[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                    MARKUP OF COMMITTEE RESOLUTION 118-22, 118-
                     23, 118-24, 118-21, H.R. 3196, H.RES. 458, 
                     H.R. 4474, H.R. 4460, H.R. 5734, and 
                     H.RES._____

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                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                           COMMITTEE ON HOUSE
                             ADMINISTRATION

                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                           SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

                               __________

      Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration
      
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                   Committee on House Administration                 
                                                        
                    BRYAN STEIL, WISCONSIN, Chairman

BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia            JOSEPH MORELLE, New York,
H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia              Ranking Member
GREG MURPHY, North Carolina          TERRI A. SEWELL, Alabama
STEPHANIE BICE, Oklahoma             DEREK KILMER, Washington
MIKE CAREY, Ohio                     NORMA TORRES, California
ANTHONY D'ESPOSITO, New York
LAUREL LEE, Florida

                     Tim Monahan,  Staff Director 
                 Jamie Fleet,  Minority Staff Director 
                         
                         
                         C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

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                           Opening Statements

The Honorable Bryan Steil, Representative from the state of 
  Wisconsin......................................................     1
The Honorable Joseph Morelle, Representative from the state of 
  New York.......................................................     2
The Honorable Derek Kilmer, Representative from the state of 
  Washington.....................................................   109

                       Submissions for the Record

Committee Resolution 118-22......................................     4
Committee Resolution118-23.......................................    56
Committee Resolution 118-24......................................    95
H. Res. 731......................................................   111


 
 MARKUP OF COMMITTEE RESOLUTIONS 118-22, 118-23,1118-24, 118-21, H.R. 
  3196, H.RES. 458, H.R. 4474, H.R. 4460, H.R. 5734, and H.RES.------

                              ----------                              


                      THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

                 Committee on House Administration,
                                  House of Representatives,
                                                    Washington, DC.

    The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:03 a.m., in 
room 1310, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Bryan Steil
    [Chairman of the committee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Steil, Loudermilk, Murphy, Bice, 
Carey, D'Esposito, Morelle, Sewell, and Kilmer.
    Staff present: Caleb Hays, Deputy Staff Director, General 
Counsel, Parliamentarian; Hillary Lassiter, Chief Clerk; 
William Johnson, Assistant Clerk; Brent Munyon, Counsel; Janet 
Schwalb, Deputy Staff Director of Advice and Guidance; Khalil 
Abboud, Minority Deputy Staff Director, Chief Counsel; Andrew 
Garcia, Minority Special Assistant; Owen Reilly, Minority 
Shared Staff; and Sean Wright, Minority Senior Elections 
Counsel.
    The Chairman. I note that a quorum is present. The 
Committee on House Administration will come to order.
    Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a 
recess at any time.
    I want to thank the ranking member and his staff for 
working in coordination with us on the various--there was a 
reason the microphone was as far away as possible, but just 
teasing. We will say it again louder.
    I want to thank the ranking member and staff for working in 
coordination with us on the various measures that we plan to 
consider at today's markup.
    Today we consider several bills to provide more 
transparency and accountability to this institution. As 
chairman of this committee, I am committed to bringing forward 
important legislation within our jurisdiction to the House 
floor.
    For those of you who have been on the Hill for a while, you 
may know that our committee has historically sometimes acted 
behind the scenes. Now our committee is at the center of 
several key issues. Our jurisdiction is wide-ranging, from 
election law and House security to oversight of the Copyright 
Office and other legislative branch entities. While there have 
been times we disagree over certain policies, there are actions 
we can take to ensure this institution best serves every 
member, staffer, and American.
    In coordination with the ranking member and minority staff, 
we have several important nonpartisan initiatives today that 
are an important part of this committee's commitment to being 
open, accessible, and transparent to the American people.
    I now recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. Morelle, for 5 
minutes for the purpose of making an opening statement.
    Mr. Morelle. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for calling the 
meeting. Thanks to my colleagues for--everyone for being here.
    The legislation that we consider today is the byproduct of 
months of good faith bipartisan cooperation, cooperation that 
will ultimately enhance our service to our constituents to 
strengthen the House as an institution.
    I want to thank staff on both sides of the aisle. I am very 
grateful to them always, but I want to particularly highlight 
their work over the last several weeks to make some important 
improvements in the regulatory handbooks and the House rules 
governing how we oversee public dollars that fund the Congress 
and how we communicate with those we represent. So we were able 
to reach a consensus on critical legislation that brings better 
congressional oversight also to the Architect of the Capitol.
    I am very grateful to you, again to the members, and the 
staff for helping us get there.
    Even though election policy is one of those areas where at 
times our disagreements seem perhaps the most prominent, I am 
pleased we were able to find common ground on legislation that 
powers the Federal Election Commission and enforce compliance 
with our campaign finance laws.
    So, again, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and your staff for 
working with us to get to yes on those issues as well. So I 
will have a little more to say. I promise to be brief on the 
bills as they are called up for consideration. But, again, I 
want to thank you and the members and the team for pulling this 
together, calling this meeting, and for the bipartisan work 
that we--that will go into--that went into much of the 
legislation that we are going to consider this morning.
    So, with that, I support the measure before us. I am going 
to urge my colleagues to do the same. With that, I yield back.
    The Chairman. Alright. I thank the ranking member.
    Without objection, the opening statements of all other 
members will be included in the record.
    As required by House rules, a copy of the measures have 
been made available to members of the public at least 24 hours 
in advance.
    Without objection, I now call up Committee Resolution 118-
22, 118-23, 118-24 to be considered en bloc.
    Committee Resolution 118-22 updates and modernizes the 
members congressional handbook. Committee Resolution 118-23 
updates and modernizes the committee's congressional handbook, 
and committee Resolution 118-24 updates and modernizes the 
eligible congressional member organization handbook. Each of 
these handbooks contain the committee's regulations on the 
relevant topics, and I am pleased that we have been able to 
come together on a nonpartisan basis to issue these important 
updates and additions.
    Without objection, the first reading is dispensed with, and 
the resolutions are considered read and open for amendment at 
any point.
    [The resolutions follow:]
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    The Chairman. I will now recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. 
Morelle, if you would like to give an opening statement on the 
committee resolutions.
    Mr. Morelle. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    At the risk of being completely redundant, but we should 
celebrate when we are doing work, and I want to thank the 
bipartisan staff who worked to effectuate and clarify changes. 
These documents are living documents. We need to make sure that 
they are continuing to keep pace with the ever-changing demands 
that are put on the members, both their time and their budgets. 
I want to particularly thank Janet Schwalb and Jose Morales, 
who I know worked on this to make this happen. So our goal is 
to allow maximum flexibility I think for members while at the 
same time preserving the enormous trust that is put in all of 
us as stewards of the public money.
    So thanks again to their hard work, thanks to you, and I 
think we have achieved the goals that I just articulated. I 
support the resolutions and changes therein.
    I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Morelle.
    Does any other member wish to be heard on the resolution?
    Mr. Kilmer.
    Mr. Kilmer. Thanks, Mr. Chair.
    I want to certainly speak in favor of all three handbook 
changes we are considering today, but also the Select Committee 
on Modernization made two related recommendations that I just 
want to urge implementation of and let members know are in the 
works.
    The first would be a change to allow member offices to 
cosponsor constituent service-related events, like if I had a 
tax clinic or a veterans benefits fair, with outside entities 
back home in the district. The Senate already allows for this, 
and the select committee agreed on a bipartisan basis that this 
would allow us to better serve our constituents. It has taken 
literally over 10 years and was a topic before the select 
committee even existed, but I think this is our year, and I 
thank the chairman and his staff for working with us on it.
    The second would allow member offices to share information 
with constituents in need, like lists of food banks or housing 
providers or women's shelters in a domestic violence situation, 
for example. I think about this as we hopefully don't have a 
shutdown, but if there is one, I think of my constituents, many 
of whom work for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard or for Olympic 
National Park and may go without pay. So, when folks write in 
seeking help, this is an opportunity for our offices to 
directly connect them with what they need. And, in these cases, 
we don't need to wait for Congress to act to make people's 
lives better. We just need to provide them with information 
that they are asking for.
    Again, look forward to working with the chair and with his 
staff on these recommendations and hopefully see them reflected 
the next time we take up handbook updates.
    So thanks. I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Kilmer.
    I will note we appreciate the work that you and Mr. Timmons 
did on the Select Committee on Modernization that continues in 
some ways with your work on the Subcommittee on Modernization 
with Mrs. Bice.
    Does any other member wish to be recognized?
    Seeing none, I ask unanimous consent that the committee 
adopt the resolutions en bloc.
    Hearing no objection, the resolutions are adopted.
    Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon 
the table.
    I now call up H. Res. 731. This resolution provides a 
technical and conforming change to House rules to ensure they 
track with statutory updates to communications blackout period.
    Without objection, the first reading is dispensed with and 
the resolution is considered read and open for amendment at any 
point.
    [The resolution follows:]
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    The Chairman. I will now recognize the ranking member, Mr. 
Morelle, if you would like to give any statement on the 
resolutions.
    Mr. Morelle. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I am grateful we are moving forward on this resolution 
which, as you said, ensures the House rules are consistent with 
statute and clarifies the jurisdiction of the House 
Communications Standards Commission. Not only am I a member of 
the House Administration Committee, but I am also a member of 
the Standards Commission.
    I just want to acknowledge my gratitude to Mr. Carey for 
his work on this, and I am continuing to look forward to 
finding bipartisan solutions to ensure our members communicate 
with their constituents on official business in an appropriate 
way and want to thank him for his work.
    So I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you very much. We appreciate the work 
that you and Mr. Carey do on the Commission. As the former co-
chair of the commission in my first term, I know how much work 
actually goes in not only on the members' side, but a ton of 
work goes in on the staff side, so appreciate your work in that 
regard.
    I will now recognize the House Communications Standards 
Commission Chair, Mr. Carey, to speak on the resolution.
    Mr. Carey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    House Resolution 731 simply changes the blackout period 
from 90 days prior to the election to 60 days prior to an 
election. This is a bipartisan resolution that will allow 
members additional time to communicate with their constituents.
    I want to thank the ranking member and the House 
Communications Commission staff, although it is challenging 
when you have differencing of college football allegiance, but 
it was good to talk with them about that. On both sides of the 
aisle, their work on this was very impressive.
    I want to thank the chairman for bringing this resolution 
before the committee. I yield back.
    The Chairman. The gentleman yields back.
    Does any other member wish to be heard on this resolution?
    Seeing none, are there any amendments?
    If not, the question now occurs on ordering H. Res. 731 
reported favorably to the House.
    All those in favor, signify by saying aye.
    All those opposed, no.
    In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, and the 
motion to report is agreed to.
    Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon 
the table.
    I now call up H.R. 3196, the Architect of the Capitol 
Appointment Act of 2023. This bill strengthens congressional 
oversight over the Architect of the Capitol by empowering a 
congressional commission to appoint and remove the Architect by 
a bipartisan majority vote.
    I am pleased that we have been able to work together on a 
bipartisan, bicameral basis to bring this bill forward. As many 
of you know, our first hearing this Congress brought forward 
the AOC as the position's integral part of the institution and 
must be working in the best interests of Congress. This 
legislation will provide an important update to the selection 
process by removing the President's involvement entirely.
    I will note that the Senate has already approved the 
language in this bill, and I look forward to the House joining 
in.
    Without objection, the first reading is dispensed with, and 
the bill is considered read and open for amendment at any 
point.
    [The resolution follows:]
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    The Chairman. I will now recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. 
Morelle, if you would like to give an opening statement on the 
bill.
    Mr. Morelle. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I am grateful to you and grateful to be able to work 
together to develop and introduce this piece of legislation. It 
is one of the many areas of bipartisan agreement between us. I 
appreciate your referencing the hearing which we did at the 
beginning of this Congress which revealed the desperate need 
for a change in agency leadership but also change to the 
process, which is in many ways equally, if not more, important. 
So this bill does that, setting up a bipartisan, bicameral 
commission to select the Architect and establishing a 
succession plan, which we found was obviously very much wanting 
under the current system, so, when we have a vacancy, as we had 
this year, to make sure that we continue stability of the 
agency and longevity, which is so important to the success. The 
projects that the Architect often undertakes are years long in 
duration overseeing this Capitol Complex, so making sure that 
there is that succession and continuity is critical, as well as 
accountability for the Architect to its primary customer, which 
is the Congress.
    So I think that is missing from the current appointment 
process and, frankly, makes little sense, and this legislation 
changes it. There is a bipartisan agreement not only in this 
House but with our partners in the Senate. I am grateful that 
we are moving this bill, and hopefully we will see it signed 
into law.
    So, with that, thank you. I yield back.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Morelle.
    Does any other member wish to be heard on this bill?
    Are there any amendments to the bill?
    If not, the question now occurs on ordering the bill H.R. 
3196 reported favorably to the House.
    All those in favor, signify by saying aye.
    All those opposed, no.
    In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, and the 
motion to report is agreed to.
    Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon 
the table.
    I now call up H.R. 5734, the bill that would create a clean 
extension of the Federal Election Commission's Administrative 
Fine Program through 2033.
    Without objection, the reading is dispensed with, and the 
bill is considered read and open for amendment at any point.
    [The resolution follows:]
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    The Chairman. I now recognize Ranking Member Morelle, if 
you would like to give a statement on the bill.
    Mr. Morelle. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    I think this is a critically important bipartisan bill to 
ensure the FEC can continue to use one of its most effective 
tools to carry out its mission, which is so important to the 
American public. I am supportive of the policy which the 
Commissioners I think communicated to us just last week and 
indicated it was one of their highest priorities. So I am 
grateful there is an agreement from both sides and grateful to 
join you as a cosponsor of the bill.
    In the interest of getting the FEC's Administrative Fines 
Program extended as soon as possible and certainly before it 
sunsets, I would certainly like to work with you to make sure 
that we bring this up in the full House as soon as possible. I 
believe it is an identical measure to what has passed in the 
Senate, so hopefully we will get this passed in the House as 
soon as possible. I would urge that.
    Again, thank you for the opportunity to work with you on 
this.
    The Chairman. No. You know, I appreciate your work and your 
staff's work on this. This is a great opportunity to make sure 
the Federal Election Commission is able to operate. It is a 
good, clean government holding-people-accountable initiative. 
And I look forward to this passing the House and being signed 
into law as well.
    Does any other member wish to be recognized?
    Are there any amendments to the bill?
    If not, the question now occurs on ordering the bill H.R. 
5734 reported favorably to the House.
    All those in favor, signify by saying aye.
    All those opposed, no.
    In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, and the 
motion to report is agreed to.
    Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon 
the table.
    Without objection, I now call up committee Resolution 118-
21, to adopt an additional committee consulting contract 
between the Committee on the Budget and Stephen McMillin 
through December 31, 2023.
    Without objection, the first reading is dispensed with, and 
the resolution is considered read and open for amendment at any 
point.
    [The resolution follows:]
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    The Chairman. Does any member wish to be heard on this 
resolution?
    Mr. Morelle.
    Mr. Morelle. Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    Having previously supported the initial contract and 
extension, I will support this resolution as well this morning.
    I yield back the balance of my time.
    The Chairman. I thank the Ranking Member.
    Does any other member seek recognition?
    If not, I move that the Committee Resolution 118-21 be 
adopted.
    All those in favor, say aye.
    All those opposed, no.
    In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, and the 
resolution is adopted.
    Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon 
the table.
    Previously we planned to consider the confirmation of 
Congressional Observer Access Act of 2023, but I am encouraged 
by the ongoing conversations with my friends on the other side 
of the aisle, Mr. Morelle and your staff. We have committed to 
continuing the discussions to make this a true bipartisan piece 
of legislation.
    So now, pursuant to paragraphs B and C of rule 14 of the 
Rules committee, I hereby appoint Caitlin O'Dell as deputy 
clerk. Effective December 29, 2023, and Brent Munyon as 
assistant parliamentarian for the committee.
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    This concludes the order of business for today's markup.
    Pursuant to House rule IX, clause 2(l), I ask that the 
committee members have the right to file with the clerk of the 
committee supplemental, additional, minority, and dissenting 
views. Also, without objection, committee staff are authorized 
to make technical and conforming changes.
    If there is no further business, I thank the members for 
their participation.
    Without objection, the committee stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 10:20 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]
  

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