{ "id": "R45731", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R45731", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 601218, "date": "2019-05-21", "retrieved": "2019-12-20T19:07:26.711918", "title": "House Rules Changes Affecting Committee Procedure in the 116th Congress (2019-2020)", "summary": "As agreed to in the House, H.Res. 6, a resolution adopting the rules of the House of Representatives, provided amendments to the rules, as well as separate orders, that affect committee procedure in the 116th Congress (2019-2020). Several of these changes apply to general committee procedure, while others concern specific committees, such as modifications to the names, jurisdiction, or procedures of certain House committees. The rules package also established, during the 116th Congress, two new select committees.\nH.Res. 6 made several changes to committee membership and organization. Most significantly, it removed the committee chair term limits that were in effect during each Congress from the 104th through the 115th Congresses (1995-2018), excluding the 111th Congress (2009-2010). H.Res. 6 added a provision to Rule XXIII that calls on any Member, Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner who has been indicted or formally charged with certain felony offenses to refrain from committee business. It clarified that Delegates and the Resident Commissioner may serve on joint committees, and it lengthened from 30 days to 60 days the period in which to adopt and publish committee rules at the start of a Congress. \nIn a separate order, the 116th Congress rules package established a requirement that certain legislative measures must be reported and be subject to a committee hearing and markup prior to their consideration on the floor. This requirement applies, with some exceptions, to measures that are raised under the terms of a special rule reported from the Rules Committee. Another separate order requires most standing committees to hold a Member Day Hearing during the first session of the 116th Congress, affording any Member the opportunity to speak on proposed legislation within the committee\u2019s jurisdiction. H.Res. 6 clarified the notification requirement for committee markup meetings. As amended, clause 2 of Rule XI provides Members at least three workdays to prepare for an upcoming markup, as opposed to the less specific requirement that markups may not occur before the \u201cthird day\u201d after a chair announces the meeting.\nH.Res. 6 altered procedures concerning committee oversight. The 115th Congress House rules requirement that committees prepare and submit \u201cauthorization and oversight plans\u201d was replaced with the requirement that chairs develop oversight plans in consultation with the ranking member. In addition, a separate order now allows committee counsel to take depositions without the presence of a committee member.\nAmendments to the House standing rules changed two committees\u2019 names and clarified their jurisdictions. The Committee on Education and the Workforce became the Committee on Education and Labor, a name it held in some previous Congresses. As amended, Rule X specified that the committee\u2019s jurisdiction includes the general management of the Department of Education and the Department of Labor. The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was re-designated the Committee on Oversight and Reform. The rules changes clarified that the Committee on Oversight and Reform\u2019s existing jurisdiction over the review and study of all government activities includes \u201cthe Executive Office of the President.\u201d\nA separate order directed the Committee on Ethics to empanel an investigative subcommittee to review allegations whenever a Member, Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner is indicted on a criminal charge. H.Res. 6 amended clause 3 of Rule XI to allow the Committee on Ethics, or an investigative subcommittee thereof, to consider trial evidence in ethics investigations of Members, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner.\nAnother separate order enabled the Committee on Financial Services to establish as many as seven subcommittees, as opposed to the six subcommittees allowed under the rules, while an amendment to clause 3 of Rule XIII exempted the Rules Committee from the requirement that committee reports must include recorded votes taken in committee. The rules changes also removed membership term limits to the Committee on the Budget. However, the rules of the Democratic Caucus and Republican Conference may continue to limit the number of terms that Members may serve on the Budget Committee.\nFinally, the rules package established, for the 116th Congress, the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. The committees are to \u201cinvestigate, study, make findings, hold public hearings, and develop recommendations.\u201d By the end of the 116th Congress, they are to report their findings and policy recommendations to the relevant standing committees and publish them in a publicly available format.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R45731", "sha1": "3988bf02c92abe0bc4d876f8263b5edeb00eaa25", "filename": "files/20190521_R45731_3988bf02c92abe0bc4d876f8263b5edeb00eaa25.html", "images": {} }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R45731", "sha1": "543fffef8f9b1a080b87e51b11aa1f2213248b6e", "filename": "files/20190521_R45731_543fffef8f9b1a080b87e51b11aa1f2213248b6e.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4808, "name": "Congressional Committee Procedure" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Intelligence and National Security", "Legislative Process" ] }