[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 5, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S663-S665]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS RULES OF
PROCEDURE
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
Environment and Public Works Committee Rules of Procedure, approved in
the Committee Business Meeting on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, be
printed in the Congressional Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
EPW Committee 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) The Committee Chairman (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 of
the majority party who is present shall preside at that
meeting.
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(2) Subcommittee Chairs shall preside at all meetings of
their subcommittees. If the Subcommittee Chair is not
present, the ranking member of the majority party who is
present of the subcommittee shall preside at that meeting.
(3) Notwithstanding the rule prescribed by paragraphs (1)
and (2), any member of the Committee may preside at a hearing
as designated by the Chair or presiding officer.
(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 a Senate employee.
(2) Any member of the Senate Press Gallery, or any Senate
employee, wishing to televise, broadcast, or record a
Committee or subcommittee meeting must notify the Majority
Staff Director or the Majority 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 by a
vote of the Committee 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 or Subcommittee Chair 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 or Subcommittee
Chair, 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 submit 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 any exhibit such as a
chart, graph, diagram, photo, map, slide, video, or model
must submit by electronic mail, an attachment or link to
download, an identical copy of each 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.
(c) Sworn Testimony: Witnesses in Committee or subcommittee
hearings shall be required to give testimony under oath at
all nomination, oversight, investigative, and budget
hearings. Witnesses at other Committee or subcommittee
hearings may be required to give testimony under oath at the
discretion of the Chair or Ranking Minority Member. If any
witness at a hearing is required to testify under oath, all
witnesses at that hearing shall be required to testify under
oath.
(d) Transcripts: Transcripts shall be kept of each hearing
of the Committee and each subcommittee.
RULE 4. BUSINESS MEETINGS: NOTICE AND FILING REQUIREMENTS
(a) Notice: The Chair or Subcommittee Chair 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 or the Subcommittee Chair at least 24 hours before
a business meeting. After the filing deadline, the Chair or
Subcommittee Chair shall promptly distribute all filed
amendments to the members of the Committee or subcommittee.
(c) Modifications: The Chair or Subcommittee Chair 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
(a) Proxy Voting:
(1) Proxy voting is allowed on all measures, amendments,
resolutions, or other matters before the committee or a
subcommittee, subject to Rule 2(d).
(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) Late 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.
(d) Transcripts: A transcript shall be kept of each
business meeting of the Committee, unless a majority of all
members of the Committee or subcommittee agree that some
other form of permanent record is preferable.
RULE 6. SUBCOMMITTEES
(a) Regularly Established Subcommittees: The committee has
four subcommittees: Transportation and Infrastructure; Clean
Air, Climate, and Nuclear Innovation and Safety; Chemical
Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and
Regulatory Oversight; and Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife.
(b) Membership: The 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
does not 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, as
amended; Public Law 83-566, the Watershed Protection and
Flood Prevention Act, as amended; or Public Law 86-249, the
Public Buildings Act of 1959, as amended; the Chair 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 supporting evidence.
(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 of
Congress 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
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Services Administration and must be resubmitted in order to
be considered by the Committee during the next session of
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 over 75 years of age who
are fully retired or have taken senior status.
RULE 8. SUBPOENAS
The Chair, with the agreement of the Ranking Minority
Member or by a vote of the Committee, may subpoena the
attendance of a witness at a hearing or deposition, or the
production of memoranda, documents, records, or any other
materials.
RULE 9. AMENDING THE RULES
The rules may be amended or suspended by vote of a majority
of committee members at a business meeting, if a quorum is
present.
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