[Deschler-Brown Precedents, Volume 12, Chapter 29 (Sections 1-34), Volume 13, Chapter 29 (Sections 35-end, plus index)]
[Chapter 29. Consideration and Debate]
[K. Secret Session]
[Â§ 85. In General]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 11316-11351]
 
                               CHAPTER 29
 
                        Consideration and Debate
 
                           K. SECRET SESSIONS
 
Sec. 85. In General


    Secret sessions of the House, while authorized by Rule XXIX, are 
rarely invoked in current practice. Such sessions have been utilized 
where Members wished to refer to or utilize classified national 
security information or intelligence-related information in debate.
    Rule XXIX permits a motion that the House hold a secret session. 
The motion is in order if 
the Speaker determines that the Member making it qualifies--that the 
Member has information of a secret nature which he wishes to impart to 
his colleagues in the House.
    The motion is not debatable, is not in order in Committee of the 
Whole, and if agreed to, requires the House to undertake certain 
procedures--the clearing of the galleries, closing down the televised 
and broadcast coverage of the proceedings, insuring the secrecy of the 
proceedings--before commencing the debate. The vote on the motion for a 
secret session is subject to a rollcall vote but is not required by the 
rule.
    Standing committees of the House are permitted to hold executive 
sessions pursuant to Rule XI, clauses 2(g) and 2(k) where national 
security matter is under discussion or where evidence or testimony is 
being elicited which is potentially incriminating or defamatory. The 
Select Committee on Intelligence has specific procedures for closing 
sessions, which are set forth in Rule XLVIII. Conference committees may 
meet behind closed doors pursuant to Rule XXVIII, but a vote of the 
House is required to permit House managers at a conference to invoke or 
agree to this procedure. A motion that a conference committee meeting 
be closed to the public, privileged under Rule XXVIII, clause 6(a), is 
debatable under the hour 
rule.                          -------------------

Recognition To Move for Secret Session

Sec. 85.1 The Speaker has declined to recognize a Member to move 
    pursuant to Rule XXIX that the House resolve itself into a secret 
    session where the motion had not been reduced to writing; and a 
    Member who has been recognized for five minutes where the House is 
    proceeding in the House as in the Committee of the Whole, and who 
    is declined recogni

[[Page 11317]]

    tion to offer a motion during such five minutes, is entitled to use 
    or to yield the remainder of his time.

    On Mar. 30, 1977,(2) the following proceedings occurred 
in the House:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2. 123 Cong. Rec. 9576, 95th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Robert E.] Bauman [of Maryland]: Mr. Speaker, I move to 
    strike the last word. . . .
        Mr. Speaker, I would move, under the terms of rule XXIX of the 
    House of Representatives, that we resolve ourselves into a secret 
    session, that we exclude the press and the people in the galleries, 
    and that we be permitted, as Members of the House who have to vote 
    on this, to know what this secret information is that they will not 
    reveal to us here in public on the floor today. . . .
        The Speaker: (3) Is the gentleman's motion in 
    writing?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. (Mass.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. Bauman: The gentleman would be glad to reduce it to 
    writing.
        The Speaker: In the meantime the Chair recognizes the gentleman 
    from Ohio (Mr. Stokes).
        Mr. Bauman: Mr. Speaker, does the gentleman from Maryland still 
    have time?
        The Speaker: Yes.
        Mr. Bauman: That being the case, the gentleman from Maryland, 
    Mr. Speaker, would like to say----
        The Speaker: The Chair has recognized the gentleman from Ohio.
        Mr. Bauman: Does the gentleman from Maryland still have time 
    remaining in his 5 minutes? . . .
        The Speaker: The answer is in the affirmative. The gentleman 
    has time in which to write out his motion.
        Mr. Bauman: Mr. Speaker, I asked whether I had time to speak.
        The Speaker: The Chair begs the gentleman's pardon. The 
    gentleman has time remaining.
        Mr. Bauman: The gentleman is going to use his time, Mr. 
    Speaker, with the sufferance of the Speaker of the House.
        The Speaker: The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maryland 
    (Mr. Bauman).

Secret Session Requires Preparation

Sec. 85.2 Pending a vote on a 
    motion that the House resolve itself into secret session pursuant 
    to Rule XXIX, the Speaker announced that should the motion be 
    adopted, a motion to adjourn would be entertained due to the 
    announced schedule and due to the elaborate precautions and 
    arrangements necessary for a secret session.

    The proceedings of the House on Mar. 30, 1977,(4) 
relating to the motion described above were as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. 123 Cong. Rec. 9576, 95th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Robert E.] Bauman [of Maryland]: I renew my motion.

[[Page 11318]]

        The Speaker: (5) The Chair hears the gentleman from 
    Maryland and the Clerk will read the motion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5. Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. (Mass.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        motion offered by mr. bauman

        The Clerk read as follows:

            Mr. Bauman moves under rule XXIX that the House resolve 
        itself into secret session.

        The Speaker: The Chair would like to make the following 
    statement:
        There has been a motion made by the gentleman from Maryland 
    (Mr. Bauman). If the motion would prevail, in view of the fact that 
    the Chair has said at an earlier date yesterday that we would be 
    through at 5:30 this afternoon, and in view of the precautions that 
    must be taken, the clearing of the galleries, the clearing of the 
    Press Galleries, the proper placement of officers and employees 
    that are necessary in order to protect the House of 
    Representatives, that should the motion prevail that then a motion 
    would be entertained to adjourn the House until 11 o'clock a.m. 
    tomorrow.
        The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from 
    Maryland (Mr. Bauman).
        The question was taken; and on a division (demanded by Mr. 
    Bauman) there were--ayes 76, noes 97.
        Mr. Bauman: Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
        The yeas and nays were ordered. . . .
        The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 
    185, nays 226, not voting 21. . . .

Motion for Secret Session Rejected

Sec. 85.3 On one occasion, the Speaker entertained a motion under Rule 
    XXIX that the House resolve itself into secret session, although 
    made by a Member who did not assert that he had a secret 
    communication to make to the House, where no point of order was 
    raised that the Member making the motion was merely soliciting such 
    information from the chairman of the Select Committee on 
    Intelligence, who did not himself wish to communicate it to the 
    House; the House rejected the motion that the House resolve itself 
    into a secret session.

    During the proceedings of the House on Mar. 30, 1977,(6) 
the situation described above developed as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. 123 Cong. Rec. 9575, 9576, 95th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Robert E.] Bauman [of Maryland]: Mr. Speaker, I move to 
    strike the last word. . . .
        If, indeed, Mr. Speaker, the members of this committee have 
    this information which they feel would warrant the continuation, 
    they have the duty to reveal that to the House now.
        Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I would move, under the terms of rule 
    XXIX of

[[Page 11319]]

    the House of Representatives, that we resolve ourselves into a 
    secret session, that we exclude the press and the people in the 
    galleries, and that we be permitted, as Members of the House who 
    have to vote on this, to know what this secret information is that 
    they will not reveal to us here in public on the floor today. . . .
        The Speaker: (7) The Chair [asks] the gentleman from 
    Maryland whether he will yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
    Stokes), the chairman of the committee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 7. Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. (Mass.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. Bauman: Yes, I will yield to the gentleman from Ohio.
        Mr. [Louis] Stokes [of Ohio]: Mr. Speaker, I thank the 
    gentleman for yielding.
        In reply to the Speaker's question, this committee did consider 
    undertaking a secret, private briefing of the House.
        After a great deal of deliberation as to the unwieldy aspects 
    of being able to contain highly sensitive materials and 
    communications, this committee decided that it would be too 
    unwieldy a procedure and would, in all probability redound against 
    the committee, and we decided against such action at that time.
        Mr. Bauman: Mr. Speaker, let me say that this Member was not 
    invited to any secret briefing. There was a secret meeting held 
    with the select committee and the Committee on Rules with no notice 
    at all given in an effort to get them to get this resolution to the 
    floor. But if there are secrets, we all should be told. . . .
        I renew my motion. . . .
        The Clerk read as follows:

            Mr. Bauman moves under rule XXIX that the House resolve 
        itself into secret session.

        The Speaker:. . .The question is on the motion offered by the 
    gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Bauman).
        The question was taken; and on a division (demanded by Mr. 
    Bauman) there were--ayes 76, noes 97.
        Mr. Bauman: Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
        The yeas and nays were ordered. . . .
        The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 
    185, nays 226, not voting 21. . . .

Motion Must Be Made in House Not in Committee of the Whole

Sec. 85.4 The House and not the Committee of the Whole decides whether 
    the Committee may sit in executive session; and a parliamentary 
    inquiry concerning the procedures whereby the House may act on a 
    request for such a session should be addressed to the Speaker and 
    not the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole.

    On May 9, 1950,(8) Chairman Michael J. Mansfield, of 
Montana, responded to a parliamentary inquiry relating to the procedure 
for

[[Page 11320]]

holding an executive session as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 8. 96 Cong. Rec. 6746, 81st Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Errett P.] Scrivner [of Kansas]: Mr. Chairman, I move to 
    strike out the last word.

        Mr. Chairman, I would submit a parliamentary inquiry as to 
    whether or not an executive session could be held and, if so, what 
    procedure would be necessary to bring that to pass before we are 
    asked to vote upon the $350,000,000 additional.
        The Chairman: The Chair will state to the gentleman from Kansas 
    that the Committee of the Whole would have no control over that. 
    That would be a matter for the House itself to decide.
        Mr. Scrivner: I understand that, of course, and raised the 
    question for information of the Members. Since it is a matter for 
    the House to determine, as a further parliamentary inquiry, what 
    would be the method followed to take that action?
        The Chairman: The Chair will say to the gentleman from Kansas 
    that a parliamentary inquiry of that sort should be addressed to 
    the Speaker rather than the chairman.

    Parliamentarian's Note: Where a Member in Committee of the Whole 
raises a question as to whether the House might sit in executive 
session, the Chair will entertain a motion that the Committee rise. A 
resolution would then be offered in the House providing that ``during 
further consideration of the bill, the Committee would be cleared of 
all persons except Members and authorized officers and employees and 
all proceedings of the Committee would be kept secret until otherwise 
ordered by the House. After a determination as to those employees 
deemed essential to the proceedings, the Speaker at the appropriate 
time would issue a statement for purposes of clearing the galleries and 
locking the doors.

Sec. 85.5 Under Rule XXIX, providing for secret sessions of the House, 
    a motion to go into secret session may be made only in the House 
    and not in the Committee of the Whole, and the Member making the 
    motion must qualify by asserting that he himself has a secret 
    communication to make to the House.

    During the proceedings of the House on June 6, 1978,(9) 
Speaker Pro Tempore Abner J. Mikva, of Illinois, responded to a 
parliamentary inquiry as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 9. 124 Cong. Rec. 16376, 95th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Fortney H.] Stark [of California]: Mr. Speaker, I have a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman will state it.
        Mr. Stark: Mr. Speaker, is a motion for the House to go into 
    executive session in order at any time?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: It is not in order in the Committee of 
    the

[[Page 11321]]

    Whole, the Chair will inform the gentleman.
        Mr. Stark: It is in order in the full House, is it?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair will read the rule. It reads 
    as follows:

                                   Rule XXIX

                                 secret session

            Whenever confidential communications are received from the 
        President of the United States, or whenever the Speaker or any 
        Member shall inform the House that he has communications which 
        he believes ought to be kept secret for the present, the House 
        shall be cleared of all persons except the Members and officers 
        thereof, and so continue during the reading of such 
        communications, the debates and proceedings thereon, unless 
        otherwise ordered by the House.

        The Chair will emphasize that the rule requires that a Member 
    assert that he himself has a secret communication to make for his 
    motion to be in order.

    Parliamentarian's Note: Pending was a special rule providing for 
consideration of H.R. 12240, the intelligence authorizations bill. H.R. 
12240 authorized appropriations for intelligence activities of the 
United States government, not in a specified amount but rather by 
incorporating figures contained in a classified annex to the committee 
report. The report on the bill contained no cost estimate as to the 
authorization but referred to the figures contained in the classified 
annex available only to Members as designated. No waiver of the cost-
estimate rule was necessary to allow consideration of the bill, since 
Rule XLVIII authorizes and directs the Select Committee on Intelligence 

to keep secret classified information obtained from the executive 
branch unless otherwise authorized by the House. (Rule XLVIII, being a 
more specific and more recently adopted rule, renders Rule XIII clause 
7 inapplicable.) The Committee on Armed Services, in Part II of the 
report, merely incorporated by reference the Intelligence Committee 
estimate contained in the secret annex.
    H.R. 12240 stated in part: (10)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. 124 Cong. Rec. 16386, 95th Cong. 2d Sess., June 6, 1978.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
    United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may 
    be cited as the ``Intelligence and Intelligence-Related Program 
    Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1979''.

                      TITLE I--INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES

        Sec. 101. (a) Funds are hereby authorized to be appropriated 
    for fiscal year 1979 for the conduct of the intelligence and 
    intelligence-related activities of the following departments, 
    agencies, and other elements of the United States Government:
        (1) The Central Intelligence Agency and the Director of Central 
    Intelligence.

[[Page 11322]]

        (2) The Department of Defense. . . .
        (b) A classified annex to the report prepared by the Permanent 
    Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives to 
    accompany this Act shall be deemed to reflect the final action of 
    the Congress with respect to the authorization of funds for fiscal 
    year 1979 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of 
    the United States Government, including specific amounts for 
    activities specified in subsection (a).

Sec. 85.6 Upon the conclusion of general debate on a bill in Committee 
    of the Whole, a Member offered a pro forma amendment to announce 
    that he would at the conclusion of his remarks move that the 
    Committee rise, and then offer in the House a motion, pursuant to 
    Rule XXIX, that the House resolve itself into secret session to 
    discuss confidential communications related to the bill under 
    consideration in Committee of the Whole.

    On June 20, 1979,(11) during consideration of the Panama 
Canal Act of 1979 (H.R. 111) in the Committee of the Whole, Mr. Robert 
E. Bauman, of Maryland, after being recognized for a motion to strike 
the last word, made an announcement as indicated below:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. 125 Cong. Rec. 15710, 15711, 96th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Accordingly the House resolved itself into the Committee of the 
    Whole House on the State of the Union for the further consideration 
    of the bill (H.R. 111) to provide for the operation and maintenance 
    of the Panama Canal and to provide for the exercise of the rights 
    and performance of the duties of the United States provided in the 
    Panama Canal Treaty of 1977, with Mr. Foley in the chair.
        The Clerk read the title of the bill.
        The Chairman: (12) When the Committee rose on 
    Monday, May 21, 1979, all time for general debate had expired.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Thomas S. Foley (Wash.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Pursuant to the rule, the amendment in the nature of a 
    substitute recommended by the Committee on Merchant Marine and 
    Fisheries now printed in the reported bill shall be considered by 
    title as an original bill for the purpose of amendment, and each 
    title shall be considered as having been read. . . .
        The Clerk will designate section 1.
        Section 1 reads as follows:

            Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
        the United States of America in Congress assembled,
            Section 1. Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the 
        ``Panama Canal Act of 1979''.

        Mr. Bauman: Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
        Mr. Chairman, I take this time to inform the Committee of the 
    Whole House that it will be my intention at the conclusion of the 
    brief time that I

[[Page 11323]]

    will take here, to move that the Committee rise, and, assuming that 
    is agreed to, I will move, under rule XXIX of the House, that the 
    House meet in secret session.
        I understand from the Parliamentarian that passage of the 
    motion would allow us 1 hour of debate to be divided between the 
    gentleman from New York and myself, during which time all of us, 
    and I have discussed this with the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
    Murphy), as well as with the chairman of the subcommittee, the 
    gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Hubbard), would be able to present to 
    the House certain facts which we are not able to communicate to the 
    House in public because of the classified nature and the source of 
    the information.

Motion for Secret Session Not Debatable

Sec. 85.7 A motion that the House resolve itself into secret session 
    must be made in the House and not in Committee of the Whole and is 
    not debatable; in the 96th Congress, the House adopted by voice 
    vote a motion that the House resolve itself into secret session 
    pursuant to Rule XXIX (the first such occasion since 1830) where 
    the Member offering the motion had ensured the Speaker that he had 
    confidential communications to make to the House as required by 
    that rule.

    On June 20, 1979,(13) Mr. 
Robert E. Bauman, of Maryland, having informed the Committee of the 
Whole of his intention to make a motion under Rule XXIX in the House, 
made the motion as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. 125 Cong. Rec. 15711, 96th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. Bauman: Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion.
        The Clerk read as follows:

            Mr. Bauman moves that, pursuant to rule XXIX, the House 
        resolve itself into secret session. That the galleries of the 
        House Chamber be cleared of all persons and that the House 
        Chamber be cleared of all persons except the Members of the 
        House and those officers and employees specified by the Speaker 
        whose attendance on the floor is essential to the functioning 
        of the House and who subscribe to the notarized oath of 
        confidentiality.

        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (14) The Chair will state 
    that the motion is not debatable. Absent unanimous consent to 
    debate the motion, the question will be put upon the motion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from 
    Maryland (Mr. Bauman).
        The motion was agreed to.

Clearing Galleries and Limiting Floor Access

Sec. 85.8 The Speaker Pro Tempore announced, after the House had 
    adopted a motion

[[Page 11324]]

    to resolve itself into secret session and before the secret session 
    commenced, that the galleries would be cleared of all persons, that 
    the Chamber would be cleared of all persons except Members and 
    those officers and employees specified by the Speaker whose 
    attendance on the floor was essential to the functioning of the 
    secret session, and that all proceedings in the secret session must 
    be kept secret until otherwise ordered by the House.

    On June 20, 1979,(15) the House adopted by voice vote a 
motion that the House resolve itself into secret session pursuant to 
Rule XXIX (the first such occasion since 1830) where the Member 
offering the motion had ensured the Speaker that he had confidential 
communications to make to the House as required by that rule. The 
proceedings were as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. 125 Cong. Rec. 15711-13, 96th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Robert E.] Bauman [of Maryland]: Mr. Speaker, I offer a 
    motion.
        The Clerk read as follows:

            Mr. Bauman moves that, pursuant to rule XXIX, the House 
        resolve itself into secret session. . . .

        The motion was agreed to.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (16) The Chair will make a 
    statement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Chair desires to read to the Members the contents of rule 
    XXIX of the rules of the House of Representatives.
        Rule XXIX reads as follows:

                                   Rule XXIX

                                 secret session

            Whenever confidential communications are received from the 
        President of the United States, or whenever the Speaker or any 
        Member shall inform the House that he has communications which 
        he believes ought to be kept secret for the present, the House 
        shall be cleared of all persons except the Members and officers 
        thereof, and so continue during the reading of such 
        communications, the debates and proceedings thereon, 
        unless otherwise ordered by the House. . . .

        According to the rule of the House, the Chair is now going to 
    order that the galleries of the House Chamber shall be cleared of 
    all persons and the House Chamber shall be cleared of all persons 
    except the Members of the House and those officers and employees 
    specified by the Speaker whose attendance on the floor is essential 
    to the functioning of the secret session of the House. All 
    proceedings in the House during such consideration shall be kept 
    secret until otherwise ordered by the House.(17)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. For further discussion of the Speaker's directions to officers and 
        employees on this date, see Sec. 85.12, infra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Chair is going to declare a recess long enough for this 
    order to be carried out.

    Parliamentarian's Note: A list of the employees signing the oath of

[[Page 11325]]

secrecy and present in the secret session was compiled and retained by 
the Journal Clerk.
    It would have been appropriate to require a rollcall vote on 
resolving into secret session (since executive sessions of committees 
require a rollcall vote).

Guidelines for Conducting Secret Session

Sec. 85.9 After a motion that the House resolve itself into secret 
    session has been agreed to, the Chair may explain the operation of 
    the rule and respond to parliamentary inquiries before the secret 
    session commences; on one such occasion, before declaring a recess 
    in order to clear the Chamber and galleries for a secret session of 
    the House, the Speaker Pro Tempore stated in response to 
    parliamentary inquiries that (1) the proceedings of the House in 
    secret session would not be recorded by the television system; (2) 
    after the presentation of the material considered confidential in 
    secret session, the House could vote in secret session to remove 
    the injunction of secrecy from the proceedings; (3) the material to 
    be presented in the secret session was not required by Rule XXIX or 
    the precedents relating thereto to be relevant to any particular 
    legislation; (4) the Speaker had afforded the officers of the House 
    with guidelines as to which employees were to be considered 
    essential to the functioning of the secret session, but that during 
    the session only those employees so designated and sworn could 
    enter the Chamber; (5) Members could come and go at will during the 
    session; (6) Members would be prohibited from divulging information 
    presented in the secret session without the consent of the House; 
    (7) a record 
    of attendance of Members would not be kept, except through a call 
    of the House, since Members were expected to be trusted with honor 
    and integrity; (8) members of committees which might be meeting 
    (having 
    received permission to sit under the five-minute rule and perhaps 
    under the impression that the House was proceeding in Committee of 
    the Whole) would be sufficiently notified of the secret session by 
    the bells and lights indicating a recess 


[[Page 11326]]

    and the reconvening of the House; (9) the admitted House employees 
    (but not Members) must sign an oath to preserve inviolable secrecy 
    (similar to the Senate oath for secret sessions), violation of 
    which was punishable by the House, but that statutes applying 
    exclusively to the executive branch, requiring appropriate 
    clearances to receive information classified by the executive 
    branch, did not apply to Members of Congress and only to employees 
    of the legislative branch where such statutes were generally 
    applicable beyond the executive branch; and (10) no rule of the 
    House required clearance of House Members or employees under 
    procedures applied by the executive branch for access to classified 
    information, but that Members and employees of the House were 
    subject to standards of conduct and disciplinary procedures under 
    House rules.

    On June 20, 1979,(18) during consideration of the Panama 
Canal Act of 1979 (H.R. 111), the following proceedings occurred:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. 125 Cong. Rec. 15711-13, 96th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Robert E.] Bauman [of Maryland]: Mr. Speaker, I offer a 
    motion.
        The Clerk read as follows:

            Mr. Bauman moves that, pursuant to rule XXIX, the House 
        resolve itself into secret session. . . .

        The motion was agreed to. . . .
        Mr. [Jack] Hightower [of Texas]: Mr. Speaker, I have a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (19) The gentleman will 
    state it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. Hightower: What will be the action of the Chair in regard 
    to the television proceedings?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The television will not be recording 
    the proceedings of the House during the time of the secret session.
        Ms. [Elizabeth] Holtzman [of New York]: Mr. Speaker, I have a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentlewoman will state it.
        Ms. Holtzman: In the Chair's reading of his order and reading 
    the rule he mentioned that the House can order otherwise with 
    respect to the secrecy of the proceedings. Is it my understanding 
    then that should, during the debate or after the debate, the 
    Members of the House determine that the material was not, in fact, 
    confidential, is it then in order, or when is it in order, assuming 
    that to be the case, for the proceedings to be then made public or 
    the Journal kept of the debate then made public?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The precedents which the Chair has 
    read

[[Page 11327]]

    this morning indicate that following the presentation of that 
    material considered secret or confidential or of such nature that 
    it ought to be heard in secret session, the House may at that time, 
    by its own motion, in secret session decide that there is no reason 
    to observe further secrecy with respect to the material involved. 
    Having heard the material and determined the nature thereof, it 
    will be up to the Members of the House as to whether they would 
    observe additional and future secrecy with respect thereto.
        Ms. Holtzman: I thank the Speaker.
        Mr. [Edward J.] Derwinski [of Illinois]: Mr. Speaker, I have a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman will state it.
        Mr. Derwinski: The Chair did not address himself to the 
    question of the relevancy of the material to the legislation before 
    the House. What is the determination or the precedents involved 
    regarding the relevancy of presumed secret testimony to the 
    legislative matter before us?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair will state that there is no 
    requirement whatsoever in the precedents of the House, such 
    materials having been received, that the material be relevant to 
    any legislation, since the rule would include messages from the 
    President of the United States that bear upon no pending 
    legislation. It is not the opinion of the Chair that the material 
    to be revealed in this session necessarily has any bearing whatever 
    upon the legislation which otherwise would have been under 
    consideration in the Committee of the Whole. It simply is a 
    recognition of the right of the gentleman from Maryland and other 
    Members present at the secret session to divulge such information 
    as they desire to our colleagues, the Members of the House. The 
    Members have voted to grant them that privilege. It does not 
    necessarily bear in any way tangentially or otherwise upon the 
    legislation previously before the House or any other legislation.
        Mr. Derwinski: I thank the Speaker.
        Mr. [Frank] Horton [of New York]: Mr. Speaker, I have a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman will state it.
        Mr. Horton: The Chair announced that Members of the House are 
    permitted to be present and also officers to be designated by the 
    Speaker. Will the Speaker specifically designate those employees to 
    remain on the floor?
        The second inquiry is with regard to access to the floor. What 
    about going and coming on the floor, will the doors be manned in 
    order to prevent unauthorized persons from entering the Chamber?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair will attempt to answer both 
    questions.
        First, with respect to those official staff persons whose 
    presence on the floor of the House is essential to the operation of 
    the House, the Chair already has, pursuant to authority conferred 
    upon him in the motion, delivered to the officers of the House 
    sufficient guidelines with regard to that question.
        On the second question, with respect to the rights of Members 
    to go and

[[Page 11328]]

    come, that question should be answered in the affirmative. Members 
    may go and come at will.
        Mr. Horton: What about others? They would have to be cleared 
    before they could come in, other than Members?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman is correct. Others would 
    have to be designated and sworn before they could enter the 
    Chamber.
        Mr. [Paul N.] McCloskey [Jr., of California]: Mr. Speaker, a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman will state it.
        Mr. McCloskey: Mr. Speaker, I understand that we will receive 
    in this Chamber information that will be labeled either 
    ``confidential'' or ``secret'' or ``top secret'' under any 
    Executive order which applies only to members of the executive 
    branch. Therefore, it would not be a crime, for example, for a 
    Member of this body to reveal information classified in the 
    executive branch unless it came under the statute.
        I am wondering what would be the rules of the House with 
    respect to a Member of this body who might, after hearing in this 
    secret session information perhaps classified ``secret'' or ``top 
    secret'' if that Member should, following this session, divulge 
    that information to the press or to third persons not authorized to 
    receive that information. It seems to me that under the rules of 
    the House we would violate those rules as individual Members should 
    we reveal classified information.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair feels that the same rule 
    should prevail which prevails in executive sessions of committees 
    of the House. The Chair does not wish to prejudge the nature or the 
    import of the information to be revealed because the Chair is not 
    privy to that knowledge.
        The Chair believes that the Members of the House possess 
    sufficient honor that they will do the right thing in determining, 
    after having heard the information, whether or not its sanctity 
    should be preserved or it should be revealed at the will of the 
    Members. The Chair trusts the Members of the House to make the 
    right decision.
        Mr. McCloskey: I thank the Chair.
        Mr. [Robert N.] Giaimo [of Connecticut]: Mr. Speaker, a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman will state it.
        Mr. Giaimo: Mr. Speaker, under those circumstances should not 
    attendance be kept as to whether or not a Member actually is in the 
    Chamber or not, because there are some of us--and I feel very 
    strongly about this kind of session because I have found out in the 
    past through experience that I usually learn just as much outside a 
    secret session as I do in it, and the information, if I find out 
    the information outside of this session--I do not want to be gagged 
    by the fact that I may or may not have been in this session at the 
    time. It seems to me that the Chair ought to have attendance of 
    Members.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair would observe that the 
    gentleman from Connecticut or any other Member might have the 
    privilege, if he or she so desires, to move a call of the House, 
    and thereby could ascertain the presence of Members. Beyond that, 
    the

[[Page 11329]]

    Chair is not of the disposition to impose upon the Members of the 
    House any rule beyond those rules which are expressly written in 
    the rules of the House. The Chair is of the disposition to trust 
    implicitly the honor and the integrity of the Members of the U.S. 
    House of Representatives.
        Mr. [Carroll] Campbell [Jr., of South Carolina]: Mr. Speaker, a 
    parliamentary inquiry.

        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman will state it.
        Mr. Campbell: Mr. Speaker, in view of the fact that a number of 
    the committees have received permission to sit under the 5-minute 
    rule, I wonder if the Chair is taking steps to notify these 
    committees of the pending proceedings.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair will respond, as the 
    gentleman would understand, of course, that we are not now under 
    the 5-minute rule and will not be proceeding under the 5-minute 
    rule after we resume following the recess which the Chair will very 
    presently declare.
        The Chair would presume that the bells signaling the recess and 
    the bells signaling the resumption of the convening of the House 
    would be sufficient notice to warrant knowledge on the part of 
    those who might be in committee sessions or elsewhere on Capitol 
    Hill.
        Mr. Campbell: I thank the Chair.
        Mr. [Bill D.] Burlison [of Missouri]: Mr. Speaker, a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman will state it.
        Mr. Burlison: Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding from the 
    conversation I have heard thus far that there will be classified 
    information presented to the body; confidential, secret, top 
    secret. Is that a fair statement?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: In response to the gentleman's 
    question, the Chair is not in a position to characterize the 
    nature, the character, the quality, or the veracity of the 
    information which will be divulged. The Chair is not privy to that 
    knowledge.
        Mr. Burlison: A further parliamentary inquiry: Do the rules of 
    the House not require that in those instances where classified 
    material is to be received, that the reporters and the staff 
    members and the officers of the House who may be present other than 
    Members of the House be cleared for that classified information?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair is going to read to the 
    gentleman an oath which employees and officers of the House are 
    required to sign:

            I do solemnly swear that I will preserve inviolable secrecy 
        on all confidential business of the House of Representatives 
        that may come to my knowledge until especially absolved 
        therefrom, so help me God.

        Every employee and officer of the House will be expected to 
    sign this oath if permitted to be privy to the session. Members of 
    the House will not be requested nor required to sign such an oath.
        Mr. Burlison: Mr. Speaker, my parliamentary inquiry is whether 
    the rules of the House require, in such a session, that the 
    reporters and the staff members and others have the requisite 
    clearances to be present and to conduct the business.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair will respond to the 
    gentleman's

[[Page 11330]]

    request in the following manner: Members of the U.S. House of 
    Representatives are not members of the executive branch of 
    Government, who may be bound by laws exclusively applicable to 
    members of the executive branch of Government.
        The Chair will state again that Members of the House, after 
    hearing the nature of this information, whatever it may be, must 
    judge on their own or as ordered by the House as to whether it is 
    of sufficient import or secret in character to require continued 
    silence. On previous occasions, the Chair discovers on reading the 
    precedents, Members of the House, having heard information thus 
    divulged, usually have voted to allow that information to become 
    known publicly.
        Mr. Burlison: Is the Speaker saying that the rules of the House 
    do not require that the staff, House officers, and others be 
    cleared to receive the information? My parliamentary inquiry is 
    whether there is such a House rule.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: There is no such House rule, the Chair 
    will respond.
        Mr. [Thomas J.] Downey [of New York]: Mr. Speaker, a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman will state it.
        Mr. Downey: Mr. Speaker, if I understand the ruling of the 
    Chair then, the employees of the House of Representatives coming 
    into the session will be privy to receive information secret, top 
    secret, classified, that is so designated by U.S. statute. What 
    concerns me, Mr. Speaker, is that we have no rule governing 
    classification of House employees with respect to the receiving of 
    secret information. That is not a rule just of the executive 
    branch; that is United States statutory law with respect to who can 
    receive and under what circumstances classified, secret, and top 
    secret information.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The employees of the House, the Chair 
    will advise the gentleman, are subject to applicable provisions of 
    law and to the disciplinary action of the House, and the special 
    rule for them requires that secrecy of the proceedings be 
    maintained until absolved from that responsibility by the House.
        The Members of the House, in context, are also subject to the 
    disciplinary rules of the House with respect to the Standards of 
    Official Conduct Committee and under the Constitution.

Transcript of Proceedings Remains Secret Until Otherwise Ordered

Sec. 85.10 The Speaker declared a recess in order to make preparations 
    for a secret session of the House and at the conclusion of the 
    recess the House resolved itself into secret session (the 
    proceedings of which were not printed in the Congressional Record 
    of this date, since the House refused in secret session to 
    remove the injunction of secrecy); when the House had concluded the 
    secret session, having voted not to release the transcripts of that 
    session, the Speaker declared

[[Page 11331]]

    that the injunction of secrecy remained and that he would refer the 
    transcripts to the appropriate committees for their evaluation and 
    ask them to report to the House as to the ultimate disposition 
    thereof to be made.

    On June 20, 1979,(20) the following proceedings occurred 
in the House:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
20. 125 Cong. Rec. 15713, 96th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (1) The Chair declares a 
    recess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Accordingly (at 12 o'clock and 20 minutes p.m.), the House 
    stood in recess subject to the call of the Chair.

                        secret session of the house

        At 12 o'clock and 38 minutes, the House proceeded to meet in 
    secret session.
        (House proceedings held in secret session.)
        At 2 o'clock and 11 minutes, the House dissolved its proceeding 
    being held in secret session.

                                after recess

        The recess having expired, the House was called to order by the 
    Speaker at 2 o'clock and 30 minutes p.m.
        The Speaker: (2) The Chair will make the following 
    statement:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2. Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. (Mass.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Chair would remind the Members that the House has not at 
    this point voted to remove the injunction of secrecy and that 
    Members are bound not to release or to make public any of the 
    transcript of the closed session until further order of the House.
        To enable the House to evaluate the transcript of the secret 
    session, the Chair will refer the transcript to the Permanent 
    Select Committee on Intelligence and to the Committee on Merchant 
    Marine and Fisheries for their report thereon as soon as possible. 
    The committees' report will remain executive session record of 
    those committees for examination by the Members and ultimate 
    disposition by the House.
        The Chair further would state that he would believe that the 
    item could go to the Committee on Rules and the House could go back 
    into a secret session for a time allotted before making the 
    transcript public record.(3)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. The proceedings, with omissions, were printed in the Congressional 
        Record of a subsequent date. See Sec. 85.11, infra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sec. 85.11 By unanimous consent, the transcript of the proceedings of 
    the House on a previous day in executive session was printed in the 
    Congressional Record, with revisions and deletions made by Members 
    who participated in the debate, which revisions and deletions were 
    mutually agreeable to the chairmen of the committees to which the 
    Speaker had on that previous day referred the transcript of the 
    secret

[[Page 11332]]

    session for a report to the House on needed secrecy.

    In the July 17, 1979, edition 
of the Congressional Record (4) by unanimous consent, the 
transcript of proceedings of the secret session of the House on June 
20, 1979, with certain omissions, was printed:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. 125 Cong. Rec. 19049 et seq., 96th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Edward P.] Boland [of Massachusetts]: Mr. Speaker, I ask 
    unanimous consent that the transcript of the proceedings of the 
    House and the secret session held on June 20, 1979, be printed in 
    today's edition of the Congressional Record, with the revisions and 
    deletions made in that transcript by Members who participated in 
    that debate, and which are mutually agreeable to the chairmen of 
    the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and the Permanent 
    Select Committee on Intelligence.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (5) Is there objection to 
    the request of the gentleman from Massachusetts?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        There was no objection.

                        secret session of the house

        The secret session of the House met at 12:38 p.m. and was 
    called to order by the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Wright).
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: Members will take their seats. 
    Officers and employees of the House designated to remain will come 
    to the pages' desk and sign the oath of secrecy.

    The procedures for review of the transcript prior to its 
publication were outlined as follows: (6)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. 125 Cong. Rec. 19059, 96th Cong. 1st Sess., July 17, 1979.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. Boland: Mr. Speaker, the procedures followed by the 
    Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in considering the 
    transcript of the secret session of the House on June 20 are as 
    follows:
        Upon receipt of the transcript from the Speaker, the committee 
    identified areas which involved classified intelligence sources and 
    methods and other classified material. The committee then consulted 
    with representatives from the Department of Defense, Central 
    Intelligence Agency, Department of State and the Department of 
    Justice and noted each item suggested by any of the above as 
    involving classified matter. The committee then made 
    recommendations concerning each item so noted to the Speaker.
        Thereafter, the committee was called in to resolve the 
    differences between its approach and the Committee on Merchant 
    Marine and Fisheries to which the transcript had also been 
    referred. The committee did this and prepared a revised transcript 
    embodying the recommendations of both committees and reflective of 
    such other revisions and extensions as were suggested by individual 
    Members involved in the debate.
        It is my understanding that the completed transcript which is 
    provided to the House today represents a careful, yet critical 
    revision of the transcript to exclude only that material which was 
    genuinely sensitive. I believe that the

[[Page 11333]]

    resulting document fairly represents the debate that occurred 
    during the closed session of the House while protecting essential 
    national security information. I want to thank the Committee on 
    Merchant Marine and Fisheries, chaired by the distinguished 
    gentleman from New York (Mr. Murphy) and for all the Members who 
    participated in the debate and whose perusal and agreement was 
    necessary to resolve the matters associated with this transcript 
    and the charge given to the Permanent Select Committee on 
    Intelligence by the House.

Oath of Secrecy

Sec. 85.12 At the convening of a secret session of the House, the 
    Speaker directed all officers and employees designated by him as 
    essential to the proceedings to come to the pages' desk and sign an 
    oath of secrecy.

    In the transcript of the proceedings of the June 20, 1979, secret 
session of the House, inserted in the Congressional Record on July 17, 
1979,(7) it is shown that the Speaker Pro Tempore 
(8) made the following announcement:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 7. 125 Cong. Rec. 19049, 96th Cong. 1st Sess.
 8. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The secret session of the House met at 12:38 p.m. and was 
    called to order by the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Wright).
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: Members will take their seats. 
    Officers and employees of the House designated to remain will come 
    to the pages' desk and sign the oath of secrecy. That includes any 
    committee staff designated by the chairman of the committee in 
    writing who are to remain in the Chamber.

Hour Rule of Debate Applies

Sec. 85.13 At the convening of a secret session of the House, the 
    Speaker recognized the Member who had offered the motion for a 
    secret session for one hour of debate, and advised that Member that 
    the normal rules of the House would apply during such debate and 
    that no motions would be in order unless he yielded for such 
    purpose.

    On June 20, 1979,(9) Speaker Pro Tempore James C. 
Wright, Jr., of Texas, responded to several inquiries regarding 
procedures in a secret session of the House, as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 9. 125 Cong. Rec. 19049, 96th Cong. 1st Sess., July 17, 1979 
        (transcript of secret session of June 20, 1979).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The secret session of the House met at 12:38 p.m. and was 
    called to order by the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Wright).
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: Members will take their seats. . . .
        The Chair is going to recognize the gentleman from Maryland 
    (Mr. Bau

[[Page 11334]]

    man) for 1 hour, during which time 
    the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Bauman) may yield to such others 
    as he deems desirable.
        Mr. [Robert E.] Bauman [of Maryland]: Mr. Speaker, are motions 
    in order during the 1 hour in the sense that motions are in order 
    in the Committee of the Whole? Are any motions in order?

        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair will respond to the 
    gentleman that the House is in the House. This is not the Committee 
    of the Whole House. The House is prepared to take such action as 
    under the rules it might otherwise take.
        Mr. Bauman: If the gentleman does not yield for any motions, 
    however, then they would not be in order?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: That is correct.
        Mr. Bauman: Mr. Speaker, I would yield 30 minutes to the 
    gentleman from New York (Mr. Murphy) for the purposes of debate 
    only.

Speaker Judges Whether Proponent Qualifies To Move for Secret Session

Sec. 85.14 Where the House has resolved itself into secret session 
    pursuant to a motion under Rule XXIX, upon a finding by the Speaker 
    that the Member making the motion has confidential communications 
    to make as required by the rule, it is not in order to make a point 
    of order in the secret session that the material in question must 
    be produced to the Members in advance to determine whether secret 
    or confidential communications are involved.

    On June 20, 1979,(10) during proceedings in a secret 
session in the House, the Speaker ruled that a certain point of order 
would not be in order:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. 125 Cong. Rec. 19049, 96th Cong. 1st Sess., July 17, 1979 
        (transcript of secret session of June 20, 1979).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The secret session of the House met at 12:38 p.m. and was 
    called to order by the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Wright).
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (11) Members will take 
    their seats. . . .
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Chair is going to recognize the gentleman from Maryland 
    (Mr. Bauman) for 1 hour, during which time 
    the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Bauman) may yield to such others 
    as he deems desirable. . . .
        Ms. [Elizabeth] Holtzman [of New York]: Mr. Speaker, I have a 
    point of order.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentlewoman will state her point 
    of order.
        Ms. Holtzman: Mr. Speaker, I understand that the nature of this 
    secret session is to receive material claimed to be secret or 
    confidential. In order for us to determine such for the materials 
    that we receive, it would seem to me to be in order to require the 
    person presenting the material claimed to be se

[[Page 11335]]

    cret or confidential to identify the material claimed to be secret 
    or confidential when it is being presented for purposes ultimately 
    for the House to make a decision as to whether in fact these are 
    confidential or secret materials.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair would respond that the 
    commentary of the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Holtzman) is not 
    truly in the nature of a point of order and that a point of order 
    will not lie in that regard.

Speaker Determines Which Employees Are Essential

Sec. 85.15 During a secret session of the House the Chair overruled a 
    point of order that employees of the House who were not elected 
    officers 
    or Members were present, where the Chair had designated essential 
    employees whose presence was essential pursuant to the motion for 
    a secret session, which included the provision that the Chamber be 
    cleared of all persons except Members and those officers and 
    employees specified by the Speaker whose attendance was essential 
    to the functioning of the House, and who had subscribed to the oath 
    of secrecy.

    During a secret session of the House on June 20, 
1979,(12) the Chair responded to a point of order, as 
indicated below:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. 125 Cong. Rec. 19050, 96th Cong. 1st Sess., July 17, 1979 
        (transcript of June 20, 1979, secret session).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (13) The Chair recognizes 
    the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Burlison). The gentleman will 
    state the point of order.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Bill D.] Burlison [of Missouri]: I will state my point of 
    order that the House is not in compliance with rule XXIX, the 
    secret session section under which we are now convened. That is a 
    very brief section with two sentences, I think. Let me read that 
    and specify my point of order.

            Whenever confidential communications are received from the 
        President of the United States, or whenever the Speaker or any 
        Member shall inform the House that he has communications which 
        he believes ought to be kept secret for the present, the House 
        shall be cleared of all persons except the Members and officers 
        thereof, and so continue during the reading of such 
        communications, the debates and proceedings thereon, unless 
        otherwise ordered by the House.

        Mr. Speaker, my point of order is that from my observation 
    there are a number of people on the floor who are not Members or 
    officers of the House.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair will respond to the 
    gentleman's point of order. The motion made by the gentleman from 
    Maryland (Mr. Bauman) and agreed to by a vote of the Members of the 
    House, included the provision that the galleries of the

[[Page 11336]]

    House Chamber be cleared of all persons except the Members of the 
    House and those officers and employees specified by the Speaker 
    whose attendance on the floor is essential to the functioning of 
    the House, and who have subscribed to the notarized oath of 
    confidentiality. The Chair has taken steps to assure that this 
    requirement be observed and that that restriction apply.
        The Chair believes that any persons so designated by the Chair 
    fulfill the broad and generic description of officers as specified 
    in rule XXIX and as required in the motion.

Making Proceedings Public

Sec. 85.16 The Member recognized to control one hour of debate during a 
    secret session of the House offered a privileged motion to make 
    public the proceedings of the secret session, which motion was, 
    after separate debate, withdrawn; such motion, as noted by the 
    Speaker, is debatable for one hour, within narrow limits.

    During the secret session of the House on June 20, 
1979,(14) the following proceedings occurred:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. 125 Cong. Rec. 19049, 19057, 19058, 96th Cong. 1st Sess., July 17, 
        1979 (transcript of June 20, 1979, secret session).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The secret session of the House met at 12:38 p.m. and was 
    called to order by the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Wright).
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (15) Members will take 
    their seats. . . .
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Chair is going to recognize the gentleman from Maryland 
    (Mr. Bauman) for 1 hour, during which time 
    the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Bauman) may yield to such others 
    as he deems desirable. . . .

    After debate, Mr. Bauman made the following motion:

        Mr. [Robert E.] Bauman [of Maryland]: Mr. Speaker, I offer a 
    motion.
        The Clerk read as follows:

            Mr. Bauman moves that the proceedings of this Secret 
        Session be made public.

        The Speaker: The gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Bauman) is 
    recognized for 1 hour. The motion is debatable within narrow 
    limits. . . .
        Mr. [Thomas P.] O'Neill [Jr., of Massachusetts]: . . . We are 
    in a very, very sensitive position. Most of this conversation today 
    on this debate was extremely interesting. I would not say it was 
    classified. Certainly the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Wright's 
    beautiful speech was not classified. But I do think that we ought 
    to table this matter, send it to the Committee on Intelligence, let 
    them look it over, and let the proper authorities from downtown 
    look over what was classified. . . .
        Mr. Bauman: Mr. Speaker, frankly, I made this motion simply 
    because I understood somebody on the other side was going to make 
    it. I do not feel strongly attached to it. Nothing new was said 
    here but now we are told it must remain secret. Does the gentleman 
    from Maryland require unanimous consent to withdraw the motion?

[[Page 11337]]

        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman can withdraw the motion.
        Mr. Bauman: The gentleman withdraws the motion.

Hour Rule Applies

Sec. 85.17 The Speaker took the floor pending a motion, made in a 
    secret session of the House to make public the proceedings of the 
    secret session, to speak in opposition to the motion on the grounds 
    that the transcript should be reviewed by the Select Committee on 
    Intelligence to determine whether the transcript could be made 
    public with appropriate deletions, and that the House could 
    determine to reveal the transcript if necessary in another secret 
    session based on such review and on review by other Members who 
    would have access thereto; the Speaker declared his intention to 
    offer a motion to table the motion at the conclusion of debate 
    thereon.

    On June 20, 1979,(16) during a secret session of the 
House, the following proceedings occurred:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. 125 Cong. Rec. 19049, 19057, 19058, 96th Cong. 1st Sess., July 17, 
        1979 (transcript of June 20, 1979, secret session).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The secret session of the House met at 12:38 p.m. and was 
    called to order by the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Wright).
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (17) Members will take 
    their seats. . . .
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Chair is going to recognize the gentleman from Maryland 
    (Mr. Bauman) for 1 hour, during which time the gentleman from 
    Maryland (Mr. Bauman) may yield to such others as he deems 
    desirable. . . .

    After debate, Mr. Bauman made the following motion:

        Mr. [Robert E.] Bauman [of Maryland]: Mr. Speaker, I offer a 
    motion.
        The Clerk read as follows:

            Mr. Bauman moves that the proceedings of this Secret 
        Session be made public.

        The Speaker: The gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Bauman) is 
    recognized for 1 hour. The motion is debatable within narrow 
    limits.
        Mr. [Thomas P.] O'Neill [Jr., of Massachusetts]: Mr. Speaker, 
    will the gentleman yield?
        Mr. Bauman: For purposes of debate only, I yield 5 minutes to 
    the Speaker.
        Mr. O'Neill: Mr. Speaker, we could very well be setting a 
    precedent here today. When was it--1830--the last time that the 
    House went into a secret session like this? I have seen rules of 
    this House not used for many, many years, and suddenly some bright 
    young luminary discovers one, and it becomes a common practice. I 
    do not say that in criticism. I respect the ability of the 
    gentleman. But it becomes a common practice.
        There are those of us who would like to reveal everything that 
    was said or

[[Page 11338]]

    everything that is known about the Panamanian Government. . . .
        We are in a very, very sensitive position. . . . I do think 
    that we ought to table this matter, send it to the Committee on 
    Intelligence, let them look it over, and let the proper authorities 
    from downtown look over what was classified. Let them strike or 
    delete what is classified. Then let us report to this body, and let 
    us again, if necessary in secret session go in and accept it and 
    reveal to the American public that which we know does not hurt the 
    U.S. Government or hurt the individual who may have said it on 
    the floor. I think we are doing something in fairness to our own 
    Government. . . .
        Mr. [John J.] Rhodes [of Arizona]: . . . I agree with the 
    Speaker. . . . It would be my hope that a committee of the House, 
    the Intelligence Committee if the Speaker so says, would look at 
    the transcript and expunge whatever matters might be that sensitive 
    or classified, and then at the appropriate time a motion be made 
    for the remainder of the debate to be published and made public to 
    the American people.
        Mr. O'Neill: . . . The document would be ready in print for the 
    Members of the House, for the committee for their evaluation, for 
    the evaluation of the members of the committee. I think we could 
    very well protect everybody. If there are things that have to be 
    deleted, they would be deleted, and then bring it back to the House 
    and, if necessary, have a secret session, or if not necessary, if 
    they want to debate something that was stricken from the record, we 
    could go into secret session. If they do not want to go into secret 
    session at that time, we could release it on the floor of the 
    House. . . .
        Mr. Speaker, I hope the Chair will take cognizance of the fact 
    that when the gentleman's time has expired at the end of the hour, 
    or when he yields his time, I would move to table this motion and 
    would hope to be recognized for that motion.

Motion To Dissolve Secret Session

Sec. 85.18 At the conclusion of debate in a secret session of the 
    House, the Member who had controlled the debate therein offered a 
    motion that the 
    secret session be dissolved, which was agreed to.

    On June 20, 1979,(18) a secret session of the House was 
terminated as indicated below:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. 125 Cong. Rec. 19049, 19059, 96th Cong. 1st Sess., July 17, 1979 
        (transcript of June 20, 1979, secret session).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The secret session of the House met at 12:38 p.m. and was 
    called to order by the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Wright).
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (19) Members will take 
    their seats. . . .
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Chair is going to recognize the gentleman from Maryland 
    (Mr. Bauman) for 1 hour, during which time 
    the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Bauman) may yield to such others 
    as he deems desirable. . . .

    After debate, Mr. Bauman offered a motion, as follows:

        Mr. [Robert E.] Bauman [of Maryland]: . . . Mr. Speaker, I 
    offer a motion.

[[Page 11339]]

        The Clerk read as follows:

            Mr. Bauman moves that the Secret Session be dissolved.

        The motion was agreed to.

Where Motion for Secret Session Was Challenged by Point of Order

Sec. 85.19 A Member who asserts to the Speaker that he is properly in 
    possession of confidential communications which he believes should 
    be shared with the House qualifies to make a privileged motion for 
    a secret session of the House pursuant to Rule XXIX; thus, a point 
    of order against a motion that the House resolve itself into secret 
    session to consider confidential information which four Members had 
    advised the Speaker Pro Tempore they wished to communicate to the 
    House, on the grounds that the material in question was in fact in 
    the possession of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 
    and not in the possession of the Members, was overruled, since the 
    Speaker must rely on the assurance of a Member that he has 
    confidential communications to make to the House, and since the 
    Speaker Pro Tempore was aware that the Permanent Select Committee 
    on Intelligence had authorized the material in question to be used 
    in a secret session of the House if ordered.

    On Feb. 25, 1980,(20) during consideration of a motion 
that the House resolve itself into secret session pursuant to Rule 
XXIX, Mr. Thomas R. Harkin, of Iowa, raised the point of order that the 
proponent of the motion had not qualified to offer the motion under the 
rule, in that he had not shown that he had a secret communication to 
make to the House, independently of secret information in the 
possession of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
20. 126 Cong. Rec. 3618-20, 96th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Edward J.] Derwinski [of Illinois]: Mr. Speaker, I move 
    that, pursuant to rule XXIX, the House resolve itself into secret 
    session. . . .
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (1) The Clerk will report 
    the motion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Clerk read as follows:

            Mr. Derwinski moves that, pursuant to rule XXIX, the House 
        resolve itself into secret session, that the galleries of the 
        House Chambers be cleared of all persons and that the House 
        Chamber be cleared of all persons except the members of the 
        House and those officers and employees specified by the Speaker 
        whose attendance on the floor is essential to the functioning 
        of the House and

[[Page 11340]]

        who subscribe to the notarized oath of confidentiality. . . .

        Mr. Harkin: Mr. Speaker, I raise a point of order against the 
    motion by the gentleman from Illinois that the House resolve itself 
    into secret session. I base my point of order on the reading of 
    rule 29 and subsequent interpretations thereof. The rule clearly 
    states that--

            Whenever the Speaker or any Member shall inform the House 
        that he has communications which he believes ought to be kept 
        secret for the present, the House shall be cleared of all 
        persons, except the officers and Members thereof, and so 
        continue during the reading of such communications, the debates 
        and proceedings thereof, unless otherwise ordered by the House.

        A correct reading of this rule clearly indicates that the 
    Member making the motion for a secret session must inform the House 
    that ``he has communications'' and that this means that the Member 
    shall assert that he has certain material which he believes ought 
    to be kept secret.
        On June 6, 1978, the Speaker pro tem, in response to a question 
    raised by a Member in the House, declared:

            A Member seeking to offer the motion that the House resolve 
        itself into secret session must qualify, as provided by the 
        rule, by asserting that he himself has a secret communication 
        to make to the House.

        Clearly, the gentleman from Illinois making the motion now put 
    to the Chair does not in fact have such communications, but is in 
    fact asserting that such communications are held by a duly 
    authorized committee of the House of Representatives. Last year 
    when a similar motion was made that the House resolve itself into 
    secret session, a point of order would not have lain against the 
    maker of the motion because at that time the maker of the motion 
    asserted that he did in fact have communications in his possession 
    of a secret nature which he decided to communicate to the House. No 
    such assertion is now being made by the gentleman from Illinois who 
    is making the present motion. In this case, the appropriate body to 
    make such a request would be a motion from the Permanent Select 
    Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives which 
    does in fact have such communications and not the gentleman from 
    Illinois. . . .
        In further support of my point of order, I was pointing out 
    that under this rule, under rule XXIX, which clearly states that 
    the Member must in fact assert that he has those communications, it 
    is clear that the reasons therefor are because the House is not as 
    equipped to deal with these types of secret documents as are the 
    proper intelligence communities of the Government or the duly 
    authorized committees of the House of Representatives.
        Secret intelligence must be evaluated by those in the 
    intelligence community, with other factors taken into account, and 
    with the proper analytical tools which they uniquely [possess]. On 
    the other hand, the House is not so equipped. Future debates on 
    foreign aid, on military preparedness, or on a host of other 
    matters could be jeopardized if this motion is carried or deemed 
    worthy of a secret session, so that one factor of intelligence 
    favoring one point of view or another could be brought to the 
    floor. . . .
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair is prepared to rule.

[[Page 11341]]

        The gentleman from Iowa makes a point of order against the 
    motion on the ground that any Member moving to resolve the House 
    into a secret session must needs qualify as provided by the rule by 
    asserting that he has a secret communication to make to the House.
        Now, the Chair is in receipt of a letter signed by the 
    gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Derwinski), and in addition, the 
    gentleman from California (Mr. Lagomarsino); the gentleman from 
    Florida (Mr. Young); and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Bauman); 
    all asserting that they have communications to make to the House 
    which they believe ought to be kept secret for the present.
        Now, the gentleman therefore qualifies, and particularly with 
    regard to the statement he has just made to the Chair and to the 
    House to make a motion for a secret session under rule XXIX.
        The Chair is not in a position to evaluate the accuracy of the 
    information which the gentleman seeks to communicate, but the Chair 
    will rely; and I think this is a central, unwritten but 
    nevertheless cardinally important rule stated from time to time by 
    Speakers, at least beginning with Speaker Rayburn and probably 
    before, on the integrity of any Member and his or her verbal or 
    written assurances.
        As the Speaker, Mr. Rayburn, once said on an occasion when a 
    Member's integrity was questioned, the Chair always takes the word 
    of a Member. . . .
        Mr. Harkin: . . . Mr. Speaker, would it be appropriate for the 
    Speaker to inquire of the maker whether or not such communications 
    are now held by the person moving that we now resolve into secret 
    session?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair would respond to the 
    gentleman from Iowa that the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
    Derwinski) has in writing and just now and very publicly given 
    those assurances to the Speaker.
        The Chair does not feel that it is necessary under the rule for 
    the gentleman to carry in his possession at the moment copies of 
    secret documents in order to qualify.
        The Chair is also aware in this instance that the Permanent 
    Select Committee on Intelligence has determined that confidential 
    materials within its control may be considered during a secret 
    session, if indeed such a session were to be ordered by the House.
        Under all those circumstances, the Chair believes that the 
    gentleman from Illinois qualifies to make the motion which he has 
    made, and overrules the point of order by the gentleman from Iowa.
        Mr. [Theodore S.] Weiss [of New York]: Mr. Speaker, a 
    parliamentary inquiry. . . .
        Is the Speaker stating that even though the confidential 
    communication is a communication which is in the possession of the 
    Committee on Intelligence of this House that that qualifies as a 
    confidential communication personally held by the Member making the 
    motion?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair will respond that the 
    gentleman from Illinois, along with other Members already has 
    asserted that he possesses knowledge of what is contained in those 
    documents and perhaps addi

[[Page 11342]]

    tional knowledge independent of those specific documents which he 
    considers of such a nature that it should be heard in secret by the 
    House.

        Now, the House is not legally obliged to adopt the motion 
    offered by the gentleman from Illinois, but the Chair believes 
    under all the precedents that exist, and admittedly they are rare, 
    that the gentleman from Illinois fully qualifies to make the motion 
    that he has made, and the Chair will entertain the motion. . . .
        The gentleman from New York has presented a hypothetical 
    instance on which the Chair does not have to rule. . . .
        The Chair will respond to the gentleman from New York by saying 
    that if the gentleman from New York were to state to the Chair that 
    he was properly in possession of secret information, which he 
    thought should be shared with the House in a secret session, the 
    Chair would respect the gentleman's integrity and would entertain 
    the motion to resolve into a secret session if made by the 
    gentleman from New York under those circumstances.
        Mr. Weiss: Mr. Speaker, I have a further parliamentary inquiry.
        If it then turned out, upon further presentation, that the only 
    document or information that I had was nothing independently gained 
    or transmitted, but simply the document which I had received from 
    the Committee on Intelligence, would I have violated the 
    requirements of rule XXIX?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair is not going to rule on that 
    hypothetical question at this time.
        The Chair would simply observe that under the rules any Member 
    of the House who asserts that he is properly in possession of such 
    information and desires to share it with the House in a secret 
    session, believing that it may have a direct bearing upon 
    legislation pending in the House, would have the right to offer 
    that motion.

Committee Authorization for Member To Move for Secret Session

Sec. 85.20 The House adopted a privileged motion, pursuant to Rule 
    XXIX, that the House resolve itself into secret session to receive 
    confidential communications (consisting of classified information 
    in the possession of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
    Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which those committees 
    had authorized to be used in a secret session of the House if 
    ordered).

    On Feb. 25, 1980,(2) the following proceedings occurred 
in the House:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 2. 126 Cong. Rec. 3618-22, 96th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Edward J.] Derwinski [of Illinois]: Mr. Speaker, I move 
    that, pursuant to rule XXIX, the House resolve itself into secret 
    session. . . .
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (3) The Clerk will report 
    the motion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Clerk read as follows:

[[Page 11343]]

            Mr. Derwinski moves that, pursuant to rule XXIX, the House 
        resolve itself into secret session, that the galleries of the 
        House Chambers be cleared of all persons and that the House 
        Chamber be cleared of all persons except the members of the 
        House and those officers and employees specified by the Speaker 
        whose attendance on the floor is essential to the functioning 
        of the House and who subscribe to the notarized oath of 
        confidentiality. . . .

        Mr. Derwinski: . . . I would point out to the Speaker that the 
    information contained that would be presented to the House in the 
    appropriate documents . . . [has] been cleared, it is my 
    understanding, by the appropriate committee.
        I myself sat through a session of the House Committee on 
    Foreign Affairs, which the same basic information was provided to 
    that committee.
        I have subsequently studied the secret documents to verify my 
    recollection of the practicality of that information and the need 
    for further secrecy.
        Therefore, it is from that practical point of view in spirit 
    that I made the motion. . . .
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The question is on the motion that the 
    House resolve itself into secret session offered by the gentleman 
    from Illinois (Mr. Derwinski).
        The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced 
    that the ayes appeared to have it.
        Mr. [Bill D.] Burlison [of Missouri]: Mr. Speaker, on that I 
    demand the yeas and nays.
        The yeas and nays were ordered.
        The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 
    290, nays 74, not voting 69, as follows: . . .
        So the motion was agreed to.

Special Circumstances Surrounding Disclosure of Intelligence-related 
    Materials

Sec. 85.21 The Speaker Pro Tempore stated in response to a 
    parliamentary inquiry, pending a motion that the House resolve 
    itself into secret session to consider confidential material within 
    the possession of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 
    (which that committee had authorized to be used in such secret 
    session), that clause 7(b) of Rule XLVIII, requiring special 
    procedures to be followed by that committee with regard to the 
    public disclosure of materials within the committee's possession 
    which the executive branch desires be kept secret, did not prohibit 
    the House from determining in secret session that the material in 
    question should be released; the Speaker Pro Tempore suggested, 
    however, that it would be inappropriate for the House to remove the 
    injunction of secrecy before the Permanent Select Committee and the 
    Committee on Foreign Affairs, with concurrent jurisdiction over 
    some

[[Page 11344]]

    of the materials, had the opportunity to review the transcript of 
    the secret session and to make appropriate recommendations to the 
    House.

    On Feb. 25, 1980,(4) proceedings in the House relative 
to a motion that the House resolve itself into secret session were as 
follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 4. 126 Cong. Rec. 3618-22, 96th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Edward J.] Derwinski [of Illinois]: Mr. Speaker, I move 
    that, pursuant to rule XXIX, the House resolve itself into secret 
    session. . . .
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (5) The Clerk will report 
    the motion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 5. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Clerk read as follows:

            Mr. Derwinski moves that, pursuant to rule XXIX, the House 
        resolve itself into secret session, that the galleries of the 
        House Chambers be cleared of all persons and that the House 
        Chamber be cleared of all persons except the members of the 
        House and those officers and employees specified by the Speaker 
        whose attendance on the floor is essential to the functioning 
        of the House and who subscribe to the notarized oath of 
        confidentiality. . . .

        Mr. [Bill D.] Burlison [of Missouri]: Mr. Speaker, I have a 
    parliamentary inquiry. . . .
        Mr. Speaker, with respect to the secret session motion, at the 
    time of the secret session of the House on June 20 of last year, a 
    Member inquired of the Chair the manner in which confidential 
    material heard in secret session under the provisions of rule XXIX 
    might be released publicly.
        The Chair responded, and I quote:

            Following the presentation of that material considered 
        secret or confidential or of such nature that it ought to be 
        heard in secret session, the House may at that time on its own 
        motion in secret session decide that there is no reason to 
        observe further secrecy with respect to the material involved.

        Mr. Speaker, would not such procedure if employed here be in 
    violation of clause 7(b) of rule XLVIII of the House, which 
    provides for disclosure of intelligence information in the 
    possession of the Select Committee on Intelligence under very 
    specific procedures, including recommendations by the committee, 
    notification of the President and procedures for further action by 
    the House?
        And I might add, Mr. Speaker, that the information that we are 
    considering did get here pursuant to rule XLVIII of the House 
    Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
    Burlison) has inquired whether any action of the House to release 
    publicly the transcript of the secret session would violate clause 
    7(b) of rule XLVIII, since classified materials within the 
    possession of the Select Committee on Intelligence may have been 
    discussed, and since that rule requires certain procedures to be 
    followed by the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence relative 
    to the public disclosure of such materials. Rule XLVIII places 
    restrictions on the Select Committee on Intelligence and only with 
    respect to the public disclosure of classified information in the 
    possession of that committee, and it does not prevent the

[[Page 11345]]

    House from determining to release any matter properly presented to 
    it in secret session pursuant to rule XXIX.
        Clause 7(c)(2) acknowledges the existence of other House 
    procedures for release of information, since prohibiting any Member 
    gaining access to classified materials within the Select 
    Committee's control from disclosing such information, except in a 
    secret session of the House. The Chair would further point out that 
    the Select Committee on Intelligence, by a proper vote, with a 
    quorum present, determined to allow executive session materials of 
    the committee to be used in the secret session.
        The Chair does not feel, however, that if the motion is agreed 
    to it would be appropriate for the House at this time to remove the 
    injunction of secrecy from these proceedings until the Permanent 
    Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Foreign 
    Affairs has had the opportunity to review the transcript and make 
    appropriate recommendations as to which, if any, of the materials 
    presented should be released. It would be within the spirit of rule 
    XLVIII for prior consultation with the executive branch to take 
    place before any House decision on public release.

Recent Example of Procedures Used in Conducting Secret Session

Sec. 85.22 The House having adopted a motion to resolve into secret 
    session, the Speaker Pro Tempore announced (1) that the galleries 
    would be cleared of all persons and the Chamber would be cleared of 
    all persons except Members and those employees and officers 
    specified by the Speaker whose attendance was essential to the 
    functioning of the House; (2) that those employees and officers 
    would be required to sign an oath of secrecy; (3) that all 
    proceedings in the secret session would be kept secret until 
    otherwise ordered by the House; and (4) that the Speaker would 
    declare a recess, of approximately 15 minutes duration (without the 
    ringing of bells to indicate the termination of the recess) in 
    order to carry out the Chair's order.

    Prior to holding a secret session of the House on Feb. 25, 1980, 
the Speaker Pro Tempore made a statement regarding the procedures to be 
followed for conducting such a session: (6)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 6. 126 Cong. Rec. 3618-22, 96th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Edward J.] Derwinski [of Illinois]: Mr. Speaker, I move 
    that, pursuant to rule XXIX, the House resolve itself into secret 
    session. . . .
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (7) The Clerk will report 
    the motion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 7. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Clerk read as follows:

[[Page 11346]]

            Mr. Derwinski moves that, pursuant to rule XXIX, the House 
        resolve itself into secret session, that the galleries of the 
        House Chambers be cleared of all persons and that the House 
        Chamber be cleared of all persons except the members of the 
        House and those officers and employees specified by the Speaker 
        whose attendance on the floor is essential to the functioning 
        of the House and who subscribe to the notarized oath of 
        confidentiality. . . .

        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The question is on the motion that the 
    House resolve itself into secret session offered by the gentleman 
    from Illinois (Mr. Derwinski). . . .
        The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 
    290, nays 74, not voting 69, as follows: . . .
        So the motion was agreed to. . . .
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair desires to make a statement.
        The Chair desires to read to the Members the contents of rule 
    XXIX of the Rules of the House of Representatives. Rule XXIX reads 
    as follows:

            Whenever confidential communications are received from the 
        President of the United States, or whenever the Speaker or any 
        Member shall inform the House that he has communications which 
        he believes ought to be kept secret for the present, the House 
        shall be cleared of all persons except the Members and officers 
        thereof, and so continue during the reading of such 
        communications, the debates, and proceedings thereon, unless 
        otherwise ordered by the House.

        According to the rule of the House, the Chair is going to order 
    that the galleries and the House Chamber shall be cleared of all 
    persons except the Members of the House and those officers and 
    employees specified by the Speaker whose attendance on the floor is 
    essential to the functioning of the secret session of the House.
        Every employee and officer present in the Chamber during the 
    secret session, pursuant to the Speaker's order, will sign an oath 
    of secrecy which is at the page's desk to the Chair's right.
        All proceedings in the House during such consideration shall be 
    kept secret until otherwise ordered by the House.
        Very presently the Chair is going to declare a recess long 
    enough for this order to be carried out. The Chair will observe at 
    this time that on the last occasion when this procedure was 
    followed the recess consumed approximately 15 minutes. Bells will 
    ring declaring the recess. No bells will ring in announcing the 
    resumption, and the Chair would advise the Members that it probably 
    will be approximately 15 minutes after the recess.

Sec. 85.23 The House having adopted a motion to resolve into secret 
    session, the Speaker Pro Tempore stated in response to 
    parliamentary inquiries that: (1) the television cameras would be 
    turned off during the secret session; (2) that any Member releasing 
    any contents of the secret session if the House had not removed the 
    injunction of secrecy would be subject to the discipline of the 
    House; and (3) that the House would have to determine whether 
    disciplinary

[[Page 11347]]

    action should be taken against Members releasing information in the 
    secret session which had theretofore been made public; following 
    the secret session, the Speaker Pro Tempore reminded Members that 
    the House had not yet voted to remove the injunction of secrecy 
    from proceedings in the secret session and that Members were bound 
    not to release or make public any of the transcript thereof until 
    further order of the House, which had referred the transcript to 
    the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Permanent 
    Select Committee on Intelligence for their expeditious report, such 
    report to remain executive session material for examination by the 
    Members and ultimate disposition by the House.

    On Feb. 25, 1980,(8) the following proceedings occurred 
in the House:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 8. 126 Cong. Rec. 3618-22, 96th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Edward J.] Derwinski [of Illinois]: Mr. Speaker, I move 
    that, pursuant to rule XXIX, the House resolve itself into secret 
    session. . . .
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (9) The Clerk will report 
    the motion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 9. James C. Wright, Jr. (Tex.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Clerk read as follows:

            Mr. Derwinski moves that, pursuant to rule XXIX, the House 
        resolve itself into secret session, that the galleries of the 
        House Chambers be cleared of all persons and that the House 
        Chamber be cleared of all persons except the members of the 
        House and those officers and employees specified by the Speaker 
        whose attendance on the floor is essential to the functioning 
        of the House and who subscribe to the notarized oath of 
        confidentiality. . . .

        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The question is on the motion that the 
    House resolve itself into secret session offered by the gentleman 
    from Illinois (Mr. Derwinski). . . .
        So the motion was agreed to. . . .
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: . . . According to the rule of the 
    House, the Chair is going to order that the galleries and the House 
    Chamber shall be cleared of all persons except the Members of the 
    House and those officers and employees specified by the Speaker 
    whose attendance on the floor is essential to the functioning of 
    the secret session of the House. . . .
        All proceedings in the House during such consideration shall be 
    kept secret until otherwise ordered by the House. . . .
        Mr. [Richard H.] Ichord [of Missouri]: Mr. Speaker, I have a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman will state his 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        Mr. Ichord: Would the Chair advise the membership as to how his 
    ruling will affect the television cameras? Will the television 
    cameras remain on in secret session or not?

[[Page 11348]]

        The Speaker Pro Tempore: As was the case on the last occasion 
    when this procedure was followed, the television cameras will be 
    turned off.
        Mr. [Robert E.] Bauman [of Maryland]: Mr. Speaker, I have a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman will state his 
    parliamentary inquiry.

        Mr. Bauman: Mr. Speaker, at the last occasion when a secret 
    session was voted by the House, the chair issued a similar 
    admonition to the Members regarding the secrecy of the proceedings. 
    In this case, there are very specific documents to be read, names 
    mentioned in those documents.
        The gentleman from Maryland recalls that certain Members of the 
    House went outside of the last secret session and very specifically 
    referred to information that was covered in the session and 
    characterized that information in a number of different ways.
        Mr. Speaker, what censure or other action would be available 
    against a Member who revealed the contents of the session without 
    permission of the House?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair would just have to respond 
    that any Member violating the rule would be subject to the 
    discipline of the House. The Chair cannot anticipate what might 
    occur. . . .
        Mr. [Dante B.] Fascell [of Florida]: Mr. Speaker, would it be 
    correct to say that if the information which is published or made 
    available in the secret session has heretofore been made public and 
    is in the public domain, that that would have some bearing on what 
    the restrictions of the House might be against the Member who 
    speaks on that information?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair would just have to respond 
    that that question would be up to the House to determine at the 
    appropriate time. . . .
        The Chair will declare a recess.
        Accordingly (at 2 o'clock and 10 minutes p.m.) the House stood 
    in recess subject to the call of the Chair.
        The secret session began at 2 o'clock and 36 minutes p.m.
        The secret session was dissolved at 4 o'clock and 12 minutes 
    p.m.
        The recess having expired, the House was called to order by the 
    Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Brademas) at 4 o'clock and 12 minutes p.m.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (10) The Chair will make 
    the following statement:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. John Brademas (Ind.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Chair would remind the Members that the House has not at 
    this point voted to remove the injunction of secrecy and that 
    Members are bound not to release or to make public any of the 
    transcript of the closed session until further order of the House.
        To enable the House to evaluate the transcript of the secret 
    session, the House has referred the transcript to the Permanent 
    Select Committee on Intelligence and to the Committee on Foreign 
    Affairs for their report thereon as soon as possible. The 
    committees' report will remain executive session record of those 
    committees for examination by the Members and ultimate disposition 
    by the House.

[[Page 11349]]

Members' Responsibility for Maintaining Injunction of Secrecy

Sec. 85.24 The Speaker Pro Tempore stated in response to a 
    parliamentary inquiry, following a secret session of 
    the House, that the question whether the characterization of the 
    type of testimony and information presented in the secret session, 
    as opposed to the substance of such material, could be divulged or 
    released without violating the injunction of secrecy, was a 
    judgment which each Member of the House, and not the Chair, must 
    make.

    The proceedings of Feb. 25, 1980,(11) relating to the 
adoption by the House of a motion to receive confidential 
communications in secret session, are discussed 
in detail in Sec. Sec. 85.19-85.23, supra. After the secret session, a 
parliamentary inquiry was raised concerning the application of the 
injunction of secrecy:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. 126 Cong. Rec. 3621, 3622, 96th Cong. 2d Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The secret session began at 2 o'clock and 36 minutes p.m.
        The secret session was dissolved at 4 o'clock and 12 minutes 
    p.m. . . .
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (12) The Chair will make 
    the following statement:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. John Brademas (Ind.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The Chair would remind the Members that the House has not at 
    this point voted to remove the injunction of secrecy and that 
    Members are bound not to release or to make public any of the 
    transcript of the closed session until further order of the House. 
    . . .
        Mr. [Theodore S.] Weiss [of New York]: Mr. Speaker, I have a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman will state it.
        Mr. Weiss: Earlier today there was some indication or an 
    objection to a characterization of the kind of testimony and 
    presentation that was made today. Does the injunction apply to 
    characterizations as distinguished from a report of what the 
    substance was of the matter presented here today?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair will advise the gentleman 
    from New York (Mr. Weiss) that the question as put to the Chair is 
    a judgment which each Member of the House must make.

Miscellaneous

Sec. 85.25 A Member who had previously announced to the House his 
    intention to offer a motion for a secret session of the House 
    pursuant to Rule XXIX in order to discuss confidential information 
    concerning an amendment to be offered to the Defense authorization 
    bill (relating to binary nerve gas weapons), subsequently stated in 
    debate on the bill that he could

[[Page 11350]]

    adequately discuss information available to him in debate on the 
    bill without moving for a secret session.

    The following proceedings occurred in the Committee of the Whole 
during consideration of H.R. 2969 (Department of Defense authorization 
for fiscal year 1984) on June 15, 1983: (13)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. 129 Cong. Rec. 15781, 15802, 15803, 98th Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Mr. [Ed] Bethune [of Arkansas]: Mr. Speaker, soon this House 
    will begin the debate on the Armed Services bill and an amendment 
    which will be offered by myself and the gentleman from Wisconsin 
    (Mr. Zablocki) concerning the question of whether this country 
    should commence the production of a new age of chemical weapons, 
    known as the binary nerve gas weapon.
        In spite of the fact that there is more evidence this year that 
    this House was right when it voted overwhelmingly to stop the 
    production of these weapons last year, the Department of Defense is 
    pushing to commence production of the nerve gas weapons. They are 
    pushing and they are telling Members that it is essential that we 
    begin, because we do not have the artillery shells and they are 
    telling Members that the Big Eye bomb is working.
        Mr. Speaker, I say first of all, the artillery shells that we 
    have are adequate. They are efficient and we have a sufficient 
    quantity of those shells.
        Second, the Big Eye bomb is not working. The Big Eye bomb is 
    blowing up on us, not them.
        Members cannot intelligently resolve this important issue based 
    on the kinds of information that could be discussed in public. 
    Therefore, at the appropriate time today or tomorrow, whenever this 
    issue is before the House, I will move the House, pursuant to rule 
    XXIX, to go into secret session, at which time I intend to bring 
    out the kind of factual information which Members must have in 
    order to make an intelligent judgment toward the resolution of this 
    issue. . . .
        Mr. [Clement J.] Zablocki [of Wisconsin]: . . . The gentleman 
    from New York (Mr. Stratton), has stated that the classified 
    information could not be shared on the floor. The gentleman from 
    Mississippi (Mr. Montgomery) has apparently said otherwise.
        Now, what will be the policy of the Committee on Armed 
    Services? Will it share its classified information and 
    its confidential information with other Members? . . .
        Mr. [Melvin] Price [of Illinois]: Mr. Chairman, the policy of 
    the Committee on Armed Services is that any information that our 
    committee has is available to any Member of Congress. All Members 
    have to do is to come to the committee and ask for the information, 
    and it will be shown to them.
        Mr. Zablocki: But do I understand that it cannot be discussed?
        Mr. Price: It cannot be discussed. Otherwise it would not be 
    considered classified.
        Mr. Bethune: Mr. Chairman, I think the numbers are important. 
    That was not the main point that I wanted to develop in the closed 
    session. The main point I wanted to develop in the closed session 
    that I think is critical to

[[Page 11351]]

    the debate here is the details concerning the Big Eye bomb--what 
    happened to it, why it is not working, and what the ideas are for 
    getting it to the point where we can be satisfied that it might 
    work someday.
        I am satisfied, based on the colloquy that we have had here, 
    that I am not going to be locked up by the FBI or somebody else if 
    I now engage in a full discourse here on the floor about what I 
    know about the Big Eye bomb, and that is exactly what I intend to 
    do because I think it is relevant.
        With respect to the numbers, it would seem to me that it would 
    help Members who are going to be wandering in and out if there were 
    readily available a set of numbers on the stockpile, because that 
    will be mentioned, too, and we could place one at the desk.
        If the Committee on Armed Services is so intractably disposed 
    to make it difficult for Members that they have to send staff over 
    to the committee room or wherever else to get these numbers, then I 
    will just announce to the Members that I have the numbers. They are 
    right here, and I will share them with the Members. . . . I am now 
    satisfied, based on the letter from the Secretary dated today in 
    response to my announcement that I intended to call a secret 
    session, that I can discuss the details concerning the Big Eye 
    bomb. I intend to do that whether the gentleman wishes to have me 
    do that or not.

Senate Use of Closed Session in Impeachment

Sec. 85.26 A closed session of the Senate was ordered to deliberate as 
    a court of impeachment in the trial of Judge Walter L. Nixon, Jr.

    On Nov. 2, 1989,(14) President Pro Tempore Robert C. 
Byrd, of West Virginia, made the following statement:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. 135 Cong. Rec. 26989, 101st Cong. 1st Sess.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The President Pro Tempore: Un-der the order, the Senate will 
    now go into closed session, and the Chair, pursuant to rule XXI, 
    now directs the Sergeant at Arms to clear all galleries, close all 
    doors to the Senate Chamber, and exclude from the Chamber and its 
    immediate corridors all employees and officials of the Senate who, 
    under the rule, are not eligible to attend a closed session and who 
    are not sworn to secrecy.
        (At 2:03 p.m., the doors of the Chamber were closed. The 
    proceedings of the Senate were held in closed session until 8 p.m., 
    at which time, the following occurred.)
        Mr. [George J.] Mitchell [of Maine]: Mr. President, I ask 
    unanimous consent that the Senate return to open session.
        The President Pro Tempore: Without objection, it is so ordered.


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