Jan. 4, 2021 sees Congressional Record publish “ADOPTING THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE 117TH CONGRESS.....” in the House of Representatives section

By SC Missouri News

Jan 4, 2021

Jason Smith was mentioned in ADOPTING THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE 117TH CONGRESS..... on pages H13-H36 covering the 1st Session of the 117th Congress published on Jan. 4, 2021 in the Congressional Record.

The publication is reproduced in full below:

ADOPTING THE RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE 117TH

CONGRESS

Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I send to the desk a privileged resolution.

The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

H. Res. 8

Resolved,

SECTION 1. ADOPTION OF THE RULES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH

CONGRESS.

The Rules of the House of Representatives of the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, including applicable provisions of law or concurrent resolution that constituted rules of the House at the end of the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, are adopted as the Rules of the House of Representatives of the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, with amendments to the standing rules as provided in section 2, and with other orders as provided in this resolution.

SEC. 2. CHANGES TO THE STANDING RULES.

(a) Conforming Change.--In clause 2(i) of rule II--

(1) strike the designation of subparagraph (1); and

(2) strike subparagraph (2).

(b) Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds.--

(1) Establishment.--In rule II, add at the end the following new clauses:

``Office of Diversity and Inclusion

``9.(a) There is established an Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The Speaker, in consultation with the Minority Leader, shall appoint a Director of the Office from recommendations provided by the chair of the Committee on House Administration in consultation with the ranking minority member of such committee.

``(b) Subject to the policy direction and oversight of the Committee on House Administration, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion shall--

``(1) direct and guide House employing offices to recruit, hire, train, develop, advance, promote, and retain a diverse workforce;

``(2) survey and evaluate diversity in House employing offices;

``(3) through the Director of the Office at the end of each session of Congress, submit a House of Representatives diversity report to the Speaker, the Majority Leader, the Minority Leader, the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on House Administration, and the chair and ranking minority member of the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch of the Committee on Appropriations; and

``(4) provide consultation and guidance in furtherance of increasing diversity and inclusion in the House.

``Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds

``10.(a) There is established an Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds. The Speaker, in consultation with the chairs and ranking minority members of the Committee on House Administration and the Committee on Oversight and Reform, shall appoint a Director of the Office.

``(b) Subject to the policy direction and oversight of the Committee on House Administration, and in consultation with any other committee (at the request of the chair or ranking minority member of such other committee), the Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds shall--

``(1) promulgate best practices for whistleblower intake for offices of the House; and

``(2) provide training for offices of the House on whistleblower intake, including establishing an effective reporting system for whistleblowers, maintaining whistleblower confidentiality, advising staff of relevant laws and policies, and protecting information provided by whistleblowers.''.

(2) Conforming amendment.--In clause 4(d)(1)(A) of rule X--

(A) strike ``and the Inspector General'' and insert ``, the Inspector General, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and the Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds''; and

(B) strike ``and Inspector General'' and insert ``Inspector General, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds''.

``appropriate, including, but not limited to, the issuance of subpoenas,''.

(d) Admittance to the Hall of the House.--

(1) In clause 2(a)(14) of rule IV, insert ``and the Mayor of the District of Columbia'' after ``Territories''.

(2) In clause 4(a) of rule IV--

(A) in subparagraph (2) strike ``committee; or'' and insert

``committee;'';

(B) in subparagraph (3) strike the period and insert ``; or''; and

``(4) has been convicted by a court of record for the commission of a crime in relation to that individual's election to, or service to, the House.''.

(e) Gender-inclusive Language.--

(1) In clause 1(c)(9) of rule X, strike ``seamen'' and insert ``seafarers''.

(2) In clause 4(a)(1)(B) of rule X, strike ``Chairman'' and insert ``Chair''.

(3) In clause 8(c)(3) of rule XXIII, strike ``father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother- in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister- in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, grandson, or granddaughter'' and insert ``parent, child, sibling, parent's sibling, first cousin, sibling's child, spouse, parent-in-law, child-in-law, sibling-in-law, stepparent, stepchild, stepsibling, half-sibling, or grandchild''.

(4) In clause 10(b) of rule XXIII--

(A) strike ``submit his or her resignation'' and insert

``resign'';

(B) strike ``he or she serves'' and insert ``such Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner serves''; and

(5) In clause 15(d)(2) of rule XXIII, strike ``father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, wife, father-in-law, or mother-in-law'' and insert ``parent, child, sibling, spouse, or parent-in-law''.

(6) In clause 4 of rule XXVII, strike ``himself or herself'' and insert ``themself''.

(7) In rule XXIX, clause 2 is amended to read as follows:

``2. (Reserved.)''.

(f) Committee on Armed Services.--In clause 1(c) of rule X--

(1) in subparagraph (1) strike ``and Air Force'' and insert

``Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force''; and

(2) in subparagraph (13), strike ``and Air Force'' and insert ``Air Force, and Space Force''.

(g) Committee Oversight Plans.--In clause 2(d)(2) of rule X--

(1) in subdivision (D), strike ``and'';

(2) in subdivision (E), strike the period and insert ``; and''; and

(3) add at the end the following new subdivision:

``(F) give priority consideration to including in the plan a discussion of how the committee's work will address issues of inequities on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, or national origin.''.

(h) Printing and Availability Requirements.--

(1) In clause 6 of rule X, strike ``printed'' each place that it appears.

(2) In clause 8(b)(1)(A) of rule XXII, insert ``or pursuant to clause 3 of rule XXIX'' after ``Congressional Record''.

(i) Committee Vote Availability.--In clause 2(e)(1)(B) of rule XI--

(1) in item (i), strike ``made available by the committee for inspection by the public at reasonable times in its offices and also'';

(2) in item (i), strike ``subdivision (B)(ii)'' and insert

``item (ii)''; and

(3) in item (ii), strike ``available for inspection by the public'' and insert ``publicly available''.

(j) Amendment Availability.--In clause 2(e)(6) of rule XI, insert ``, or 48 hours after the disposition or withdrawal of any other amendment,'' after ``any amendment''.

(k) Truth-in-testimony Reform.--In clause 2(g)(5) of rule XI--

(1) amend subdivision (B) to read as follows:

``(B) In the case of a witness appearing in a non- governmental capacity, a written statement of proposed testimony shall include--

``(i) a curriculum vitae;

``(ii) a disclosure of any Federal grants or contracts, or contracts, 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

``(iii) 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 the hearing.'';

(2) in subdivision (C), strike ``subdivision (B)'' and insert ``subdivision (B)(ii)''; and

(3) in subdivision (D), insert ``24 hours before the witness appears to the extent practicable, but'' before ``not later''.

(l) Electronic Filing of Reports and Electronic Signatures.--

(1) In clause 2(l) of rule XI, insert ``(including in electronic form)'' after ``signed views''.

(2) In clause 2(a) of rule XIII--

(A) in subparagraph (1), strike ``subparagraph (2)'' and insert ``subparagraphs (2) and (3)''; and

(B) add the following new subparagraph:

``(3) All reports of committees may be delivered to the Clerk in electronic form.''.

(3) In clause 5(b) of rule XIII, insert ``, pursuant to clause 2(a)(3), or pursuant to clause 2(c),'' after ``from the floor''.

(4) In clause 5 of rule XXV, insert ``(including in electronic form)'' after ``signed'' each place that it appears.

(5) In clause 1 of rule XXVII, insert ``(including in electronic form)'' after ``signed''.

(m) Subpoena Authority.--In clause 2(m)(3) of rule XI, add the following new subdivision:

``(D) Subpoenas for documents or testimony may be issued to any person or entity, whether governmental, public, or private, within the United States, including, but not limited to, the President, and the Vice President, whether current or former, in a personal or official capacity, as well as the White House, the Office of the President, the Executive Office of the President, and any individual currently or formerly employed in the White House, Office of the President, or Executive Office of the President.''.

(n) Committee on Ethics.--

(1) In clause 5(a)(3)(C) of rule X, insert ``or fifth'' after ``fourth''.

(2) In clause 3 of rule XI--

(A) in paragraph (b)(8)(A), insert ``, Delegate, Resident Commissioner'' after ``Member'' each place it appears;

(B) in paragraph (b)(8)(B)(iii), insert ``, Delegate, Resident Commissioner'' after ``Member'';

(D) in paragraph (m)(1)(A), insert ``, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner'' after ``Members'';

(E) in paragraph (n), insert ``, Delegate, Resident Commissioner'' after ``Member''; and

(F) in paragraph (r), insert ``, Delegate, Resident Commissioner'' after ``Member''.

(o) Audio and Video Recordings.--In clause 4(b) of rule XI, strike ``radio and television tapes and television film'' and insert ``audio and video recordings''.

(p) Cosponsorship Withdrawal.--In clause 7(b)(2) of rule XII, strike the first two sentences and insert the following:

``The name of a cosponsor of a bill or resolution may be deleted only by a demand from the floor made by the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner whose name is to be deleted, or by a unanimous-consent request from the sponsor. The Speaker may only entertain such a demand or request until the last committee authorized to consider and report the bill or resolution reports it to the House or is discharged from its consideration.''.

(q) Comparative Prints.--In rule XXI, strike clause 12.

(r) Requiring Committee Hearing and Markup on Bills and Joint Resolutions.--

(1) In clause 3(c) of rule XIII, add the following new subparagraph:

``(6)(A) On a bill or joint resolution to be considered pursuant to a special order of business reported by the Committee on Rules--

``(i) a list of related committee and subcommittee hearings; and

``(ii) a designation of at least one committee or subcommittee hearing that was used to develop or consider such bill or joint resolution.

``(B) Subdivision (A) shall not apply to a bill or joint resolution--

``(i) continuing appropriations for a fiscal year; or

``(ii) containing an emergency designation under section 251(b)(2) or section 252(e) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.''.

(2) In rule XXI, add at the end the following new clause:

``12.(a) It shall not be in order to consider a bill or joint resolution pursuant to a special order of business reported by the Committee on Rules that has not been reported by a committee.

``(b) Paragraph (a) shall not apply to a bill or joint resolution--

``(1) continuing appropriations for a fiscal year;

``(2) containing an emergency designation under section 251(b)(2) or section 252(e) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985;

``(3) designated pursuant to clause 7(a) of rule XV; or

``(4) not referred to committee.

``(c) Paragraph (a) does not apply before March 1 of an odd-numbered year.''.

(s) Motion to Recommit.--

(1) In clause 6(c) of rule XIII, strike ``, including a motion to recommit with instructions to report back an amendment otherwise in order''.

(2) In clause 2 of rule XIX--

(A) in paragraph (a), strike ``with or'';

(B) amend paragraph (b) to read as follows:

``(b) The previous question shall be considered as ordered on any motion to recommit (or commit, as the case may be).''; and

(3) In clause 7(d) of rule XXII, strike ``or in a motion to recommit to conference''.

(t) District of Columbia Business.--In rule XV--

(1) clause 4 is amended to read as follows:

``4. (Reserved.)''.

(2) in clause 4, strike the caption.

(u) Title Amendments.--In clause 6 of rule XVI, insert ``, shall be in order only if offered by the Majority Leader or a designee,'' after ``adoption''.

(v) Reconciliation Directives.--Clause 7 of rule XXI is amended to read as follows:

``7. (Reserved.)''.

(w) Availability of Measures.--In clause 11 of rule XXI, insert ``the text of'' before ``such measure''.

(x) Prohibited Service.--Clause 19(c) of rule XXIII is amended to read as follows: ``A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House shall comply with regulations issued and revised, as necessary, by the Committee on Ethics regarding types of prohibited service or positions that could lead to conflicts of interest.''.

(y) Code of Official Conduct.--In rule XXIII--

(1) redesignate clause 20 as clause 22; and

(2) insert after clause 19 the following new clauses:

``20. A Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House may not, directly or indirectly, take any actions to prevent any individual from or retaliate against any individual for providing truthful information to the Committee on Ethics, the Office of Congressional Ethics, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, or any law enforcement official, provided that the disclosure of such information is not otherwise prohibited by law or House rules.

``21.(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c), a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House shall not knowingly and willfully disclose publicly the identity of, or personally identifiable information about, any individual who has reported allegations of possible wrongdoing, including retaliation, under processes and protections provided by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act of 1998, or any other Federal law that establishes the right for individuals to make protected disclosures to Congress.

``(b) The limitation in paragraph (a) shall not apply to any disclosure of an individual's identity or personally identifiable information if--

``(1) the individual has provided express written consent prior to such disclosure;

``(2) the individual has already voluntarily and publicly disclosed their identity; or

``(3) the disclosure is by the chair of a committee after an affirmative vote by two-thirds of the members of the committee that such disclosure is in the public interest.

``(c) Nothing in this clause shall prevent--

``(1) an investigation of any allegation of wrongdoing disclosed by any individual; or

``(2) the public disclosure of substantive information shared by any individual that is not personally identifiable to that individual.

``(d) Disclosures made pursuant to paragraph (b)(3) shall be subject to appropriate safeguards, including that the individual be provided timely advance notice if possible before their identity or any personally identifiable information is disclosed prior to the vote described in paragraph (b)(3), unless such information would jeopardize the related investigations. When providing such notice to the individual the committee chair shall send the individual a written explanation of the reasons for the disclosure.''.

(z) Communications Standards Commission.--In clause 5 of rule XXIV, strike ``Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards'' and insert ``Communications Standards Commission''.

SEC. 3. SEPARATE ORDERS.

(a) Member Day Hearing Requirement.--During the first session of the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, each standing committee (other than the Committee on Ethics) or each subcommittee thereof (other than a subcommittee on oversight) shall hold a hearing at which it receives testimony from Members, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner on proposed legislation within its jurisdiction, except that the Committee on Rules may hold such hearing during the second session of the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress.

(b) Deposition Authority.--

(1) During the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, the chair of a standing committee (other than the Committee on Rules), and the chair of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, upon consultation with the ranking minority member of such committee, may order the taking of depositions, including pursuant to subpoena, by a member or counsel of such committee.

(2) Depositions taken under the authority prescribed in this subsection shall be subject to regulations issued by the chair of the Committee on Rules and printed in the Congressional Record.

(c) War Powers Resolution.--During the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, a motion to discharge a measure introduced pursuant to section 6 or section 7 of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1545-46) shall not be subject to a motion to table.

(d) Exercise Facilities for Former Members.--During the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress--

(1) The House of Representatives may not provide access to any exercise facility which is made available exclusively to Members and former Members, officers and former officers of the House of Representatives, and their spouses to any former Member, former officer, or spouse who is a lobbyist registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 or any successor statute or who is an agent of a foreign principal as defined in clause 5 of rule XXV. For purposes of this subsection, the term ``Member'' includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress.

(2) The Committee on House Administration shall promulgate regulations to carry out this subsection.

(e) Empaneling Investigative Subcommittee of the Committee on Ethics.--The text of House Resolution 451, One Hundred Tenth Congress, shall apply in the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress in the same manner as such provision applied in the One Hundred Tenth Congress, except that references to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall be construed as references to the Committee on Ethics.

(f) Non-disclosure Agreements.--Any non-disclosure agreement imposed by any employing or contracting authority in the House of Representatives to which a paid or unpaid employee or contractor is or was required to agree as a term of employment shall--

(1) provide clear guidance that the employee or contractor may communicate concerning any matter with the Committee on Ethics, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, or any other office or entity designated by the Committee on House Administration without prior, concurrent, or subsequent notice or approval; and

(2) not be binding and shall have no legal effect to the extent to which it requires prior, concurrent, or subsequent notice or approval from anyone on any matter with respect to communications from an employee or contractor to any of the committees, offices, or entities described in paragraph (1).

(g) Requiring Members to Pay for Discrimination Settlements.--

(1) In general.--In the case of a settlement of a complaint under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 in connection with a claim alleging a violation described in paragraph (2) which is committed personally by a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner, if the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner is not required under law to reimburse the Treasury for the amount of the settlement, the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on House Administration may not approve the settlement pursuant to clause 4(d)(2) of rule X unless, under the terms and conditions of the settlement, the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner is required to reimburse the Treasury for the amount of the settlement.

(2) Violations described.--A violation described in this paragraph is--

(A) a violation of section 201(a) or section 206(a) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995; or

(B) a violation of section 207 of such Act which consists of intimidating, taking reprisal against, or otherwise discriminating against any covered employee under such Act because of a claim alleging a violation described in subparagraph (A).

(h) Mandatory Anti-harassment and Anti-discrimination Policies for House Offices.--

(1) Requiring offices to adopt policy.--Each employing office of the House of Representatives under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 shall adopt an anti- harassment and anti-discrimination policy for the office's workplace.

(2) Regulations.--Not later than April 1, 2021, the Committee on House Administration shall promulgate regulations to carry out this subsection, and shall ensure that such regulations are consistent with the requirements of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, rule XXIII, and other relevant laws, rules, and regulations.

(i) Displaying Statement of Rights and Protections Provided to House Employees.--The Committee on House Administration shall issue regulations to provide that each employing office of the House of Representatives shall post in a prominent location in the office (including, in the case of the office of a Member, Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner, a prominent location in each district office) a statement of the rights and protections provided to employees of the House of Representatives under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, including the procedures available to employees of the House under such Act for responding to and adjudicating allegations of violations of such rights and protections.

(j) Broadening Availability and Utility of Legislative Documents in Machine-readable Formats.--The Committee on House Administration, the Clerk, and other officers and officials of the House shall continue efforts to broaden the availability and utility of legislative documents in machine readable formats in the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress in furtherance of the institutional priorities of--

(1) improving public availability and use of legislative information produced by the House and its committees; and

(2) enabling all House staff to produce comparative prints showing the differences between versions of legislation, how proposed legislation will amend existing law, and how an amendment may change proposed legislation.

(k) Improving the Committee Electronic Document Repository.--The Clerk, the Committee on House Administration, and other officers and officials of the House shall undertake efforts to improve the electronic document repository operated by the Clerk for use by committees of the House in the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, in furtherance of the institutional priority of increasing public availability and identification of legislative information produced and held by House committees, including votes, amendments, and witness disclosure forms.

(l) Inclusion of Citations for Proposed Repeals and Amendments.--To the maximum extent practicable and consistent with established drafting conventions, an instruction in a bill or joint resolution proposing to repeal or amend any law or part thereof not contained in a codified title of the United States Code shall include, in parentheses immediately following the designation of the matter proposed to be repealed or amended, the applicable United States Code citation (which may be a note in the United States Code), or, if no such citation is available, an appropriate alternative citation to the applicable law or part.

(m) Providing for Transparency With Respect to Memorials Submitted Pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States.--With respect to any memorial presented under clause 3 of rule XII purporting to be an application of the legislature of a State calling for a convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States pursuant to Article V, or a rescission of any such prior application--

(1) the chair of the Committee on the Judiciary shall, in the case of a memorial presented in the One Hundred Fourteenth Congress or succeeding Congresses, and may, in the case of such a memorial presented prior to the One Hundred Fourteenth Congress, designate any such memorial for public availability by the Clerk; and

(2) the Clerk shall make such memorials as are designated pursuant to paragraph (1) publicly available in electronic form, organized by State of origin and year of receipt, and shall indicate whether the memorial was designated as an application or a rescission.

(n) Subcommittees.--Notwithstanding clause 5(d) of rule X, during the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress the Committee on Agriculture may have not more than six subcommittees.

(o) Congressional Member Organization Transparency Reform.--

(1) Payment of salaries and expenses through account of organization.--A Member of the House of Representatives and an eligible Congressional Member Organization may enter into an agreement under which--

(A) an employee of the Member's office may carry out official and representational duties of the Member by assignment to the Organization; and

(B) to the extent that the employee carries out such duties under the agreement, the Member shall transfer the portion of the Members' Representational Allowance (MRA) of the Member which would otherwise be used for the salary and related expenses of the employee to a dedicated account in the House of Representatives which is administered by the Organization, in accordance with the regulations promulgated by the Committee on House Administration under paragraph (2).

(2) Regulations.--The Committee on House Administration

(hereafter referred to in this subsection as the

``Committee'') shall promulgate regulations as follows:

(A) Use of mra.--Pursuant to the authority of section 101(d) of the House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical Corrections Act (2 U.S.C. 5341(d)), the Committee shall prescribe regulations to provide that an eligible Congressional Member Organization may use the amounts transferred to the Organization's dedicated account under paragraph (1)(B) for the same purposes for which a Member of the House of Representatives may use the Members' Representational Allowance, except that the Organization may not use such amounts for franked mail, official travel, or leases of space or vehicles.

(B) Maintenance of limitations on number of shared employees.--Pursuant to the authority of section 104(d) of the House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical Corrections Act (2 U.S.C. 5321(d)), the Committee shall prescribe regulations to provide that an employee of the office of a Member of the House of Representatives who is covered by an agreement entered into under paragraph (1) between the Member and an eligible Congressional Member Organization shall be considered a shared employee of the Member's office and the Organization for purposes of such section, and shall include in such regulations appropriate accounting standards to ensure that a Member of the House of Representatives who enters into an agreement with such an Organization under paragraph (1) does not employ more employees than the Member is authorized to employ under such section.

(C) Participation in student loan repayment program.-- Pursuant to the authority of section 105(b) of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2003 (2 U.S.C. 4536(b)), relating to the student loan repayment program for employees of the House, the Committee shall promulgate regulations to provide that, in the case of an employee who is covered by an agreement entered into under paragraph (1) between a Member of the House of Representatives and an eligible Congressional Member Organization and who participates in such program while carrying out duties under the agreement--

(i) any funds made available for making payments under the program with respect to the employee shall be transferred to the Organization's dedicated account under paragraph (1)(B); and

(ii) the Organization shall use the funds to repay a student loan taken out by the employee, under the same terms and conditions which would apply under the program if the Organization were the employing office of the employee.

(D) Access to house services.--The Committee shall prescribe regulations to ensure that an eligible Congressional Member Organization has appropriate access to services of the House.

(E) Other regulations.--The Committee shall promulgate such other regulations as may be appropriate to carry out this subsection.

(3) Eligible congressional member organization defined.--In this subsection, the term ``eligible Congressional Member Organization'' means, with respect to the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, an organization meeting each of the following requirements:

(A) The organization is registered as a Congressional Member Organization with the Committee on House Administration.

(B) The organization designates a single Member of the House of Representatives to be responsible for the administration of the organization, including the administration of the account administered under paragraph

(1)(B), and includes the identification of such Member with the statement of organization that the organization files and maintains with the Committee on House Administration.

(D) During the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, at least 15 Members of the House of Representatives used a portion of the Members' Representational Allowance of the Member for the salary and related expenses of an employee who was a shared employee of the Member's office and the organization.

(E) The organization files a statement with the Committee on House Administration and the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives certifying that it will administer an account in accordance with paragraph (1)(B).

(p) Budget Matters.--During the first session of the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, pending the adoption of a concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2021, the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate levels as contained in the statement of the chair of the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives in the Congressional Record of May 1, 2020, as adjusted in the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, shall be considered for all purposes in the House to be the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate levels under titles III and IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

(q) Reissuance of Subpoenas Prior to Committee Organization.--(1) The House authorizes the chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform (when elected), on behalf of the Committee on Oversight and Reform and until such committee has adopted rules pursuant to clause 2(a) of rule XI, to issue subpoenas related to the investigation into the accuracy and timing of the 2020 decennial census and related matters.

(2) The House authorizes the chair of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis (when designated), on behalf of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis and until the Committee on Oversight and Reform has adopted rules pursuant to clause 2(a) of rule XI, to issue subpoenas related to the investigation into political interference in the response to the coronavirus pandemic at the Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and related matters.

(r) Numbering of Bills.--In the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, the first 10 numbers for bills (H.R. 1 through H.R. 10) shall be reserved for assignment by the Speaker and the second 10 numbers for bills (H.R. 11 through H.R. 20) shall be reserved for assignment by the Minority Leader.

(s) Remote Voting by Proxy and Remote Committee Activity.-- House Resolution 965, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, shall apply in the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress in the same manner as such resolution applied in the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, except that--

(1) the notification and availability requirements of section 2 do not apply to revocation letters submitted to the Clerk after an automatic revocation pursuant to section 2(a)(2)(B);

(2) section 4(b) shall not apply; and

(3) the chair of the Committee on House Administration, in consultation with the ranking minority member, shall identify and submit to the Speaker and to the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Rules specific operable and secure technology that may be used to conduct remote voting in the House and shall provide certification of such submission to the House as though pursuant to section 5(a).

(t) Witness Diversity.--Not later than July 1, 2021, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion shall submit a report to the Committee on House Administration and the Committee on Rules recommending a method to survey the diversity of witness panels at committee hearings. Not later than July 31, 2021, the Committee on House Administration and the Committee on Rules shall take such steps as may be necessary to ensure the implementation of such method.

(u) Requirements for Committee Hearing and Markup.--During the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, notwithstanding clause 12(c) of rule XXI (as added by section 2(r)), clause 12(a) of rule XXI shall not apply before April 1, 2021.

(v) Exemptions.--The chair of the Committee on the Budget may adjust an estimate under clause 4 of rule XXIX to--

(1) exempt the budgetary effects of measures to prevent, prepare for, or respond to economic or public health consequences resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; and

(2) exempt the budgetary effects of measures to prevent, prepare for, or respond to economic, environmental, or public health consequences resulting from climate change.

(w) Further Expenses for Resolving Contested Elections.--

(1) Amounts for expenses of committee on house administration.--There shall be paid out of the applicable accounts of the House of Representatives such sums as may be necessary for further expenses of the Committee on House Administration for the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress for resolving contested elections.

(2) Session limitation.--The amount specified in paragraph

(1) shall be available for expenses incurred during the period beginning at noon on January 3, 2021, and ending immediately before noon on January 3, 2022.

(3) Vouchers.--Payments under this subsection shall be made on vouchers authorized by the Committee on House Administration, signed by the chair of the Committee, and approved in the manner directed by the Committee.

(4) Regulations.--Amounts made available under this subsection shall be expended in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Committee on House Administration.

(x) Support for Senate Measures.--Not later than February 1, 2021, the Clerk shall submit to the chair of the Committee on Rules regulations establishing a process for Members to indicate their support for Senate measures that have been received by the House. Such process shall include the maintenance of a publicly available list of Members supporting each such Senate measure. Upon receipt of such regulations, the chair of the Committee on Rules shall cause them to be printed in the Congressional Record, and Members shall be permitted to indicate their support for Senate measures accordingly.

(y) Dissemination of Manipulated Media.--The Committee on Ethics is directed to report to the House, not later than December 31, 2021, any recommended amendments to the Code of Official Conduct, as well as any accompanying regulations, intended to address the circumstances and instances, if any, for which a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House may be subject to discipline for the dissemination by electronic means, including by social media, of any image, video, or audio file that has been distorted or manipulated with the intent to mislead the public.

SEC. 4. COMMITTEES, COMMISSIONS, AND HOUSE OFFICES.

(a) House Democracy Partnership.--House Resolution 24, One Hundred Tenth Congress, shall apply in the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress in the same manner as such resolution applied in the One Hundred Tenth Congress, except that the commission concerned shall be known as the House Democracy Partnership.

(b) Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.--Sections 1 through 7 of House Resolution 1451, One Hundred Tenth Congress, shall apply in the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress in the same manner as such provisions applied in the One Hundred Tenth Congress, except that--

(1) the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission may, in addition to collaborating closely with other professional staff members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, collaborate closely with professional staff members of other relevant committees;

(2) the resources of the Committee on Foreign Affairs which the Commission may use shall include all resources which the Committee is authorized to obtain from other offices of the House of Representatives; and

(3) any amounts authorized to provide full-time professional staff and resources to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission shall be in addition to and separate from the amounts authorized for salaries and expenses of the Committee on Foreign Affairs as provided by resolution of the House, shall be administered by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and shall be distributed equally between the co- chairs of the Commission.

(c) Office of Congressional Ethics.--Section 1 of House Resolution 895, One Hundred Tenth Congress, shall apply in the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress in the same manner as such provision applied in the One Hundred Tenth Congress, except that--

(1) the Office of Congressional Ethics shall be treated as a standing committee of the House for purposes of section 202(i) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (2 U.S.C. 4301(i));

(2) references to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall be construed as references to the Committee on Ethics;

(3) any requirement for concurrence in section 1(b)(1) shall be construed as a requirement for consultation;

(4) the second sentence of section 1(b)(6)(A) shall not apply;

(5) members subject to section 1(b)(6)(B) may be reappointed for a fourth additional term;

(6) any individual who is the subject of a preliminary review or second-phase review by the board shall be informed of the right to be represented by counsel and invoking that right should not be held negatively against such individual; and

(7) the Office may not take any action that would deny any person any right or protection provided under the Constitution of the United States.

(d) Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.--Section 104(f) of House Resolution 6, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, shall apply in the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress in the same manner as such section applied in the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, except that--

(1) the investigative jurisdiction of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis shall consist of policies, strategies, and innovations to achieve substantial and permanent reductions in pollution and other activities that contribute to the climate crisis which will honor our responsibility to be good stewards of the planet for future generations and advance environmental justice;

(2) the Select Committee shall coordinate with and advise standing committees with relevant jurisdiction with respect to such policies, strategies, and innovations;

(3) any records obtained by a standing committee pursuant to a subpoena or deposition recommended by the Select Committee pursuant to section 104(f)(3)(B)(iii) may be transferred to the Select Committee; and

(4) the Select Committee shall submit all policy recommendations referenced in section 104(f)(5) by December 31, 2021, and all reports referenced in section 104(f)(5) by December 31, 2022.

(e) Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress.-- Section 201 of House Resolution 6, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, shall apply in the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress in the same manner as such section applied in the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, except that--

(1) the Select Committee shall submit the final report under section 201(f)(3) not later than December 31, 2022; and

(2) section 201(g)(1) shall not apply.

(f) Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.-- Sections 1 through 7 of House Resolution 935, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, shall apply in the One Hundred Seventeenth Congress in the same manner as such provisions applied in the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress.

(g) Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth.--

(1) Establishment; composition.--

(A) Establishment.--There is hereby established a Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth

(hereafter in this subsection referred to as the ``Select Committee'').

(B) Composition.--The Select Committee shall be composed of 15 Members, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner appointed by the Speaker, of whom 6 shall be appointed on the recommendation of the Minority Leader. The Speaker shall designate one member of the Select Committee as its chair. A vacancy in the membership of the Select Committee shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

(2) Jurisdiction; functions.--

(A) Legislative jurisdiction.--The Select Committee shall not have legislative jurisdiction and shall have no authority to take legislative action on any bill or resolution.

(B) Investigative jurisdiction.--The sole authority of the Select Committee shall be to investigate, study, make findings, and develop recommendations on policies, strategies, and innovations to make our economy work for everyone, empowering American economic growth while ensuring that no one is left out or behind in the 21st Century Economy. The Select Committee shall coordinate with and advise standing committees with relevant jurisdiction with respect to policy related to economic fairness, access to education, and workforce development. The Select Committee may, at its discretion, hold public hearings in connection with any aspect of its investigative functions.

(3) Procedure.--(A) Except as specified in subparagraph

(B), the Select Committee shall have the authorities and responsibilities of, and shall be subject to the same limitations and restrictions as, a standing committee of the House, and shall be deemed a committee of the House for all purposes of law or rule.

(B)(i) Rules X and XI shall apply to the Select Committee where not inconsistent with this subsection.

(ii) Service on the Select Committee shall not count against the limitations in clause 5(b)(2) of rule X.

(iii) Clause 2(m)(1)(B) of rule XI, clause 2(m)(3) of rule XI, and section 3(b) of this resolution shall not apply to the Select Committee, but the Select Committee may recommend subpoenas and depositions and submit such recommendations to the relevant standing committee. Any records obtained by a standing committee pursuant to a subpoena or deposition recommended by the Select Committee pursuant to this clause may be transferred to the Select Committee.

(iv) Clause 2(d) of rule X shall not apply to the Select Committee.

(4) Amounts for initial expenses.--

(A) Payment of expenses.--There shall be paid out of the applicable accounts of the House of Representatives not more than $500,000 for the expenses of the Select Committee, to be available during the period beginning at noon on January 3, 2021, and ending on March 31, 2021.

(B) Vouchers.--Payments under this paragraph shall be made on vouchers authorized by the Select Committee, signed by the chair of the Select Committee, and approved in the manner directed by the Committee on House Administration.

(C) Regulations.--Amounts made available under this paragraph shall be expended in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Committee on House Administration.

(5) Use of staff.--To enable the Select Committee to carry out the purposes of this subsection, the Select Committee may use the services of staff of the House.

(6) Reporting.--The Select Committee may report to the House or any committee of the House from time to time the results of its investigations and studies, together with such detailed findings and policy recommendations as it may deem advisable. All such reports shall be submitted to the House by December 31, 2022. All such policy recommendations shall be submitted to the relevant standing committees not later than December 31, 2021.

(7) Publication.--The Select Committee shall ensure that reports and proposals prepared in accordance with this subsection shall, upon completion, be made available to the general public in widely accessible formats not later than 30 calendar days following the respective dates for completion set forth in paragraph (6).

SEC. 5. ORDERS OF BUSINESS.

(a)(1) On any legislative day during the period from January 3, 2021 through January 28, 2021--

(A) the Journal of the proceedings of the previous day shall be considered as approved; and

(B) the Chair may at any time declare the House adjourned to meet at a date and time, within the limits of clause 4, section 5, article I of the Constitution, to be announced by the Chair in declaring the adjournment.

(2) The Speaker may appoint Members to perform the duties of the Chair for the duration of the period addressed by paragraph (1) as though under clause 8(a) of rule I.

(3) Each day during the period addressed by paragraph (1) shall not constitute a calendar day for purposes of section 7 of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1546).

(4) Each day during the period addressed by paragraph (1) shall not constitute a legislative day for purposes of clause 7 of rule XIII.

(5) Each day during the period addressed by paragraph (1) shall not constitute a calendar or legislative day for purposes of clause 7(c)(1) of rule XXII.

(6) Each day during the period addressed by paragraph (1) shall not constitute a legislative day for purposes of clause 7 of rule XV.

(b) It shall be in order at any time through the legislative day of January 28, 2021, for the Speaker to entertain motions that the House suspend the rules as though under clause 1 of rule XV. The Speaker or her designee shall consult with the Minority Leader or his designee on the designation of any matter for consideration pursuant to this subsection.

(c) The requirement of clause 6(a) of rule XIII for a two- thirds vote to consider a report from the Committee on Rules on the same day it is presented to the House is waived with respect to any resolution reported through the legislative day of January 28, 2021.

Mr. HOYER (during the reading). Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Maryland?

There was no objection.

Motion to Postpone Consideration

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I really think that my good friends in the majority need more time to present a fair rules package. So I move to postpone consideration of H. Res. 8 until January 5, 2021.

Motion to Table

Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I move that the motion to postpone consideration be tabled.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to table.

The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 214, nays 204, not voting 11, as follows:

YEAS--214

Adams Aguilar Allred Auchincloss Axne Barragan Bass Beatty Bera Beyer Bishop (GA) Blumenauer Blunt Rochester Bonamici Bourdeaux Bowman Boyle, Brendan F. Brown Bush Bustos Butterfield Carbajal Cardenas Carson Cartwright Case Casten Castor (FL) Castro (TX) Chu Cicilline Clarke (NY) Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Connolly Cooper Correa Costa Courtney Craig Crist Crow Cuellar Davids (KS) Davis, Danny K. Dean DeFazio DeGette DeLauro DelBene Delgado Demings Deutch Dingell Doggett Doyle, Michael F. Escobar Eshoo Espaillat Evans Fletcher Foster Frankel, Lois Fudge Gallego Garamendi Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Golden Gomez Gonzalez, Vicente Gottheimer Green, Al (TX) Grijalva Haaland Harder (CA) Hayes Higgins (NY) Himes Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Huffman Jackson Lee Jacobs (CA) Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (TX) Jones Kahele Kaptur Keating Kelly (IL) Khanna Kildee Kilmer Kim (NJ) Kind Kirkpatrick Krishnamoorthi Kuster Lamb Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Lawrence Lawson (FL) Lee (CA) Lee (NV) Leger Fernandez Levin (CA) Levin (MI) Lieu Lofgren Lowenthal Luria Lynch Malinowski Maloney, Carolyn B. Maloney, Sean Manning Matsui McBath McCollum McEachin McGovern McNerney Meeks Meng Mfume Moore (WI) Morelle Moulton Mrvan Murphy (FL) Napolitano Neal Neguse Newman Norcross O'Halleran Ocasio-Cortez Omar Pallone Panetta Pappas Pascrell Payne Perlmutter Peters Phillips Pingree Pocan Porter Pressley Price (NC) Quigley Rice (NY) Richmond Ross Roybal-Allard Ruiz Ruppersberger Rush Ryan Sanchez Sarbanes Scanlon Schakowsky Schiff Schneider Schrader Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Sewell Sherman Sherrill Sires Slotkin Smith (WA) Soto Spanberger Speier Stanton Stevens Strickland Suozzi Swalwell Takano Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tonko Torres (CA) Torres (NY) Trahan Trone Underwood Vargas Veasey Vela Velazquez Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Welch Wexton Wild Williams (GA) Yarmuth

NAYS--204

Aderholt Allen Amodei Armstrong Arrington Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Banks Barr Bentz Bergman Bice (OK) Biggs Bilirakis Bishop (NC) Boebert Bost Brooks Buchanan Buck Bucshon Budd Burchett Burgess Calvert Cammack Carl Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Cawthorn Chabot Cheney Cline Cloud Clyde Cole Comer Crawford Crenshaw Curtis Davidson Davis, Rodney DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Donalds Duncan Dunn Emmer Estes Fallon Feenstra Fischbach Fitzgerald Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Fortenberry Foxx Franklin, C. Scott Fulcher Gaetz Gallagher Garbarino Garcia (CA) Gibbs Gimenez Gohmert Gonzales, Tony Gonzalez (OH) Good (VA) Gooden (TX) Gosar Graves (LA) Graves (MO) Green (TN) Greene (GA) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hagedorn Harris Harshbarger Hartzler Hern Herrell Herrera Beutler Hice (GA) Higgins (LA) Hill Hinson Hollingsworth Hudson Huizenga Issa Jackson Jacobs (NY) Johnson (LA) Johnson (OH) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Katko Keller Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kim (CA) Kinzinger Kustoff LaHood LaMalfa Lamborn Latta LaTurner Lesko Long Loudermilk Lucas Luetkemeyer Mace Malliotakis Mann Massie Mast McCarthy McCaul McClain McClintock McHenry

McKinley Meijer Meuser Miller (IL) Miller (WV) Miller-Meeks Moolenaar Mooney Moore (AL) Moore (UT) Mullin Murphy (NC) Nehls Newhouse Norman Nunes Obernolte Owens Palazzo Palmer Pence Perry Pfluger Posey Reed Reschenthaler Rice (SC) Rodgers (WA) Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rose Rosendale Rouzer Roy Rutherford Scalise Schweikert Sessions Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spartz Stauber Steel Stefanik Steil Steube Stewart Stivers Taylor Thompson (PA) Tiffany Timmons Turner Upton Van Drew Van Duyne Wagner Walberg Walorski Waltz Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Wenstrup Westerman Williams (TX) Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Wright Zeldin

NOT VOTING--11

Brady Brownley Clark (MA) DeSaulnier Ferguson Granger Nadler Raskin Scott, Austin Wilson (FL) Young

swearing in of members-elect

The SPEAKER (during the vote). The Chair is prepared to swear in a group of Members-elect currently present in the Chamber.

Will the Representatives-elect please present themselves in the well.

Mr. Womack, Mr. Posey, Ms. Waters, Mr. Smith of Washington, and Mr. Langevin appeared at the bar of the House and took the oath of office, as follows:

Do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that you take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter, so help you God.

The SPEAKER. Congratulations. You are now Members of the 117th Congress.

announcement by the speaker

The SPEAKER (during the vote). The Chair would remind Members that the Chair has the authority and responsibility to preserve order and decorum in the Chamber, even prior to the adoption of the rules of the House.

To that end, the Chair reminds all Members that, as a matter of decorum, they are required to wear masks at all times while in the Hall of the House, even while under recognition. In addition, Members must practice proper social distancing and should not linger in the Chamber after casting their vote.

{time} 1125

Mr. JACOBS of New York changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''

Miss RICE of New York, Mr. McEACHIN, Ms. ESHOO, Messrs. VEASEY, MALINOWSKI, GREEN of Texas, and LYNCH changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''

So the motion to table was agreed to.

The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.

A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

Stated against:

Ms. GRANGER. Madam Speaker, I missed votes due to circumstances beyond my control. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 4.

Motion to Refer

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I have a motion to refer at the desk.

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. DeGette). The Clerk will report the motion.

The Clerk read as follows:

Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois moves to refer the resolution H. Res. 8 to a select committee composed of the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader with instructions to report it forthwith back to the House with the following amendment:

At the end of the resolution, add the following new section:

SEC. 6. PROMOTING FAIR ADMINISTRATION OF AND VOTER CONFIDENCE

IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.

Not later than January 31, 2021, the Committee on House Administration shall report to the House a bill containing the following provisions:

(1) A statement of findings that, consistent with article I, section 4 of the Constitution of the United States and the principles of federalism, Congress recognizes that the primary authority to conduct elections for Federal office is reserved to the States, and that Congress's proper role is secondary, to provide support and minimum baselines for the conduct of such elections in order to ensure fair administration of, and voter confidence in, such elections.

(2) Provisions extending existing Federal baseline standards and providing additional protections to govern the use of ballots cast by mail in elections for Federal office.

(3) Provisions establishing Federal baseline standards to govern signature verification on ballots cast in elections for Federal office.

(4) Provisions to improve voter confidence in the administration of elections for Federal office and promote certainty in the results of such elections.

(5) Provisions to provide for conducting oversight of the use of Federal funds that are provided by the Election Assistance Commission pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002 for the administration of elections for Federal office.

Motion to Table

Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion.

The Clerk read as follows:

Mr. Hoyer moves to lay on the table the motion to refer.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to table.

The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the noes appeared to have it.

Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 214, nays 196, not voting 19, as follows:

YEAS--214

Adams Aguilar Allred Auchincloss Axne Barragan Beatty Bera Beyer Bishop (GA) Blumenauer Blunt Rochester Bonamici Bourdeaux Bowman Boyle, Brendan F. Brown Bush Bustos Butterfield Carbajal Cardenas Carson Cartwright Case Casten Castor (FL) Castro (TX) Chu Cicilline Clarke (NY) Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Connolly Cooper Correa Costa Courtney Craig Crist Crow Cuellar Davids (KS) Davis, Danny K. Dean DeFazio DeGette DeLauro DelBene Delgado Demings DeSaulnier Deutch Dingell Doggett Doyle, Michael F. Escobar Eshoo Espaillat Evans Fletcher Foster Frankel, Lois Fudge Gallego Garamendi Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Golden Gomez Gonzalez, Vicente Gottheimer Green, Al (TX) Grijalva Haaland Harder (CA) Hayes Higgins (NY) Himes Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Huffman Jackson Lee Jacobs (CA) Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (TX) Jones Kahele Kaptur Keating Kelly (IL) Khanna Kildee Kilmer Kim (NJ) Kind Kirkpatrick Krishnamoorthi Kuster Lamb Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Lawrence Lawson (FL) Lee (CA) Lee (NV) Leger Fernandez Levin (CA) Levin (MI) Lieu Lofgren Lowenthal Luria Lynch Malinowski Maloney, Carolyn B. Manning Matsui McBath McCollum McEachin McGovern McNerney Meeks Meng Mfume Moore (WI) Morelle Moulton Mrvan Murphy (FL) Napolitano Neal Neguse Newman Norcross O'Halleran Ocasio-Cortez Omar Pallone Panetta Pappas Pascrell Payne Perlmutter Peters Phillips Pingree Pocan Porter Pressley Price (NC) Quigley Rice (NY) Richmond Ross Roybal-Allard Ruiz Ruppersberger Rush Ryan Sanchez Sarbanes Scanlon Schakowsky Schiff Schneider Schrader Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Sewell Sherman Sherrill Sires Slotkin Smith (WA) Soto Spanberger Speier Stanton Stevens Strickland Suozzi Swalwell Takano Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tonko Torres (CA) Torres (NY) Trahan Trone Underwood Vargas Veasey Vela Velazquez Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Welch Wexton Wild Williams (GA) Wilson (FL) Yarmuth

NAYS--196

Aderholt Allen Amodei Armstrong Arrington Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Banks Barr Bentz Bergman Bice (OK) Biggs Bilirakis Bishop (NC) Boebert Bost Brooks Buchanan Buck Bucshon Budd Burchett Burgess Cammack Carl Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Cawthorn Chabot Cheney Cline Cloud Clyde Cole Comer Crenshaw Curtis Davidson Davis, Rodney DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Donalds Duncan Dunn Emmer Estes Fallon Feenstra Fischbach Fitzgerald Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Fortenberry Foxx Franklin, C. Scott Fulcher Gaetz Gallagher Garbarino Garcia (CA) Gibbs Gimenez Gohmert Gonzales, Tony Gonzalez (OH) Good (VA) Gooden (TX) Gosar Graves (LA) Graves (MO) Green (TN) Greene (GA) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hagedorn Harris Harshbarger Hartzler Hern Herrell Herrera Beutler Hice (GA) Higgins (LA) Hill Hinson Hollingsworth Hudson Huizenga Issa Jackson Jacobs (NY) Johnson (LA) Johnson (OH)

Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Katko Keller Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kim (CA) Kinzinger Kustoff LaHood LaMalfa Lamborn Latta LaTurner Lesko Long Loudermilk Lucas Luetkemeyer Mace Malliotakis Mann Massie Mast McCaul McClain McClintock McHenry McKinley Meijer Meuser Miller (IL) Miller (WV) Miller-Meeks Moolenaar Mooney Moore (AL) Moore (UT) Mullin Murphy (NC) Nehls Newhouse Norman Obernolte Owens Palazzo Palmer Pence Perry Pfluger Posey Reed Reschenthaler Rice (SC) Rodgers (WA) Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rose Rosendale Rouzer Roy Rutherford Scalise Schweikert Sessions Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spartz Stauber Steel Steil Steube Stivers Taylor Thompson (PA) Tiffany Timmons Upton Van Drew Van Duyne Wagner Walberg Walorski Waltz Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Westerman Williams (TX) Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Wright Zeldin

NOT VOTING--19

Bass Brady Brownley Calvert Clark (MA) Crawford Ferguson Granger Maloney, Sean McCarthy Nadler Nunes Raskin Scott, Austin Stefanik Stewart Turner Wenstrup Young

{time} 1218

Mr. GREEN of Texas changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''

So the motion to table was agreed to.

The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.

A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

Stated against:

Ms. GRANGER. Madam Speaker, I missed votes due to circumstances beyond my control. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 5.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) is recognized for 1 hour.

Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the time allocated to me be controlled by the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), the chairman of the Rules Committee.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Maryland?

There was no objection.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Oklahoma

(Mr. Cole), my good friend, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Res. 8.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Massachusetts?

There was no objection.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, a rules package is one of the most consequential things we will consider in this entire Congress.

As we stand here in the opening days of this Congress, I am proud that the reforms before us represent a collaborative process that began many months ago. We asked Members on both sides of the aisle for ideas; we listened to our many caucuses and coalitions; we spent hours in the Rules Committee listening to input during our Member Day hearing; and we spoke with the outside groups that study these issues.

Weeks and weeks of thoughtful discussion got us to this point. That process made the final product an even stronger one--not for one party or the other, but for this institution and for all those Americans counting on us to represent them; not the special interests or the monied interests, but our workers and those struggling to get ahead.

This is a rules package that encourages us to tackle the most pressing issues facing our Nation today, like climate change, through the continued work of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

I want to thank Chairwoman Castor for her leadership, along with Chairman Pallone and Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, who have encouraged us to think big when confronting the threat of climate change.

We are confronting the pandemic without any waste or fraud. That is through the ongoing work of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, under the stewardship of Chairman Clyburn.

It makes reforms to our budget rules so we can deal with these dual challenges through an all-hands-on-deck approach, while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

I want to recognize the many Members, especially the Blue Dogs, the Progressives, and the New Democrats, who worked together to make this compromise happen.

We are also focusing on those who have traditionally been left behind through the creation of a new Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth.

I want to thank Speaker Pelosi for her commitment to making sure that our policies lift up every single American.

This new select committee will sharpen our focus on the income and wealth disparity crisis that plagues our Nation today.

This package honors all gender identities by changing pronouns in the House rules so they are gender neutral.

Look, we made this change for the sake of inclusion, not exclusion. But I have got to be honest with you. I heard the distinguished minority leader say that this rules package was canceling Mother's Day. I mean, are you kidding me?

He also claimed that these rules make it so Members can no longer say

``father,'' ``mother,'' ``son,'' or ``daughter.'' Madam Speaker, has he even read these rules? That is just not accurate. That is not how this works.

And, by the way, our Founding Fathers are still our Founding Fathers.

Madam Speaker, maybe this is meant as a distraction. Maybe if we can create a controversy, then we are not talking about the ongoing pandemic, from which over 350,000 people have already died due to mismanagement and incompetence, or maybe we are not talking about the attempted coup being planned down at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But the bottom line is what has been said is just not accurate.

I love this. Someone just handed me this. A Member on the other side from, I think, Arizona, for instance, tweeted:

If I stand up and I say that I am a proud husband of my wife of almost 40 years now, then they would say that I violated the rules because you can no longer use any version of husband or father or gender reference between man and woman.

I don't know what the hell he is talking about, Madam Speaker. Oh, my God; that is my response to this.

I mean, Madam Speaker, this is why people really are frustrated with Congress and with Washington. I think we, in this Chamber, need to hold ourselves to a higher standard when it comes to facts and reality. Unlike the White House, this should not be a fact-free zone; we ought to focus on facts.

If my Republican friends want to disagree on policy, we can disagree on policy. There are lots of issues that separate us, and we should debate those issues. That shouldn't be a radical idea. But people shouldn't make things up just to create a controversy. Accuracy matters, and it should come before saying whatever helps you get another hit on FOX News.

Anyway, Madam Speaker, for those who insist on trying to disparage what we have done in the written rules, I want you to bring the bill to the floor and show me where it says, in writing, that we are canceling Mother's Day or that you can't refer to yourself as a husband or father or mother or grandmother.

Give me a break. Enough is enough. We have to stop this. We have to focus in on solving the problems that face the American people.

This rules package also requires that oversight plans from committees include how they intend to combat race, gender, and other inequities. It makes the Office of Diversity and Inclusion permanent. This will commit our institution to creating a diverse workforce for many years to come.

As we tackle these issues, Madam Speaker, this rules package creates a more transparent process for ideas to be considered. It makes permanent the requirement that all bills that come before the Rules Committee get a hearing and a markup first. It preserves the motion to recommit, while making reforms so that it can no longer be used to hijack the legislative process for political gamesmanship.

We are also continuing temporary rules changes that have ensured we completed the people's work as safely as possible during this coronavirus pandemic. I am impressed with how this Congress was able to adapt and find a way to function in the midst of this worldwide health emergency. During the pandemic in 1918, Congress was not able to adapt, but we did.

I would just say to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle that we need to listen to the Speaker's recommendation that we all continue to follow the best and most current health and medical guidance.

Madam Speaker, we acted. While we can and we should do much more for Americans struggling today, I am proud of what we were able to accomplish in the last year. It is no small part due to the implementation of remote voting by proxy and the development of virtual committee proceedings.

Admittedly, Congress isn't always known for being on the cutting edge of the digital world. This rules package, however, seeks to change that even further. It contains many reforms designed to help us better embrace technology so that we can get our work done as efficiently and as transparently as possible.

Congresswoman Eshoo and the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, under the leadership of Chairman Kilmer, were instrumental in these new changes.

Madam Speaker, now, I just want to speak candidly for a moment.

As important as these reforms are and as proud of them as I am, I know there is something even more important, and that is the foundation that they are built upon.

Ethical leadership must be the bedrock principle of this and every Congress. If the American people do not begin to trust their fundamental institutions again, then division, conspiracies, and mistruths will continue to fester.

{time} 1230

This body, each of us, must do our part. No matter what side of the aisle you are on or who you vote for, we must hold ourselves to the highest standard of leadership. People can and should question our positions on the issues, but we should never act in a way that invites anyone to question our motivation. That is why this rules package doesn't just tinker at the edges, it breaks new ground through transformative reforms.

It removes floor privileges for formers Members convicted of crimes related to their House service or election. This will ensure that we can do our work here without the undue influence of law breakers. We task the Ethics Committee to come up with a bipartisan plan to handle

``deepfakes,'' because we need to stop the spread, intentional or unintentional, of manipulated media that is created to mislead the public.

I will note that we initially plan to go even further, amending our Code of Conduct with this rules package, but we heard some of our colleagues' concerns. We agreed to take a little bit more time to get the language just right, and we will do that through our bipartisan Ethics Committee.

Thanks to the leadership of Congresswoman Porter of California, we strengthen Truth in Testimony disclosures for witnesses that testify before Congress. Now the public and all Members will have more information about those who appear before congressional committees.

Our rules will further protect whistleblowers. This package prevents retaliation. It also makes permanent an office dedicated to ensuring congressional offices know how to handle whistleblower complaints in a responsible and secure way.

I want to recognize the tremendous work of many people, from Majority Leader Hoyer and Congresswoman Speier to members of the Progressive Caucus that made these reforms a reality. In short, we are holding ourselves to a higher standard, Madam Speaker, not by changes developed in a vacuum just among ourselves. We also spoke with outside groups and experts and included their feedback. This is how the package was developed, through conversation, collaboration, and consultation.

My Rules Committee colleagues, including Ranking Member Cole, offered input that was invaluable. Our committee chairs and their excellent staffs worked with us early in the morning and late at night as this package took shape. I am deeply grateful for the work of all of our caucuses, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, the New Democrat Coalition, the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, the Congressional Asia Pacific American Caucus, and the Blue Dog Coalition.

The Problem Solvers Caucus was, once again, involved with crafting this package. I always appreciate the chance to work with Congressman Gottheimer and Congressman Reed. We even got to work with a new member of the Problem Solvers this Congress, Representative Van Taylor. And I could go on and on.

Input from the nonpartisan staffs across this institution made this package stronger. That includes those with the offices of the Parliamentarian, the Congressional Budget Office, the Clerk, the General Counsel, the Congressional Research Service, the Sergeant at Arms, and the Chief Administrative Officer, just to name a few. Many staffers worked through the holidays on this, and I am deeply grateful for their efforts, especially the incredible staff on the Rules Committee.

Democrats have been entrusted by the American people to lead this institution, but the rules package is about more than party. It is about making this Chamber work at its best for the people we represent. These reforms will do that. They will hold us to a higher standard so we can get it done for them and in a way that makes the public proud.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support in passing this package, and let's implement real reforms so we can quickly get to work on behalf of the American people.

Before I reserve the balance of my time, I just want to take one second, Madam Speaker, to thank my Republican colleagues on the Rules Committee. We don't always agree on everything, but they are up in the Rules Committee diligently at every meeting making the case for their side of the aisle.

I especially want to thank my ranking member, Mr. Cole, who cares deeply about this institution. And while we probably will not agree on this rules package, we agree that we need to make this a better place, and we need to hold it to the highest standards in terms of integrity, and to make sure the American people have trust in what we do here.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts, my very good friend, Chairman McGovern, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes; and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, we are here today to address the majority's proposed changes in the Rules of the House of Representatives for the 117th Congress.

These changes are some of the harshest and most cynical that I have experienced during my time in Congress. Democratic leadership is suppressing minority rights and paving the way for the Green New Deal by intentionally removing budgetary checks that have been in place for over a decade.

The most egregious of these changes is the complete gutting of the motion to recommit. The motion to recommit, or the MTR, is the minority's right to propose a final amendment before moving passage. This is a right that has been guaranteed to the minority for well over a century.

With today's changes, the majority is seeking to silence views they are afraid of with no regard for this institution or the American people's trust in our constitutional responsibility to govern and govern well. They are taking away the ability to debate a motion to recommit and the ability to offer a motion to recommit with instructions. This completely guts the minority's ability to offer a last amendment on the floor prior to passage of legislation.

I would remind my colleagues that during the many years Republicans were in the majority, we never even thought to deny the minority this motion. And the only reason Democrats are doing so today is out of embarrassment. They are embarrassed that the Republicans were able to pass eight motions to recommit in the 116th Congress. But rather than acknowledging that Republicans sometimes have good policy ideas that should be incorporated into legislation, the majority is instead seeking to completely cut off this key right, and that, Madam Speaker, is simply reprehensible.

Madam Speaker, the motion to recommit has been around since the beginning of the House as an institution, and it has been in its present form since 1909. In fact, in 1919, Representative Abraham Garrett of Tennessee, noted that ``the motion to recommit is regarded as so sacred it is one of the few rules protected against the Committee on Rules by the general rules of the House.''

And when Speaker Pelosi was herself in the minority, she equated the motion to recommit with the right of free speech enshrined in our Constitution. How this majority can now decide that a procedure that is so important it is on par with the guarantee of free speech must be eliminated is beyond my understanding.

Madam Speaker, it is simply shocking that Democrats are so afraid of Republican ideas that they feel the need to rig the system against us. They don't want the House to work its will. They only want the Speaker's will. And we all know why that is. It is because the majority cannot effectively defend its policies against competing ideas.

Eight times in the last Congress a majority of the House agreed that the Republican policy idea had merit and should be included in the final bill. But that state of affairs is evidently so embarrassing to Democrats that they can't stand it, and now they have to completely shut down minority rights lest they be embarrassed further, especially after the November election dealt them a harsh blow and they lost seats in their own ranks.

Madam Speaker, I want to offer my friends on the other side of the aisle a word of warning: Majorities do not last forever. If there is one certainty we can take away from the history of American politics, it is that the party in power in the House of Representatives today will not hold that position forever. I can also guarantee you that your efforts to shut us down will not shut us up.

So instead of having bills that pass with slight improvements made through an MTR, bills will fail here on the House floor. And for that reason, among others, I am sure Democrats will regret making this egregious change in the very near future. Republicans are proud to debate our policies and proposals, unlike the majority today, whose record of promised openness and fulsome debate is an abject failure.

Now, Madam Speaker, while gutting the MTR may be the worst piece of this rules package to many, I want to applaud my friends for removing an almost equally egregious piece of this rules package. When the majority released this package over the weekend, there was a particularly noxious provision that would have empowered the Speaker of the House to censor the free speech of Members and employees of the House. What is worse, it would have empowered the Speaker to act as the sole judge, jury, and executioner, and included no clear guidelines for how this would be enforced. This proposed rule was downright un-

American.

Fortunately, my friends on the other side of the aisle have listened to reason and removed that provision from this package. I wish they had further listened to reason and removed the provision taking away the minority's right to an MTR, which is why I offered a very reasonable motion to postpone for one day.

Madam Speaker, I could go on all day about the MTR, but there are other changes in this rules package that need to be highlighted. Slipped into the package is another change that will effectively eliminate the paygo rule. Paygo is a useful budgetary control measure that essentially says that we can't spend money that we don't have. But if the majority gets their way, paygo will be eliminated for a broad category of topics, including for measures relating to climate change. This is doing nothing more than removing a key barrier to the Green New Deal and other liberal tax-and-spend policies.

But never before has the majority tried to lift budgetary rules on something as absurdly expensive as the Green New Deal, which is estimated to cost as much as $100 trillion over the next decade, should it be enacted.

It is clear that the majority doesn't even want to have a conversation about the cost of the Green New Deal, and instead wants to ensure that the American people never find out about the cost of their extreme plans.

There are other measures in this rules package that are just as absurd. Not content with having investigated President Trump throughout his Presidency and subjected him to pointless impeachment, now Democrats are including provisions allowing them to send subpoenas to former Presidents, former Vice Presidents, and former White House staff, long after their administration has ended.

This provision is a continuation of the Democratic majority's obsession with investigating President Trump and his administration, and ensures they will be able to keep their investigation gravy train rolling along long after the President leaves office.

There is a similar provision which will allow certain committee chairs to reissue subpoenas prior to the committee organizing for the 117th Congress, thus ensuring that existing investigations into President Trump, no matter how silly or pointless, will not have to slow down or even let the new Congress consider their current merits or legislative justification.

Allowing a chair to issue subpoenas without any consultation with membership or with the minority is nothing less than an abuse of power. But I suppose I should not expect any less given the other provisions in this package.

Madam Speaker, despite my affection for my friend on the other side of the aisle, I have to tell him that this package stinks. It is deeply cynical and deeply short-sighted. It tramples on minority rights and it ensures a power grab by Democratic leadership. It will change the nature of this institution, and not for the better.

Madam Speaker, today, I call on all Members to vote ``no'' on this rules package. I ask all of my colleagues, regardless of party, to reject these radical and, at times, ridiculous changes. I call on all my colleagues to protect minority rights. The future of this institution depends on it.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments, I will put him down as undecided on this package.

I am sure we will hear more about the motion to recommit throughout this debate, but I do just want to point out for the record, to be historically accurate, that the motion to recommit has had many different forms since its first inception. In fact, it was very, very different when I first ran for Congress.

But having said all that, I would tell the gentleman that if those who initiated the motion to recommit way back when saw how it was being used today, I think they would object very strongly to it. They didn't see it as a tool to play political gotcha games to undermine legislation.

Madam Speaker, I would also remind the gentleman that, you know, quite frankly, most of the motions to recommit that passed, all the Republicans voted against final passage of whatever bill it was. So the issue is not one of being a constructive legislator. It has turned into a political gotcha game.

I think that we all talk about reading the bill. The problem with the motion to recommit is you don't get to see what it is you are proposing until a few minutes beforehand. I just want the Record to reflect that.

On the issue of paygo, I would just remind the gentleman that when the Republicans were in charge, they had this thing called CutGo, and they exempted all kinds of things from CutGo. They exempted efforts to gut the Affordable Care Act. They exempted tax cuts for billionaires and corporations.

So I think what we are talking about is a modest exemption for two international emergencies, the COVID pandemic and the climate crisis. Most people, except for a few in Washington, actually believe that it is not only a national emergency, but an international emergency.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crist).

{time} 1245

Mr. CRIST. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise to address an amendment that I have placed in the bill, and I want to thank the chairman for his grace in allowing that. It talks about addressing racial and ethnic impacts of legislation that we pass here.

America is known for the words at the United States Supreme Court:

``Equal justice under the law.'' Equal justice.

We struggle in our country with equality. Why? The color of somebody's skin? Their ethnic background? Who they might love?

I think it is important to recognize that above me are the words: ``E pluribus unum,'' ``Out of many, one.''

We are all children of God. If we so choose, we can bring people together. We can start right here, and we can begin right now. We need to remember the words kindness, respect, decency, compassion, empathy. In other words, embrace the golden rule.

I wear these yellow wrist bands on my hands every day, and they say: Practice the golden rule every day. Do unto others as you would have done unto you.

That is what I am attempting in this amendment. God bless.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds to respond to my friend.

I remind my friend that you accepted eight MTRs, or eight were approved, because Democrats decided the Republican proposals were good proposals and made the bill better. We couldn't have done it on our own. So, you are actually limiting the choices in front of your own Members.

We might not feel so strongly about the MTR if we got more amendments approved anyway. We only get about 18 percent of the amendments. When we were in the majority, we gave you 45. We got 38. You now get 68. So, you are taking a tool away that is important to us.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis), my very good friend and the distinguished ranking member on the House Administration Committee.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to address their remarks to the Chair.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I appreciate my good friend, Mr. Cole, yielding.

It is disappointing that House Democrats have completely dismissed the first opportunity to work together in this new Congress to instill voter confidence and protect the integrity of our election process.

The purpose of H. Res. 5 is to address many of the election administration problems that occurred in 2020, something I have encouraged the Committee on House Administration and this House to address long before the 2020 general election.

The resolution would have required the Committee on House Administration to report out a bill that contains five main provisions:

First, a provision to ensure this House's commitment to upholding the U.S. Constitution by maintaining that it is States that have the primary authority to conduct elections, not the Federal Government.

Second, it ensures ballot integrity for votes cast by mail.

Third, this provides a Federal baseline for signature verification.

Fourth, it includes measures to improve voter confidence and certainty in our election results by counting ballots in a timely manner.

And lastly, a provision to ensure proper oversight of Federal dollars provided to States to help them administer elections through the Help America Vote Act.

These issues are nonpartisan. They are problems both sides struggled with in the 2020 election. As the committee with jurisdiction over Federal elections, it is our responsibility to address them.

Arguably, the time to address these issues was before the 2020 election, but it is never too late to do the right thing.

In 2020, more than 65 million people voted by mail, more than ever before. Just as we have baseline standards for administering in-person elections, we should have them for mail-in voting. Baseline standards for these ballots would help ensure every legal vote is counted.

There were many last-minute changes made during the 2020 cycle, in the name of COVID-19, that chipped away at the integrity of our election system, and it is important that we do not maintain this pandemic-style voting in the long term.

The worst thing that can happen to our government is for the American people to lose all confidence in our elections. There are bipartisan steps we can take to help restore public confidence in our elections and protect our Republic.

While it is disappointing that House Democrats have dismissed the first opportunity in this new Congress to work together to protect the integrity of our elections, I am hopeful that, working with Chairman McGovern, Ranking Member Cole, and Chairperson Lofgren and others in this arena, we can set politics aside to achieve this goal.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a section by section of the changes H. Res. 8 will make to the standing rules of the 116th Congress and the separate orders taking effect for the 117th Congress.

H. Res. 8

Adopting the Rules for the 117th Congress

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Adoption of the Rules of the One Hundred Sixteenth

Congress.

This section provides that the Rules of the 116th Congress are the Rules of the 117th Congress, except for the amendments contained in section 2 of the resolution and orders contained in the resolution. Section 2. Changes to the Standing Rules.

Conforming Change. Subsection (a) strikes outdated language that no longer exists in statute authorizing the Clerk to maintain on the House payroll the staff of a former Speaker. This authority, established through 2 U.S.C. Sec. 5128, was repealed by Public Law 115-244 in the 115th Congress.

Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds. Subsection (b) codifies the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, established in the 116th Congress in House Resolution 6, into the standing rules of the House. The subsection instructs the Speaker, in consultation with the Minority Leader, to appoint a Director of the Office from recommendations provided by the chair of the Committee on House Administration in consultation with the ranking minority member. The Office is subject to the policy direction and oversight of the Committee on House Administration and will direct and guide House employing offices to recruit, hire, train, develop, advance, promote, and retain a diverse workforce; survey and evaluate diversity in House employing offices; submit a House of Representatives diversity report each session; and provide consultation and guidance in furtherance of increasing diversity and inclusion in the House.

Subsection (b) also codifies the Office of the Whistleblower Ombudsman, established in the 116th Congress in House Resolution 6, and changes its name to the gender- neutral Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds. The subsection instructs the Speaker, in consultation with the chairs and ranking minority members of the Committee on House Administration and the Committee on Oversight and Reform, to appoint a Director of the Office. The subsection instructs the Office, under the direction of the Committee on House Administration, and in consultation with other committees at the request of their chairs or ranking members, to develop best practices for whistleblower intake for House offices and provide training to House offices on how to safely receive information from whistleblowers.

Continuing Authority to Act in Litigation Matters. Subsection (c) clarifies existing practice that the continuing authority to act in litigation matters provided by clause 8(c) of rule II includes, but is not limited to, the authority for committee chairs to immediately reissue subpoenas, prior to the organization of their committees, to ensure litigation can continue uninterrupted.

Admittance to the Hall of the House. Subsection (d) adds the Mayor of the District of Columbia to the list of persons who are permitted in the Hall of the House. The subsection also adds a new restriction on who may access the Hall of the House, barring former Members, Delegates, Resident Commissioners, Parliamentarians, elected officers of the House, or minority employees nominated as an elected officer of the House if they have been convicted of a crime related to their election, or service to, the House.

Gender-Inclusive Language. Subsection (e) modernizes the use of pronouns, familial relationship terminology, and other references to gender in order to be inclusive of all Members, Delegates, Resident Commissioners, employees of the House, and their families. This also obviates the need for the former clause 2 of rule XXIX, which provided that ``words importing one gender include the other as well.''

Committee on Armed Services. Subsection (f) adds the Marine Corps and the Space Force to the list of U.S. military service branches covered under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Armed Services. Neither addition substantively alters the committee's current jurisdiction, and both are clarifying and technical in nature.

Committee Oversight Plans. Subsection (g) requires committees to include in their oversight plan a discussion of how the committee's work will address issues of inequities on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, or national origin.

Printing and Availability Requirements. Subsection (h) modifies two requirements related to the method by which specific types of legislative texts must be made available. First, instead of requiring that primary expense resolutions reported by the Committee on House Administration be physically printed and available on the calendar day prior to their consideration, this subsection now allows this availability period to begin when the text is made available electronically or in printed form. Second, this subsection modifies the requirement that reports on Senate amendments in disagreement by a conference committee, and any accompanying statements, be available for 72 hours in the Congressional Record. This 72-hour period now begins when the relevant text is either made available in the Congressional Record or made publicly available at an electronic document repository operated by the Clerk.

Committee Vote Availability. Subsection (i) modernizes the requirement for committees to make the results of record votes publicly available by removing the requirement that they be made available to the public for in-person inspection in committee offices. Committees will still be required to make the results of record votes publicly available electronically within 48 hours of the vote.

Amendment Availability. Subsection (j) builds on the requirement for committee chairs to make amendments adopted by their committees publicly available within 24 hours by requiring all other amendments--which includes failed or withdrawn amendments--to be posted within 48 hours of their disposition or withdrawal. This requirement does not apply to amendments not offered.

Truth-In-Testimony Reform. Subsection (k) amends the disclosure requirements for witnesses appearing in nongovernmental capacities by: (1) adding grants to the reporting requirement for foreign payments; (2) expanding the lookback period for reporting to 36 months; (3) requiring witnesses to disclose whether they are the fiduciary of any organization or entity with an interest in the subject matter of the hearing; and (4) requiring, to the extent practicable, the disclosures be made publicly available 24-hours prior to the witness's appearance at a hearing. The subsection also updates the text of clause 2(g)(5) of rule XI for clarity.

Electronic Filing of Reports and Electronic Signatures. Subsection (l) authorizes electronic filing of committee reports, which was temporarily allowed by House Resolution 965 of the 116th Congress, and allows electronic signatures to be used for signed views in committee reports and for select forms received by the Committee on Ethics. Reports received electronically will be processed as otherwise provided in rule XIII, and committees filing electronic reports should continue to consult with the Clerk regarding proper format and other administrative requirements.

Subpoena Authority. Subsection (m) affirms that committees and subcommittees, pursuant to the longstanding subpoena authority granted by clause 2(m) of rule XI, may authorize and issue subpoenas for documents or testimony to any person or entity, whether governmental, public, or private, within the United States. The language makes clear that the rule expressly authorizes the issuance of subpoenas to any current or former President and Vice President, either in their personal or official capacity, as well as the White House, the Office of the President, the Executive Office of the President, and any individual currently or formerly employed by those entities. This is not a change to, but rather a clearer affirmation of, existing authorities.

Committee on Ethics. Subsection (n) provides that a Member may serve on the Committee on Ethics during a fifth Congress in a period of five successive Congresses if they are the chair or ranking member of the committee. It also clarifies that various provisions within clause 3 of rule XI apply to Delegates and Resident Commissioners.

Audio and Video Recordings. Subsection (o) modifies the description of committee proceedings that may not be used or made available for any partisan political campaign purpose to clarify the provision's application to all such audio and video coverage regardless of the specific technological device recording medium used.

Cosponsorship Withdrawal. Subsection (p) eliminates the requirement that a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner obtain unanimous consent to remove their name as a cosponsor of a bill or resolution, instead allowing the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner to remove their own name by making a demand from the floor. The sponsor of a bill, however, must still make a unanimous-consent request in order to remove a cosponsor, and cosponsors may still only be removed until the last committee of referral reports the bill to the House or is discharged from its consideration.

Comparative Prints. Subsection (q) removes the requirement, added in the 115th Congress, that prior to the consideration of bills, joint resolutions, and amendments in the nature of a substitute, comparative prints must be made available. However, section 3(j) of this resolution directs the relevant committees and offices of the House to continue efforts to further the institutional priority of enabling all House staff to produce such comparative prints.

Requiring Committee Hearing and Markup on Bills and Joint Resolutions. Subsection (r) codifies in the standing rules of the House a separate order from the 116th Congress requiring a committee hearing and markup in order for most bills and joint resolutions to be considered pursuant to a special order of business reported by the Committee on Rules. The subsection provides a point of order against consideration if such a measure has not been reported by at least one committee, effective March 1st of an odd-numbered year. A point of order also lies against any bill or joint resolution reported by a committee if the report does not contain a list of relevant committee and subcommittee hearings which includes the designation of at least one such hearing that was used to develop or consider the underlying measure. Finally, the provision provides exceptions to the points of order for resolutions continuing appropriations for a fiscal year, measures that contain specified emergency designations pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, measures considered pursuant to the Consensus Calendar, and measures not referred to committee. Pursuant to section 3(u), because of the challenges facing committees operating during a pandemic, this rule will not take effect in the 117th Congress until April 1, 2021.

Motion to Recommit. Subsection (s) provides that a motion to recommit (or commit) a bill or joint resolution to a standing or select committee may only be made without instructions and is not debatable. It also provides that the previous question is considered as ordered on any such motion. The subsection makes a conforming change to the prohibition on the Committee on Rules from reporting a rule preventing a motion to recommit in order to remove the specification that instructions must be permitted. The subsection also removes the now extraneous mandates that motions to recommit with instructions must be in the form of a direction to be reported back to the House forthwith and that instructions in a motion to recommit to conference may not include argument. The rule continues to prioritize recognition of an opponent of the underlying measure, but the Chair will address contested opposition when challenged on the floor rather than continuing the practice of querying for opposition at the time the motion is made.

District of Columbia Business. Subsection (t) removes a no- longer-used provision setting aside the second and fourth Mondays of a month for District of Columbia business called up by the Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Title Amendments. Subsection (u) limits the offering of amendments to the titles of bills and resolutions to the Majority Leader or a designee.

Reconciliation Directives. Subsection (v) strikes the contents of clause 7 of rule XXI, which created a point of order against a concurrent resolution on the budget, amendments to a budget resolution, or a conference report on a budget resolution, containing reconciliation directives that would have the effect of increasing net direct spending. Clause 10 of rule XXI, the PAYGO rule, continues to apply to any reconciliation measure reported pursuant to such directives.

Availability of Measures. Subsection (w) modifies the text availability requirement for unreported bills and joint resolutions by specifying that the 72-hour availability period may begin when the text of the measure is made electronically available prior to its introduction. Although the introduced measure must consist of the exact text of the language made electronically available prior to introduction in order to qualify under this updated rule, changes to a measure's text made after its introduction by a self- executing special rule do not impact this availability period.

Prohibited Service. Subsection (x) modifies a provision in the Code of Official Conduct added in the 116th Congress prohibiting Members, Delegates, the Resident Commissioner, officers, and employees of the House from serving as an officer or director of any public company by replacing a direction to the Committee on Ethics to develop regulations with a requirement for compliance with such regulations as the Committee has since promulgated these regulations.

Code of Official Conduct. Subsection (y) adds two new clauses to the Code of Official Conduct. First, the new clause 20 of rule XXIII protects Congressional whistleblowers by preventing a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House from taking any actions to prevent an individual from, or to retaliate against an individual for, providing truthful information to the Committee on Ethics, the Office of Congressional Ethics, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, or any law enforcement official, provided that the disclosure of such information is not otherwise prohibited by law or House rules.

Second, the new clause 21 of rule XXIII further protects the identities of whistleblowers by prohibiting a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House from knowingly and willfully publicly disclosing the identity or personally identifiable information of an individual who is granted protections under federal whistle blower laws. Exempted from this prohibition are cases in which: (1) the individual has provided express written consent prior to such disclosure; (2) the individual has already voluntarily and publicly disclosed their identity; or (3) the disclosure is by the chair of a committee after an affirmative vote by two-thirds of the committee members that such disclosure is in the public interest. Additionally, nothing in this new whistleblower protection will inhibit the investigation of any allegation of wrongdoing disclosed by any individual or prevent the public disclosure of substantive information shared that is not personally identifiable. Disclosures by the chair of a committee are subject to appropriate safeguards, including advance notice to the individual including a written explanation of the reasons for the disclosure.

Communications Standards Commission. Subsection (z) renames the House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards to the House Communications Standards Commission, conforming to a change made in H.R. 133 of the 116th Congress. The new name reflects the Commission's jurisdiction over all mass communications. Section 3. Separate Orders.

Member Day Hearing Requirement. Subsection (a) requires each standing committee (except for the Committee on Ethics) to hold a Member Day Hearing during the first session of the 117th Congress to hear testimony from Members, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner--whether or not they are a member of the committee--on proposed legislation within its jurisdiction. The subsection permits the Committee on Rules to hold its Member Day Hearing during the second session, in order to receive testimony on proposed changes to the standing rules for the next Congress.

Deposition Authority. Subsection (b) provides the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and each standing committee of the 117th Congress (except for the Committee on Rules) the authority to order the taking of a deposition by a member or counsel of such committee. Members, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner may participate in all such depositions, but their presence is not required. Depositions taken under this authority are subject to regulations issued by the chair of the Committee on Rules and printed in the Congressional Record, and such authority continues to include potential supplemental regulations.

War Powers Resolution. Subsection (c) expressly provides that any motion to discharge a measure introduced pursuant to section 6 or section 7 of the War Powers Resolution would not be subject to a motion to table.

Exercise Facilities for Former Members. Subsection (d) continues the prohibition on access to any exercise facility that is made available exclusively to Members, Delegates, the Resident Commissioner, former Members, former Delegates, former Resident Commissioners, officers, and former officers of the House and their spouses to any former Member, former Delegate, former Resident Commissioner, former officer, or spouse who is a lobbyist registered under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 or any successor statute, or who is an agent of a foreign principal as defined in clause 5 of rule XXV.

Empaneling Investigative Subcommittee of the Committee on Ethics. Subsection (e) carries forward House Resolution 451 from the 110th Congress, directing the Committee on Ethics to empanel an investigative subcommittee or issue a report within 30 days of the date a Member, Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner is indicted or criminal charges are filed. The subsection updates any references in House Resolution 451 to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to be references tot e Committee on Ethics.

Non-Disclosure Agreements. Subsection (f) continues a provision from the 116th Congress which provides that Non- Disclosure Agreements required by offices as a condition of employment for paid or unpaid staff or contractors cannot require notice or approval for employees to communicate with the Committee on Ethics, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, or any other office or entity designated by the Committee on House Administration; and that Non- Disclosure Agreements must also provide clear guidance to that effect.

Requiring Members to Pay for Discrimination Settlements. Subsection (g) continues from the 116th Congress a requirement for a Member, Delegate, or the Resident Commissioner to reimburse the Treasury for any settlement of a complaint related to a claim alleging a violation by the Member of sections 201(a), 206(a), or 207 of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, which cover discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (which the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recognizes as including sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, or an employee's service in the uniformed services, and retaliation for claims alleging such discrimination.

Mandatory Anti-Harassment and Anti-Discrimination Policies for House Offices. Subsection (h) continues from the 116th Congress a requirement that each House office adopt an anti- harassment and anti-discrimination policy and requires the Committee on House Administration to issue regulations to carry out the subsection by April 1, 2021.

Displaying Statement of Rights and Protections Provided to House Employees. Subsection (i) continues from the 116th Congress a requirement that the Committee on House Administration issue regulations requiring each House office to prominently display a statement of the rights and protections provided to House employees under the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, including procedures available to employees for responding to and adjudicating allegations of workplace rights violations.

Broadening Availability and Utility of Legislative Documents in Machine-Readable Formats. Subsection (j) instructs the Committee on House Administration, the Clerk, and other officers and officials to continue to advance government transparency by taking further steps to publish documents of the House in machine-readable formats and broaden their utility by enabling all House staff to create comparative prints.

Improving the Committee Electronic Document Repository. Subsection (k) directs the Clerk, the Committee on House Administration, and other officers and officials to improve the existing electronic document repository operated by the Clerk for use by committees. Such improvements are intended to increase public availability and identification of legislative information produced by House committees, including votes, amendments, and witness disclosure forms.

Inclusion of Citations for Proposed Repeals and Amendment. Subsection (I) continues a requirement for parallel citations, to the maximum extent practicable, for amendatory instructions to Public Laws and Statutes at Large that are not classified in the U.S. Code.

Providing for Transparency with Respect to Memorials Submitted Pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States. Subsection (m) carries forward provisions that clarify the procedures of the House regarding the receipt of Article V memorials from the States by directing the Clerk to make each memorial, designated by the chair of the Committee on the Judiciary, electronically available, organized by State of origin and year of receipt, and indicate whether the memorial was designated as an application or rescission.

In carrying out this subsection, it is expected that the chair of the Committee on the Judiciary will be solely charged with determining whether a memorial purports to be an application of the legislature of a state calling for a constitutional convention or rescission of prior applications. The Clerk's role will be entirely administrative. The chair of the Committee on the Judiciary will only designate memorials from state legislatures (and not petitions from individuals or other parties), as it is only state legislatures that are contemplated under Article V of the Constitution.

In submitting each memorial to the Clerk, the chair of the Committee on the Judiciary will include a transmission letter that indicates it has been designated under this subsection of House Resolution 5. The Clerk will make publicly available the memorial and the transmission letter from the chair. Ancillary documentation from the state or other parties is not expected to be publicized.

Subcommittees. Subsection (n) waives clause 5(d) of rule X to allow the Committee on Agriculture up to six subcommittees, which is consistent with authorities in the 114th, 115th, and 116th Congresses.

Congressional Member Organization Transparency Reform. Subsection (o) continues to allow participating Members to enter into agreements with eligible Congressional Member Organizations for the purpose of payment of salaries and expenses. The subsection requires that for the organization to be eligible during the 117th Congress, the organization must register with the Committee on House Administration, designate a single Member to be responsible for the administration of the organization, have at least 3 employees assigned to perform some work for the organization, and had at least 15 Members during the 116th Congress using a portion of their Members' Representational Allowance (MRA) to pay for the salaries and expenses of the organization.

Budget Matters. Subsection (p) reestablishes that the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate levels as contained in the statement of the chair of the Committee on the Budget of May 1, 2020, as adjusted in the 116th Congress, are effective pending the adoption of a fiscal year 2021 budget resolution.

Reissuance of Subpoenas Prior to Committee Organization. Subsection (q) authorizes the chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform to issue subpoenas related to the Committee's investigation, initiated during the 116th Congress, into the accuracy and timing of the 2020 decennial census. The subsection also authorizes the chair of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis to issue subpoenas related to the Select Subcommittee's investigation, likewise initiated during the 116th Congress, into political interference in the response to the coronavirus pandemic at the Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Numbering of Bills. Subsection (r) reserves the first 10 numbers for bills (H.R. 1 through H.R. 10) for assignment by the Speaker and the second 10 numbers (H.R. 11 through H.R. 20) for assignment by the Minority Leader.

Remote Voting by Proxy and Remote Committee Activity. Subsection (s) carries forward House Resolution 965 from the 116th Congress with the following changes: 1) notification and availability requirements do not apply to proxy revocation letters submitted to the Clerk after a Member has automatically revoked their proxy by voting in person; 2) committees may hold official business meetings without submitting a letter regarding requirements formerly contained in the remote committee regulations; and 3) the chair of the Committee on House Administration is required, in consultation with the ranking member, to identify and submit to the Speaker and to the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Rules specific operable and secure technology that may be used to conduct remote voting in the House--certification of that submission replaces a previous requirement in section 5(a) of H. Res. 965.

Witness Diversity. Subsection (t) requires the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to provide a report to the Committee on House Administration and the Committee on Rules recommending a method to survey the diversity of witness panels at committee hearings by July 1, 2021. It requires the Committees on House Administration and Rules to take any necessary steps to ensure its implementation by July 31, 2021.

Requirements for Committee Hearing and Markup. Subsection

(u) provides that during the 117th Congress, the requirement that committees hold a hearing and a markup for most bills and joint resolutions considered pursuant to a rule (added to the standing rules by section 2(r) of this resolution) shall not apply before April 1, 2021. This delay in implementation is due to the increased difficulty of organizing committees and holding committee proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exemptions. Subsection (v) provides that the Chair of the Committee on Budget may adjust an estimate to exempt the budgetary effects of measures to prevent, prepare for, or respond to economic or public health consequences resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; and measures to prevent, prepare for, or respond to economic, environmental, or public health consequences resulting from climate change.

Further Expenses for Resolving Contested Election. Subsection (w) authorizes such sums as may be necessary for the Committee on House Administration to resolve contested elections. Funds shall be available for expenses incurred between January 3, 2021, and January 3, 2022. Amounts made available under this subsection shall be expended in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Committee on House Administration.

Support for Senate Measures. Subsection (x) requires the Clerk to submit to the chair of the Committee on Rules by February 1, 2021, regulations establishing a process for House Members to indicate their support for Senate-passed measures that have been received by the House, including maintaining a publicly available list of Members supporting each measure. The chair of the Committee on Rules is directed to print the regulations in the Congressional Record, at which point Members will be permitted to use the process to indicate their support for Senate measures.

Dissemination of Manipulated Media. Subsection (y) directs the Committee on Ethics to report by December 31, 2021, any recommended amendments to the Code of Official Conduct and any accompanying regulations addressing the dissemination by electronic means of any image, video, or audio file that has been distorted or manipulated with the intent to mislead the public. Section 4. Committees, Commissions, and House Offices

House Democracy Partnership. Subsection (a) reauthorizes the House Democracy Assistance Commission, now known as the House Democracy Partnership.

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. Subsection (b) reauthorizes the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. The subsection carries forward and makes minor modifications to provisions from the 116th Congress to reaffirm that the commission's budget is in addition to and separate from the amounts authorized for salaries and expenses of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and to ensure equal distribution of funding between the commission's co-chairs to reflect the bipartisan structure of the commission.

Office of Congressional Ethics. Subsection (c) reauthorizes the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) and carries forward provisions from the 116th Congress without substantive revision except that members may be reappointed for a fourth additional term.

Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. Subsection (d) reauthorizes the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. The subsection carries forward and makes modest modifications to provisions from the 116th Congress. The investigative jurisdiction of the Select Committee shall consist of policies, strategies, and innovations to achieve substantial and permanent reductions in pollution and other activities that contribute to the climate crisis which will honor our responsibility to be good stewards of the planet for future generations and advance environmental justice. The Select Committee shall coordinate with and advise standing committees with relevant jurisdiction with respect to such policies, strategies, and innovations. Additionally, the Select Committee is authorized to receive any records transferred to it by a standing committee if obtained pursuant to a subpoena or deposition recommended by the Select Committee. The subsection requires that all policy recommendations be submitted to committees by December 31, 2021, and that all reports be submitted to the House by December 31, 2022.

Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. Subsection (e) reauthorizes the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress and carries forward provisions from the 116th Congress without substantive revision except that the final report shall be submitted by December 31, 2022. All references to the 116th Congress shall apply to the 117th Congress.

Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. Subsection

(f) reauthorizes the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis of the Committee on Oversight and Reform and carries forward the authorizing provisions from the 116th Congress without revision.

Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth. Subsection (g) establishes a Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth to investigate, study, make findings, and develop recommendations on policies, strategies, and innovations to make our economy work for everyone, empowering American economic growth while ensuring that no one is left out or behind in the 21st Century Economy. The Select Committee shall coordinate with and advise standing committees with relevant jurisdiction with respect to policy related to economic fairness, access to education, and workforce development. The Select Committee is authorized to hold hearings and may report to the House or any committee the results of its investigations and studies, together with any detailed findings and policy recommendations it deems advisable. The subsection requires that all policy recommendations be submitted to committees by December 31, 2021, and that all reports be submitted to the House by December 31, 2022. The Speaker is directed to appoint 15 Members, Delegates, or the Resident Commissioner to serve on the Select Committee and to designate one of its members to serve as the chair. Six of the 15 members must be appointed on the recommendation of the Minority Leader. The Select Committee will be governed by Rules X and XI, except as provided in the subsection. The subsection does not extend subpoena and deposition authority to the Select Committee, but authorizes the Select Committee to submit subpoena and deposition recommendations to the relevant standing committees. Additionally, the Select Committee is authorized to receive any records transferred to it by a standing committee if obtained pursuant to a subpoena or deposition recommended by the Select Committee. $500,000 is authorized for the expenses of the Select Committee through March 31, 2021. Section 5. Orders of Business.

The orders of business contained in section 5 are necessary due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Subsection (a) provides that on any legislative day from January 3, 2021, through January 28, 2021: the Journal shall be approved; the Chair may declare the House adjourned to meet within Constitutional limits; the Speaker may appoint Members to perform the duties of the Chair; and each day during this period shall not constitute a day for purposes of section 7 of the War Powers Resolution, clause 7 of rule XIII

(resolutions of inquiry), clause 7(c)(1) of rule XXII

(motions to instruct conferees), and clause 7 of XV

(Consensus Calendar).

Subsection (b) grants the Speaker authority to consider bills under suspension of the rules through the legislative day of January 28, 2021.

Subsection (c) grants the House authority, through the legislative day of January 28, to adopt a report from the Committee on Rules through a majority vote on the same day it is filed.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett).

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, as we begin the 117th Congress, I am truly grateful to the Democratic Caucus for bringing the six representatives of the territories of the United States and the District of Columbia--duly elected by 4 million Americans, collectively--to where we are today.

That was done in the 116th Congress when the rules package strengthened our democratic representation by returning floor voting rights to Delegates and the Resident Commissioners in the Committee of the Whole. The principle that every American deserves to be represented by a vote on the floor of this House is important, and we have somewhat of a voice now.

Moving forward, I think it is high time that we continue to expand that. The Constitution gives the fate, the rights, of all the territories solely to this body, to the Congress. That being said, it is important that we respect those votes, and I believe that our system for remote voting should apply with respect to votes cast in the Committee of the Whole in the same manner as it applies with respect to votes cast on the floor.

That being said, I commend the further strides we are making in this rules package. As a former prosecutor and counsel on the House Ethics Committee, I applaud the tightening of the whistleblower laws.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands.

Ms. PLASKETT. As a former counsel on the House Ethics Committee, I am pleased with the tightening of the whistleblower laws, and I commend the creation of the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth to recommend policies to address economic disparities and make the economy work for everyone. I expect this to be a positive development, and I urge my colleagues to adopt this package.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), my very good friend and the distinguished Republican whip.

Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to strongly object to this Soviet-style rules package. If you look at some of the things that are being laid out here, it is all designed to take away the voice of 48 percent of this House Chamber.

This is the people's House. It is one of the great things that we celebrate about serving in the United States House of Representatives, a privilege for each of us who took that oath yesterday to represent roughly 750,000 people, to bring their ideas, their hopes for America, to this House floor, to debate the things that they believe in, that we believe in, that we want to fight for.

We don't always agree. We don't always see eye to eye on what that is, but the beauty is we get to bring those ideas here, have that debate here. Yet, the rules package is attempting to strip that away, to yank away more rights for hundreds of millions of Americans to be represented on this House floor.

That is not who we are. That is not what the House of Representatives is all about. Yet, that is what will be voted on in this rules package.

Just look at the motion to recommit. Now, if the majority were allowing us, Madam Speaker, to bring amendments to the floor on a regular basis, you might not need a motion to recommit. But less than 20 percent of all amendments allowed on the House floor in the last 2 years were Republican amendments, less than 20 percent when we represent almost 49 percent of the Members of this body. That is not what an open, democratic institution is about. That is unbecoming of the House of Representatives. Yet, taking away that ability shows that the majority wants to shut down the debate of the other side, wants to shut down the voices not just of us but of the millions of people all across this country we represent.

Think about the move to get rid of paygo, pay as you go, which had been a hallmark of Speaker Pelosi's majority. She gets rid of that on things like debating the Green New Deal. What does that tell you? That tells you that, number one, they plan on bringing the Green New Deal to the House floor, but they also know that it would have devastating consequences on American families. The hardworking people--in fact, the ones who would be hit the hardest by it--are low-income families who would end up paying thousands of dollars more in household electricity costs. They want to hide that so they get rid of paygo so you don't have to show what the cost to hardworking families would be for radical ideas like that.

This is not who we are. I am a proud husband, a proud father of a son and a daughter. They don't even want you to be able to say that anymore.

Let's open up the people's House to real, honest discourse and debate. Let's debate our differences and settle them here on the House floor, not try to hide the views of 48 percent of this country.

I oppose this Soviet-style rules package.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, if the gentleman is interested in honest debate, I hope he will inform us where in the rules package it says that you can't refer to yourself as a father, a son, a grandfather, a wife, I mean, whatever. There is nothing in the rules package that says that. This is not reality.

I would also remind the gentleman that when he was in charge, this was the most closed Congress in the history of the United States Congress.

And if we are worried about protecting our democracy, I hope the gentleman and others will join with us in protecting the will of the American people, the millions and millions of voters who cast their votes for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris, and vote to make sure we have a smooth transition to the next administration.

I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

In the 2 years that I have been here, every motion to recommit has been a poison pill, a gimmick designed to tank a bill or sow division between Members of Congress and their constituents.

Despite high-flung rhetoric here today, not once have I seen the MTR used to make legislation better. In fact, on those occasions when it prevailed, our colleagues voted against the underlying bill.

Since this legislative tool has not been used in good faith, it needs to be reformed.

But I also wish to speak in favor of the efforts that have been made to use gender-neutral language in the rules. As a female Member of Congress and a member of last term's Select Committee to Modernize Congress, I applaud the efforts to drag the rules package into the 21st century and make it more inclusive, as well as to make it streamlined. The text changes have allowed us to make the rules package more concise, and that is a good thing.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to quickly respond to my friend.

Ms. Scanlon said the eight MTRs that passed this House were poison pills. By definition, they weren't. They passed the House. Democrats voted for them. Things like fighting against anti-Semitism is hardly a poison pill.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona

(Mrs. Lesko), my very good friend.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Democrats' power has literally gone to their heads. They aren't satisfied enough to have the majority and the speakership, so now they want to silence opposing viewpoints altogether.

They are undoing minority rights that have been a part of Congress for over 100 years by taking away debate on the motion to recommit, something that, while in the minority, now-Speaker Pelosi actually equated to free speech. Obviously, now that she is in power, she wants to take away that freedom of speech from us.

And when you think things can't get more radical around here, they do. Now the Democrats' rules package takes out words like ``mother'' and ``father'' and ``brother'' and ``sister.'' In their quest to not offend anyone, they are offending almost all of America.

If we are going to go down this path, I have some suggestions to be added to this rules package. How about we add: Members who have a relationship with a Chinese spy should be removed from the Intelligence Committee. How about: Members should be punished if they leak classified information and private information after they leave the SCIF. How about: Members should be disciplined if they spread around false Russian collusion information.

Of course, my Democrat colleagues would never dream of adding that.

Madam Speaker, I adamantly oppose this rules package.

{time} 1300

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor).

Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Madam Speaker, as we enter a new year, Americans are urging us to come together and tackle our toughest challenges, and that includes the costly climate crisis.

In the previous Congress, the House directed that a Select Committee on the Climate Crisis develop a roadmap for America's clean energy future. With a broad cross section of ideas and input, the committee developed a majority staff report that was a detailed roadmap for action. It was called the Solving the Climate Crisis plan. It has been described as the most well-thought-out plan for addressing climate change that has ever been part of U.S. politics, an extraordinary synthesis of expertise from social and scientific fields.

Some of our recommendations have already been adopted into law through bipartisan legislation, but we have much more work to do. This excellent rules package will allow us to continue our work in the 117th Congress.

Our bipartisan committee intends to advance clean energy solutions that unleash American innovation, promote environmental justice, and create good family-sustaining jobs in all communities across the country.

I urge Members to support the rules package, and I thank Speaker Pelosi, Chairman McGovern, and the Committee on Rules for their work and for their vision.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse), my very good friend and a former member of the Committee on Rules.

Mr. NEWHOUSE. Madam Speaker, the Democrats' proposed changes to the House rules will disenfranchise rural America, plain and simple.

In addition to throwing out budget rules to make way for socialist packages like the Green New Deal, Democrats are gutting the motion to recommit, which is an important tool for the minority to make substantive amendments to legislation.

Past Republican motions to recommit have included things such as restoring funding for critical rural broadband programs or allowing for effective wildfire mitigation and increased funding for hazardous fuel reduction in our Nation's forests, also, an MTR to protect our farmers and agricultural employers from being sued out of businesses.

Eliminating this opportunity to amend legislation further diminishes the voices of rural communities, and, frankly, Madam Speaker, it is a slap in the face to rural Americans. It is clear Speaker Pelosi's Democratic majority, albeit a heck of a lot slimmer than it once was, is threatened by our reinvigorated Republican Conference.

Rural Americans deserve better.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I thank the distinguished chair and all of those who opened up their thoughts to this very important process. I participated through the Progressive Caucus, and I am very grateful for the work that included all Members.

I believe in democracy; I believe in the rights of the minority; but I want to applaud this rules package in particular because, as a member of the Committee on the Judiciary, I think extremely important is the language to protect whistleblowers.

The responsibility of Congress is oversight, and even though this was not in the congressional wheelhouse, it was shameful what happened to Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, a United States Army leader, if you will, who thought it was his patriotic duty simply to tell the truth.

What happened to him as a whistleblower in the executive? He was fired.

What happened to his brother, twin brother? No longer there. No one protected them.

I want to applaud a Committee on Rules package that protects but, as well, a Committee on Rules package that also deals with diversity, gender, and puts America's business first.

Vote for this package.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith), my very good friend and ranking Republican member of the Committee on the Budget.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for yielding.

Madam Speaker, on only day two of the 117th Congress, House Democrats are already attempting to strip Americans of the transparency that they deserve in order to push through an expensive progressive wish list.

The House rules package includes three main provisions that will allow Democrats to hide their plans to irresponsibly spend taxpayer dollars in an effort to satisfy their liberal base: a deeming resolution, signaling they do not plan on doing a budget; two, new, broad exemptions to budget rules, such as paygo, to allow passage of socialist policies with large price tags; and, three, they want the repeal of a House rule prohibiting reconciliation from increasing net direct spending, making it easier to advance a costly radical agenda.

It has been 733 days since Democrats took control of the House of Representatives, and they have yet to produce one single budget. These rules will continue to let Democrats shirk their duty to write and pass a budget.

Don't forget, Speaker Pelosi is the one who stated the budget is a statement of values. I couldn't agree more. I must ask: Have Democrats not done a budget because they know revealing their true plans, their true colors, will let the American people know how unpopular their ideas are?

The people deserve to know, and they deserve a transparent budget to know how House Democrats plan to spend their hard-earned tax dollars and how Democrats want to increase their taxes.

Furthermore, by weakening fiscal restraint rules, Democrats clearly intend to drastically increase the size of the Federal Government. This will only continue to drive up the unsustainable Federal debt while decreasing Americans' liberties and freedoms.

Specifically, it includes a budgetary exemption for measures to prevent, prepare, or respond to economic, environmental, or public health consequences resulting from climate change. This exemption is irresponsible, since, arguably, it could apply to any radical, progressive, out-of-touch legislation dreamed up next by House Democrats. Clearly, this exemption was designed as a mechanism to ram through socialist policies like the Green New Deal and other ideas aimed at hurting American workers, families, and farmers.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, this past November, the voters rejected a socialist agenda. If this rules package is any indication for how Democrats plan to run the 117th Congress, I cannot wait for the midterm elections. These rules allow Democrats to continue deceiving the American people.

Madam Speaker, I oppose this Soviet-style rules package.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I don't even know where to begin.

Look, let me repeat, what we are doing is building in an exemption to deal with two worldwide emergencies: one is the coronavirus pandemic, which, unfortunately, this White House mismanaged terribly; the second is to deal with the issue of the climate crisis, which everybody but a few Members in this Chamber believe is a crisis.

Madam Speaker, I will remind the gentleman that he has voted for exemptions when it comes to tax cuts for billionaires and corporations; he has voted for exemptions when it comes to taking people's healthcare away from them. So, obviously, we don't share the same values here, but I am very proud of what is in this package.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/4\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida

(Ms. Wasserman Schultz).

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, I find the protestations of our friends on the other side of the aisle rich, when 2 days from now they plan to actually vote in favor of overturning the results of an election that their party's nominee lost. So, please, spare us the protestations about the undemocratic process that you are opposing here.

Further, I rise to urge adoption of the rules package for the 117th Congress. This package includes innovative proposals to modernize the House and facilitate good policymaking.

It will establish the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth, which will work to combat income inequality and, critically, require committees to address inequities in marginalized communities.

I recently proposed the creation of an advisory panel on equity and justice in Federal spending, so I am pleased that this package recognizes the need to dismantle the effects of systemic racism and creates a process to address intractable inequities.

As a longtime proponent of diversity in hiring, I am glad we are making the Office of Diversity and Inclusion permanent.

I am also pleased that the rules exempt climate legislation from budgetary restrictions, clearing the way for ambitious Federal investments to combat climate change. As an appropriator, I am eager to deploy the power of the Appropriations Committee to fight climate change and work toward environmental justice.

Finally, I applaud the inclusion of gender-neutral language.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Florida.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, finally, I applaud the inclusion of gender-neutral language that embraces all gender identities and reflects that this Chamber is not just a man's world anymore.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished new Member from the great State of Texas (Ms. Van Duyne), who will be making her first address on the House floor.

Ms. VAN DUYNE. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H. Res. 8.

I came to Congress expecting to engage in vigorous debate with my colleagues to ensure legislation was passed in its best form. I am ready to legislate with Members on both sides of the aisle, but the majority is not interested in bipartisan legislating or even permitting the free expression of ideas. Instead, because Republicans made historic gains in the House, Democrats are changing the rules to limit their own Members from defecting.

Since the very first Congress, the motion to recommit has protected the rights of the minority, both Republican and Democrat alike.

The majority would overturn a century's worth of precedent by eliminating the motion to recommit and also pave the way for reckless spending by forgoing critical pay-as-you-go requirements to fund costly socialist policies.

Finally, and most ridiculous of all, Democrats are banning terms like

``mother,'' ``father,'' ``daughter,'' and ``son'' from the House rules.

With so many tasks and obligations the American people expect us to undertake, this proposal demonstrates Democrats' true intentions, which is to advance radical liberal policies that have no meaningful impact on the American public.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

If we defeat the previous question, Madam Speaker, I will offer an amendment to the rule to immediately amend the rules package to strike the complete gutting of the MTR. My amendment will restore this sacred right to the minority to offer a final amendment to the bill.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Oklahoma?

There was no objection.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the distinguished Republican leader, to discuss this critical amendment in more detail.

Mr. McCARTHY. Madam Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, we can amend the rule to save the right of every American to be heard on the floor of Congress.

Madam Speaker, a tenet of socialism is to silence all opposition. The right to speak your mind and question your leaders are often the first casualties of socialist governments throughout history; not far behind are other important freedoms, including the right to defend yourself and the right to earn a living, which are impossible to protect without the freedom of speech.

Our Constitution lists the freedom of speech as its very first freedom, and for our Founding Fathers, the reason was self-evident, as Benjamin Franklin once said: ``Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty, without freedom of speech.''

The very first action of this majority is to take it away.

From the very beginning of this institution, we had the motion to recommit to protect the minority. If you listen to Benjamin Franklin, tell me how the 117th Congress can have any wisdom or any public liberty or any freedom, because you deny us speech.

{time} 1315

Benjamin Franklin was right then, and he is right now. But I have noticed the dangerous trend against free speech in recent years, a trend that betrays everything our Founding Fathers lived, fought, and died for.

It began in our schools on college campuses where our students are taught the absurd notion that free speech is about privilege and power, not open debate and rational deliberation.

Then it jumped to the mainstream media and social media giants who used their power to protect their liberal friends and censor conservatives, including during the last election and throughout the pandemic.

Now, with today's vote, the same socialist ideas have found their way onto the floor and into the rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, which will shape every law this Chamber tries to make in the next 2 years, taking the same idea that the socialist governments have taken before, the fear that you might lose based on an idea, so take their voice away.

Whose voices are those? The constituents of millions of Americans. These changes will stop American voices from being heard, primarily by revoking the motion to recommit, the minority's longtime right to offer the last amendment to legislation.

I see my good friend, the majority leader, across the aisle. He and I have switched jobs before. I was the majority leader. For 8 years, never once was it ever debated that we would deny the minority the right to an amendment on a bill. Never once. I know the majority leader will stand up later and say: Well, this has been changed time and time again. Only by Democrats.

I know my friend is an institutionalist. I know he believes in this body, but he cannot believe about taking this away.

Why would you want to? You cannot pass a motion to recommit on the floor unless you have a majority of the people in the body to vote for it. Are you so afraid that you can't hold people that you want to take it away? Are your constituents better than somebody else's?

To again quote Ben Franklin, free speech is a necessary tool for exposing and keeping in check narrow thoughts and narrow men. That is what the MTR is all about. For our constituents, taking it away means freedom of speech is silenced and good ideas are stifled.

While House Democrats have slowly chipped away at this right in the past, today's vote truly represents the nuclear option. It will prove once and for all who is truly an institutionalist in this body.

Is it no wonder that your majority is so thin that you try to take away the MTR? Was the Speaker vote too close?

I can't imagine casting that vote as your very first action. Additionally, these rules mirror the misplaced priorities of the last Congress. Democrats' 45-page resolution strips all mention of the words father, mother, son, daughter, brother, mother-in-law, daughter-in-law. I am a proud father. I am an extremely proud son. But we are going to strike them from the rules. First, we take your speech away. Then, we take away what you can say.

Already, in their race to wokeness--I listened to your opening prayer yesterday. They changed the word ``amen,'' which has nothing to do with gender.

Today's vote is about more than organizing Congress. It is about the American people's right to be heard by their government. This vote is important. It might be the most important vote we take after the vote for Speaker. It signals our priorities, our vision for the entire 2 years.

The fact that this is the Democrats' first course of action as a majority in the new Congress speaks volumes to the lengths they will go to silence the people's voice.

I almost thought it would be the opposite. I know what you thought the day, the weeks, the months before the election. You wondered if you would have enough seats in here for how big your majority would be. I listened to the Speaker say she wasn't going to only win the majority; she was winning it for the next two or three elections because they were going to gain so many seats. My dear friend predicted a 15-seat gain by the Democrats. But that is not what the American people told you.

I probably would have reversed and said: Oh, my gosh, if we are doing everything that the American people do not want, maybe we should change course. But you actually took the opposite approach.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Let's deny people to even say more because they don't like what we are doing.

I have watched this happen in other parts of the world, but I never thought, in the fundamental belief of the very first amendment of America, of the very belief of this body where we debate, where the voices of America are supposed to be heard, where an MTR has been around from the very beginning of this Nation, of this body--but you will be the individuals, you will be the slim majority, that took it away. You will cast that vote. You will have the history written about you.

The fact that this is your very first course of action, you are setting the tone for the next 2 years. The political and moral stakes are high, and the American people know it.

If censorship replaces open debate on this floor, serious deliberation of the most important issues confronting our country will become impossible. More importantly, Congress will continue to waste time on unnecessary distractions that have nothing to do with the needs of the American people. This damage will be immediate and long-lasting.

But Republicans will never give up our right to fully represent our constituents' voices here in Washington. Democrats' small thinking may limit how we can do what is right for our constituents, but it won't stop us from doing what is needed. Maybe we need a little history in modern history.

You had the ability to control this body for 40 years before Republicans ever won in 1994. You had tried to shut it off now and then based upon certain bills. The very first thing that Republicans did when they had the chance to write the rules and be in the majority, they guaranteed it for the minority--for you, when you were in the minority. They were not afraid.

When we narrowed the majority, much to the same numbers we have today, was it removed then because Republicans were in power? It was not. It was guaranteed. My good friend was here during that time. The Speaker served during that time.

When we, the Republicans, took the majority again and had it for 8 years, not only did we never touch it, we guaranteed it again. You have been in power for 2 years. You lost seats based upon what you did on this floor. Instead of changing course, you now deny people their voice.

That is the history that will be written today. That is the legacy you will live with. I will promise you this: Two years from today, when you are no longer in the majority, we will correct the course of history because we are not afraid of ideas. We believe it makes us stronger. We know it makes this country stronger.

This choice will shape everything we do in the next 2 years and beyond. We have big challenges. We are going to have to work together. But if you deny us, you are going to have a hard time working with us.

Madam Speaker, you and I travel a lot back to our districts. We often fly on the same planes. We see our constituents, and I see you listen to them. I see you talk to them about issues. I have watched you work across the aisle on some of the biggest issues, even when you were not in the majority.

I want you to think one moment, Madam Speaker: What if those constituents you talk to--and you say you will bring their voice to the floor--what if you were going to be denied that? You never were denied that when you were in the minority.

But I just ask every Member of this body, before you cast this vote, you may think a tough vote goes away. Oh, no, it won't. I will make you this promise: You have given me the passion to fight harder for my constituents. You have given me the passion to find a better opportunity for more of their voices to be heard. And you have given me the passion to win back the majority so I can win back the voices on this floor that they won't be denied. And they might not be my constituents. They may be the voices of your constituents because it is the right thing to do that has been here the entire time this body has been here.

Madam Speaker, there are times we will disagree, but there are very few times I have ever been this embarrassed of this body, the hypocrisy of what I am about to see, the hypocrisy of what you think you will defend, everybody in this body knows it is wrong. But you feel you can grip power a little harder. You feel you can hold onto it a little stronger.

I will tell you this: The power of free speech is so much stronger than the power of somebody trying to grip and hold onto the majority.

Madam Speaker, I strongly urge defeat of the previous question.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will remind all Members, including the minority leader, of the rules of decorum, which say that a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner who desires to speak or deliver a matter to the House shall respectfully address the Speaker.

This Chair intends to enforce this rule. It is an important rule of decorum. We are entering into some difficult days, and I will tell all Members on both sides of the aisle: We will enforce the rules of decorum of the House.

Remarks will be made to the Chair.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I appreciate the admonition here, and I wish the distinguished minority leader would have remained because he talked a lot about debate, and then he gave a speech and ran off the floor.

But I would be careful, I would say to my friends on the other side of the aisle, about using words like ``hypocrisy'' because I was here when you were in the majority. You presided over the most closed Congress in the history of our country, more closed rules than any other Congress.

The motion to recommit, arguably, is a procedural motion, but when you closed rule after rule after rule after rule, any substantive amendment, you blocked. But my friends had no problem with that at the time, and now, all of a sudden, they do.

Again, I would just say to the distinguished minority leader, who keeps talking about mind control and people banning him from being able to say that he is a father or a son, I don't know what he is talking about. Please show me in the rules package where he can't say all of those things. There is nothing--nothing--in the rules package.

I would just urge my colleagues--as I said at the beginning, I get it. The White House is a fact-free zone, but we have to aspire to be different. We can have our policy disagreements, but we shouldn't be making things up. I mean, I would like to think we are better than that, no matter how much we disagree on substantive issues.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will once again remind Members, if you are referring to the person you are debating as ``you,'' chances are you are violating the rule. All Members are asked to address all of their remarks to the Chair.

{time} 1330

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), who is the majority leader.

Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I will continue to address my remarks to you notwithstanding the fact that you ruled against me just a little while ago on a vote, which excited some.

I am an institutionalist. I believe in this body, I believe in democracy, and for your information, I believe in the free enterprise system.

Madam Speaker, I listened to the remarks of the minority leader. I listened to the outrage that he expresses. I share the view of the Rules Committee chairman that he was a principal leader in the most closed Congress in which I have served, which was, of course, presided over by my Republican colleagues. He talked about free speech. Nothing in this rule undermines the free speech of any Member in this House--

nothing.

When they had closed rules, I didn't get up and say: You are muzzling my speech.

You muzzled my ability to make legislation, but you did not muzzle my speech. The First Amendment is sacrosanct, hopefully for everybody in this body. But I will tell you I have been in this body when Republican Members, Madam Speaker, rose to their feet demanding that people do something in the galleries.

Madam Speaker, I am going to show hypocrisy--not from me. The gentleman, the chairman of the Rules Committee, Madam Speaker, mentioned that the minority leader mentioned hypocrisy. I presume his assertion was that somehow we were being hypocritical. I intend to speak a little bit of time and I intend to show hypocrisy.

First of all, the gentleman is wrong in his facts. The motion to recommit was taken from the British Parliament and was present at the first Congress in 1789. Interestingly enough, the motion to recommit was used to correct something that had not been included in the bill and was considered a friendly amendment and remained that way for a very, very long time.

In 1934, it was ruled that instructions in a motion which were present from time to time was not necessary, and that is the way the rule maintained essentially for the next 20 years--actually, excuse me, 60 years, until 1995.

The gentleman is correct. When the Republicans took office for the first time in a very long time under the leadership of Newt Gingrich, Madam Speaker, they changed the rule. They said that you have to have a motion to instruct, as if they were giving us something, as if they were giving us something. Remember that phrase because I am going to show it meant nothing. It was an illusion. It was a pretense.

Madam Speaker, I am going to first go through, of 34 examples, about 10 of the examples of what our Republican friends, Madam Speaker, said about the motion to recommit.

First of all, the minority leader--I read from the Wichita Eagle of May 12, 2013: ``The political book on McCarthy is that he does a good job at counting votes, of knowing where the 233 House of Representatives Republicans are at any given time. He points out that Republicans, unlike Democrats in a previous Congress, haven't lost certain procedural votes''--procedural vote. Let me underline procedural vote. Not substance of the First Amendment and not substance of free speech. Procedural vote--``called a motion to recommit, that are a test of floor control.''

That is what the minority leader was bragging about: floor control. He was not in the minority at that point in time. He was in the majority. I believe he was the whip.

A subsequent--or previous to the present minority leader, Eric Cantor went on to amplify the Republican perspective on the motion to recommit. Majority Leader Eric Cantor publicly went on the defensive about an MTR, stating that the MTR was simply a gimmick. Eric Cantor, the majority leader of the Republican Party in 2012.

Mr. Bishop, one of the ranking members, he is no longer here. He left. He retired last year. Referring to an MTR, he said: ``Mr. Speaker, this is a procedural motion.''

Madam Speaker, Mr. Bishop went on to say that it is just ``another delay tactic.'' Just a delay tactic. He didn't say anything about the First Amendment. He didn't say anything about substantive consequences of the MTR. He said that it was a delaying tactic.

Referring to the MTR, Representative Conaway said: ``To come in here now and pull this procedural trick. . . . When we are in the minority, we do it.''

He is correct. When we are in the minority, we do it.

Madam Speaker, very frankly, I will tell you--and you can take my words down for the future--if this never came back, ever, it wouldn't bother me because it is a charade of substance. It is a pretense of legislating.

Representative Goodlatte, who was then-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I believe, or at some subsequent point chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said: ``This is simply a dilatory tactic. . . . `'

That is what the chairman of the Judiciary Committee--I am not sure if he was at that point in time in 2015. I think he was.

Madam Speaker, a dilatory tactic is what the chairman of the Judiciary Committee on the Republican side of the aisle called the MTR. It ``seeks to distract from the urgent needs. . . . `'

Representative Lamborn said: ``Mr. Speaker, this motion to recommit is a procedural motion. . . . `'

Madam Speaker, I am sorry the Chamber is not full. It can't be full. I would have liked to speak to all the Members of the Congress, and they can judge on the hypocrisy of the arguments that are being made.

This motion to recommit is a procedural motion designed to slow down consideration of this important bill. It is purely, purely procedural. Not a little bit procedural and a little bit substantive; it is purely procedural.

Representative Olson, in 2019, referring to it, said: ``It fits a pattern of delay and obstruction that we simply can't afford.''

Hypocrisy. He didn't say anything about its having to do with free speech. A motion that we were offering as an MTR that we thought, like you think--excuse me, Madam Speaker, as the Republicans think, is a gotcha amendment. It is politics on both sides. It is not substantive and it is not about free speech. It is about politics and gotcha. Yes, I am an institutionalist and, yes, I think we ought to not be doing gotcha in a nonsubstantive way.

Madam Speaker, obviously, we disagree on issues. And when we offer an issue and they don't vote for it, we think that is politically helpful to us because we think it is for the people. They do the same thing and they think it is for the people. So no party is free of its gotcha actions. Mine is not, nor is theirs.

Representative Upton, one of the institutionalists in this body, former chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Republican from the State of Michigan, being kind, as Fred Upton is kind, said: ``I appreciate the motion to recommit, and I would just say to all my colleagues: Our side certainly views that as a procedural issue, not a real amendment.''

Madam Speaker, I would say to the ladies and gentlemen of the Congress: Who is hypocritical? Who is hypocritical when their Member, a valued senior chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, says that this is a procedural issue, not a real amendment?

My goodness gracious, the Rules Committee is taking away not a real amendment.

Isn't that horrific?

How could they do that, Madam Speaker, when the Republicans say that it is not a real issue, it is not substantive, it is a gimmick, and it is a delaying and obstruction tactic?

Now, let me say that the Republicans uniformly vote against the MTR.

Mr. Woodall was a member of the Rules Committee. He is no longer here. He is from the State of Georgia. Mr. Woodall said, after being here for about 10 years of the motion to recommit, that he was told by the leadership when he started in this body that it is a procedural motion aimed to obstruct and delay, we always vote ``no.''

Now, let me tell you, Madam Speaker, what they always vote ``no'' on. On April 7, 2011, an MTR was offered, a motion to recommit that would ensure that our troops would get paid. The Republicans defeated that motion overwhelmingly. Only one person on the Republican side voted for it, Walter Jones. He is no longer in the Congress. He was pretty iconoclastic when he was here, and he did what he darn well pleased irrespective of the directions of the leadership who said: Always vote

``no'' on the MTR.

So what they are complaining about, Madam Speaker, is the preclusion of doing something they always opposed. And, very frankly, when they won those MTRs from time to time--very few--they then voted against the bill. There was no substance.

A little while later, about a month later, the motion to recommit that we offered ensured that our top priority in funding our intelligence services is the campaign to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaida and affiliated organizations.

Raise your hand if you are opposed to that. Madam Speaker, not your hand. But our colleagues ought to reflect on whether they are opposed to that premise. Not a single Republican voted for that MTR--this substantive assertion that our campaign and intelligence services ought to be not disrupted in their fight against al-Qaida and affiliated organizations.

A short time later we offered another MTR. The motion to recommit provides our troops with a $100 per month increase in combat pay.

As you sit in your chairs in this House, or you are watching these proceedings on television, I want you to say to yourself: Am I against

$100 for our troops who are at risk?

{time} 1345

Because if you are, voting against the MTR was justified. Every Republican save--except--one more time--Walter Jones, voted against that amendment, that substantive amendment that we are stealing away from them, which they say we never vote for.

Madam Speaker, if Mr. McCarthy were here, I would ask him: Have you ever voted for an MTR?

I ask him rhetorically. Perhaps, at some point in time, he will tell us. Maybe he was against the substance of all of these amendments that I am speaking about.

In 2012, the following year, the motion to recommit would prohibit the issuance of leases to any entity that is in violation of the Iran Sanctions Act or the Syrian Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act.

Madam Speaker, not a single Republican voted for that amendment. The substantive amendment that they are so aggrieved--and by the way, energizing their party to be more partisan than they ought to be doing. We ought to all praise Don Young, the dean of the House. He served here longer than anybody else. He said yesterday that we ought to come together and reach out our hands to one another and make this place work for the people.

Another motion to recommit would prohibit export of helium from the Federal Helium Reserve to Iran, North Korea, and Syria.

Madam Speaker, not a single Republican voted for that MTR. Why? Because it is procedural. It is a gimmick. It is obstructing. That is what we are taking away that you are so aggrieved at.

Now, I have about 35 or 40 of these. The good news is, I am not going to read them all. But in 2014, the motion to recommit would ensure that the intelligence community continues to protect the United States--hear me--from Chinese and other state-sponsored computer theft. I am sure all of you will say, ``Well, I am against that. That is an awful thing to do.'' But everyone on that side of the aisle in the Congress today voted against that amendment. Our new Members didn't vote against it, obviously, but people who were here, every Republican that was here, voted ``no'' on protecting ourselves from the Chinese, the theft of our computer technology.

Madam Speaker, the next year, 2015--and I am just taking a couple from each year--the motion to recommit would deter terrorist cyberattacks, homegrown terrorist attacks, and strengthen America's cybersecurity by increasing prevention efforts to stop the recruitment and travel of homegrown terrorists by ISIL, al-Qaida, and other terrorist organizations.

Now, I know you are going to be shocked because you are probably thinking, ``Oh, of course we voted for that.'' Not one. Not a single Republican voted for that MTR.

So, this aggrieved rhetoric that we hear about taking something away, the only thing being taken away is their gotcha opportunities and ours.

Now, in the majority, you don't have the motion to recommit. I get that. But we may be in the minority at some point in time. Don't give it back to us because it is a political game that undermines the integrity of this institution, and it is covered as a gotcha game, for the most part, by the press and media that knows what that is--a game.

Madam Speaker, in 2015, the motion to recommit would require the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize protection and technical assistance to stop cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, such as the electric power grid and nuclear power plants.

By now, you know what I am going to say. Only one Republican voted for that. It won't surprise you that it was Walter Jones because Walter Jones really did treat it as a substantive piece of legislation.

But the party that is so aggrieved today instructs their Republican freshmen and all of their Members: Vote ``no'' on the MTR.

Madam Speaker, I am available to yield to anybody who is going to tell me that is not the truth. Nobody has propounded that question to me.

In 2015, again, a month later, the motion to recommit would protect troop pay, guaranteeing a pay increase of 2.3 percent for our servicemembers and ensuring no lapse in troop pay in the event of a government shutdown. And there was my friend, standing tall--Walter Jones, alone but standing tall. Not a single other Republican voted for that.

Just three left.

Madam Speaker, in 2017, I am bringing you up to date because this has been a consistent pattern. This is not some ``one person said this; one person said that.'' It is a consistent pattern of Republicans dismissing the motion to recommit as not of substance, only a delay tactic, a gimmick, if you will, according to Mr. Cantor.

The motion to recommit, in November 2017, to ensure rural communities have adequate funding for educational services, conservation projects, and fire prevention programs.

Madam Speaker, now, Walter Jones got a friend on this one, Rod Blum, who is no longer here. And, tragically, Mr. Jones died too early. They are not here, but they thought that was a good idea. No other Republican thought that was a good idea.

In 2018, just 2 years ago, the motion to recommit would amend the underlying bill to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from chartering a private plane or flying any class above coach. That was because a couple of Secretaries clearly did not meet their responsibilities to the American taxpayer in the expenditures of moneys in their Departments.

Again, Mr. Blum and Mr. Jones thought that was a good idea, but the Republican leadership had instructed them, you will recall, according to Mr. Woodall, to vote ``no'' because this is just a delaying tactic. This is just a game. Vote ``no.'' It is procedural. It is not substance.

Lastly--and people are now saying amen--the motion to recommit would ensure, in this case, that we would: protect students and children from a person who has been convicted of a sex offense against a minor; secondly, prevent domestic violence; thirdly, prevent rape or sexual assault; or four, require criminal background checks for schools or other employment.

Rod Blum and Walter Jones stayed true to themselves and did not follow the instruction: This is a game. This is an obstruction. This is a gimmick. This is a way to delay and defeat.

Madam Speaker, I have taken some time to discuss this because I don't like hypocrisy. I don't like wasting time. I don't like not respecting one another and playing a gotcha game to see if you guys are afraid of this amendment. And then when we adopt the amendment, if we adopt, a very few--vote against the bill because, after all, it was just a political game. We don't like the bill, no matter what you have in it.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this rule. Madam Speaker, the people who are watching this debate may not have the knowledge that all of us have. Almost invariably--almost invariably--this is a partisan vote. The Republicans will vote against our rule, and we will vote against their rule. And, invariably, we will find some problem with it that we can rationalize our vote on.

Madam Speaker, I regret that we are starting this Congress--and I am going to look at Mr. Ryan's speech. I am going to look at Mr. Hastert's speech on the opening day. I am going to look at all the Speakers with whom I have served and see what their comments were on the opening day.

I regretted the minority leader's opening statement. I regretted it because, as Don Young said, we need to come together. We are at a time of pandemic. We are at a time of economic distress. We ought to be acting not for ourselves, not for our politics, but for our people.

Madam Speaker, I would urge every Member to vote for this rule. And as they do so, be assured they are not denigrating or denying anybody's free speech any more than the Republicans denied free speech in the most closed Congress in our history just a few years ago.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Obernolte), one of our new Members.

Mr. OBERNOLTE. Madam Speaker, although I share the concerns that have been raised about the MTR, I would like to speak on an aspect of this rules package that I find equally troubling, and that is the provision that would upend nearly 30 years of House tradition in exempting any legislation that can be tied in any way to either response to climate change or response to the coronavirus crisis from the requirements of paygo--in other words, the requirement that we consider how to pay for solutions to these problems in addition to how we solve these problems.

Now, admittedly, climate change and coronavirus are serious issues, but it would be irresponsible to, when debating these issues, not consider their effects on the national debt and the budget deficit, which are also very serious issues. In fact, the CBO says that for the first time, last year, since World War II, our national debt exceeded 100 percent of our gross domestic product.

To fail to consider solutions that we debate in this Chamber, the effects of those solutions on those also serious problems, would be an abdication of our responsibility to our constituents. I urge a ``no'' vote.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy), my very good friend.

Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma.

Madam Speaker, I rise to say that we had this great speech by the leader of the Democrat Party about debates and about what we should do in debating on this floor. When will we debate? That is the question. When will we actually debate?

The leader made good points about previous rules, about closed debate. We haven't had an open debate on an amendment on this floor since May 2016, where I can come down as a Republican Member or as a Democratic Member and offer an amendment.

We have no debates on amendments anymore, Mr. Leader. You know this is true. You have been here. You have seen the change in this body. And I would just suggest--that I address my remarks to the Chair--I would just suggest that we should have debate. That is what we are here to do.

Madam Speaker, I reject this rules package. I have problems with it for the reasons my colleagues already articulated, but I think we should engage in colloquy. Let's actually have a debate about setting up rules so this body is filled with Members offering amendments and doing what the people want us to do. This rules package, respectfully, does not do that.

{time} 1400

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman), my very good friend and the distinguished ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee.

Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, let me be very clear: This rules package is horrible. It is a progressive affront to America.

The rules package continues proxy voting and remote hearing measures, even though Members of Congress and staff now have access to the COVID-

19 vaccine. If Congress can be first in line for the vaccine, then we must be first to go back to work.

Exactly how far Democrats intend to take their attack on free speech is unclear, but look no further than the extremism in the opening prayer yesterday that concluded with ``amen, and a woman,'' which, quite simply, is illiterate and has nothing to do with gender.

This package paves the way for Democrats to spend unlimited dollars to promote a climate agenda that will harm rural America and our economy while doing nothing to create a cleaner, safer, and healthier environment. Republicans want a better environment and economy, and this rules package will facilitate harm to both.

I urge all of my colleagues, Republican and Democrat, to vote against this resolution. We can do better than neglecting our responsibility to show up in person.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman.

Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, we can do better than wasting taxpayer money on idealistic, political environmentalism.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, let me just refer the gentleman to the Office of the Attending Physician to get the most up-to-date medical guidance.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Posey).

Mr. POSEY. Madam Speaker, in addition to all of the evils of the new rules package, as you have already heard, eliminating the comparative print requirement is the single biggest damage you can do to transparency and accountability in this House.

The comparative print requirement was a top priority of the bipartisan Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, a number one, top priority of the bipartisan committee. Every State in the country that I know of uses comparative print. It shows you clearly what language in the bill actually changes the law. States can do it, but this great U.S. House of Representatives just can't seem to do it.

It is an absolutely shameful thing, and I urge Members of the House to oppose this horrible rules package that destroys transparency and accountability.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

In closing, I want to urge all of my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this rules package. The majority's proposed package will only continue the ongoing assault on minority voices.

The changes in this package completely gut the MTR. With all due respect to my friends, we disagree on that. I am sorry you have a hard time handling it or getting your Members to where you want them to go, but the fact is, eight times in the last Congress, Democrats joined with Republicans in deciding that the Republican proposal improved the bill. It is that simple.

We shouldn't be taking that away, particularly when the record, I think, is so bad in the last Democratic Congress in granting amendment opportunities to the minority.

I remind my friends, when we were in the majority, you got 45 percent of all of the amendments made in order in the Rules Committee; the Republicans got 38 percent; the remainder were bipartisan. Last time, you got two-thirds of the amendments, we got 18 percent, and the remainder were bipartisan.

When you are removing the MTR, on top of not giving us very many amendments to begin with, we look on that as an effort to limit our ability to participate openly and effectively in debate. This rules package moves us in another direction.

I am sorry that the traditional rules of the House that have been here over 100 years are inconvenient to the Democratic majority. Sometimes it is good to be inconvenienced when you are in the majority.

You are limiting our ability to participate. Frankly, it will find other outlets; it always does. I think that is a tragic mistake I think that you will live to regret.

In addition to that, obviously, we disagree in the proposed rules package with eliminating paygo in some critical areas. We think you could drive a truck through those. It is a critical budgetary tool, and we do think it will be missed, and its absence will be used to pave the way for the Green New Deal.

In addition, the desire to continue to subpoena Presidents, Vice Presidents, and White House staff that are no longer in office strikes us as clearly an effort to just continue to harass the departing administration. I regret that. I think you will, too. I think people want us to look forward, not backward.

So we don't see much use in that, nor do we see the automatic ability to resubmit subpoenas from the last Congress as a good thing. Again, it is looking in the rearview mirror.

Madam Speaker, I urge rejection of the package, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I think this is a good rules package. As I said at the beginning, it reflects consultation with Democrats and Republicans; almost every caucus that you can think of was consulted on this. I think the end product is a quality product.

I am particularly proud of the ethics reforms banning Members who have been convicted of corruption, protecting whistleblowers and making sure that their identities can't be revealed.

I am proud of the creation of the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth. One of the things this pandemic has demonstrated is that there are great disparities in this country, and those disparities existed even before the pandemic. We need to address that issue.

In terms of the exemptions for paygo, I mean, we are talking about two international, worldwide emergencies: the coronavirus pandemic and the climate crisis. I think every country in the world has recognized that they are emergencies, that we need to think big and boldly in how we deal with these issues.

The unfortunate thing is we have had an administration that has not handled the pandemic appropriately, and as we gather today, well over 350,000 people, fellow citizens, have perished.

Let me just say, also, Madam Speaker, that I was also inspired by the remarks of our Republican colleague Don Young, yesterday, when he talked about the need to work together. I was dismayed by the tone of the minority leader's comments on the opening day. In all of my years here, I have never heard anything quite so negative and combative.

But here is the deal: We need to figure out a way to work together to get things done. You don't have to agree on everything to agree on something. The something we agree on, we ought to move forward. We can fight about the other stuff.

If we are going to get things done, facts have to matter.

I have got to be honest with you: In listening to the critiques of this rules package, one of the things that I found particularly disheartening was the distortions and, quite frankly, the falsehoods with regard to getting our rules language to be more inclusive. I don't understand why it was necessary for some to try to make things up. It does not entice the kind of collaboration and the kind of cooperation to get that something done.

I am a great fan of my ranking member, Mr. Cole. This will probably get him in trouble, but I think he is one of the finest Members of this institution. We work together very well in the Rules Committee, notwithstanding some very, very difficult debates. But at the end of the day, I know he cares deeply about this institution. I know people like Don Young care about this institution, and there are good Members on the other side who care about this institution.

We have a slim majority here. If we are going to get anything done, if you are going to get anything done, we are going to have to find a way to work things out. But we have to all agree that we want to get things done.

So it is in that spirit that I hope that this rules package will cultivate the kind of atmosphere in which we can get some important things done. Whether it is on the climate crisis, whether it is on economic disparity, whether it is fighting to end hunger in this country, whether it is to make sure we can expand healthcare protections for people, whether it is about justice and fairness in this country, we have a lot of work to do.

I hope, with the new administration coming in, that maybe there will be a different tone. Maybe it will be less combative. Maybe the discussions will be based more on fact. I hope and I pray that that is the case. But we have to come together, and we have to get things done for the American people.

Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 8, which establishes House rules for the 117th Congress. This package contains many strong reforms I support, including ones that prioritize ethics and accountability, promote diversity and inclusion, and embrace technology, including a provision I requested that expands machine-

readability of House documents.

On October 1, 2020, I testified at the Rules Committee about the need for the House to continue the progress we've made in expanding what legislative materials and House documents are available in machine-

readable formats. Today, bills and resolutions are posted to congress.gov in a machine-readable format, however, materials for markups are posted online as PDFs, and sometimes they are not even searchable PDFs.

Why does this matter? If we receive amendments in the nature of a substitute 24 hours before marking up lengthy bills, we cannot compare amendments to original bills without manually reading documents line-

by-line or investing in expensive software. This is also prohibitive to public interest groups, stakeholders, and members of the public that wish to follow the legislative process. With machine-readable formats, Members, staff, and any interested party can easily analyze amendments and any other House document.

I'm pleased to see that Section 3(j) directs the Committee on House Administration, the Clerk, and relevant House offices to take further steps to publish House documents in machine-readable formats and enabling staff to create comparative prints.

This is critical for Members wishing to analyze legislation before us, but the move is just as important for the sake of public transparency. Public interest groups that advocate for government transparency have long called for all government documents to be available in machine readable formats because it enables informed analysis and engagement.

I thank Chairman McGovern for including my suggestion in the proposed House rules package for the 117th Congress that we are considering today, and I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

Mr. BABIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in my opposition to the Democrats' Rules Package for the 117th Congress.

In the November 2020 House elections, many of the moderate voices in the Democratic Caucus were ousted in favor of Conservative values.

Now free of moderate or reasonable voices, the shrill progressives seized the opportunity to make their party even more radical--this Rules package is proof.

They're attacking the First Amendment by changing our use of gender specific pronouns--even ending prayers with ``Amen and Awomen''.

They're eliminating the minority's ability to amend legislation--

something Congress has allowed for more than 100 years--because they're embarrassed when their own members publicly join Republicans to rein in their laughable, tone-deaf policies.

These changes are not about fairness or good governance. They're about saving their own members from tough votes and accountability.

I urge my colleagues to reject this.

The material previously referred to by Mr. Cole is as follows:

Amendment to House Resolution 8 Offered By Mr. Cole of Oklahoma

Strike Section 2(s).

Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous question.

The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 217, nays 204, not voting 8, as follows:

YEAS--217

Kahele Kaptur Keating Kelly (IL) Khanna Kildee Kilmer Kim (NJ) Kind Kirkpatrick Krishnamoorthi Kuster Lamb Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Lawrence Lawson (FL) Lee (CA) Lee (NV) Leger Fernandez Levin (CA) Levin (MI) Lieu Lofgren Lowenthal Luria Lynch Malinowski Maloney, Carolyn B. Maloney, Sean Manning Matsui McBath McCollum McEachin McGovern McNerney Meeks Meng Mfume Moore (WI) Morelle Moulton Mrvan Murphy (FL) Napolitano Neal Neguse Newman Norcross O'Halleran Ocasio-Cortez Omar Pallone Panetta Pappas Pascrell Payne Perlmutter Peters Phillips Pingree Pocan Porter Pressley Price (NC) Quigley Rice (NY) Richmond Ross Roybal-Allard Ruiz Ruppersberger Rush Ryan Sanchez Sarbanes Scanlon Schakowsky Schiff Schneider Schrader Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Sewell Sherman Sherrill Sires Slotkin Smith (WA) Soto Spanberger Speier Stanton Stevens Strickland Suozzi Swalwell Takano Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tonko Torres (CA) Torres (NY) Trahan Trone Underwood Vargas Veasey Vela Velazquez Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Welch Wexton Wild Williams (GA) Wilson (FL) Yarmuth

NAYS--204

Aderholt Allen Amodei Armstrong Arrington Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Banks Barr Bentz Bergman Bice (OK) Biggs Bilirakis Bishop (NC) Boebert Bost Brady Brooks Buchanan Buck Bucshon Budd Burchett Burgess Calvert Cammack Carl Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Cawthorn Chabot Cheney Cline Cloud Cole Comer Crawford Crenshaw Curtis Davidson Davis, Rodney DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Donalds Duncan Dunn Emmer Estes Fallon Feenstra Fischbach Fitzgerald Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Fortenberry Foxx Franklin, C. Scott Fulcher Gaetz Gallagher Garbarino Garcia (CA) Gibbs Gimenez Gohmert Gonzales, Tony Gonzalez (OH) Good (VA) Gooden (TX) Gosar Graves (LA) Graves (MO) Green (TN) Greene (GA) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hagedorn Harris Harshbarger Hartzler Hern Herrell Herrera Beutler Higgins (LA) Hill Hinson Hollingsworth Hudson Huizenga Issa Jackson Jacobs (NY) Johnson (LA) Johnson (OH) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Katko Keller Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kim (CA) Kinzinger Kustoff LaHood LaMalfa Lamborn Latta LaTurner Lesko Long Loudermilk Lucas Luetkemeyer Mace Malliotakis Mann Massie Mast McCarthy McCaul McClain McClintock McHenry McKinley Meijer Meuser Miller (IL) Miller (WV) Miller-Meeks Moolenaar Mooney Moore (AL) Moore (UT) Mullin Murphy (NC) Nehls Newhouse Norman Nunes Obernolte Owens Palazzo Palmer Pence Perry Pfluger Posey Reed Reschenthaler Rice (SC) Rodgers (WA) Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rose Rosendale Rouzer Roy Rutherford Scalise Schweikert Sessions Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spartz Stauber Steel Stefanik Steil Steube Stewart Stivers Taylor Thompson (PA) Tiffany Timmons Turner Upton Van Drew Van Duyne Wagner Walberg Walorski Waltz Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Wenstrup Westerman Williams (TX) Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Wright Young Zeldin

NOT VOTING--8

Brownley Clyde Ferguson Granger Hice (GA) Nadler Raskin Scott, Austin

{time} 1502

Mr. HUFFMAN changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''

So the previous question was ordered.

The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.

Motion to Commit

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to commit at the desk.

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Garcia of Illinois). The Clerk will report the motion to commit.

The Clerk read as follows:

Mr. Smith of Missouri moves to commit the resolution (H. Res. 8) to a select committee composed of the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader with instructions to report it forthwith back to the House with the following amendment:

Strike Section 3(v)(2).

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to commit.

There was no objection.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to commit.

The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the noes appeared to have it.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 203, nays 217, not voting 9, as follows:

YEAS--203

Aderholt Allen Amodei Armstrong Arrington Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Banks Barr Bentz Bergman Bice (OK) Biggs Bilirakis Bishop (NC) Boebert Bost Brady Buchanan Buck Bucshon Budd Burchett Burgess Calvert Cammack Carl Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Cawthorn Chabot Cheney Cline Cloud Cole Comer Crawford Crenshaw Curtis Davidson Davis, Rodney DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Donalds Duncan Dunn Emmer Estes Fallon Feenstra Fischbach Fitzgerald Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Fortenberry Foxx Franklin, C. Scott Fulcher Gaetz Gallagher Garbarino Garcia (CA) Gibbs Gimenez Gohmert Gonzales, Tony Gonzalez (OH) Good (VA) Gooden (TX) Gosar Graves (LA) Graves (MO) Green (TN) Greene (GA) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hagedorn Harris Harshbarger Hartzler Hern Herrell Herrera Beutler Higgins (LA) Hill Hinson Hollingsworth Hudson Huizenga Issa Jackson Jacobs (NY) Johnson (LA) Johnson (OH) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Katko Keller Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kim (CA) Kinzinger Kustoff LaHood LaMalfa Lamborn Latta LaTurner Lesko Long Loudermilk Lucas Luetkemeyer Mace Malliotakis Mann Massie Mast McCarthy McCaul McClain McClintock McHenry McKinley Meijer Meuser Miller (IL) Miller (WV) Miller-Meeks Moolenaar Mooney Moore (AL) Moore (UT) Mullin Murphy (NC) Nehls Newhouse Norman Nunes Obernolte Owens Palazzo Palmer Pence Perry Pfluger Posey Reed Reschenthaler Rice (SC) Rodgers (WA) Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rose Rosendale Rouzer Roy Rutherford Scalise Schweikert Sessions Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spartz Stauber Steel Stefanik Steil Steube Stewart Stivers Taylor Thompson (PA) Tiffany Timmons Turner Upton Van Drew Van Duyne Wagner Walberg Walorski Waltz Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Wenstrup Westerman Williams (TX) Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Wright Young Zeldin

NAYS--217

Adams Aguilar Allred Auchincloss Axne Barragan Bass Beatty Bera Beyer Bishop (GA) Blumenauer Blunt Rochester Bonamici Bourdeaux Bowman Boyle, Brendan F. Brown Bush Bustos Butterfield Carbajal Cardenas Carson Cartwright Case Casten Castor (FL) Castro (TX) Chu Cicilline Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Connolly Cooper Correa Costa Courtney Craig Crist Crow Cuellar Davids (KS) Davis, Danny K. Dean DeFazio DeGette DeLauro DelBene Delgado Demings DeSaulnier Deutch Dingell Doggett Doyle, Michael F. Escobar Eshoo Espaillat Evans Fletcher Foster Frankel, Lois Fudge Gallego Garamendi Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Golden Gomez Gonzalez, Vicente Gottheimer Green, Al (TX) Grijalva Haaland Harder (CA) Hayes Higgins (NY) Himes Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Huffman Jackson Lee Jacobs (CA) Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (TX) Jones Kahele Kaptur Keating Kelly (IL) Khanna Kildee Kilmer Kim (NJ) Kind Kirkpatrick Krishnamoorthi Kuster Lamb Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Lawrence Lawson (FL) Lee (CA) Lee (NV) Leger Fernandez Levin (CA) Levin (MI) Lieu Lofgren Lowenthal Luria Lynch Malinowski Maloney, Carolyn B. Maloney, Sean Manning Matsui McBath McCollum McEachin McGovern McNerney Meeks Meng Mfume Moore (WI) Morelle Moulton Mrvan Murphy (FL) Napolitano Neal Neguse Newman Norcross O'Halleran Ocasio-Cortez Omar Pallone Panetta Pappas Pascrell Payne Perlmutter Peters Phillips Pingree Pocan Porter Pressley Price (NC) Quigley Rice (NY) Richmond Ross Roybal-Allard Ruiz Ruppersberger Rush Ryan Sanchez Sarbanes Scanlon Schakowsky Schiff Schneider

Schrader Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Sewell Sherman Sherrill Sires Slotkin Smith (WA) Soto Spanberger Speier Stanton Stevens Strickland Suozzi Swalwell Takano Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tonko Torres (CA) Torres (NY) Trahan Trone Underwood Vargas Veasey Vela Velazquez Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Welch Wexton Wild Williams (GA) Wilson (FL) Yarmuth

NOT VOTING--9

Brooks Brownley Clyde Ferguson Granger Hice (GA) Nadler Raskin Scott, Austin

{time} 1551

Ms. DeGETTE, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, and Mrs. FLETCHER changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''

Mr. BUCK, Ms. VAN DUYNE, Messrs. NEWHOUSE, GAETZ, ISSA, BILIRAKIS, and CARTER of Texas changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''

So the motion to commit was rejected.

The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. DeGette). The question is on the resolution.

The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 217, nays 206, not voting 6, as follows:

YEAS--217

Adams Aguilar Allred Auchincloss Axne Barragan Bass Beatty Bera Beyer Bishop (GA) Blumenauer Blunt Rochester Bonamici Bourdeaux Bowman Boyle, Brendan F. Brown Brownley Bush Bustos Butterfield Carbajal Cardenas Carson Cartwright Case Casten Castor (FL) Castro (TX) Chu Cicilline Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Connolly Cooper Correa Costa Courtney Craig Crist Crow Cuellar Davids (KS) Davis, Danny K. Dean DeFazio DeGette DeLauro DelBene Delgado Demings DeSaulnier Deutch Dingell Doggett Doyle, Michael F. Escobar Eshoo Espaillat Evans Fletcher Foster Frankel, Lois Fudge Gallego Garamendi Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Golden Gomez Gonzalez, Vicente Gottheimer Green, Al (TX) Grijalva Haaland Harder (CA) Hayes Higgins (NY) Himes Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Huffman Jackson Lee Jacobs (CA) Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (TX) Jones Kahele Kaptur Keating Kelly (IL) Khanna Kildee Kilmer Kim (NJ) Kind Kirkpatrick Krishnamoorthi Kuster Lamb Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Lawrence Lawson (FL) Lee (CA) Lee (NV) Leger Fernandez Levin (CA) Levin (MI) Lieu Lofgren Lowenthal Luria Lynch Malinowski Maloney, Carolyn B. Maloney, Sean Manning Matsui McBath McCollum McEachin McGovern McNerney Meeks Meng Mfume Moore (WI) Morelle Moulton Mrvan Murphy (FL) Napolitano Neal Neguse Newman Norcross O'Halleran Ocasio-Cortez Omar Pallone Panetta Pappas Pascrell Payne Perlmutter Peters Phillips Pingree Pocan Porter Pressley Price (NC) Quigley Rice (NY) Richmond Ross Roybal-Allard Ruiz Ruppersberger Rush Ryan Sarbanes Scanlon Schakowsky Schiff Schneider Schrader Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Sewell Sherman Sherrill Sires Slotkin Smith (WA) Soto Spanberger Speier Stanton Stevens Strickland Suozzi Swalwell Takano Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tonko Torres (CA) Torres (NY) Trahan Trone Underwood Vargas Veasey Vela Velazquez Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Welch Wexton Wild Williams (GA) Wilson (FL) Yarmuth

NAYS--206

Aderholt Allen Amodei Armstrong Arrington Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Banks Barr Bentz Bergman Bice (OK) Biggs Bilirakis Bishop (NC) Boebert Bost Brady Brooks Buchanan Buck Bucshon Budd Burchett Burgess Calvert Cammack Carl Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Cawthorn Chabot Cheney Cline Cloud Cole Comer Crawford Crenshaw Curtis Davidson Davis, Rodney DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Donalds Duncan Dunn Emmer Estes Fallon Feenstra Ferguson Fischbach Fitzgerald Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Fortenberry Foxx Franklin, C. Scott Fulcher Gaetz Gallagher Garbarino Garcia (CA) Gibbs Gimenez Gohmert Gonzales, Tony Gonzalez (OH) Good (VA) Gooden (TX) Gosar Graves (LA) Graves (MO) Green (TN) Greene (GA) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hagedorn Harris Harshbarger Hartzler Hern Herrell Herrera Beutler Higgins (LA) Hill Hinson Hollingsworth Hudson Huizenga Issa Jackson Jacobs (NY) Johnson (LA) Johnson (OH) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Katko Keller Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kim (CA) Kinzinger Kustoff LaHood LaMalfa Lamborn Latta LaTurner Lesko Long Loudermilk Lucas Luetkemeyer Mace Malliotakis Mann Massie Mast McCarthy McCaul McClain McClintock McHenry McKinley Meijer Meuser Miller (IL) Miller (WV) Miller-Meeks Moolenaar Mooney Moore (AL) Moore (UT) Mullin Murphy (NC) Nehls Newhouse Norman Nunes Obernolte Owens Palazzo Palmer Pence Perry Pfluger Posey Reed Reschenthaler Rice (SC) Rodgers (WA) Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rose Rosendale Rouzer Roy Rutherford Scalise Schweikert Scott, Austin Sessions Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spartz Stauber Steel Stefanik Steil Steube Stewart Stivers Taylor Thompson (PA) Tiffany Timmons Turner Upton Van Drew Van Duyne Wagner Walberg Walorski Waltz Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Wenstrup Westerman Williams (TX) Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Wright Young Zeldin

NOT VOTING--6

Clyde Granger Hice (GA) Nadler Raskin Sanchez

{time} 1649

Mr. PALAZZO changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''

So the resolution was agreed to.

The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.

A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

personal explanation

Ms. GRANGER. Madam Speaker, I missed votes due to circumstances beyond my control. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on roll call No. 6, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 7, and ``nay'' on rollcall No. 8.

____________________

SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 2

The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.

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ORGANIZATIONS IN THIS STORY

State Of Missouri