[House Hearing, 114 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
COMMITTEE BUSINESS MEETING
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MEETING
before the
COMMITTEE ON HOUSE
ADMINISTRATION
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
MARCH 16, 2016
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Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration
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COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION
CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan, Chairman
GREGG HARPER, Mississippi ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania
RICHARD NUGENT, Florida Ranking Minority Member
RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois ZOE LOFGREN, California
BARBARA COMSTOCK, Virginia JUAN VARGAS, California
MARK WALKER, North Carolina
Professional Staff
Sean Moran, Staff Director
Jamie Fleet, Minority Staff Director
COMMITTEE MARKUP
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Wednesday, March 16, 2016
House of Representatives,
Committee on House Administration,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:34 a.m., in Room
1310, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Candice S. Miller
[chairman of the committee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Miller, Harper, Davis, Walker,
Brady, and Vargas.
Staff Present: Sean Moran, Staff Director; John Clocker,
Deputy Staff Director; Bob Sensenbrenner, General Counsel; Erin
McCracken, Communications Director; Max Engling, Professional
Staff Member; Cole Felder, Legal Counsel; Nick Hawatmeh, Legal
Counsel; C. Maggie Moore, Legislative Clerk; Tim Sullivan,
Staff Assistant; Jamie Fleet, Minority Staff Director; Matt
Pinkus, Minority Senior Policy Advisor; Khalil Abboud, Minority
Deputy Staff; Mike Harrison, Minority Chief Counsel; Eddie
Flaherty, Minority Chief Clerk; and Robert Henline, Minority
Member Services Director.
The Chairman. I now call to order the Committee on House
Administration for today's Committee hearing and our meeting. A
quorum is present, so we can proceed.
The meeting record will remain open for 5 legislative days
so that members might submit any materials that they wish to be
included therein.
[The information follows:]
The Chairman. Our Committee is charged with overseeing the
day-to-day operations and accountability of the House, and that
is a responsibility I know that each of us take very seriously.
Back in October, we met to make needed changes to the Members'
Handbook as a part of a review of the expense reimbursement
process to explore ways to strengthen the regulations governing
official expenses.
This markup is different in that we are doing some forward
looking in modernizing to help offices run more effectively,
and it is this Committee's responsibility to provide continued
accountability.
We, in conjunction with the House Committee on Ethics,
House leadership, and other entities, like the CAO, work to
ensure that hard-earned tax dollars are spent in the most
transparent manner.
We regularly review and update the regulations governing
official resources. We do this by working with House offices to
determine their needs and how to best educate the offices when
it comes to complying with the regulations we issue.
Our Committee also works with the CAO to help ensure
compliance with our regulations and identify ways to improve
public transparency of these expenditures.
We are meeting on a number of housekeeping items that will
help update our existing regulations to reflect current
practice, remove outdated terminology, and clarify areas of
confusion.
The resolutions being considered by the Committee today
reflect the continued evaluation of House processes to best
assist the House community.
The first Committee Resolution before us updates the Guide
to Outfitting and Maintaining an Office. This guide, last
updated in 2005, is a detailed collection of policies and
regulations applied to the acquisition, transfer, disposal, and
maintenance of furnishings, equipment, software, and related
services provided to an office. We want to help offices have a
very smooth transition so that they can get about the people's
business as soon as possible.
This resolution will modernize policies and terminology
relevant to Member and Committee offices and reflect current
practices in the House. This will help guide Members when
setting up their offices and transferring office assets.
The second Committee Resolution creates a new handbook to
be used for Eligible Congressional Member Organizations.
Previously, a large Congressional Member Organization had to
develop complicated administrative arrangements in regard to
staffing. At the start of the 114th Congress, the House voted
to include a reform within House Rules to pave the way for
specific large organizations and to ease this administrative
burden.
For example, the Republican Study Committee and
Congressional Black Caucus have very onerous rules to operate
under when staffing their caucus and paying staff. We worked in
a bipartisan spirit on this resolution to make sure that they
can staff their caucuses transparently, efficiently, and
easily.
This handbook allows for qualifying Congressional Member
Organizations to establish an account to pay for administration
expenses, as long as they meet certain parameters, such as the
membership size, and comply with the regulations developed by
the committee in the accordance with the House Rules.
The third Committee Resolution we are considering today
will provide a number of technical changes and clarifying
language updates to help offices better understand the Members'
Congressional Handbook.
These are good changes that will hopefully help improve
compliance to the rules, as well as to improve cost savings and
efficiency. One in particular being a provision allowing
qualifying Members to share district offices with other Members
of the House, which will be approved by the Committee on a
case-by-case basis. This will allow Members who, for example,
share a town to have one central location to serve the
constituents of that town. In addition to being more efficient
and helpful for the constituents, it also has the potential to
save taxpayers dollars.
The fourth and final Committee Resolution before us will be
amending the Committee Handbook. The Committee Handbook was
last updated over a decade ago, and the vast majority of the
changes we are proposing today merely reflect this lapse in
time.
These changes will provide updates to simply reflect
current practice by updating the applicable House rules,
statutes, and removing language which no longer applies.
The resolution will update regulations pertaining to the
use of the Frank. It was important that the handbook be updated
to reflect that many Committees now communicate electronically
through avenues like Facebook Ads, e-newsletters, and social
media. Committees can now use their funds to advertise their
location and contact information, as well as to updates
applicable use of mass communications.
I certainly want to thank all the Members of the Committee
for being here today and for their hard work on these
resolutions.
I certainly want to thank our Ranking Member, Mr. Brady.
These resolutions before us are the combined product of a true
bipartisan effort, where our staffs have worked very hard to
achieve and arrive at these changes. I know I speak for the
Ranking Member when I say that aiding this institution and
ensuring that we have the right policies in place is our duty,
one that each of us, and certainly our staff members, take
seriously.
With that, I would like to recognize the Ranking Member,
Mr. Brady, for his opening statement.
Mr. Brady. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you
for holding this markup today.
Rather than speak to each of the resolutions individually,
I will submit longer comments for the record and just make a
few comments here.
I support these four resolutions. The updates to our
handbooks and committee guides are long overdue. Some of the
updates we are making here sure should have been made 10 years
ago, so it is good that we are doing this today.
I appreciate your working with my staff on these proposals.
We have bipartisan agreement on all of them, and I will be
supporting all of them. We approached this process wanting to
make our House work better, and I think we did that.
Commonsense updates and some basic reforms will hopefully
result in less work in the administrating of our offices, and
some of these proposals could actually save some Members money.
I also support the ECMO proposal, and I am glad we
consulted with Employment Counsel on the final draft. I would
specifically like to thank Gloria Lett and Ann Rogers of the
Clerk's Office for their help.
This proposal makes things easier for these Member
organizations as we implement these new regulations. I hope
that we continue working together to resolve any unexpected
issues. I look forward to continuing to work with you, my
friend from Michigan, and urge my colleagues to support the
resolutions before us today. Thank you.
The Chairman. I thank the gentleman very much.
Are there any other Members that wish to have an opening
statement?
The chair recognizes Mr. Harper from Mississippi.
Mr. Harper. Thank you, Chairman Miller.
I would like to commend you and Ranking Member Brady on the
strong show of bipartisanship represented by the handbooks
which we are considering today. The update of these regulations
is overdue, and there is a reason for that. Finding consensus
on a group of regulations that affect the operations of over
435 Member offices, all of the standing committees, and several
Member organizations is no easy task.
I want to thank the staffs on both sides, majority and
minority, for their commitment and tenacity in seeing this task
through. I know you spent countless hours on probably countless
versions of these regulations, and I want each of you to know
that we appreciate your efforts.
Most Members will probably never see these regulations and
would not likely read them if they did perhaps, but their daily
activities are governed by them, and it was important to get
them right. So I thank everyone involved in this and the
staffs.
And I yield back. Thank you.
The Chairman. I thank the gentleman for his comments.
Any other Members wish to make an opening statement?
The gentleman from Chicago--excuse me, Illinois, not
Chicago.
Mr. Davis. Those are fighting words where I come from,
Madam Chairwoman.
Less of an opening statement, but more of a comment,
because I know this process is going to be very quick today. I
want to thank you, the ranking member, and all the members of
this committee, and especially the staff, for working so hard
to do things to address some issues, as the ranking member
said, should have been addressed, could have been addressed
even years ago.
Simple changes, like allowing Members to share district
offices, can really save taxpayer dollars. This is a great step
forward. The committee, both sides, the staff worked very, very
hard to address issues that are very, very important to
staffers not only here in Washington, but district staffers,
you know, where I used to work. And the clarifications truly do
help them do a better job on behalf of their Member and on
behalf of this institution.
So thank you all again for your hard work. I truly
appreciate it.
The Chairman. I thank the gentleman from Illinois for his
comments.
Any other Member have any comment?
Okay. I will now call before the Committee our first agenda
item, which is Committee Resolution 114, a Committee Resolution
updating the Guide to Outfitting and Maintaining an Office of
the U.S. House of Representatives. Without objection, the first
reading of the resolution is dispensed with and the resolution
is considered read and open for amendment at any point.
[The information follows:]
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The Chairman. Last updated in 2005, this guide is a
detailed collection of policies and regulations applicable to
the acquisition, transfer, disposal, and maintenance of
furnishings, equipment, software, and related services. The
guide has been restructured to be more user friendly and
updated to reflect today's policy.
Mr. Brady, do you have any statement on the resolution?
Any other member wish to comment?
Without that, then I would move that the Committee adopt
the Committee Resolution. The question is on the motion to
adopt the resolution.
All Members who are in favor of the resolution, signify by
saying aye.
Any opposed?
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the ayes
have it, and the motion is agreed to.
Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon
the table.
I now call before the Committee our second agenda item,
Committee Resolution 114, a Committee Resolution creating the
Eligible Congressional Member Organization Handbook. Without
objection, the first reading of the resolution is dispensed
with and the resolution is considered read and open for
amendment at any point.
[The information follows:]
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The Chairman. Congressional Member Organizations that meet
the necessary criteria will now be eligible for new spending
accounts to pay for employees and their administrative
functions. These new regulations would provide a process for
the transparent management of needed administrative accounts.
Mr. Brady, do you have any statement on the resolution?
Any other Members?
With that, then I would move the Committee adopt the
Committee Resolution. The question is on the motion to adopt
the resolution.
All Members who are in favor of the resolution, signify by
saying aye.
Opposed, say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the motion
is agreed to. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is
laid upon the table.
I now call before the Committee our third agenda item,
Committee Resolution 114. This is a Committee Resolution
updating the Members' Congressional Handbook. Without
objection, the first reading of the resolution is dispensed
with and the resolution is considered read and open for
amendment at any point.
[The information follows:]
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The Chairman. This resolution will insert some clarifying
language, as well as regulations to mirror the previous
resolution our committee just adopted. Of particular note, this
resolution includes a provision allowing qualifying Members to
share district offices with other Members of the House. This
will be approved by the Committee on a case-by-case basis.
For a few Members of the House, their congressional
districts, again, share the same city or geographic area, so we
think this is a commonsense addition to allow those Members,
under very clear and transparent guidelines, the option to
share a district office.
Mr. Brady, any statement on the resolution?
Any other member have a comment?
I actually have an amendment at the desk, and I will
recognize myself.
[The information follows:]
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The Chairman. This amendment would change the Members'
Handbook to harmonize it with current practice. The amendment
changes the fixed maximum mileage reimbursement rates in the
Members' Handbook and requires the Committee to issue yearly
updates to the community concerning the maximum mileage
reimbursement rates.
Almost every year, the GSA and the IRS change the maximum
mileage reimbursement rates. If the House varies from these
rates, it can have income tax consequences. Accordingly, the
Committee has been issuing a ``Dear Colleague'' every year
informing offices of the maximum rate. This amendment would
adopt that practice back into our regulations.
Does any Member wish to speak on this amendment?
If not, the question is on the amendment.
I would ask for all Members who are in favor of this to
signify by saying aye.
Opposed, say nay.
With that, the amendment is agreed to.
Are there any other amendments?
Then I move that the Committee adopt the Committee
Resolution as amended. The question is on the motion to adopt
the resolution.
All Members in favor signify by saying aye.
Opposed say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the ayes
have it, the motion is agreed to.
Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon
the table.
I now call before the Committee our fourth agenda item,
Committee Resolution 114, a Committee Resolution updating the
Committee Handbook. Without objection, the first reading of the
resolution is dispensed with and the resolution is considered
read and open for amendment at any point.
[The information follows:]
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The Chairman. Our Committee last updated this handbook more
than 10 years ago, and therefore this update, we think, is very
well overdue. Most of the updates are to bring the handbook
language in line with today's practices.
Again, this and all of our resolutions offered today are
part of a commonsense approach and needed updates to ensure our
regulations best assist offices while also protecting the
taxpayer dollar.
Mr. Brady, do you have any comment on this resolution?
Any other Members?
Much like the Members' Handbook, this change to the
Committee Handbook will harmonize it with current practice and,
again, reflect what the Committee is doing each and every year.
Any other comments from any of the Members?
If not, then I move that the Committee adopt the Committee
Resolution. I have to do the amendment. Excuse me. Where am I
at here? This is the next amendment. Okay.
This amendment would change the Committee Handbook to
harmonize it with current practice. The amendment changes the
fixed maximum mileage reimbursement rates in the Members'
Handbook and, again, requires the Committee to issue yearly
updates to the community concerning the maximum mileage
reimbursement. This is an amendment that I am offering.
[The information follows:]
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The Chairman. Oh, the Committee Handbook. Okay, I have got
it. Same language, one for the Committee Handbook, one for the
Members' Handbook.
Any Member wish to speak to this amendment?
If not, the question is on the amendment.
I ask for all the members who are in favor to signify by
saying aye.
Opposed, say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the ayes
have it, the amendment is agreed to.
Any other amendments?
I would then move that the Committee adopt the Committee
Resolution as amended, and the question is on the motion to
adopt the resolution.
All Members in favor of the motion, signify by saying aye.
Opposed, say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the ayes
have it.
Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon
the table.
Any other questions or comments from any of the Members
before we adjourn? One of the quickest hearings in history.
Okay. Without objection, the meeting is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:49 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]
[all]