[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                         ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                           COMMITTEE ON HOUSE
                             ADMINISTRATION
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                           FEBRUARY 10, 2021

                               __________

      Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration
      
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]      


                       Available on the Internet:
         http://www.govinfo.gov/committee/house-administration
         
                               __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
46-265 PDF                 WASHINGTON : 2021                     
          
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                   COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION

                  ZOE LOFGREN, California, Chairperson
JAMIE RASKIN, Maryland               RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois,
G. K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina      Ranking Member
PETE AGUILAR, California             BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia
MARY GAY SCANLON, Pennsylvania       BRYAN STEIL, Wisconsin
TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico

 
                         ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING

                              ----------                              


                      WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2021

                          House of Representatives,
                         Committee on House Administration,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 1:03 p.m., via 
Webex, Hon. Zoe Lofgren [Chairperson of the Committee] 
presiding.
    Present: Representatives Lofgren, Butterfield, Aguilar, 
Scanlon, Leger Fernandez, Davis, Loudermilk, and Steil.
    Staff Present: Jamie Fleet, Majority Staff Director; Khalil 
Abboud, Deputy Staff Director; David Tucker, Parliamentarian; 
Brandon Jacobs, Legislative Clerk; Peter Whippy, Communications 
Director; Natalie Young, Press Secretary; Jen Daulby, 
Republican Staff Director; Tim Monahan, Republican Deputy Staff 
Director; Caleb Hays, Republican General Counsel.
    The Chairperson. The Committee on House Administration will 
come to order.
    I want to acknowledge the presence of a forum and have 
Members to mute their mikes if they are not speaking and to 
decrease the background noise.
    I would like to note that we have present with us Mr. 
Butterfield, Mr. Aguilar, Ms. Scanlon, Ms. Leger Fernandez, 
Ranking Member Rodney Davis, and Mr. Steil, I believe. I hope I 
am pronouncing that correctly. A quorum is present. Mr. Raskin 
is otherwise engaged over in the Senate side today. Mr. 
Loudermilk will not be able to attend apparently, but we do 
have a quorum present.
    As we begin, I want to note we are holding this hearing in 
compliance with the regulations for remote committee hearings 
pursuant to House Resolution 8. As I mentioned, generally, the 
Members will mute unless they are speaking, and you need to 
unmute if you are seeking recognition.
    Under the rules, we need to keep our cameras on at all 
times. Even if you need to step away for a moment, please don't 
turn your camera off, just let it just look at the background.
    I would like to remind everyone that pursuant to 
regulations governing remote proceedings, we are not permitted 
to participate in more than one committee proceeding 
simultaneously.
    At this time, I would ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have five legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and that any written statements be made part the 
record. And hearing no objection, that is----
    Mr. Davis. Madam Chairperson, real quick.
    The Chairperson. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Davis. Just for technology folks, I think--Mr. 
Loudermilk just texted me he is on as an attendee. Can somebody 
move him over to the panelist side so we can get his video?
    The Chairperson. We will do that right now.
    Mr. Davis. Thank you.
    The Chairperson. Thank you very much.
    As mentioned, hearing no objection, the remarks may be part 
of the record.
    Today, the House Administration Committee will organize so 
we can begin the important work that we will undertake during 
this Congress. We will adopt Committee rules of procedure, 
reestablish our Subcommittee on Elections, adopt the parking 
policy for this Congress, address several matters that the 
Committee has responsibility for regulating.
    I am pleased that we have been able to reach bipartisan 
agreement on every one of these resolutions. I appreciate that 
the Ranking Member and his staff have worked so collaboratively 
with us so that we can reach this bipartisan agreement.
    This Congress, we are going to be very busy again. The work 
of the Committee and its staff is always important, but we have 
unique and challenging issues of historic proportions to 
confront and solve in this Congress.
    Five weeks ago today, we gathered together what should have 
been a demonstration of a fundamental feature of our democracy, 
a peaceful transition of power. The voters in States have done 
their work and it was time for Congress to count the electoral 
college votes. I was honored, along with Ranking Member Rodney 
Davis and our two Senate colleagues, to play a small role in 
that session as a teller to read the results. Tragically, the 
attack on the Capitol on January 6 transformed a day that 
should have been a celebration of our democracy, as much as it 
is of any winning candidate, into a day of violence and 
bloodshed.
    We are grateful beyond words for the sacrifices of the 
police officers who lost their lives because of the attack, the 
more than 140 officers who were injured, some grievously, and 
dozens more who subsequently tested positive for COVID. We all 
owe thanks to the men and women of law enforcement who 
literally fought to defend the Capitol, and to those who 
responded, to the citizen soldiers of the National Guard who 
answered the call, to the institutional workforce who helped 
Congress carry on, even as they all faced dire threats to their 
safety. Because of their courage and their sacrifice, that very 
night, we were able to resume and complete our constitutional 
duty. That was a powerful symbol of resilience to our country 
and to the world.
    As we move forward, we must ensure that the Capitol is safe 
and secure, while remaining accessible to the public. And even 
after what experts widely concluded that this past election was 
the most secure in American history, we must also ensure that 
the democracy the Capitol serves is also safe and secure.
    Now, our friend and colleague, as I mentioned, Jamie Raskin 
spoke powerfully and eloquently yesterday on the Senate floor 
about the ramifications of the attack, not just for the safety 
and well-being of all who work here, but for our shared future 
and the future of our democratic self-government. We must 
continue to expand access to civic participation in our 
elections in a secure manner, while confronting the role of 
misinformation and undermining them.
    And, of course, these are not the only historic challenges 
we face. One year ago last Saturday, a 57-year-old technology 
worker from San Jose died after a bout of what might have been 
the flu. It wasn't until months later that experts confirmed 
that Patricia Dowd was actually the first known American to 
have died of COVID in the United States. Now just a year later, 
nearly 470,000 Americans have been killed by the virus, more 
than died in all of World War II.
    I keep the Dowd family in my heart, as well as the families 
of our friend Representative Ron Wright and Representative-
elect Luke Letlow, a former staffer who was about to return to 
represent his community as a Member and is now mourned by them.
    So many families have suffered this year. We must ensure 
that Congress can continue to function in the face of the 
pandemic to work for them and for all Americans. And that means 
helping the House operate the legislative branch, have 
employees who are safe and healthy during a global pandemic.
    Now I would like to, before recognizing the Ranking Member 
for any remarks he might have introduce the Members of the 
Committee. As we know, we have worked together very closely. We 
have a talented and thoughtful group of Members who will work 
on these issues. And I want to mention the returning Members 
first. Representative Jamie Raskin, who represents the Eighth 
District we know so well. He is unable to join us today because 
he is an impeachment manager and is currently participating in 
those proceedings in the Senate. Next, we have Representative 
G.K. Butterfield, who represents the First District of North 
Carolina. We are honored that this former judge is a member of 
our panel. Representative Pete Aguilar, the former mayor, 
represents the 31st District of California. We also miss two 
valued friends and colleagues who were with us in the last 
Congress, Susan Davis, who is enjoying her well-earned 
retirement in sunny San Diego, and Representative Marcia Fudge, 
who President Biden has chosen to be an outstanding next 
Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
    I am pleased to introduce two new Members who are joining 
us. First, Representative Mary Gay Scanlon, who represents the 
Fifth District of Pennsylvania and who, without objection, is 
named Vice Chairperson of the Committee. Prior to coming to 
Congress, Representative Scanlon served as president of her 
local school board and as national pro bono counsel at a major 
law firm.
    And next is Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez, who 
represents the Third District of New Mexico. Representative 
Leger Fernandez is a 17th generation northern New Mexican. And 
before coming to Congress, she worked as an attorney and an 
advocate to advance voting rights for rural, underserved, and 
Native American communities.
    And also, I am, of course, glad to welcome back our Ranking 
Member, Mr. Davis, who will make a few remarks and recognize 
the Members on his side of the aisle.
    Mr. Davis.
    [The statement of Chairperson Lofgren follows:]

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Mr. Davis. Thank you, Madam Chairperson. It is great to be 
back on this committee with you. I appreciate our friendship. 
And I also appreciate the opportunity to serve once again with 
my good friend, Mr. Butterfield, and my okay friend, Mr. 
Aguilar. Pete, love you man.
    But I would like to welcome the new Members. Ms. Scanlon 
and Ms. Leger Fernandez, welcome to what I think is one of the 
best committees that we have in Congress, because it is our job 
to make this Capitol complex work and work together.
    I am glad to be joined once again for the third term in a 
row by my colleague Mr. Loudermilk, who I know like me is in 
the midst of multiple markups and I know he will go back soon. 
But I am really proud to welcome our newest Member, Mr. Bryan 
Steil from Wisconsin. For those of you who don't know, Bryan 
was our co-chair of the Franking Commission as a freshman. He 
worked hand in hand with former Representative Susan Davis to 
really reform our franking system to make it easier for offices 
to be able to communicate with their constituents. It was long 
overdue and well done on his behalf. And for that great work, 
he has been promoted to the full committee to have to deal with 
each and every one of us.
    So welcome, Mr. Steil. I am very proud of you and what you 
have done.
    And I am glad we have seen our former colleague, Ms. Fudge, 
move on to bigger and brighter pastures. I had a chance to see 
her last week, wish her well. And I think that probably her and 
I both, we miss each other as much on this Committee or the 
Election Subcommittee as we will look forward to working 
together to address housing needs in districts like mine. I am 
very proud of her for her service, and I wish her the best in 
the future.
    And with that, I will go ahead and go to my opening 
remarks.
    It is my honor to serve again as Ranking Member of this 
committee again this Congress. From elections, to Capitol 
security and everything in between, this Committee has a lot of 
work to do. I want to welcome again all the new Members to this 
Committee. I look forward to working with each and every one of 
you.
    As Chairperson Lofgren mentioned, on January 6, this 
Capitol was attacked, and we have to make sure what we saw 
happen that day never happens again. This Committee can play an 
important role by exercising our oversight of the United States 
Capitol Police, Sergeant at Arms, and other House officers at 
this critical time. There are immediate short-term changes we 
can make now to ensure the Capitol is secure and address 
threats against Members of Congress.
    I am also hopeful we can work together on a bipartisan, 
bicameral commission to figure out exactly where the breakdown 
in security occurred on January 6, and also secure our Capitol 
long term.
    I was encouraged by President Biden's call for unity in his 
inaugural speech, and I hope this Committee will follow that 
call to action. We have a responsibility to the taxpayers to, 
not only work together, but to also run this Committee in a 
transparent way.
    I think it is important to have more public hearings on 
very pressing issues within our jurisdiction and be less 
reliant on committee polls to weigh in on various committee 
matters. I know that polls have a purpose, and there are times 
that it is not practical to have a committee meet to discuss 
and vote on matters, but I feel we are becoming too reliant on 
the convenience of these committee polls.
    Additionally, it is important taxpayers know exactly how 
much it is costing this Committee to move forward with an 
election contest in Iowa's Second District, where we already 
have a sitting Member of Congress whose race was unanimously 
certified by the bipartisan State canvassing board after a full 
bipartisan recount was conducted. Any expenditure for any 
contested election effort needs to be disclosed in a 
consolidated location within the statement of disbursement. I 
believe getting this Committee back to regular order can help 
us increase transparency and hopefully it will improve 
bipartisan relations as well.
    We should focus on making sure our Member handbook is up-
to-date to meet the needs of our members, ensuring reports, 
such as the end-of-year expense report, are turned in on time, 
and MRA letters and committee budgets are issued as soon as we 
can at the beginning of the new year. This Committee held zero 
markups last year and less than 10 full Committee hearings. 
Despite COVID-19 completely changing the way this House 
operates, not one of those hearings was on how to get our 
campus back to normal operational status. Our internal COVID 
task force has not met since last summer. I have often had to 
learn of changes to our operations in Dear Colleagues.
    It is not how we should be operating. Instead, this 
committee's focus has been on how we can permanently implement 
remote voting so Members don't ever have to come to Washington 
again, something that I believe gives power to leadership. It 
leaves the rank and file behind and, frankly, it only further 
divides this House. Common ground is when we are together, when 
we are face to face, when we can harass each other on a 
baseball field, like Pete and I do every year, in every normal 
year, and have those personal relationships, which can't be 
formed over Zoom on opposite sides of the country or in 
different States.
    I am hopeful our hearing room will reopen soon so we can 
work together in person, and figure out how we return the House 
to some sense of normalcy, secure our campus, and find common 
ground on the many issues facing this Committee.
    With that, Chairperson Lofgren, I do look forward to 
working with you again on this Committee. I welcome, again, all 
of our new Members to this House Administration Committee for 
the 117th Congress. We are going to have a good time.
    I yield back.
    [The statement of Mr. Davis follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    The Chairperson. The gentleman yields back.
    I will now be calling up resolutions 117-01 through 117-09 
to consider en bloc.
    Resolution 117-01 adopts the committee rules for the 117th 
Congress as required by Clause A of House Rule XI. A copy of 
the proposed rules is before each Member. The rules proposed 
for the 117th Congress are the same rules this Committee 
operated under during the 116th Congress, save for technical 
and conforming changes made to bring them in line with House 
Resolution 8 and the rules of the House.
    Resolution 117-02 establishes the membership of the 
Subcommittee on Elections. The Subcommittee will be chaired by 
Representative G.K. Butterfield. The other members will be 
Representative Pete Aguilar and Representative Teresa Leger 
Fernandez, and the Ranking Member will be Representative Steil.
    Resolution 117-03 provides for the parking policy of the 
117th Congress. A policy for this Congress follows that of 298 
the last Congress, with several improvements and enhancements, 
including requiring an individual requesting a temporary permit 
for more than 14 business days in a 16-month period to submit 
the request to the Committee for approval on a standardized 
form, prohibiting the parking of multiple vehicles with the 
same permit on the campus at one time, and stiffening the 
violation discipline regime, making fewer violations more 
severely punished, and creating a class of certain aggravated 
offenses, and we know who they are, such as parking in another 
person's reserved spot and unauthorized parking on the G3 level 
of the Rayburn garage.
    Resolution 117-04 requires all employing offices covered by 
the Congressional Accountability Act to adopt anti-
discrimination and anti-harassment policies for their 
workplace.
    Resolution 117-05 requires all employing offices, including 
Members' district offices, to post notices that explain and 
remind employees about their workplace rights and protections.
    Resolution 117-06 adopts regulations governing the student 
loan repayment program available to House staff. This will be 
the first update to the program's regulations since the year 
2008, and is prompted by two recent statutory policy changes. 
First, the CARES Act provided for an extension of a tax 
exemption of up to $5,250 in borrower payments and also 
extended administrative forbearance of Federal student loans. 
Eligible employees with Federal loans in administrative 
forbearance pursuant to the Act are now eligible for payments.
    Secondly, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 
increased the aggregate lifetime limit on the borrower be half 
payments, from $60,000 to $80,000, and will allow eligible 
employees who had otherwise exhausted their eligibility to 
continue to participate.
    Resolution 117-07 adopts regulations governing the House 
paid internship program and allows each congressional 
membership organization one paid intern.
    Resolution 117-08 updates the regulations regarding 
eligible congressional membership organizations, or ECMOs, and 
updates to the ECMO regulations for the 117th Congress include 
requiring eligible ECMOs to disclose proposed annual amount of 
dues and budgets to Members and to the committee, prohibiting 
hiring discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender 
identity.
    Finally, Resolution 117-09 provides regulations prohibiting 
the use of House exercise facilities by former Members who are 
registered lobbyists or by foreign agents.
    I now recognize Ranking Member Davis for any remarks he 
might care to make on any of these resolutions.
    Mr. Davis.
    Mr. Davis. Thank you, Madam Chairperson.
    The only remarks I would say is I am just excited to see 
the student loan program that has been very successful in 
helping congressional staffers be able to pay off their student 
debt. This was an issue that Representative Scott Peters and I 
led in the last Congress. I am excited we were able to make 
sure that, not just congressional staffers, but every single 
American now has student debt treated when it is paid by an 
employer exact same as tuition reimbursement and it is tax free 
for the first $50, $250 a year. That is a win-win and it is a 
good, voluntary, bipartisan approach that the private sector, I 
hope, takes advantage of too, because we have more student debt 
in this country than we do all our credit card debt combined. 
So that is bipartisan success. That is what I hope to continue 
in this Committee, and I would not object to any of the 
resolutions today. time.
    The Chairperson. Very good.
    Does it any other Member wish to be heard on these 
resolutions?
    I am not seeing virtual or real hands. So, with that, I 
will call up these resolutions and ask unanimous consent they 
be considered en bloc.
    All in favor, say aye.
    Opposed, no.
    And there are no noes.
    I ask unanimous consent that further reading of these 
resolutions be dispensed with, open for amendment at any time.
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    The question is now on the en bloc resolutions.
    All those who are in favor may unmute and say aye. Any 
opposed?
    Hearing no noes, the ayes have it. The en bloc resolutions 
are agreed to.
    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 117th Congress 
will be published in the Congressional Record and made 
available to Members and to the public on the Committee's 
website.
    So this concludes the business before the Committee today. 
Without objection, staff is authorized to make any necessary 
and technical and conforming changes.
    I would like to thank everybody for their participation. I 
look forward to a very challenging and important year for this 
Committee and for the Congress. I look forward to working with 
every Member of this Committee so that our country is safe and 
prosperous and our Capitol Hill community is committed and able 
to do its important work for the American people.
    And with that and without objection, we are adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 1:25 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
                           
                           
                           [all]