[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 4, Chapters 15 - 17]
[Chapter 17. Committees]
[C. Committee Procedure]
[Â§ 18. Members' Access to Committee Records and Files]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 2713-2718]
 
                               CHAPTER 17
 
                               Committees
 
                         C. COMMITTEE PROCEDURE
 
Sec. 18. Members' Access to Committee Records and Files

Generally; Bringing Files to Well of House

Sec. 18.1 A House Member may examine committee records and files under 
    the rules, but the Speaker declined to entertain a unanimous-
    consent request that a committee clerk bring them into the well of 
    the House where the committee had not authorized such action.

    On June 3, 1960,(19) shortly after the House met, 
Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, recognized Mr. John J. Flynt, Jr., of 
Georgia, who initiated the following exchange: (20)
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19. 106 Cong. Rec. 11820. 86th Cong. 2d Sess.
20. Id. at pp. 11820, 11821.
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        Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Chair direct the 
    clerk of the Committee on House Administration to bring to the well 
    of the House, following the legislative business of the day, that 
    portion of the records and documents in the custody of that 
    committee, which refer to and contain the entries on the records of 
    the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii, for the purpose of 
    permitting me to refer specifically to any such items contained 
    therein which are at complete variance with published reports in 
    the Wednesday issue of the Washington Post and Times Herald, and in 
    the issue of Life magazine dated June 6, 1960, which is next 
    Monday, but which appeared on the newsstands in the city of 
    Washington and other parts of the country on Wednesday, June 1.
        The Speaker: The Chair will say to the gentleman that it has 
    never been the policy of the House to order any

[[Page 2714]]

    documents in the custody of a committee of the House to be brought 
    into the House, unless the committee by its action has approved 
    such a request. The gentleman certainly may examine those items 
    between now and the time he makes his remarks on that subject. But 
    the Chair has never known of a case where a clerk of any committee 
    has been ordered to bring documents to the floor of the House 
    without the prior approval of the committee in whose hands they are 
    at that time.

    Following some additional discussion pertaining to the nature of 
the materials and his motive in seeking them, Mr. Flynt withdrew his 
request for the production of the records.
    Parliamentarian's Note: The rules (l) provide that ``All 
committee hearings, records, data, charts, and files shall be kept 
separate and distinct from the congressional office records of the 
Member serving as chairman of the committee; and such records shall be 
the property of the House and all Members of the House shall have 
access to such records.''
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 1. See Rule XT clause 27(c), House Rules and Manual Sec. 735(c) 
        (1973). This provision is contained in Rule XI clause 2(e)(2) 
        Sec. 706(c) in the 1979 House Rules and Manual. 
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Testimony and Evidence Taken in Executive Sessions

Sec. 18.2 While all Members of the House have access to committee 
    records under the rules, testimony or evidence taken in executive 
    sessions of a committee are under the control of the committee and 
    the rules provide that such testimony cannot be released without 
    the consent of the committee.

    On June 26, 1961,(2) Mr. Bruce R. Alger, of Texas, 
inserted certain documentation in the Record regarding the deferral of 
necessary authorization by the Committee on Public Works with respect 
to the construction of a federal office building in Dallas.
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 2. 107 Cong. Rec. 11233, 87th Cong. 1st Sess.
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    Immediately thereafter, he proceeded to initiate the following 
exchange:

        Another exhibit I have is a transcript of the record of the 
    Public Works Committee. I have been forewarned this is not to be 
    used, that it would be violating the House rules, but I can 
    paraphrase it. When the gentleman who was chairing that committee 
    was asked about having some additional studies and subcommittee 
    reports, he said--
        Mr. [Edmond] Edmondson [of Oklahoma]: Mr. Speaker, a point of 
    order.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: (3) The gentleman will 
    state it.
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 3. Wilbur D. Mills (Ark.).
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        Mr. Edmonson: Mr. Speaker, I make the point of order against 
    the

[[Page 2715]]

    paraphrasing of a transcript of an executive session of a committee 
    of the House unless it has been released by the committee. I was 
    informed last week on a similar question it was out of order to 
    make any reference to what takes place in executive sessions of the 
    committee without the consent of the committee.
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The Chair is ready to rule.
        The gentleman from Texas will proceed in order and not refer to 
    proceedings in executive session of a committee.
        Mr. Alger: Mr. Speaker, a parliamentary inquiry.

        The Speaker Pro Tempore: The gentleman will state it.
        Mr. Alger: Mr. Speaker, is it appropriate to announce to the 
    Members they may see that transcript if they go to the Committee on 
    Public Works?
        The Speaker Pro Tempore: That is within control of the 
    committee.(4)
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 4. The Speaker pro tempore was referring here to the stipulation of 
        Rule XI clause 26(o) [H. Jour. 1197, 87th Cong. 1st Sess. 
        (1961)] which stated:
            ``No evidence or testimony taken in executive session may 
        be released or used in public sessions without the consent of 
        the committee.''
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        Mr. Alger: I am thinking of a certain section of House rules, 
    although I cannot recall the section at this time, that committee 
    executive meetings transcripts are available to any Member of the 
    Congress who wants to see it.(5)
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 5. Mr. Alger was referring to the provisions of Rule XI clause 26(c) 
        [H. Jour. 1197, 87th Cong. 1st Sess. (1961)] which stated:
            ``All committee hearings, records, data, charts, and files 
        shall be kept separate and distinct from the congressional 
        office records of the Member serving as chairman of the 
        committee; and such records shall be the property of the House 
        and all Members of the House shall have access to such records. 
        Each committee is authorized to have printed and bound 
        testimony and other data presented at hearings held by the 
        committee.''
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        The Speaker Pro Tempore: That is correct, but it is still 
    within the control of the committee.

Classified Information in Files of the Committee on Armed Services

Sec. 18.3 Any Member of the House desiring to read all or any portion 
    of the classified information in the files of the Committee on 
    Armed Services may do so in accordance with the procedure set out 
    by that committee.

    On Apr. 26, 1972,(6) the House entertained consideration 
of a privileged resolution (H. Res. 918), directing the President and 
the Secretary of Defense within 10 days after its adoption, to furnish 
the House of Representatives with ``full and complete information'' 
concerning the specifics of various
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 6. 118 Cong. Rec. 14348-434, 92d Cong. 2d Sess.
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[[Page 2716]]

military operations in Southeast Asia.

    In the course of that consideration, Mr. Charles S. Gubser, of 
California, a member of the Committee on Armed Services (to which the 
resolution had been referred), stated that the House already possessed 
the information requested (7) by House Resolution 918. The 
information, he intimated, was available within the files of the 
Committee on Armed Services. He noted, moreover, that:
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 7. Id. at p. 14431.
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    On June 28, 1971, the Committee on Armed Services by unanimous 
consent authorized its Chairman to prepare a set of rules applicable to 
all Members of the House who are desirous of reading all or any 
portions of any classified information in the committee files. These 
rules were subsequently drafted by the chairman and sent to every 
single Member of the House.
    Having obtained leave to revise and extend his remarks, Mr. Gubser 
inserted the full text of the aforementioned rules, as follows:

                               Text of Rules

        Rules of the House Armed Services Committee to be followed by 
    Members of Congress who wish to read all or any portion of certain 
    classified information in the Committee files:
        1. Such classified information will be kept in secure safes in 
    the Committee rooms. Members will be admitted to the room in which 
    the information is kept after inquiring in Room 2120.
        2. Only Members of Congress may have access to such 
    information.
        3. Such information may not be removed from the room and a 
    member of the Committee staff will be in the room at all times.
        4. The staff member will keep a record of all Members who see 
    such classified information or any portion thereof.
        5. The staff member will maintain an access list showing the 
    time of arrival and departure of all persons entering or leaving 
    the reading room.
        6. The reading room will be open from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. 
    each working day and from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon on Saturday.
        7. The staff member will make a complete document inventory at 
    the close of each business day.
        8. No notes, reproduction or recordings may be made of any 
    portion of such classified information.
        9. The contents of such classified information will not be 
    divulged to any unauthorized person in any way, form, shape or 
    manner.
        10. Members of Congress before reading such classified 
    information will be required to identify the document or 
    information they desire to read, identify themselves to the staff 
    member, sign the log and sign the Top Secret information sheet if 
    such is attached to such document.

Photocopying Documents

Sec. 18.4 The refusal of a subcommittee chairman to per

[[Page 2717]]

    mit a committee member to make photostatic copies of documents in 
    possession of the subcommittee was upheld by the Speaker.

    On Aug. 14, 1957,(8) Mr. Clare E. Hoffman, of Michigan, 
was recognized by Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, to state a question 
involving, to his belief, both personal privilege and the privilege of 
the House. He commenced his remarks, by noting:
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 8. 103 Cong. Rec. 14737, 14738, 85th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. Speaker, on the 3d day of January 1957, by House Resolution 
    No. 5--Congressional Record, page 47--the House adopted, as the 
    rules of the House of Representatives for the 85th Congress, the 
    rules of the 84th Congress, together with all applicable provisions 
    of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as amended.
        Subsection 25(a) of rude XI (9) of the rules of the 
    House expressly provides:
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 9. By 1973, the language of this provision was slightly modified and 
        contained within another clause; see Rule XI clause 27(a), 
        House Rules and Manual Sec. 735(a) (1973).
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            The rules of the House are the rules of its committees so 
        far as applicable, except that a motion to recess from day to 
        day is a motion of high privilege in committees. Committees may 
        adopt additional rules not inconsistent therewith.

        Subsection 25(c) of the same rule, XI,(10) provides:
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10. In 1973, the same language was contained within another clause; see 
        Rule XI clause 27(c), House Rules and Manual Sec. 735(c) 
        (1973).
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            All committee hearings, records, data, charts, and files 
        shall be kept separate and distinct from the Congressional 
        office records of the Member serving as chairman of the 
        committee; and such records shall be the property of the House 
        and all Members of the House shall have access to such records. 
        Each committee is authorized to have printed and bound 
        testimony and other data presented at hearings held by the 
        committee.

    Mr. Hoffman proceeded to explain that he was a member of the 
Committee on Government Operations as well as an ex-officio member of 
its Subcommittee on Public Works and Resources. Staff members of the 
full committee assigned to him, as ranking minority member, had been 
permitted to look at the files. However, he elaborated,

        . . . [W]hen they attempted to make copies through the use of a 
    Thermo-Fax copying machine, of pertinent parts of those files, they 
    were by the subcommittee staff denied the right and privilege of so 
    doing.

    Mr. Hoffman's statement proceeded at length, after which the 
following (11) exchange and resultant ruling took place:
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11. 103 Cong. Rec. 14739, 85th Cong. 1st Sess.
            Access to or use of particular information or documents is 
        in some instances governed in strict detail under the rules. 
        Rule XLVIII, adopted July 14, 1977 (H. Res. 658, 95th Cong. 1st 
        Sess.), established the permanent Select Committee on 
        Intelligence and carefully delineated the conditions governing 
        access to information and documents within its purview.

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[[Page 2718]]

        The Speaker: . . . The matter the gentleman read from states 
    that all committee hearings, records, data, charts, and files shall 
    be kept separate and distinct from the Congressional office records 
    of the Member serving as chairman of the committee; and such 
    records shall be the property of the House and all Members of the 
    House shall have access to such records.

        I think that is what the gentleman was talking about.
        Mr. Hoffman: That is just what I was talking about, and I want 
    access. When access is given, with it goes the power to use it to 
    not only look but make notes, take copies, understand what is at 
    hand, what is to be determined. . . .
        The Speaker: The question of copying and the question of 
    photostating is another matter. That is not provided in this 
    section of the rule.
        Mr. Hoffman: So ``access'' means I can go and take a look but I 
    cannot use modern means of copying. How do you like that?
        How do you like that? Is that orderly, fair procedure?
        The Speaker: If a question like that came up in the House the 
    Chair would certainly rule that the gentleman could not bring a 
    machine in here and copy things around the desk.
        The Chair does not believe the gentleman has stated a question 
    that violates the rules of the House.