Hearings in the Senate and House of Representatives: A Guide for Preparation and Procedure

HEARINGS IN THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: A GUIDE FOR PREPARATION AND PROCEDURE No part of this digital document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means. The publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this digital document, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained herein. This digital document is sold with the clear understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, medical or any other professional services.

HEARINGS IN THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: A GUIDE FOR PREPARATION AND PROCEDURE SUSAN ROSSI EDITOR

Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York

Copyright © 2009 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic, tape, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the Publisher. For permission to use material from this book please contact us: Telephone 631-231-7269; Fax 631-231-8175 Web Site: http://www.novapublishers.com NOTICE TO THE READER The Publisher has taken reasonable care in the preparation of this book, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained in this book. The Publisher shall not be liable for any special, consequential, or exemplary damages resulting, in whole or in part, from the readers’ use of, or reliance upon, this material. Independent verification should be sought for any data, advice or recommendations contained in this book. In addition, no responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from any methods, products, instructions, ideas or otherwise contained in this publication. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered herein. It is sold with the clear understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or any other professional services. If legal or any other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent person should be sought. FROM A DECLARATION OF PARTICIPANTS JOINTLY ADOPTED BY A COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND A COMMITTEE OF PUBLISHERS. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Available upon request ISBN: 978-1-61324-986-4 (eBook)

Published by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.  New York

CONTENTS Preface Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Index

vii Hearings in the House of Representatives: A Guide for Preparation and Procedure Thomas P. Carr

1

House and Senate Rules of Procedure: A Comparison Mary E. Mulvihill

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Hearings in the U.S. Senate: A Guide for Preparation and Procedure Betsy Palmer

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PREFACE Congressional hearings are the principal formal method by which committees collect and analyze information in the early stages of policy making. Whether legislative, oversight, investigative, or a combination of these, all hearings share common elements of preparation and conduct. House Rule XI sets down many of the regulations to which committee hearings must conform, including the quorum requirement, advance submission of witness statements, the opportunity for minority party members to call witnesses of their choosing, the five-minute rule for questioning witnesses, witness rights, the process for issuing a subpoena, the procedure for closing a hearing to the public, and the broadcast of hearings and media behavior. Committees have broad latitude in how they hold hearings, in part because they adopt their own rules of procedure. These rules may amplify and supplement House rules, but cannot contravene them. Customs of committees not embodied in rules also vary considerably among committees. Committees usually plan extensively for hearings. On the day of a hearing, a committee needs a quorum to conduct business. While most hearings are open to the public, a committee may vote to close a hearing for a reason specifically stated in House rules. Following a hearing, committee staff may prepare a summary of testimony, draft additional questions for the day’s witnesses, and begin to ready the hearing transcripts for printing and publishing to the Web. Transcripts generally are printed, along with supplemental materials approved by the committee, although printing is not required. Chapter 1 - Congressional hearings are the principal formal method by which committees collect and analyze information in the early stages of policy making. Whether legislative, oversight, investigative, or a combination of these, all hearings share common elements of preparation and conduct.

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House Rule XI sets down many of the regulations to which committee hearings must conform, including the quorum requirement, advance submission of witness statements, the opportunity for minority party members to call witnesses of their choosing, the five-minute rule for questioning witnesses, witness rights, the process for issuing a subpoena, the procedure for closing a hearing to the public, and the broadcast of hearings and media behavior. Committees have broad latitude in how they hold hearings, in part because they adopt their own rules of procedure. These rules may amplify and supplement House rules, but cannot contravene them. Customs of committees not embodied in rules also vary considerably among committees. Committees usually plan extensively for hearings. Early planning activities commonly include collecting background information from sources within and outside the House, preparing a preliminary hearing memorandum for the chair and members discussing the scope of the hearings and the expected outcome, and scheduling and giving public notice of hearings. Carefully selecting witnesses, determining the order and format of their testimony, and preparing questions or talking points for committee members to use in questioning are all important considerations. Other arrangements include preparing briefing books; determining if, and how, the hearings will be broadcast; and attending to the many administrative matters, such as scheduling an official reporter. On the day of a hearing, a committee needs a quorum to conduct business. While most hearings are open to the public, a committee may vote to close a hearing for a reason specifically stated in House rules. Representatives typically make opening statements at the beginning of a hearing; then witnesses are introduced and may be sworn by the chair. Witnesses present oral testimony in accordance with the arranged format; this verbal testimony generally is a summary of the written testimony submitted in advance. The question and answer period that follows is an opportunity for a committee to build a public record on a matter and gather needed information to support future actions. House rules give each committee member five minutes to question each witness, but individual committees determine the order in which their members will question witnesses and may allow extended questioning by committee members or staff. Following a hearing, committee staff may prepare a summary of testimony, draft additional questions for the day’s witnesses, and begin to ready the hearing transcripts for printing and publishing to the Web. Transcripts generally are printed, along with supplemental materials approved by the committee, although printing is not required. Chapter 2 - This report compares selected House and Senate rules of procedure governing various stages of the legislative process: referral of

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legislation to committees; scheduling and calling up measures; and floor consideration. The appendices provide sources of additional information about House and Senate rules of procedure. This report will be updated to reflect any changes in the rules or practices of the House or Senate. Chapter 3 - Congressional hearings are the principal formal method by which committees collect and analyze information during the legislative policymaking process. Whether confirmation hearings — a procedure unique to the Senate — legislative, oversight, investigative, or a combination of these, all hearings share common elements of preparation and conduct. Senate Rule XXVI sets forth many of the hearing regulations to which committees must conform, including the quorum requirement, advance submission of witness statements, the opportunity for minority party Senators to call witnesses of their choosing, and procedures for closing a hearing to the public. Senate committees, guided mainly by their chairmen, have broad discretion in how they conduct a hearing, in part because the committees adopt their own rules of procedure. These rules may supplement Senate rules, but they can not contravene them. Committee customs and leadership style not embodied in rules also vary considerably among committees and influence hearing procedures. Committees usually plan extensively for hearings. Early planning activities commonly include collecting background information; preparing a preliminary hearing memorandum for the chair and members discussing the scope of the hearing and the expected outcome; scheduling and providing public notice of a hearing; selecting witnesses; determining the order and format of their testimony; and preparing questions or talking points for committee members to use in questioning witnesses. Other considerations include preparing briefing books, determining whether the hearing will be broadcast and alerting the media, and attending to the many administrative arrangements, such as reserving a hearing room, scheduling a hearing reporter, and arranging for there to be a video or audio recording of the proceeding or a written transcript that will be available to the public soon after the event. On the day of the hearing, a committee needs a quorum to proceed with testimony. While the vast majority of hearings are open to the public, a committee can vote to close a hearing for specific reasons stated in Senate rules. Senators typically make opening statements at the beginning of a hearing, then witnesses are introduced and may be sworn by the chair. Witnesses present oral testimony in accordance with an arranged format; this testimony generally is a summary of a written statement submitted in advance. The question and answer period that

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follows is an opportunity for a committee to expand upon a witness’s statement and gather information to support future actions. Following a day of hearings, committee staff may prepare a summary of testimony, draft additional questions for the day’s witnesses, and begin initial preparation of the transcript for printing. While not required, hearing transcripts commonly are printed, along with additional materials approved by the committee. This report will be updated as events warrant.

In: Hearings in the Senate and … Editor: Susan Rossi

ISBN 978-1-60456-415-0 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 1

HEARINGS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: A GUIDE FOR PREPARATION AND PROCEDURE*,1 Thomas P. Carr ABSTRACT Congressional hearings are the principal formal method by which committees collect and analyze information in the early stages of policy making. Whether legislative, oversight, investigative, or a combination of these, all hearings share common elements of preparation and conduct. House Rule XI sets down many of the regulations to which committee hearings must conform, including the quorum requirement, advance submission of witness statements, the opportunity for minority party members to call witnesses of their choosing, the five-minute rule for questioning witnesses, witness rights, the process for issuing a subpoena, the procedure for closing a hearing to the public, and the broadcast of hearings and media behavior. Committees have broad latitude in how they hold hearings, in part because they adopt their own rules of procedure. These rules may amplify and supplement House rules, but cannot contravene them.

*

This is an edited, excerpted and augmented edition of a Congressional Research Service Report for Congress publication, Order Code RL30539, dated June 13, 2006.

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Thomas P. Carr Customs of committees not embodied in rules also vary considerably among committees. Committees usually plan extensively for hearings. Early planning activities commonly include collecting background information from sources within and outside the House, preparing a preliminary hearing memorandum for the chair and members discussing the scope of the hearings and the expected outcome, and scheduling and giving public notice of hearings. Carefully selecting witnesses, determining the order and format of their testimony, and preparing questions or talking points for committee members to use in questioning are all important considerations. Other arrangements include preparing briefing books; determining if, and how, the hearings will be broadcast; and attending to the many administrative matters, such as scheduling an official reporter. On the day of a hearing, a committee needs a quorum to conduct business. While most hearings are open to the public, a committee may vote to close a hearing for a reason specifically stated in House rules. Representatives typically make opening statements at the beginning of a hearing; then witnesses are introduced and may be sworn by the chair. Witnesses present oral testimony in accordance with the arranged format; this verbal testimony generally is a summary of the written testimony submitted in advance. The question and answer period that follows is an opportunity for a committee to build a public record on a matter and gather needed information to support future actions. House rules give each committee member five minutes to question each witness, but individual committees determine the order in which their members will question witnesses and may allow extended questioning by committee members or staff. Following a hearing, committee staff may prepare a summary of testimony, draft additional questions for the day’s witnesses, and begin to ready the hearing transcripts for printing and publishing to the Web. Transcripts generally are printed, along with supplemental materials approved by the committee, although printing is not required.

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INTRODUCTION Coverage and Organization of the Report Under House rules, each committee has authority to hold hearings “whether the House is in session, has recessed, or has adjourned” (House Rule XI, clause 2(m)(1)(A)). Committees may hold hearings in Washington, or hold “field hearings” elsewhere within the United States. Whether legislative, oversight, investigative, or a combination of these, all hearings share common elements of preparation and conduct. This report emphasizes these shared elements. The report describes provisions of House rules that pertain to hearings; citations to these rules are included for reference. While House rules generally apply to committees and subcommittees, it is House Rule XI that contains many provisions specific to hearings. House rules set the general framework in which committees hold hearings. Each committee is required to adopt and publish written rules of procedure which must be consistent with House rules, but which may expand upon them (House Rule XI, clause 2(a)(1)). A committee’s rules generally apply to its subcommittees, although some contain specific procedures for subcommittees (House Rule XI, clause 1(a)(1)(A)). The rules of many committees contain provisions pertaining to hearings; this report gives examples from 109th Congress committee rules.2 These examples are illustrative, intending to show the variation in particular areas. In some cases multiple committees have the same or similar provisions, but only one committee provides an example. Thus, this report does not attempt to list comprehensively all provisions of committee rules that apply to hearings. Further, the summaries of both House and committee rules are not intended to capture every nuance and detail of the rules themselves. Members and staff are advised to consult the text of the appropriate House or committee rule. In addition to House and committee rules, this report covers common committee practices in planning and holding hearings. Given that each committee has its own rules and practices, hearing procedures may differ significantly among committees. Members and staff needing comprehensive information on the hearing practices of a particular committee are advised to consult the committee. This report is organized into four main sections. The “Introduction” addresses not only coverage and organization, but also the role of hearings in the committee process, and the various types of hearings.

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Committees plan extensively for hearings. Section 2, “Preparation For Hearings,” discusses how committees carry out these activities. Among other issues, this section covers: • • • • • • • • • • •

deciding whether to hold a hearing; sources that assist committees with hearings; procuring supplemental staff by contract or detail; holding joint hearings; scheduling and giving public notice of hearings; selecting witnesses and determining the order and format of testimony; securing advance written testimony from witnesses; written statements of non-governmental witnesses; procedures for issuing subpoenas and taking depositions; preparing briefing books for committee members; procedures for broadcasting hearings and techniques for attracting and managing the media; and administrative arrangements.

Section 3, “Conducting Hearings,” covers how a hearing is held. Among other matters, it discusses: • • • • • • •

quorum requirements; closing a hearing to the public; the rights of witnesses; opening statements by Members; introducing and swearing in witnesses; oral testimony by witnesses; and the question and answer period following oral testimony.

Finally, Section 4, “Post-Hearing Activities,” describes activities committees often undertake following a hearing. For instance, committee staff may prepare a summary of testimony, or draft additional questions for witnesses, or print the hearings transcript along with supplemental materials.

Hearings in the Committee Process Hearings are the primary information-gathering technique committees use in policy making and oversight. Hearings may be held on issues in the absence of

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specific legislation, but many examine on particular legislative proposals. In either case, hearings serve a variety of purposes. Hearings inform Members, staff, and the public about measures and issues, and help assess the intensity of support for proposals. Hearings serve to monitor government programs and activities, and expose problems that Congress can later correct. Hearings give citizens an opportunity to participate in the policy process, and help build the public record for a measure or issue. For a number of reasons, house committees act only on a minority of the measures introduced and referred to them. For instance, a committee often receives many proposals in each major policy area within its jurisdiction, but ultimately may choose to act on only a few measures in each such area, if any. Committees usually send a bill to an appropriate subcommittee for initial consideration, although committees do not uniformly require such referral. A committee may decide to send a bill to subcommittee for initial scrutiny because of the technical nature of the issue, the history of prior handling of the matter, or political factors, among other reasons. When a committee or a subcommittee considers a measure, it generally takes four actions. When a subcommittee initiates some of the four actions, the extent to which the full committee repeats some of these steps varies among committees and from issue to issue. The sequence of actions assumes the committee favors a measure, but at any time the committee may discontinue action. First, a committee may seek agency comment by sending a copy of the measure to the executive departments or agencies having relevant policy expertise and soliciting their written evaluation of the proposal. The executive agency typically sends a copy of the measure to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a determination as to consistency with the President’s program. Second, a committee may decide to hold one or more hearings. Further committee action without hearings is the exception, although hearings have been bypassed to move measures expeditiously through committee or because of action on a related bill in the previous Congress. The importance of this action has been noted by congressional scholar Walter J. Oleszek: The decision to hold a hearing is often a critical point in the life of a bill. Measures brought to the floor without first undergoing the scrutiny of hearings will likely receive sharp criticism.... The importance of the committee stage is based on the assumption that the experts — the committee members — carefully scrutinize a proposal, and hearings provide a demonstrable record of that scrutiny.3

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Third, a committee will meet to “mark up,” or recommend amendments to the legislation, based in part on information received at hearings. Markup is the critical stage where the committee decides how the language of the bill should appear when it is presented to the House for consideration. While a bill can be subsequently amended on the House floor, committees have the important prerogative of shaping legislation before consideration by the full chamber. Fourth, the full committee will report the legislation to the floor; subcommittees must report to their parent committees. When a committee reports a measure, it is also required to issue a written report that typically describes and explains the measure’s purposes and provisions and tells Members why the measure should be passed. The report also may summarize any relevant hearings that were held. This reporting requirement may be waived.4

Types of Hearings All hearings share common elements of preparation and conduct. Some of these are governed by House rules, particularly House Rule XI. At the same time, hearings differ for a number of reasons. First, each committee must adopt its own rules of procedure for each Congress (House Rule XI, clause 2(a)(1-2)). These must be consistent with House rules, but may also expand or elaborate on them. Committee rules often contain provisions regulating hearings. Second, customs not necessarily reflected in committee rules vary among committees. For example, some committees do not routinely enforce the fiveminute rule when examining witnesses, a rule that generally allows a Member to question each witness for five minutes until every member of the committee has had this opportunity (House Rule XI, clause 2(j)(2)). Third, hearings are held for different purposes. Depending on the purpose, hearings can be grouped into three broad classes: legislative, oversight, or investigative.5 (Sometimes one hearing has dual purposes, such as both legislative and oversight.) While in general there are no separate House rules governing each type of hearing, some rules are invoked more frequently at particular types of hearings. For instance, Rule XI, clauses 2(k)(3) and (5) contain provisions particularly applicable to investigative hearings, such as protections for the rights of witnesses. Also, a committee’s power to subpoena (House Rule XI, clause 2(m)(1)(B)) usually is used to obtain documents for investigative hearings or to require the testimony of witnesses at these sessions. Committees hold legislative hearings on measures or policy issues that may become legislation. Sometimes a committee holds hearings on multiple measures

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before ultimately choosing one vehicle for further committee and chamber action. Most often the goal of a legislative hearing is the consideration of a measure for enactment into law. These hearings provide a forum where facts and opinions on legislation can be presented by witnesses with diverse backgrounds, including Members of Congress and other government officials, representatives of interest groups and academia, and from additional citizens affected by the proposal. Oversight hearings review or study a law, an issue or an activity, often focusing on the quality of federal programs and the performance of government officials. Hearings also help ensure that the execution of laws by the executive branch complies with legislative intent, and that administrative policies reflect the public interest. Oversight hearings often seek to improve the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of government operations. On March 16, 2005, for instance, the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics of the Committee on Science held an oversight hearing on the future of aeronautics at NASA. Many committees also oversee existing programs in the context of hearings on related legislation, or routinely perform oversight when it is time to reauthorize a program or agency. Investigative hearings share some of the characteristics of legislative and oversight hearings. The difference lies in Congress’s stated determination to investigate, usually when there is a suspicion of wrongdoing on the part of public officials in governmental operations or of private citizens in business or other activities. Congress has exercised its investigative function since the earliest days of the republic, and its most famous inquiries are benchmarks in American history: Credit Mobilier, Teapot Dome, Army-McCarthy, Watergate, and IranContra. In some cases, select committees have been created to conduct investigations.6 At other times the standing committees have investigated matters within their jurisdictions. Investigative hearings may lead to legislation to address any problems uncovered. Judicial proceedings may precede or follow congressional inquiries. Committee hearings are mostly held in Washington, but sometimes a committee will decide there is a need to hold a hearing elsewhere. Field hearings may be held for a variety of reasons. A field hearing brings Congress to the people. A committee can hear from witnesses who might find it inconvenient or be unable to travel to Washington to testify. A field hearing also can present information to citizens who are directly affected by a government program or issue. It can enhance a committee’s oversight activities by providing the opportunity to evaluate programs “on site.” It can orchestrate public support for, and enhance the visibility of an issue. A field hearing can reinforce a committee chairman or other committee member’s relationship with his or her constituents. It can provide an opportunity

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for local, regional, and sometimes national media coverage. Field hearings are often held in a geographic area where the subject matter of the hearing is particularly relevant. For example, on August 13, 2005, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources of the House Committee on Resources held a field hearing in Port Fourchon, Louisiana on the benefits of offshore oil and gas development. Regulations in the House forbid official travel for political or campaign purposes. Field hearings cannot be employed for explicitly political or electoral purposes. The formal authority for field hearings is implicit in House Rule XI, clause 2, which states in part that a committee is authorized to “sit at such times and places within the United States, whether the House is in session, has recessed, or has adjourned, and to hold such hearings as it considers necessary.” House rules do not otherwise distinguish field hearings from those held in Washington.

PREPARATION FOR HEARINGS Preliminary Issues A committee considers a variety of issues in deciding whether to hold a hearing. A committee must define the information it needs, evaluate the policy matters or the political message it wishes to communicate, and then determine whether a hearing is the best method of achieving its goals. A hearing agenda is influenced by several factors, including timing of the hearing, the salience of issues to the nation, the importance of policies to interest groups, and matters of significance to the President, House leaders, and other Representatives. Programs under a committee’s jurisdiction that need to be reauthorized generally receive committee scrutiny, as do instances of reported waste, fraud, or abuse. Each committee receives dozens or even hundreds of proposals for possible examination and studies matters not embodied in specific legislation. In the context of this overall workload, a committee must decide whether holding a particular hearing is the best use of staff and funds. A committee also considers whether and how a hearing would fit into its overall schedule. It may be particularly difficult for committees with broad jurisdictions to justify the allocation of limited resources to a hearing, or even to find time in its crowded schedule. In order to obtain approval for a hearing, committee staff often prepare a preliminary hearing memorandum for the chair that includes information such as

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the scope and purpose of the hearing, the expected outcome, possible witnesses, how many hearing days are planned, and perhaps the views of the minority party. Informal discussion with committee members and staff may suffice.

Sources of Outside Assistance Numerous governmental and non-governmental resources are available to committees to assist with hearings. Given that most hearings focus on government programs, or potential programs, executive agencies often are major providers of information. Committees may request information directly from specific offices, or may place requests through an agency’s congressional liaison, an office established to respond to congressional requests for information. Each of the three congressional support agencies can assist with hearings. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) can assist in: • • • • • • • •

• •

framing the agenda for hearings; preparing background and policy studies; preparing bibliographies and conducting database searches; providing information on positions of interest groups and other key players; suggesting witnesses and drafting questions for Members to ask them; making its experts available on a nonpartisan basis as witnesses; analyzing testimony; preparing studies or documentation for inclusion in the hearing record; supplying information on program accomplishments; and evaluating legislative proposals and discussing alternative approaches.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) provides assistance to committees principally by reviewing executive branch programs through independent audits, investigations, and evaluations. Its reviews measure the effectiveness of government programs. GAO’s reports contribute to the background study and examination necessary for hearings. For instance, reports on investigations of waste, fraud, and abuse in federal entities may be used at oversight and investigative hearings probing government programs, or at hearings to craft legislation to correct problems exposed. In addition to its routine periodic reviews, GAO may be asked for studies specific to a committee hearing. Also, GAO experts frequently appear as witnesses.

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The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) furnishes Congress with key information relating to the U.S. economy, the federal budget, and federal programs. It assists committees by preparing cost estimates of legislation. Its assistance to Congress in carrying out the Congressional Budget Act provides a framework and useful background and analysis for committee hearings. Its responsibilities include: • •

•

• •

estimating the five-year budgetary costs of legislation; tracking congressional budget actions against targets established in budget resolutions (scorekeeping); estimating costs to state, local, and tribal governments of carrying out mandates to be imposed by legislation; making periodic forecasts of economic trends and baseline projections of spending and revenue levels against which proposed changes in taxing and spending policies can be measured; conducting studies of programmatic or policy issues that affect the federal budget; and preparing an annual report on spending and revenue options for reducing the federal deficit.

Nongovernmental organizations provide a wealth of resources for committees. Knowledgeable individuals in universities, policy research institutes, law and consulting firms, and trade and other non-profit associations often are willing to assist committees with data, analysis, and testimony. Interest groups with public policy concerns become involved at the hearing stage in an attempt to frame the issues early in the legislative process. Studies indicate that lobbyists believe testifying at congressional hearings is an important and effective technique for influencing legislation. In addition to consulting policy experts and special interest groups, committees seek information and assistance from ordinary citizens who have direct experience with a proposed policy or whose lives will bear the impact of Congress’s eventual decision.

Supplemental Staffing Committees may find it useful on occasion to supplement their staff to assist with hearings. Committees may hire consultants or employ staff detailed from any government agency or department, with the permission of the Committee on House Administration. Committees may also accept temporary services of

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fellows. Regulations governing consultants, detailees, and fellows are contained in the Committees’ Congressional Handbook.7 The services of individual consultants must be intermittent or temporary, not to exceed 12 months or the end of a Congress, whichever occurs first. A contract first must be approved by a majority of the committee that seeks consultant services. Information including the proposed contract, the need for the contract, the amount to be paid, and the consultant’s resume are then submitted for approval to the Committee on House Administration. Contracts for services which are “the regular and normal duties” of committee staff will not be approved by the Committee on House Administration. The chair of a committee seeking to have an employee detailed from a department or agency should submit a written request to the head of the appropriate agency or department. Any detail cannot exceed one year, or the end of a Congress, whichever comes first. If the agency agrees to loan an employee, the committee chair submits an authorization request, with a copy of the detailing agreement, to the Committee on House Administration. Written approval of the Committee on House Administration is needed before an employee may be detailed. In the 109th Congress, a committee generally may use detailees from government agencies on a reimbursable or a non-reimbursable basis. The total number of non-reimbursable detailees, at one time, must remain at or below 10% of the committee’s staff ceiling as established by the Speaker. Committees must reimburse agencies for detailees above this limit, although a committee must reimburse the Government Printing Office for all detailees. The House Office of The Legislative Counsel assists in drafting legislation, works closely with committees, and sometimes assigns staff to work directly with a committee. Staff also may be available from the many fellowship, internship, and volunteer programs that place individuals with committee or Member offices. These programs can provide staff ranging in expertise from high school and college students with little or no experience, to trained professionals and subject specialists.

Joint Hearings Each panel has the discretion to hold hearings jointly with another committee or subcommittee. Panels meeting jointly must agree on common rules of procedure and determine logistical questions, such as meeting rooms. Sometimes two House panels meet jointly. For example, on July 19, 2005, the Committee on

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Financial Services, and the Committee on Resources held a joint hearing on improving land title grant procedures for Native Americans.8 Sometimes, House and Senate panels hold a joint hearing. For instance, on July 24, 2003, subcommittees of the House Committee on Science and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a joint hearing on commercial human space flight. Some observers view joint committee sessions as an efficient use of time and resources. Joint hearings bring together the expertise and differing perspectives of panels. They may reduce the difficulties and delays that arise from contradictory actions and proposals. Joint committee sessions, however, tend to be infrequent. Some Members believe that separate perspectives and approaches provide significant benefits to Congress. Separate hearings increase avenues of access for witnesses, and opportunities for influence and exposure of committee members and leaders. Further, coordinating meeting times between two panels may present greater scheduling difficulties.

Scheduling House committees may hold hearings at any time, except during a joint session or meeting of the House and Senate (House Rule XI, clause 2(i)).9 Any Member may try to persuade a committee to hold hearings, but the chair generally controls the schedule. Paramount in scheduling for many committees is choosing a date and time convenient for committee leaders. The computerized scheduling service of the House Information Resources office (HIR) allows a committee to coordinate its schedule with that of other committees, to minimize scheduling conflicts for its members. In order to maximize member participation, the rules of the House Republican Conference provide that committee rules should seek to avoid overlapping scheduling of subcommittee sessions. The rules of many committees thus contain provisions requiring coordination in scheduling hearings among a committee and its subcommittees. Examples of several committee rules regarding scheduling follow. Subcommittee chairs of the House Committee on the Judiciary set dates for hearings after consultation with each other and with the full committee chair. Each subcommittee chair of the House Committee on Government Reform may set hearing dates only with the approval of the chairman of the full committee, in order to assure availability of meeting rooms, and to avoid scheduling conflicts. On the House Committee on Rules, the chair of each subcommittee schedules

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hearings only after consultation with the full committee chair, and no subcommittee can meet at the same time as the full committee.

Notice Under House rules, the chair of a committee (except Rules) must give at least one week’s public notice of the date, place, and subject of a hearing (House Rule XI, clause 2(g)(3)). Hearings may be held with less than one week’s notice if either the chair, with the concurrence of the ranking minority member, or the committee, by majority vote, determines a need. When this happens, the notice should be given as soon as possible. Notices of hearings appear in the Daily Digest section of the Congressional Record and in the House’s computerized committee scheduling service of HIR. Often a committee sends announcements of a hearing to all its members, both well in advance of, and immediately before, the hearing. Some committees also require that particular information be sent to their members or made available to the public. For instance, the rules of the House Committee on Financial Services direct the chairman to provide members of the committee a concise summary of the subject of the hearing at least three days in advance. The House Committee on Resources provides its members with a tentative witness list, and a memorandum explaining the subject of the hearing, as soon as practicable after the announcement of the hearing. Additionally, the chair makes available to committee members any official reports from departments and agencies on the subject matter of the hearing. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce generally requires its chair to make public the final list of witnesses 48 hours before a hearing convenes.

Choosing and Inviting Witnesses Choosing witnesses is often one of the most important issues in planning a hearing. Committees pay careful attention to which viewpoints will be represented, who should testify, and the order and format for presenting witnesses. In some cases a committee will strive to make sure that all reasonable points of view are represented, while in other cases witnesses expressing only particular points of view will be invited. House rules allow the minority party members of a committee to call witnesses of their choice on at least one day of a hearing, if a majority of these Members makes this request to the committee chair before

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completion of the hearing (House Rule XI, clause 2(j)(1)). In lieu of this formal option, the minority sometimes works informally with the majority to invite witnesses representing its views. In order to testify, a witness must be invited by the committee. Before officially inviting a witness, committee staff identify and often interview prospective candidates. When suitable witnesses are found, the committee chair typically sends a formal letter of invitation. This letter generally gives the witness some basic information, including the purpose, subject, date, time, and place of the hearing. In addition to specifying the portion of a measure or issue the witness should address, the letter may contain a limitation on the length of the witness’s oral testimony. The committee may send the witness additional information. This information may include a list of committee members, the committee’s rules, the measure under consideration, and material from the media relating to the issue. Often a staff contact is indicated. Staff will sometimes meet with witnesses before a hearing to answer questions and to review procedure. A committee may reimburse a witness for expenses related to testimony, and if reimbursement is expected, the letter of invitation may address this point. Under guidelines of the Committee on House Administration, reimbursement of travel expenses incurred by a witness is described as “an extraordinary measure.” The committee chair must specifically authorize the payment. House rules set the rate of pay to be the same per diem amount as authorized by the committee for Members and employees of the House, and actual expenses for travel, however, no per diem is paid to witnesses who are “summoned at the place of the examination” (House Rule XI, clause 5).

Advance Written Testimony A letter of invitation also may request that the witness send the committee biographical information and an advance copy of written testimony. House rules require each witness (insofar as is practicable) to file with the committee an advance copy of written testimony, and then to limit oral remarks to a brief summary of his or her statement (House Rule XI, clause 2(g)(4)). The individual rules of committees often state how far in advance of the hearing testimony should be filed, usually between 24 and 72 hours. The rules sometimes also require submission of multiple copies, and specify to whom the testimony should be delivered.

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For example, the Committee on Financial Services requires “ sufficient copies” of written testimony two business days in advance, including a copy in electronic format. The Committee on Rules asks for testimony 24 hours in advance. The Committees on House Administration, Small Business, Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce ordinarily require testimony 48 hours before a hearing. The Committee on Small Business calls for 100 copies of testimony, with one copy to furnished directly to the ranking minority member of the committee. The Committee on Education and the Workforce also calls for a brief summary of written testimony. Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence witnesses generally must file statements 48 hours in advance in written and electronic form. A committee has authority to decide when it is impracticable to require advance written testimony, for instance, when a witness is invited with too little notice. The House Committee on Appropriations does not apply the requirement for advance written testimony and a subsequent oral summary of the testimony for witnesses at hearings on the overall federal budget. In most cases, however, committees assert their right to receive advance copies of testimony for several reasons. Before the hearing, committees may want to summarize or outline the testimony, draft questions tailored to each witness’s statement, and photocopy the statement for distribution to the press and others. Committee rules sometimes stipulate that testimony be submitted in both written and electronic form. Electronic submission can facilitate printing the testimony as part of the hearing record and making testimony available to the public online. The Committee on Armed Services, for instance, asks that a prepared statement be submitted in electronic form at the time the written statement is submitted. Similarly, for matters of original jurisdiction, the Committee on Rules requests each witness to file a statement of proposed testimony in written and electronic form, to the maximum extent practicable.

Statements of Non-Governmental Witnesses The advance written statements of non-governmental witnesses must contain particular information. In addition to a resume, the statement must contain the amount and source of any federal grant or contract received by the witness or the organization being represented during the current or previous two fiscal years (House Rule XI, clause 2(g)(4)). The “Truth in Testimony Rule,” as it is commonly called, was adopted at the beginning of the 105th Congress. It is intended to provide committee members and the public with information on a

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witness’s education, experience, and receipt of grants and contracts, so as to assist members in evaluating the witness’s views and remarks. The rules of the Committee on Science state explicitly that witnesses should provide information on grants or contracts which are relevant to the subject of the testimony. Committee rules rarely compel additional specific information to be included in witness testimony. A notable exception is the Committee on Ways and Means, which requires a hearing witness who submits a statement for the record, or a written response to a published request for comments, to include a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.

Format and Order of Witness Testimony Committees determine the format and order of presenting witnesses. According to one traditional format, a witness summarizes his or her written statement and then takes questions from committee members before a second witness testifies. Committees have used different formats recently, and it has become common to present witnesses with diverging viewpoints as a panel. The usual practice in this case is for all witnesses on the panel to make statements, then for committee members to pose questions to the panel. Some observers believe that this format produces a more stimulating debate and more effectively elicits pertinent information. Committees have experimented with several other formats for gathering information, which may not always be considered formal hearings. For instance, committees have held seminars consisting of briefings by experts with informal opportunities for asking questions, and roundtable discussions where committee members and staff have a free-flowing dialogue with knowledgeable outsiders. The order in which witnesses testify is arranged at the discretion of the committee. Protocol dictates that a Member of Congress or a high-ranking executive branch official will generally testify before other witnesses. Celebrity witnesses are carefully placed in the lineup because they often generate significant media and public attention. They often are scheduled to appear at times of high attendance by committee members and viewing by the public, such as at the beginning of the hearing. Academics, representatives from interest groups, and other private citizens are arranged in a way that most favorably presents information and communicates the intent of the committee. For example, a committee may arrange its witnesses to allow one individual to refute arguments made by another witness.

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Subpoenas and Depositions Most individuals respond favorably to an invitation to testify, believing it to be a valuable opportunity to communicate and publicize their views on a question of public policy. If, however, if a person will not come by invitation, a committee may require a witness to appear through a subpoena (House Rule XI, clause 2(m)(1)(B)). Committees also may subpoena any relevant books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and other documents. Subpoenas are used infrequently, and most often at investigative hearings. Under House rules, a committee may authorize and issue a subpoena with a majority quorum present. However, a committee may delegate this authority to its chair, under any limitations it establishes. Many committees currently require majority approval to issue a subpoena, but have adopted additional procedures. For instance, the House Committee on Agriculture requires that a notice of a meeting to issue a subpoena be sent to all members by 5 p.m. on the day preceding the meeting. Several committees, including Energy and Commerce, allow the chair to issue a subpoena during any adjournment of the House for more than three days. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce chair must notify the committee of this action as soon as possible, in no case later than one week after service of the subpoena. If a request for a subpoena has not been previously rejected by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure or one of its subcommittees, the full committee chair may issue the subpoena after consultation with the ranking minority member. The chair must then notify all committee members of the action. Other committees have delegated general subpoena authority to the chair. The rules of the Committee on Small Business allow the chair to issue a full committee subpoena, although the ranking minority member must be “promptly notified.” Further, the chairs of Small Business subcommittees are authorized to issue subpoenas for their panels, but require the approval of a majority of the subcommittee and the full committee chair. A committee issuing a subpoena can obtain the appropriate form from the Clerk of the House. Subpoenas usually are delivered by authorized committee staff or by the U.S. Marshal’s office. Compliance with a subpoena can be enforced only at the direction of the House. Under one method of enforcement, a committee could report a resolution citing for contempt of Congress an individual who did not respond to a subpoena. If approved by the House, the resolution would be sent to the Office of the U.S. Attorney for prosecution. Committee staff commonly consult with experts to gather information in preparation for a hearing. A more formal means of obtaining information, for

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investigative hearings in particular, is through the use of depositions. Under this method, committee staff may take testimony in private, in some cases from individuals who also appear as witnesses. The testimony is sometimes taken under oath, and a transcript may be prepared. Individuals often are accompanied by counsel, and respond to prepared questions. Given that House rules do not expressly authorize committees to take depositions, on occasion the House has granted specific authority for such action by resolution. In such cases, the committee usually has adopted procedures expanding on its authority to take depositions. As an example, the House in 1997 approved a resolution authorizing staff of the Committee on Government Reform to take depositions in the study of alleged political fundraising improprieties and possible violations of law (H.Res. 167, 105th Congress, agreed to June 20, 1997).

Briefing Books Committees often ask staff to prepare summary and background material for use by their members before and during a hearing. This information is sometimes assembled into briefing books or folders to present issues in a systematic, uniform way. Briefing books might include a variety of items, including a description of the subject, scope, and purpose of the hearing. For legislative hearings, a copy and explanation of each measure under consideration, and a comparison of all measures to be discussed, are useful. Background material might include relevant statutes and regulations, court decisions, press articles, agency reports, academic studies, and a chronology of major events. In order to assist members with witnesses, the books might contain a list of witnesses in their order of appearance, a copy or summary of written testimony, and biographical information. Briefing material might also include questions or talking points for committee members to use in opening statements and in examining witnesses. Before a hearing, committee staff sometimes brief members and other staff. Staff may conduct oral briefings in addition to, or in lieu of, preparing briefing books. These sessions provide an opportunity to discuss matters of particular interest to individual committee members.

Publicity and Media Considerations A committee’s goal in holding a hearing often is not narrowly limited to collecting information for policy development. The goal may include publicizing

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an issue or problem to focus attention on it. Public exposure of a problem at an oversight or investigative hearing can be a particularly effective technique. Public officials often seem responsive to correcting program deficiencies when an issue has been broadly publicized. Hearings also are used to build support for a proposal among the public generally or certain sectors thereof. Members and witnesses make arguments that form part of the public record in support of future committee action, such as reporting a measure. House rules influence how a committee plans for media coverage and other publicity matters. For example, House rules require that hearings be open to the public, as well as to radio, television, and still photography coverage, unless a committee votes to close a hearing (House Rule XI, clause 2(g)(2)(A)). Hearings may be closed only for limited and specific reasons — for example, to deal with information that could compromise national security. (See “Closing a Hearing,” below.) Detailed provisions of House rules dealing with broadcasting committee hearings point up the importance to Congress of television coverage (House Rule XI, clause 4). Among the issues covered are the following: • •

•

•

•

•

Radio and television coverage cannot be used as partisan political ampaign material to promote or oppose a person’s political candidacy. Coverage must be “in strict conformity with and observance of the acceptable standards of dignity, propriety, courtesy, and decorum traditionally observed by the House.” Hearings open to the public must be open to coverage by the media, although in November 1997, the House removed language in Rule XI, clause 4 that previously allowed subpoenaed witnesses to request that television lenses be covered, microphones used for media coverage be turned off, and still cameras not be used. Once a chair determines the number of cameras that will be permitted in a hearing, the Executive Committee of the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Galleries determines how those cameras will be allocated among the television media. Neither television cameras nor still photographers can be positioned between the witness table and members of the committee, and photographers may not position themselves where they might unnecessarily obstruct coverage by other media. Television cameras must operate from fixed positions and cannot unnecessarily obstruct coverage of the hearing by other media.

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•

• •

•

Television and radio equipment must be in place before the hearing begins and cannot be installed or removed from the hearing room while the committee is in session. Technicians may install additional lighting in a hearing or meeting room in order to raise the ambient lighting level in a hearing to the lowest level necessary to provide adequate television coverage. Otherwise, additional lighting, such as spotlights and strobelights, is not permitted. Preference in allocating the number of still photographers permitted by committee chairs must be given to photographers from the Associated Press Photos and United Press International Newspictures. If requests are made by more media than permitted by the chair, pool coverage is arranged by the Standing Committee of Press Photographers. Individuals providing media coverage must be accredited to the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Galleries or the Press Photographers’ Gallery.

The House Committee on Ways and Means is one of the few committees with rules expanding upon these provisions. The committee forbids interviews in the hearing room while the committee is in session, and individual interviews must take place before the gavel falls to convene a meeting or after the gavel falls for its adjournment. The media must notify the committee one day in advance of planned “electronic coverage.” Committee press aides usually are responsible for planning media coverage for a hearing, and they typically employ a number of diverse techniques for attracting and managing the media. In some cases, press aides in Members’ personal offices take similar actions on behalf of individual committee members. Often an early objective is to seek the assistance of the House Press Gallery, the Periodical Press Gallery, and the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Gallery. The mission of the gallery staffs is not only to facilitate coverage of House activities on behalf of the media, but also to assist Member and committee staff with their media responsibilities. Gallery staff can assist committees in a variety of ways, by distributing press releases and witness statements, resolving differences involving camera crews, and making pool arrangements for maximum television coverage, including setting cables for broadcasting. Some committees routinely inform the media of upcoming events. The information typically includes a list of hearings and a description of each, emphasizing why the hearing is important. For each hearing, these calendars provide the date, time, and location, as well as a staff contact.

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Press releases are a standard format for informing journalists of newsworthy committee activities. In addition to the committee’s press list, press releases also can be distributed to committee and Member offices and the House press galleries. Language from press releases can be used to draft “Dear Colleague” letters and Member statements for use in committee and on the floor. Committee staff often put together media packets prior to hearings. The packets can include a variety of material, such as statements by the committee chair and other members; a list of witnesses and copies of written testimony; and background material such as press clippings and support agency studies. As the day of a hearing approaches, reporters often will seek out staff for information. Many committees prefer that journalists’ discussions with staff be “on background” and not for attribution. Speaking for attribution usually is limited to committee members. Press conferences are a common technique for personally informing interested journalists of important issues in an upcoming hearing, and for clarifying issues immediately following a hearing. Some committee members prefer to meet informally with reporters in the hallway outside the hearing room. Others prefer a more structured environment, in the hearing room or the Member’s office.

Administrative Matters Dozens of administrative arrangements need to be made before a hearing, and these usually are the responsibility of the committee’s administrative staff. Two important administrative matters are: (1) reserving a hearing room; and (2) arranging for an official reporter early in the planning stage. If a committee’s own hearing rooms are unavailable, it may try to use a room of another committee. In the past, it has also been possible to use rooms within the jurisdiction of the Speaker and other leaders and officers by contacting the pertinent offices. Upon request, the office of Official Reporters (Clerk of the House) will provide a reporter to transcribe a hearing. Many administrative details concern the physical setup of the hearing room. These may include arranging furniture and equipment; setting up items on the dais such as nameplates, writing materials, water, and ice; supplying the chair with a gavel, block, and timer; providing the chair and other members with materials not included in the briefing books, such as copies of committee and House rules; reserving seats for the press, staff, witnesses, or other individuals; and arranging for turning on audio consoles, microphones, and lighting. Sufficient copies of

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relevant materials, such as Member and witness statements, should be provided for distribution at the hearing. Security during hearings is provided by the U.S. Capitol Police. If a hearing deals with sensitive or volatile issues, or there is unusually great public interest, multiple uniformed or plain clothes officers may be assigned. The Capitol Police may take any law enforcement actions that become necessary during the course of a hearing, such as responding to a disturbance or making an arrest of an unruly spectator. The Capitol Police also provide security for protected witnesses, such as the Attorney General and other high-ranking government officials.

Field Hearings A field hearing presents planning considerations different from those for Washington hearings. These include identifying the city, district, or state and the specific location, for example, a federal building, school, or private venue, where the hearing will be held. It may be necessary for staff to travel to the field location a day or more before the hearing to ensure that arrangements are to the committee’s satisfaction, including the specific layout of tables and chairs for committee members, witnesses, and the public, and the availability of a sound system and the technicians to operate it. Security personnel also need to be arranged. When field hearings involve oversight of a federal agency, it may be possible, under a committee’s oversight authority, to request that the agency provide transportation for committee members and staff. Usually, such requests require a letter from the committee chairman to the agency head. Expenses incurred by a Representative or staff aide attending a field hearing, including transportation, meals and incidentals such as parking charges, are reimbursable by the committee holding the hearing. Automobile rentals are also reimbursable, provided that the car is used only to transport Members or staff authorized by the committee for travel. Regulations printed in the House Administration Committee’s Committees’ Congressional Handbook cover several matters specific to field hearings. Committees are authorized to rent commercial space when public space is not available or suitable. If a committee has to lease private space for a field hearing, it may be asked to provide a certificate of insurance. The House does not carry a private insurance policy and generally does not permit the use of committee funds to pay for a private insurance policy. House regulations also stipulate that the Office of Official Reporters to Committees will either send an official reporter or

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arrange for a stenographic reporter from a commercial firm at the location of the field hearing.

CONDUCTING HEARINGS As previously noted, hearings involve extensive preparation. By the day of the hearing, important requirements of House rules, such as publicly announcing hearings, have been met. Critical decisions, such as choice and format of witnesses, have been made. Necessary research has been conducted and relevant materials assembled in a briefing book. Briefings may have been prepared for committee members, staff, witnesses, and the press. Administrative issues, such as arranging for an official reporter, have been attended to. As a result of thorough and careful preparation, many hearings proceed without surprises. Committees must, however, occasionally confront unanticipated events that require a change in plans, such as calling additional witnesses or closing a session to the public.

Quorum Each committee can determine the number of members required for its hearings, but House rules require a minimum quorum of two members at any hearing (House Rule XI, clause 2(h)(2)). While most committees have adopted this minimum, there are variations. For example, the Committee on Ways and Means requires a quorum of two, but its rule requires that every effort be made to secure the presence of at least one majority and one minority party member. The Rules Committee operates with different hearings quorums for different purposes. The quorum is five for full committee testimony on requests for rules, three for measures or matters of original jurisdiction before the full committee, and two for testimony before subcommittees. Committee staff often poll members before the start of a hearing to determine who plans to attend. Sometimes staff also obtain information on where members can be reached, in case they are needed to meet the quorum requirement. Committees sometimes proceed with hearings without a quorum. For instance, a committee may work through a roll call vote on the floor by leaving only one member presiding over the hearing while others vote. The first committee member to return from the floor may replace the member presiding, who then leaves to cast his or her vote. If, however, if any member makes a point of order that a

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quorum is not present, the committee cannot continue to conduct business until the presence of a quorum is established.

Closing a Hearing The vast majority of committee hearings are open to the public, as required under House rules; but House rules permit committees to close a hearing for specific reasons, and outline the procedure for doing so (House Rule XI, clauses 2(g)(2) and 2(k)(5)). A hearing may be closed to the public “because disclosure of testimony, evidence, or other matters to be considered would endanger the national security, would compromise sensitive law enforcement information, or would violate any law or rule of the House of Representatives.” In order to close all or part of a hearing, a committee must vote by roll call in open session and with a majority present. When a quorum is present for taking testimony, however, a committee may vote to close a hearing (1) because the anticipated testimony at an investigative hearing “may tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person,”; or (2) solely to discuss whether there is reason to continue the hearing in closed session. House rules permit most committees to close a hearing on a specific day and on one subsequent day of hearings. The Committees on Appropriations, Armed Services, and Intelligence, however, may vote to close their hearings for five additional, consecutive days of hearings. Members of the House generally may attend, but not participate in, hearings of committees (except the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct) on which they do not serve. Nevertheless, the House may vote to authorize a committee to use procedures for closing a hearing to the public to close hearings to Members not on the committee as well.

Witness Rights In 1955, the House first adopted rules to protect the rights of witnesses. These rules responded to criticism about the treatment of witnesses, particularly at investigative hearings such as those to explore Communist Party activities in the United States. Today, several protections for witnesses, especially at investigative hearings, are contained in House rules (House Rule XI, clause 2(k)). For example, witnesses are provided a copy of the rules of the committee and House rules applicable to investigative hearings. They may be accompanied by their own

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counsel to advise them of their constitutional rights. Further, if evidence will tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate a person, the committee may vote, with a quorum present for taking testimony, to meet in closed session. The committee may proceed in open session only if, with a majority present, it determines that the evidence will not have these effects on this person. In either case, the committee will give the person an opportunity to appear as a witness, and will take requests from the individual to subpoena additional witnesses. In other instances, the chair receives, and the committee disposes of, requests to subpoena witnesses. Witnesses also are protected by the Constitution, in particular, the Fourth, Fifth, and First Amendments. While committees need to obtain answers to questions, the Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable search and seizure to obtain information. Under Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, witnesses cannot be compelled to give evidence against themselves unless granted immunity. The First Amendment protects witnesses who may seek to refuse compliance with a committee subpoena by claiming that the committee infringed on the witness’s right to free speech, assembly, or petition.

Opening Statements When present, the committee chair ordinarily will preside over its hearings. House rules allow each committee chair to designate a majority party member to be the vice chair of the full committee or a subcommittee, and stipulate that the vice chair presides in the temporary absence of the chair (House Rule XI, clause 2(d)). If both the chair and vice chair are absent, the most senior majority party member present presides. In order to begin the hearing, the chair usually makes an opening statement introducing the subject and purpose of the session. The chair may describe important events leading to the hearing and key contemporary issues. He or she also may outline the committee’s approach to the matter; how interruptions, such as for roll call votes, will be handled; and the schedule of future hearings. When finished, the chair generally recognizes the ranking minority party member to make an opening statement, and may then recognize other members. Not all committees allow opening statements by all committee members. The rules of the Committee on Resources, for instance, preclude opening statements unless the chair (or designee) makes a statement, in which case the ranking minority member (or designee) also may make a statement. In practice, chairs of other committees sometimes discourage opening statements in the interest of time,

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perhaps asking that interested members instead submit opening statements for the printed hearing record. Where opening statements are permitted, they usually occur under the fiveminute rule which allows a member to speak for five minutes when recognized by the chair; this is not always the case, however. While the Committee on Energy and Commerce chair and ranking minority member (or designees) may speak for five minutes, other committee members are limited to three minutes each. The Committee on Science attempts to restrict the total time of opening statements. Its rules generally provide that, after consultation with the ranking minority member, the chair limits the total time for opening statements by members to no more than 10 minutes. The time is equally divided among members present who wish to make an opening statement.

Introducing Witnesses and Administering the Oath Following any opening statements, the chair generally introduces each witness in accordance with the arranged order and format. A committee member other than the chair might introduce a witness in some cases. The Committee on Resources, for instance, permits a committee member to introduce a witness who is a constituent. House rules authorize the chair, or any member designated by the chair, to administer the oath to a witness (House Rule XI, clause 2(m)(2)). In practice, most committees rarely require testimony under oath. Swearing in of witnesses appears to be more common at investigative hearings and hearings dealing with sensitive subject matter. For instance, under the rules of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the chairman may require testimony of witnesses to be given under oath or affirmation. Further, the rules of a few committees prescribe a particular oath if witnesses are sworn. The rules of the Committee on Armed Services contain the following: “Do you solemnly swear (or affirm) that the testimony you will give before this Committee (or subcommittee) in the matters now under consideration will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

Oral Testimony of Witnesses Under House rules, each committee requires witnesses to limit their oral testimony to a brief summary of their argument, insofar as is practicable (House

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Rule XI, clause 2(g)(4)). In the interest of time, and because written testimony generally is available to the committee in advance, it is usually not necessary or desirable for a witness to read his or her entire written statement. On some committees the chair has the discretion to determine how long a witness may speak. On the Committee on Agriculture, witnesses may be limited to brief summaries of their statements within the time allotted to them, at the discretion of the chair. Other committees have adopted rules stipulating how long a witness may speak, typically for five minutes. For instance, each witness before the Committee on Resources and the Committee on Science is restricted to a five minute summary of his or her written remarks. Resources Committee witnesses may be granted additional time by the chair, in consultation with the ranking minority member, and Science Committee witnesses may receive additional time from the chair.

Five-Minute Rule for Questioning Witnesses The question and answer period which follows a witness’s opening statement presents an opportunity for a committee to build a public record and to obtain information to support future committee actions. Committee staff sometimes prepare questions or talking points for committee leaders and other members. In some cases, the expected line of questioning is discussed in advance with witnesses. House rules generally accord committee members five minutes to question each witness until every member has had this opportunity (House Rule XI, clause 2(j)(2)). In practice, many committees allow an extension of time by unanimous consent, and a few committees, such as Veterans’ Affairs, specify this in their rules. After the first round of questioning under the five-minute rule, committees can determine how to dispose of any additional time. Some committees’ rules specify a procedure for using additional time. For example, the rules of the House Committee on International Relations provide for a second round of questioning under the five-minute rule, while rules of the Committee on Agriculture allow the chair to limit the time for further questioning.

Extended Questioning of Witnesses House rules allow a committee to extend the time for questioning witnesses by adopting a rule or motion to allow an equal number of its majority and

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minority party members to question a witness for a period not to exceed one hour in the aggregate (House Rule XI, clause 2(j)(2)(B)). Similarly, a committee may adopt a rule or motion allowing its majority and minority staff to question a witness for equal periods of time, not to exceed one hour in the aggregate (House Rule XI, clause 2(j)(2)(C)). Several committees have adopted procedures allowing extended questioning. The rules of some committees, for instance the Committee on Agriculture, give only members this authority. They state that the chair and ranking minority member may designate an equal number of members from each party to question witnesses, and that unless a majority of the committee or subcommittee determines otherwise, staff may not interrogate witnesses. The source of the authority for extended questioning differs among committees. On the Committee on Government Reform, the chair, with the concurrence of the ranking minority member, or the committee by motion, may permit members or staff to question witnesses for an extended period. On the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the chair, after consultation with the ranking minority member, may designate members or authorize staff to conduct extended questioning. Further, a few committees specify when any extended questioning may occur. For instance, the chair of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs cannot recognize a member for extended questioning until all members have had a chance to question witnesses under the five minute rule. The rules of the House Committee on Government Reform allow extended questioning at the discretion of the chair only after all members have had an opportunity under the five minute rule. A few committee rules also detail how the time for extended questioning is to be allocated. On the Committee on Government Reform, the chair determines how to allocate the time permitted for extended questioning by majority members or staff, and the ranking minority member determines how to allocate the time for minority members or staff. The chair, or the ranking minority member, as applicable, may allocate the time for extended questioning by staff to members.

Order of Questioning Witnesses Each committee has discretion to determine the order in which its members may question witnesses. A common procedure allows alternating between the parties, in order of seniority. By contrast, the so-called “early bird rule” permits members to question witnesses based on members’ order of arrival at the hearing. Some committees use a combination of these two methods. The rules of many

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committees contain provisions granting their chairs flexibility in recognition, to take into consideration the ratio of majority to minority members present. In practice, committee chairs may entertain requests to proceed out of order to accommodate the schedules of individual members. Committee rules covering the order for questioning witnesses vary. On the Committee on House Administration, questioning begins with the chair and ranking minority party member, then alternates between the majority and minority parties. Further, the chair is to take into consideration the ratio of majority to minority members present in order not to disadvantage the majority. The chair may accomplish this by recognizing two majority party members for each minority member recognized. In the case of the Committee on Armed Services, all members present at the start of a hearing will be recognized in order of seniority, and thereafter, members are recognized in order of appearance. However, the committee chair also must take into consideration the ratio of majority to minority members present, and the chair and ranking minority member take precedence upon their arrival.

Relevancy of Debate and Questions House rules require Members speaking on the floor to confine themselves to the question under debate (House Rule XVII(1)(b)). While this rule is generally applicable to debate in committee, some committee rules apply it explicitly to hearings. In questioning witnesses, members of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure are limited in their remarks to the subject matter under consideration. The Committee on Armed Services requires questions put to witnesses to be relevant to the measure or matter under consideration. The House Committee on Government Reform requires that questions put to witnesses at investigative hearings be relevant to the subject matter before the committee, and that the chair rule on relevance of questions put to witnesses. On the Committee on Agriculture, members are limited in debate to the subject matter under consideration, unless permission is granted by unanimous consent to extend remarks beyond the subject. In addition, questions put to witnesses must be germane to the matter under consideration.

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Questioning by Other Than Committee or Subcommittee Members House rules allow committees to adopt a rule or motion permitting majority and minority staff to question witnesses for equal periods of time. (See “Extended Questioning of Witnesses.”) Committee rules sometimes give additional authority for staff to question witnesses. The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, for example, allows witnesses to be interrogated by such committee staff as are authorized by the chairman in consultation with the ranking member. Several committees permit their members to participate in the hearings of subcommittees of which they are not members, although the specific provisions differ. In some cases, this prerogative appears to be restricted to the chair and ranking minority member of the full committee. For instance, many committees allow the chair and ranking minority member to serve, ex-officio, on all subcommittees, which presumably allows them to participate in subcommittee hearings. The rules of the Committee on Appropriations make explicit that the chair and ranking minority member may sit as members of all subcommittees and may participate in subcommittee work. Their participation may include voting. By contrast, the Committee on Education and the Workforce allows any committee member to attend subcommittee hearings and question witnesses. Other committees explicitly bar non-subcommittee members from engaging in certain activities, while presumably allowing them to question witnesses. Any member of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for example, may sit with any subcommittee during any hearing or meeting, but may not vote, be counted for a quorum, or raise a point of order. Relatedly, even if a hearing is closed to the public, all Members of the House generally may attend, but not participate in, hearings of committees (except the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct) on which they do not serve (House Rule XI, clause 2(g)(2)(C)). A committee may, however, use the procedures for closing a hearing to the public to close hearings to Members not on the committee, if the House so authorizes by vote.

Post-Hearing Activities After examining the last witness, the committee chair closes the hearing. The chair may summarize what has been learned about the issue, and comment on the future committee schedule or expected action. After a day of hearings, staff may be asked to prepare a summary of testimony. The summary may be distributed to committee members and the press

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and become part of any published hearing. Follow-up questions can be prepared and submitted to witnesses for written replies to clear up points not resolved during the hearing. If the hearing is investigative, the committee can prepare and issue its report. If the hearing is legislative, the committee may proceed to mark up and report a measure to the House. Finally, committees attend to administrative details following a hearing, such as restoring the hearing room to its original condition and sending thank-you letters to witnesses. Committees generally are protected on the House floor from points of order against actions that occurred during their hearings. Under House rules, in general, a point of order cannot be raised on the floor against a measure reported by a committee on the grounds that the committee had not complied with provisions in House rules concerning hearings (House Rule XI, clause 2(g)(5)). A member of the reporting committee may, however, make such a point of order on the floor if the point of order was made in committee in a timely manner but was improperly overruled or not properly considered.

Printing Hearings Committees are required to keep transcripts of their hearings. Most committees regularly ask the Office of Official Reporters, Clerk of the House, to provide a reporter to transcribe a hearing. Transcripts must be substantially verbatim (House Rule XI, clause 2(e)(1)(A)). Only technical, grammatical, and typographical corrections authorized by the person making the remarks are allowed. Further, committees usually publish their transcripts, although publication is not required. House rules encourage committees to publish their hearings on reported measures. In general, if hearings have been held on any measure or matter reported by committee, the rules require the committee to make every reasonable effort to have the hearings printed and available to Members before floor consideration (House Rule XIII, clause 4(b)). General appropriations bills may not be considered in the House until printed hearings have been available for at least three calendar days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, except when the House is in session on such a day (House Rule XIII, clause 4(c)). In addition, testimony taken in executive session may not be released or used in public sessions without the consent of a majority of the committee, a majority being present (House Rule XI, clause 2(k)(7)). The rules of some committees address the authority to print hearings. Transcripts of Budget Committee hearings may be printed if the chair so decides

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or if a majority of the members so requests. The Appropriations Committee requires that a transcript of all hearings on the federal budget as a whole be printed and distributed to Members. Each committee may establish procedures for correcting its transcripts, and some committees have rules to expedite this process. The Committee on Ways and Means, for example, requires each witness to correct and return the transcript, and members must correct their testimony and return the corrected transcripts as soon as possible. Further, the committee chair can order a transcript printed without the corrections of a member or witness if the chair determines that a reasonable time has elapsed and that further delay would impede the legislative process. Each committee also has discretion to print supplemental materials as part of the printed hearing. For example, in its printed hearing a committee might include written statements of witnesses, charts, and research materials prepared by committee staff, and letters and testimony from individuals who did not appear as witnesses. A printed hearing also might include witness responses to questions posed during the hearing that the witness could not answer on the spot, or witness responses to follow-up questions. The rules of some committees address the printing of supplemental material or information. For instance, the Committee on Agriculture’s hearings must include the attendance of members during the hearings. House rules require that, to the maximum extent feasible, committees are to make their publications available to the public in electronic form (House Rule XI, clause 2(e)(4)). This rules change in the 105th Congress was intended to encourage committees to make printed, public materials available on the Internet. While a number of committee rules restate this House rule, those of the Committee on Small Business expressly state that the proposed testimony of witnesses must be provided to the public in electronic form. Since the 106th Congress, most committees have made written testimony and/or hearing transcripts available online. (See [http://www.house.gov/house/CommitteeWWW.shtml].) House rules require that a committee’s hearings, records, and other documents be kept separate from the personal office records of the chair, and generally allow all Members of the House access to a committee’s records (House Rule XI, clause 2(e)(2)). The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (P.L. 601, 79th Congress, 60 Stat. 812), requires that at the end of each session of Congress, each committee’s printed hearings must be bound by the Library of Congress. In addition, at the end of each Congress, the chair of each committee is to required transfer to the Clerk of the House the noncurrent records of the committee (House Rule VII, clause 1). Noncurrent committee records are preserved and made

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available by the National Archives and Records Administration, in accordance with House and committee rules.

REFERENCES Related CRS Products CRS Report 98-367. House Committees: Assignment Process, by Judy Schneider. CRS Report RL30244. The Committee Markup Process in the House of Representatives, by Judy Schneider. CRS Report RS20794. The Committee System in the U.S. Congress, by Judy Schneider. CRS Report RS22018. Committee System; Rules Changes in the House, 109th Congress, by Judy Schneider. CRS Report RL30240. Congressional Oversight Manual, by Louis Fisher et al. CRS Report 98-304. House Committee Hearings: Arranging Witnesses, by Thomas P. Carr. CRS Report 98-488. House Committee Hearings: Preparation, by Thomas P. Carr. CRS Report 98-339. House Committee Hearings: Scheduling and Notification, by Thomas P. Carr. CRS Report RL32794. House Committee Funding Requests and Authorizations, 104th-109th Congresses, by Eric Petersen. CRS Report 95-464. Investigative Oversight: An Introduction to the Law, Practice, and Procedure of Congressional Inquiry, by Morton Rosenberg. CRS Report 98-870. Quorum Requirements in the House: Committee and Chamber, by Elizabeth Rybicki. CRS Report 98-317. Types of Committee Hearings, by Thomas P. Carr.

Other Publications Aberbach, Joel D. Keeping a Watchful Eye: The Politics of Congressional Oversight. Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1990. Bond, Jon R. and Richard Fleisher, eds. Polarized Politics: Congress and the President in a Polarized Era. Washington: CQ Press, 2000.

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DeGregorio, Christine. “Leadership Approaches in Congressional Committee Hearings.” Western Political Quarterly, vol. 45 (December 1992), pp. 971983. Hill, James P. “The Third House of Congress versus the Fourth Branch of Government: The Impact of Congressional Committee Staff on Agency Regulatory Decision-Making.” John Marshall Law Review, vol. 19 (Winter 1996), pp. 247-273. Krehbiel, Keith. Information and Legislative Organization. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1991. Lustberg, Arch. Testifying with Impact: A “How to” Booklet for Those Who Testify on the Federal, State, or Local Levels of Government. Washington: Association Division, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1982. Oleszek, Walter J. “Preliminary Legislative Action.” In Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process, 6th ed. Washington: CQ Press, 2004, pp. 76-109. Schneier, Edward V. and Bertram Gross. “Committee Action or Inaction.” In Congress Today. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1993, pp. 381-409. Unekis, Joseph K. “Committee Hearings.” In Donald C. Bacon, Roger H. Davidson, and Morton Keller, eds., The Encyclopedia of the United States Congress, 4 vols., pp. 423-426. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995, vol. 1, pp.423-426. U.S. General Accountability Office. Office of Special Investigations. Investigators’ Guide to Sources of Information. Washington: GPO, April 1997. (Available online at [http://www.gao.gov/special.pubs/soi/contents. htm].) Wells, William G. Jr. “Hearings and Testimony.” In Working with Congress: A Practical Guide for Scientists and Engineers, 2nd ed. Washington: American Association for the Advancement of Science and Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government, 1996, pp. 87-98.

ENDNOTES 1

2

This report was originally written by the late Richard C. Sachs, formerly a Specialist in American National Government at CRS. The listed author updated the report and is available to answer questions concerning its contents. For a compilation of House committee rules, see U.S. Congress, House Committee on Rules, Rules Adopted by the Committees of the House of

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4

5

6

7

8

9

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Representatives, committee print, 109th Cong., 1st sess. (Washington: GPO, 2005). Walter J. Oleszek, Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process, 6th ed. (Washington: CQ Press, 2004), p. 93. For more information on committee reports see CRS Report 98-169, House Committee Reports: Required Contents, by Judy Schneider. Senate committees also hold hearings on approving treaties, and on confirming presidential nominees, in fulfillment of the Senate’s advice and consent responsibility under the Constitution. Because the House does not have this constitutional duty, its committees do not hold confirmation hearings. For more information on select committees see CRS Report RS21243, Ad Hoc Select Committees: Use in the House of Representatives, by Judy Schneider. U.S. Congress, Committee on House Administration, Committees’ Congressional Handbook, available online at [http://cha.house.gov/services/ committeehandbook.htm]. Joint hearings in the House are also commonly conducted by two different subcommittees of the same standing committee. A joint session of Congress occurs upon the adoption by both chambers of a concurrent resolution. The House and Senate meet in joint session primarily to hear remarks by the President. The President’s annual State of the Union address is an example. A joint meeting is held when both chambers declare themselves in recess, by resolution or unanimous consent. Congress holds joint meetings to receive addresses from foreign dignitaries and to commemorate events.

In: Hearings in the Senate and … Editor: Susan Rossi

ISBN 978-1-60456-415-0 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 2

HOUSE AND SENATE RULES OF PROCEDURE: A COMPARISON* Mary E. Mulvihill† ABSTRACT This report compares selected House and Senate rules of procedure governing various stages of the legislative process: referral of legislation to committees; scheduling and calling up measures; and floor consideration. The appendices provide sources of additional information about House and Senate rules of procedure. This report will be updated to reflect any changes in the rules or practices of the House or Senate.

SUMMARY More differences than similarities emerge when comparing selected House and Senate rules of procedure for referring legislation to committees, and for scheduling, raising and considering measures on the floor.

* This is an edited, excerpted and augmented edition of a Congressional Research Service Report for Congress publication, No. 97-270 GOV, dated April 7, 1999. † Updated by Paul Rundquist, Judy Schneider, and Lorraine H. Tong Government and Finance Division

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While the House uses five calendars (Union, House, Corrections, Private, Discharge), the Senate only employs two calendars (Legislative and Executive). The House’s system of special days for considering certain types of measures (e.g., “District Days”) has no equivalent in the Senate. In making scheduling decisions, the Speaker typically consults only with majority party leaders and selected Representatives whereas the Senate Majority Leader confers broadly with minority party leaders and interested Senators. The Speaker’s dual position as leader of the majority party and the House’s presiding officer gives him more authority to govern floor proceedings than the Senate’s presiding officer. While debate time is always restricted in the House, individual Senators generally have the right to unlimited debate. Most noncontroversial measures are approved by “suspension of the rules” in the House, and by unanimous consent in the Senate. Floor consideration of major bills is generally governed by “special rules” in the House, and by “complex unanimous consent agreements” in the Senate. The House typically meets in the Committee of the Whole to consider major legislation; no such committee exists in the Senate. The House considers and amends legislation in a more structured manner (e.g., by section or title) than the Senate. In addition, while germaneness of amendments is required in the House, it is mandated only in four instances in the Senate. Rollcall votes can be requested at almost any time in the Senate, but only after completing a voice or division vote in the House. Because the Senate often recesses instead of adjourning at the end of the day, Senate legislative days can continue for several calendar days. By contrast, the House routinely adjourns at the end of each legislative day.

INTRODUCTION House and Senate rules of procedure are largely a function of the number of members comprising each chamber. In the House, a structured legislative process and strict adherence to the body’s rules and precedents have resulted from the need to manage how 435 Representatives make decisions. By contrast, the Senate’s smaller membership has brought about a less formal policy-making process and a more flexible approach to the chamber’s standing rules. While individual Representatives must typically yield to the majority will of the House, the Senate usually accommodates the interests of individual Senators. This report compares selected House and Senate rules of procedure for various stages of the legislative process: referral of legislation to committees; scheduling and calling up measures; and floor consideration. No attempt is made

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to present a comprehensive discussion of how both chambers operate. The appendices provide sources of additional information about House and Senate rules of procedure. At the start of the 106 th Congress, the House adopted a recodification of its rules. Rule and clause citations in this report reflect this recodification of House rules.

REFERRAL OF LEGISLATION In both the House and Senate, the presiding officer (see “Presiding Officer and Recognition Practices” section) refers newly-introduced legislation and measures passed by the other chamber to the appropriate standing committee. Upon advice from the Parliamentarian, the presiding officer bases referral decisions on the chamber’s rules and precedents for subject matter jurisdiction. Legislation passed by the other body usually receives floor consideration without reference to a committee if there already is a companion bill on a calendar (see discussion of calendars in next section). The House changed its referral rule (Rule XII, clause 2) at the beginning of the 104th Congress. This change was aimed at reducing the number of measures referred to more than one committee, commonly called “multiple referrals.” The rules change eliminated joint referrals, a type of multiple referral where a measure is simultaneously referred to two or more committees. Under the new rule, the Speaker designates “a committee of primary jurisdiction” (based on the committee jurisdictions itemized in Rule X) when referring measures to more than one committee. In practice, two types of multiple referrals can take place if the Speaker first selects a primary committee: a sequential referral (the measure is referred to one committee, then to another, and so on; the Speaker can establish time limits for each committee’s consideration); and a split referral (specifically designated portions of a measure are referred to one or more committees). House committees often develop “memorandums of understanding” (sometimes referred to as “letters of agreement”) which explain an agreement between committees about how to divide jurisdiction over specific policy issues. These memorandums are sent to the Speaker in the form of letters from the involved committee chairmen, and are sometimes printed in the Congressional Record. The memorandums seek to advise the Speaker on referral decisions where committee jurisdictions are unclear or overlapping. Under the Senate’s referral rule (Rule XVII, paragraph 1), legislation is referred to “the committee which has jurisdiction over subject matter which predominates” in the measure (sometimes referred to as “predominant

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jurisdiction”).1 Senate Rule XXV lists the subjects for which the standing committees are responsible. Senate Rule XIV requires that measures be read twice on different legislative days (see “Adjournment and Legislative Days” section) before being referred to a committee. Most bills and joint resolutions, however, are considered as having been read twice and are referred to committee upon introduction. Under Rule XIV, when a Senator demands two readings and there is objection to the measure’s second reading, the measure is placed directly on the Calendar of Business (see next section) without reference to committee. Three types of multiple referrals—joint, sequential and split—are allowed in the Senate. In practice, measures are referred to multiple committees by unanimous consent. Under the Senate’s standing rules (Rule XVII, paragraph 3), the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders can make a joint leadership motion to jointly or sequentially refer legislation to multiple committees. However, this rule has never been used since its adoption by the Senate in 1977. In general multiple referrals are more common in the House than in the Senate.

SCHEDULING AND RAISING MEASURES Calendars Measures reported from House committees (except for private measures) are referred to either the Union or House Calendar (Rule XIII, clause 1(a)). In general, the Union Calendar receives all measures which would be considered in the Committee of the Whole, such as tax, authorization, and appropriations measures. All other public bills and public resolutions are referred to the House Calendar (Rule XIII, clause 1 (a)(2)). The Speaker, after consulting with the Minority Leader, may refer a measure from the Union or House Calendar to the Corrections Calendar (Rule XIII, clause 1(b); and Rule XV, clause 6). This special calendar was established during the 104th Congress when the House abolished the Consent Calendar.2 A bipartisan Corrections Day Advisory Group advises the Speaker on which measures to place on the Corrections Calendar. According to guidelines developed by the advisory group, Corrections Day bills “should address laws and regulations that are ambiguous, arbitrary, or ludicrous” and “should be noncontroversial and have broad bipartisan support.”3 The House also maintains a Private Calendar (Rule XIII, clause 1 (a)(3); and Rule XV, clause 5) for measures of a private character affecting individual persons or entities, and a Calendar of Motions to Discharge Committees (Rule XIII, clause

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1(c); and Rule XV, clause 2) from further consideration of particular measures (see “Legislation Blocked in Committee” section for a discussion of the discharge motion). The Senate only has two calendars: the Calendar of Business (commonly called the “Legislative Calendar”), and the Executive Calendar. Nominations and treaties are referred to the Executive Calendar. Legislation reported from committee are referred to the Calendar of Business, or placed on this calendar by unanimous consent. As discussed earlier, Rule XIV provides a procedure for placing measures on the Calendar of Business without reference to committee. A measure commonly becomes eligible for floor consideration in both chambers once it has been placed on a calendar. The calendar number assigned to a measure indicates the chronological order the measure was placed on the calendar, not the order for floor consideration.

Calling Up Measures The scheduling of legislation for House floor action is the fundamental prerogative of the Speaker. Individual Representatives cannot easily circumvent, influence, or reverse leadership decisions about which measures should come to the floor. The most significant and controversial measures are usually made in order for floor consideration by a “special rule” passed by a majority vote of the House (see next section). Less controversial measures are often raised under the “suspension of the rules” procedure (Rule XV, clause 1) every Monday and Tuesday, and during the last six days of a session. On these “suspension days”(and at other times by unanimous consent or by special rule), the Speaker may recognize a Member to move to suspend the rules and pass a measure. A suspension motion must be approved by two-thirds of those present and voting. The House may also agree to take up a measure by unanimous consent, but does so much less frequently than the Senate. House rules set aside specific days of the month when bills from the Corrections Calendar (second and fourth Tuesdays, Rule XV, clause 6(a)), and the Private Calendar (always the first Tuesday, Rule XV, clause 5(a); also, the third Tuesday, Rule XV, clause 5(b)(1), at the Speaker’s discretion) can be brought up for floor consideration. Legislation involving the District of Columbia can be raised on the second and fourth Mondays of each month (Rule XV, clause 4) sometimes referred to as “District Days.” The Calendar Wednesday procedure (Rule XV, clause 7) reserves Wednesdays for the “call of committees,” during which time committees can raise reported bills that have not been granted a

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special rule or otherwise made privileged for floor action. In today’s House, Calendar Wednesday is usually dispensed with by unanimous consent. All these procedures require a simple majority for passage, except for correction measures which require a three-fifths vote. Certain “ privileged” measures reported by the committees on Appropriations, Budget, House Administration, Rules, and Standards of Official Conduct can be called up at any time under House Rule XIII, clause 5(a). Rules governing privileged reports by the Committee on Rules are detailed under Rule XIII, clause 6. The Senate Majority Leader has the authority to raise measures for Senate floor consideration. Most measures reach the Senate floor either by a simple unanimous consent request, or under a complex unanimous consent agreement (described in next section). The Majority Leader also can offer a debatable motion to proceed to the consideration of a measure. Before scheduling measures for floor action, the Majority Leader consults with the Minority Leader, appropriate committee chairmen, and individual Senators who have notified him of their interest in specific measures. Consultation with individual Senators is necessary because most measures are raised by unanimous consent. A Senator or group of Senators can place a “hold” on the bringing up of measures. “Holds” are an informal custom in the Senate. Early in the 106th Congress, Senate Majority Leader Lott and Minority Leader Tom Daschle modified the hold process. They announced that all Senators, who wished to place a hold on any measure, must notify the sponsor and the committee of jurisdiction of their intentions before providing such notice in writing to the respective party leader.

Special Rules vs. Complex Unanimous Consent Agreements “Special rules” establish the parliamentary conditions governing House floor consideration of most major measures. The House Rules Committee reports a special rule (often referred to as a “rule”) in the form of a simple resolution. The typical special rule provides a specific amount of time for general debate and determines whether or not amendments are in order. A rule may limit debate on specific amendments and waive points of order against specific provisions or amendments. Because special rules are “ privileged” for floor consideration under Rule XIII, clause 6, they can be called up, debated, and voted upon at any time. Special rules must be agreed to by a majority vote of the House. According to House precedents, the Rules Committee can report a special rule for a bill that is pending before a committee. The effect of this rarely-used

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authority is to discharge the bill from the committee. Conversely, Representatives can move to discharge the Rules Committee from considering a special rule after it has been before the committee for seven legislative days (see “Legislation Blocked in Committee” section for a discussion of the discharge motion).4 The Calendar Wednesday procedure (see previous section) allows committees to call up measures they have reported, but which have not been granted a special rule. In the Senate, complex unanimous consent agreements specify the parliamentary conditions governing floor consideration of major measures.5 These agreements (sometimes referred to as “time agreements”) can limit debate time, structure the amendment process, and waive points of order against specific provisions or amendments. The agreements are negotiated by the Majority Leader, in consultation with the Minority Leader, committee chairmen, and interested Senators. These negotiations are conducted in private meetings or, less frequently, on the Senate floor. A unanimous consent agreement must be accepted by all Senators on the floor when the Majority Leader or his designee formally offers the agreement. The objection of one Senator prevents the agreement from taking effect. An individual Senator can then request the leadership to modify the unanimous consent agreement to accommodate his or her concerns. Complex unanimous consent agreements are printed in the Senate’s daily “Calendar of Business,” and in the Congressional Record.

Legislation Blocked in Committee Both chambers have procedures for calling up measures that have not been reported by a committee. In deference to each committee’s right to consider legislation, Representatives and Senators are generally reluctant to employ these procedures. Members of the House may offer a motion to discharge a committee from considering a measure 30 days after the measure was referred to the committee (7 days for resolutions before the Rules Committee). If 218 Members then sign a discharge petition, the discharge motion is placed on the Discharge Calendar and can be called up on the second or fourth Mondays of each month. If the motion is adopted, a motion to call up the underlying measure for immediate consideration can then be offered. Most discharge motions do not attract the required 218 signatures, and few have been adopted since the discharge rule’s (Rule XV, clause 2) inception. Nevertheless, the act of filing a discharge petition, or threatening to do so, is sometimes used to prompt committee action on measures. The motion to suspend the rules and pass a measure is another procedure for raising unreported

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measures, but is rarely done over the objection of the relevant committee chairman. As discussed earlier, the two-thirds vote required for approving suspension motions means they are generally employed to call up noncontroversial measures. Table 1. Scheduling and Raising Measures: Comparison of House and Senate Procedures House Five calendars (Union, House, Corrections, Private, Discharge) Special days for raising measuresa Scheduling by Speaker and majority party leadership in consultation with only selected Representatives No practice of “holds” Powerful role of Rules Committee Special rules (approved by majority vote) govern floor consideration of most major legislation Non-controversial measures usually approved under suspension of the rules procedure Difficult to circumvent committee consideration of measures a

Senate Two calendars (Legislative and Executive) No special days Scheduling by majority party leadership in broad consultation with minority party leaders and interested Senators Individual Senators can place “holds” on the raising of measures, within limitations No committee with equivalent role Complex unanimous consent agreements (approved by unanimous consent) govern floor consideration of major measures Non-controversial measures approved by unanimous consent Easier to circumvent committee consideration of measures

There are special days for calling up bills under the suspension of the rules and Calendar Wednesday procedures, for raising measures from the Corrections and Private Calendars, and for bringing up legislation involving the District of Columbia.

It is easier to circumvent committees in the Senate than in the House, primarily because Senators generally have the right to offer non-germane amendments (commonly known as “riders”) to measures being considered on the floor.6 For example, a Senator could offer an amendment containing the text of a bill blocked in committee. A Senator also could use Rule XIV (discussed earlier) to bypass a committee that has not reported a particular measure. In this situation, the Senator would reintroduce the bill, demand two readings, and then object to the second reading. Under Rule XIV, the measure would be placed directly on the Calendar of Business. Other Senate procedures for bypassing committees, such as the motion to discharge a committee and the motion to suspend the rules, are

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employed so infrequently they are not discussed here. Senate committees are sometimes discharged by unanimous consent.

FLOOR CONSIDERATION Presiding Officer and Recognition Practices The Speaker of the House is both the leader of the majority party and the chamber’s presiding officer. In this dual position, the Speaker uses his parliamentary and political powers to govern House floor proceedings. He has the discretionary power to recognize, or not recognize, Members to speak. When a Representative seeks recognition, the Speaker will frequently ask: “For what purpose does the Gentleman (Gentlewoman) rise?” The Speaker does so in order to determine what business the Member wants to conduct. If the business does not have precedence (e.g., a special order speech), the Speaker can usually deny recognition. The Speaker does adhere to some established House practices of recognition, such as giving Members of the committee reporting a bill priority recognition for offering floor amendments. A Speaker has the right to vote and to debate from the floor, if he wishes. The extent to which this right is exercised varies from Speaker to Speaker. The Speaker presides over House floor proceedings ,7 but not over meetings of the Committee of the Whole (formally, the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union). He appoints a majority party Representative to preside as chairman of the Committee of the Whole. The House resolves into the Committee of the Whole, a committee to which all Members belong, to consider measures that will be amended (see “Amending Measures” section). A non-partisan Parliamentarian, an officer of the House, is always present to advise the presiding officer on rulings and precedents. The Vice President of the United States is the Senate’s official presiding officer (formally, “President of the Senate”), as provided in Article I of the Constitution. The Constitution also requires that a “President pro tempore” preside over the Senate in the Vice President’s absence. The President pro tempore, in modern times the most senior Senator of the majority party, is elected by a majority vote of the Senate. In practice, the Vice President and the President pro tempore seldom preside over Senate proceedings. The Vice President typically presides when he might be required to break a tie vote on an important administration priority. Most of the time, the President pro tempore exercises his

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right under the Senate’s standing rules (Rule 1) to appoint a Senator as “Acting President pro tempore.” This senator, in turn, can appoint another Senator to serve as Acting President pro tempore. As a result, the duties of presiding officer are routinely filled by a rotation of junior and first-term Senators of the majority party who preside for approximately one hour at a time. Since the Senate’s official presiding officer is not a member of the body, the presiding officer position does not have the same powers to control floor proceedings as those held by the Speaker of the House. The Senate’s presiding officer may speak only if granted permission to do so by the unanimous consent of the membership, and he may vote (as noted above) only to break a tie.8 He also must recognize the first Senator standing and seeking recognition. When several Senators seek recognition at the same time, the Senate’s precedents give preferential recognition to the Majority and Minority Leaders, and the majority and minority floor managers, in that order. The Senate’s presiding officer never interrogates Senators about their purpose for seeking recognition. A non-partisan Senate Parliamentarian is always present to advise on rulings and precedents.

Appealing Rulings of the Chair By House tradition, the presiding officer’s rulings on points of order raised by Members are seldom appealed. As a result, the House has a relatively large and consistent body of precedents based on rulings of the chair. If the chair’s ruling is appealed, the full House decides by majority vote whether to sustain or overrule this ruling. Because this vote is viewed as a serious test of the chair’s authority, it is typically settled along party lines, with the majority sustaining the chair. In contrast to the Senate, there are only a few situations when the House’s presiding officer does not rule on points of order.9 In the Senate, the presiding officer’s rulings on points of order raised by Senators are frequently appealed. The full Senate votes on whether to sustain or overrule the ruling. Under Rule XX, the presiding officer has the option of submitting any question of order to the full Senate for a majority vote decision. He is required to submit questions of order that raise constitutional issues, and those concerning the germaneness or relevancy of amendments to appropriations bills, to the full Senate. Senate votes on appealed rulings of the chair, and on points of order submitted to the full body, often turn on the political concerns of the moment rather than on established Senate practices and procedures. As a result, the Senate has a smaller and less consistent body of precedents than does

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the House. Yet, because the Senate usually operates informally, it is a more precedent- than rule-regulated institution.

Debate Time Restrictions House debate nearly always takes place under some form of time restriction. There is the “one-hour” rule for debate in the House (Rule XVII, clause 2), and the “five-minute” rule during the amendment process in the Committee of the Whole (Rule XVIII, clause 5(a)). Debate is limited to forty minutes for bills considered under the suspension of the rules procedure. Special rules can impose time restrictions on debate, and rule-making provisions in statutes often limit debate on certain types of measures such as budget resolutions. Time restrictions make it difficult for individual Representatives to get debate time on the floor. When Members are accorded debate time, they rarely receive more than two to five minutes. Representatives can be recognized to speak for up to five minutes during the "morning hour" debates before legislative business commences on Mondays and Tuesdays, for “one-minute” speeches (at the Speaker’s discretion and usually at the beginning of the legislative session), and for “special order” speeches of a specified length (ordinarily at the end of the day). In the Senate, individual Senators have the right to unlimited debate. Senators also can seek unanimous consent to speak out of turn on another subject, or to interrupt proceedings with an unrelated matter. Unanimous consent is usually granted. Senators may use their right to extended debate and employ other parliamentary maneuvers to delay floor action, a tactic known as a “filibuster.” The threat of a filibuster, particularly at the end of a session or near a scheduled recess, can be used to try to extract concessions from the Senate leadership. To be sure, it would be impossible for the Senate to act on legislation in a timely fashion if Senators always exercised their right to extended debate. For this reason, the Senate often agrees to debate restrictions as set forth in complex unanimous consent agreements. Floor debate on certain types of measures, such as budget resolutions, is often limited by rule-making provisions in statutes, as is the case in the House.

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Ending Debate Representatives can offer a motion for the previous question to end debate in the House (Rule XIX, clause 1(a)). Adoption of this motion by a majority vote ends debate on the pending question, prevents the offering of any further motions and amendments, and brings about an immediate vote on approving the pending question. This motion cannot be offered when the House meets in the Committee of the Whole. In the Committee of the Whole, Representatives may offer a motion to close or limit debate on the pending question (Rule XVIII, clause 8). The motion may propose to end debate immediately or when a specified time expires. Adoption of this motion by a majority vote only closes or limits debate on the pending question; it does not preclude Members from offering additional motions or amendments (although they may be precluded from debating them) and does not produce an immediate vote on the pending question. Members also may ask unanimous consent to end debate on pending amendments in Committee of the Whole. When a special rule establishes time limitations on general debate or on the debate of specific amendments, debate ends when these time limitations expire. Senate debate usually ends when a Senator yields the floor and no other Senator seeks recognition, or when a previously-established time limitation (e.g., in a complex unanimous consent agreement or a rule-making statute) expires. The Senate’s adoption of a motion to table by majority vote will end debate on a pending measure, motion, or amendment. The practical effect of adopting this motion, however, is to reject the pending question. The Senate can only resume consideration of the tabled matter by unanimous consent. Usage of the motion to table is generally reserved for cases when the Senate is prepared to reject the pending question. A cloture motion signed by 16 Senators can be filed to end extended debate on a measure, motion, or amendment. This motion is filed when informal negotiations cannot end a filibuster (discussed in previous section). Once the cloture motion is adopted by three-fifths of the Senate, debate can only continue for a maximum of 30 more hours (called the “post-cloture” period). At the end of the post-cloture period, debate time expires or has been yielded back, and the Senate votes on the underlying matter.

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Amending Measures The House typically meets in the Committee of the Whole to consider legislation that will be amended. The House resolves itself into the Committee of the Whole by a motion of the majority floor manager, or pursuant to the provisions of a special rule. The rules of the Committee of the Whole expedite floor consideration of measures. Consideration begins with a designated period of time for general debate, followed by the offering of amendments. Legislation is amended in an orderly fashion (i.e., by section or paragraph, or under the terms specified in a special rule). Members can only offer amendments to the part of the bill that has been read, or designated, for amendments. Any deviation from this orderly sequence requires unanimous consent or a provision in a Senate rule. Amendments must always be germane, unless a special rule permits the offering of specified, non- germane amendments. The principles governing the order of voting on amendments in the Committee of the Whole are graphically displayed in one “basic amendment tree.”10 When the Committee of the Whole approves amendments, it does not actually amend the bill’s text. The Committee of the Whole, similar to a House standing committee, reports the measure back to the House with the amendment[s] it adopted. Such amendment[s] must then be approved by the full House. The Senate (the chamber does not have a Committee of the Whole) considers and amends legislation in a less structured manner than the House. As a result, the sequence and duration of floor consideration is less predictable in the Senate. When recognized, Senators can decide whether they wish to debate the bill in general or offer an amendment. Amendments to the bill may be proposed in any order. At times, the Senate agrees to a complex unanimous consent agreement that allows only specific amendments to be offered and limits the time for debate on each amendment. However, even under unanimous consent arrangements, it is rare for the Senate to impose a specific sequence for debate and amendment. Four amendment trees depict the principles of precedence for offering and voting upon amendments in the Senate.11 Germaneness of amendments is not required in the Senate, except in four specific instances: 1) if a unanimous consent agreement so requires; 2) in the postcloture period (see previous section); 3) if a rule-making provision in a statute so requires (e.g., provisions of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act of 1974 governing consideration of budget resolutions and reconciliation bills); and 4) if the underlying measure is a general appropriations bill.

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Quorum Calls The Constitution requires that a quorum—a simple majority of the membership—be present for the House (218) and the Senate (51) to conduct business. When the House meets in the Committee of the Whole, a quorum of 100 Members is required. Both chambers typically assume that a quorum is present unless it can be demonstrated otherwise. The rules of the House restrict when Members can make a point of order that a quorum is not present in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. This point of order is generally permitted only in connection with record votes. In recent years, House quorum calls have typically lasted 15-17 minutes. Senate quorum calls are in order at almost any time. Quorum calls made for the purpose of obtaining the presence of a majority of Senators are called “live quorums.” More commonly, however, a Senator will “suggest the absence of a quorum” for purposes of constructive delay. This type of quorum suspends action on the Senate floor without requiring the Senate to recess or adjourn. This pause in floor action provides time for informal negotiations to take place, and for absent Senators to reach the floor. The Clerk slowly calls the roll until a Senator asks unanimous consent to “rescind,” or dispense with, the quorum call. There is no time limit on this type of quorum call.

Voting Procedures The House and Senate each have three main types of votes: voice, division, and record. Record votes include all those in which the names of Members voting on each side are individually recorded, and the cumulative totals of yeas and nays are compiled. The Senate refers to record votes as “yea and nay votes” or “rollcall votes;” in the House, record votes include both “yea and nay votes” and recorded votes.” In each house, most questions are first put to a voice vote. For voice votes, the chair first asks those in favor to respond “Aye,” and then those in opposition to respond “No” (House Rule I, clause 6).12 The chair then announces which side has prevailed. Before he or she does so, a Member may ask for a division or record vote. For division votes (also called “standing votes”), those in favor stand up and are counted by the chair, followed by those in opposition. The chair then announces the result (House Rule XX, clause 1(a)). Division votes in the Senate are rare, they are sometimes taken by Senators raising their hands instead of rising, and the chair does not announce the number voting on each side.

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The two chambers differ in their conduct of record votes. After a voice or division vote has taken place in the House, but before the final result had been announced, Representatives can demand either a “yea and nay vote” or a “recorded vote,” except that a yea and nay vote may not be demanded in Committee of the Whole. The demand for a yea and nay vote must be supported by one-fifth of those present, or the vote may be ordered automatically if a Member objects to a pending vote on the ground that a quorum is not present. The demand for a recorded vote must be supported by one-fifth of a quorum in the House (a minimum of 44 Members), or by 25 Members in Committee of the Whole (House Rule XX, clauses 1(b), 6(a); Constitution, Article I, section 5). Record votes in the House normally take place by electronic device. Members vote with electronic voting cards and their votes are displayed on an electronic board in the chamber. While a vote is taking place, Members preparing to vote often look at the electronic board to see how other Members voted. The majority and minority party floor whips also use their board to carry out their votecounting responsibilities. House rules (Rule XX, clauses 2(a), 9) require a minimum 15-minute voting period for record votes, except that in specified situations (e.g., when a record vote immediately follows a quorum call in the Committee of the Whole) the presiding officer may reduce the time to not less than five minutes. The voting period may also be extended at the discretion of the chair. The chair also has the authority to postpone and cluster certain votes, such as those ordered on motions to suspend the rules (Rule XX, clause 10). The Senate does not use an electronic voting system to conduct rollcall votes. Under Rule XII, the Clerk calls the names of all Senators in alphabetical order (formally, “calls the roll”). Senators come to “the well” of the Senate to vote, and the Clerk announces how each Senator voted.13 Senators can track how colleagues have voted by checking the tallies kept by majority and minority floor staff. A Senator’s demand for a rollcall vote must be supported by a minimum of 11 senators, which is one-fifth of the minimal quorum for doing business (51). In general, this requirement is casually enforced. A 15-minute period for rollcall votes is usually established in a unanimous consent agreement adopted on the opening day of a new session of Congress. The party floor leaders can extend this voting time period at their discretion. Senators can, and usually do, ask for a rollcall vote at any time a question is pending before the Senate. They do not have to wait for a voice or division vote to first take place. For example, a Senator offering an amendment can ask for a rollcall vote even before debate on the amendment begins. When this happens, the yeas and nays are ordered after the Clerk confirms that a sufficient second

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supports the request. The ordering of the yeas and nays does not bring about an immediate vote. In fact, most rollcall votes in the Senate do not take place immediately upon being ordered. Table 2. Floor Consideration: Comparison of House and Senate Procedures House Presiding officer has considerable discretion in recognizing Members Rulings of presiding officer seldom challenged Debate time always restricted Debate ends by majority vote in the House and in the Committee of the Whole Most major measures considered in Committee of the Whole Number and type of amendments often limited by special rule; bills amended by section or title Germaneness of amendments required (unless requirement is waived by special rule) Quorum calls usually permitted only in connection with record votes Record votes by electronic device; can be requested only after voice or division vote is completed House routinely adjourns at end of each legislative day a

Senate Presiding officer has little discretion in recognizing Senators Rulings of presiding officer frequently challenged Unlimited debate;a individual Senators can filibuster Super-majority vote required to invoke cloture; up to 30 hours of post-cloture debate allowedb No Committee of the Whole Unlimited amendments; bills generally open to amendment at any point Germaneness of amendments not required (except in four instances) Quorum calls in order almost any time; often used for purposes of constructive delay No electronic voting system; rollcall votes can be requested almost any time Senate often recesses instead of adjourning; legislative days can continue for several calendar days

Except when complex unanimous consent agreements or rule-making provisions in statutes impose time restrictions. b Adoption of the motion to table by majority vote also ends Senate debate. Usage of this motion, however, is generally reserved for cases when the Senate is prepared to reject the pending question. See “Ending Debate” section.

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Adjournment and Legislative Days The House routinely adjourns at the end of a day’s proceedings. As a result, the House’s calendar days and legislative days are almost always the same. The exceptions are when the House is in session past midnight and in a rare procedural situations. The motion to adjourn in the Senate ends the day’s proceedings and creates a new legislative day when the chamber next convenes. A motion to recess, however, keeps the Senate in the same legislative day. This means that a legislative day in the Senate can continue for many calendar days. At times, there are procedural advantages for the Majority Leader to keep the Senate operating in the same legislative day. In doing so, he avoids having to conduct some routine business required on new legislative days. Senators might otherwise use this routine business for purposes of delay. At other times, there may be procedural advantages for the Majority Leader to create a new legislative day by adjourning. At the beginning of a new legislative day the motion to proceed to consider a measure is non-debatable. This motion is fully debatable at any other time, thus creating an opportunity for a filibuster.

APPENDIX A: BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HOUSE PARLIAMENTARY REFERENCE SOURCES Official Reference Sources Cannon's Procedure in the House of Representatives. H.Doc. 610, 87th Congress, 2nd session. Washington: GPO, 1963. 542 p. Deschler's Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives (in 14 volumes to date; volumes 10-14 are formally titled Deschler-Brown Precedents of the U.S. House of Representatives). H.Doc. 94-661, 94th Congress, 2nd session. Washington: GPO, 1977- . Hinds' and Cannon's Precedents of the House of Representatives (in 11 volumes). Washington: GPO, 1907-1908 and 1935-1941. House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House. 104th Congress, 2nd session. Washington: GPO, 1996. 936 p. House Rules and Manual (formally titled Constitution, Jefferson's Manual and the Rules of the House), published each Congress as a House document (the most

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recent edition is H.Doc. 104-272, 104th Congress, 2nd session. Washington: GPO, 1997. 1336 p. Rules Adopted By the Committees of the House of Representatives, an unnumbered print usually issued in each Congress, most recently in the 105th Congress, by the House Committee on Rules. Rules of the House of Representatives, an unnumbered print usually issued each session of Congress by the Clerk of the House.

Publications of Committees and Offices of the House Floor Procedures in the U.S. House of Representatives, issued by the House Committee on Rules, January 1999. An electronic version is available through the WWW site of the House Committee on Rules. See Appendix B. How Our Laws Are Made (21st edition), prepared by the Office of the House Parliamentarian. S.Doc. 105-14, 105th Congress, 1st session. Washington: GPO, 1998. An electronic version (November 12, 1997) can be accessed through the Internet; see Appendix B). Legislative Manual (1st Edition) of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, House of Representatives. Committee print, 104th Congress, 2nd session. Washington: GPO, 1996. 101 p. Legislative Manual (6th Edition) of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, House of Representatives. Committee print, 104th Congress, 1st session. Washington: GPO, 1995. 133 p.

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Products Most titles, with the exception of the video program and the general distribution memorandum, are available full-text from the CRS World Wide Web home page—[http://www.loc.gov/crs]. From the CRS home page, click on the button next to the heading reading "Search CRS and LOC files," then click on "CRS Products" from the pop-up menu. This takes you to the CRS Products page. Now, insert the product number (example: 9 8-99) in the appropriate field and execute the search. CRS Report 98-995 GOV. The Amending Process in the House of Representatives, by Stanley Bach. Updated Feb. 9, 1999. 51 p.

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CRS Report 96-678 GOV. Committee of the Whole: An Introduction, by Judy Schneider. Updated Aug. 16, 1996. 6 p. CRS Report 95-187 GOV. Committee System: Rules Changes in the House, 104th Congress, by Judy Schneider. Jan. 24, 1995. 3 p. CRS Report 97-13 8 GOV. Committee System: Rules Changes in the House, 105th Congress, by Judy Schneider. Jan. 23, 1997. 2 p. CRS Report RS20017. Committee System: Rules Changes in the House, 106th Congress, by Judy Schneider. Jan. 22, 1999. 2 p. CRS Report 96-708 GOV. Conference Committee and Related Procedures: An Introduction, by Stanley Bach. Updated Feb. 11, 1999. 10 p. CRS Report 98-572 GOV. Decorum in House Debate, by Mary E. Mulvihill. Updated June 19, 1998. 34 p. CRS Report 97-552 GOV. The Discharge Rule in the House: Principal Features and Uses, by Richard S. Beth. Updated Feb. 18, 1999. 6 p. CRS Report 97-856 GOV. Discharge Rule in the House: Recent Use in Historical Context, by Richard S. Beth. Sept. 15, 1997. 18 p. CRS Report 98-88 8 GOV. "Fast-track" or Expedited Procedures: Their Purposes, Elements, and Implications, by Stanley Bach. Oct. 13, 1998. 12 p. CRS Report 98-9 14 GOV. The First Day of a New Congress: A Guide to Proceedings on the House Floor, by Mildred Lehmann Amer. Dec. 24, 1998. 9 p. CRS Report 96-623 GOV. Hearings in the House of Representatives: A Guide for Preparation and Conduct, by Carol Hardy Vincent and Richard C. Sachs. Updated Aug. 26, 1997. 29 p. CRS Report 98-169 GOV. House Committee Reports: Required Contents, by Judy Schneider. Updated Jan. 19, 1999. 2 p. CRS Report 97-301 GOV. The House's Corrections Calendar, by Walter J. Oleszek. Updated Feb. 28, 1997. 5 p. CRS Report 97-357 GOV House Rules Affecting Committees, by Stanley Bach and Carol Hardy Vincent. Updated Feb. 22, 1999. 23 p. CRS Report 97-1045 GOV. House Rules and Precedents Affecting Committee Markup Procedures, by Stanley Bach. Updated Feb. 5, 1999. 4 p. CRS Report RS20067. How Measures are Brought to the House Floor: A Brief Introduction, by James V. Saturno. Updated Feb. 17, 1999. 6 p. CRS Report 96-784 GOV. Leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, by Richard C. Sachs. Updated July 23, 1997. 6 p. CRS Report 97-85 A. Legislative Discipline of Members of the House of Representatives, by Jack H. Maskell. Jan. 9, 1997. 6 p.

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CRS Report 9 8-996 GOV: Legislative Procedures and the Legislative Agenda in the House of Representatives, by Stanley Bach. Updated Feb. 5, 1999. 34 p. CRS Report VT96-1333. Legislative Procedures of the U.S. Congress; Video program, by Walter J. Oleszek. Dec. 1996. Program time: 60 minutes. CRS Report 95-563 GOV. The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction, by Stanley Bach. Updated Feb. 3, 1999. 15 p. CRS Report 97-900. Morning Hour Debates: Current House Practices, by Mary E. Mulvihill. Updated Sept. 30, 1997. 5 p. CRS Report 97-647 GOV. The Motion to Recommit in the House: The Minority’s Motion, by Mary E. Mulvihill. Updated June 23, 1997. 26 p. CRS Report 97-898 GOV. One-Minute Speeches: Current House Practices, by Mary E. Mulvihill. Updated Sept. 26, 1997. 8 p. CRS Report 9 8-460 L. Parliamentary Procedure for Advanced Legislative Institutes: A Checklist of CRS Products, by George Walser. Updated Feb. 23, 1999. 5 p. CRS Report 97-530. Parliamentary Reference Sources: House of Representatives, by Mary E. Mulvihill, Richard S. Beth, Judy Schneider. Updated Feb. 23, 1999. 47 p. CRS Report. 97-704 GOV. Quorums in House Floor Proceedings: An Introduction, by Stanley Bach. Updated Aug. 7, 1997. 5 p. CRS Report 98-696 GOV. Resolving Legislative Differences in Congress: Conference Committees and Amendments Between the Houses, by Stanley Bach. Updated Feb. 8, 1999. 39 p. CRS Report 97-780 GOV. Speaker of the House, by James V. Saturno. Updated Aug. 12, 1997. 15 p. CRS Report 97-652 GOV. Special Order Speeches: Current House Practices, by Mary E. Mulvihill. Updated June 25, 1997. 8. p. CRS Report 96-938 GOV. Special Rules in the House of Representatives, by Stanley Bach. Updated Dec. 22, 1998. 133 p. CRS Report 96-339 GOV. Super-Majority Voting: Selected Implications, by Richard S. Beth. April 12, 1996. 6 p. CRS Report 98-796 GOV. Suspension of the Rules in the House of Representatives, by Stanley Bach. Updated Feb. 8, 1999. 41 p. CRS Report 98-988 GOV. Voting and Quorum Procedures in the House of Representatives, by Stanley Bach. Updated Dec. 7, 1998. 17 p.

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APPENDIX B: HOUSE PARLIAMENTARY REFERENCE INFORMATION AVAILABLE THROUGH THE INTERNET This appendix identifies Internet locations, or websites, at which the text of various House parliamentary reference sources is available. It also includes sites that contain "links" that provide immediate access to the sites containing the reference sources. The Internet locations identified are largely ones maintained within the legislative branch itself. To find the document cited at a specified Internet location, use the address (formally called a "Uniform Resource Locator" or "URL") provided in italics. The list is current as of this report's publication date. Because information on the Internet is constantly changing, this list should not be considered exhaustive.

House Rules and Manual At the time of publication, all sites listed offered the 105th Congress edition of the House Manual (H.Doc. 104-272), the last version published before the recodification of House rules at the beginning of the 106th Congress.

Government Printing Office ("GPO Access") http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong0 1 4.html] Searchable version of the Manual. [http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/desc02 1 .html] Provides hints for searching and search examples. House Committee on Rules http://www.house.gov/rules_org/R&O_rules.htm] Internet location of the Subcommittee on Rules and Organization of the House provides a link to the GPO Access location. Library of Congress [http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/legislative/rules.html] Provides a link to GPO Access location.

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U.S. Constitution For the text of the Constitution with the Parliamentarian's annotations, use the Internet locations offering the text of the House Rules and Manual.

GPO Access [http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate/constitution/index.html] Searchable version of the 1992 edition of The Constitution Annotated (formally known as Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation, S.Doc. 103-6), and to its 1996 supplement (S.Doc. 104-14). These editions of the Constitution are annotated by the Congressional Research Service with references to court decisions.

Library of Congress THOMAS (Public Access System) Constitution: [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/const.html] Amendments 1-10 (Bill of Rights): [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/bor.html] Amendments 11-27: [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/amend.html]

Rules of the House For the text of House rules including the Parliamentarian's annotations, use the Internet locations offering the text of the House Rules and Manual.

Clerk of the House [http://clerkweb.house.gov/1 06/docs/rules/Contents.htm] Clerk's print of House Rules for the 106th Congress. [http://clerkweb.house.gov/1 05/docs/rules/1 05%20( 1 2-97)/5content.htm] Clerk's print of House rules for the 105th Congress, dated October 1, 1997. House Committee on Rules [http://www.house.gov/rules_org/R&O_rules.htm] Part of the Internet location of the Subcommittee on Rules and Organization of the House. Offers links from specific provisions to other provisions referenced in House rules.

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[http://www.house.gov/rules/rules_1 06.htm] Provides a link to the text of H.Res. 5, 106th Congress in the Library of Congress THOMAS system which contains the text of the recodified House rules for the 106th Congress, as adopted by the House, on January 6, 1999. [http://www.house.gov/rules/1 06_rules_pack.htm] Provides a link to explanatory material on the recodified rules, including a summary, list of major citation changes, and side by side comparison.

CRS Guide to Legislative and Budget Process (Congress Only) [http://lcweb.loc.gov/crs/legproc/newformat/ChamberRules/House/ hrulesTof CNF.html] Text of rules includes links from specific provisions to other provisions referenced in House rules and to a glossary of parliamentary terms. Library of Congress [http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/legislative/hrules/hrulestoc.html] Text of rules includes links from specific provisions of House rules to related ones. [106th rules not yet available here] [http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/legislative/rules.html] Provide links to House rules at the Internet locations of the Clerk of the House (Clerk's print), the House Committee on Rules, and the Library of Congress, noted above.

House Practice Government Printing Office ("GPO Access") [http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/browse-hp.html] House Committee on Rules [http://www.house.gov/rules_org/R&O_rules.htm] Provides a link, identified as "A Guide to the Rules, Precedents, and Procedures of the House," to the text of House Practice at the GPO Access Internet location.

Committee Rules Government Printing Office ("GPO Access") [http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/house/index.html# Provides links to rules of most House committees.

house_publications]

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U.S. House of Representatives [http://www.house.gov/CommitteeWWW.html] Provides links to Internet locations of all House committees. Most committee locations include a link to "committee rules;" some provide committee rules under other listings.

How Our Laws Are Made Library of Congress THOMAS (Public Access System) [http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html] Version dated November 12, 1997. Clerk of the House [http://clerkweb.house.gov/mbrcmtee/mbrcmtee.htm] Provides a link to the previous location. CRS Guide to Legislative and Budget Process (Congress only) [http://lcweb.loc.gov/crs/legproc/newformat/ProcessOverview/ House/HouseProc ForewordNF.html] The House section of this Internet location offers a link to the version dated November 12, 1997.

Floor Procedure House Committee on Rules [http://www.house.gov/rules/floor_man.htm] Provides the text of the January 1999 version under the title Floor Procedure in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Additional Sources CRS Guide to Legislative and Budget Process (Congress only) [http://lcweb.loc.gov/crs/legproc/newformat/HomeNF.html] The House section of this website provides links explanatory materials on House procedure with links to specific House rules and constitutional provisions, related CRS products, and a glossary of legislative terms.

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Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress (LIS) (Congress only) [http://www.congress.gov] The Legislative Information System, released at the start of the 105th Congress, has been redesigned for the 106th Congress. Databases and links have been organized into nine primary areas: floor activities and schedules; legislation/Congressional Record; committees; news and publications; House and Senate links; support agencies; other governmental links; user assistance and guides; previous Congresses. Development of the LIS will be a multi-year project. House Committee on Rules [http://www.house.gov/rules/] In addition to the House Rules Manual, and the text of House rules, this location includes links to explanatory material about House procedure developed by the Committee itself and by several other sources.

APPENDIX C: SENATE PARLIAMENTARY REFERENCE SOURCES Official Reference Sources Authority and Rules of Senate Committees, 199 7-98: A Compilation of the Authority of Senate Committees and Joint Committees, and Related Materials., a document prepared by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and usually issued each Congress (the latest edition is S.Doc. 105-4. Washington: GPO, 1997. 273 p.) Senate Manual Containing the Standing Rules, Orders, Laws, and Resolutions Affecting the Business of the United States Senate, a document prepared by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration (the latest edition is S.Doc. 104- 1. Washington: GPO, 1995. 1176 p.) Standing Rules of the Senate, a document issued by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration (the most recent edition is S.Doc. 104-8. Washington: GPO, 1995. 86 p.). Riddick's Senate Procedure: Precedents and Practices. S.Doc. 101-28, 101st Congress, 2nd session. Washington: GPO, 1992. 1608 p.

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Publications of Committees and Offices of the Senate Budget Process Law Annotated. Senate print 103-4, 103rd Congress, 1st session. Washington: GPO, 1993. 857 p. Legislative Activity [i.e., Chapter Three] in U.S. Senate Handbook. Senate print 104-64, 104th Congress, 2nd session. Washington: GPO, 1996. p. III-1 - III-52. Enactment of a Law. S.Doc. 97-20, 97th Congress, 2nd session. Washington: GPO, 1982. 41 p. An electronic version (February 1997) is available through THOMAS, a World Wide Web service of the Library of Congress; see THOMAS under "Library Of Congress WWW Services" in Appendix D of thisreport. How Our Laws Are Made. S.Doc. 105-14, 105th Congress, 1st session. Washington: GPO, 1995. 47 p. Prepared by the Office of the House Parliamentarian. An electronic version (November 12, 1997) can be accessed through THOMAS, a World Wide Web service of the Library of Congress; see THOMAS under "Library Of Congress WWW Services" in Appendix D of this report. Senate Cloture Rule. Senate print 99-95, 99th Congress, 1st session. Washington: GPO, 1985. 135 p. Procedure and Guidelines for Impeachment Trials in the United States Senate. S.Doc. 99-33, 99th Congress, 2nd session. Washington: GPO, 1986. 101 p. Treaties and Other International Agreements: The Role of the United States Senate. Prepared for the Committee on Foreign Relations by the Congressional Research Service. Senate print 103-53, 103rd Congress, 1st session. Washington: GPO, 1993. 384 p.

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Products CRS Report 98-853 GOV. The Amending Process in the Senate, by Stanley Bach. Updated Oct. 9, 1998. 33 p. CRS Report 96-416 GOV. Committee Assignment Process in the U.S. Senate, by Carol Hardy Vincent. May 8, 1996. 13 p. CRS Report 96-708 GOV. Conference Committee and Related Procedures: An Introduction, by Stanley Bach. Updated Feb. 11, 1999. 10 p. CRS Report 98-997 GOV. The First Day of a New Congress: A Guide to Proceedings on the Senate Floor, by Mildred Lehmann Amer. Updated Dec. 28, 1998. 4 p.

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CRS Report 9 6-822 GOV. Hearings in the U.S. Senate: A Guide for Preparation and Conduct, by Richard C. Sachs and Carol Hardy Vincent. Oct. 1996. 24 p. CRS Report 97-175 GOV. How Measures Are Brought to the Senate Floor: A Brief Introduction, by James V. Saturno. Feb. 4, 1997. 5 p. CRS Report 96-548 GOV. The Legislative Process on the Senate Floor: An Introduction, by Stanley Bach. Updated June 4, 1996. 16 p. CRS Report 97-791 GOV. Minority Rights and Senate Procedures, by Stanley Bach. Updated Aug. 7, 1997. 5 p. CRS Report 97-198 GOV. Parliamentary Reference Sources: Senate, by Mary E. Mulvihill. Updated Jan. 19, 1999. 38 p. CRS Report 95-181 GOV. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate: History and Authority of the Office, by Richard C. Sachs. Updated March 5, 1995. 26 p. CRS Report 98-696 GOV. Resolving Legislative Differences in Congress: Conference Committees and Amendments Between the Houses, by Stanley Bach. Updated Feb. 8, 1999. 39 p. CRS Report 97-3 68 GOV. Senate Floor Procedure: A Summary, by Stanley Bach. March 14, 1997. 45 p. CRS Report 98-9 12 GOV. Senate Rules and Practices on Committee, Subcommittee, and Chairmanship Assignment Limitations as of October 30, 1998, by Judy Schneider. Updated Nov. 2, 1998. 11 p. CRS Report 97-688 GOV. The Senate's Byrd Rule Against Extraneous Matter in Reconciliation Measures, by Robert Keith. Updated Sept. 9, 1998. 30 p. CRS Report 96-452 GOV. Voting and Quorum Procedures in the Senate, by Stanley Bach. May 14, 1996. 10 p.

APPENDIX D: SENATE PARLIAMENTARY REFERENCE INFORMATION AVAILABLE THROUGH THE INTERNET Provided below is information on Senate parliamentary reference sources available through the World Wide Web (WWW) services of the Senate, the Library of Congress, and the Government Printing Office. To find each reference source, use the address (formally called a "Uniform Resource Locator" or "URL") provided in italics. The list below is current as of this report's publication date. Because the information available on the Internet is constantly changing, this list should not be considered an exhaustive one.

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Senate Rules and Manual Government Printing Office ("GPO Access") [http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong007.html] Senate Manual (Senate Document 104-1): This URL allows users to search the full text of the Senate Manual. Enter search terms in the box, and then click on "Submit." [http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/desc024.html] Provides hints for searching and search examples. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration [http://www. senate.gov/~rules/] Internet location of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. Library of Congress [http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/legislative/rules.html] Provides a link to GPO Access location.

U.S. Constitution GPO Access [http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate/constitution/index.html] Searchable version of the 1992 edition of The Constitution Annotated (formally known as Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation, S.Doc. 103-6), and to its 1996 supplement (S.Doc. 104-14). These editions of the Constitution are annotated by the Congressional Research Service with references to court decisions. Library of Congress THOMAS (Public Access System) Constitution: [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/const.html] Amendments 1-10 (Bill of Rights): [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/bor.html] Amendments 11-27: [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/amend.html]

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Rules of the Senate Senate Committee on Rules and Administration [http://www. senate.gov/~rules/srules.htm] This site is an index of the Standing Rules of the Senate. CRS Guide to Legislative and Budget Process (Congress only) [http://lcweb.loc.gov/crs/legproc/newformat/ChamberRules/Senate/ srulesTof CNF.html] This version of the Senate rules, restricted to Members of Congress and their staffs, contains hypertext links to each instance of a specific rule referred to in the text, enabling the user to consult the referenced rule immediately. Library of Congress [http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/legislative/srules/srulestoc.html]

Senate Practice Library of Congress THOMAS (Public Access System) [http://thomas.loc.gov/home/enactment/enactlawtoc.html] Enactment of a Law (online version, February 1997) [http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/legislative/executive.html] This site describes the forms of executive business considered by the Senate (treaties, nominations, executive communications sent to the Senate, and other related official documentation) and provides links to Senate and House web sites, and to other selected federal, educational, and multinational web sites. CRS Guide to Legislative and Budget Process (Congress Only) [http://lcweb.loc.gov/crs/legproc/newformat/ProcessOverview/Senate/ SenateProc IntroNF.html] This WWW site, restricted to Members of Congress and their staffs, presents the text of Senate Parliamentarian Robert B. Dove's Enactment of a Law (online version, February 1997) with the addition of hypertext links to specific Senate rules and constitutional provisions, related CRS products, and a glossary of legislative terms.

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Committee Rules Senate Committee on Rules and Administration [http://www. senate.gov/~rules/srtext.htm#25] This is the URL for the text of Senate Standing Rule XXV, which lists the standing committees and their jurisdictions.

How our Laws Are Made Library of Congress THOMAS (Public Access System) [http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html] How Our Laws Are Made (online version, November 12, 1997) [http://lcweb.loc.gov/crs/legproc/newformat/ProcessOverview/House/ HouseProcForewordNF.html] A corresponding section of this WWW site pertaining to House rules and procedures uses How Our Laws Are Made (online version, November 12, 1997) by House Parliamentarian Charles W. Johnson.

Additional Sources Legislative Information System of the U.S. Congress (LIS) (Congress only) [http://www.congress.gov] The Legislative Information System, released at the start of the 105th Congress, has been redesigned for the 106th Congress. Databases and links have been organized into nine primary areas: floor activities and schedules; legislation/Congressional Record; committees; news and publications; House and Senate links; support agencies; other government links; user assistance and guides; previous Congresses. Development of the LIS system will be a multi-year project.

ENDNOTES 1

Treaties and nominations submitted by the President also are referred to committees to be studied and reported. This report does not discuss procedures governing Senate consideration of treaties and nominations. See the discussion of these procedures in U.S. Congress, Senate, Riddick’s Senate Procedure, S.Doc. No. 10 1-28, 101st Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington: GPO,1992), 1608 p.

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The Consent Calendar, which contained noncontroversial measures taken from the Union or House Calendar, was usually called the first and third Mondays of each month. Measures on the Consent Calendar could be passed by unanimous consent if no objection was raised. 3 Congressional Record, daily edition., vol. 141, Nov. 28, 1995, p. H13675. 4 Special rules are usually reported as original measures by the Rules Committee. Therefore, to attempt to discharge a special rule from this committee, a Representative must first introduce a special rule in the form of a simple resolution (the resolution cannot provide for the consideration of more than one bill or resolution). The Representative can move to discharge this resolution from the Rules Committee after seven legislative days have passed. 5 Simple unanimous consent agreements, which are offered orally, are used for noncontroversial measures and routine floor business (e.g. to “rescind” a quorum call). 6 There are four instances when germaneness of amendments is required in the Senate. See the “Amending Measures” section for more information. 7 In his absence, the Speaker appoints a majority party Representative to preside over meetings of the House as “Speaker pro tempore.” 8 The Vice President may vote to break a tie; a Senator serving as presiding officer retains his right to vote in all cases. 9 For example, the chair does not rule on points of order established under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-4). 10 See House Practice: A Guide to Rules, Precedents and Procedures of the House, 104th Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington: GPO, 1996) pp. 25-27. 11 See Riddick’s Senate Procedure, pp. 72-95. 12 No Senate rule explicitly governs voice or division votes. Also counted as a voice vote is Senate action on which the chair declares a measure agreed to "without objection." 13 Under a standing order (rarely enforced), any Senator may demand that Senators vote from their desks.

In: Hearings in the Senate and … Editor: Susan Rossi

ISBN 978-1-60456-415-0 © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 3

HEARINGS IN THE U.S. SENATE: A GUIDE FOR PREPARATION AND PROCEDURE Betsy Palmer ABSTRACT Congressional hearings are the principal formal method by which committees collect and analyze information during the legislative policymaking process. Whether confirmation hearings — a procedure unique to the Senate — legislative, oversight, investigative, or a combination of these, all hearings share common elements of preparation and conduct. Senate Rule XXVI sets forth many of the hearing regulations to which committees must conform, including the quorum requirement, advance submission of witness statements, the opportunity for minority party Senators to call witnesses of their choosing, and procedures for closing a hearing to the public. Senate committees, guided mainly by their chairmen, have broad discretion in how they conduct a hearing, in part because the committees adopt their own rules of procedure. These rules may supplement Senate rules, but they can not contravene them. Committee customs and leadership style not embodied in rules also vary considerably among committees and influence hearing procedures. Committees usually plan extensively for hearings. Early planning activities commonly include collecting background information; preparing a preliminary hearing memorandum for the chair and members discussing the scope of the hearing and the expected outcome; scheduling and providing

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INTRODUCTION1 Coverage and Organization of this Report Under Senate rules, each committee is authorized to hold hearings whether the Senate is in session, has recessed, or has adjourned (Rule XXVI, paragraph 1). Committees may hold hearings in Washington, or field hearings in the states or abroad. Whether legislative, oversight, investigative, confirmation, or a combination of these, all hearings share common elements of preparation and conduct. This report emphasizes these shared elements. Senate Rule XXVI, in particular, details hearing procedures. Each committee is required to adopt and publish written rules of procedure consistent with Senate rules. A committee can expand upon Rule XXVI. A committee’s rules also

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generally apply to its subcommittees, but may also contain procedures that apply specifically to subcommittees. The rules of many committees contain provisions for hearings, and this report gives examples from the 109th Congress. These examples are illustrative, intending to show variations in particular areas. In some cases, several committees have similar provisions, but only one committee is presented as an example. This report does not attempt to list comprehensively all provisions of committee rules that apply to hearings. Further, the summaries of both Senate and committee rules are not intended to capture every nuance and detail of the rules. Senators and staff are advised to consult the text of the appropriate Senate or committee rule. In addition to Senate and committee rules, this report covers common practices in planning and holding hearings, which may vary significantly among committees. Senators and staff are advised to contact specific committees for detailed information on their rules and practices. The report is organized into four main sections. This introduction addresses the role of hearings in the committee process, types of hearings, and broad organizational issues. Committees plan carefully and deliberately for hearings. Section two of this report, “Preparation for Hearings,” discusses the planning process. Among other topics, this section covers: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

deciding whether to hold a hearing; sources that assist committees with hearings; obtaining supplemental staff by contract or detail; holding joint hearings; prohibitions on when committees may meet; scheduling and public notice of hearings; selecting witnesses and determining the order and format of testimony; securing advance written testimony from witnesses; procedures for issuing subpoenas and taking depositions; preparing briefing books for committee members; procedures for broadcasting hearings and techniques for attracting and managing the media; and administrative arrangements.

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Section three, “Conducting Hearings,” discusses how a hearing is held. Among other matters, it covers: • • • • • • •

quorum requirements; closing a hearing to the public; the rights of witnesses; opening statements by Members; introducing and swearing in witnesses; oral testimony by witnesses; and the question-and-answer period following oral testimony.

Finally, section four, “Post-hearing Activities,” describes activities committees often undertake following a hearing. For instance, committee staff may prepare a summary of testimony, prepare additional questions for witnesses, or print the hearing transcript along with supplemental materials.

Hearings in the Committee Process Hearings are the broad information-gathering techniques committees use in policymaking and oversight. Congress benefits from hearings in a variety of ways. They inform Senators, staff, and the public about issues and legislative proposals, and orchestrate public support and attract visibility for an issue. They also serve to monitor government programs and activities, and expose problems Congress may seek to remedy. Finally, hearings give citizens an opportunity to participate in the policy process and help build a public record. Senate committees hold hearings on measures referred to them. Committees can also hold a hearing absent any specific legislation, as oversight, an investigation, or simply to inform. For a number of reasons, Senate committees act on a relatively small portion of the measures introduced and referred to them. For instance, a committee often receives many proposals in the major policy areas within its jurisdiction, but ultimately chooses, if it decides to act, on only a limited number of measures in a policy area. When a committee does act, it can send a bill to subcommittee for initial consideration, although this is not required by Senate rules. A committee may decide to send a bill to subcommittee for initial scrutiny because of the technical nature of the issue, the history of prior referrals, and political factors, among other reasons. When a committee or a subcommittee

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considers a measure, it generally may take four actions, as described below. Where a subcommittee initiates some of the four actions, the extent to which the full committee repeats these steps varies among committees, from issue to issue, and according to time and workload pressures. The sequence of actions assumes the committee favors a measure, but that can change and at any time the committee may discontinue action. First, a committee may seek agency comment by sending a copy of the measure to the executive departments or agencies having relevant expertise, soliciting their written evaluation of the proposal. The executive agency typically sends the measure and draft comments to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine if it is consistent with the President’s budget and legislative program. Second, a committee may decide to hold one or more hearings. Further committee action without hearings is the exception, although committee hearings have sometimes been bypassed in order to move legislation more expeditiously, or because of action on a related bill in previous Congresses. The importance of the hearings stage is stated by congressional scholar Walter J. Oleszek: The decision to hold a hearing is often a critical point in the life of a bill. Measures brought to the floor without first undergoing the scrutiny of hearings will likely receive sharp criticism.... The importance of the committee stage is based on the assumption that the experts — the committee members — carefully scrutinize a proposal, and hearings provide a demonstrable record of that scrutiny.2

Third, a committee may meet to “mark up,” or recommend amendments to the legislation, in part based on information received at hearings. Markup is the critical stage where a committee decides how the language of the bill should appear when it is presented to the Senate for consideration. While committee amendments must be ratified by the full Senate, committees have the important prerogative of shaping legislation prior to Senate floor consideration. Fourth, the full committee may report the legislation to the Senate floor. When a committee reports a measure, it is common, but not required, to issue a written report that describes and explains a measure’s purposes and provisions and presents the committee’s case for the measure.

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Types of Hearings All hearings share common elements of preparation and conduct. Some of these are governed by Senate rules, particularly Senate Rule XXVI. At the same time, procedures and practices among committees may differ for a number of reasons. First, each committee must adopt its own rules of procedure each Congress (Rule XXVI, paragraph 2). These must be consistent with Senate rules but may also expand or elaborate on them. Committee rules often contain provisions regulating hearings. Second, customs not necessarily reflected in committee rules vary among committees. For example, committees differ in how they recognize Senators and accord them opportunities for questioning witnesses. Third, hearings are held for different purposes. Depending on the purpose, hearings can be grouped into four broad classes: legislative, oversight, investigative, and confirmation. (Sometimes one may serve multiple purposes, e.g., both legislative and oversight). Committees hold legislative hearings on measures or policy issues that may become public law. Sometimes a committee holds hearings on multiple measures before ultimately choosing one or more vehicles for further committee and chamber action. Hearings provide a forum where facts and opinions can be presented from witnesses with varied backgrounds, including Members of Congress and other government officials, interest groups, and academics, as well as citizens likely to be directly or indirectly affected by the proposal. Oversight hearings review or study a law, issue, or an activity, often focusing on the quality of federal programs and the performance of government officials. Hearings also help ensure that the execution of laws by the executive branch complies with legislative intent, and that administrative policies reflect the public interest. Oversight hearings often seek to improve the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of government operations. A significant part of a committee’s hearings workload is dedicated to oversight. For example, on a single day, September 30, 2004, a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held an oversight hearing on Internet domain names; the Committee on Governmental Affairs held a subcommittee oversight hearing on college savings plans; and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held an oversight hearing on issues related to low-level radioactive waste. Many committees oversee existing programs in the context of hearings on related legislation, or routinely perform oversight when it is time to reauthorize a program, so oversight hearings may be combined with legislative hearings.3

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Investigative hearings share some of the characteristics of legislative and oversight hearings. The difference lies in Congress’s stated determination to investigate, usually when there is a suspicion of wrongdoing on the part of public officials acting in their official capacity, or private citizens whose activities suggest the need for a legislative remedy. Congress’s authority to investigate is broad, and it has exercised this authority since the earliest days of the republic. Its most famous inquiries are benchmarks in American history: Credit Mobilier, Teapot Dome, Army-McCarthy, Watergate, and Iran-Contra. Investigative hearings often lead to legislation to address the problems uncovered. Judicial activities in the same area of Congress’s investigation may precede, run simultaneously with, or follow such inquiries.4 Confirmation hearings on presidential nominations are held in fulfillment of the Senate’s constitutional “advice and consent” responsibilities. Each Senate committee holds confirmation hearings on presidential nominations to executive and judicial positions within its jurisdiction.5 These hearings often present an opportunity for oversight into the activities of the nominee’s department or agency. While the vast majority of confirmation hearings are routine, some are controversial.6 Similarly, the Senate, as required by the Constitution, must consent to the ratification of treaties negotiated by the executive branch with foreign governments. On June 17, 2004, for example, the Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing on a series of law enforcement treaties. On March 23, 2004, the Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Although not as numerous as confirmation hearings, these hearings also allow the Senate to meet its constitutional responsibilities in an important area of public policy. Field hearings are congressional hearings held outside Washington. The formal authority for field hearings is found implicitly in the chamber rules. Senate Rule XXVI, paragraph 1 states that a committee “is authorized to hold hearings ... at such times and places during the sessions, recesses, and adjourned periods of the Senate” as it sees fit. In the 109th Congress, on May 2, 2005, the Committee on Indian Affairs held a hearing at the North Dakota state capitol on youth suicide prevention. Field hearings are often held in a geographic area where the subject matter of the hearing is particularly relevant. For example, on July 5, 2005, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a field hearing in Anchorage, Alaska on Alaska Aviation. While field hearings may involve some matters different from Washington hearings, most of the procedural requirements are the same. Funding for

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committee travel, however, must meet regulations established by the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.

PREPARATION FOR HEARINGS Preliminary Issues A committee considers a variety of issues in deciding whether to hold a hearing. A committee must define the information it needs, evaluate the policy matters or political message it wishes to communicate, and then determine whether a hearing is the best approach for achieving its goals. A hearing agenda is influenced by several factors, including the salience of issues to the nation, the importance of policies to interest groups, and matters of significance to the President, Senate leaders, committee leaders, and particular members. Programs under a committee’s jurisdiction that need to be reauthorized generally receive committee scrutiny, as do instances of reported waste, fraud, or abuse. Each committee receives dozens, sometimes hundreds, of proposals for possible examination, and may study matters not embodied in specific legislation. Given the context of its overall workload, a committee must decide whether holding a hearing is the best use of its resources. A committee must also consider whether and how a hearing would fit into its overall agenda. Committees with broad jurisdictions often struggle to allocate limited resources and balance the political and policy demands of its membership. In order to obtain approval for a hearing, committee staff often prepare a preliminary hearing memorandum for the chair that includes information such as the scope and purpose of the hearing, the expected outcome, possible witnesses, how many hearing days are planned, and perhaps, the views of the minority party. Informal discussions with Members and committee staff may suffice.

Sources of Outside Assistance Numerous governmental and non-governmental resources are available to committees to assist with hearings. Given that most hearings focus on government programs, or potential programs, executive agencies often are major providers of information. Committees may request information directly from specific offices,

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or may place requests through an agency’s congressional liaison office, an office established to respond to congressional requests for information. Each of the three congressional support agencies can assist with hearings in a variety of ways. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) can assist in: • • • • • • • • • •

framing the agenda for hearings; preparing background and policy studies; conducting database searches; providing information on positions of interest groups and other key players; suggesting witnesses and drafting questions for Members to ask them; making its experts available on a nonpartisan basis as witnesses; analyzing testimony; preparing studies or documentation for inclusion in the hearing record; supplying information on program accomplishments; and evaluating legislative proposals and discussing alternative approaches.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) provides assistance to committees principally by reviewing executive branch programs through independent audits, investigations, and evaluations. These reviews measure the effectiveness of government programs. GAO’s reports contribute to the background study and examination necessary for oversight hearings. For instance, reports on investigations of waste, fraud, and abuse in federal entities may be used at investigative hearings probing government programs, or at hearings to craft legislation to correct problems exposed. In addition to its routine, periodic reviews, GAO may be asked for studies specific to a committee hearing. GAO experts frequently appear as witnesses. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) furnishes Congress with key information relating to the U.S. economy, the federal budget, and federal programs. It assists committees by preparing cost estimates of legislation. Its assistance to Congress in carrying out the Congressional Budget Act provides a framework and useful background and analysis for hearings. Its responsibilities include: • • • •

estimating the five-year budgetary costs of legislation; tracking congressional budget actions against targets established in budget resolutions (scorekeeping); estimating costs to state, local, and tribal governments of carrying

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out mandates to be imposed by legislation; making periodic forecasts of economic trends and baseline projections of spending and revenue levels against which proposed changes in taxing and spending policies can be measured; conducting studies of programmatic or policy issues that affect the federal budget; and preparing an annual report on spending and revenue options for reducing the federal deficit.7

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provide a wealth of resources for committees. Knowledgeable individuals in universities, policy research institutes, law and consulting firms, and trade and other nonprofit associations often are willing to assist committees with data, analysis, and testimony. Interest groups with public policy concerns often become involved at the hearing stage in an attempt to frame the issues early in the legislative process. Studies indicate that lobbyists believe testifying at congressional hearings is an important and effective technique for influencing legislation. In addition to policy experts and special interest groups, committees often seek information and assistance from ordinary citizens who have direct experience with a proposed policy or agency, or whose lives will bear the impact of Congress’s eventual decision.

Supplemental Staffing Committees may find it useful on occasion to supplement their staff to assist with hearings. Committees may hire consultants or employ staff detailed from any government agency or department, in compliance with regulations promulgated by the Committee on Rules and Administration. The services of individual consultants or organizations must be intermittent or temporary, not to exceed one year or the end of a Congress, whichever occurs first. A consultant must be selected jointly by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee needing such service. This committee then sends information on the qualifications of the consultant to the Committee on Rules and Administration. It is the responsibility of the Rules Committee to make certain that the consultant has unique qualifications for which the committee could not directly hire an employee, and the individual is not a current federal employee. A committee seeking to have an employee detailed from a department or agency of the federal government must submit a letter to the Committee on Rules

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and Administration for approval. The committee also must submit a letter showing the concurrence of the agency or department in the detail, and information on the title and salary of the prospective detailee. The Rules Committee’s review of this information includes a cost-benefit assessment. Committees may hire detailees on a reimbursable or a non-reimbursable basis. Staff also may be available from the many fellowship, internship, and volunteer programs that place individuals with committee and Member offices. These programs provide staff ranging in expertise from high school and college students with little or no experience, to trained professionals and subject specialists. Finally, the Senate Office of Legislative Counsel assists in drafting a variety of legislative vehicles and documents, including bills and amendments. Attorneys in the office often work closely with committees during their consideration of legislation.

Joint Hearings Each panel has the discretion to hold hearings jointly with another committee or subcommittee. Panels meeting jointly must agree on common rules of procedure and determine logistical questions. In some instances, two Senate committees will meet jointly. For example, on July 14, 2005, the Committee on Indian Affairs, and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a joint hearing on Indian health care improvement. House and Senate panels also sometimes hold joint hearings. For example, on July 24, 2003, the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics of the House Committee on Science and the Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a joint hearing on commercial human space flight.8 Some observers view joint committee sessions as an efficient use of time and resources. Joint hearings bring together expertise and differing perspectives. They may reduce the difficulties and delays that arise from contradictory actions and proposals. Joint committee sessions, however, tend to be infrequent. Some Members believe that separate perspectives and approaches provide significant benefits to Congress. Separate hearings increase avenues of access for witnesses, and opportunities for influence and exposure for committee members and leaders. Further, coordinating meeting times between two panels may present scheduling difficulties.

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Prohibitions on Sitting Senate rules place limitations on when committees may meet. A standing committee and its subcommittees are authorized to meet and to hold hearings when the Senate is in session as well as when it has recessed or adjourned (Rule XXVI, paragraph 1). A committee may not meet, however, on any day after the Senate has been in session for two hours, or after 2:00 pm when the Senate is in session (Rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a)). This restriction is designed to minimize overlap of committee and floor sessions and so allow fuller participation in floor debates, reduce interruptions of committee deliberations with floor votes, and lessen scheduling conflicts for Senators. The Committees on Appropriations and the Budget are exempt from this prohibition. In practice, the rule is frequently waived for other committees by unanimous consent, or joint agreement of the majority and minority leaders or their designees. Whenever the prohibition is waived, the majority leader (or his designee) announces on the floor, usually at the beginning of the day, the time and place of the meeting. Senate rules also restrict committees to meeting during specified time periods (Rule XXVI, paragraph 6). Specifically, a committee may meet: (1) in the morning, until 11:00 a.m.; or (2) from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. This rule is intended to minimize problems associated with simultaneous floor and committee sessions, as well as with overlapping committee sessions. In practice, committees do not always adhere rigorously to these restrictions.

Scheduling Any Senator may seek to persuade a committee to hold hearings, but the chair generally controls the schedule. Paramount in scheduling for many committees is choosing a date and time convenient for committee leaders. The Senate’s automated Legislative Information System allows committees to try to coordinate their schedules to avoid meeting overlaps. The system provides Senators and staff with committee scheduling reports. These reports are delivered each week to each Senator’s personal office and cover the Senator’s committee and subcommittee schedule for the coming two weeks. Each committee office also receives reports covering the schedule for all members of the committee.9

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Notice Under Senate rules, committees must publicly announce the date, place, and subject of each hearing at least one week in advance (Rule XXVI, paragraph 4(a)). The Committees on Appropriations and the Budget are exempt from this rule. The rule may be waived if the committee determines that there is “good cause” to hold a hearing at an earlier date. Notices of hearings appear in the Daily Digest section of the Congressional Record, in reports by the Senate’s computerized committee scheduling service, and on the Senate’s website. Committee rules show some variation on the Senate rule. For example, the rules of the Committee on Environment and Public Works state that hearings held with less than a week’s public notice require the concurrence of the ranking minority member, and in any case, notice must be made at least 24 hours in advance of the hearing. The Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry permits hearings with less than a week’s public notice if the committee or subcommittee chair determines that the hearing is noncontroversial or that “special circumstances” require swift action, and a majority of the committee or subcommittee concurs. The rules of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions contain an addendum with additional hearing guidelines requiring the full committee and its subcommittees to provide each member of the committee with the time, place, and subject matter of the hearing seven days prior to the public notice of a hearing as well as a list of witnesses three days in advance. A standing order of the Senate requires each Senate committee to notify the Office of the Senate Daily Digest of the Congressional Record immediately when any committee hearing or meeting is scheduled (Title IV of S.Res. 4, 95th Congress). The information should include the time, place, and purpose of the session. Committees must provide the daily digest office with any changes in the information or cancellations of sessions as soon as they occur. Every Monday and Wednesday, this information is published in the extensions of remarks section of the Congressional Record.

Choosing and Inviting Witnesses In choosing witnesses, committees pay careful attention to the viewpoints that are heard, who should testify, and the order and format for presenting testimony.

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In some cases a committee strives to assure that all reasonable points of view are represented, while in other cases witnesses expressing only particular points of view are invited. Senate rules allow the minority party members of a committee to call witnesses of their choice on at least one day of a hearing, when the chairman receives a request from a majority of the minority party members before the completion of the hearing (Rule XXVI, paragraph 4(d)). The Committee on Appropriations is exempt from this rule. In lieu of this formal option, the minority sometimes works informally with the majority to invite witnesses representing its views. In order to testify, a witness must be invited by the committee. Before officially inviting a witness, committee staff identify, and often interview, prospective candidates. When appropriate witnesses are found, the committee chair commonly sends a formal letter of invitation. This letter gives the witness some basic information, including the purpose, subject, date, time, and place of the hearing. In addition to specifying the portion of a measure or issue the witness should address, the letter might contain a limitation on the length of the witness’s oral testimony. The committee may send the witness additional information. This information may include a list of committee members, the committee’s rules, the measure under consideration, and press articles relating to the issue. A staff contact is indicated. Staff sometimes meet with witnesses before a hearing to answer questions and to review procedure. A Senate standing order authorizes reimbursement for per diem expenses of witnesses (S.Res. 259, 100th Congress). The actual expense basis for reimbursement generally cannot exceed the daily rate set by the Committee on Rules and Administration although the committee may consider deviations from this policy on a case-by-case basis. A committee also may reimburse a witness for travel expenses related to testimony. If reimbursement is expected, the letter of invitation may address this. Usually a witness is reimbursed only in hardship circumstances, and then only for expenses related to transportation from the witness’s place of residence to the hearing and return.

Advance Written Testimony A letter of invitation also may request that the witness send the committee biographical information and an advance copy of written testimony. Senate rules require each witness to file an advance copy of written testimony with the committee at least one day before an appearance at a hearing (Rule XXVI,

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paragraph 4(b)). The Committee on Appropriations is exempt from this rule. A committee chair and ranking minority member can determine the circumstances whereby advance copies of testimony need not be filed. Various committee rules cover how far in advance of the hearing witnesses testimony should be filed, usually between 24 and 72 hours; the rules also cover requirements for multiple copies. For example, the Committee on Foreign Relations requires witnesses to file with the committee 48 hours in advance of an appearance at a hearing; the Select Committee on Intelligence requires copies filed 72 in advance; and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs requires 40 copies of testimony to be filed 48 hours in advance. Senate committee leaders have authority to decide when it is impractical to require advance written testimony. Precipitating national or international events may require immediate congressional attention, and individuals may be needed to testify on very short notice. In such cases, committees can waive the requirement for written testimony. Most of the time, however, committees are rigorous about receiving advance copies of testimony. Committees may want to summarize or outline testimony, draft questions tailored to each witness’s statement, and photocopy the statement for distribution to the press and others.

Format and Order of Witness Testimony Committees determine the format and order of presenting witnesses. It is common practice to request witnesses to limit their oral remarks to a brief summary of their written testimony. Usually, a witness’s complete remarks are included in the hearing record. Traditionally, after their opening remarks, the witness takes questions from Members before a second witness testifies. In recent years, committees have used different formats. One common approach presents multiple witnesses with diverging viewpoints as a panel. It is practice in these cases for all the panel members to make statements, then for committee members to pose questions to the panel. Some observers believe that this format produces a more stimulating debate and more effectively elicits pertinent information. Committees have experimented with several other formats for gathering information, including seminars, roundtable debates, and, more experimentally, video conferencing and the Internet. The order in which witnesses testify is also determined by the committee. Protocol dictates that a Member of Congress generally testifies before other witnesses, and a similar privilege often is extended to high-ranking executive branch officials and to former Representatives or Senators and other high-level

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government officials. Celebrity witnesses, because they often generate media and public attention, are carefully positioned. Academics, government officials, representatives from interest groups, and other private citizens are arranged in a way that most favorably presents information and communicates the policy and political intentions of the committee. For example, a committee may arrange its witnesses to allow individuals to refute or counter arguments made by another witness.

Subpoenas and Depositions Most individuals respond favorably to an invitation to testify, believing it to be a valuable opportunity to communicate and publicize their views on a question of public policy. If a person will not come by invitation alone, however, a committee or subcommittee may require an appearance through the issuance of a subpoena (Rule XXVI, paragraph 1). Committees also may subpoena correspondence, books, papers, and other documents. Subpoenas are issued infrequently, and most often in the course of investigative hearings. Senate Rule XXVI, paragraph 1, broadly authorizes committees to issue subpoenas to require appearances by witnesses or the production of material. Each committee’s rules further delineate the procedure. Some committees delegate authority for subpoenas to the chair or the chair’s designee. Other committees require a majority vote of the committee. Still other committees have more detailed procedures for authorizing subpoenas. The chair of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry is authorized to issue a subpoena with the approval of the ranking minority member. The chair, however, may authorize a subpoena without such approval if the chair does not receive notification from the ranking minority member within 72 hours. Even if the ranking minority member disapproves, the subpoena may yet be authorized by vote of the committee. The Committee on Small Business requires the consent of the Ranking Minority Member, or a majority of the committee members, and the rule provides that “Such consent may be given informally, without a meeting,” but it must be in writing. The Select Committee on Intelligence requires that each subpoena be accompanied by a copy of the resolution authorizing the establishment of the committee and a copy of the committee’s rules. A committee requiring a subpoena can obtain the appropriate form from the Office of Legal Counsel. Subpoenas usually are delivered by authorized committee staff or by a U.S. Marshal. Compliance with a subpoena can be enforced only at the direction of the Senate. Under one method of enforcement, a

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committee could report a resolution citing for contempt an individual who did not respond to a subpoena. If approved by the Senate, the resolution would be sent to the Office of the U.S. Attorney for prosecution. Under a second procedure, involving matters of civil contempt, a committee could report and the Senate adopt a resolution allowing the Senate Legal Counsel to obtain a court ruling deciding whether an individual must comply with a subpoena. Committee staff commonly consult with experts to gather information in preparation for a hearing. A more formal means of obtaining information, for investigative hearings in particular, is through the use of depositions. Under this method, committee staff will commonly take testimony in private, either from individuals who later appear as witnesses or from those who do not testify publicly. The testimony is sometimes taken under oath, and a transcript may be prepared. Individuals often are accompanied by counsel, and respond to prepared questions. As Senate rules do not expressly authorize depositions by staff, on occasion the Senate has granted specific authority for such action by resolution. The committee then usually adopted procedures for taking depositions. As one example, the Senate approved a resolution authorizing committee staff to take depositions in the investigation of the Whitewater Development Corporation and related matters (S.Res. 229, 103rd Congress). Most committee rules are silent on the matter of depositions. The Committee on Foreign Relations provides that, “At the direction of the Committee, staff is authorized to take depositions from witnesses.” Questions have been raised however, that, since staff depositions are usually authorized only by Senate resolution, the committee’s rule might be open to challenge. The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs provides comprehensive procedures for taking depositions because of the committee’s broad oversight and investigative authority.10

Briefing Books Staff often prepare summary and background material for Senators’ use before and during a hearing. This information is sometimes assembled into briefing books, or folders, to present issues in a systematic, uniform way. Briefing books can include a variety of items, including a description of the subject, scope, and purpose of the hearing. For legislative hearings, a copy and an explanation of each measure under consideration, and a comparison of all measures to be discussed, are useful. Pertinent statutes and regulations, court decisions, press

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articles, agency reports, academic studies, and a chronology of major events also may be assembled. To assist Senators with witnesses, briefing books might contain a list of witnesses in their order of appearance, a copy or summary of written testimony, and biographical information. Briefing books frequently contain questions or talking points for Senators to use in opening statements and in examining witnesses. Before a hearing, committee staff sometimes brief Senators and their staff. Staff can conduct oral briefings in addition to, or in lieu of, preparing briefing books. These sessions provide an opportunity to discuss matters of particular interest to individual committee members.

Publicity and Media Considerations A committee’s goal in holding a hearing often is not narrowly limited to collecting information for policy development. It can include publicizing an issue or problem to focus attention and build support for an issue in broad or narrow areas of the public. Exposure of a problem at an oversight or investigative hearing can be a particularly effective technique. Public officials often seem responsive to correcting program deficiencies when an issue has been broadly publicized. Senate Rule XXVI, paragraph 5(c), authorizes committees to broadcast hearings that are open to the public, but leaves to committees and subcommittees development of procedures. The rules of some committees, for example, Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Judiciary; and Rules and Administration, are silent on broadcasting, and committee practice and decisions of the chair largely determine how hearings are broadcast. Some committees provide minimal formal guidance. For example, the Committee on Appropriations provides that if a member of an Appropriations subcommittee objects to photography or broadcasting of an open hearing, the matter is referred to the full committee for a decision. The rules of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources provide that the media must position their equipment so as not to block staff or Senators or otherwise interfere with the “orderly process” of the hearing. Other committees have more fully developed rules. The Committee on Finance requires that a hearing broadcast must be approved by the committee chair following a request filed with the staff director at least a day before the hearing. The Committee’s rules also cover installation of broadcasting equipment and additional lighting in the hearing room, and the right of witnesses to decline to be photographed or have their images televised. Select Committee on Ethics

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rules require that personnel providing broadcast coverage be accredited by the Radio and Television Gallery, and that photographers be accredited by the Press Photographers Gallery. Committee press aides usually are responsible for planning media coverage for a hearing, and they typically employ a number of techniques for attracting and managing the media. In some cases, press aides in Senators’ personal offices take similar actions on behalf of individual and committee members. Often, an early objective is to seek the assistance of the Senate Daily Press Gallery, the Periodical Press Gallery, the Radio and Television Gallery, and the Press Photographers’ Gallery. The mission of the gallery staffs is not only to facilitate coverage of Senate activities on behalf of the media, but also to assist committee members and staff with their media responsibilities. Gallery staff can assist committees in a variety of ways, by distributing press releases and witness statements, resolving differences involving camera crews, and making pool arrangements for maximum television coverage. Some committees routinely mail calendars informing the media of upcoming events. The information typically includes a list of hearings and a description of each, emphasizing why the hearing is important. For each hearing, these calendars provide the date, time, and location, as well as a staff contact. Press releases are a standard format for informing journalists of newsworthy committee activities. In addition to a committee’s press list, press releases also can be distributed to committee and personal offices and the Senate press galleries. The Radio and Television Gallery requests 25 copies of news releases, notices of committee meetings and hearings, and notices of press conferences. The Senate Daily Press Gallery requires 40-50 copies of press releases, if the release is regional in scope. The Periodical Press Gallery requests 25 copies of press releases. Language from press releases can be used to draft “Dear Colleague” letters and statements for use in committee and on the Senate floor. Committee staff often prepare media packets prior to hearings. The packets can include a variety of material, such as statements by the committee chair and other members, a list of witnesses and copies of written testimony, and background material such as press clippings and support agency studies. As the day of a hearing approaches, reporters often will seek out staff for information. Many committees prefer that journalists’ discussions with staff be “on background” and not for attribution. Speaking for attribution usually is limited to committee members. Press conferences are a common technique for personally informing journalists of issues in an upcoming hearing, and for clarifying issues immediately following a hearing. Some Senators prefer to meet informally with reporters,

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others prefer a more structured environment. Formal press conferences may be held in the multimedia studio in room S-325 in the Capitol. Press secretaries are advised to contact the Radio and Television Gallery staff in advance to ensure that the desired studio time is available. According to the 1996 edition of the U.S. Senate Handbook,11 only members of the press can reserve studio time, and press secretaries should contact an accredited member of any congressional media gallery to secure an invitation to the studio. Ordinarily, only Members of Congress may be interviewed in the studio. Exceptions must be authorized by the executive committees of the congressional galleries. When a studio appearance is scheduled, a notice is posted through the Senate electronic bulletin board and displayed in all of the congressional media galleries. Senators also may schedule appearances in the Senate Daily Press Gallery, although television cameras are not permitted there. These appearances do not require an invitation from members of the press.12 In recent years, committees have publicized their hearings on their committee websites (see [http://www.senate.gov/committees/index.cfm]). Links from a committee’s home page lead to sites related to committee hearings. Some committees provide a list of hearings, dates, and witnesses (see, for example, the site of the Finance Committee at [http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/ hearings.htm]). Others include statements by Senators and witness testimony. The website of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation provides links to live webcasts of upcoming hearings (see [http:/commerce. senate.gov/public/]).

Administrative Matters Dozens of administrative arrangements need to be made before a hearing, and these usually are handled by a committee’s administrative staff. Two important matters are reserving a hearing room and arranging early in the planning stage for a reporter of debates. If a committee’s own hearing rooms are unavailable, a committee may request a room from another committee or Senate office. While rooms may be occupied or administered by other offices or committees, they are subject to the Rules and Administration Committee’s policies for the use of Senate rooms. Senate committees are authorized to hire reporters of debates and other stenographic assistance from private firms. Pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 68c, the Committee on Rules and Administration determines the rate of pay for these services and provides guidelines for their employment. The committee’s

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regulations are printed as “Regulations Governing Rates Payable to Commercial Reporting Firms for Reporting Committee Hearings in the Senate,” and copies are available from the committee. Under a new rule, adopted by the Senate in the 110th Congress, all committees and subcommittees must take care to obtain either a video or audio recording or a transcript of the hearing, which must be available on the Internet no later than 21 business days after the event occurs (this rule applies to business meetings as well). This rule does apply if the hearing is closed or if the committee or subcommittee obtains a waiver from the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration based on “technical or logistical reasons.” Such transcripts and recordings are to remain available until the end of the Congress following the meeting.13 Many administrative details concern the physical setup of the hearing room. These include arranging items on the dais such as nameplates, writing materials, water, and ice; supplying the chair with a gavel, block, and timer; providing the chair and other members with materials not included in the briefing books, such as copies of committee and Senate rules; reserving seats for the press, staff, witnesses, or other individuals; and arranging for audio consoles, microphones, and lighting. If necessary, security during the hearing can be provided by the Capitol Police. Sufficient copies of materials, such as statements of Senators and witnesses, should be provided for distribution during the hearing.

Field Hearings A field hearing presents administrative and planning considerations different from those for Washington hearings. These include identifying the city, district or state and the specific location, for example, a federal building, school or private venue, where the hearing will be held. It may be necessary for staff to travel to the field location a day or more before the hearing to make certain arrangements are to the committee’s satisfaction, including the specific layout of tables and chairs for Senators, witnesses and the public, and the availability of a sound system and the technicians to operate it. Security personnel also need to be arranged. Funding for committee travel must meet regulations established by the Rules and Administration Committee and compiled in Chapter II, Appendix D of the U.S. Senate Handbook. Of particular importance to a committee holding a field hearing is section VI(f), “Hearing Expenses.” This section authorizes committees under certain conditions, to pay the expenses of official reporters for travel to the site of the field hearing.

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Where field hearings involve oversight of a federal agency, it may be possible, under a committee’s oversight authority, to request that the agency provide transportation for committee members and staff. Usually, such requests require a letter from the committee chairman to the agency head. Expenses incurred by a Senator or staff aide attending a field hearing — including transportation, lodging, meals and incidentals such as parking charges — are reimbursable by the committee holding the hearing. Automobile rentals are also reimbursable, providing the car is only used to transport Senators and committee or personal staff authorized by the committee for travel. For other matters relating to expenses and reimbursement for travel to and from a field hearing, staff should consult Senate regulations or the Rules and Administration Committee.

CONDUCTING HEARINGS As discussed above, hearings involve considerable preparation. By the day of the hearing, Senators and staff expect that important requirements of Senate rules, such as publicly announcing hearings, have been met. Critical decisions, such as choice of and format for presenting witnesses, have been made. Necessary research has been conducted, and relevant materials assembled in a briefing book. Briefings may have been conducted for Senators, staff, witnesses, and the press. Administrative issues, such as arranging for a reporter of debates, have been addressed. With thorough and careful preparation, most hearings can be expected to proceed routinely. Senators and staff sometimes confront unanticipated events that require a change in plans, such as a need to call additional witnesses or to close a session to the public.

Quorums Each committee can determine the number of members required for taking testimony in hearings (Rule XXVI, paragraph 7(a)(2)). With few exceptions, Senate committees allow one Senator to take sworn and unsworn testimony. For instance, the Committee on Appropriations permits one Senator to take unsworn testimony, but sworn testimony requires three Senators. However, one Senator is sufficient to take sworn testimony at an Appropriations subcommittee hearing. The Committee on Armed Services requires three Senators to take sworn testimony, one of whom must be from the minority party, unless a majority of the

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committee orders otherwise. The Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions allows one Senator to conduct a hearing, with the approval of the chair. In order to take sworn testimony, however, three members of the committee are required; although, with the concurrence of the chairman and the ranking minority member, one Senator may hear subpoenaed witnesses or take sworn testimony. The Committee on Rules and Administration requires two Senators to take sworn testimony and one Senator to hear unsworn testimony. Committee staff often poll Senators before the start of a hearing to determine which members plan to attend. Sometimes staff also obtain information on where Senators can be reached, in case they are needed to meet the quorum requirement.

Closing a Hearing The vast majority of committee hearings are open to the public, as required under Senate rules. A hearing, like other committee meetings, may, however, be closed for specific reasons stated in Senate rules (Rule XXVI, paragraph 5(b)). A committee may close a hearing if it (1) involves national security information; (2) concerns committee personnel, management, or procedures; (3) invades the personal privacy of an individual, damages an individual’s reputation or professional standing, or charges an individual with a crime or misconduct; (4) reveals identities or damages operations relating to law enforcement activities; (5) discloses certain kinds of confidential financial or commercial information; or (6) divulges information that other laws or regulations require to be kept confidential. The Senate rules also contain a specific procedure for closing a hearing. By motion of any Senator, if seconded, a committee may close a session temporarily to discuss whether there is a need to close a hearing for any of the reasons stated above. If so, the committee can close the hearing by majority roll call vote in open session. By this procedure, a committee can close a hearing or a series of sessions on a particular subject for no more than 14 calendar days.

Witness Rights No witness may refuse to testify on the grounds that such testimony “may tend to disgrace him or otherwise render him infamous” (2 U.S.C. 193). Witnesses at Senate hearings receive protections mainly through their rights under the Constitution, and rules adopted by individual committees. Constitutional protections include the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments. While committees

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may seek documents from witnesses, the Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable search and seizure to obtain information. The First Amendment protects witnesses who may seek to refuse compliance with a committee subpoena by claiming that the committee has infringed on the witness’s right to free speech, assembly, or petition. Under the Fifth Amendment protection against selfincrimination, witnesses cannot be compelled to give evidence against themselves unless granted immunity. Among committee rules, several provide witnesses with a right to counsel. The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs allows counsel to be present and to advise witnesses of their legal rights. If a witness is an “officer or employee of the government, or of a corporation or association,” the chair may determine that representation by counsel from the government, a corporation, or an association representing other witnesses creates a conflict of interest and may order that the witness be represented by committee staff or by personal counsel. Several Senate committees have rules that prohibit the release of confidential testimony unless it is authorized by a majority of the committee. The Finance Committee gives witnesses the right to request that cameras be turned off if they do not wish to be televised while testifying.14

Opening Statements When present, a committee’s chair ordinarily presides over its hearings. Senate rules stipulate that in the absence of the chair, the ranking member of the majority party is authorized to preside (Rule XXVI, paragraph 3). The rules of several committees provide that if neither the chair, ranking majority member, nor any other member of the majority is present, then the ranking minority member present may preside. The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs provides that if the chair or his designee is absent 10 minutes after the scheduled time of the hearing, then the ranking majority member present can preside. If no member of the majority is present, then, with prior approval of the chair, the ranking minority member present may open and conduct the hearing only until a member of the majority arrives. To begin the hearing, the chair commonly makes an opening statement introducing the subject and purpose of the session. The chair may describe important events leading to the hearing and key contemporary issues. He or she also may outline the committee’s approach to the issue; a procedure for interruptions, such as for roll call votes; and the schedule of future hearings.

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When finished, the chair generally recognizes the ranking minority member to make an opening statement, and may then recognize other Senators. Since debate time in the Senate is generally unrestricted, Senators recognized for opening statements may, under the rules, speak as long as they wish. The chair may, however, request that in the interest of time, Senators limit the length of their statements.

Introducing and Administering the Oath to Witnesses Following opening statements, the chair customarily introduces each witness in accordance with the arranged order and format. In some cases, for example a home state witness, a committee member other than the chair might introduce the witness. A procedure for administering an oath for sworn testimony to witnesses is not addressed in Senate rules, although by statute any Senator is authorized to administer an oath to a committee witness (2 U.S.C. 191). Most committee rules provide further guidance in this area. Commonly, committee rules provide that an oath may be administered when the chair or ranking minority member deems it necessary. For example, the Select Committee on Intelligence requires that all testimony be given under oath. The Select Committee on Ethics requires that all witnesses testifying at adjudicatory hearings be sworn unless the Senator presiding decides otherwise. In practice, most other committees rarely require testimony under oath. Swearing witnesses is most common at investigative hearings and hearings dealing with sensitive subject matter. Sometimes witnesses at confirmation hearings are also sworn in.15

Oral Testimony of Witnesses Senate rules do not limit the time allowed for witnesses to present oral testimony. In practice, some committees cap the time allowed for witnesses to make their presentations. Since witness testimony generally is available to the committee in advance, and in the interest of time, it is usually not necessary or desirable for a witnesses to read their entire prepared statement. The rules of several committees, including Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; Finance; and Foreign Relations, limit oral presentations to ten minutes. The Select Committee on Intelligence rules state that oral presentations shall “not exceed a reasonable period of time as determined by the Chairman, or other presiding members.”

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Some committees employ a system of lights to guide witnesses in their oral presentations. A green light tells the witness that time remains to continue a presentation. A yellow light warns the witness to begin to conclude oral testimony, and a red light informs the witness that the presentation should end.

Time Limitations for Questioning Witnesses The question and answer period that follows a witness’s statement presents an opportunity for Senators to clarify assertions made in testimony, to expand upon witness statements, and sometimes to question the veracity of statements. Moreover, it offers an opportunity for the committee to build a public record and to obtain information to support future committee actions. Committee staff sometimes prepare questions or talking points for committee leaders and other members. In some cases, witnesses may be informed in advance of the line of questioning the committee intends to pursue. Under Senate rules, when recognized, a Senator may, in general, speak as long as he or she wants. Most committees do not restrict this right of debate for questioning witnesses. Several committees, however, have imposed a rule limiting Senators to five minutes to question each witness until all committee members have had the opportunity. These include Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; Energy and Natural Resources; and Select Indian Affairs. The Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs limits questions to each witness to five minutes when five or more Senators are present, and 10 minutes when fewer than five are present. Where committee rules are silent on this procedure, the chair or Senator presiding commonly sets ground rules for questioning either at the start of the hearing or after a witness’s oral presentation. Whatever the stated procedures, committee leaders generally seek to accommodate Senators during the question period.

Order of Questioning Witnesses Each committee has the discretion to determine the order in which members may question witnesses. A common procedure allows alternating between the parties, in order of seniority. By contrast, the so-called “early bird rule” permits members to question witnesses based on Senators’ order of arrival at the hearing. Some committees, for example, Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, use both of

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these methods. In practice, committee chairs can entertain requests to proceed out of order to accommodate the schedules of individual Senators.

Questioning by Committee or Subcommittee Staff Both Senate rules as well as those of most committee are silent on the matter of the use of staff to question witnesses. Unless specified by committee rule, it is commonly the prerogative of the chair, often in consultation with the ranking minority member, to determine the circumstances under which staff may question witnesses. The Committee on Small Business specifically permits such a procedure. The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Indian Affairs allow the committee leadership to appoint one staff member to question witnesses. Staff may only question witnesses after all Senators have completed their questioning, or at other times agreed upon by the committee leadership. The rules of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs state that witnesses may be questioned by “authorized” subcommittee staff.

POST-HEARING ACTIVITIES At the end of the question and answer period, the committee chair will close the hearing. The chair may summarize what the committee has accomplished by holding the hearing and comment on the future committee schedule or expected action. Senate rules provide a procedure whereby a committee may direct its staff to prepare a daily digest of the written statements submitted by witnesses. A committee can also ask its staff to prepare daily summaries of the oral testimony presented before the committee on a particular day (Rule XXVI, paragraph 4(c)). With the approval of the chair and ranking minority member, the committee can include the latter summaries in its published hearings. Summaries can be distributed to committee members and the press. Follow-up questions may be prepared and submitted to witnesses for written replies to expand on their testimony. Witnesses may be asked to expand on answers given at the hearing or to discuss new matters raised in the course of the hearing. Often the chair will announce that the hearing record will be left open for a period of time so that additional information can be entered into the formal

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hearing record. If the hearing is investigative, the committee can prepare and issue its report. If the hearing is legislative, the committee may proceed to markup and report a measure to the Senate floor. Finally, committees attend to administrative details following a hearing, such as restoring the hearing room to its original condition and sending thank-you letters to witnesses. Points of order against actions that occurred during a committee hearing are normally ruled upon by the Chairman. In any case, pursuant to Senate rules (Rule XXVI, paragraph 7(a)(3)), no point of order for a violation of committee hearing rules will be entertained subsequently on the Senate floor if a measure has been properly reported. This rule states in part, “Action by any committee in reporting any measure or matter in accordance with the requirements of this subparagraph shall constitute the ratification by the committee of all action theretofore taken by the committee with respect to that measure or matter....” Thus, if a Senator believes a hearing was conducted improperly, he or she must make this belief known in committee, and the point of order must be timely raised. Once the measure reaches the Senate floor, a point of order because of procedural infractions during the hearing would not be sustained.

Printing Hearings Although they are encouraged to do so, Senate committees are not required to print their hearings. Most hearings, in fact, are printed. Senate Rule XXVI, paragraph 10(a) provides the authority for committees to print their hearings. The rule also requires that committee hearings be kept separate from the personal office of the committee chairman, that hearings transcripts and related material become the property of the Senate, and all committee members and all Senators are entitled to access to the hearing records. Senate Rule XVII, paragraph 5 requires that measures reported to the Senate cannot be considered unless a report accompanying that measure has been available to Members for at least two calendar days. The rule further requires that if hearings have been held on the reported measure, the committee reporting the measure must make “every reasonable effort” to have the hearings printed and available to Senators. Some committees provide for review by witnesses of their testimony for the purpose of determining errors in transcription, grammatical corrections or obvious errors of fact. A request to actually change the transcript must be made to the committee chair or staff member designated by the chair. Several committees allow witnesses themselves to make minor grammatical changes. The rules of the

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Select Committee on Ethics require that, except where a hearing has been closed to the public, transcripts be published “as soon as practicable.” The chair and vice chair, acting jointly, are authorized to order a transcript printed without corrections by a Senator or other witness if they determine that the time allotted for review of the transcript has expired and the transcript has not been returned to the committee.

ENDNOTES 1

This report was originally written by the late Richard C. Sachs, formerly a Specialist in American National Government at CRS. The listed author updated the report and is available to answer questions concerning its contents. 2 Walter J. Oleszek, Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process, 6th ed. (Washington: CQ Press, 2004), p. 93. 3 See also CRS Report RL30240, Congressional Oversight Manual, by Frederick M. Kaiser et al. 4 See also CRS Report 95-464, Investigative Oversight: An Introduction to the Law, Practice, and Procedure of Congressional Inquiry, by Morton Rosenberg. 5 See also CRS Report RS20986, Senate Confirmation Process: A Brief Overview, by Lorraine Tong; CRS Report RL31980, Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations: Committee and Floor Procedure, by Elizabeth Rybicki; and CRS Report RL31948, Evolution of the Senate’s Role in the Nomination and Confirmation Process: A Brief History, by Betsy Palmer. 6 See also “The Confirmation Process” section in CRS Report RL30240, CRS Congressional Oversight Manual, by Louis Fisher et al. 7 See also “Congressional Budget Office (CBO)” section in CRS Report RL30240, CRS Congressional Oversight Manual, by Louis Fisher et al. 8 It is also not uncommon for two subcommittees of the same parent committee to hold joint hearings. For example, on May 17, 2005, the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship, and the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, held joint hearings on the need for comprehensive immigration reform. 9 The consolidated hearing schedule is also posted on the Senate’s website at [http://www.senate.gov/legislative/legis_legis_committees.html], visited Jan. 29, 2007.

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10

See also “Tools of Oversight” section in CRS Report 95-464, Investigative Oversight: An Introduction to the Law, Practice, and Procedure of Congressional Inquiry, by Morton Rosenberg. 11 U.S. Senate Handbook, Washington: GPO, 1996. 12 See also “Communicating with the Media” section in CRS Report RL30240, CRS Congressional Oversight Manual, by Frederick M. Kaiser et al. 13 This is the new section to the Senate’s Standing Rule XXVI, 5(e)(2), also found in sec. 513 of P.L. 110-81, formerly S. 1, The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, enacted on Sept. 14, 2007. 14 See also “Constitutional and Common Law Testimonial Privileges of Witnesses” section in CRS Report 95-464, Investigative Oversight: An Introduction to the Law, Practice, and Procedure of Congressional Inquiry, by Morton Rosenberg. 15 See also “Conducting Hearings” section in CRS Report 95-464, Investigative Oversight: An Introduction to the Law, Practice, and Procedure of Congressional Inquiry, by Morton Rosenberg.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Related CRS Products CRS Report 98-311. Senate Rules Affecting Committee Activities, by Betsy Palmer. CRS Report 98-336. Senate Committee Hearings: Arranging Witnesses, by Thomas P. Carr. CRS Report 98-337. Senate Committee Hearings: Scheduling and Notification, by Thomas P. Carr. CRS Report 98-392. Senate Committee Hearings: Witness Testimony, by Thomas P. Carr. CRS Report RL30240. Congressional Oversight Manual, by Frederick M. Kaiser, Walter J. Oleszek, and Morton Rosenberg. CRS Report RS20023. Committee Funding and Staff in the Senate, by R. Eric Petersen. CRS Report 95-464. Investigative Oversight: An Introduction to the Law, Practice and Procedure of Congressional Inquiry, by Morton A. Rosenberg. CRS Report 98-489. Senate Committee Hearings: Preparation, by Thomas P. Carr.

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CRS Report 98-775. Quorum Requirements in the Senate: Committee and Chamber, by Betsy Palmer. CRS Report 98-183. Senate Committees: Categories and Rules for Committee Assignments, by Judy Schneider. CRS Report 98-242. Committee Jurisdiction and Referral in the Senate, by Judy Schneider.

Publications on Hearings Aberbach, Joel D. Keeping a Watchful Eye: The Politics of Congressional Oversight. Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1990. Aberbach, Joel D. “What’s Happened to the Watchful Eye?” Congress and the Presidency, vol. 29, no. 1 (spring 2002), pp. 3-23. Cohen, Richard E. “Crackup of the Committees.” National Journal, vol 13, (March 13, 1999), pp. 688-692. DeGregorio, Christine. “Leadership Approaches in Congressional Committee Hearings.” Western Political Quarterly, vol. 45 (December 1992), pp. 971983. Harvey, Thomas E. “Congressional Testimony: A Practical Guide for Newcomers to the Congressional Hearing Process.” Federal Bar News & Journal, vol. 35 (November 1988), pp. 414-415. Hill, James P. “The Third House of Congress Versus the Fourth Branch of Government: The Impact of Congressional Committee Staff on Agency Regulatory Decision-Making.” John Marshall Law Review, vol. 19 (winter 1996), pp. 247-273. Lustberg, Arch. Testifying with Impact: A “How to” Booklet for Those who Testify on the Federal, State, or Local Levels of Government. Washington: Association Division, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1982. Mackenzie, G. Calvin. The Politics of Presidential Appointments. New York: The Free Press, 1981. Oleszek, Walter J. “Preliminary Legislative Action,” Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process, 6th ed., pp. 76-109. Washington: CQ Press, 2004. The Presidential Appointee’s Handbook, 2nd ed. Washington: National Academy of Public Administration, 1988. Schneier, Edward V. and Bertram Gross. “Committee Action or Inaction,” Congress Today, pp. 381-409. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1993. Sinclair, Barbara. Unorthodox Lawmaking: New Legislative Processes in the U.S. Congress. Washington: CQ Press, 2000.

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Unekis, Joseph K. “Committee Hearings.” In Donald C. Bacon, Roger H. Davidson, and Morton Keller, eds., The Encyclopedia of the United States Congress, vol. 1, pp. 423-426. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995. U.S. General Accounting Office. Office of Special Investigations. Investigators’ Guide to Sources of Information. Washington: GPO, 1997. Wells, William G. Jr. “Hearings and Testimony.” Working with Congress: A Practical Guide for Scientists and Engineers, pp. 87-98. Washington: American Association for the Advancement of Science and Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government, 1992.

INDEX

A academic, 18, 86 academics, 74 access, 12, 32, 57, 58, 59, 64, 79, 96 administration, 45 administrative, viii, ix, 2, 4, 7, 21, 31, 70, 72, 74, 88, 89, 96 Alaska, 75 alternative, 9, 77 amendments, 6, 38, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 52, 67, 73, 79 American Association for the Advancement of Science, 34, 100 appendix, 57 appropriations, 31, 40, 46, 49 appropriations bills, 31, 46 Appropriations Committee, 32 argument, 26 Army, 7, 75 arrest, 22 assessment, 79 Attorney General, 22 attribution, 21, 87 authority, 3, 8, 15, 17, 18, 22, 28, 30, 31, 38, 42, 43, 46, 51, 75, 83, 84, 85, 90, 96 availability, 12, 22, 89

B background information, viii, ix, 2, 70 behavior, vii, viii, 1 benchmarks, 7, 75 benefits, 8, 12, 72, 79 bipartisan, 40 Budget Committee, 31 budget resolution, 10, 47, 49, 77 bypass, 44

C cables, 20 Calendar of Business, 40, 41, 43, 44 candidates, 14, 82 capacity, 75 cast, 23 certificate, 22 citizens, 5, 7, 10, 72, 74, 78 civil contempt, 85 classes, 6, 74 clients, 16 cloture, 48, 49, 52 cloture motion, 48 college students, 11, 79 commerce, 88

102

Index

Committee on Appropriations, 15, 30, 82, 83, 86, 90 Committee on Armed Services, 15, 26, 29, 90 Committee on Environment and Public Works, 75, 81 Committee on Homeland Security, 85, 92, 95 Committee on House Administration, 10, 11, 14, 29, 35 Committee on Intelligence, 15, 26, 30, 83, 84, 93 Committee on Rules and Administration, 61, 64, 65, 66, 76, 78, 79, 82, 88, 89, 91 Committee on Standards, 24, 30 Committee on the Judiciary, 12, 97 Committees on Appropriations, 24, 80, 81 common rule, 11, 79 Communist Party, 24 compilation, 34 compliance, 25, 78, 92 Conference Committee, 55, 56, 62, 63 conflict, 92 conflict of interest, 92 conformity, 19 congress, 57, 58, 59, 61, 64, 66 Congress, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 39, 40, 42, 51, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 69, 71, 72, 74, 75, 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 85, 88, 89, 99, 100 congressional budget, 10, 77 Congressional Budget Office, 10, 77, 97 Congressional Record, 13, 39, 43, 61, 66, 67, 81 consent, 27, 29, 31, 35, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 67, 75, 80, 84 Constitution, 25, 35, 45, 50, 51, 53, 58, 64, 75, 91 consultants, 10, 11, 78 consulting, 10, 40, 78 contracts, 16 control, 46 costs, 10, 77 counsel, 18, 25, 85, 92 coverage, 3, 8, 19, 20, 87 covering, 29, 80

crime, 91 criticism, 5, 24, 73 CRS, 9, 33, 34, 35, 54, 55, 56, 59, 60, 62, 63, 65, 77, 97, 98, 99

D database, 9, 77 decisions, 18, 23, 38, 39, 41, 58, 64, 85, 86, 90 deficit, 10, 78 demand, 44, 51, 67 deviation, 49 dignity, 19 disclosure, 24 discretionary, 45 distribution, 15, 22, 54, 83, 89 District of Columbia, 41, 44 division, 38, 50, 51, 52, 67 draft, 2, 4, 15, 21, 70, 73, 83, 87 duration, 49 duties, 11, 46

E Education, 13, 15, 30, 79, 81, 91 employees, 14 employment, 88 environment, 21, 88 estimating, 10, 77 execution, 7, 74 Executive Calendar, 41 expertise, 5, 11, 12, 73, 79 exposure, 12, 19, 79 Exposure, 86

F Fast-track, 55 federal budget, 10, 15, 32, 77, 78 federal government, 78 Fifth Amendment, 25, 91 finance, 88 firms, 10, 78, 88

Index First Amendment, 25, 92 flexibility, 29 flight, 12, 79 focusing, 7, 74 Forestry, 81, 84, 86, 94 Fourth Amendment, 25, 92 framing, 9, 77 fraud, 8, 9, 76, 77 fulfillment, 35, 75 fundraising, 18 funds, 8, 22 furniture, 21

G gas, 8 General Accounting Office, 100 goals, 8, 76 government, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 22, 66, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 84, 92 Government Accountability Office, 9, 77 Government Accountability Office (GAO), 9, 77 GPO, 34, 35, 53, 54, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 64, 66, 67, 98, 100 grants, 16 groups, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 74, 76, 77, 78, 84 guidance, 86, 93 guidelines, 14, 40, 81, 88

H handling, 5 hands, 50 health, 79 health care, 79 hearing, vii, viii, ix, x, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97 high school, 11, 79 high-level, 83

103

Homeland Security, 97 Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, 98 House, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 65, 66, 67, 79, 99 House Administration Committee, 22 House Committee on Government Reform, 12, 28, 29 human, 12, 79 hypertext, 65

I ice, 21, 89 images, 86 immigration, 97 immunity, 25, 92 inclusion, 9, 77 Indian, 75, 79, 94, 95 informal opportunities, 16 Information System, 61, 66, 80 insurance, 22 intensity, 5 intentions, 42, 84 interest groups, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 74, 76, 77, 78, 84 Internet, 32, 54, 57, 58, 59, 60, 63, 64, 74, 83, 89 internship, 11, 79 interview, 14, 20, 82 Investigations, 34, 95, 100 investigative, vii, ix, 1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 17, 18, 19, 24, 26, 29, 31, 69, 70, 74, 77, 84, 85, 86, 93, 96 Iran, 7, 75 Iran-Contra, 7, 75

J journalists, 21, 87

104

Index

Judiciary, 86 jurisdiction, 5, 8, 15, 21, 23, 39, 42, 72, 75, 76 jurisdictions, 7, 8, 39, 66, 76

L land, 12 language, 6, 19, 73 law, 7, 10, 18, 22, 24, 74, 75, 78, 91 law enforcement, 22, 24, 75, 91 laws, 7, 40, 74, 91 lead, 7, 75, 88 leadership, ix, 40, 41, 43, 44, 47, 69, 95 leadership style, ix, 69 legislation, ix, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 47, 49, 61, 66, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79 legislative, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 18, 31, 32, 37, 38, 40, 43, 47, 52, 53, 57, 59, 60, 64, 65, 67, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 79, 85, 96, 97 legislative proposals, 5, 9, 72, 77 lenses, 19 limitation, 14, 48, 82 limitations, 17, 44, 48, 80 links, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 65, 66, 88 lobbyists, 10, 78 location, 20, 22, 23, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 64, 87, 89 Louisiana, 8 low-level, 74

M majority leader, 80 management, 91 mandates, 10, 78 mark up, 6, 31, 73 meals, 22, 90 measures, ix, 5, 6, 18, 23, 31, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 49, 52, 67, 72, 74, 85, 96 media, vii, viii, ix, 1, 4, 8, 14, 16, 19, 20, 21, 70, 71, 84, 86, 87, 88

membership, 38, 46, 50, 76 minority, vii, viii, ix, 1, 5, 9, 13, 15, 17, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 38, 44, 46, 51, 69, 76, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 90, 92, 93, 95 morning, 47, 80 motion, 27, 28, 30, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 48, 49, 52, 53, 91 multimedia, 88

N NASA, 7 nation, 8, 76 national, 8, 19, 24, 83, 91 National Archives and Records Administration, 33 national security, 19, 24, 91 Native American, 12 Native Americans, 12 New York, 34, 99, 100 NGOs, 78 Nominations, 41, 97 non-profit, 10 normal, 11

O Office of Management and Budget, 5, 73 offshore, 8 offshore oil, 8 oil, 8 OMB, 5, 73 online, 15, 32, 34, 35, 65, 66 opposition, 50 oral, viii, ix, 2, 4, 14, 15, 18, 26, 70, 72, 82, 83, 86, 93, 94, 95 oral presentations, 93, 94 organization, 3, 15 organizations, 10, 16, 78 oversight, vii, ix, 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 19, 22, 69, 70, 72, 74, 75, 77, 85, 86, 90

Index

105

P

R

packets, 21, 87 performance, 7, 74 periodic, 9, 10, 77, 78 permit, 22, 24, 28, 30 personal, 20, 32, 80, 87, 90, 91, 92, 96 planning, viii, ix, 2, 3, 13, 20, 21, 22, 70, 71, 87, 88, 89 policy making, vii, 1, 4 political power, 45 power, 6, 45 powers, 45, 46 President pro tempore, 45 press conferences, 87, 88 prevention, 75 printing, vii, viii, x, 2, 15, 32, 70 privacy, 91 private, 7, 16, 18, 22, 40, 43, 75, 84, 85, 88, 89 private citizens, 7, 16, 75, 84 production, 84 profit, 10 program, 5, 7, 9, 19, 54, 56, 73, 74, 77, 86 promote, 19 propriety, 19 protection, 25, 92 public, vii, viii, ix, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 27, 30, 31, 32, 40, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75, 78, 81, 84, 86, 88, 89, 90, 91, 94, 97 public interest, 7, 22, 74 public notice, viii, ix, 2, 4, 13, 70, 71, 81 public policy, 10, 17, 75, 78, 84 public support, 7, 72

radio, 19, 20 radioactive waste, 74 reading, 40, 44, 54 recognition, 29, 45, 46, 48 reconciliation, 49 red light, 94 Reform Act, 67 regional, 8, 87 regular, 11 regulations, 1, 18, 22, 40, 69, 76, 78, 85, 89, 90, 91 reimbursement, 14, 82, 90 relationship, 7 relevance, 29 rent, 22 reporters, 21, 87, 88, 89 Republican, 12 reputation, 91 research, 10, 23, 32, 78, 90 reserves, 41 resolution, 17, 18, 35, 42, 67, 84, 85 resources, 8, 9, 10, 12, 76, 78, 79 responsibilities, 10, 20, 51, 75, 77, 87 revenue, 10, 78 Rules and Administration Committee, 88, 89, 90 Rules Committee, 23, 42, 43, 44, 67, 78, 79

Q qualifications, 78 questioning, vii, viii, ix, 1, 2, 27, 28, 29, 70, 74, 94, 95 quorum, vii, viii, ix, 1, 2, 4, 17, 23, 24, 25, 30, 50, 51, 67, 69, 70, 72, 91

S salary, 79 satisfaction, 22, 89 savings, 74 scheduling, viii, ix, 2, 4, 12, 13, 37, 38, 41, 42, 70, 71, 79, 80, 81 school, 11, 22, 79, 89 search, 25, 54, 57, 64, 92 search terms, 64 searches, 9, 77 searching, 57, 64 security, 19, 22, 24, 89, 91 seizure, 25, 92

106

Index

selecting, viii, ix, 2, 4, 70, 71 self-incrimination, 25, 92 senate, 58, 64, 65, 66, 88, 97 Senate, 12, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 Senate Legal Counsel, 85 senators, 51 series, 75, 91 services, 10, 11, 35, 63, 78, 88 shaping, 6, 73 sign, 43 sites, 57, 65, 88 Speaker of the House, 45, 46, 56 speech, 25, 45, 92 sponsor, 42 stages, vii, viii, 1, 37, 38 standards, 19 Standards, 42 State of the Union, 35, 45 State of the Union address, 35 statutes, 18, 47, 52, 85 students, 11, 79 subpoena, vii, viii, 1, 6, 17, 25, 84, 92 subpoenas, 4, 17, 71, 84 suicide, 75 summaries, 3, 27, 71, 95 supplemental, vii, viii, 2, 4, 32, 71, 72

time, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 32, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 57, 73, 74, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 87, 88, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97 time periods, 80 timing, 8 title, 12, 38, 52, 60, 79 tracking, 10, 77 trade, 10, 78 tradition, 46 transcript, ix, x, 4, 18, 32, 70, 72, 85, 89, 96 transcription, 96 transcripts, vii, viii, x, 2, 31, 32, 70, 89, 96, 97 transfer, 32 transport, 22, 90 transportation, 22, 82, 90 travel, 7, 8, 14, 22, 76, 82, 89, 90 treaties, 35, 41, 65, 66, 75 trees, 49 tribal, 10, 77

U U.S. economy, 10, 77 uniform, 18, 85 United Nations, 75 United States, 3, 8, 24, 34, 45, 58, 61, 62, 64, 100 universities, 10, 78

V

T targets, 10, 77 Teapot Dome, 7, 75 technicians, 22, 89 television, 19, 20, 87, 88 television coverage, 19, 20, 87 testimony, vii, viii, ix, x, 2, 4, 6, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 18, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 30, 31, 32, 70, 71, 72, 77, 78, 81, 82, 83, 85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96 threat, 47 threatening, 43

variation, 3, 81 vehicles, 74, 79 venue, 22, 89 Vice President, 45, 67 voice, 38, 50, 51, 52, 67 voting, 30, 41, 49, 50, 51, 52

W water, 21, 89 Watergate, 7, 75 wealth, 10, 78

Index web, 65 web sites, 65 websites, 57, 88 Whitewater, 85 winter, 99 witnesses, 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 76, 77, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96

107

workload, 8, 73, 74, 76 World Wide Web, 54, 62, 63 writing, 21, 42, 84, 89 wrongdoing, 7, 75

Y yield, 38