[Constitution, Jefferson's Manual, and the Rules of the House of Representatives, 117th Congress]
[117th Congress]
[House Document 116-177]
[House And Congressional Offices]
[Pages 1063-1067]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 1063]]

                     HOUSE AND CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES


                               __________




Sec. 1113. House Communications Standards 
Commission.

  Members may  send through the mails, under their frank, certain 
documents and materials as provided by 39 U.S.C. 3210, subject to the 
limitations prescribed in rule XXIV, supra. The House Communications 
Standards Commission, composed of six Members, provides advice in 
connection with franking privileges (sec. 5, P.L. 93-191). This 
Commission was formerly known as the House Commission on Congressional 
Mailing Standards.





Sec. 1114. House Office Building 
Commission.

  Rooms in the  House Office Buildings are assigned pursuant to the Act of 
May 28, 1908 (2 U.S.C. 2004-2011) and pursuant to regulations of the 
House Office Building Commission (see regulations promulgated Oct. 7, 
1996). The commission also issues regulations governing the House Office 
Buildings, House garages, and the Capitol Power Plant (see regulations 
promulgated December, 1995). The commission is composed of the Speaker 
and two Members of the House (traditionally the Majority and Minority 
Leaders) (2 U.S.C. 2001).





Sec. 1115. Government Accountability 
Office.

  The preparation,  utilization, and distribution (to committees and Members) of 
reports by the Government Accountability Office, and its authority to 
assign its employees to duty with congressional committees, are 
regulated by the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970, Sec. Sec. 231-
236 (84 Stat. 1140; 31 U.S.C. 711-720). This office was formerly known 
as the General Accounting Office (31 U.S.C. 702 note).




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Sec. 1116. Office of Congressional Workplace 
Rights.

  The Office  of Congressional Workplace Rights (formerly the Office of 
Compliance) was established by the Congressional Accountability Act of 
1995 (2 U.S.C. 1381). The office is composed of five individuals 
appointed jointly by the Speaker, the Majority Leader of the Senate, and 
the Minority Leaders of the House and the Senate. The office has 
regulatory, enforcement, and educational responsibilities under the Act. 
The office replaced the Review Panel of the Office of Fair Employment 
Practices at the beginning of the 105th Congress (see Sec. 1101, supra). 
However, the review panel was reconstituted in the same form as at the 
end of the 104th Congress to provide for the completion of ongoing 
proceedings in the 105th Congress (Feb. 25, 1997, p. 2439).





Sec. 1117. Congressional Research 
Service.

  The organization  of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of 
Congress and its responsibilities to assist Members and committees were 
provided in the Legislative Reorganization Acts of 1946 and 1970 (60 
Stat. 836; 84 Stat. 1140; 2 U.S.C. 166).





Sec. 1118. Legislative Counsel.

  The Office of  the 
Legislative Counsel of the House of Representatives evolved from a 
Legislative Drafting Service established for the Congress by the Act of 
February 24, 1919 (40 Stat. 1057, 1141). The provisions of law setting 
forth the purpose and functions of the current office and providing for 
its administration are contained in title V of the Legislative 
Reorganization Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-510; 2 U.S.C. 281) as amended by the 
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1972 (P.L. 92-51). As stated in 
section 502 of such title V, the purpose of the office is to advise and 
assist the House, and its committees and Members, in the achievement of 
a clear, faithful, and coherent expression of legislative policies.





Sec. 1119. Congressional Budget 
Office.

  The Congressional  Budget Office was established by the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 601). The office is headed by a director, who is 
appointed by the Speaker and the President pro tempore. Section 202 of 
the Act (2 U.S.C. 602) outlines the functions of the office, which 
include providing assistance to the House and Senate Committees on the 
Budget and Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Finance in the 
discharge of matters within their jurisdiction and to other committees 
to assist them in complying with the provisions of the Act.





Sec. 1120. Law Revision Counsel.

  The Office  of the Law 
Revision Counsel, to develop a codification of the laws of the United 
States, was authorized in the 93d Congress by the Committee Reform 
Amendments of 1974 (sec. 205, H. Res. 988, Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470, made 
permanent law by P.L. 93-544 (2 U.S.C. 285)).





Sec. 1121. Technology Assessment.

  The Office  of Technology 
Assessment, to assist the Congress in indicating the beneficial and 
adverse impacts of the application of technology, was authorized by the 
Technology Assessment Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 472). The office received 
funding for 1996 to conduct an orderly shutdown (tit. I, P.L. 104-53) 
and has not received funding since then.



[[Page 1065]]

authorized in the 93d Congress by the Committee Reform Amendments of 
1974 (sec. 208, H. Res. 988, Oct. 8, 1974, p. 34470, made permanent law 
by P.L. 93-554, 2 U.S.C. 28a), and the printing and distribution of the 
precedents were authorized by Public Law 94-551 (2 U.S.C. 28b-e). See 
also 2 U.S.C. 28, 29.



Sec. 1122. Office of the 
Parliamentarian.

  A Parliamentarian  has been appointed by the Speaker in every Congress 
since 1927. Before 1927 the ``Clerk at the Speaker's Table'' performed 
the function of the Parliamentarian. In the 95th Congress the House 
formally and permanently established an Office of the Parliamentarian to 
be managed, supervised, and administered by a nonpartisan 
Parliamentarian appointed by the Speaker (H. Res. 502, Precedents 
(Wickham), ch. 6, Sec. 18.1, made permanent law by sec. 115 of P.L. 95-
94; see 2 U.S.C. 287). The compilation and preparation of the precedents 
of the House of Representatives were





Sec. 1123. Speaker's Office for Legislative Floor 
Activities.

  In the 104th  Congress the House established an office to assist the 
Speaker in the management of legislative activity on the floor (sec. 
223(b), H. Res. 6, 104th Cong., Jan. 4, 1995, p. 469, enacted into law 
by the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1996 (sec. 103, P.L. 104-
53; 2 U.S.C. 5123)).





Sec. 1124. Office of Interparliamentary 
Affairs.

  This office  is responsible for responding to inquiries from, and 
coordinating visits with, foreign legislative bodies; providing 
assistance to delegations of Members on official visits to foreign 
nations; coordinating the activities and responsibilities of the House 
in connection with participation in various interparliamentary exchanges 
and organizations; and enabling the House to host meetings with senior 
government officials and other dignitaries in order to discuss matters 
relevant to United States relations with other nations (2 U.S.C. 5582).





Sec. 1125. House Recording Studio.

  The House  Recording 
Studio was established by the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 
1957 (2 U.S.C. 4131) and provides Members with audio and video recording 
services. The studio, operated by the Chief Administrative Officer, is 
under the direction and control of a committee consisting of three 
Members appointed by the Speaker (2 U.S.C. 4131(c)).





Sec. 1125a. United States Capitol Preservation 
Commission.

  The United  States Capitol Preservation Commission was established in 
1988 (2 U.S.C. 2081) to provide improvements in, preservation of, and 
acquisitions for the Capitol and to provide works of fine art and other 
property for display in the Capitol. In the 106th Congress the 
Commission was given responsibility for the planning, engineering, 
design, and construction of the Capitol Visitor Center (sec. 310, 
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2000). Membership on the 
Commission consists of the Speaker, the President pro tempore (co-
chairs), the chair and vice chair of the Joint Committee on the Library, 
the chairs and ranking minority members of the Committee on Rules and 
Administration and the Committee on House Administration, the Majority 
and Minority Leaders of the House and Senate, three Members of the 
Senate, and three Members of the House.



[[Page 1066]]

the Attorney General to notify the General Counsel of various decisions 
and policies (2 U.S.C. 5571(b)).



Sec. 1125b. Office of General Counsel.

  The Office  of General 
Counsel, established by clause 8 of rule II, is authorized by law to 
appear in any proceeding before a State or Federal court (except the 
United States Supreme Court) without compliance with admission 
requirements of such court (2 U.S.C. 5571(a)). Furthermore, the law 
requires





Sec. 1125c. Former Office of Emergency Planning, 
Preparedness, and Operations.

  This office  , responsible for mitigation and 
preparedness operations, crisis management and response, resource 
services, and recovery operations (sec. 905, P.L. 107-117), was 
established in the 107th Congress and abolished in the 112th Congress, 
when its functions were transferred to the Sergeant-at-Arms (sec. 105, 
P.L. 112-74).





Sec. 1125d. Office of Attending Physician.

  This office  was 
established in the 70th Congress when the House requested the Secretary 
of the Navy to detail a medical officer to be in attendance at the Hall 
of the House during sessions of the House (H. Res. 253, Dec. 5, 1928, p. 
101). Currently, the office provides primary care and emergency, 
environmental, and occupational health services in direct support of 
Members of Congress and the Supreme Court, staff, visiting dignitaries, 
and tourists (Support Offices in the House of Representatives: Roles and 
Authorities, CRS, Feb. 5, 2013).





Sec. 1125e. Office of Architect of the 
Capitol.

  This office  , which dates from 1793, operates and maintains the buildings 
and grounds of the Capitol complex. For further information on the 
office, see Architect of the Capitol: Appointment Process and Current 
Legislation, CRS, June 4, 2010. Section 6701 of Public Law 110-28 
established within the office a Chief Executive Officer for Visitor 
Services with responsibility for the operation and management of the 
Capitol Visitor Center.





Sec. 1125f. House Democracy Partnership.

  Established  for the 
109th (H. Res. 135, Mar. 14, 2005, p. 4527), 110th (H. Res. 24, Jan. 30, 
2007, p. 2626), 111th (sec. 4(b), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2009, p. 9), 112th 
(which first changed its name from the House Democracy Assistance 
Commission) (sec. 4(a), H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 2011, p. 80), 113th (sec. 
4(b), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2013, p. 28), 114th (sec. 4(b), H. Res. 5, Jan. 
6, 2015, p. 37), 115th (sec. 4(a), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2017, p. _), 116th 
(sec. 104(a), H. Res. 6, Jan. 3, 2019, p. _), and 117th Congresses (sec. 
4(a), H. Res. 8, Jan. 4, 2021, p. _), the partnership provides advice 
and consultation to selected countries. The partnership consists of 20 
Members appointed by the Speaker and Minority Leader.




[[Page 1067]]




Sec. 1125g. Tom Lantos Human Rights 
Commission.

  Established  for the 110th Congress (H. Res. 1451, Sept. 24, 2008, p. 
20250), and the 111th through 117th Congresses with modifications to its 
authority (sec. 4(c), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2009, p. 9; sec. 4(b), H. Res. 
5, Jan. 5, 2011, p. 80; sec. 4(c), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2013, p. 28; sec. 
4(c), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2015, p. 37; sec. 4(b), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 
2017, p. _; sec. 104(b), H. Res. 6, Jan. 3, 2019, p. _; sec. 4(b), H. 
Res. 8, Jan. 4, 2021, p. _), the commission promotes internationally 
recognized human rights. Any Member may join the commission, which is 
led by co-chairs appointed by the Speaker and Minority Leader, 
respectively.






Sec. 1125h. Office of Congressional Ethics.

  This office  was 
established in the 110th Congress (H. Res. 895, Mar. 11, 2008, p. 3741), 
the 111th and 112th Congresses with a modification of its authority to 
engage consultants (sec. 4(d), H. Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2009, p. 9; sec. 4(c), 
H. Res. 5, Jan. 5, 2011, p. 80), the 113th Congress with a further 
modification to the term limits of the governing board (sec. 4(d), H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2013, p. 28), the 114th Congress with further 
modifications regarding representation by counsel and prohibiting any 
action that would deny any person a constitutional right (sec. 4(d), H. 
Res. 5, Jan. 6, 2015, p. 37), and the 115th through 117th Congresses 
with further modifications regarding the authority of the Speaker and 
Minority Leader to appoint the governing board and the term limits of 
the governing board (sec. 4(c), H. Res. 5, Jan. 3, 2017, p. _; sec. 
104(c), H. Res. 6, Jan. 3, 2019, p. _; sec. 4(c), H. Res. 8, Jan. 4, 
2021, p. _).