Committee Rules

RULES FOR THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND GLOBAL WARMING

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
111th CONGRESS

Rule 1. General Provisions.  The Rules of the House are the rules of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (hereinafter “Committee”) so far as they are applicable.

Rule 2. Time and Place of Meetings.

(a) Regular Meeting Days. The Committee shall meet on the first Tuesday of each month at 10 a.m., for the consideration of any pending business, if the House is in session on that day. If the House is not in session on that day and the Committee has not met during such month, the Committee shall meet at the earliest practicable opportunity when the House is again in session. The Chairman may, at his discretion, cancel, delay, or defer any meeting required under this section, after consultation with the Ranking Minority Member.

(b) Additional Meetings. The Chairman may call and convene, as he considers necessary, additional meetings of the Committee for the consideration of Committee business. The Committee shall meet for such purposes pursuant to that call of the Chairman.
(c) Vice Chairman; Presiding Member. The Chairman may designate a member of the majority party to serve as Vice Chairman of the Committee. The Vice Chairman shall preside at any meeting or hearing during the temporary absence of the Chairman. If the Chairman and Vice Chairman are not present at any meeting or hearing, the most senior present member of the majority party shall preside at the meeting or hearing.

(d) Open Meetings and Hearings. Each meeting and hearing of the Committee for the transaction of business shall be open to the public, including to radio, television and still photography coverage, consistent with the provisions of Rule XI of the Rules of the House.

Rule 3. Agenda. The agenda for each Committee meeting other than a hearing, setting out the date, time, place, and all items of business to be considered, shall be provided to each member of the Committee at least 24 hours in advance of such meeting.

Rule 4. Procedure.

(a) Hearings. The date, time, place, and subject matter of any hearing of the Committee shall be announced at least one week in advance of the commencement of such hearing, unless the Chairman, with the concurrence of the Ranking Minority Member, determines in accordance with clause 2(g)(3) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, that there is good cause to begin the hearing sooner.  In such cases, the Chairman shall make the announcement at the earliest possible date.

(b) Meetings. The date, time, place, and subject matter of any meeting (other than a hearing) scheduled on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday when the House is scheduled to be in session shall be announced at least 24 hours (exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, except when the House is in session on such days) in advance of the commencement of such meeting.

(c) Motions. Pursuant to clause 1(a)(2) of rule XI of the Rules of the House, privileged motions to recess from day to day, or recess subject to the call of the Chair (within 24 hours), shall be decided without debate.

(d)(1) Requirements for Testimony. Each witness who is to appear before the Committee shall file with the clerk of the Committee, at least two working days in advance of his or her appearance, sufficient copies, as determined by the Chairman, of a written statement of his or her proposed testimony to provide to members and staff of the Committee, the news media, and the general public. Each witness shall, to the greatest extent practicable, also provide a copy of such written testimony in an electronic format prescribed by the Chairman. Each witness shall limit his or her oral presentation to a brief summary of the testimony. The Chairman, or the presiding member, may waive the requirements of this paragraph or any part thereof.

(2) Additional Requirements for Testimony. To the greatest extent practicable, the written testimony of each witness appearing in a non-governmental capacity shall include a curriculum vitae and a disclosure of the amount and source (by agency and program) of any federal grant (or sub grant thereof) or contract (or subcontract thereof) received during the current fiscal year or either of the two preceding fiscal years by the witness or by an entity represented by the witness.

(A)Questioning Witnesses. The right to question witnesses before the Committee shall alternate between majority and minority members.  Each member shall be limited to 5 minutes in the interrogation of witnesses until such time as each member who so desires has had an opportunity to question witnesses.  No member shall be recognized for a second period of 5 minutes to interrogate a witness until each member of the Committee present has been recognized once for that purpose. While the Committee is operating under the 5-minute rule for the interrogation of witnesses, the Chairman shall recognize, in order of appearance, members who were not present when the meeting was called to order after all members who were present when the meeting was called to order have been recognized in the order of seniority on the Committee.

(B) Questions for the Record. Subject to the Rules of the House, each member may submit to the Chairman additional questions for the record, to be answered by the witnesses who have appeared. Each member shall provide a copy of the questions in an electronic format to the clerk of the Committee no later than ten business days following a hearing. The Chairman shall transmit all questions received from members of the Committee to the appropriate witness and include the transmittal letter and the responses from the witnesses in the hearing record.

(C) Opening Statements.  (1) All written opening statements at hearings conducted by the Committee shall be made part of the permanent hearing record.

(2) The Chairman and Ranking Minority Member (or their respective designees) are entitled to deliver a 5 minute opening statement prior to the recognition of the first witness for testimony.  Opening statements by other members of the Committee are subject to the discretion of the Chairman.

Rule 5. Waiver of Agenda, Notice, and Opening Statement Requirements. Requirements of rules 3, 4(a)(1), 4(a)(2), and 4(d) may be waived for good cause by the Chairman, with the concurrence of the Ranking Minority Member.

Rule 6. Quorum. Testimony may be taken and evidence received at any hearing at which there are present not fewer than two members of the Committee.  A majority of the members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum when otherwise required by the Rules of the House. For the purposes of taking any action other than those specified in the preceding sentences, one third of the members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum.

Rule 7. Journal. The proceedings of the Committee shall be recorded in a journal which shall, among other things, show those present at each meeting and hearing, and shall include a record of the votes on any question on which a record vote is demanded , a description of the motion, order, or other proposition voted, and the name of each member voting for and each member voting against such motion, order, or proposition, and the names of those members voting present. A copy of the journal shall be furnished to the Ranking Minority Member and made available to the public in a timely fashion.

 Rule 8. Committee Professional and Clerical Staff.

(a) Committee staff members are subject to the provisions of clause 9 of Rule X, as well as any written personnel policies the Committee may from time to time adopt.  The Chairman shall determine the remuneration of legislative and administrative employees of the Committee.

(b) The Chairman shall appoint, and may remove, the legislative and administrative employees of the Committee not assigned to the minority. 

(c) Minority Professional Staff. Professional staff members appointed pursuant to clause 9 of Rule X of the House of Representatives, who are assigned to the Ranking Minority Member, and not to the Chairman, shall be assigned to such Committee business as the Ranking Minority Member considers advisable.

(d) Additional Staff Appointments. In addition to the professional staff appointed pursuant to clause 9 of Rule X of the House of Representatives, the Chairman shall be entitled to make such appointments to the clerical staff of the Committee as may be provided within the budget approved for such purposes by the Committee.  Such appointees shall be assigned to such business of the Committee as the Chairman considers advisable.

 Rule 9. Supervision, Duties of Staff.

(a) Committee staff members are subject to the provisions of clause 9(b) of Rule X.

(b) Supervision of Majority Staff. The professional and clerical staff of the Committee not assigned to the minority shall be under the supervision and direction of the Chairman, who shall establish and assign the duties and responsibilities of such staff members and delegate such authority as he determines appropriate.

(c) Supervision of Minority Staff. The professional and clerical staff assigned to the minority shall be under the supervision and direction of the Ranking Minority Member, who shall establish and assign the duties and responsibilities of such staff members and delegate such authority as he determines appropriate.

Rule 10. Committee Expenditures. Copies of each monthly report (prepared by the Chairman of the Committee on House Administration and showing expenditures made during the reporting period and cumulative for the year by the Committee), anticipated expenditures for the projected Committee program, and detailed information on travel, shall be available to each member.

Rule 11. Broadcasting of Committee Hearings. Any meeting or hearing that is open to the public may be covered in whole or in part by radio or television or still photography, subject to the requirements of clause 4 of Rule XI of the Rules of the House. The coverage of any hearing or other proceeding of the Committee by television, radio, or still photography shall be under the direct supervision of the Chairman and may be terminated in accordance with the Rules of the House.

Rule 12. Subpoenas. The Committee may authorize and issue a subpoena under clause 2(m) of Rule XI of the House.

Rule 13. Travel of Members and Staff.

(a) Approval of Travel. Consistent with the primary expense resolution and such additional expense resolutions as may have been approved, travel to be reimbursed from funds set aside for the Committee for any member or any staff member shall be paid only upon the prior authorization of the Chairman. Travel may be authorized by the Chairman for any member and any staff member in connection with the attendance of hearings conducted by the Committee or any subcommittee thereof and meetings, conferences, and investigations which involve activities or subject matter under the general jurisdiction of the Committee. Before such authorization is given there shall be submitted to the Chairman, in writing, the following: (1) the purpose of the travel; (2) the dates during which the travel is to be made and the date or dates of the event for which the travel is being made; (3) the location of the event for which the travel is to be made; and (4) the names of members and staff seeking authorization.

(b) Approval of Travel by Minority Members and Staff. In the case of travel by minority party members and minority party professional staff for the purpose set out in paragraph (a), the prior approval, not only of the Chairman but also of the Ranking Minority Member, shall be required. Such prior authorization shall be given by the Chairman only upon the representation by the Ranking Minority Member, in writing, setting forth those items enumerated in (1), (2), (3), and (4) of paragraph (a).

Rule 14. Reports.

(a) Committee reports. Any report printed by the U.S. Government Printing Office that purports to express the views, findings, conclusions or recommendations of the Select Committee must be approved, in a meeting, by a majority of the members in attendance of the Select Committee. Members shall have three days from the time of the approval to submit supplemental, minority or additional views, which will be included as part of the printed report.

(b) Other reports. Any report printed by the U.S. Government Printing Office to be published as a Committee print other than a document described in paragraph (a) of this Rule: (A) shall include on its cover the following statement: “this document has been printed for informational purposes only and does not represent either findings or recommendations adopted by this Committee.”; and (B) shall not be published following sine die adjournment of Congress, unless approved by the Chairman of the Committee after consultation with the Ranking Minority Member of the Committee.