COMMITTEE RULES OF
PROCEDUREFOR THE
109TH CONGRESS
OF THE
HOUSE COMMITTEE
ON
VETERANS' AFFAIRS
FEBRUARY 10, 2005
COMMITTEE RULES OF
PROCEDURE
FOR THE 109TH CONGRESS
(Adopted February 10, 2005)
RULE 1 – APPLICABILITY
OF HOUSE RULES
The Rules of the House are the rules of the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs and its subcommittees so far as applicable, except
that a motion to recess from day to day is a privileged motion in
Committees and subcommittees. Each subcommittee of the Committee is a
part of the Committee and is subject to the authority and direction of
the Committee and to its rules so far as applicable.
RULE 2 – COMMITTEE
MEETINGS AND HEARINGS
REGULAR AND ADDITIONAL
MEETINGS
(a)(1) The regular meeting day for the Committee shall be
at 10 a.m. on the second Wednesday of each month in such place as the
Chairman may designate. However, the Chairman may dispense with a
regular Wednesday meeting of the Committee.
(2)(A) The Chairman of the Committee may call and
convene, as he considers necessary, additional meetings of the Committee
for the consideration of any bill or resolution pending before the
Committee or for the conduct of other Committee business. The Committee
shall meet for such purpose pursuant to the call of the Chairman.
(B) The Chairman shall notify each member of the
Committee of the agenda of each regular and additional meeting of the
Committee at least 24 hours before the time of the meeting, except under
circumstances the Chairman determines to be of an emergency nature.
Under such circumstances, the Chairman shall make an effort to consult
the ranking minority member, or in such member's absence, the next
ranking minority party member of the Committee.
WIRELESS TELEPHONE USE
PROHIBITED
(b) No person may use a wireless telephone during a
Committee or subcommittee meeting or hearing.
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
(c)(1) The Chairman, in the case of a hearing to be
conducted by the Committee, and the subcommittee Chairman, in the case
of a hearing to be conducted by a subcommittee, shall make public
announcement of the date, place, and subject matter of any hearing to be
conducted on any measure or matter at least one week before the
commencement of that hearing unless the Committee or the subcommittee
determines that there is good cause to begin the hearing at an earlier
date. In the latter event, the Chairman or the subcommittee Chairman, as
the case may be, shall consult with the ranking minority member and make
such public announcement at the earliest possible date. The clerk of the
Committee shall promptly notify the Daily Clerk of the Congressional
Record and the Committee scheduling service of the House Information
Resources as soon as possible after such public announcement is made.
(2) Meetings and hearings of the Committee and each of
its subcommittees shall be open to the public unless closed in
accordance with clause 2(g) of House rule XI.
QUORUM AND ROLLCALLS
(d)(1) A majority of the members of the Committee shall
constitute a quorum for business and a majority of the members of any
subcommittee shall constitute a quorum thereof for business, except that
two members shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of taking
testimony and receiving evidence.
(2) No measure or recommendation shall be reported to the
House of Representatives unless a majority of the Committee was actually
present.
(3) There shall be kept in writing a record of the
proceedings of the Committee and each of its subcommittees, including a
record of the votes on any question on which a recorded vote is
demanded. The result of each such record vote shall be made available by
the Committee for inspection by the public at reasonable times in the
offices of the Committee. Information so available for public inspection
shall include a description of the amendment, motion, order or other
proposition and the name of each member voting for and each member
voting against such amendment, motion, order, or proposition, and the
names of those members present but not voting.
(4) A record vote may be demanded by one-fifth of the
members present or, in the apparent absence of a quorum, by any one
member. With respect to any record vote on any motion to amend or
report, the total number of votes cast for and against, and the names of
those members voting for and against, shall be included in the report of
the Committee on the bill or resolution.
(5) No vote by any member of the Committee or a
subcommittee with respect to any measure or matter may be cast by
proxy.
POSTPONING PROCEEDINGS
(e) Committee and subcommittee chairmen may postpone
further proceedings when a record vote is ordered on the question of
approving a measure or matter or on adopting an amendment, and may
resume proceedings within two legislative days on a postponed question
after reasonable notice. When proceedings resume on a postponed
question, notwithstanding any intervening order for the previous
question, an underlying proposition shall remain subject to further
debate or amendment to the same extent as when the question was
postponed.
CALLING AND
INTERROGATING WITNESSES
(f)(1) Committee and subcommittee members may question
witnesses only when they have been recognized by the Chairman of the
Committee or subcommittee for that purpose, and only for a 5-minute
period until all members present have had an opportunity to question a
witness. The 5-minute period for questioning a witness by any one member
may be extended only with the unanimous consent of all members present.
The questioning of witnesses in both Committee and subcommittee hearings
shall be initiated by the Chairman, followed by the ranking minority
party member and all other members alternating between the majority and
minority. Except as otherwise announced by the Chairman at the beginning
of a hearing, members who are present at the start of the hearing will
be recognized before other members who arrive after the hearing has
begun. In recognizing members to question witnesses in this fashion, the
Chairman shall take into consideration the ratio of the majority to
minority members present and shall establish the order of recognition
for questioning in such a manner as not to disadvantage the members of
the majority.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1)
regarding the 5-minute rule, the Chairman after consultation with the
ranking minority member may designate an equal number of members of the
Committee or subcommittee majority and minority party to question a
witness for a period not longer than 30 minutes. In no event shall the
Chairman allow a member to question a witness for an extended period
under this rule until all members present have had the opportunity to
ask questions under the 5-minute rule. The Chairman after consultation
with the ranking minority member may permit Committee staff for its
majority and minority party members to question a witness for equal
specified periods of time.
(3) So far as practicable: (A) each witness who is to
appear before the Committee or a subcommittee shall file with the clerk
of the Committee, at least 48 hours in advance of the appearance of the
witness, a written statement of the testimony of the witness and shall
limit any oral presentation to a summary of the written statement; and
(B) each witness appearing in a non-governmental capacity shall include
with the written statement of proposed testimony a curriculum vitae and
a disclosure of the amount and source (by agency and program) of any
Federal grant (or subgrant thereof) or contract (or subcontract thereof)
received during the current fiscal year or either of the two preceding
fiscal years.
(4) When a hearing is conducted by the Committee or a
subcommittee on any measure or matter, the minority party members on the
Committee shall be entitled, upon request to the Chairman of a majority
of those minority members before the completion of the hearing, to call
witnesses selected by the minority to testify with respect to that
measure or matter during at least one day of the hearing thereon.
MEDIA COVERAGE OF
PROCEEDINGS
(g) Any meeting of the Committee or its subcommittees
that is open to the public shall be open to coverage by radio,
television, and still photography in accordance with the provisions of
clause 4 of House rule XI.
SUBPOENAS
(h) Pursuant to clause 2(m) of House rule XI, a subpoena
may be authorized and issued by the Committee or a subcommittee in the
conduct of any investigation or series of investigations or activities,
only when authorized by a majority of the members voting, a majority
being present.
(i) The Chairman of the full Committee is directed to
offer a motion under clause 1 of House rule XXII whenever the Chairman
considers it appropriate.
RULE 3 – GENERAL
OVERSIGHT RESPONSIBILITY
(a) In order to assist the House in:
(1) Its analysis, appraisal, evaluation of (A) the
application, administration, execution, and effectiveness of the laws
enacted by the Congress, or (B) conditions and circumstances which may
indicate the necessity or desirability of enacting new or additional
legislation, and
(2) its formulation, consideration and enactment of such
modifications or changes in those laws, and of such additional
legislation, as may be necessary or appropriate, the Committee and its
various subcommittees, consistent with their jurisdiction as set forth
in Rule 4, shall have oversight responsibilities as provided in
subsection (b).
(b)(1) The Committee and its subcommittees shall review
and study, on a continuing basis, the applications, administration,
execution, and effectiveness of those laws, or parts of laws, the
subject matter of which is within the jurisdiction of the Committee or
subcommittee, and the organization and operation of the Federal agencies
and entities having responsibilities in or for the administration and
execution thereof, in order to determine whether such laws and the
programs thereunder are being implemented and carried out in accordance
with the intent of the Congress and whether such programs should be
continued, curtailed, or eliminated.
(2) In addition, the Committee and its subcommittees
shall review and study any conditions or circumstances which may
indicate the necessity or desirability of enacting new or additional
legislation within the jurisdiction of the Committee or subcommittee
(whether or not any bill or resolution has been introduced with respect
thereto), and shall on a continuing basis undertake future research and
forecasting on matters within the jurisdiction of the Committee or
subcommittee.
(3) Not later than February 15 of the first session of a
Congress, the Committee shall meet in open session, with a quorum
present, to adopt its oversight plans for that Congress for submission
to the Committee on House Administration and the Committee on Government
Reform, in accordance with the provisions of clause 2(d) of House rule
X.
RULE 4 – VICE CHAIRMEN
The Chairman of the full Committee shall designate the
Vice Chairman of the Committee and a Vice Chairman of each subcommittee
established under Rule 5(a)(1).
RULE 5 - SUBCOMMITTEES
ESTABLISHMENT AND
JURISDICTION OF SUBCOMMITTEES
(a)(1) There shall be four subcommittees of the Committee
as follows:
(A) Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial
Affairs, which shall have legislative, oversight and investigative
jurisdiction over compensation; general and special pensions of all the
wars of the United States; life insurance issued by the Government on
account of service in the Armed Forces; cemeteries of the United States
in which veterans of any war or conflict are or may be buried, whether
in the United States or abroad, except cemeteries administered by the
Secretary of the Interior; burial benefits; the Board of Veterans'
Appeals; and the Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims.
(B) Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, which shall
have legislative, oversight and investigative jurisdiction over
education of veterans, employment and training of veterans, vocational
rehabilitation, veterans' housing programs, readjustment of
servicemembers to civilian life, and servicemembers civil relief.
(C) Subcommittee on Health, which shall have legislative,
oversight and investigative jurisdiction over veterans' hospitals,
medical care, and treatment of veterans.
(D) Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which
shall have oversight and investigative jurisdiction over veterans'
matters generally, and over such matters as may be referred to the
subcommittee by the Chairman of the full Committee for its oversight or
investigation and for its appropriate recommendations. The subcommittee
shall only have legislative jurisdiction over such bills or resolutions
as may be referred to it by the Chairman of the full Committee.
Provided, however, that the activities of the Subcommittee on
Oversight and Investigations shall in no way limit the responsibility of
the other subcommittees of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs for
carrying out their oversight duties.
In addition, each subcommittee shall have responsibility
for such other measures or matters as the Chairman refers to it.
(2) Any vacancy in the membership of a subcommittee shall
not affect the power of the remaining members to execute the functions
of that subcommittee.
(3) On each subcommittee, there shall be a ratio of
majority party members to minority party members which shall be
consistent with the ratio on the full Committee.
REFERRAL TO
SUBCOMMITTEES
(b)(1) The Chairman of the Committee may refer a measure
or matter, which is within the general responsibility of more than one
of the subcommittees of the Committee, as the Chairman deems
appropriate.
(2) In referring any measure or matter to a subcommittee,
the Chairman of the Committee may specify a date by which the
subcommittee shall report thereon to the Committee.
POWER AND DUTIES
(c)(1) Each subcommittee is authorized to meet, hold
hearings, receive evidence, and report to the full Committee on all
matters referred to it or under its jurisdiction. Subcommittee chairmen
shall set dates for hearings and meetings of their respective
subcommittees after consultation with the Chairman of the Committee and
other subcommittee chairmen with a view toward avoiding simultaneous
scheduling of Committee and subcommittee meetings or hearings whenever
possible.
(2) Whenever a subcommittee has ordered a bill,
resolution, or other matter to be reported to the Committee, the
Chairman of the subcommittee reporting the bill, resolution, or matter
to the full Committee, or any member authorized by the subcommittee to
do so shall notify the Chairman and the ranking minority party member of
the Committee of the Subcommittee's action.
(3) A member of the Committee who is not a member of a
particular subcommittee may sit with the subcommittee during any of its
meetings and hearings, but shall not have authority to vote, cannot be
counted for a quorum, and cannot raise a point of order at the meeting
or hearing.
(4) Each subcommittee of the Committee shall provide the
Committee with copies of such records of votes taken in the subcommittee
and such other records with respect to the subcommittee as the Chairman
of the Committee deems necessary for the Committee to comply with all
rules and regulations of the House.
RULE 6 – TRANSCRIPTS
AND RECORDS
(a)(1) There shall be a transcript made of each regular
and additional meeting and hearing of the Committee and its
subcommittees. Any such transcript shall be a substantially verbatim
account of remarks actually made during the proceedings, subject only to
technical, grammatical, and typographical corrections authorized by the
person making the remarks involved.
(2) The Committee shall keep a record of all actions of
the Committee and each of its subcommittees. The record shall contain
all information required by clause 2(e)(1) of House rule XI and shall be
available for public inspection at reasonable times in the offices of
the Committee.
(3) The records of the Committee at the National Archives
and Records Administration shall be made available for public use in
accordance with House rule VII. The Chairman shall notify the ranking
minority member of any decision, pursuant to clause 3 or clause 4 of the
rule, to withhold a record otherwise available, and the matter shall be
presented to the Committee for a determination on written request of any
member of the Committee.
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