[House Report 117-659]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress   }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session      }                                     {      117-659 
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  RECOMMENDATIONS ON IMPROVING CONGRESSIONAL OPERATIONS, PATHWAYS TO 
  CONGRESSIONAL SERVICE, AND THE FUTURE OF CONGRESSIONAL MODERNIZATION

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                               __________

                      THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE

                       MODERNIZATION OF CONGRESS

                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

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[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  
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                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                 
39-0006                  WASHINGTON : 2023
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
           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  
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

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                          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 on 
improving congressional operations, pathways to congressional 
service, and the future of congressional modernization.
            Sincerely,
                                              Derek Kilmer,
                                                             Chair.  






















117th Congress   }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session      }                                     {      117-659

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

 
  RECOMMENDATIONS ON IMPROVING CONGRESSIONAL OPERATIONS, PATHWAYS TO 
  CONGRESSIONAL SERVICE, AND THE FUTURE OF CONGRESSIONAL MODERNIZATION

                                _______
                                

 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 29, 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. On July 19, 2022, the Select Committee met and issued 
its eighth set of recommendations focused on congressional 
oversight capacity, district operations, congressional office 
operations, the legislative process, and congressional 
continuity. On September 29, 2022, the Select Committee met and 
issued its ninth set of recommendations focused on constituent 
engagement, constituent services, House technology, and 
congressional operations.
    The Select Committee met on November 17, 2022, to pass its 
tenth package of recommendations. The recommendations broadly 
focus on congressional operations, pathways to congressional 
service, and modernization of Congress going forward. The 
recommendations address issues the Select Committee took up in 
public hearings, member meetings, and discussions with 
stakeholders.

              II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

    Improving congressional operations, opening pathways to 
congressional service, and promoting continued modernization 
efforts 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. Committee meetings frequently conflict with each 
        other. Committee leadership and clerks have little 
        insight into the committee assignments of their members 
        and therefore it is difficult to eliminate, insofar as 
        possible, any meeting and scheduling conflicts. Today, 
        docs.house.gov acts as a shared committee calendar but 
        the Committee understands the site is not being used to 
        reduce conflicts.
          2. The amount of time it takes to complete a vote 
        series varies based on how promptly members vote which 
        makes scheduling unpredictable. There is currently 
        little transparency regarding members who do not vote 
        within the stated voting time.
          3. Members of the Committee on House Administration 
        and the Committee on Rules could benefit from spending 
        more time learning about best practices and innovative 
        strategies from other international legislatures, even 
        though many other legislatures may be attempting to 
        tackle and solve similar challenges.
          4. The in-person New Member Orientation right after 
        an election can be overwhelming for new members. 
        Implementation of the Committee's recommendation to 
        spread information out over time, including through the 
        availability of online content, has helped but the 
        process could still be improved.
          5. Unlike other government officials and most private 
        business travelers, members of Congress do not receive 
        reimbursement or a per diem for travel-related expenses 
        while away from their primary residence for official 
        work. (Moreover, travel related expenses are no longer 
        tax deductible for members.) The House's existing rules 
        on reimbursement are out of step with how ordinary 
        business travel expenses are treated in the private 
        sector and federal government.
          6. When the Select Committee on the Modernization of 
        Congress ends at the conclusion of the 117th Congress, 
        there will be no member-led entity focused on 
        implementation of the Select Committee's 
        recommendations and other modernization-related 
        initiatives.
          7. Without a reform committee established at regular 
        intervals, Congress risks going too long between reform 
        entities. This could result in congressional operations 
        becoming outdated and inefficient.

                             III. HEARINGS

    The Select Committee has continued to use its unique 
roundtable format for the conduct of its formal hearings. The 
hearings included:
           ``Pathways to Congressional Service,'' on 
        June 8, 2022. The Select Committee received testimony 
        from:
                   The Honorable Gregg Harper, 
                Former member of Congress
                   Dr. Molly Reynolds, Senior 
                Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings 
                Institution
                   Dr. Steven Rogelberg, 
                Chancellor's Professor Department of 
                Psychological Sciences and Management, 
                University of North Carolina at Charlotte
           ``Congressional Modernization: A Roadmap for 
        the Future.'' The Select Committee received testimony 
        from:
                   Dr. Casey Burgat, Assistant 
                Professor and Legislative Affairs Program 
                Director, The George Washington University
                   Ms. Diane Hill, Senior Manager, 
                Government Affairs, Partnership for Public 
                Service
                   Catherine Szpindor, Chief 
                Administrative Officer at House of 
                Representatives

                          IV. RECOMMENDATIONS

    The Select Committee made the following 7 recommendations 
to address the problems identified above, adding to the 
Committee's 195 prior recommendations made since the beginning 
of the 116th Congress (see II. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR 
RECOMMENDATIONS):

                   Improving Congressional Operations

    (1) Recommendation: House Rules or policies should require 
entering of committee meeting times into the shared committee 
scheduling tool.
    Specifically . . . The Committee previously recommended 
(#59) that the House create a common committee calendar portal 
specifically to reduce scheduling conflicts. A shared 
scheduling tool will allow committees to reduce conflicts as 
much as possible, but it will only be useable and beneficial 
insofar as it has the necessary information about pending 
committee business. In 1981, House Rules required committees to 
use ``a scheduling service which shall be used by all 
committees and subcommittees to eliminate, insofar as possible, 
any meeting and scheduling conflicts.'' In 1992, this 
requirement was stricken from the Rules.
    (2) Recommendation: The House should publish a regular 
report noting the cumulative time members voted after the 
allotted time.
    Specifically . . . The Office of the Clerk, using 
information derived from the electronic voting system, should 
publish a quarterly report noting the total amount of time 
individual members voted outside of the time allotted. 
Reporting on the cumulative time a member voted outside the 
announced voting window will allow for greater transparency and 
accountability.
    (3) Recommendation: The Committee on House Administration 
and the Committee on Rules should conduct semi-regular, 
bipartisan international CODELs to learn about other 
legislatures and to facilitate better collaboration and 
understanding among committee members.
    Specifically . . . Many legislative bodies face similar 
challenges related to scheduling, outdated technology, 
imbalance of power in their chambers that disenfranchises 
members, and other capacity issues. Other parliaments have 
chosen to address these problems in different ways from which 
the House could draw some lessons. Learning best practices from 
other institutions can lead to better problem-solving and 
reduce inefficiencies in existing processes.
    (4) Recommendation: The Committee on House Administration 
should conduct an update session for new members well into the 
start of their first term
    Specifically . . . An update session would allow new 
members to ask questions that may have arisen since New Member 
Orientation, to continue to bond as a class, and to allow 
members elected in special elections to participate.

                   Pathways to Congressional Service

    (5) Recommendation: The House should align travel-related 
expense reimbursement rules for members with standard business 
travel practices in the private sector and other parts of the 
federal government.
    Specifically . . . This alignment can be accomplished 
through a change to the Members' Congressional Handbook 
(Handbook). In the Handbook, members of Congress have two duty 
stations: (1) their congressional district, and (2) Washington, 
D.C. The unique ``dual duty station'' designation for members 
precludes reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs incurred to 
cover official travel-related expenses while in Washington, 
D.C., for official business. Amending the Handbook to address 
the expenses associated with serving at two duty stations would 
align travel policies for members of Congress with 
congressional staff, other government officials, and the 
private sector. Reasonable reimbursement limits and ethics 
requirements should apply, and the reimbursement process should 
be transparent to the public.

                 Future of Congressional Modernization

    (6) Recommendation: The House should provide a home for 
ongoing modernization work within the Committee on House 
Administration.
    Specifically . . . The Committee on House Administration 
(CHA) is in the best position to ensure that the 
recommendations set forth by the Modernization Committee are 
put into practice. If adjustments are needed on the 
recommendations as they are implemented, CHA has the necessary 
jurisdiction and tools to do so. The subcommittee would be 
focused on issues within CHA's jurisdiction while a separate, 
periodic reform committee would focus on a broader mandate of 
House or Congress-wide issues. In the 102nd Congress (1991-
1992), CHA formed a bipartisan subcommittee, the Subcommittee 
on Administrative Oversight, that existed through the 103rd 
Congress ending in 1994. The Chief Administrative Officer 
position, which was created in 1995, took on much of the 
Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight's work.
    (7) Recommendation: The House should authorize a 
Modernization Select Committee at least every fourth Congress.
    Specifically . . . Prior to the Select Committee on the 
Modernization of Congress being established in 2019, the Joint 
Committee on the Organization of Congress in 1993 was the last 
organized reform entity. As the pace of change accelerates, 
Congress needs to evaluate itself at more regular intervals. 
The House, with or without the Senate, should authorize a 
Select Committee with a mandate to evaluate the operations and 
efficiency of the institution.

                  V. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION AND VOTES


                             Consideration

     On November 17, 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.

                                  [all]