[House Report 116-561]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                Union Calendar No. 459
116th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                     {      116-561
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



 RECOMMENDATIONS TO RECLAIM CONGRESS' ARTICLE ONE POWERS, BOOST STAFF 
  CAPACITY, IMPROVE THE SCHEDULE AND CALENDAR, IMPROVE THE BUDGET AND 
  APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS, IDENTIFY ADMINISTRATIVE INEFFICIENCIES AND 
                   IMPROVE TECHNOLOGY AND CONTINUITY

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                               __________

                      THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE

                       MODERNIZATION OF CONGRESS

                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                               __________







[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]



                               

October 23, 2020.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
              
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                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                 
19-006                   WASHINGTON : 2020
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
              
           SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE MODERNIZATION OF CONGRESS

                    DEREK KILMER, Washington, Chair
ZOE LOFGREN, California              TOM GRAVES, Georgia, Vice Chair
EMANUEL CLEAVER, Missouri            ROBERT WOODALL, Georgia
SUZAN DelBENE, Washington            SUSAN W. BROOKS, Indiana
MARK POCAN, Wisconsin                RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois
MARY GAY SCANLON, Pennsylvania       DAN NEWHOUSE, Washington
                                     WILLIAM TIMMONS, South Carolina

                                 ------                                

                            Committee Staff

                      Allie Neill, Staff Director
                   Jake Olson, Deputy Staff Director 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

         Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress,
                          House of Representatives,
                                  Washington, DC, October 20, 2020.
Hon. Cheryl L. Johnson,
Clerk, House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Ms. Johnson: I present herewith a report entitled, 
``Recommendations to Reclaim Congress's Article One Powers, 
Boost Staff Capacity, Improve the Schedule and Calendar, 
Improve the Budget and Appropriations Process, Identify 
Administrative Inefficiencies and Improve Technology and 
Continuity.''
            Sincerely,
                                              Derek Kilmer,
                                                             Chair. 
                                                             
                                                             
                                                             
                                                             
                                                             
                                                             
                                                             
                                                             
                                                             
                                                             
                                                             
                                                             
                                                             
                                                             
                                                             
                                                             
                                                             
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                            October 23, 2020

                                                                   Page
  I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY..............................................1
 II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR RECOMMENDATIONS..........................2
III. HEARINGS AND VIRTUAL DISCUSSIONS.................................7
 IV. RECOMMENDATIONS..................................................9
  V. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION AND VOTES...............................21 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
                                                Union Calendar No. 459
116th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                     {      116-561

======================================================================

 
 RECOMMENDATIONS TO RECLAIM CONGRESS' ARTICLE ONE POWERS, BOOST STAFF 
  CAPACITY, IMPROVE THE SCHEDULE AND CALENDAR, IMPROVE THE BUDGET AND 
  APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS, IDENTIFY ADMINISTRATIVE INEFFICIENCIES AND 
                   IMPROVE TECHNOLOGY AND CONTINUITY

                                _______
                                

October 23, 2020.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Kilmer, from the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    The Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress has 
been charged with the important responsibility of recommending 
improvements to the U.S. House of Representatives to help 
Members of Congress and their staff better serve the American 
people. On May 23, 2019 the Select Committee passed its first 
set of recommendations to improve transparency in Congress. On 
July 25, 2019 the Select Committee passed its second set of 
recommendations to address key challenges and capacity issues 
throughout the Legislative Branch. On December 19, 2019 the 
Select Committee passed its third set of recommendations to 
boost civility and bipartisanship in the House, streamline 
processes and save taxpayer dollars, and increase the quality 
of constituent communication.
    In early 2020, as the Select Committee continued its work 
of developing recommendations to make Congress work better for 
the American people, a global public health crisis emerged. The 
COVID-19 pandemic brought the need for congressional continuity 
planning into clear focus as Members and staff had to quickly 
figure out how to work efficiently and effectively away from 
the U.S. Capitol. Select Committee Members believe that 
Congress needs to better prepare for continuity of governance 
and operations in the face of crises. To address these 
challenges, the Select Committee passed its fourth set of 
recommendations on July 31, 2020.
    The Select Committee passed its fifth and final set of 
recommendations on September 24, 2020. These recommendations 
focus on a range of important issues, including reclaiming 
Congress' Article One powers, boosting staff capacity, 
improving the schedule and calendar, improving the budget and 
appropriations process, identifying administrative 
inefficiencies and improving technology. This final set of 
recommendations addresses a number of issues that the Select 
Committee took up in public hearings, virtual discussions, and 
Member meetings over the course of its tenure.

              II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

    Reclaiming Congress' Article One powers, boosting staff 
capacity, improving the schedule and calendar, improving the 
budget and appropriations process, identifying administrative 
inefficiencies and improving technology will improve the way 
Congress works on behalf of the American people. The Select 
Committee identified the following issues to be addressed with 
recommendations:
    1. Too often, committee hearings fail to produce 
substantive information because Members use the five minutes 
they are allotted to make political statements or to ensure 
that a particular view or assertion goes on the record. 
Witnesses can also run down the clock by dodging questions or 
giving lengthy responses. Utilizing extended periods for 
witness questioning would encourage more substantive dialogue 
and thoughtful exchanges and discourage political soundbites.
    2. Unlike Senate committees, most House committees hire 
majority and minority administrative personnel. This means 
there are two staffers handling similar administrative duties. 
Senate committee staffers who are hired on a bipartisan basis 
know they work for Members of both parties and approach their 
work with that understanding. In addition to encouraging 
bipartisanship, joint hires save money by reducing staff 
overlap.
    3. By establishing Chair, Ranking Member, and Member 
expectations in pre-hearing meetings, committee Members can 
better plan and coordinate their witness questions, resulting 
in a more productive and substantive hearing. Bipartisan pre-
hearing meetings also would reduce the tendency to engage in 
surprise tactics and defuse partisanship before it begins.
    4. To build support for process and procedural overhauls at 
the full committee level, some subcommittees should be 
encouraged to experiment and adopt rule changes as test cases. 
Subcommittee Members could then report to their full 
committees, as well as their respective party caucuses, on 
successful experiments they'd recommend be adopted on a broader 
level.
    5. Because committees are the engines of the policy making 
process, committees could be more productive if Members agreed 
to a set of common principles and operational guidelines. A 
meeting of a majority of committee Members at a bipartisan 
Member retreat at the beginning of each Congress would allow 
for a unique opportunity to improve the committee process and 
functions. Creating a more respectful tone is essential if 
Members are to build trust and work collaboratively.
    6. The House should create bipartisan opportunities for 
Members to learn more about the federal programs within their 
committees' jurisdictions. Domestic congressional delegation 
trips (CODELs) would allow Members to have substantive, off-
camera conversations about their policy areas, while getting to 
know each other on a bipartisan basis.
    7. Oxford-style debates feature a debate on a predetermined 
topic from two opposing perspectives. The two sides argue 
either for or against the topic, within a structured format. 
Weekly Oxford-style debates focusing on national issues would 
demonstrate that Congress takes the Article One principle of 
debate and deliberation seriously, and that Members can grapple 
with important problems while maintaining civility.
    8. Members do not receive training on overall legislative 
debate, Oxford-style debate principles and strategies, or how 
to process and understand opposing policy views. To further 
foster bipartisanship, Members and staff should receive 
training on how to effectively debate and deliberate.
    9. Too often, Congress delegates rulemaking power to the 
executive branch. Through this delegated power, the executive 
promulgates rules and regulations, and offers legal opinions to 
the courts. As such, Congress needs a counterpart to similar 
offices in the executive and judicial branches. A congressional 
office responsible for issuing legal opinions and clarifying 
guidance on policy objectives in legislation could support 
Congress and counter Department of Justice opinions that 
conflict with congressional intent.
    10. Judicial proceedings are the only route to adjudicate 
conflicts between the executive and legislative branches but 
these proceedings can take months or years to resolve. These 
delays impede Congress' ability to uphold its Article One 
responsibilities. Congressional standing in the courts needs to 
be clarified.
    11. Members need more opportunities to forge professional 
and personal relationships. By visiting each other's districts, 
Members are more likely to find common issues to work on 
together and gain an appreciation for the issues that their 
colleagues from different districts confront.
    12. Congress has seen a major reduction in committee 
staffing levels over the past several decades. Committee staff 
tend to have more experience and more policy and institutional 
expertise than personal office staff. The number of policy 
experts who work at legislative support agencies have also been 
cut dramatically. The departure of these specialists and the 
resultant ``brain drain'' from the Hill has sorely diminished 
Congress' ability to carry out its Article One obligations. 
Capacity for policy staff and congressional support agencies 
needs to be increased to address these challenges while also 
evaluating the objectives and mission of congressional support 
agencies.
    13. Congress needs to reclaim its authority under Article 
One of the Constitution to appropriate federal dollars in a way 
that emphasizes transparency and accountability, and that 
provides meaningful investment in local communities. Doing so 
would help reduce dysfunction in the annual budgeting process.
    14. Certifications help staff become more marketable for 
promotion or alternative employment. In addition, these 
programs also help offices save time by training staffers and 
create a standardized, base-level understanding of staff roles 
across the House. And given the unique nature of the work on 
Capitol Hill, it can be difficult to move from one position to 
another. Training would provide staff with an opportunity to 
learn new positions and be flexible in their work goals.
    15. For new staffers, the institutional knowledge of how 
Capitol Hill operates can be difficult to find and understand. 
Providing institution-wide training for new employees would 
ensure all new staff understand their role, how Congress 
operates, as well as logistics like benefits. Training would 
empower staff to not only understand the legislative process, 
but their rights as congressional staff.
    16. Because both staff pay and the high costs of franked 
mail both fall under the Members' Representational Allowance 
(MRA), Members are financially restricted in both the quantity 
and quality of constituent correspondence and staff pay. Where 
some offices have high franked-costs, others do not. This 
inadvertently disadvantages staff and Members, who are 
constrained by a collective MRA.
    17. Improving capacity and staff expertise will make 
Congress work better for the American people, and less reliant 
on lobbyists or outside experts. In order to provide sufficient 
compensation to recruit and retain capable staff, a modern MRA 
is needed. A thorough and updated evaluation of the formula--
including a consideration of staff pay in relation to the 
executive branch and to private industry--will provide a data-
driven means of modernizing the MRA.
    18. In order for Congress to retain staff and build 
capacity, staff need to be paid more, and expect to receive 
standard cost of living adjustments, as well as raises based on 
tenure and merit. An established, nonbinding pay band system 
will encourage staff to stay on Capitol Hill for longer because 
they will have greater clarity regarding what they can expect 
to be paid. Such a system can also provide staff with an 
additional tool to ask for more compensation and could also 
prevent major pay discrepancies between congressional offices. 
In order to establish a nonbinding pay band system in the 
House, current and reliable data on staff salaries is also 
needed.
    19. Health care benefits are particularly important to 
attracting and retaining staff, but the transition to the D.C. 
exchange has made it difficult for some district-based staff to 
find local health care providers who accept the D.C. options. 
Additionally, the transition has been difficult for some D.C.-
based staff who preferred the coverage they had under the FEHB 
program. Allowing congressional staff choice in coverage would 
bring them into alignment with committee staff and the 
executive branch when it comes to health provider choices.
    20. While staff benefits are provided by all Members of 
Congress, the stipulations of these requirements can differ by 
office. The CARES Act allowed student loan borrowers, including 
congressional staff, to avoid taxes on the benefits they 
receive. Reauthorizing this provision would help congressional 
staffers who participate in the student loan repayment program, 
regardless of personal office policies.
    21. Retaining senior staff is critical to improving 
institutional capacity and making Members more effective 
lawmakers on behalf of their constituents. However, 
congressional staff salaries are limited by a Member's own 
salary because staff cannot earn more than Members. This 
contributes to staff retention problems and means that Congress 
loses experienced staff to the private sector and executive 
branch.
    22. Like congressional party caucuses, Congressional Member 
Organizations (CMOs) rely on staff and interns to help them 
serve their Members and work on their organizational 
legislative objectives. But staff who work for these 
organizations can't always access the same staff benefits as 
staff who work in personal offices. This can make it difficult 
for these organizations to recruit and retain staff.
    23. Beginning in the 114th Congress, the House began 
allowing certain CMOs to be designated as Eligible 
Congressional Member Organizations (ECMOs). Member 
organizations have increased in number and influence, yet there 
is no publicly available list of ECMOs. This lack of 
transparency prevents the public from accessing basic 
information about these organizations and their legislative 
objectives.
    24. Members typically sit on an average of 5.4 committees 
and subcommittees. Efforts to deconflict committee meetings, to 
the extent possible, would allow Members to spend more 
substantial time on committee business and would hopefully 
reduce the need for certain committees to be prioritized over 
others.
    25. In 1974, the House Select Committee on Committees 
(Bolling Committee) recommended the establishment of a 
computerized scheduling system for committees and 
subcommittees. This recommendation was adopted at the start of 
the 97th Congress and remains in effect today. However, this 
system is only being used to announce the date and time of 
hearings and meetings. A common committee calendar portal that 
allows committees visibility into other committee activities 
and potential committee member conflicts would help deconflict 
schedules.
    26. Conflict between committee work and floor time is one 
of the factors that make Member time in Washington less 
productive than it could be. In a four-day week, committees 
only have two full days to conduct business and even then, 
Members must split their time between committee meetings and 
debate and votes on the House floor. This compression of 
committee time results in the scheduling conflicts. Committee-
activity-only weeks--or even committee-activity-only days--
without any floor activity would allow Members to take deeper 
dives into their committee work.
    27. Based on distance from D.C., family structure, and 
other preferences, every Member of Congress has a different 
idea of what the House calendar should look like. But despite 
differences in travel habits, one thing all Members can agree 
on is they would like to spend less time traveling. A calendar 
with less days interrupted by travel would allow for more time 
for Members to fully focus on legislative and district 
responsibilities.
    28. Experts argue that the more time Members spend 
together, the more likely they are to develop a productive 
working relationship. Along those lines, making room in the 
congressional calendar for a bipartisan retreat will improve 
the institution's ability to advance an agenda for the American 
people and improve civility.
    29. Members of Congress must have access to nonpartisan 
information about the many factors contributing to the nation's 
debt and deficit in order to develop sound fiscal policies and 
meet our long-debt and deficit reduction. To encourage 
communication between the executive and legislative branches 
and ensure that all parties involved in the budget and 
appropriations process are making decisions based on a common 
set of facts, there needs to be improved communication between 
agency officials and Members of Congress. A yearly Fiscal State 
of the Nation discussion will facilitate these types of 
discussions and ensure all involved start off with the same 
expectations and understanding.
    30. The budget resolution has increasingly become a 
partisan document, used by congressional leaders to highlight 
their policy preferences, and in some cases as a political 
maneuver for Senate passage. And when the budget process is 
inordinately delayed and politicized, it slows down the 
important work of congressional appropriations. By setting 
302(a) discretionary spending levels at the start of each 
Congress, appropriations will be more efficient and able to 
plan ahead, avoiding unnecessary delays. A biennial budget 
would also provide Congress additional time to conduct 
oversight of federal agencies and departments.
    31. Congress has continually failed to adopt a budget 
resolution by the statutorily required April 15 deadline. In 
those years in which Congress has adopted a budget resolution, 
it has adopted the budget resolution an average of 36 days 
after the target date. The current deadline does not reflect a 
realistic timeline.
    32. Congress requires critical data from the executive 
branch to begin the budget building process. Specifically, the 
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) cannot begin constructing its 
baseline for the upcoming fiscal year without receipt of data, 
particularly prior-year and current-year spending, that is 
normally transmitted with the President's budget request. 
Without receipt of CBO's baseline, Congress generally cannot 
begin writing its budget resolution.
    33. Under a new two-year budget resolution process, the 
Budget and Appropriations Committees would need to review their 
schedules and procedures to determine the best ways of using 
the resolution to expedite congressional work.
    34. The budget process, particularly in the Senate, is 
susceptible to being used as a procedural maneuver to bypass 
the filibuster threshold. This has tainted the larger budget 
reconciliation process. The budget reconciliation process 
should only be used to reduce deficits.
    35. Given the fact that tax expenditures are a major 
component of the federal budget, an optional requirement for 
including a total level of tax expenditures in the list of what 
could be in a budget resolution would encourage transparency 
and flexibility in the budget process.
    36. Congress' physical workspace affects the institution's 
ability to attract and retain talented, young workers. Members 
and staff complain about a lack of open, bipartisan spaces 
where they can meet in private, away from press. Quality 
workspace design leads to a less stressful and more productive 
atmosphere.
    37. Unlike individual Members of Congress, the Government 
Services Administration (GSA) has a great deal of expertise in 
negotiating leases. Today, the GSA owns and leases nearly 400 
million square feet of space throughout the country, from ports 
of entry, post offices, laboratories, and more. Allowing the 
GSA to handle the responsibility of negotiating the lease for 
individual Member's district offices would save time and money.
    38. Congressional operations depend upon technology, but 
Congress is often constrained by its own limited approach to 
purchasing technology and providing technological services. The 
executive branch responded to similar challenges by creating 
the U.S. Digital Service, which hires technologists to build 
tools that make government work better for the American people. 
A more sophisticated and coordinated approach to the provision 
of technology and technological services in the House would 
help Members better serve their constituents.
    39. The Bulk Data Task Force brings together many 
technology stakeholders inside the legislative branch as well 
as members of civil society. Though it was established by 
Congress as a temporary entity, it continues to hold public 
meetings on a quarterly basis. This ongoing collaboration has 
been positive for the House Clerk's Office and for data 
transparency groups and has led to technological advances in 
how legislative data is made public.
    40. The COVID-19 pandemic forced Congress into a continuity 
of operations plan, but there is still much work to be done to 
prepare for future crises. An evaluation of Congress' response 
to the COVID-19 pandemic could determine where there is room 
for improvement, as well as newly implemented practices that 
might no longer be necessary.

                 III. HEARINGS AND VIRTUAL DISCUSSIONS

    The COVID-19 pandemic compelled changes in committee 
operations and procedures. Because Members were away from the 
U.S. Capitol for extended periods of time, many committees, 
including the Select Committee on the Modernization of 
Congress, continued to meet by videoconference. The Select 
Committee held four hearings and six virtual discussions which 
helped shape these recommendations. The discussions included:
           ``Recommendations for Improving the Budget 
        and Appropriations Process: A Look at the Work of the 
        Joint Select Committee,'' on September 19, 2019. The 
        Select Committee received testimony from:
                   Mr. G. William Hoagland, Senior 
                Vice President, Bipartisan Policy Center
                   The Honorable Nita M. Lowey, 
                Member of Congress
                   Ms. Megan Lynch, Specialist on 
                Congress and the Legislative Process, 
                Congressional Research Service
                   Mr. M. Matthew Owens, 
                Participant, Convergence Building a Better 
                Budget Process Project, Executive VP and VP for 
                Federal Relations, Association of American 
                Universities
                   The Honorable Steve Womack, 
                Member of Congress
           ``The House Calendar and Schedule: 
        Evaluating Practices and Challenges,'' on October 16, 
        2019. The Select Committee received testimony from:
                   Ms. Ida Brudnick, Specialist on 
                Congress, Congressional Research Service
                   Mr. Charles W. Johnson, on 
                behalf of themselves
                   Mr. Kyle Nevins, on behalf of 
                themselves
                   Ms. Susan Clarke Schaar, Clerk 
                of the Senate, Virginia General Assembly
           ``Article One: Restoring Capacity and 
        Equipping Congress to Better Serve the American 
        People,'' on January 14, 2020. The Select Committee 
        received testimony from:
                   Ms. Elise Bean, Washington Co-
                Director, Levin Center at Wayne Law
                   Dr. John Hudak, on behalf of 
                themselves
                   Dr. Kevin Kosar, Vice President, 
                Research Partnerships, R Street Institute
                   Dr. Rachel Augustine Potter, on 
                behalf of themselves
           ``Article One: Fostering a More Deliberative 
        Process in Congress,'' on February 5, 2020. The Select 
        Committee received testimony from:
                   Dr. James M. Curry, on behalf of 
                themselves
                   Dr. Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer, on 
                behalf of themselves
                   Dr. Norman J. Ornstein, on 
                behalf of themselves
           ``Continuity of Committee Work,'' on May 7, 
        2020. The Select Committee received testimony from:
                   Marci Harris, CEO of PopVox
                   Beth Noveck, Director of The 
                Governance Lab and Chief Innovation Officer for 
                the State of New Jersey
           ``Congress' Tech Capacity,'' on May 15, 
        2020. The Select Committee received testimony from:
                   Travis Moore, Founder and 
                Director of Tech Congress
                   Lorelei Kelly, Leader of the 
                Resilient Democracy Coalition, Beeck Center for 
                Social Impact and Innovation Georgetown 
                University
           ``Remote Office Work and Best Practices from 
        Federal Agencies,'' on May 20, 2020. The Select 
        Committee received testimony from:
                   Peter M. Weichlein, Chief 
                Executive Officer, U.S. Association of Former 
                Members of Congress
                   Kristine Simmons, Vice 
                President, Government Affairs at the 
                Partnership for Public Service
           ``Conversations on Congressional Staffing,'' 
        on June 4, 2020. The Select Committee received:
                   Casey Burgat, Director of 
                Legislative Affairs, Graduate School of 
                Political Management at George Washington 
                University
                   Kathryn Pearson, Associate 
                Professor, University of Minnesota
           ``Discussion with American Political Science 
        Association Task Force,'' on June 18, 2020. The Select 
        Committee received testimony from:
                   Dr. Eric Schickler, Professor of 
                Political Science at the University of 
                California, Berkeley, and co-chair of the APSA 
                Task Force on Congressional Reform
                   Dr. Ruth Bloch Rubin, Assistant 
                Professor in the Department of Political 
                Science at the University of Chicago
                   Dr. Michael D. Minta, Associate 
                Professor in Political Science at the 
                University of Minnesota
           ``Boosting Internal Expertise in Congress,'' 
        on June 25, 2020. The Select Committee received 
        testimony from:
                   Dr. Lee Drutman, Senior Fellow 
                in the Political Reform Program at New America 
                Foundation
                   Paul Brathwaite, Former 
                Executive Director of the Congressional Black 
                Caucus (CBC)
                   Maria Meier, Former Senior 
                Leadership Staffer and Director of the 
                Congressional Hispanic Caucus

                          IV. RECOMMENDATIONS

    The Select Committee made the following 40 recommendations 
to address the problems identified above (see II. BACKGROUND 
AND NEED FOR RECOMMENDATIONS):
    (1) Recommendation: Committees or subcommittees should 
experiment with alternative hearing formats and alternatives to 
the five-minute rule for questioning witnesses.
    Specifically . . . Alternative hearing formats could 
include allowing thirty-minute rounds to question witnesses and 
encourage discourse. For larger committees, groups of Members 
could be granted thirty-minute blocks and coordinate their 
questions. Committees could also experiment with formats like 
seating Members and witnesses at the same table, or seating 
Members of opposing parties next to each other to encourage 
better dialogue and civility. Chairs and Ranking Members could 
encourage use of these alternative formats by agreeing to 
incorporate them into committee rules. The Chair and Ranking 
Member of each committee or subcommittee could also approve the 
Member(s) and their question topics in advance to ensure 
questioning is designed to shape policy.
    (2) Recommendation: Committees should hire bipartisan staff 
approved by both the Chair and Ranking Member to promote strong 
institutional knowledge, evidence-based policy making, and a 
less partisan oversight agenda.
    Specifically . . . Joint hires of administrative staff who 
handle committee tasks such as setting up hearing rooms, 
handling reports, and archiving materials encourage 
bipartisanship and save money by reducing staff overlap. 
Additionally, joint hires can ensure bipartisan oversight and a 
focus on effective policy. Bipartisan staff approach their jobs 
understanding that they work for Members of both parties and 
have greater job security because their jobs are not dependent 
on which party is in the majority.
    (3) Recommendation: Committees should hold bipartisan pre-
hearing committee meetings.
    Specifically . . . Members and staff from both parties 
should meet to set hearing goals in order to defuse 
partisanship before it begins and reduce the tendency to engage 
in surprise tactics. Pre-hearing meetings also allow Members to 
better plan and coordinate their witness questions, resulting 
in a more productive and substantive hearing.
    (4) Recommendation: Encourage pilot rule changes in 
subcommittees.
    Specifically . . . To build support for process and 
procedural overhauls at the full committee level, some 
subcommittees should be encouraged to experiment and adopt rule 
changes as test cases. Subcommittee Members should then report 
to their full committees, as well as their respective party 
caucuses, on successful experiments they recommend for adoption 
on a broader level.
    (5) Recommendation: At a bipartisan Member retreat (as 
recommended by the Select Committee) committees should have at 
least two-thirds of their Members meet separately to determine 
the committee's goals for the year, and to discuss how the 
Members will treat each other in public and in private, and how 
the committee will treat witnesses during hearings.
    Specifically . . . Committee Members should agree to a set 
of common principles and operational guidelines. Creating a 
more respectful tone is essential if Members are to build trust 
and work collaboratively.
    (6) Recommendation: Establish committee-based domestic 
policy congressional delegation trips (CODELs).
    Specifically . . . The House should create bipartisan 
opportunities for Members to learn more about the federal 
programs within their committees' jurisdictions. Domestic 
CODELs would allow Members to have substantive, off-camera 
conversations about their policy areas, while getting to know 
each other on a bipartisan basis.
    (7) Recommendation: Establish a pilot for weekly Oxford-
style debates on the House floor to be managed by a task force 
of bipartisan Members established by majority and minority 
leadership and selected from Members of relevant Member 
Organizations.
    Specifically . . . A bipartisan working group could 
determine debate topics, pick teams of Members to argue either 
side of an issue, and schedule the debates throughout the 
session. The debates should begin on topics that cut across 
party lines to demonstrate bipartisan consensus on certain 
issues.
    (8) Recommendation: Provide Members and staff with training 
for debate and deliberation skills.
    Specifically . . . During new session orientations, Members 
should attend training on overall legislative debate, 
principles and strategies, as well as workshops on how to 
process and understand opposing policy views. The training 
should be bipartisan, led by professionals, and should occur 
outside of Congress. To further foster bipartisanship, staff 
should also receive this training.
    (9) Recommendation: The Government Accountability Office 
(GAO) should study the feasibility and effectiveness of a 
Congressional Office on Regulatory Rules, and a Congressional 
Office of Legal Counsel.
    Specifically . . . This office would serve as a counterpart 
to similar offices in the executive and judicial branches and 
would be responsible for issuing legal opinions that support 
Congress and answer Department of Justice opinions that 
conflict with congressional intent. Such an office could be 
housed in the House's Office of General Counsel or the 
Congressional Research Service. The Committee recommends an 
initial study of jurisdiction, logistics, and cost to determine 
the feasibility of implementing these nonpartisan resources.
    (10) Recommendation: Pass bipartisan legislation 
establishing Congress has standing in the courts and set 
expedited procedures for conflicts between the branches.
    Specifically . . . Congress should enact bipartisan 
legislation establishing that Congress has judicial standing to 
bring inter-branch conflicts to the courts, and that expedited 
procedures are necessary.
    (11) Recommendation: The Committee on House Administration 
should establish a district exchange program to allow Members 
to use the MRA for traveling to other Members' districts.
    Specifically . . . Members need more opportunities to forge 
professional and personal relationships, especially with 
different-party colleagues. By visiting each other's districts, 
Members are more likely to find common issues to work on 
together and gain an appreciation for the issues that their 
colleagues from different districts confront. The Member 
handbook should be updated to incorporate guardrails to ensure 
travel is for official purposes only.
    (12) Recommendation: Increase capacity for policy staff, 
especially for committees, policy support organizations (GAO, 
CBO, CRS) and a restored OTA, and perhaps restored capacity to 
member-supporting legislative service organizations, and 
updated technology resources. Additionally, House support 
organizations (GAO, CBO, CRS) should evaluate their mission, 
how they have evolved over time, and if there is a further need 
to modernize, and incorporate the results of this review in 
their budget justifications to the Legislative Branch 
Subcommittee on Appropriations and other relevant committees.
    Specifically . . . Congress has seen a major reduction in 
committee staffing levels over the past several decades. The 
number of policy experts who work at legislative support 
agencies has also been cut dramatically. Because the departure 
of these specialists leaves Members more dependent on outside 
experts, Committee Members agreed that increasing policy staff 
capacity is essential.
    (13) Recommendation: Reduce dysfunction in the annual 
budgeting process through the establishment of a 
congressionally-directed program that calls for transparency 
and accountability, and that supports meaningful and 
transformative investments in local communities across the 
United States. The program will harness the authority of 
Congress under Article One of the Constitution to appropriate 
federal dollars.
    Specifically . . . The Committee provides the following 
programmatic description and framework for how a Community-
Focused Grant Program should operate:
    The Community-Focused Grant Program (CFGP) is a competitive 
grant program intended to allow Congress to harness its unique 
constitutional authority to appropriate federal dollars through 
a congressional competitive award process, with an emphasis on 
supporting projects that have the broad support of local 
communities across the United States. Public entities, 
including certain non-profits and including the public entity 
collaborating with a Member of Congress to identify a local 
priority, may apply for grants, and they must do so by 
submitting an application to at least one Member of Congress. 
It is up to each Member to determine which projects they will 
support via a uniform request process to the appropriate 
congressional committee. For-profit entities are prohibited 
from participating in the program, as are relatives of Members 
of Congress.
    A hallmark of CFGP is end-to-end accountability and 
transparency, with public access to every Member request and 
supporting documentation, and routine independent audits. For 
discretionary programs, the grant program is limited to 1% of 
discretionary spending. The grant program will give special 
consideration to projects that have broad support at the local 
level, thorough supporting documentation, bipartisan support 
and multi-Member support.
    Congress will aim to distribute grants equitably across 
states and geographic regions, between rural, suburban and 
urban areas, and throughout economic sectors. From time-to-
time, major projects of national or regional importance may 
merit a larger than normal grant share.

                   Enhance House Rules and Implement 
                        End-to-End Transparency

           Combine all rules governing congressionally 
        directed spending into the Rules of the House
                   House Rules already contain 
                numerous transparency requirements, but several 
                prior reforms were placed in the House Code of 
                Official Conduct or adopted as Committee 
                Rules--these should become House Rules
                   This includes transparency 
                requirements in place prior to 2011
                   Includes a ban on providing 
                funds to for-profit entities
           Expand certification that the Member or 
        Member's spouse has no financial interest to match the 
        threshold of extensive House nepotism rules

                  ONE PUBLIC WEBSITE WITH EVERY DETAIL

           A ``.gov'' public website should be created 
        that contains details of every Member request, 
        including supporting documentation, and is easily 
        sortable
                   The homepage of Member websites 
                should have a prominent link to this site
                   This avoids a fractured process 
                of 435 different websites posting requests
                   The Clerk's office would serve 
                as custodian of the website

                 Create a New Competitive Grant Program


               A PROCESS THAT STARTS IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES

           Establish the Community-Focused Grant 
        Program (CFGP)
           Grant requests must originate with a public 
        entity or state, local, or tribal governments 
        (including subdivisions of state or local governments 
        and including a local community or public entity 
        collaborating with a Member of Congress to identify a 
        local priority) via formal application submitted to at 
        least one congressional office
                   For the purposes of this 
                recommendation, a ``public entity'' includes 
                not-for-profit entities that serve a public 
                interest
                   The form used to make grant 
                requests should be simple and allow communities 
                and public entities to easily navigate the 
                grant application process
           Member offices would determine which CFGP 
        projects to support and submit those projects as 
        individual requests to the applicable committee
           Members are strongly encouraged to establish 
        a process which facilitates nonpartisan engagement of 
        local elected officials and stakeholders
                   A process could require input 
                from local economic development entities, state 
                and local elected officials before the Member 
                moves forward with the request
                   For public entities requesting 
                funding for non-profit programs, Members should 
                encourage consensus from local public leaders
           A standardized grant application request 
        form for Members should include but not limited to:
                   Identification of if the grant 
                requestor is a public entity, or a state, 
                local, or tribal government
                   Detailed description of the 
                project including data or evidence of project 
                merits
                   Explanation of how the project 
                is a good use of taxpayer dollars
                   Total cost of the project 
                including a breakdown of costs
                   Forecast of needed future 
                federal funding
                   Timeline for the project
                   Previous federal funding used to 
                advance the project, if applicable
                   Non-federal share of dollars for 
                the project if it is a public-private 
                partnership
                   Citation of authorizing language 
                for the program under which the project falls 
                (to be completed by the Member office)
                   Letters of support from other 
                state or local officials and entities
                   A list of support from other 
                Members (to be completed by the Member office)
                   Indication if the request is 
                bipartisan (to be completed by the Member 
                office)
           If a project would impact another state, 
        district, or region, Members are strongly encouraged to 
        work together with other affected Members on a robust, 
        bipartisan (if applicable) request.
           Standing committees should apply this 
        framework to appropriate legislation under their 
        jurisdiction (example: the highway bill considered by 
        the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
        appropriations legislation, the National Defense 
        Authorization Act, etc.)
           Committees should also strive to balance the 
        prioritization of bipartisan, multi-Member, and multi-
        district projects with the requests of at-large and 
        rural-representing Members; committees should 
        ultimately fund projects that benefit rural and urban 
        districts alike
           Members should submit their requests through 
        the same website (CFGP.gov for example) so that the 
        process from request, to public review, to approval or 
        denial is seamless from start to finish across 
        committees

                    NEW CAPS AND TIGHTER GUARDRAILS

           Cap all requests to a combined total of 1% 
        of discretionary spending, not including project-based 
        accounts. Such a cap should encourage the applicable 
        committee to ensure funds are ``distributed equitably 
        across geographic areas, between rural and urban 
        areas'' and among project modes, similar to TIGER 
        grants
           The Committee recommends a cap to prevent 
        the possibility of inequitable distribution of funds, 
        where, for example, some Members are successful in 
        directing vastly more funding to their district than 
        other Members. The Committee debated caps on the number 
        of successful project awards and also on size of 
        awards, but both proved to be very difficult to 
        implement. Rather than be overly prescriptive, the 
        Committee recommends that any adoption of this program 
        be guided by the principle of equitable distribution of 
        funds and take great care to avoid any situation where 
        the program would allow a small number of Members to 
        direct far more investments than the rest of the body
           If a Community-Focused Grant is funded in 
        legislation, the committee shall provide the following 
        information to the Clerk of the House to be included on 
        the Community-Focused Grants website: upgraded tables 
        that detail Member justifications, relevant grant 
        application information, and a summary of statistics 
        and demographics impacted by grant awardees (urban 
        versus rural, average grant award, geographic 
        disbursement, etc.)
           Capacity for the Clerk of the House and any 
        committee that has plans to fund Community-Focused 
        Grants should be evaluated to accommodate the new 
        process, review of project requests, oversight of 
        spending, oversight of spending, and development of 
        websites

                      HEAL THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS

           Ideally, Community-Focused Grants would only 
        be provided to projects under authorized accounts. 
        Understanding this may not always be possible, any 
        relevant committee shall include, on its website, the 
        scope and criteria for unauthorized accounts that 
        contain Community-Focused Grants
           We recommend that a Community-Focused Grant 
        should appear in a bill that has passed out of a 
        committee. At a minimum, though, it should be required 
        to appear on the CFGP.gov website as a Member request. 
        Prohibit implementing grant projects into a Continuing 
        Resolution
           Amendments on the floor for new projects 
        will not be permitted in order to prevent unvetted, 
        politically motivated projects to replace or take 
        funding from projects that went through the full 
        process and were deemed to have merit

                      TRAINING FOR MEMBER OFFICES

           Training for staff and Members on how to 
        participate in the competitive grant program should be 
        provided on a routine basis
           Offices should also consider how to 
        implement training for constituents and grant 
        applicants, perhaps through district staff, with online 
        resources (such as CRS)

                    INDEPENDENT AUDITS AND CLAWBACKS

           Require independent oversight from 
        respective agencies' Inspectors General in the form of 
        a random audit of projects and an annual public report
           Agencies' Inspectors General should identify 
        waste, fraud, and abuse and recommend projects where 
        funds should be clawed back
           The effectiveness of the CFGP could be 
        reviewed after one or two years. The review of the 
        pilot program could be performed by GAO, and should 
        analyze how the grant program is functioning, 
        highlighting areas of success or areas in need of 
        improvement.
    (14) Recommendation: Congressional Staff Academy (CSA) must 
design and offer certifications in addition to trainings to 
staffers. The program must offer certificates for the following 
roles: Staff Assistant, LC, LA, LD, Scheduler, Press Assistant, 
Communications Director, COS, and District Staff roles. The CSA 
must also promote these certifications.
    Specifically . . . Certifications help staff become more 
marketable for promotion or alternative employment. These 
programs also help offices save time by training staffers and 
create a standardized, base-level understanding of staff roles 
across the House. For example, these programs will include 
training on House procedure for legislative aides, guidance on 
in-House communication resources for press staff, and 
managerial training for senior-level positions. In addition, 
the Committee recommends incentivizing participation in 
training by establishing a curriculum for senior staff, 
creating a mentorship program for staff, and recommending 
bonuses.
    (15) Recommendation: Provide institution-wide, standard 
onboarding training for new employees, including employee 
resource offices/contacts. Training includes constituent 
service training for entry level staffers who will deal with 
constituent concerns.
    Specifically . . . The Committee recommends providing 
institution-wide training for new employees to ensure all new 
staff understand their role, how Congress operates, as well as 
logistics like benefits. Standardized training provides staff 
with skill sets that are transferable across offices, which 
helps improve staff retention.
    (16) Recommendation: Remove franking related costs from 
Member MRAs and move to a central account which all Members can 
use (up to a pre-determined cap) to pay for franking related 
costs (this can include telephone town halls and ads on social 
media).
    Specifically . . . Funding could be provided through the 
Chief Administrative Officer with each office having a specific 
allotment available to them. Individual offices use of funding 
would also be disclosed in the quarterly statement of 
disbursements. All mass communications will continue to be 
publicly disclosed via the current franking website. Offices 
are not required to use these funds and could still use the MRA 
for all mass communication costs. Additionally, if offices 
reach the cap, they can still utilize the MRA for mass 
communications.
    (17) Recommendation: The Members' Representational 
Allowance (MRA) formula should be reevaluated and updated to 
reflect modern office needs and upcoming congressional 
redistricting, and increased to ensure Congress can meet 
current and future challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic 
and the persistent retention problems.
    Specifically . . . The MRA currently is calculated through 
several factors that require updating. Travel costs are 
calculated based on distance from D.C. rather than actual cost 
to travel. The franking budget is determined by the number of 
non-business addresses in a district. And lease costs for a 
given MRA are determined by GSA's office space prices in a 
given district. A thorough and updated evaluation of the 
formula--including a consideration of staff pay in relation to 
the executive branch and to private industry--will provide 
data-driven means of modernizing the MRA.
    (18) Recommendation: Establish a nonbinding, voluntary pay 
band system for House staff that includes a salary floor and 
average salary for each position in Member offices based on 
various factors including seniority, tenure, comparable pay, 
and cost-of-living.
    Specifically . . . In order for Congress to retain staff 
and build capacity, staff need to be paid more, and expect to 
receive standard cost of living adjustments, as well as raises 
based on tenure and merit. An established, nonbinding pay band 
system will encourage staff to stay on Capitol Hill for longer 
because they will have greater clarity regarding what they can 
expect to be paid. Such a system can also provide staff with an 
additional tool to ask for more compensation and could also 
prevent major pay discrepancies in pay between congressional 
offices.
    In order to establish a nonbinding pay band system in the 
House, current and reliable data on staff salaries is needed. 
The Committee also recommends that information on annual 
salaries for the positions in House Member offices, and for 
committees, should be compiled either through available 
information or through a survey. This data can then help the 
House establish a reasonable and nonbinding pay band system for 
staff positions.
    (19) Recommendation: Eliminate requirement that district 
staff purchase health insurance on D.C. exchange, allowing them 
to enroll either in a FEHB plan or their state exchange, and 
allow D.C.-based staff to enroll in the D.C. exchange or FEHB 
plan.
    Specifically . . . This recommendation would bring D.C. 
based staff into alignment with committee staff and the 
executive branch when it comes to health provider choices. It 
would also provide district staff with local health insurance 
options by allowing them to opt into local systems.
    (20) Recommendation: Reauthorize appropriate provisions 
included in the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136) related to the tax 
treatment of the student loan repayment program.
    Specifically . . . The Committee recommends that Congress 
extend the provision in the CARES Act that allowed student loan 
borrowers to avoid taxes on the benefits they receive.
    (21) Recommendation: Staff pay should be delinked from 
Member pay and a new cap specific to staff should be 
established.
    Specifically . . . Members should delink their own salaries 
from those of their staff, so they can reward and retain their 
most senior employees.
    (22) Recommendation: Standardize Eligible Congressional 
Member Organizations (ECMOs) to participate in the House's paid 
intern program and access staff benefits like the student loan 
repayment program.
    Specifically . . . This recommendation ensures that staff 
who work for ECMOs can access the same staff benefits as staff 
who work in personal offices. It also allows ECMOs to 
participate in the House's paid internship program, granting 
them one paid intern at a time.
    (23) Recommendation: Transparency of active Eligible 
Congressional Member Organizations (ECMOs) should be improved, 
and a list of approved ECMOs should be published and updated 
accordingly each Congress.
    Specifically . . . ECMOs have increased in number and 
influence, yet there is no publicly available list of these 
organizations. This lack of transparency prevents the public 
from accessing basic information about these organizations and 
their legislative objectives. This recommendation ensures that 
the public can easily access an updated list of approved ECMOs 
and learn more about their policy concerns.
    (24) Recommendation: Establish a blocked schedule when 
committees may meet and extend formal protections for committee 
work.
    Specifically . . . The Committee found that since the 110th 
Congress, Members sit on an average of 5.4 committees and 
subcommittees. Efforts to deconflict committee meetings, to the 
extent possible, would allow Members to spend more substantial 
time on committee business and would hopefully reduce the need 
for certain committees to be prioritized over others.
    (25) Recommendation: Create a common committee calendar 
portal so that committees can have visibility into other 
committee activities and potential committee member conflicts.
    Specifically . . . While congressional staff already has 
access to the date and time of other committee meetings, it is 
not readily available how many of their Members would be 
conflicted were they to schedule their committee meeting in 
conflict with another committee meeting. An internal portal 
that tracks Member obligations based on their committee 
assignments would help committees schedule their meetings when 
most of their Members are available.
    (26) Recommendation: To allow Members to take deeper dives 
into their committee work, committee-activity-only weeks--or 
even committee-activity-only days--without any floor activity 
could be established, building on the precedent laid out during 
the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Specifically . . . Conflict between committee work and 
floor time is one of the factors that make Member time in 
Washington less productive than it could be. To allow Members 
to take deeper dives into their committee work, committee-
activity-only weeks or days could be established, building on 
the precedent laid out during the COVID-19 public health 
emergency.
    (27) Recommendation: Future congressional calendars should 
aim to maximize full working days to ensure there are 
substantially more working days than travel days.
    Specifically . . . By rearranging the intensity, duration, 
and frequency of D.C. work, the number of travel days can be 
reduced, allowing either more time legislating or more time in 
the district.
    (28) Recommendation: The congressional calendar should 
accommodate a bipartisan Member retreat.
    Specifically . . . Making room in the congressional 
calendar for a bipartisan retreat will improve the 
institution's ability to advance an agenda for the American 
people and improve civility.
    (29) Recommendation: Require an annual Fiscal State of the 
Nation, to be given by the appropriate official(s), as 
determined by or in coordination with House leadership.
    Specifically . . . For Congress to appropriately fund the 
government, all parties need to be working with the same set of 
facts. Issues like the national debt, federal budget requests, 
and deadlines should be understood and agreed upon by all 
negotiators. A yearly Fiscal State of the Nation discussion 
will facilitate these types of discussions and ensure all 
involved start off with the same expectations and 
understanding.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Recommendations 29-35 were formed in close consultation with 
former Members of the Joint Select Committee on Budget and 
Appropriations Process Reform (JCBA) and build off the JCBA's 
bicameral, bipartisan package in the 115th Congress to significantly 
reform the congressional budget process.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    (30) Recommendation: Require a biennial budget resolution, 
while maintaining annual appropriations bills.
    Specifically . . . By setting 302(a) discretionary spending 
levels at the start of each Congress, appropriations will be 
more efficient and able to plan ahead, avoiding unnecessary 
delays. In addition, the Committee recommends enabling a 
second-session revision of the budget resolution for scoring 
purposes. This requirement would give authority in the second 
year of a biennium to adjust the budget resolution's spending 
and revenue levels, committee allocations, and other amounts to 
reflect an updated baseline used for scoring purposes.
    (31) Recommendation: Establish a realistic deadline for 
Congress to complete action on a biennial budget.
    Specifically . . . Congress has continually failed to adopt 
a budget resolution by the statutorily required April 15 
deadline. Because the current deadline does not reflect a 
realistic timeline, the Committee recommends setting a 
realistic and achievable deadline of May 1 for the first year 
of the biennium, which would give Congress an opportunity to 
complete its work on time. This delay is particularly necessary 
given the recommendation of a biennial budget process.
    (32) Recommendation: Require annual supplemental budget 
submission data from the President.
    Specifically . . . The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) 
cannot begin constructing its baseline for the upcoming fiscal 
year without receipt of data, particularly prior-year and 
current-year spending, that is normally transmitted with the 
President's budget request. Without receipt of CBO's baseline, 
Congress generally cannot begin writing its budget resolution. 
To create additional time for developing the baseline, and 
therefore, the budget resolution and various appropriations 
bills, the executive branch should be required to provide a 
supplemental budget submission that is separate from the 
President's policy proposals no later than December 1 of each 
calendar year.
    This supplemental budget submission would include:
           Prior year fiscal data
           Current year fiscal data
           Credit re-estimates for the current year
    This data would allow CBO to begin constructing the 
baseline, as well as subsequently to enable the Budget and 
Appropriations Committees to begin preliminary work in writing 
the budget resolution and appropriations bills earlier in the 
process.
    (33) Recommendation: Encourage examination of how a two-
year budget resolution will change the schedule or approach in 
the budget process.
    Specifically . . . The Budget and Appropriations Committees 
should review their schedules and procedures to determine the 
best ways of using the new biennial budget resolution to 
expedite congressional work on appropriations and other 
budgetary legislation.
    (34) Recommendation: Strengthen budget enforcement.
    Specifically . . . The Committee recommends that the budget 
reconciliation process only be used to reduce deficits. If 
Congress adds to the deficit, it should follow regular order to 
allow a fuller debate. In addition, Congress could consider 
requiring an explanation in the budget resolution committee 
report and conference agreement as to why assumed changes in 
direct spending or revenue have not been reconciled. 
Reconciliation is the principle enforcement procedure for 
direct spending and revenue changes. There are reasons why some 
items may not be reconciled but requiring an explanation may 
stop the assumption of large savings that are not intended to 
be implemented. Thus, it would help produce a more realistic 
budget path in the budget resolution.
    (35) Recommendation: Include total combined outlays and 
revenues for tax expenditures as an optional item in the budget 
resolution.
    Specifically . . . The Committee recommends an optional 
requirement for including a total level of tax expenditures, a 
major component of the federal budget, in the list of what 
could be in a budget resolution. This recommendation also 
brings needed flexibility to the budget process.
    (36) Recommendation: The Architect of the Capitol should 
evaluate the use of space in the U.S. Capitol Complex and 
identify opportunities for modernization.
    Specifically . . . Congress' physical workspace is another 
factor that affects the institution's ability to attract and 
retain talented, young workers. The private sector has 
responded to numerous studies that demonstrate the office 
environment's impact on employee health and wellbeing, but 
Congress has not evolved in the same way. Members, as well as 
staff, desire private, bipartisan spaces to work together.
    (37) Recommendation: Similar to efforts currently underway, 
the Committee on House Administration and the Government 
Services Administration (GSA) should develop a practice of 
negotiating an MOU covering leases for House district offices 
with the goal of lowering costs, improving consistency of 
rental rates, and guaranteeing House offices are offered the 
lowest available rates in GSA buildings and receive tenant 
protections and benefits in line with the Senate.
    Specifically . . . The Committee encourages the Committee 
on House Administration and the GSA to negotiate leases on 
behalf of congressional offices in local districts. Allowing 
the GSA to handle the responsibility of negotiating the lease 
for individual Member's district offices would save time and 
money. This change would result also in more time for Members 
and staff to work on constituent services and could create 
additional funding within the MRA that could be used to 
compensate staff.
    (38) Recommendation: The House should direct the 
establishment of a Congressional Digital Services Task Force to 
examine the need for and role of a specialized group of 
technologists, designers, and others to support the House's 
internal and public facing operations.
    Specifically . . . A more sophisticated and coordinated 
approach to the provision of technology and technological 
services in the House would help Members better serve their 
constituents. For example, a Congressional Digital Services 
Office could develop more modern and streamlined technologies 
for congressional offices to interface with constituents and 
manage their questions and requests. The Committee recommends 
the Task Force fall under the umbrella of the newly 
restructured OTA.
    (39) Recommendation: Make permanent the Bulk Data Task 
Force and rename it the Congressional Data Task Force.
    Specifically . . . Congress established the Bulk Data Task 
Force with a focus on the question of determining whether 
Congress should make the data behind THOMAS and LIS available 
to the public as structured data. Ultimately the Task Force 
recommended, and GPO implemented the publication of bill 
summary, status, and text information online as structured 
data. In this sense, the Task Force completed its intended 
mission. However, in completing its mission, the Task Force 
brought together many of the technology stakeholders inside the 
legislative branch as well as members of civil society and 
continues to hold public meetings on a quarterly basis.
    This ongoing collaboration has been positive for the 
Clerk's Office and for data transparency groups, ultimately 
leading to technological advances in how legislative data is 
made public. The Committee recommends the Task Force's mission 
expand beyond publishing bills and the data attendant to them 
to allow for consideration of other legislative documents and 
congressional operations data. The Task Force should be renamed 
the Congressional Data Task Force to accurately capture the 
Task Force's expanded mission.
    (40) Recommendation: A study should be conducted related to 
House functions during the COVID-19 pandemic to evaluate 
additional operational needs or changes to operations that are 
no longer appropriate.
    Specifically . . . This evaluation should include:
           Staffing levels to ensure the Clerk's office 
        has the proper amount of FTEs to support legislative 
        operations.
           Expenses related to floor/legislative 
        operations including the cost e-processes as well as 
        what e-processes will remain after the pandemic is 
        over.
           Systems are in use/or available to the 
        Clerk's office and the amount needed to support/
        develop/procure relevant systems to operations.
           Operations in use by the standing and select 
        committees to ensure that there is a standard system 
        for the committees as they update their internal 
        processes.

                  V. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION AND VOTES


                             Consideration

    On September 24, 2020, the Select Committee held a Business 
Meeting, a quorum being present, and reported favorably the 
recommendations herein contained in this report.

                                 Votes

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, there were no recorded votes 
taken on these recommendations. The recommendations herein 
contained in this report were adopted by voice vote, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative. A motion by Chair Derek Kilmer of 
Washington to report these recommendations to the House of 
Representatives was adopted by voice vote, two-thirds being in 
the affirmative.

                                  [all]