Parliamentary Outreach Program

REQUIRED ELEMENTS OF COMMITTEE REPORTS

The rules of the House specify the content of committee reports. Specifically, House rule XIII and the Budget Act require certain matters to be included in committee reports. Reports from the Committees on Appropriations, Rules, and Ways and Means also have additional requirements.

  • Committee Vote(s). Clause 3(b) of rule XIII requires each report to include the total number of votes cast for and against on each record vote on a motion to report and on any amendment offered to the measure or matter, and the names of those members.

  • Oversight Findings. Clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII requires each report to include oversight findings and recommendations.

  • Committee Cost Estimate. Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII requires each report to include the statement required by section 308(a) of the Budget Act, which requires the committee, after consultation with the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), to provide a cost estimate for any measure that provides new budget authority, new spending authority or changes in revenues or tax expenditures. This requirement further notes that an estimate of new budget authority "shall include, where practicable, a comparison of the total estimated funding level for the relevant programs to the appropriate levels under current law."

  • CBO Estimates. Clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII requires each report to include a cost estimate prepared by the Director of the CBO, pursuant to section 402 of the Budget Act, if the cost estimate is timely submitted.

  • Government Performance and Results Act Statements Clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII requires each report to contain a statement of general performance goals and objectives, including outcome-related goals and objectives, for which the measure authorizes funding.

  • Constitutional Authority Statement. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII requires each report on a public bill or joint resolution to contain a statement citing the specific constitutional authority for enacting the law proposed.

  • Alternative Cost Estimate. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII requires each report (except those of the Committees on Appropriations, House Administration, Rules or Standards of Official Conduct) to include a committee cost estimate in the event that the committee report does not include a CBO cost estimate.

  • Comparative Print. Clauses 3(e)(1) and (2) of rule XIII require each report on a bill or joint resolution proposing to repeal or amend a statute to include the text of the statute that is proposed to be repealed and a comparative print showing the changes proposed to the statute (this is commonly known as the Ramseyer).

  • Views of Committee Members. Clause 2(l) of rule XI provides a Member with not less than two additional calendar days after the day on which a measure is approved by a committee to file supplemental, minority, or additional views for inclusion in the committee's report, which are printed in the committee report under clause 3(a)(1) of rule XIII.

  • Mandate Cost Estimate. Section 423 of the Budget Act requires the CBO cost estimate to include a mandate cost estimate. This estimate must specifically state whether the bill or joint resolution, as reported, contains any intergovernmental or private sector mandates and whether those mandates exceed the thresholds established in the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act. If this estimate on the cost of mandates is not included in the report, it must be placed in the Congressional Record before floor consideration of the bill.

  • Description, Assessment, and Explanation of Mandates. Section 423(c) of the Budget Act requires reports on any bill that includes a Federal mandate to contain a description of all mandates including direct compliance costs, an assessment of the mandates' costs and benefits, an explanation of whether the mandate affects both public and private sectors, and a determination of whether paying for or easing an intergovernmental mandate affects the competitive balance between state and local governments and the private sector. If the Federal mandates in the reported bill are intergovernmental mandates the report must also contain a statement of the how the mandate is paid for (direct spending authorization or authorization of appropriations, if any), a statement on whether the committee intends that the mandate be partly or entirely unfunded. If funded, it must contain an explanation of the mechanism used to allocate funding among the respective levels of State, local and tribal governments and a description of the existing sources of federal assistance to cover direct the costs of the mandate.

Statement on Preemption of State, Local, or Tribal Law. Section 423(e) of the Budget Act states that whenever a committee reports any bill, it must contain a statement on whether the bill is intended to preempt any state, local or tribal law. If the bill is intended to preempt such laws, the report must contain an explanation of the effect of such preemption.