[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING FOR THE
117TH CONGRESS
=======================================================================
MEETING
OF THE
SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE
CLIMATE CRISIS
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MEETING HELD
MARCH 19, 2021
__________
Serial No. 117-1
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
www.govinfo.gov
Printed for the use of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
44-077 WASHINGTON : 2021
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SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS
One Hundred Seventeenth Congress
KATHY CASTOR, Florida, Chair
SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon GARRET GRAVES, Louisiana,
JULIA BROWNLEY, California Ranking Member
JARED HUFFMAN, California GARY PALMER, Alabama
A. DONALD McEACHIN, Virginia BUDDY CARTER, Georgia
MIKE LEVIN, California CAROL MILLER, West Virginia
SEAN CASTEN, Illinois KELLY ARMSTRONG, North Dakota
JOE NEGUSE, Colorado DAN CRENSHAW, Texas
VERONICA ESCOBAR, Texas ANTHONY GONZALEZ, Ohio
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Ana Unruh Cohen, Majority Staff Director
Marty Hall, Minority Staff Director
climatecrisis.house.gov
C O N T E N T S
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STATEMENTS OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
Page
Hon. Kathy Castor, a Representative in Congress from the State of
Florida, and Chair, Select Committee on the Climate Crisis:
Opening Statement............................................ 1
Prepared Statement........................................... 3
Hon. Garret Graves, a Representative in Congress from the State
of Louisiana, and Ranking Member, Select Committee on the
Climate Crisis:
Opening Statement............................................ 4
COMMITTEE BUSINESS
Proposed Rules for the 117th Congress............................ 7
ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING
----------
FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021
House of Representatives,
Select Committee on the Climate Crisis,
Washington, DC.
The committee met, pursuant to call, at 9:54 a.m., via
Webex, Hon. Kathy Castor [chairwoman of the committee]
presiding.
Present: Representatives Castor, Bonamici, Brownley,
Huffman, Levin, Casten, Neguse, Escobar, Graves, Palmer,
Carter, Miller, Armstrong, Crenshaw, and Gonzalez.
Ms. Castor. The committee will come to order.
Without objection, the chair is authorized to declare a
recess of the committee at any time.
As a reminder, members participating in a hearing remotely
should be visible on camera throughout the meeting. And as with
in person meetings, members are responsible for controlling
their own microphones. Members can be muted by staff only to
avoid inadvertent background noise.
In addition, statements, documents, or motions must be
submitted to the electronic repository immediately upon
introduction to [email protected] for circulation
to committee members.
Finally, members or witnesses experiencing technical
problems should inform committee staff immediately.
I now recognize myself for 5 minutes to give an opening
statement.
Well, good morning, everyone. I am thrilled to welcome you
to the organizational meeting of the House Select Committee on
the Climate Crisis, our first in the 117th Congress. I would
like to express my gratitude to Speaker Pelosi for her deep
commitment to solving the climate crisis and for allowing the
Select Committee to continue building on our work for the
American people.
Last year, our Select Committee Democratic members released
a comprehensive set of recommendations for the Congress in a
staff report entitled, ``Solving the Climate Crisis: The
Congressional Action Plan for Clean Energy Economy and a
Healthy, Resilient, and Just America,'' where we highlighted
bills, including bipartisan bills, to the standing committees.
This plan would put the United States on a path to net zero
by 2050 or earlier. It would create much needed jobs in clean
energy, infrastructure, conservation, manufacturing,
construction, and other important industries. It would protect
millions of families and small businesses from costly climate-
fueled risks and harms, and it would advance environmental
justice for Black, Brown, Native, and low income Americans.
Our climate crisis action plan has been described as the
most detailed and well thought out plan for addressing climate
change that has ever been part of U.S. politics. Now, the work
ahead of us is clear: We must waste no time in turning our
recommendations into policy. Families across America have given
us this strong mandate to act on climate, and younger
generations are watching. They know their futures hang in the
balance.
Our sole item of business today, before we consider the
committee rules, will be to talk about our jurisdiction, and
then we will take a moment to introduce our Democratic members,
and then I will give Ranking Member Graves an opportunity to
give an opening statement and introduce our Republican members.
So first on our jurisdiction, it is simple. It is pretty
straightforward. According to House Resolution 8, our Select
Committee will have investigative jurisdiction over policies,
strategies, and innovations to achieve substantial and
permanent reductions in pollution and other activities that
contribute to the climate crisis. It is my hope that our Select
Committee will continue to be a forum to advance important
solutions for the American people, to find common ground, to
follow the science, and to approach our differences
constructively.
Now I would like to introduce our fabulous Democratic
members, and at the end, I am going to give our new member,
Rep. Escobar, an opportunity to introduce herself to the
committee.
So, Democratic members include Suzanne Bonamici from
Oregon. She serves on the Science Committee, where she is
leading the fight for ocean climate action, and she serves on
the Committee on Education and Labor.
Rep. Julia Brownley from California, she serves on the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, where she is
pushing for cleaner public transit systems and expanding our
use of zero-emission vehicles. And Rep. Brownley also serves on
the Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Rep. Jared Huffman of California, he is the chair of Water,
Ocean, and Wildlife Subcommittee in the House Natural Resources
Committee, where he is a strong champion for public lands and
waters. He serves, as well, on the Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee.
Rep. Don McEachin of Virginia serves on the Energy and
Commerce Committee, where he has led the charge on securing
environmental justice for all. He also serves on the Natural
Resources Committee.
Congressman Mike Levin of California serves on the Natural
Resources Committee, where he works to advance safeguards
against drought, heat waves, and rising sea levels. Rep. Levin
also is a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Rep. Sean Casten of Illinois serves on the Financial
Services Committee, where he is working to reduce climate risk
in the financial sector. He also serves on the Science and
Technology Committee.
And Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado is the chair of the
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands in
the Natural Resources Committee, where he advances protections
for his communities from climate fueled wildfires and much
more. Rep. Neguse also serves on the Judiciary Committee.
And we are so pleased to welcome our newest Democratic
member, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar of Texas. She is a
member of the Armed Services Committee, where she is working to
ensure that our military stands ready to face the climate
crisis, and she has long championed economic opportunities in
clean energy. She also serves on the Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Escobar, as the newest Democratic member of the Select
Committee, welcome. We are thrilled to have you, along with our
two new Republican members. Please take a minute to introduce
yourself to the committee, and the floor is yours.
[The statement of Ms. Castor follows:]
Opening Statement of Chair Kathy Castor
Organizational Meeting for the 117th Congress
Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
March 19, 2021
As Prepared for Delivery
Thank you all for joining us. I'm thrilled to welcome you to the
first meeting of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis in
the 117th Congress. Before we begin, I'd like to express my gratitude
to Speaker Pelosi for her deep commitment to solving the climate
crisis--and for allowing our Select Committee to continue building on
our work for the American people.
Last year, our Select Committee's Democratic Members released a
comprehensive set of recommendations for Congressional action in the
staff report titled `Solving The Climate Crisis: The Congressional
Action Plan for a Clean Energy Economy and a Healthy, Resilient, and
Just America'. This plan would put the United States on a path to net
zero by 2050 or earlier. It would create much-needed jobs in clean
energy, infrastructure, conservation, manufacturing, construction, and
a number of other industries. It would protect millions of families and
small businesses from climate-fueled risks and harms. And it would
advance environmental justice for Black, brown, Native, and low-income
Americans.
Our Climate Crisis Action Plan has been described as ``the most
detailed climate plan in United States political history.'' Now, the
work ahead of us is clear: we must waste no time turning our
recommendations into policy. Families across America have given us a
strong mandate to act on climate. And entire generations are watching,
knowing their futures hang in the balance.
Before we consider our committee rules, I'll quickly go over our
jurisdiction and take a moment to introduce our Democratic members. I
will then give our Ranking Member an opportunity to give an opening
statement and introduce our Republican members.
According to House Resolution 8, our Select Committee will have
investigative jurisdiction over policies, strategies, and innovations
to achieve substantial and permanent reductions in pollution and other
activities that contribute to the climate crisis. It is my hope that
our Select Committee will continue to be a forum to advance important
solutions for the American people, to find common ground, to follow the
science, and to approach our differences constructively.
With that, I would like to introduce our Democratic members:
Suzanne Bonamici from Oregon. She serves on the Science Committee,
where she is leading the fight for ocean climate action, and on the
Committee on Education and Labor.
Julia Brownley from California. She serves on the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, where she is pushing for cleaner
public transit systems and expanding our use of zero-emission vehicles,
and she also serves on the Veterans Affairs Committee.
Jared Huffman from California. He is the Chair of the Water, Ocean
and Wildlife subcommittee in the House Natural Resources Committee,
where he is a strong champion for our public lands and water. He also
serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Donald McEachin from Virginia. He serves on the Energy and Commerce
Committee, where he has led the charge on securing environmental
justice. He also serves on the Natural Resources Committee.
Mike Levin from California. He serves on the Natural Resources
Committee, where he works to advance safeguards against droughts, heat
waves, and rising sea levels. He's also a member of the Veterans'
Affairs Committee.
Sean Casten from Illinois. He serves on the Financial Services
Committee, where he is working to reduce climate risk in the financial
sector. He also serves on the Science and Technology Committee.
Joe Neguse from Colorado. He is the Chair of the Subcommittee on
National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands in the Natural Resources
Committee, where he can advance protections for his communities from
climate-fueled wildfires. He also serves on the Judiciary Committee.
And our newest member, Veronica Escobar from Texas. She is a member
of the Armed Services Committee, where she is working to ensure our
military stands ready to face the climate crisis, and she has long
championed the economic opportunities in clean energy. She also serves
on the Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Escobar, as the newest Democratic member of the Select
Committee, let me give you a minute to introduce yourself.
[Rep. Escobar speaks]
Now I'd like to give Ranking Member Graves the opportunity to
provide some opening remarks and introduce the rest of our members.
Ms. Escobar. Thank you so much, Madam Chair, and apologies
for being a few minutes late at the top of the meeting.
You know, the only thing that I would add is it really is
an honor to serve on this committee, and I truly do hope that
we are able to work together to address some of the greatest
challenges that our communities face, our globe faces, our
military installations.
And as the member from the border, from El Paso, Texas, I
can tell you, so many of the families that I talk to who are
arriving at our front door from Central America are fleeing the
ravages of the climate crisis. You know, they don't talk about
it in that way, but they talk about food insecurity, they talk
about being unable to farm on their land, they talk about the
impact of hurricanes and natural disasters.
So I think over the long term, the work that we do will not
just help create a greater planet, but it will create stability
for people in their home countries. So really looking forward
to the work ahead with everyone.
I yield back.
Ms. Castor. Thank you, Rep. Escobar, and welcome again.
Now I would like to give Ranking Member Graves the
opportunity to provide some opening remarks and introduce the
Republican side of the aisle, including our two new Republican
members.
Ranking Member Graves.
Mr. Graves. Thanks.
Ms. Castor. You are recognized.
Mr. Graves. Hey, Madam Chair. Thank you.
Welcome, everyone, to the committee. Really excited to get
back to work as quickly as possible, and I hope that we are
able to actually get together and meet in person very soon so
we can begin addressing some of the very important issues that
are in front of us.
The climate issue has always been very important, but I
think some of the recent actions by this administration,
executive orders and others, have had a significant impact on
our energy industry. And whether that is renewable energy or
conventional fuels, it has had a significant impact on our
energy industry, on energy prices in a very short period of
time, which makes this issue even more urgent.
Madam Chair, as you know, we have discussed in the past
that all of us are committed to an American based clean energy
future, and it is important that as we move forward, we come up
with informed policies that are based upon science, based upon
evidence, based upon data, and perhaps building upon some of
the successes that the United States has been able to achieve
in being the largest emissions reducing country in the world.
As a matter of fact, President Obama had established the
Clean Power Plan, which was intended to reduce emissions by 32
percent from a 2005 baseline, and we were supposed to hit that
target, according to the Clean Power Plan, by 2030. And even
during the Trump administration, which, of course, perception
perhaps was very different, we hit that 2030 target in 2019.
And, Madam Chair, we did that without the mandates, without
restrictions, without coming in and trying to pick energy
technology winners and losers. We did it by letting the market
do what it does and, again, just blew away some of these
targets.
Madam Chair, you and I--and I hope I am not disclosing a
private conversation, but we had a great conversation yesterday
talking about areas where we can work together and cooperate,
areas like resiliency and adaptation. We both represent
important coastal communities in this Nation. Areas like
ensuring that our research and development strategy complies or
is based upon America's resources and some of the opportunities
before us to continue reducing emissions and ensure affordable,
exportable energy, clean energy solutions. Talking about energy
efficiency and conservation and building upon some of the
successes.
And so I am very hopeful that we can move forward, again,
in an evidence based direction, in a bipartisan direction, that
truly yields the best American based clean energy future that
we can have.
Madam Chair, we have a number of returning rock stars on
our side as well. I am really looking forward to working with a
number of your members that I am very close with.
We have our Republican policy chairman, Gary Palmer from
Alabama, who is back.
We have our pharmacist, Buddy Carter from Georgia, who
likes to remind folks that he represents the entire coast of
Georgia and that Georgia has--they are in the top 50 in terms
of timber-producing states in the United States, and they have
the third largest St. Patrick's Day parade in Georgia. Sorry.
We have Congressman Kelly Armstrong from North Dakota that
has an extensive energy background, particularly on the natural
gas side, and has just been a wealth of knowledge for the
committee.
We have Carol Miller from West Virginia, who, once again,
coming from a coal state, a mining state, is really the face of
this kind of energy future and how we do it in a way that is
very sensitive to the needs of our communities across the
United States, and, again, we ensure an energy policy based
upon our resources here in America.
Madam Chair, we also have two new members that I am very
excited to welcome to the committee. We have Congressman
Anthony Gonzalez from Ohio. And Congressman Gonzalez has an
extensive background, not just in professional sports, but also
in business and technology. And, Congressman--and by the way,
Ohio is, once again, one of those states that has been fueling
America's energy revolution.
And last but not least, we have Congressman Dan Crenshaw
from Texas, that, once again, not just brings the--Texas,
which, you know, one of our biggest energy producing states in
America--not just brings that perspective to the table, but
also, very importantly, Madam Chair, brings a national security
perspective to the table, which I think is really important as
we think about our energy future.
So with that, I assume it is okay to yield to them for
quick introductions?
Ms. Castor. Please do.
Mr. Graves. Congressman Gonzalez.
Mr. Gonzalez. Sure. I will be very quick.
So, great to be on this Select Committee. Great to work
with everybody on both sides, Republican and Democrat.
As Garret said, I am from northeast Ohio, and, you know,
while admittedly the climate situation is not one that is top
of mind for most of my constituents, reliable and affordable
energy certainly is, and so is having an economy where
everybody has an opportunity to succeed no matter what your
skill level is.
And so the way that I have come into the climate debate is
by focusing a lot on Lake Erie, which is right in my backyard,
where we have had rising water levels. We have had increased
flooding. From when I was a child, we had almost no flooding,
whereas now I get flooded at least three or four times a year,
and everybody sort of notices that.
And so the perspective I will bring to this debate is one
that focuses on understanding the tradeoffs between our
economic security and our climate goals, and also being a big
proponent of finding and facilitating the R&D discoveries that
are going to help power us through this.
So, again, thank you all for having me. It is great to be
with everybody, and I will yield back.
Mr. Graves. Congressman Crenshaw.
Mr. Crenshaw. Thank you. Thanks for having me here. It is
an honor to be a part of this, such an important issue. It is
an important issue to get right. The solutions are what I am
after. And last Congress, I was able to pass two bipartisan
bills, LEADING Act and the New Energy Frontier, both associated
with carbon capture and carbon utilization.
Looking--I am going to be hitting on a few themes. One,
always talking about the tradeoffs and the costs and the
benefits. Over and over and over again, I see too often that
there is a preferred solution that--and then the tendency when
you have a preferred solution is to exaggerate the benefits of
that solution and diminish the cost associated with it.
This should be our focus, what works and what doesn't. What
has worked in the past, both in the United States and in other
countries, and what has not. We talk about energy--or we talk
about environmental justice all the time. I am going to talk to
you about energy justice and what that means to people, people
trying to get out of poverty, people who can't afford higher
electric bills, people who want reliable energy when it gets
cold or hot. This has to be part of the discussion, and in many
cases, it hasn't been. So really happy to be a part of this and
be solutions oriented for things that will work to solve this
problem.
Thank you for having me.
Mr. Graves. I yield back.
Ms. Castor. All right. Well, welcome, Rep. Escobar, Rep.
Gonzalez, Rep. Crenshaw. We are thrilled that you all have
joined the Climate Committee.
We are going to have some great debates, and we do intend
to be solutions oriented. And I hope, if you haven't had an
opportunity to review our climate action plan that was released
last year, I encourage you to do it. There are a lot of good
bipartisan solutions in there, and we need to build bipartisan
support to press ahead.
So now we will move to our first order of business, the
consideration and adoption of the Select Committee's rules for
the 117th Congress. I ask for unanimous consent that the
proposed rules be considered read and open for amendment at any
point.
[The information follows:]
In the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
117th Congress, 1st Session
March 19, 2021
------
A Resolution
Offered by Ms. Castor
To adopt rules of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis pursuant
to
clause 2 of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives.
Resolved, That the Rules of the Select Committee on the Climate
Crisis for the 117th Congress shall be:
RULE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
(a) The provisions of section 4(d) of H. Res. 8 (117th Congress)
governing the proceedings of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
(hereinafter referred to as the ``Committee'') are hereby incorporated
by reference and nothing herein shall be construed as superseding any
provision of that section. The Rules of the House of Representatives
shall apply to the Committee to the extent that they are not
inconsistent with that title.
(b) The rules of the Committee shall be made publicly available in
electronic form and published in the Congressional Record not later
than 30 days after the Committee adopts its rules.
RULE 2. MEETINGS.
(a) In General.--
(1) The regular meeting date of the Committee shall be the
first Tuesday of every month when the House is in session in
accordance with clause 2(b) of rule XI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives. If the House is not in session on the
first Tuesday of a month, the regular meeting date shall be the
third Tuesday of that month. A regular meeting of the Committee
may be dispensed with if, in the judgment of the Chair of the
Committee, there is no need for the meeting.
(2) Additional meetings may be called by the Chair of the
Committee as the Chair considers necessary, in accordance with
clause 2(g)(3) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
(b) Meetings of the Committee shall be called to order and presided
over by the Chair or, in the Chair's absence, by a member designated by
the Chair to carry out such duties.
(c) Notification.--
(1) Pursuant to clause 2(g)(3) of Rule XI of the Rules of the
House, the Chair shall make a public announcement of the date,
place, and subject matter of a Committee meeting (other than a
hearing), which may not commence earlier than the third
calendar day (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays
except when the House is in session on such a day) on which
members have notice thereof.
(2) The agenda for each Committee meeting, setting out all
items of business to be considered, shall be established by the
Chair and provided to each member of the Committee at least 36
hours (exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays
except when the House is in session on such days) in advance of
the commencement of such meeting.
(d) The requirements of paragraph (c) may be waived by a majority
vote of those present, a quorum being present, or by the Chair with the
concurrence of the Ranking Member. If the requirements of paragraph (c)
are waived, the Chair shall notify the members of the Committee at the
earliest possible time.
RULE 3. HEARINGS.
(a) Announcement of Hearings.--
(1) Pursuant to clause 2(g)(3) of Rule XI of the Rules of the
House, the Chair shall announce the date, time, place, and
subject matter of any hearing of the Committee, which may not
commence earlier than one week after such notice.
(2) A hearing may commence sooner than specified in (a)(1) if
the Chair, with the concurrence of the Ranking Member,
determines there is good cause or the Committee so determines
by majority vote, a quorum being present. The Chair shall
announce the hearing at the earliest possible time.
(b) Written Witness Statement; Oral Testimony.--
(1) Filing of Statement.--To the greatest extent practicable,
each witness who is to appear before the Committee shall file
with the clerk of the Committee a written statement of his or
her proposed testimony at least two business days in advance of
his or her appearance. The clerk of the Committee shall
distribute this testimony to the Members of the Committee as
soon as is practicable and at least one business day before the
hearing. The requirements of this subparagraph may be waived or
modified by the Chair after consultation with the Ranking
Member.
(2) Each witness shall limit his or her oral presentation of
testimony to no more than five minutes.
(3) Truth in Testimony.--Each witness appearing in a
nongovernmental capacity shall include with the written
statement of his or her proposed testimony a curriculum vitae;
a disclosure of any Federal grants or contracts, or contracts,
or grants, or payments originating with a foreign government,
received during the past 36 months by the witness or by an
entity represented by the witness and related to the subject
matter of the hearing; and a disclosure of whether the witness
is a fiduciary (including, but not limited to, a director,
officer, advisor, or resident agent) of any organization or
entity that has an interest in the subject matter of a hearing.
The disclosure shall include (A) the amount and country of
origin of any payment or contract related to the subject matter
of the hearing originating with a foreign government; and (B)
the amount and country of origin of any payment or contract
related to the subject matter of the hearing originating with a
foreign government.
(4) Availability of Information.--Statements filed under this
paragraph shall be made publicly available in electronic form
not later than one day after the witness appears.
(c) Notification of Subject Matter.--As soon as practicable but no
later than 36 hours before the commencement of a hearing, the Chair
shall make available to the public and all Members of the Committee a
concise summary of the subject matter under consideration at the
hearing, any relevant reports from departments or agencies on such
matters, and a list of witnesses, including minority witnesses.
(d) Minority Witnesses.--When any hearing is conducted by the
Committee on any measure or matter, the minority party members on the
Committee shall be entitled, upon request to the Chair by a majority of
those members, to call at least one witness, as selected by the
minority members, to testify with respect to that measure or matter
along with witnesses selected by the Chair.
(e) Opening Statements.--
(1) Chair and Ranking Member.--At any hearing of the Committee,
the Chair and Ranking Member shall each control five minutes
for opening statements. The Chair and Ranking Member may
recognize other members within their respective five minutes.
(2) Other Members.--The Chair may allow other members of the
Committee to deliver oral opening statements, as appropriate,
with the concurrence of the Ranking Member. Such statements
shall not exceed five minutes in length and are to be equally
distributed between majority and minority members to the extent
practicable given the party makeup of the members present.
Members not recognized by the Chair for oral opening statements
may submit written opening statements for the record.
(f) Questioning of Witnesses.--The Chair shall initiate the right
to question witnesses before the Committee, followed by the Ranking
Member and all other members thereafter.
(1) Order of Member Recognition.--The right to question the
witnesses before the Committee shall alternate between majority
and minority members. A member of the Committee may question a
witness only when recognized by the Chair for that purpose. The
Chair shall recognize in order of appearance members who were
not present when the meeting was called to order after all
members who were present when the meeting was called to order
have been recognized in the order of seniority on the
Committee.
(2) Procedures for Questioning of Witnesses by Members.--Each
member shall be limited to 5 minutes in the questioning of
witnesses and shall limit his or her remarks to the subject
matter of the hearing. After consultation with the Ranking
Member, the Chair may recognize members who have already had an
opportunity to question the witness for a second period of 5
minutes once each member of the Committee present has been
recognized once for that purpose.
(3) Extended Questioning of Witnesses by Members.--Following
the questioning of witnesses described in (f)(2) above, the
Chair, with the concurrence of the Ranking Member or the
Committee by motion, may permit a specified number of members
to question one or more witnesses for a specified period of
time not to exceed 60 minutes in the aggregate, equally divided
between and controlled by the Chair and the Ranking Member.
(4) Questions for the Record.--Each member may submit to the
Chair additional questions for the record to be answered by the
witnesses who have appeared. Each member shall provide a copy
of the questions in an electronic format to the Committee no
later than 10 business days following a hearing. The Chair
shall transmit all questions received from members of the
Committee to the appropriate witnesses and include the
transmittal letter and the responses from the witnesses in the
hearing record. After consultation with the Ranking Member, the
Chair is authorized to close the hearing record no earlier than
15 business days from the date the questions were transmitted
to the appropriate witnesses.
(g) Hearings of the Committee shall be called to order and presided
over by the Chair or, in the Chair's absence, by a member designated by
the Chair to carry out such duties.
(h) Oaths.--The Chair of the Committee, or a member designated by
the Chair, may administer oaths to any witness before the Committee.
The Chair or his or her designee may administer the following oath to
all witnesses prior to receiving testimony: ``Do you solemnly swear or
affirm, under penalty of law, that the testimony you are about to give
is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you
God?''
(i) Claims of Privilege.--Claims of common-law privilege made by
witnesses in hearings, or by interviewees in investigations or
inquiries, are applicable only at the discretion of the Chair, subject
to appeal to the Committee.
RULE 4. OPEN PROCEEDINGS.
(a) Meetings for the transaction of business and hearings of the
Committee shall be open to the public, including radio, television, and
still photography coverage, unless closed in accordance with clause
2(g) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives.
(b) The audio and video coverage of Committee proceeding permitted
under clause 4 of rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives
shall apply to the Committee.
RULE 5. REPORTS.
(a) Approval of Official Committee Reports.--Any report completed
pursuant to section 4(d) of H. Res. 8 (117th Congress) that purports to
express the views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations of the
Committee must be approved by a majority vote of the Committee at a
meeting at which a quorum is present, in accordance with Committee Rule
7(a)(3). The total number of votes cast for and against, and the names
of those voting for and against, shall be included in the Committee
report on the matter.
(b) Notice of Committee Reports.--Any report described in (a) shall
not be considered in the Committee unless the proposed report has been
available to the members of the Committee for at least three business
days before consideration of such report in the Committee.
(c) Additional Views.--If, at the time of approval of a report, a
member of the Committee gives notice of intent to file supplemental,
minority, additional, or dissenting views for inclusion in the report,
all members of the Committee shall be entitled to no less than two
business days after such notice to file such views following clause
2(l) of rule XI of the Rules of the House.
(d) Availability of Publications.--Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of
Rule XI of the Rules of the House, the Committee shall make its
publications available in electronic form to the maximum extent
feasible. Pursuant to section 4(d) of H. Res. 8 (117th Congress), the
Committee shall make its publications available to the general public
in widely accessible formats not later than 30 calendar days following
the respective dates for completion.
RULE 6. COMMITTEE RECORDS.
(a) Availability.--Documents reflecting the proceedings of the
Committee shall be made publicly available in electronic form on the
Committee's website and in the Committee office for inspection by the
public, as provided in clause 2(e) of rule XI of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, within 48 hours of such recorded vote after each
meeting has adjourned, including a record showing those present at each
meeting; and a record of the vote on any question on which a recorded
vote is demanded, including a description of the motion, order, or
other proposition, the name of each member voting for and each member
voting against such motion, order, or proposition, and the names of
those members of the Committee present but not voting.
(b) Archived Records.--The records of the Committee deposited at
the National Archives shall be made available for public use in
accordance with Rule VII of the Rules of the House. The Chair shall
notify the Ranking Member of any decision, pursuant to clause 3(b)(3)
or clause 4(b) of such rule, to withhold a record otherwise available.
Upon written request of any member of the Committee, the Chair shall
present the matter to the Committee for a determination, which shall be
subject to
the same requirements for conduct of Committee business under Committee
Rule 2.
RULE 7. QUORUMS AND RECORDED VOTES; POSTPONEMENT OF VOTES.
(a) Establishment of a Quorum.--
(1) For the purpose of taking testimony and receiving evidence,
no fewer than two members of the Committee shall constitute a
quorum.
(2) A majority of the members of the Committee shall constitute
a quorum for those actions for which the Rules of the House of
Representatives require a majority quorum.
(3) A majority of the members of the Committee shall constitute
a quorum for issuing an official Committee report pursuant to
Rule 5 of the Committee rules and section 4(d) of H. Res. 8
(117th Congress).
(4) For the purposes of taking any other action, one-third of
the members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum.
(b) Recorded Votes.--A recorded vote may be demanded by one-fifth
of the members present.
(c) Postponement of Votes.--Pursuant to clause 2(h)(4) of the Rules
of the House, the Chair, after consultation with the Ranking Member,
may postpone further proceedings when a recorded vote is ordered on the
question of approving any measure or matter or adopting an amendment
and may resume proceedings on a postponed vote at any time after
reasonable notice to Members by the Clerk or other designee of the
Chair. 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.
RULE 8. COMMITTEE STAFF.
(a) Professional and other staff of the Committee are subject to
the provisions of clause 9 of rule X of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
(b) Majority Staff.--The Chair shall appoint and determine the
remuneration of, and may remove, the employees of the Committee not
assigned to the minority. The staff of the Committee not assigned to
the minority shall be under the general supervision and direction of
the Chair, who shall establish and assign the duties and
responsibilities of such staff members and delegate such authority as
he or she determines appropriate.
(c) Minority Staff.--The Ranking Member shall appoint and determine
the remuneration of, and may remove, the staff assigned to the minority
within the budget approved for such purposes. The staff assigned to the
minority shall be under the general supervision and direction of the
Ranking Member, who may delegate any authority he or she determines
appropriate.
(d) The Chair and Ranking Member have the right to secure one or
more detailees to assist with the work of the Committee.
RULE 9. BUDGET.
(a) The Chair, in consultation with the Ranking Member, shall
prepare a budget providing amounts for staff, committee travel, field
hearings, investigation, and other expenses of the Committee. Funds
authorized for the Committee as provided in clause 6 of Rule X are for
expenses incurred in the activities of the Committee.
(b) Consistent with clause 9 of Rule X, the Chair shall designate
an amount equal to 1/3 of the amount provided to the Committee in the
primary expense resolution adopted by the House of Representatives to
be under the direction of the Ranking Member for the compensation of
the minority staff, travel expenses of minority members and staff, and
minority office expenses. All expenses of minority members and staff
shall be paid for out of the amount so set aside.
RULE 10. TRAVEL.
(a) The Chair may authorize travel for any member and any staff
member of the Committee in connection with activities or subject
matters under the general jurisdiction of the Committee. Travel to be
reimbursed from funds set aside for the Committee for any member of
staff member shall be paid only upon the prior authorization of the
Chair. Before such authorization is granted, there shall be submitted
to the Chair in writing the following:
(1) The purpose of the travel.
(2) The dates during which the travel is to occur.
(3) The names of the states or countries to be visited and the
length of time to be spent in each.
(4) An agenda of anticipated activities.
(5) The names of members and staff of the Committee for whom
the authorization is sought.
(b) Members and staff of the Committee shall make a written report
to the Chair on any travel they have conducted under this subsection,
including a description of their itinerary, expenses, and activities,
and of pertinent information gained as a result of such travel.
(c) Members and staff of the Committee performing authorized travel
on official business shall be governed by applicable laws, resolutions,
and regulations of the House and of the Committee on House
Administration.
RULE 11. WEBSITE.
The Chair shall maintain an official Committee website for the
purpose of carrying out the official responsibilities of the Committee,
including communicating information about the Committee's activities.
The Ranking Member may maintain a minority website. To the maximum
extent feasible, the Committee shall make its publications available in
electronic form on the official Committee website maintained by the
Chair.
The proposed rules were circulated electronically to
members on Tuesday morning and again yesterday. The proposed
rules include technical and conforming changes to the rules the
Select Committee adopted last Congress.
So I wonder if we have any proposed amendments?
Without objection, the further reading--okay. Let's see, no
amendments? Great.
Mr. Graves. Madam Chair.
Ms. Castor. Rep. Graves, you are recognized.
Mr. Graves. Thank you.
Madam Chair, as you and I discussed this and I told you
that we were okay with the rules package, I have one request.
In the truth in testimony section, which is (b)(3), I
understand that this is one of the greatest revisions in the
rules, and it is my understanding that this was done in order
to comply with revisions in House rules related to truth in
testimony, and obviously those things need to be aligned.
One of our members brought up an issue this morning, and I
just want to ask would it be okay if our staffs can get
together to work to reconcile this. The intention of these
revisions are to ensure that we have full disclosure of any
foreign agents or foreign interests that are testifying or
operating before the committee, which certainly makes sense.
As we know, some countries operate through surrogates, and
we have seen that some companies have--excuse me, some
countries--use companies or not-for-profits and others to
convey their message and effectively operate in a subversive
manner.
And I just--in reading this, it is clearly the intent to
capture those sorts of folks that may not be fully transparent
in their background or their motives. And I just wanted to ask
if it would be okay if our staffs could take a fresh look at
this provision and just ensure that it would capture anyone
that is operating on behalf of a foreign government but perhaps
doing it through a surrogate like a company or something along
those lines.
Ms. Castor. Yeah, I appreciate that. And I know Rep. Palmer
had raised a question on that account.
So, first of all, thank you for reading the rules and
thinking them through. The changes relating to that section
reflect the changes to the House rules, so we like to keep in
sync with the House rules so to avoid confusion. But I get your
point. So we will--our staff can discuss and talk about this,
and if we need to go back to the Rules Committee and have some
clarification, we can do that. We will also give the bipartisan
staff the ability to make any technical changes and bring them
back to us if we need to do that.
Mr. Graves. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. If my WiFi
wasn't out and Netflix didn't work, I am not sure I would have
read them. But thank you.
Ms. Castor. Okay. Any other questions or comments or
proposed amendments?
Seeing none, the question is now on the adoption of the
rules.
All those in favor, say aye.
Those opposed, say no.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the rules
are adopted.
And without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid
upon the table.
I now ask for unanimous consent that the staff be allowed
to make any technical and conforming changes to the rules
subject to approval of the minority.
Hearing no objections, it is so ordered.
And guess what? We have no further business.
I would like to thank everyone for attending today's
meeting. I look forward to a productive year ahead. We are
going to be developing a number of upcoming hearings, if you
all have--we welcome any input from all members of the
committee, so please don't hesitate to pass those along.
Again, welcome to our new members. Thank you all for
helping us go through this organizational meeting in a very
smooth way.
And, without objection, this meeting is adjourned. Thanks,
everybody.
Mr. Casten. Madam Chair, before we adjourn, can I make one
comment?
Ms. Castor. Rep. Casten, you are recognized.
Mr. Casten. So, look, this is a comment mostly to my
Democratic members. Our illustrious chair, as some of you may
not be aware, is also the chair of the Congressional Soccer
Caucus. And with the addition of Reps. Gonzalez and Crenshaw, I
believe that we now have, maybe with the exception of Rep.
LaHood, all of the Republican players on the congressional
soccer team last year.
We have the coach on our side and myself, and so to my
Democratic colleagues, we need to beef up the squad, and I
would encourage you to join the Congressional Soccer Caucus and
play once we get to a COVID point again, because there is far
too much leaning to one side of the aisle in this----
Mr. Huffman. You don't want to see me playing soccer, Sean,
but if we ever have a tennis match or if anyone wants to play
volleyball, we will talk.
Mr. Casten. I think it was myself and Rick Larsen and a lot
of much younger staff on the Democratic side last year, so our
Republicans are doing a better job at getting the old creaky
knees out on the field, and I think we have an obligation to
match their exuberance.
Mr. Graves. Well, you know what, Congressman Casten, I left
two ligaments on the field, so you will see those, I can tell
you.
Ms. Castor. Yes, that is right.
Ms. Bonamici. Well, and as the representative of----
Mr. Casten. That is right. I take it back, Garret. I wanted
to man up on you.
Ms. Bonamici. I represent Nike, and they typically sponsor,
and so I am getting pretty good at the coin toss, but I don't
think you will see me doing much else on the field. May the
best team win.
Ms. Castor. Excellent. Okay. Thanks, everybody.
Without objection, the meeting is adjourned. Have a great
weekend.
[Whereupon, at 10:17 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]
[all]