[House Report 117-657]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress    }                                    {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                    {      117-657
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



RECOMMENDATIONS TO STRENGTHEN CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT CAPACITY, IMPROVE 
    DISTRICT OPERATIONS, MODERNIZE CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE OPERATIONS, 
MODERNIZE THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, AND EXAMINE CONGRESSIONAL 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]
                               

 December 21, 2022.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
            
                             _________
                              
                              
                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                 
39-006                   WASHINGTON : 2022  
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
           SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE MODERNIZATION OF CONGRESS

                    DEREK KILMER, Washington, Chair
ZOE LOFGREN, California              WILLIAM TIMMONS, South Carolina,
EMANUEL CLEAVER, Missouri              Vice Chair
ED PERLMUTTER, Colorado              BOB LATTA, Ohio
DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota             RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois
NIKEMA WILLIAMS, Georgia             DAVE JOYCE, Ohio
                                     GUY RESCHENTHALER, Pennsylvania
                                     BETH VAN DUYNE, Texas
                                 ------                                

                            Committee Staff

                     Yuri Beckelman, Staff Director
                Derek Harley, Republican Staff Director 
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                           December 21, 2022

                                                                     Page
 I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY...............................................  1
II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR RECOMMENDATIONS...........................  2
III.HEARINGS..........................................................  6
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................  7
 V. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATIONS AND VOTES...............................  17
VI. APPENDIX.........................................................  18 
















                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                          House of Representatives,
         Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress,
                                 Washington, DC, December 21, 2022.
Hon. Cheryl L. Johnson,
Clerk, House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Ms. Johnson: I present herewith the Select Committee 
on the Modernization of Congress' report of recommendations to 
strengthen congressional oversight capacity, improve district 
operations, modernize congressional office operations, 
modernize the legislative process and examine congressional 
continuity.
            Sincerely,
                                              Derek Kilmer,
                                                             Chair.






117th Congress    }                                    {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                    {      117-657

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


 
RECOMMENDATIONS TO STRENGTHEN CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT CAPACITY, IMPROVE 
    DISTRICT OPERATIONS, MODERNIZE CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE OPERATIONS, 
MODERNIZE THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, AND EXAMINE CONGRESSIONAL CONTINUITY

                                _______
                                

 December 21, 2022.--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 
(Select Committee or Committee) 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. During the 116th 
Congress, the Select Committee passed 97 recommendations to 
make Congress a more efficient and effective institution. These 
recommendations addressed many issues within the Select 
Committee's jurisdiction and were detailed in the Committee's 
Final Report for the 116th Congress (H. Rept. 116-562).
    On July 29th, 2021, the Select Committee met and issued its 
sixth set of recommendations focused on increasing staff 
capacity, diversity, and inclusion, and expanding accessibility 
to Congress for staff as well as the public. On December 8, 
2021, the Select Committee met and issued its seventh set of 
recommendations focused on enhancing civility and 
collaboration, bolstering the effectiveness of the 
congressional support agencies, and promoting the collection 
and use of impartial data and analysis in the policymaking 
process.
    The Select Committee met on July 19, 2022, to pass its 
eighth package of recommendations. The recommendations broadly 
focus on congressional oversight capacity, district operations, 
congressional office operations, the legislative process, and 
congressional continuity. The recommendations address issues 
the Select Committee took up in public hearings, member 
meetings, and discussions with stakeholders.

              II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

    Strengthening congressional oversight capacity, improving 
district operations, modernizing congressional office 
operations, modernizing the legislative process, and examining 
congressional continuity will improve the way Congress works on 
behalf of the American people. The Select Committee identified 
the following specific issues to be addressed with 
recommendations:
          1. According to testimony received by the committee, 
        ``since 2015, the Levin Center, POGO, and the Lugar 
        Center have held regular bipartisan training sessions 
        for congressional staff called `Oversight Boot 
        Camps'.'' These two-day training ``boot camps'' are 
        well received and popular but are offered outside the 
        House and slots are limited. Oversight training is not 
        currently offered by the Congressional Staff Academy 
        (CSA), though CSA's vision is to eventually offer those 
        services through their coaching program. However, CSA 
        coaches may not have the technical expertise to fully 
        explore best practices for extracting information and 
        data via oversight.
          2. There are a range of commercial ``e-discovery'' 
        systems available and they are widely used in the 
        private sector, however the systems are expensive, have 
        varying capabilities, and may require extensive 
        training and technical support. Committees that wish to 
        obtain the software can do so using committee funds, 
        but cost can be a deterrence to purchasing software 
        with the greatest capabilities, or to purchasing any 
        software at all. Without this software, document review 
        and management can be a time-consuming and staff 
        intensive process.
          3. Until a recent pilot program was launched by the 
        Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), district offices 
        had been prohibited from establishing Wi-Fi due to 
        network security concerns. Lack of Wi-Fi in district 
        offices limits staff productivity and the ability to 
        effectively work with constituents. Not having Wi-Fi 
        can make it more difficult for staff to process various 
        constituent service requests and to take meetings away 
        from their desks, which is especially important when 
        privacy is needed.
          4. Setting up a district office requires coordinating 
        with various entities inside the House, as well as 
        outside entities and vendors. Knowing whom to contact 
        on which issue can be a confusing and time-consuming 
        process, particularly for a new district director or 
        other designated aide who may not be familiar with the 
        various responsibilities of internal House offices. 
        This can leave offices frustrated and bogged down with 
        having to coordinate multiple steps between different 
        internal offices to stand up an office, while also 
        having to make early staffing decisions, manage 
        casework, and handle other representational duties.
          5. The Committee's recommendation #11 suggested 
        allowing newly-elected members to hire and pay one 
        transition staff member. In turn, the FY2021 
        Legislative Branch Appropriations bill for the first 
        time implemented a process for incoming offices to 
        designate and pay a transition staffer to assist the 
        member during the transition process. Most members 
        elected in the 117th Congress used the new transition 
        staff program, and feedback has been positive. However, 
        only a few of those transition staffers went on to 
        serve as district staffers. According to the CAO, many 
        district directors are chosen weeks or months after a 
        member takes office, leaving the CAO to interact with 
        numerous points of contact as the office is being set 
        up, making the set-up process more difficult for 
        everyone involved.
          6. Formal opportunities for district staff to share 
        information and best practices on district office 
        operations and services are relatively limited. As a 
        result, district staff typically rely on informal 
        networks across various offices to share information. 
        While useful, these more informal, sometimes regional 
        or delegation-based networks do not provide the same 
        level or breadth of information sharing between 
        district staff as a more formalized process could.
          7. Unlike a member's D.C. office, district offices 
        often take longer to be fully operational when a 
        member-elect takes office, or soon after. District 
        offices often take a few months to be fully operational 
        with full internet service and security. The CAO 
        provides members with early entry addendums for 
        district office leases, which authorize a member to 
        access office space prior to their swearing-in, but 
        there is no authority for the member to incur expenses. 
        To get an office up and running, expenses like internal 
        wiring may be necessary for secure internet access.
          8. To do their jobs effectively, casework teams need 
        up-to-date contact information for each agency's 
        regional office. While more experienced caseworkers may 
        have their own lists of useful agency contacts for 
        specific casework inquiries, that information could be 
        lost in the transition process or not passed along to 
        an incoming member and their staff. Having to track 
        this information down and keep it current makes it more 
        difficult for district offices to effectively and 
        efficiently serve their constituents and get answers 
        from agencies. Additionally, federal agencies may have 
        varying policies on the information they require 
        through privacy release forms (PRFs), and whether they 
        accept digital PRFs.
          9. Natural disasters can prompt dramatic increases in 
        casework volume and phone calls to district offices. 
        Under current law, offices are limited to 18 full time 
        employees and 4 ``additional'' employees (part-time, 
        interns, temporary, or shared employees). Offices that 
        are fully utilizing these staff allotments or that may 
        be close to this staff ``cap,'' may be unable to 
        temporarily add new employees to respond to increased 
        casework and other demands resulting from a disaster. 
        Disaster response can require specialized skills and a 
        knowledge of federal disaster programs and processes 
        which many offices may lack.
          10. The value of certain benefit changes, 
        professional development opportunities, and other staff 
        resources being discussed by the House Taskforce on the 
        Workforce (Task Force) to improve retention may be 
        different for staff located in the district than those 
        located in D.C.
          11. There is confusion regarding what information 
        member offices can share with constituents about 
        private community organizations and resources. There is 
        also confusion over what can be shared from government 
        sources, including whether information shared is 
        limited to federal agencies, programs receiving federal 
        funding (regardless of whether they are being 
        administered by the federal government), or government 
        sources at any level. Given the uncertainty about what 
        may be allowed many offices default to only sharing 
        strictly federal information with constituents to avoid 
        any potential ethics or rules issues or concerns. This 
        limits an offices' ability to assist constituents who 
        could, where appropriate, potentially be directed to 
        helpful information, resources, and services provided 
        by states and non-governmental organizations.
          12. Under the existing interpretation of House Rule 
        XXIV (Rule 24), member offices cannot ``cosponsor'' an 
        event designed to provide information and/or other 
        resources to constituents with an outside entity. An 
        event must either be a House-sponsored event, with an 
        outside entity invited to participate, or vice versa. 
        Thus, while offices technically can work in an informal 
        way with an outside entity on a local constituent 
        services event under current House rules, they must be 
        careful about following ethics rules to ensure the 
        planning, advertising, and execution of the event do 
        not constitute a sharing of resources. Anecdotally, and 
        based on testimony, a perceived lack of clarity and 
        flexibility in the rules may cause offices to simply 
        ``shy away from'' these events altogether. A witness at 
        the Committee's hearing on improving district office 
        operations testified that, ``[e]vents throughout the 
        district pose problems when working with other 
        entities. Often, it is found that state and federal 
        agencies have their own set of guidelines and 
        practices. We frequently shy away from participating in 
        events due to differing ethics rules. Clearer guidance 
        regarding ethical practices for these events would be 
        helpful.'' For those offices that choose to find a way 
        to work with outside groups, the current interpretation 
        of House rules creates a cumbersome process and a 
        potentially ethically nebulous situation where an 
        inadvertent mistake or slip-up could easily occur in 
        organizing and planning what is otherwise a good-faith 
        effort, in partnership with a helpful and relevant 
        outside organization, to provide services and/or 
        information to constituents, for example, job fairs or 
        tax preparation seminars.
          13. Constituents currently do not have control over 
        data and records related to casework that is managed by 
        their representative. House Rule VII, clause 6(b), 
        defines records generated by the office of a member to 
        be exclusively the property of the individual member. 
        As property of a member, casework information may be 
        transferred or withheld, based on the member's decision 
        about the disposition of constituent information, when 
        that member departs from office without consideration 
        for a constituent's preference. If a constituent's case 
        and related information are not transferred, the case 
        could be interrupted, resulting in a delayed 
        resolution.
          14. Technology solutions for improving basic district 
        office services such as PRFs for casework and service 
        academy applications are limited, expensive, and 
        provide inadequate functionality and protections for 
        constituent private identifiable information.
          15. The Capitol complex is difficult to navigate for 
        visitors, members, and staff alike.
          16. The full extent to which House employees will 
        continue to utilize teleworking and virtual meetings is 
        unknown. The House needs more information about its 
        workforce to plan for physical space.
          17. There is currently no physical display of public 
        hearings and events in House office buildings. Most 
        visitors don't know how to access information about 
        public events taking place in the House, which limits 
        their ability to witness their government in-person.
          18. There are numerous rooms controlled by various 
        offices but there is no master plan for ensuring space 
        is being used to its maximum efficiency. If House space 
        is not utilized efficiently, rooms that could otherwise 
        be used sit empty. Lack of usable space also results in 
        offices holding rooms they may not need, which 
        exacerbates the problem.
          19. There is no space designated as drop-in space for 
        meetings or for staff to collaborate. Hallways or House 
        cafeterias, which have limited seating and 
        functionality, are currently used when staff need to 
        meet with constituents outside the office.
          20. The process for reserving space is disjointed and 
        confusing. Staff waste time trying to navigate the 
        process for tracking down and securing space for a 
        meeting or event. The main portal of reservable rooms 
        includes only those made available by the CAO, which is 
        a subset of all the spaces available.
          21. There is lack of common understanding between the 
        Architect of the Capitol (AOC) and House members on the 
        procedures or limitations that should be considered for 
        new capital improvements. This limits members' ability 
        to participate in the process of determining what shape 
        new improvements will take.
          22. Members and staff have little visibility into 
        ongoing construction projects and have few 
        opportunities to provide feedback on how it impacts 
        their work.
          23. The current process for designing interior member 
        office space often focuses on maximizing the number of 
        desks rather than on enhancing productivity. Most 
        members don't have experience in office design and are 
        not shown examples that make full use of modern design 
        and function concepts, which could result in poor space 
        utilization.
          24. Most committee hearing rooms are not conducive to 
        an alternative seating arrangement for hearings such as 
        roundtable style. In addition, select committees 
        sometimes struggle to find available space for their 
        hearings.
          25. The current bill referral process is paper-based, 
        and committees track bill referrals and progress on 
        their own. This manual, opaque process is time-
        consuming and can result in errors and inefficiencies 
        in tracking a bill's progress through committee.
          26. Until recently, Staff at or near the staff pay 
        cap were unable to utilize the Student Loan Repayment 
        Program (SLRP), which could limit the House's ability 
        to retain staff.
          27. The process for collecting bill cosponsors is 
        manual and prone to error. Members and staff frequently 
        use a combination of the e-Dear Colleague system and 
        email to manage their lists of cosponsors. This can 
        result in members being mistakenly left off bills or 
        members erroneously being added to bills as cosponsors.
          28. In the legislative drafting process, members and 
        staff pass static documents back and forth with the 
        House Office of Legislative Counsel (HOLC). This can 
        create confusion and cause suggested changes to be lost 
        or misinterpreted.
          29. The House instituted several reforms after the 
        attacks of September 11th, 2001, to address continuity 
        issues and ensure continued representation and 
        operations in the event of a crisis. However, these 
        issues have not been rigorously examined since the mid-
        2000s. New threats and challenges, including those 
        presented during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggest the 
        need for a fresh look.

                             III. HEARINGS

    The Select Committee has continued to use its unique 
roundtable format to conduct its formal hearings. The hearings 
included:
           ``Article One: Strengthening Congressional 
        Oversight Capacity,'' on November 4, 2021.
    The Select Committee received testimony from:
                   Elise Bean, Washington Director, 
                Levin Center at Wayne State University Law 
                School
                   Dr. Josh Chafetz, Professor, 
                Georgetown University Law School
                   Anne Tindall, Counsel, Protect 
                Democracy
           ``Congress Back Home: Modernizing District 
        Office Operations,'' on February 16, 2022.
    The Select Committee received testimony from:
                   George Hadijski, Director of 
                Congressional Programming, Congressional 
                Management Foundation
                   Danielle Radovich Piper, Chief 
                of Staff, Rep. Ed Perlmutter
                   Sarah Youngdahl, District 
                Director, Rep. Guy Reschenthaler
           ``Innovative Workplaces, Historic Spaces: 
        Modernizing House Office Buildings,'' on March 17, 
        2022. The Select Committee received testimony from:
                   J. Brett Blanton, Architect of 
                the Capitol
                   Katie Irwin, American Institute 
                of Architects
                   James Ossman, Vice President, 
                Workplace & Strategic Sourcing, Etsy
                   Patrick Wand, Senior Manager, 
                Mall of America
           ``Congressional Continuity: Ensuring the 
        First Branch is Prepared in Times of Crisis,'' on April 
        6, 2022. The Select Committee received testimony from:
                   Brian Baird, Continuity of 
                Government Commission, American Enterprise 
                Institute
                   Mike Bishop, Continuity of 
                Government Commission, American Enterprise 
                Institute
                   Arthur B. Culvahouse, Continuity 
                of Government Commission, American Enterprise 
                Institute
                   Donna Shalala, Continuity of 
                Government Commission, American Enterprise 
                Institute
                   Doug Lewis, Former Executive 
                Director of The Election Center
                   George Rogers, Former General 
                Counsel, Committee on Rules
           ``Turning An Idea into Law: Modernizing the 
        Legislative Process,'' on April 28, 2022.
    The Select Committee received testimony from:
                   Hugh Halpern, Director, 
                Government Publishing Office (GPO)
                   Kevin McCumber, Deputy Clerk, 
                U.S. House of Representatives
                   Noah Wofsy, Deputy Legislative 
                Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives

                          IV. RECOMMENDATIONS

    The Select Committee made the following 29 recommendations 
to address the problems identified above, adding to the 
Committee's 142 prior recommendations made since the beginning 
of the 116th Congress (see II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR 
RECOMMENDATIONS):

             Strengthening Congressional Oversight Capacity

          (1) Recommendation: The House should offer and 
        support optional programs for members and staff to 
        learn best-practices for conducting bipartisan, fact-
        based oversight.
    Specifically . . . The goal of improving oversight 
knowledge, skills, and best practices in the House can be met 
in part by utilizing and drawing on the existing expertise of 
the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and tasking them 
with providing optional oversight training workshops, including 
through partnerships with the Congressional Staff Academy (CSA) 
and the Congressional Member Leadership Development Program 
(CLDP). GAO has staff experienced in the technical aspects of 
conducting fact-based investigations and oversight activities 
and is a natural fit for oversight knowledge sharing. GAO 
currently provides congressional staff training in other areas 
through CSA and has expressed interest in expanding beyond 
those current training offerings. GAO is well positioned to 
both partner with CSA and CLDP to support bipartisan oversight 
workshops on-demand or on a recurring basis to meet staff and 
member needs.
          (2) Recommendation: The CAO should assist committees 
        in obtaining and utilizing effective, industry standard 
        ``e-discovery'' software to improve document review and 
        processing capabilities.
    Specifically . . . The House, through the CAO's procurement 
office, could help broaden the access and use of document 
review software for all committees by setting up a process to 
compare the options for procuring an effective discovery and 
document management software system, negotiate a House-wide 
price for each option, negotiate a training component as part 
of each package, and/or help committees evaluate, purchase, and 
use the software. A witness at the Committee's hearing on 
strengthening oversight capacity testified to that ``conducting 
congressional investigations often involves collecting and 
reviewing a large volume of documents and using them in 
hearings and reports. Reviewing, analyzing, and organizing 
those documents is made much easier by using sophisticated 
discovery and document management software.''

                      Improve District Operations

          (3) Recommendation: The CAO should provide every 
        district office with access to secure Wi-Fi.
    Specifically . . . In consultation with the Committee, 
House Information Resources (HIR) is currently piloting a 
secure district Wi-Fi program. HIR has plans to expand Wi-Fi 
capability to all flagship district offices over the next 
couple of years. This recommendation reflects the work of the 
Committee's partnership with HIR and encourages the CAO to 
continue moving forward with their plan to provide Wi-Fi to all 
district offices.
          (4) Recommendation: The CAO should designate a single 
        point of contact for each office to streamline the 
        process for setting up district office operations.
    Specifically . . . A single point of contact should help 
offices navigate the various steps required to get a district 
office up and running, including telecommunications services, 
internet, Wi-Fi, leases, and procuring equipment, furniture, 
and other supplies. Customer Advocates should serve as this 
single point of contact and coordinate across internal House 
offices, including HIR, House Sergeant at Arms (HSAA), 
Administrative Counsel, and others, as well as with outside 
entities, including the General Services Administration (GSA) 
and vendors. Rather than simply directing district staff to 
another service provider, Customer Advocates should actively 
coordinate those services on the office's behalf and help 
problem-solve during the setup process. The Customer Advocate 
program is relatively new and while there may not be enough 
staff available to fill these point-of-contact roles initially, 
the CAO could train other staff on the setup process and the 
various inter-office touchpoints and be able to provide a 
temporary surge of knowledgeable employees to ensure enough 
resources are available to provide each office with a single 
point of contact during office setup.
          (5) Recommendation: The House should provide members-
        elect with a second paid transition aide who can focus 
        on setting up district operations.
    Specifically . . . As recommended by the Committee, the 
FY2021 Legislative Branch Appropriations bill established a 
program for incoming offices to designate and pay a transition 
aide to assist the member during the transition process. This 
new recommendation calls for the creation of a second optional 
paid transition aide focused on district office setup. A 
district-focused aide could work with the office's Customer 
Advocate to ensure the district office is set up more 
efficiently. The district-focused aide could also help offices 
understand the range of programs and services available to 
constituents, including traditional constituent casework as 
well as programs like the Vietnam Pinning Program and 
Congressional Art and App competitions. Funds for the second 
paid transition aide could be reimbursed by the incoming 
member's representational allowance (MRA).
          (6) Recommendation: The CAO should facilitate 
        opportunities for staff that work directly with 
        constituents to connect and share best practices.
    Specifically . . . CAO should continue innovating to find 
opportunities for district staff as well as other constituent-
facing staff (for example, staff assistants and legislative 
correspondents) to collaborate and share best practices. Such 
opportunities might include in-person and virtual training and 
networking opportunities. There could also be opportunities to 
build more online shared resources including best practices on 
casework, conducting effective townhalls, and similar district-
focused activities. The CAO has held conferences that have 
emphasized staff skills, training and networking, as well as 
accessing CAO, House officer, and federal agency support. The 
Congressional Staff Academy and CAO Coach program should 
continue to bring district staff together for virtual seminars 
and should provide time for staff to share information with 
each other. The CAO should archive case studies for innovative 
processes in district offices so information may be retained 
and shared. The new CAO Coach website is a helpful repository 
for staff and has links for caseworkers, district directors, 
and field representatives. This website and repository may be 
enhanced to provide staff with an ability to share and sort 
resources, ask questions, contribute to an open discussion, and 
see and connect with other participants. Better information 
sharing could help staff better anticipate and address casework 
challenges or agency backlogs and adopt and innovate process 
improvements in casework and elsewhere based on what may be 
working well in other offices.
          (7) Recommendation: The House, where feasible, should 
        expand existing authorities to expedite the process for 
        members-elect to access district office space and begin 
        office set up.
    Specifically . . . To facilitate district office setup, the 
CAO should be authorized and instructed to evaluate its 
existing authorities, and where feasible, authorities should be 
expanded to allow members-elect, once the election is 
certified, to obtain access to district office space, incur 
expenses, and take other steps necessary to expedite office 
setup so member offices can be fully operational as soon as 
possible after assuming office. Incurring expenses may be 
necessary for internal wiring for secure internet and phones, 
securing furniture and equipment, and adding security upgrades.
          (8) Recommendation: The Congressional Research 
        Service (CRS) should provide regularly updated and 
        complete information on local agency casework contacts 
        and agency digital privacy release form policies.
    Specifically . . . CRS should assist district offices by 
maintaining and providing an up-to-date list of localized or 
regional agency contact information for district staff to 
easily access and use in handling casework, including a list of 
the local field offices within each agency's region along with 
relevant contact names, phone numbers, and email addresses. CRS 
should also assist district offices by compiling a report on 
the policies of different federal agencies regarding PRFs, 
including whether specific information may be required by a 
particular agency and whether the agency accepts digitally 
signed PRFs. The CASES Act (P.L. 116-50) requires federal 
agencies to accept digital privacy release forms and agencies 
have been directed to standardize their forms but the Committee 
understands that variance among agencies still exists.
          (9) Recommendation: The House should provide 
        resources and staffing flexibility to district offices 
        responding to a federally declared disaster.
    Specifically . . . The House should further explore and 
adopt one or more of the following options, as presented in 
CAO's December 2021 report, ``The Member Staff Cap: Options for 
Additional Staff Capacity in Response to Natural Disasters'', 
for increasing both short and longer-term staffing capacity in 
districts affected by a natural disaster: (1) authorize 
temporary increases in the staff cap for member offices 
impacted by a disaster, potentially for both permanent and non-
permanent staff; (2) create an FTE pool of resources to be 
assigned to members (the FTEs could be covered by a central 
account administered by the CAO, and these billets could then 
be assigned to the member for the duration of the event); and 
(3) make use of contractors employed by CAO or amend statute to 
allow for the use of independent contractors. The House could 
also establish a ``Disaster Response Staff Reserve Fund'' to 
cover additional staff costs, including travel, for impacted 
districts.
          (10) Recommendation: The House Task Force on the 
        Workforce should examine the benefits, professional 
        development opportunities, and other resources, that 
        will improve district staff retention and recommend 
        updates.
    Specifically . . . The Task Force, as part of their ongoing 
analysis on retention of House staff, should consider options 
specifically for retaining district staff. In testimony and in 
staff listening sessions, district staff presented examples 
where benefits such as parking, childcare, and fitness 
memberships may not align between D.C. and district offices. 
Rather than provide parity, the Task Force should consider the 
best benefits and policies for retaining district staff who may 
have different needs than D.C.-based staff.
          (11) Recommendation: The House should update and 
        provide clear ethics guidelines to allow district 
        offices to direct constituents to appropriate community 
        organizations, resources, and services.
    Specifically . . . The Committee on House Administration 
(CHA), Committee on Ethics, and House Communications Standards 
Commission should jointly update or clarify the rules regarding 
which resources can be shared with constituents using official 
resources. These committees should produce a guide on when and 
how offices can direct constituents to non-federally 
administrated resources, with concrete examples, that could be 
updated to reflect changing needs as they emerge. These 
committees should consider the merits of, if necessary, 
reforming rules to allow offices to provide information 
regarding community organizations that might be helpful in 
providing their constituents information, resources, or 
services. The Members' Congressional Handbook (Handbook) states 
that ``Official resources may not be used to advertise for any 
private individual, firm, charity, or corporation, or imply in 
any manner that the government endorses or favors any specific 
commercial product, commodity, or service.'' This prohibition 
stems from principles of federal appropriations law. Moreover, 
referrals to organizations or links to sites whose primary 
purpose is the solicitation of goods, funds, or services on 
behalf of individuals or organizations are not permitted under 
the rules of the House.
          (12) Recommendation: The House should provide 
        flexibility within House Rule 24 to allow district 
        offices to cosponsor constituent service events with 
        non-governmental organizations to provide information 
        and other resources to constituents.
    Specifically . . . The rules governing partnering with 
outside organizations derive from House Rule 24, the 
prohibition on ``unofficial office accounts.'' In essence, the 
rule is designed to prevent private supplementation of expenses 
incurred in connection with the operation of a member's office 
and the conduct of official business. Specific Ethics Committee 
guidance provides, ``[a]ccordingly, outside private donations, 
funds, or in-kind goods or services may not be used to support 
the activities of, or pay the expenses of, a congressional 
office.''
    The Senate has a similar prohibition on ``unofficial office 
accounts,'' found in Senate Rule XXXVIII (Rule 38). However, 
the Senate has interpreted Rule 38 in a way that provides 
additional flexibility for ``co-sponsored constituent service 
events.'' As the name implies, this interpretation allows 
Senate offices to cosponsor events with outside entities where 
the purpose is to ``provide information or some other service 
to constituents.'' The event ``may not simply be a gathering of 
representatives of those sponsoring the event.'' Further, the 
cosponsor must have a ``common core of interest'' in the 
subject matter of the event by virtue of their ``routine 
business activities,'' must attend, and cannot be a ``mere 
financial contributor.''
    The Handbook likewise prohibits use of the MRA for 
``unofficial office accounts''. The Handbook reads: ``A Member 
may not maintain, or have maintained for his use, an unofficial 
office account for the purpose of defraying or reimbursing 
ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in support of a 
member's official and representational duties.'' This language 
is consistent with House Rule 24. The Handbook governs the 
proper use of official resources (31 U.S.C. 1301). Both the 
Ethics Manual and the Handbook would need to be updated to 
align House and Senate policy for cosponsored constituent 
events. A more flexible interpretation or limited exception to 
House Rule 24 that mirrors the Senate's co-sponsored 
constituent service exception, including relevant guardrails, 
could provide more certainty to staff and offices and make it 
easier to partner with local organizations to provide 
constituents valuable information and other resources.
          (13) Recommendation: The House should ensure that 
        constituent data and records related to casework are 
        maintained, transferred, or destroyed according to a 
        constituent's preferences.
    Specifically . . . Although implementation would be 
challenging, this recommendation seeks to ensure certain 
information related to casework takes into consideration the 
constituent's preferences regarding the information's control 
and management. Information under control of the constituent 
should be for active cases and the information should be 
limited to information related to casework provided by the 
constituent to the office, agency correspondence with the 
office, and correspondence from the office to the constituent. 
This information, at the direction of the constituent, could be 
transferred or closed when the member departs the House or 
otherwise no longer represents the constituent.
          (14) Recommendation: The CAO should develop or 
        provide optional in-house technology solutions to 
        district offices to improve casework and other 
        services.
    Specifically . . . HIR and the new House Digital Service 
could examine the feasibility of building or adopting certain 
technology resources in-house or working with offices to 
evaluate offerings from vendors. In testimony, staff witnesses 
testified to the importance and helpfulness of technology 
solutions such as digital privacy release forms and an 
automated process for managing service academy applications. 
Many offices use private vendors for these technology 
solutions. At the start of the 117th Congress, CAO ensured that 
freshman websites were outfitted with the House-developed 
digital privacy release form templates.

              Modernizing Congressional Office Operations

          (15) Recommendation: To improve wayfinding, the House 
        should consult with internal and external experts to 
        assess and implement navigation improvements necessary 
        to make it easier for visitors to find their way around 
        the Capitol campus.
    Specifically . . . The House should take the necessary 
steps to identify the challenges visitors and staff have 
navigating highly trafficked areas and solicit input for 
solutions. The AOC should consult with internal and external 
experts when implementing navigation improvements. 
Subsequently, the AOC or appropriate entity, in consultation 
with the HSAA and Capitol Police, should consult with a 
wayfinding expert to review and update current directional 
signage. Potential improvements could include, for example, 
interactive displays with directions, color-coded walkways, and 
signage that lists a full suite of amenities included within 
the building. It could also include clearer directions to the 
most highly trafficked areas, for example, the Longworth 
Cafeteria. Any wayfinding upgrades must account for member and 
staff security as well as emergency response capabilities.
          (16) Recommendation: The House should regularly 
        survey House employees to assess plans for telework and 
        use of office space.
    Specifically . . . To assess the future of work on Capitol 
Hill, including the nature of remote work, the House should 
regularly survey members, staff, and House support offices to 
understand how they intend to use space. The survey should 
explore how AOC, CAO, and other House offices plan to utilize 
telework in the future to understand how office space will be 
used. This survey could result in reclamation of space that 
would otherwise be underutilized due to an increase in remote 
work. This would not have to be a new survey but could be an 
expansion of the `flexible work arrangement' questions asked in 
the compensation and diversity survey, although that survey is 
currently conducted only once per Congress. A monthly or 
quarterly review could result in improved space utilization and 
planning for hoteling, plug and play, and other space sharing 
techniques to include in design and construction efforts.
          (17) Recommendation: The House should provide digital 
        signage displaying information about current public 
        hearings and events.
    Specifically . . . Digital displays at the main entrances 
of House office buildings, or places that are heavily 
trafficked by the public, would provide visitors with 
information about public events or hearings they can attend. 
Displays could also be placed outside of committee rooms. In 
developing digital displays, security, IT, and data management 
should be considered. The HSAA and Capitol Police should 
provide input on potential security risks.
          (18) Recommendation: The House should study the use 
        of its physical space to understand how it is used, who 
        controls access to various spaces, and how it is 
        managed in the House and the Capitol.
    Specifically . . . There is a lack of understanding about 
how much space is currently underutilized. Many of the rooms in 
the House and Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) are controlled by 
various entities (usually leadership or AOC), but there doesn't 
seem to be a broad understanding of who controls which rooms, 
room utilization rates, and room reservation systems. Working 
with the House Office Building Commission, the AOC should 
develop metrics to understand the extent to which rooms are 
underutilized. The study should consider use of designated 
drop-in meeting space that does not require a reservation. The 
study should also consider using outdoor space as meeting 
space. Security and the element of unpredictability associated 
with involving external elements must be considered.
          (19) Recommendation: The House should establish and 
        designate shared meeting spaces that members and staff 
        can use on a drop-in basis and not require 
        reservations.
    Specifically . . . The impromptu meeting spaces, which 
would generally not be reservable, should be identified by the 
House Office Building Commission. Limited-duration reservations 
may also be used. As an example, GSA's national office includes 
drop-in and touch-down collaboration and meeting spaces.
          (20) Recommendation: The House should develop an app 
        and expand the current web portal to include all 
        reservable space in the Capitol and House Office 
        Buildings.
    Specifically . . . As informed by the survey of existing 
space, there should be one portal and an app available only on 
House devices that includes all the reservable meeting space 
available in the Capitol and House Office Buildings. For 
leadership and committee rooms that are reservable, permission 
to occupy the space would remain with House leadership and 
committees. The app should allow staff to reserve space and 
check in to their meetings. A check-in system should be used to 
ensure space is not reserved and then unused. For example, if 
the reservation owner does not check in within a specified 
period, a notification would be sent, and the space would 
become available again. GSA utilizes a central on-line app for 
staff to reserve rooms by type, size, and amenities 
(conference, office, meeting, collaboration, workstations, 
phone, white boards, screens, etc.) ahead of time and for a 
limited duration. In developing the app, security, IT, and data 
management requirements should be considered.
          (21) Recommendation: AOC and CHA should jointly 
        establish procedures to ensure new construction 
        projects are modern, functional, and meet the needs of 
        members and constituents.
    Specifically . . . There should be a process in place for 
reassessment of plans closer to the construction date to ensure 
plans are as modern as possible before construction begins. The 
AOC should solicit input from members and use architect and 
engineering projects to shorten the timeline so that plans are 
not out of date with current practices and technology by the 
time they are implemented. The AOC should explore the need and 
feasibility of adding architect and engineering and contracting 
staff. The CHA and AOC should identify a process for 
determining when to build or purchase additional buildings to 
expand the complex to meet capacity needs and for funding and 
approving the projects.
          (22) Recommendation: AOC and CHA should jointly 
        establish procedures to demonstrate projects underway 
        are modern, functional, and meet the needs of members 
        and constituents.
    Specifically . . . Once a project has broken ground, the 
AOC, in consultation with the Office of the Chief Engineer, 
should be in continuous contact with members to reassess and 
course correct if necessary to ensure projects are as modern, 
functional, and cost-effective as possible. Modernization 
projects should ensure buildings remain accessible to the 
American people, ensure space is designed to be hybrid or 
multipurpose whenever possible, and employ the best technology 
to support these goals while being mindful of taxpayer dollars. 
These principles should be outlined in regular updates to 
members and staff.
          (23) Recommendation: The CAO should provide a broad 
        menu of furniture options and templates for member 
        office space that considers modern and flexible design 
        and function concepts.
    Specifically . . . The CAO currently provides a blank 
blueprint of a member office and allows members and staff to 
fill it in with furniture using computer-aided-design. The CAO 
should find examples of House offices that are designed around 
function and provide them as templates for setting up a new 
office. For example, some offices could be designed for 
collaboration and have a conference table or make use of the 
member's office when they are in the district. Layout options 
should include modern design practices that consider sound 
attenuation, shared desk space, access to sunlight, 
collaboration and meeting space as well as ensuring 
accessibility. The CAO could also consider expanding offerings 
for office furniture to accommodate both modern and traditional 
styles and survey furniture options in the private sector and 
at GSA. The CAO should explore obtaining or constructing 
alternate types of office furniture for member offices and 
committees that would facilitate more easily convertible and 
comfortable office spaces. The CAO could offer in-office phone 
booths to allow for private conversations within an office. The 
Committee has test piloted an in-office phone booth with great 
success.
          (24) Recommendation: The House should identify and 
        develop a space that can be used to hold hearings with 
        alternative seating formats such as a roundtable-style.
    Specifically . . . A space should be identified by the AOC 
and the House Office Building Commission that is conducive to 
holding hearings or meetings in nontraditional formats. The 
Committee has been using a hollow-square format for hearings 
and has found that having witnesses and members on the same 
level and facing each other improves discussion and 
collaboration. This flexible space could also be used by select 
committees, task forces, caucuses, or other entities that do 
not have access to designated hearing space.

                   Modernize the Legislative Process

          (25) Recommendation: The House should establish a 
        system for bill referral to committees that automates 
        and tracks bill progress through the legislative 
        process.
    Specifically . . . The internal system would allow GPO, the 
Clerk, and committees to work off the same system and allow all 
parties to easily track bills from introduction through the 
committee process (hearings, markups, and reporting to the 
floor). This system should eliminate the need for committee 
staff to reenter information about a bill. Implementation of 
this recommendation would likely require either the Clerk's 
office or the newly formed House Digital Service to build a 
digital tool.
          (26) Recommendation: The House should exempt student 
        loan repayments from maximum compensation.
    Specifically . . . Until very recently, payments received 
under the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP) counted against 
the maximum cap for staff compensation ($203,700 or $16,975 per 
month) as set by the Speaker's Pay Order. The maximum amount 
that can be received through the SLRP is $833 per month, 
$10,000 per year, and $80,000 lifetime. Exempting SLRP payments 
from the Speaker's Pay Order, provides additional flexibility 
to managers in retaining experienced staff at or near the pay 
cap. On June 23rd, 2022, around the time this Committee 
recommendation was being vetted and considered but before it 
was formally approved, the Committee on House Administration 
implemented the recommendation by amending regulations to o 
exclude student loan payments from the Speakers' Pay Order.
          (27) Recommendation: The House should develop a 
        technology solution to allow greater automation of the 
        process for collecting and registering cosponsors.
    Specifically . . . Through Quill, the House has an 
efficient system for managing and tracking letters with digital 
signatures. A similar process, potentially an additional 
function within Quill, should be available for cosponsoring 
legislation. Once cosponsors are collected, the information 
should be transferred to the Clerk without the need to re-key 
cosponsor names. The system should be built in a way that 
includes built-in protections that could help guard against 
improperly entered cosponsorships and mistakes; for example, 
email confirmations to provide a trackable process and record. 
If feasible, the application to accept cosponsors should be 
mobile-friendly.
          (28) Recommendation: The House should leverage 
        existing enterprise-wide applications and develop other 
        tools and solutions to better facilitate legislative 
        drafting between member, committee, and leadership 
        offices and the HOLC.
    Specifically . . . The tool or solution should allow 
members and staff to make tracked edits themselves which would 
allow HOLC attorneys to view and understand the requested edit 
more clearly. To retain accuracy, confidentiality, and version 
control, HOLC should be the owner of this document and the only 
party that is able to accept edits. The technology must be 
constructed in a way that preserves and protects privilege, 
confidentiality, and other unique requirements associated with 
the drafting process.

                   Examining Congressional Continuity

          (29) Recommendation: Congress should establish a 
        joint committee to review House and Senate rules and 
        other matters to ensure continuing representation and 
        congressional operations for the American people.
    Specifically . . . The Committee received a great deal of 
testimony from outside experts on this important topic, 
including through the contributions of the Continuity of 
Government Commission, other outside experts, and staff deeply 
involved in deliberations over these issues and proposed 
reforms after the attacks of September 11th. The issues are 
incredibly important, but they are also incredibly complex and 
while legitimate questions and issues were raised, it is beyond 
the scope and expertise of this committee to make specific 
recommendations. Rather, the issues could best be examined by a 
joint committee, modeled after a prior proposal that was never 
enacted, to ensure congressional continuity in the face of the 
next, potentially unforeseen crisis, particularly considering 
new threats and information since earlier reviews and reforms 
were completed.
    Specifically, in 2003, following on the work of a House 
task force convened to study continuity issues in the House, 
then-Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier, introduced a 
bipartisan concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 190) to 
establish a temporary joint (e.g. House and Senate) committee 
to conduct a full study and review of the procedures which 
should be adopted by the House, Senate, and Congress to (1) 
ensure the continuity and authority of Congress during times of 
crisis; (2) improve congressional procedures necessary for the 
enactment of measures affecting homeland security during times 
of crisis, and (3) enhance the ability of each chamber to 
cooperate effectively with the other body on major and 
consequential issues related to homeland security. The 
concurrent resolution passed the House by voice vote, but it 
was not taken up in the Senate. The proposed joint committee 
was to be composed of 20 members, 10 from the House with 5 
appointed by the Speaker, including the Chairman of the Rules 
Committee who would serve as co-chairman for the joint 
committee, and 5 from the minority party appointed by the 
Speaker (after consultation with the Minority Leader).
    This Committee recommendation calls for a similar joint 
committee to be constituted, comprised only of members of 
Congress. It should include members from the House 
Administration, House Rules, and Senate Rules and 
Administration committees. Members should be directly appointed 
by designees of the majority and minority party. Importantly, 
in recognition of the authority of each body over its own 
rules, while the joint committee is designed in part to find 
areas where the two chambers can cooperate where necessary to 
ensure the continuity of representation and operations of 
Congress as a whole, like the last joint committee that was 
proposed previously, ``any recommendation with respect to the 
rules and procedures of one House that only affects matters 
related solely to that House [should]only be made and voted on 
by members of the joint committee from that House.''
    The Committee's recommendation #56 suggested establishment 
of a bipartisan, bicameral task force to identify lessons 
learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and recommend continuity 
of Congress improvements. This recommendation replaces the 
previous one by recommending a joint committee. The committee 
could consider issues including, but not limited to, a process 
for continuing operations should no member be left alive; a 
process for reconstituting the House at the start of a new 
Congress; the potential for the majority party changing based 
on the timing of states completing special elections under 
extraordinary circumstances.

                  V. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION AND VOTES


                             Consideration

    On July 19, 2022, 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.



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