[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 15, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S421-S422]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE 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 118th
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:
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 Wednesday 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 majority
member shall preside.
(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
[[Page S422]]
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, seven members of the
committee, at least two 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.
rule 3. hearings
(a) Announcements: Before the committee or a subcommittee
holds a hearing, the chair of the committee or subcommittee
shall 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.
(b) Statements of Witnesses:
(1) A witness who is scheduled to testify at a hearing of
the committee or a subcommittee shall file the written
testimony by electronic mail 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, video, or
model must submit by electronic mail or other means one
identical copy of the exhibit (or representation of the
exhibit in the case of a model) 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) 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 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.
(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 minority 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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