[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING FOR THE 116TH CONGRESS; COMMITTEE RULES; ANTI-
HARASSMENT POLICY; PARKING POLICY; AND ELIGIBLE CONGRESSIONAL MEMBER
ORGANIZATION REGULATIONS
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ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
before the
COMMITTEE ON HOUSE
ADMINISTRATION
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
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HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, FEBRUARY 7, 2019
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Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available on the Internet:
www.fdsys.gov
_________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
35-818 WASHINGTON : 2019
COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION
ZOE LOFGREN, California, Chairperson
JAMIE RASKIN, Maryland RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois,
SUSAN A. DAVIS, California Ranking Member
G. K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina MARK WALKER, North Carolina
MARCIA L. FUDGE, Ohio BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia
PETE AGUILAR, California
COMMITTEE ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING FOR THE 116TH CONGRESS
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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019
House of Representatives,
Committee on House Administration,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:04 a.m., in Room
1310, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Zoe Lofgren
[chairperson of the Committee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Lofgren, Raskin, Butterfield,
Fudge, Aguilar, Davis of Illinois, and Walker.
Staff Present: Jamie Fleet, Staff Director; Peter Whippy,
Communications Director; Sean Jones, Legislative Clerk; Khalil
Abboud, Deputy Staff Director; David Tucker, Parliamentarian;
Veleter Mazyck, Chief of Staff, Office of Representative Fudge;
Lisa Sherman, Chief of Staff, Office of Representative Susan A.
Davis; Becky Cornell and Evan Dorner, Office of Representative
Aguilar; Kendra Brown and Kyle Parker, Office of Representative
Butterfield; Julie Tagen and Lauren Doney, Office of
Representative Raskin; Ryan Walker and Carson Steelman, Office
of Representative Walker; and David Ross, Office of
Representative Rodney Davis.
The Chairperson. Welcome. This is our first meeting of the
Committee on House Administration, and the Committee will come
to order. A quorum being present, we will proceed.
This morning, the Committee on House Administration will
adopt Committee Rules of Procedure for the 116th Congress,
establish a Subcommittee on Elections, adopt the parking policy
for this Congress, and address a number of matters that the
Committee has a responsibility for regulating.
I am looking forward to a productive Congress for the
Committee, and we will have our first hearing next week on
reforms to our democracy.
We will be hearing from our Committees soon about their
funding needs as well, and we intend to look at all the
agencies under our jurisdiction, how the Library of Congress
can better serve Congress, imagining new museums as part of the
Smithsonian Institution, and asking if the Capitol Police have
the right tools to keep Members, staff, and visitors safe, both
in D.C. and in our districts.
We intend to look at how Congress works, reviewing our
Member and Committee handbooks, as well as tackling changes to
the franking rules.
I would like to quickly introduce our members. We have two
returning members: Representative Jamie Raskin, who represents
the Eighth District of Maryland, and who, without objection, is
named vice chairperson of the Committee; and Representative
Susan Davis, who is on her way, who represents the 53rd
District of California, and who will chair the Franking
Commission at Speaker Pelosi's request.
And we are joined by three new members: Representative G.K.
Butterfield, who represents the First District of North
Carolina; Representative Marcia L. Fudge, who represents the
11th District of Ohio; and Representative Pete Aguilar, who
represents the 31st District of California.
I will now recognize our ranking member, Mr. Rodney Davis
of Illinois, for the purposes of making an opening statement
and to introduce his fellow Republican members.
Mr. Davis of Illinois. Well, thank you, Madam Chairperson.
It is an honor to not just be the ranking member, but to be a
partner with you at this Committee that has such a history of
bipartisanship.
I would like to welcome all of the new members to the House
Administration Committee, many friends. And then, I would like
to welcome all the new members except for Mr. Aguilar.
Pete, it is good to have you, my friend. I missed you on
the Ag Committee.
But as you can tell, bipartisanship actually works in this
institution, no matter what you see and hear in the news media,
and it is great to see so many of my good friends on the other
side of this dais. And this Committee is one that really means
bipartisanship, and I know we can work together to make things
happen.
I want to take a moment to introduce the Republican members
of this Committee. Not a real long line in the minority. Jamie,
I know, Zoe, I know how you guys felt. You know, 50 percent of
them are here right now.
So I am going to introduce my good friend Mark Walker, who
is returning to this Committee. People who want to step up and
serve on House Administration understand the importance of
making sure that the House operates in a way that actually
encourages bipartisanship, and I am very proud to have Mr.
Walker back on this Committee. I would like to nominate him as
my vice ranking member, because no one else is here.
So there you go, buddy. I don't know if I can do that or
not, they haven't told me.
But Mark is serving his third term in the House and is here
from the great State of North Carolina.
Barry Loudermilk, another returning member of the
Committee, is not here, but also a valued member of our side of
the aisle and somebody who understands what it means to
actually get things done in the House of Representatives.
You know, my top priority for this Committee is to make the
House work. And as a former staffer, just like Chairperson
Lofgren, we come with a unique set of experiences in making
sure that we get into the nitty-gritty and the details of House
operations that many find boring, many find not intriguing to
work on when they are here. But I know I share the same goal
with the chairperson, to make sure that this House works
better.
Through this Committee's oversight role we must continue to
strengthen the implementation of proper internal controls over
the financial processes in the House, too. That is something I
worked on as a staffer for 16 years, and was proud to co-chair
the reorganization of our House finances with Chairperson
Lofgren in the last Congress.
We also have got to do what we can in this Committee to
professionalize the House. I look and I see the staffers
sitting behind the members, and I was once you. And I know that
you want professionalism also. And I believe that you will see
the members of this Committee will also strive to ensure that
your talents and what you do on a daily basis actually is
promoted, rather than torn down in the media, in this
institution.
We also have to improve the safety and the security for
millions of visitors that come to this campus. We take for
granted as Members of Congress that many of our constituents,
they take their savings for a year and they come out here to
Washington, D.C., to experience the Nation's capital. And we
have got to do everything we can as a bipartisan Committee to
ensure that those visits, what we represent here in Washington,
D.C., is also representative of what this great country is all
about.
And, finally, our Committee is charged with protecting the
foundation of our democracy and government. Namely, the sacred
right to vote. We will work on this Committee and through the
Subcommittee on Elections to continue our duty to safeguard the
Federal election process and make certain that this process
remains open, free, and fair and functioning to the highest
level of integrity. We want to ensure that every American's
vote is both counted and protected.
I am honored to serve as the ranking member of this key
Committee. I look forward to working closely with my
colleagues, especially Chairperson Lofgren. And I look forward
to a very productive 116th Congress with each of you, even Mr.
Aguilar.
The Chairperson. Thank you very much. I didn't realize
there was a prior legislative relationship between you and Mr.
Aguilar.
Does any other member wish to make comments before we
proceed to the business before us?
If not, I will call up Resolution 116-01, and, without
objection, the resolution will be considered as read and open
to amendment at any time.
[The information follows:]
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The Chairperson. I recognize myself for 5 minutes.
Our first order of business is adoption of the Committee
Rules for the 116th Congress as required by clause 2(a) of
House rule XI. A copy of the proposed rules is provided to each
member.
I have worked closely with Mr. Davis on these proposed
rules and have accepted two of his recommendations. Our
proposed rules provide the Committee additional tools to pursue
our oversight work.
One of these tools is a provision authorizing the
chairperson of the Committee, after consultation with the
ranking minority member, to authorize and issue a subpoena. Mr.
Davis asked that we change the standard for dispensing with
consultation, which, honestly, I do not expect will occur,
regarding the issuances of a subpoena under this authority, and
we have accommodated his request.
We have also accepted Mr. Davis' request that the ratio of
majority to minority members on any task forces, panels,
special, or select subcommittees that may be appointed to
perform specific functions for limited periods of time be the
same as the ratio for our Subcommittee on Elections, and I
agree, obviously, with that.
Our proposed rules also create a Subcommittee on Elections
and make a number of minor changes to conform to the rules
package passed by Congress last month.
I would now recognize our ranking member for any statement
on the resolution he may have and thank him for working closely
with us on this.
Mr. Davis of Illinois. Well, thank you, Madam Chair.
I would first like to, again, thank you and your staff for
their efforts to make available draft copies of the Committee
Rules prior to this morning's meeting, and also making
accommodations to the concerns that we had that you just
mentioned. It is in that effort of bipartisanship that this
Committee has operated for many years, and I hope to carry this
on through this 116th Congress.
One item, though, that is not on the agenda today but has
been included in previous organizational meetings of this
Committee is the formal adoption of an oversight plan. I know
that this is a result of a change in House rules, and you will
be submitting an oversight plan by March 1 rather than voting
today to formally adopt a plan.
It is still my expectation, consistent with House rules,
that the minority will be consulted on the development of this
plan. As I mentioned in my opening statement, I believe that
the overwhelming majority of the oversight issues, especially
in this Committee, can be addressed in a very bipartisan
manner.
Madam Chair, it is in this same spirit that I ask that if
you deem it necessary to exercise this committee's new subpoena
and deposition authority, we do so in a thoughtful and
judicious manner.
Finally, I ask that if you order the taking of depositions
by counsel, that you will consult and include the minority,
consistent with the regulations adopted by the Rules Committee.
The Chairperson. Thank you, Mr. Davis.
It certainly is our intention. As you note, the House rules
no longer require the formality, but we do intend to have
oversight planning. We certainly will welcome the participation
of the minority in that plan.
It is my intention to act in a judicious manner at all
times as chairperson of the Committee, and certainly to consult
with the minority relative to any depositions that may be taken
by staff, as well as subpoenas that may be issued, although we
don't know how frequent the use of that tool will be.
Mr. Davis of Illinois. Well, it is with my thanks, and with
our experience of working well together in a very bipartisan
manner in previous Congresses that I expect this Committee will
continue to be a beacon of bipartisanship in a very partisan
institution over the next couple of years.
The Chairperson. Thank you.
Does any member wish to offer an amendment or speak on the
resolution?
Seeing none, the question is now on the motion to adopt
Resolution 116-01.
All those in favor will say aye.
Opposed will say no.
The ayes have it, and the motion is agreed to. And, without
objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.
Pursuant to clause 2(a) of House Rule XI, the rules adopted
by the Committee on House Administration for the 116th Congress
will be published in the Congressional Record and made
available to Members and the public on the Committee's website.
I will now call up Resolutions 116-02 through Resolution
116-07 to consider en bloc. I understand the minority has
agreed to this. I wanted to say a few words about them,
however, and the bipartisan work on these that is really the
hallmark of our Committee.
Resolution 116-02 establishes the membership of the
Subcommittee on Elections, which was reconstituted under our
rules. As the former chairperson of the Elections Subcommittee,
I know how important it can be to focus very closely on voting
rights issues.
Our chairperson of the Subcommittee, Marcia Fudge, is
intending to hold a series of field hearings around the country
to gather evidence from voters and experts about how recent
changes in voting laws, especially the Supreme Court's decision
in Shelby County v. Holder, have affected access to the ballot.
That is important work. It may be augmented by additional
hearings here in the Capitol.
Resolution 116-03 provides for the parking policy in the
116th Congress. The policy for this Congress follows that of
the last Congress, with several improvements and enhancements.
This policy addresses those Members and staff who are habitual
parking policy violators by providing that violators will be
towed and potentially permanently banned from parking on the
House campus, subject to the direction of this Committee.
Furthermore, nonelectric vehicles parked in electric
vehicle and hybrid charging stations areas will be subject to
penalties.
Resolution 116-04 requires all employing offices covered by
the Congressional Accountability Act to adopt anti-
discrimination and anti-harassment policies for their
workplace. We have developed a model policy that Members can
utilize, so we don't have to reinvent the rule, but every
office is expected to do this.
Resolution 116-05 provides regulations prohibiting the use
of House exercise facilities by former Members who are
registered lobbyists.
Resolution 116-06 updates the regulations found in the
Members' Congressional Handbook regarding eligible
congressional membership organizations, or ECMOs, to reflect
rule changes for this Congress and to give the chairperson and
ranking member of this Committee waiver authority when
considering requests to establish an ECMO.
And finally, Resolution 116-07 requires all Member offices,
including district offices, to display a statement of rights
and protections provided to House employees.
Again, I want to thank Ranking Member Davis for working
closely with us on these resolutions, and I would now recognize
him for any remarks he wishes to make on these resolutions.
Mr. Davis of Illinois. To the happiness of the rest of the
Committee, I will offer no other remarks, but thanks.
The Chairperson. All right.
Does any other member wish to speak on these resolutions?
Seeing none, I will now call up Resolutions 116-02, 116-03,
116-04, 116-05, 116-06, and 116-07, and ask unanimous consent
that they be considered en bloc, that further reading of these
resolutions be dispensed with and that they are open for
amendment at any time.
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The Chairperson. The question is now on the en bloc
resolutions.
All those in favor will say aye.
Opposed will say no.
The ayes have it, and the en bloc resolutions are agreed
to. And without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid
upon the table.
This concludes the business before the Committee this
morning. Without objection, staff is authorized to make any
necessary technical and conforming changes.
I would like to thank all the members for their
participation. I look forward to working with you in the months
ahead to accomplish the vital work of this Committee.
And I want to thank our staff as well who have worked so
hard to make this a smooth meeting.
The Committee on House Administration is now adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:21 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]