[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 263 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 263
To establish the Joint Select Committee on Earmark Reform, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 15, 2007
Mr. Kingston (for himself, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Akin, Mrs. Blackburn, Mrs.
Bono, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Brady of Texas, Mr. Broun of Georgia, Mrs.
Capito, Mr. Carter, Mr. Castle, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Crenshaw, Mr. Conaway,
Mr. Culberson, Mr. Deal of Georgia, Mr. Dent, Mr. Doolittle, Mrs.
Drake, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Everett, Ms. Fallin, Mr. Feeney, Mr. Flake, Mr.
Forbes, Mr. Fortenberry, Ms. Foxx, Mr. Gilchrest, Mr. Gingrey, Mr.
Goode, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Gohmert, Ms. Granger, Mr. Hastert, Mr.
Hensarling, Mr. Inglis of South Carolina, Mr. Issa, Mr. Jones of North
Carolina, Mr. King of New York, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Kline
of Minnesota, Mr. LaHood, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Latham, Mr. Lewis of
Kentucky, Mr. Linder, Mr. Daniel E. Lungren of California, Mr. Mack,
Mr. Marchant, Mr. McCaul of Texas, Mr. McCotter, Mr. McHenry, Mr.
Miller of Florida, Mr. Moran of Kansas, Mrs. Musgrave, Mrs. Myrick, Mr.
Pence, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Porter, Mr. Price of Georgia, Mr. Rehberg, Mr.
Renzi, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Roskam, Mrs. Schmidt, Mr. Shuster, Mr.
Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Souder, Mr. Stearns, Mr. Terry, Mr.
Thornberry, Mr. Tiahrt, Mr. Walberg, Mr. Westmoreland, Mr. Wamp, Mr.
Weldon of Florida, and Mr. Wolf) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
To establish the Joint Select Committee on Earmark Reform, and for
other purposes.
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
SECTION 1. JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE ON EARMARK REFORM.
(a) Establishment and Composition.--There is hereby established a
Joint Select Committee on Earmark Reform. The joint select committee
shall be composed of 16 members as follows:
(1) 8 Members of the House of Representatives, 4 appointed
from the majority party by the Speaker of the House, and 4 from
the minority party to be appointed by the minority leader; and
(2) 8 Members of the Senate, 4 appointed from the majority
party by the majority leader of the Senate, and 4 from the
minority party to be appointed by the minority leader.
A vacancy in the joint select committee shall not affect the power of
the remaining members to execute the functions of the joint select
committee, and shall be filled in the same manner as the original
selection.
(b) Study and Report.--
(1) Study.--The joint select committee shall make a full
study of the practices of the House, Senate, and Executive
Branch regarding earmarks in authorizing, appropriation, tax,
and tariff measures. As part of the study, the joint select
committee shall consider the efficacy of--
(A) the disclosure requirements of clause 9 of rule
XXI and clause 17 of rule XXIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, House Resolution 491, and
rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate, and the
definitions contained therein;
(B) requiring full transparency in the process,
with earmarks listed in bills at the outset of the
legislative process and continuing throughout
consideration;
(C) requiring that earmarks not be placed in any
bill after initial committee consideration;
(D) requiring that Members be permitted to offer
amendments to remove earmarks at subcommittee, full
committee, floor consideration, and during conference
committee meetings;
(E) requiring that bill sponsors and majority and
minority managers certify the validity of earmarks
contained in their bills;
(F) recommending changes to earmark requests made
by the Executive Branch through the annual budget
submitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title
31, United States Code;
(G) requiring that House and Senate amendments meet
earmark disclosure requirements, including amendments
adopted pursuant to a special order of business;
(H) establishing new categories for earmarks,
including--
(i) projects with National scope;
(ii) military projects; and
(iii) local or provincial projects,
including the level of matching funds required
for such project.
(2) Report.--
(A) The joint select committee shall submit to the
House and the Senate a report of its findings and
recommendations not later than 6 months after adoption
of this concurrent resolution.
(B) No recommendation shall be made by the joint
select committee except upon the majority vote of the
members from each House, respectively.
(C) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
resolution, any recommendation with respect to the
rules and procedures of one House that only affects
matters related solely to that House may only be made
and voted on by members of the joint select committee
from that House and, upon its adoption by a majority of
such members, shall be considered to have been adopted
by the full committee as a recommendation of the joint
select committee.
In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the joint select committee
shall hold not fewer than 5 public hearings.
(c) Resources and Dissolution.--
(1) The joint select committee may utilize the resources of
the House and Senate.
(2) The joint select committee shall cease to exist 30 days
after the submission of the report described in subsection
(a)(2).
(d) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term ``earmark''
shall include congressional earmarks, congressionally directed spending
items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as those terms
are used in clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate.
Nothing in this subsection shall confine the study of the joint select
committee or otherwise limit its recommendations.
SEC. 2. MORATORIUM ON CONSIDERATION OF EARMARKS.
(a) In the House.--It shall not be in order to consider a bill,
joint resolution, or conference report containing a congressional
earmark, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit (as such terms
are used in clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives) until the filing of the report required under section
1.
(b) In the Senate.--[To be supplied.]
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