.
       11. A witness shall not be required to testify unless the 
     witness has been provided with a copy of section 3(k) of H. 
     Res. 5, 118th Congress, and these regulations.

    Regulations For the Remote Participation of Committee Witnesses

       Except as provided by section 3(j) of H. Res. 5, 118th 
     Congress and these regulations, witnesses shall testify 
     before a committee in person. No remote testimony will be 
     accepted from witnesses testifying in a government capacity. 
     In the event the chair of a committee determines that 
     testimony of a witness appearing in a non-governmental 
     capacity is necessary and such a witness is only available to 
     participate remotely due to extreme hardship or other 
     exceptional circumstances, the chair may allow the witness to 
     participate remotely, with written approval from the Majority 
     Leader.
       The official record of the committee proceeding shall 
     include a letter from the chair detailing the necessity of 
     allowing the witness to participate remotely, a description 
     of why the witness could not participate in person, why such 
     testimony was necessary for purposes of fulfilling Congress's 
     Article I responsibility, and a letter from the Majority 
     Leader approving of such remote participation.
       The witness must agree to remain on the platform until 
     excused by the chair. The witness should conduct a pre-
     hearing technology test with staff designated by the chair, 
     to ensure the witness will have sufficient internet 
     connection during the hearing, and to minimize the 
     possibility of any technical issues.
       No witness appearing in a governmental capacity may 
     participate remotely. No witness testifying before a 
     committee in response to a subpoena is permitted to testify 
     remotely, unless both the chair of the committee and the 
     Majority Leader authorize such testimony in writing and 
     printed in the Congressional Record.
       Any text based or private messaging function in the 
     software platform used to facilitate the participation of a 
     remote witness must be disabled unless it is used to provide 
     technical support to the witness, which may be excluded from 
     the public video stream and will not be considered a 
     committee record.
       Only witnesses approved for remote participation may have 
     participatory access on the software platform.
       Committees may only utilize a software platform certified 
     by the Chief Administrative Officer. The Chief Administrative 
     Officer should inform committees, including the ranking 
     minority members, each time a software platform is certified.
       Witnesses participating remotely should appear before a 
     nonpolitical, professional appropriate background that is 
     minimally distracting to other members and witnesses, to the 
     greatest extent possible. It remains within the full 
     discretion of the chair to enforce rules of decorum for 
     committee proceedings.
       Any committee report of activities submitted pursuant to 
     clause l(d)(l) of rule XI should include a list of hearings 
     conducted with remote participation.
       A witness participating remotely in a committee proceeding 
     shall be visible onscreen within the software platform until 
     excused by the chair. The witness shall disclose to the chair 
     and ranking member any additional individual(s) present off 
     screen.
       Witness counsel shall be allowed access on the remote 
     proceeding software platform if they are not in the physical 
     presence of the witness. It is recommended that counsel 
     facilitate a separate secure line of communication with the 
     witness. A witness may not be unmuted by any other individual 
     and should be allowed to use such secure line of 
     communication while testifying to confer with counsel.

[[Page H148]]

       A witness may not allow an individual not invited to 
     testify to speak on the platform. The committee chair may 
     only provide an exception when the other individual is 
     necessary to facilitate the witness's participation in the 
     hearing (e.g. translators).
       A chair may not authorize remote participation for more 
     than one witness at a committee hearing without the approval 
     of the Majority Leader in writing and printed in the 
     Congressional Record.

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