The Standing Rules of the Senate
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In the absence of the Vice President, the Senate shall choose a President pro tempore, who shall hold the office and execute the duties thereof during the pleasure of the Senate and until another is elected or his term of office as a Senator expires.
In the absence of the Vice President, and pending the election of a President pro tempore, the Acting President pro tempore or the Secretary of the Senate, or in his absence the Assistant Secretary, shall perform the duties of the Chair.
The President pro tempore shall have the right to name in open Senate or, if absent, in writing, a Senator to perform the duties of the Chair, including the signing of duly enrolled bills and joint resolutions but such substitution shall not extend beyond an adjournment, except by unanimous consent; and the Senator so named shall have the right to name in open session, or, if absent, in writing, a Senator to perform the duties of the Chair, but not to extend beyond an adjournment, except by unanimous consent.
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The presentation of the credentials of Senators elect or of Senators designate and other questions of privilege shall always be in order, except during the reading and correction of the Journal, while a question of order or a motion to adjourn is pending, or while the Senate is voting or ascertaining the presence of a quorum; and all questions and motions arising or made upon the presentation of such credentials shall be proceeded with until disposed of.
The Secretary shall keep a record of the certificates of election and certificates of appointment of Senators by entering in a wellbound book kept for that purpose the date of the election or appointment, the name of the person elected or appointed, the date of the certificate, the name of the governor and the secretary of state signing and countersigning the same, and the State from which such Senator is elected or appointed.
The Secretary of the Senate shall send copies of the following recommended forms to the governor and secretary of state of each State wherein an election is about to take place or an appointment is to be made so that they may use such forms if they see fit.
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The oaths or affirmations required by the Constitution and prescribed by law shall be taken and subscribed by each Senator, in open Senate, before entering upon his duties.
OATH REQUIRED BY THE CONSTITUTION AND BY LAW TO BE TAKEN BY SENATORS
"I, A__ B__, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God." (5 U.S.C. 3331.)
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(a) The Presiding Officer having taken the chair, following the prayer by the Chaplain, and after the Presiding Officer, or a Senator designated by the Presiding Officer, leads the Senate from the dias in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States, and a quorum being present, the Journal of the preceding day shall be read unless by nondebatable motion the reading shall be waived, the question being, "Shall the Journal stand approved to date?", and any mistake made in the entries corrected. Except as provided in subparagraph (b) the reading of the Journal shall not be suspended unless by unanimous consent; and when any motion shall be made to amend or correct the same, it shall be deemed a privileged question, and proceeded with until disposed of.
(b) Whenever the Senate is proceeding under paragraph 2 of rule XXII, the reading of the Journal shall be dispensed with and shall be considered approved to date.
(c) The proceedings of the Senate shall be briefly and accurately stated on the Journal. Messages of the President in full; titles of bills and resolutions, and such parts as shall be affected by proposed amendments; every vote, and a brief statement of the contents of each petition, memorial, or paper presented to the Senate, shall be entered.
(d) The legislative, the executive, the confidential legislative proceedings, and the proceedings when sitting as a Court of Impeachment, shall each be recorded in a separate book.
During a session of the Senate when that body is in continuous session, the Presiding Officer shall temporarily suspend the business of the Senate at noon each day for the purpose of having the customary daily prayer by the Chaplain.
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No motion to suspend, modify, or amend any rule, or any part thereof, shall be in order, except on one day's notice in writing, specifying precisely the rule or part proposed to be suspended, modified, or amended, and the purpose thereof. Any rule may be suspended without notice by the unanimous consent of the Senate, except as otherwise provided by the rules.
The rules of the Senate shall continue from one Congress to the next Congress unless they are changed as provided in these rules.
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A quorum shall consist of a majority of the Senators duly chosen and sworn.
No Senator shall absent himself from the service of the Senate without leave.
If, at any time during the daily sessions of the Senate, a question shall be raised by any Senator as to the presence of a quorum, the Presiding Officer shall forthwith direct the Secretary to call the roll and shall announce the result, and these proceedings shall be without debate.
Whenever upon such roll call it shall be ascertained that a quorum is not present, a majority of the Senators present may direct the Sergeant at Arms to request, and, when necessary, to compel the attendance of the absent Senators, which order shall be determined without debate; and pending its execution, and until a quorum shall be present, no debate nor motion, except to adjourn, or to recess pursuant to a previous order entered by unanimous consent, shall be in order.
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On each legislative day after the Journal is read, the Presiding Officer on demand of any Senator shall lay before the Senate messages from the President, reports and communications from the heads of Departments, and other communications addressed to the Senate, and such bills, joint resolutions, and other messages from the House of Representatives as may remain upon his table from any previous day's session undisposed of. The Presiding Officer on demand of any Senator shall then call for, in the following order:
The presentation of petitions and memorials.
Reports of committees.
The introduction of bills and joint resolutions.
The submission of other resolutions.
All of which shall be received and disposed of in such order, unless unanimous consent shall be otherwise given, with newly offered resolutions being called for before resolutions coming over from a previous legislative day are laid before the Senate.
Until the morning business shall have been concluded, and so announced from the Chair, or until one hour after the Senate convenes at the beginning of a new legislative day, no motion to proceed to the consideration of any bill, resolution, report of a committee, or other subject upon the Calendar shall be entertained by the Presiding Officer, unless by unanimous consent: Provided, however, That on Mondays which are the beginning of a legislative day the Calendar shall be called under rule VIII, and until two hours after the Senate convenes no motion shall be entertained to proceed to the consideration of any bill, resolution, or other subject upon the Calendar except the motion to continue the consideration of a bill, resolution, or other subject against objection as provided in rule VIII, or until the call of the Calendar has been completed.
The Presiding Officer may at any time lay, and it shall be in order at any time for a Senator to move to lay, before the Senate, any bill or other matter sent to the Senate by the President or the House of Representatives for appropriate action allowed under the rules and any question pending at that time shall be suspended for this purpose. Any motion so made shall be determined without debate.
Petitions or memorials shall be referred, without debate, to the appropriate committee according to subject matter on the same basis as bills and resolutions, if signed by the petitioner or memorialist. A question of receiving or reference may be raised and determined without debate. But no petition or memorial or other paper signed by citizens or subjects of a foreign power shall be received, unless the same be transmitted to the Senate by the President.
Only a brief statement of the contents of petitions and memorials shall be printed in the Congressional Record; and no other portion of any petition or memorial shall be printed in the Record unless specifically so ordered by vote of the Senate, as provided for in paragraph 4 of rule XI, in which case the order shall be deemed to apply to the body of the petition or memorial only; and names attached to the petition or memorial shall not be printed unless specially ordered, except that petitions and memorials from the legislatures or conventions, lawfully called, of the respective States, Territories, and insular possessions shall be printed in full in the Record whenever presented.
Senators having petitions, memorials, bills, or resolutions to present after the morning hour may deliver them in the absence of objection to the Presiding Officer's desk, endorsing upon them their names, and with the approval of the Presiding Officer, they shall be entered on the Journal with the names of the Senators presenting them and in the absence of objection shall be considered as having been read twice and referred to the appropriate committees, and a transcript of such entries shall be furnished to the official reporter of debates for publication in the Congressional Record, under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate.
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At the conclusion of the morning business at the beginning of a new legislative day, unless upon motion the Senate shall at any time otherwise order, the Senate shall proceed to the consideration of the Calendar of Bills and Resolutions, and shall continue such consideration until 2 hours after the Senate convenes on such day (the end of the morning hour); and bills and resolutions that are not objected to shall be taken up in their order, and each Senator shall be entitled to speak once and for five minutes only upon any question; and an objection may be interposed at any stage of the proceedings, but upon motion the Senate may continue such consideration; and this order shall commence immediately after the call for "other resolutions", or after disposition of resolutions coming "over under the rule", and shall take precedence of the unfinished business and other special orders. But if the Senate shall proceed on motion with the consideration of any matter notwithstanding an objection, the foregoing provisions touching debate shall not apply.
All motions made during the first two hours of a new legislative day to proceed to the consideration of any matter shall be determined without debate, except motions to proceed to the consideration of any motion, resolution, or proposal to change any of the Standing Rules of the Senate shall be debatable. Motions made after the first two hours of a new legislative day to proceed to the consideration of bills and resolutions are debatable.
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Messages from the President of the United States or from the House of Representatives may be received at any stage of proceedings, except while the Senate is voting or ascertaining the presence of a quorum, or while the Journal is being read, or while a question of order or a motion to adjourn is pending.
Messages shall be sent to the House of Representatives by the Secretary, who shall previously certify the determination of the Senate upon all bills, joint resolutions, and other resolutions which may be communicated to the House, or in which its concurrence may be requested; and the Secretary shall also certify and deliver to the President of the United States all resolutions and other communications which may be directed to him by the Senate.
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Any subject may, by a vote of two-thirds of the Senators present, be made a special order of business for consideration and when the time so fixed for its consideration arrives the Presiding Officer shall lay it before the Senate, unless there be unfinished business in which case it takes its place on the Calendar of Special Orders in the order of time at which it was made special, to be considered in that order when there is no unfinished business.
All motions to change such order, or to proceed to the consideration of other business, shall be decided without debate.
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No memorial or other paper presented to the Senate, except original treaties finally acted upon, shall be withdrawn from its files except by order of the Senate.
The Secretary of the Senate shall obtain at the close of each Congress all the noncurrent records of the Senate and of each Senate committee and transfer them to the National Archives and Records Administration for preservation, subject to the orders of the Senate.
When the reading of a paper is called for, and objected to, it shall be determined by a vote of the Senate, without debate.
Every motion or resolution to print documents, reports, and other matter transmitted by the executive departments, or to print memorials, petitions, accompanying documents, or any other paper, except bills of the Senate or House of Representatives, resolutions submitted by a Senator, communications from the legislatures or conventions, lawfully called, of the respective States, shall, unless the Senate otherwise order, be referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration. When a motion is made to commit with instructions, it shall be in order to add thereto a motion to print.
Motions or resolutions to print additional numbers shall also be referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration; and when the committee shall report favorably, the report shall be accompanied by an estimate of the probable cost thereof; and when the cost of printing such additional numbers shall exceed the sum established by law, the concurrence of the House of Representatives shall be necessary for an order to print the same.
Every bill and joint resolution introduced or reported from a committee, and all bills and joint resolutions received from the House of Representatives, and all reports of committees, shall be printed, unless, for the dispatch of the business of the Senate, such printing may be dispensed with.
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When the yeas and nays are ordered, the names of Senators shall be called alphabetically; and each Senator shall, without debate, declare his assent or dissent to the question, unless excused by the Senate; and no Senator shall be permitted to vote after the decision shall have been announced by the Presiding Officer, but may for sufficient reasons, with unanimous consent, change or withdraw his vote. No motion to suspend this rule shall be in order, nor shall the Presiding Officer entertain any request to suspend it by unanimous consent.
When a Senator declines to vote on call of his name, he shall be required to assign his reasons therefor, and having assigned them, the Presiding Officer shall submit the question to the Senate: "Shall the Senator for the reasons assigned by him, be excused from voting?" which shall be decided without debate; and these proceedings shall be had after the roll call and before the result is announced; and any further proceedings in reference thereto shall be after such announcement.
A Member, notwithstanding any other provisions of this rule, may decline to vote, in committee or on the floor, on any matter when he believes that his voting on such a matter would be a conflict of interest.
No request by a Senator for unanimous consent for the taking of a final vote on a specified date upon the passage of a bill or joint resolution shall be submitted to the Senate for agreement thereto until after a quorum call ordered for the purpose by the Presiding Officer, it shall be disclosed that a quorum of the Senate is present; and when a unanimous consent is thus given the same shall operate as the order of the Senate, but any unanimous consent may be revoked by another unanimous consent granted in the manner prescribed above upon one day's notice.
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When a question has been decided by the Senate, any Senator voting with the prevailing side or who has not voted may, on the same day or on either of the next two days of actual session thereafter, move a reconsideration; and if the Senate shall refuse to reconsider such a motion entered, or if such a motion is withdrawn by leave of the Senate, or if upon reconsideration the Senate shall affirm its first decision, no further motion to reconsider shall be in order unless by unanimous consent. Every motion to reconsider shall be decided by a majority vote, and may be laid on the table without affecting the question in reference to which the same is made, which shall be a final disposition of the motion.
When a bill, resolution, report, amendment, order, or message, upon which a vote has been taken, shall have gone out of the possession of the Senate and been communicated to the House of Representatives, the motion to reconsider shall be accompanied by a motion to request the House to return the same; which last motion shall be acted upon immediately, and without debate, and if determined in the negative shall be a final disposition of the motion to reconsider.
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Whenever a bill or joint resolution shall be offered, its introduction shall, if objected to, be postponed for one day.
Every bill and joint resolution shall receive three readings previous to its passage which readings on demand of any Senator shall be on three different legislative days, and the Presiding Officer shall give notice at each reading whether it be the first, second, or third: Provided,That each reading may be by title only, unless the Senate in any case shall otherwise order.
No bill or joint resolution shall be committed or amended until it shall have been twice read, after which it may be referred to a committee; bills and joint resolutions introduced on leave, and bills and joint resolutions from the House of Representatives, shall be read once, and may be read twice, if not objected to, on the same day for reference, but shall not be considered on that day nor debated, except for reference, unless by unanimous consent.
Every bill and joint resolution reported from a committee, not having previously been read, shall be read once, and twice, if not objected to, on the same day, and placed on the Calendar in the order in which the same may be reported; and every bill and joint resolution introduced on leave, and every bill and joint resolution of the House of Representatives which shall have received a first and second reading without being referred to a committee, shall, if objection be made to further proceeding thereon, be placed on the Calendar.
All bills, amendments, and joint resolutions shall be examined under the supervision of the Secretary of the Senate before they go out of the possession of the Senate, and all bills and joint resolutions which shall have passed both Houses shall be examined under the supervision of the Secretary of the Senate, to see that the same are correctly enrolled, and, when signed by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate shall forthwith present the same, when they shall have originated in the Senate, to the President of the United States and report the fact and date of such presentation to the Senate.
All other resolutions shall lie over one day for consideration, if not referred, unless by unanimous consent the Senate shall otherwise direct. When objection is heard to the immediate consideration of a resolution or motion when it is submitted, it shall be placed on the Calendar under the heading of "Resolutions and Motions over, under the Rule," to be laid before the Senate on the next legislative day when there is no further morning business but before the close of morning business and before the termination of the morning hour.
When a bill or joint resolution shall have been ordered to be read a third time, it shall not be in order to propose amendments, unless by unanimous consent, but it shall be in order at any time before the passage of any bill or resolution to move its commitment; and when the bill or resolution shall again be reported from the committee it shall be placed on the Calendar.
When a bill or resolution is accompanied by a preamble, the question shall first be put on the bill or resolution and then on the preamble, which may be withdrawn by a mover before an amendment of the same, or ordering of the yeas and nays; or it may be laid on the table without prejudice to the bill or resolution, and shall be a final disposition of such preamble.
Whenever a private bill, except a bill for a pension, is under consideration, it shall be in order to move the adoption of a resolution to refer the bill to the Chief Commissioner of the Court of Claims for a report in conformity with section 2509 of title 28, United States Code.
No private bill or resolution (including socalled omnibus claims or pension bills), and no amendment to any bill or resolution, authorizing or directing (1) the payment of money for property damages, personal injuries, or death, for which a claim may be filed under chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code, or for a pension (other than to carry out a provision of law or treaty stipulation); (2) the construction of a bridge across a navigable stream; or (3) the correction of a military or naval record, shall be received or considered.
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(a) An amendment and any instruction accompanying a motion to recommit shall be reduced to writing and read and identical copies shall be provided by the Senator offering the amendment or instruction to the desks of the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader before being debated.
(b) A motion shall be reduced to writing, if desired by the Presiding Officer or by any Senator, and shall be read before being debated.
Any motion, amendment, or resolution may be withdrawn or modified by the mover at any time before a decision, amendment, or ordering of the yeas and nays, except a motion to reconsider, which shall not be withdrawn without leave.
If the question in debate contains several propositions, any Senator may have the same divided, except a motion to strike out and insert, which shall not be divided; but the rejection of a motion to strike out and insert one proposition shall not prevent a motion to strike out and insert a different proposition; nor shall it prevent a motion simply to strike out; nor shall the rejection of a motion to strike out prevent a motion to strike out and insert. But pending a motion to strike out and insert, the part to be stricken out and the part to be inserted shall each be regarded for the purpose of amendment as a question, and motions to amend the part to be stricken out shall have precedence.
When an amendment proposed to any pending measure is laid on the table, it shall not carry with it, or prejudice, such measure.
It shall not be in order to consider any proposed committee amendment (other than a technical, clerical, or conforming amendment) which contains any significant matter not within the jurisdiction of the committee proposing such amendment.
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On a point of order made by any Senator, no amendments shall be received to any general appropriation bill the effect of which will be to increase an appropriation already contained in the bill, or to add a new item of appropriation, unless it be made to carry out the provisions of some existing law, or treaty stipulation, or act or resolution previously passed by the Senate during that session; or unless the same be moved by direction of the Committee on Appropriations or of a committee of the Senate having legislative jurisdiction of the subject matter, or proposed in pursuance of an estimate submitted in accordance with law.
The Committee on Appropriations shall not report an appropriation bill containing amendments to such bill proposing new or general legislation or any restriction on the expenditure of the funds appropriated which proposes a limitation not authorized by law if such restriction is to take effect or cease to be effective upon the happening of a contingency, and if an appropriation bill is reported to the Senate containing amendments to such bill proposing new or general legislation or any such restriction, a point of order may be made against the bill, and if the point is sustained, the bill shall be recommitted to the Committee on Appropriations.
All amendments to general appropriation bills moved by direction of a committee having legislative jurisdiction of the subject matter proposing to increase an appropriation already contained in the bill, or to add new items of appropriation, shall, at least one day before they are considered, be referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and when actually proposed to the bill no amendment proposing to increase the amount stated in such amendment shall be received on a point of order made by any Senator.
On a point of order made by any Senator, no amendment offered by any other Senator which proposes general legislation shall be received to any general appropriation bill, nor shall any amendment not germane or relevant to the subject matter contained in the bill be received; nor shall any amendment to any item or clause of such bill be received which does not directly relate thereto; nor shall any restriction on the expenditure of the funds appropriated which proposes a limitation not authorized by law be received if such restriction is to take effect or cease to be effective upon the happening of a contingency; and all questions of relevancy of amendments under this rule, when raised, shall be submitted to the Senate and be decided without debate; and any such amendment or restriction to a general appropriation bill may be laid on the table without prejudice to the bill.
On a point of order made by any Senator, no amendment, the object of which is to provide for a private claim, shall be received to any general appropriation bill, unless it be to carry out the provisions of an existing law or a treaty stipulation, which shall be cited on the face of the amendment.
When a point of order is made against any restriction on the expenditure of funds appropriated in a general appropriation bill on the ground that the restriction violates this rule, the rule shall be construed strictly and, in case of doubt, in favor of the point of order.
Every report on general appropriation bills filed by the Committee on Appropriations shall identify with particularity each recommended amendment which proposes an item of appropriation which is not made to carry out the provisions of an existing law, a treaty stipulation, or an act or resolution previously passed by the Senate during that session.
On a point of order made by any Senator, no general appropriation bill or amendment thereto shall be received or considered if it contains a provision reappropriating unexpended balances of appropriations; except that this provision shall not apply to appropriations in continuation of appropriations for public works on which work has commenced.
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Except as provided in paragraph 3, in any case in which a controversy arises as to the jurisdiction of any committee with respect to any proposed legislation, the question of jurisdiction shall be decided by the presiding officer, without debate, in favor of the committee which has jurisdiction over the subject matter which predominates in such proposed legislation; but such decision shall be subject to an appeal.
A motion simply to refer shall not be open to amendment, except to add instructions.
(a) Upon motion by both the majority leader or his designee and the minority leader or his designee, proposed legislation may be referred to two or more committees jointly or sequentially. Notice of such motion and the proposed legislation to which it relates shall be printed in the Congressional Record. The motion shall be privileged, but it shall not be in order until the Congressional Record in which the notice is printed has been available to Senators for at least twenty-four hours. No amendment to any such motion shall be in order except amendments to any instructions contained therein. Debate on any such motion, and all amendments thereto and debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, shall be limited to not more than two hours, the time to be equally divided between, and controlled by, the majority leader and the minority leader or their designees.
(b) Proposed legislation which is referred to two or more committees jointly may be reported only by such committees jointly and only one report may accompany any proposed legislation so jointly reported.
(c) A motion to refer any proposed legislation to two or more committees sequentially shall specify the order of referral.
(d) Any motion under this paragraph may specify the portion or portions of proposed legislation to be considered by the committees, or any of them, to which such proposed legislation is referred, and such committees or committee shall be limited, in the consideration of such proposed legislation, to the portion or portions so specified.
(e) Any motion under this subparagraph may contain instructions with respect to the time allowed for consideration by the committees, or any of them, to which proposed legislation is referred and the discharge of such committees, or any of them, from further consideration of such proposed legislation.
(a) All reports of committees and motions to discharge a committee from the consideration of a subject, and all subjects from which a committee shall be discharged, shall lie over one day for consideration, unless by unanimous consent the Senate shall otherwise direct.
(b) Whenever any committee (except the Committee on Appropriations) has reported any measure, by action taken in conformity with the requirements of paragraph 7 of rule XXVI, no point of order shall lie with respect to that measure on the ground that hearings upon that measure by the committee were not conducted in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 4 of rule XXVI.
Any measure or matter reported by any standing committee shall not be considered in the Senate unless the report of that committee upon that measure or matter has been available to Members for at least two calendar days (excluding Sundays and legal holidays) prior to the consideration of that measure or matter. If hearings have been held on any such measure or matter so reported, the committee reporting the measure or matter shall make every reasonable effort to have such hearings printed and available for distribution to the Members of the Senate prior to the consideration of such measure or matter in the Senate. This paragraph:
May be waived by joint agreement of the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of the Senate; and
Shall not apply to:
Any measure for the declaration of war, or the declaration of a national emergency, by the Congress, and
Any executive decision, determination, or action which would become, or continue to be, effective unless disapproved or otherwise invalidated by one or both Houses of Congress.
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At the second or any subsequent session of a Congress the legislative business of the Senate which remained undetermined at the close of the next preceding session of that Congress shall be resumed and proceeded with in the same manner as if no adjournment of the Senate had taken place.
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(a) When a Senator desires to speak, he shall rise and address the Presiding Officer, and shall not proceed until he is recognized, and the Presiding Officer shall recognize the Senator who shall first address him. No Senator shall interrupt another Senator in debate without his consent, and to obtain such consent he shall first address the Presiding Officer, and no Senator shall speak more than twice upon any one question in debate on the same legislative day without leave of the Senate, which shall be determined without debate.
(b) At the conclusion of the morning hour at the beginning of a new legislative day or after the unfinished business or any pending business has first been laid before the Senate on any calendar day, and until after the duration of three hours of actual session after such business is laid down except as determined to the contrary by unanimous consent or on motion without debate, all debate shall be germane and confined to the specific question then pending before the Senate.
No Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator.
No Senator in debate shall refer offensively to any State of the Union.
If any Senator, in speaking or otherwise, in the opinion of the Presiding Officer transgress the rules of the Senate the Presiding Officer shall, either on his own motion or at the request of any other Senator, call him to order; and when a Senator shall be called to order he shall take his seat, and may not proceed without leave of the Senate, which, if granted, shall be upon motion that he be allowed to proceed in order, which motion shall be determined without debate. Any Senator directed by the Presiding Officer to take his seat, and any Senator requesting the Presiding Officer to require a Senator to take his seat, may appeal from the ruling of the Chair, which appeal shall be open to debate.
If a Senator be called to order for words spoken in debate, upon the demand of the Senator or of any other Senator, the exceptionable words shall be taken down in writing, and read at the table for the information of the Senate.
Whenever confusion arises in the Chamber or the galleries, or demonstrations of approval or disapproval are indulged in by the occupants of the galleries, it shall be the duty of the Chair to enforce order on his own initiative and without any point of order being made by a Senator.
No Senator shall introduce to or bring to the attention of the Senate during its sessions any occupant in the galleries of the Senate. No motion to suspend this rule shall be in order, nor may the Presiding Officer entertain any request to suspend it by unanimous consent.
Former Presidents of the United States shall be entitled to address the Senate upon appropriate notice to the Presiding Officer who shall thereupon make the necessary arrangements.
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A question of order may be raised at any stage of the proceedings, except when the Senate is voting or ascertaining the presence of a quorum, and, unless submitted to the Senate, shall be decided by the Presiding Officer without debate, subject to an appeal to the Senate. When an appeal is taken, any subsequent question of order which may arise before the decision of such appeal shall be decided by the Presiding Officer without debate; and every appeal therefrom shall be decided at once, and without debate; and any appeal may be laid on the table without prejudice to the pending proposition, and thereupon shall be held as affirming the decision of the Presiding Officer.
The Presiding Officer may submit any question of order for the decision of the Senate.
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On a motion made and seconded to close the doors of the Senate, on the discussion of any business which may, in the opinion of a Senator, require secrecy, the Presiding Officer shall direct the galleries to be cleared; and during the discussion of such motion the doors shall remain closed.
When the Senate meets in closed session, any applicable provisions of rules XXIX and XXXI, including the confidentiality of information shall apply to any information and to the conduct of any debate transacted.
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When a question is pending, no motion shall be received but
To adjourn.
To adjourn to a day certain, or that when the Senate adjourn it shall be to a day certain.
To take a recess.
To proceed to the consideration of executive business.
To lay on the table.
To postpone indefinitely.
To postpone to a day certain.
To commit.
To amend.
Which several motions shall have precedence as they stand arranged; and the motions relating to adjournment, to take a recess, to proceed to the consideration of executive business, to lay on the table, shall be decided without debate.
Notwithstanding the provisions of rule II or rule IV or any other rule of the Senate, at any time a motion signed by sixteen Senators, to bring to a close the debate upon any measure, motion, other matter pending before the Senate, or the unfinished business, is presented to the Senate, the Presiding Officer, or clerk at the direction of the Presiding Officer, shall at once state the motion to the Senate, and one hour after the Senate meets on the following calendar day but one, he shall lay the motion before the Senate and direct that the clerk call the roll, and upon the ascertainment that a quorum is present, the Presiding Officer shall, without debate, submit to the Senate by a yea-and-nay vote the question:
"Is it the sense of the Senate that the debate shall be brought to a close?" And if that question shall be decided in the affirmative by three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn -- except on a measure or motion to amend the Senate rules, in which case the necessary affirmative vote shall be two-thirds of the Senators present and voting -- then said measure, motion, or other matter pending before the Senate, or the unfinished business, shall be the unfinished business to the exclusion of all other business until disposed of.
Thereafter no Senator shall be entitled to speak in all more than one hour on the measure, motion, or other matter pending before the Senate, or the unfinished business, the amendments thereto, and motions affecting the same, and it shall be the duty of the Presiding Officer to keep the time of each Senator who speaks. Except by unanimous consent, no amendment shall be proposed after the vote to bring the debate to a close, unless it had been submitted in writing to the Journal Clerk by 1 o'clock p.m. on the day following the filing of the cloture motion if an amendment in the first degree, and unless it had been so submitted at least one hour prior to the beginning of the cloture vote if an amendment in the second degree. No dilatory motion, or dilatory amendment, or amendment not germane shall be in order. Points of order, including questions of relevancy, and appeals from the decision of the Presiding Officer, shall be decided without debate.
After no more than thirty hours of consideration of the measure, motion, or other matter on which cloture has been invoked, the Senate shall proceed, without any further debate on any question, to vote on the final disposition thereof to the exclusion of all amendments not then actually pending before the Senate at that time and to the exclusion of all motions, except a motion to table, or to reconsider and one quorum call on demand to establish the presence of a quorum (and motions required to establish a quorum) immediately before the final vote begins. The thirty hours may be increased by the adoption of a motion, decided without debate, by a threefifths affirmative vote of the Senators duly chosen and sworn, and any such time thus agreed upon shall be equally divided between and controlled by the Majority and Minority Leaders or their designees. However, only one motion to extend time, specified above, may be made in any one calendar day.
If, for any reason, a measure or matter is reprinted after cloture has been invoked, amendments which were in order prior to the reprinting of the measure or matter will continue to be in order and may be conformed and reprinted at the request of the amendment's sponsor. The conforming changes must be limited to lineation and pagination.
No Senator shall call up more than two amendments until every other Senator shall have had the opportunity to do likewise.
Notwithstanding other provisions of this rule, a Senator may yield all or part of his one hour to the majority or minority floor managers of the measure, motion, or matter or to the Majority or Minority Leader, but each Senator specified shall not have more than two hours so yielded to him and may in turn yield such time to other Senators.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this rule, any Senator who has not used or yielded at least ten minutes, is, if he seeks recognition, guaranteed up to ten minutes, inclusive, to speak only.
After cloture is invoked, the reading of any amendment, including House amendments, shall be dispensed with when the proposed amendment has been identified and has been available in printed form at the desk of the Members for not less than twenty four hours.
If a cloture motion on a motion to proceed to a measure or matter is presented in accordance with this rule and is signed by 16 Senators, including the Majority Leader, the Minority Leader, 7 additional Senators not affiliated with the majority, and 7 additional Senators not affiliated with the minority, one hour after the Senate meets on the following calendar day, the Presiding Officer, or the clerk at the direction of the Presiding Officer, shall lay the motion before the Senate. If cloture is then invoked on the motion to proceed, the question shall be on the motion to proceed, without further debate.
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Other than the Vice President and Senators, no person shall be admitted to the floor of the Senate while in session, except as follows:
The President of the United States and his private secretary.
The President elect and Vice President elect of the United States.
Ex-Presidents and ex-Vice Presidents of the United States.
Judges of the Supreme Court.
Ex-Senators and Senators elect, except as provided in paragraph 2.
The officers and employees of the Senate in the discharge of their official duties.
Ex-Secretaries and ex-Sergeants at Arms of the Senate, except as provided in paragraph 2.
Members of the House of Representatives and Members elect.
Ex-Speakers of the House of Representatives, except as provided in paragraph 2.
The Sergeant at Arms of the House and his chief deputy and the Clerk of the House and his deputy.
Heads of the Executive Departments.
Ambassadors and Ministers of the United States.
Governors of States and Territories.
Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The General Commanding the Army.
The Senior Admiral of the Navy on the active list.
Members of National Legislatures of foreign countries and Members of the European Parliament.
Judges of the Court of Claims.
The Mayor of the District of Columbia.
The Librarian of Congress and the Assistant Librarian in charge of the Law Library.
The Architect of the Capitol.
The Chaplain of the House of Representatives.
The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
The Parliamentarian Emeritus of the Senate.
Members of the staffs of committees of the Senate and joint committees of the Congress when in the discharge of their official duties and employees in the office of a Senator when inthe discharge of their official duties (but in each case subject to such rules or regulations as may be prescribed by the Committee on Rules and Administration). Senate committee staff members and employees in the office of a Senator must be on the payroll of the Senate and members of joint committee staffs must be on the payroll of the Senate or the House of Representatives.
(a)The floor privilege provided in paragraph 1 shall not apply, when the Senate is in session, to an individual covered by this paragraph who is-
a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal; or
in the employ of or represents any party or organization for the purpose of influencing, directly or indirectly, the passage, defeat, or amendment of any Federal legislative proposal.
(b) The Committee on Rules and Administration may promulgate regulations to allow individuals covered by this paragraph floor privileges for ceremonial functions and events designated by the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader.
A former Member of the Senate may not exercise privileges to use Senate athletic facilities or Member-only parking spaces if such Member is-
a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal; or
in the employ of or represents any party or organization for the purpose of influencing, directly or indirectly, the passage, defeat, or amendment of any Federal legislative proposal.
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In the appointment of the standing committees, or to fill vacancies thereon, the Senate, unless otherwise ordered, shall by resolution appoint the chairman of each such committee and the other members thereof. On demand of any Senator, a separate vote shall be had on the appointment of the chairman of any such committee and on the appointment of the other members thereof. Each such resolution shall be subject to amendment and to division of the question.
On demand of one-fifth of the Senators present, a quorum being present, any vote taken pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be by ballot.
Except as otherwise provided or unless otherwise ordered, all other committees, and the chairmen thereof, shall be appointed in the same manner as standing committees.
When a chairman of a committee shall resign or cease to serve on a committee, action by the Senate to fill the vacancy in such committee, unless specially otherwise ordered, shall be only to fill up the number of members of the committee, and the election of a new chairman.
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The following standing committees shall be appointed at the commencement of each Congress, and shall continue and have the power to act until their successors are appointed, with leave to report by bill or otherwise on matters within their respective jurisdictions:
(1) Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating primarily to the following subjects:
Agricultural economics and research.
Agricultural extension services and experiment stations.
Agricultural production, marketing, and stabilization of prices.
Agriculture and agricultural commodities.
Animal industry and diseases.
Crop insurance and soil conservation.
Farm credit and farm security.
Food from fresh waters.
Food stamp programs.
Forestry, and forest reserves and wilderness areas other than those created from the public domain.
Home economics.
Human nutrition.
Inspection of livestock, meat, and agricultural products.
Pests and pesticides.
Plant industry, soils, and agricultural engineering.
Rural development, rural electrification, and watersheds.
17. School nutrition programs.
(2) Such committee shall also study and review, on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to food, nutrition, and hunger, both in the United States and in foreign countries, and rural affairs, and report thereon from time to time.
(1) Committee on Appropriations, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects:
Appropriation of the revenue for the support of the Government, except as provided in subparagraph (e).
Rescission of appropriations contained in appropriation Acts (referred to in section 105 of title 1, United States Code).
The amount of new spending authority described in section 401(c)(2) (A) and (B) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 which is to be effective for a fiscal year.
New spending authority described in section 401(c)(2)(C) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 provided in bills and resolutions referred to the committee under section 401(b)(2) of that Act (but subject to the provisions of section 401(b)(3) of that Act).
(1) Committee on Armed Services, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects:
Aeronautical and space activities peculiar to or primarily associated with the development of weapons systems or military operations.
Common defense.
Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force, generally.
Maintenance and operation of the Panama Canal, including administration, sanitation, and government of the Canal Zone.
Military research and development.
National security aspects of nuclear energy.
Naval petroleum reserves, except those in Alaska.
Pay, promotion, retirement, and other benefits and privileges of members of the Armed Forces, including overseas education of civilian and military dependents.
Selective service system.
Strategic and critical materials necessary for the common defense.
(2) Such committee shall also study and review, on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to the common defense policy of the United States, and report thereon from time to time.
(1) Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects:
Banks, banking, and financial institutions.
Control of prices of commodities, rents, and services.
Deposit insurance.
Economic stabilization and defense production.
Export and foreign trade promotion.
Export controls
Federal monetary policy, including Federal Reserve System.
Financial aid to commerce and industry.
Issuance and redemption of notes.
Money and credit, including currency and coinage.
Nursing home construction.
Public and private housing (including veterans' housing).
Renegotiation of Government contracts.
Urban development and urban mass transit.
(2) Such committee shall also study and review, on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to international economic policy as it affects United States monetary affairs, credit, and financial institutions; economic growth, urban affairs, and credit, and report thereon from time to time.
(1) Committee on the Budget, to which committee shall be referred all concurrent resolutions on the budget (as defined in section 3(a)(4) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974) and all other matters required to be referred to that committee under titles III and IV of that Act, and messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating thereto.
(2) Such committee shall have the duty-
to report the matters required to be reported by it under titles III and IV of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974;
to make continuing studies of the effect on budget outlays of relevant existing and proposed legislation and to report the results of such studies to the Senate on a recurring basis;
to request and evaluate continuing studies of tax expenditures, to devise methods of coordinating tax expenditures, policies, and programs with direct budget outlays, and to report the results of such studies to the Senate on a recurring basis; and
to review, on a continuing basis, the conduct by the Congressional Budget Office of its functions and duties.
(1) Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects:
Coast Guard.
Coastal zone management.
Communications.
Highway safety.
Inland waterways, except construction.
Interstate commerce.
Marine and ocean navigation, safety, and transportation, including navigational aspects of deepwater ports.
Marine fisheries.
Merchant marine and navigation.
Nonmilitary aeronautical and space sciences.
Oceans, weather, and atmospheric activities.
Panama Canal and interoceanic canals generally, except as provided in subparagraph (c).
Regulation of consumer products and services, including testing related to toxic substances, other than pesticides, and except for credit, financial services, and housing.
Regulation of interstate common carriers, including railroads, buses, trucks, vessels, pipelines, and civil aviation.
Science, engineering, and technology research and development and policy.
Sports.
Standards and measurement.
Transportation.
Transportation and commerce aspects of Outer Continental Shelf lands.
(2) Such committee shall also study and review, on a comprehensive basis, all matters relating to science and technology, oceans policy, transportation, communications, and consumer affairs, and report thereon from time to time.
(1) Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects:
Coal production, distribution, and utilization.
Energy policy.
Energy regulation and conservation.
Energy related aspects of deepwater ports.
Energy research and development.
Extraction of minerals from oceans and Outer Continental Shelf lands.
Hydroelectric power, irrigation, and reclamation.
Mining education and research.
Mining, mineral lands, mining claims, and mineral conservation.
National parks, recreation areas, wilderness areas, wild and scenic rivers, historical sites, military parks and battlefields, and on the public domain, preservation of prehistoric ruins and objects of interest.
Naval petroleum reserves in Alaska.
Nonmilitary development of nuclear energy.
Oil and gas production and distribution.
Public lands and forests, including farming and grazing thereon, and mineral extraction therefrom.
Solar energy systems.
Territorial possessions of the United States, including trusteeships.
(2) Such committee shall also study and review, on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to energy and resources development, and report thereon from time to time.
(1) Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects:
Air pollution.
Construction and maintenance of highways.
Environmental aspects of Outer Continental Shelf lands.
Environmental effects of toxic substances, other than pesticides.
Environmental policy.
Environmental research and development.
Fisheries and wildlife.
Flood control and improvements of rivers and harbors, including environmental aspects of deepwater ports.
Noise pollution.
Nonmilitary environmental regulation and control of nuclear energy.
Ocean dumping.
Public buildings and improved grounds of the United States generally, including Federal buildings in the District of Columbia.
Public works, bridges, and dams.
Regional economic development.
Solid waste disposal and recycling.
Water pollution.
Water resources.
(2) Such committee shall also study and review, on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to environmental protection and resource utilization and conservation, and report thereon from time to time.
(1) Committee on Finance, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects:
Bonded debt of the United States, except as provided in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
Customs, collection districts, and ports of entry and delivery.
Deposit of public moneys.
General revenue sharing.
Health programs under the Social Security Act and health programs financed by a specific tax or trust fund.
National social security.
Reciprocal trade agreements.
Revenue measures generally, except as provided in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
Revenue measures relating to the insular possessions.
Tariffs and import quotas, and matters related thereto.
Transportation of dutiable goods.
(1) Committee on Foreign Relations, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects:
Acquisition of land and buildings for embassies and legations in foreign countries.
Boundaries of the United States.
Diplomatic service.
Foreign economic, military, technical, and humanitarian assistance.
Foreign loans.
International activities of the American National Red Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
International aspects of nuclear energy, including nuclear transfer policy.
International conferences and congresses.
International law as it relates to foreign policy.
International Monetary Fund and other international organizations established primarily for international monetary purposes (except that, at the request of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, any proposed legislation relating to such subjects reported by the Committee on Foreign Relations shall be referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs).
Intervention abroad and declarations of war.
Measures to foster commercial intercourse with foreign nations and to safeguard American business interests abroad.
National security and international aspects of trusteeships of the United States.
Oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs as they relate to foreign policy.
Protection of United States citizens abroad and expatriation.
Relations of the United States with foreign nations generally.
Treaties and executive agreements, except reciprocal trade agreements.
United Nations and its affiliated organizations.
World Bank group, the regional development banks, and other international organizations established primarily for development assistance purposes.
(2) Such committee shall also study and review, on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to the national security policy, foreign policy, and international economic policy as it relates to foreign policy of the United States, and matters relating to food, hunger, and nutrition in foreign countries, and report thereon from time to time.
(1) Committee on Governmental Affairs, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects:
Archives of the United States.
Budget and accounting measures, other than appropriations, except as provided in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
Census and collection of statistics, including economic and social statistics.
Congressional organization, except for any part of the matter that amends the rules or orders of the Senate.
Federal Civil Service.
Government information.
Intergovernmental relations.
Municipal affairs of the District of Columbia, except appropriations therefor.
Organization and management of United States nuclear export policy.
Organization and reorganization of the executive branch of the Government.
Postal Service.
Status of officers and employees of the United States, including their classification, compensation, and benefits.
(2) Such committee shall have the duty of
receiving and examining reports of the Comptroller General of the United States and of submitting such recommendations to the Senate as it deems necessary or desirable in connection with the subject matter of such reports;
studying the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of all agencies and departments of the Government;
evaluating the effects of laws enacted to reorganize the legislative and executive branches of the Government; and
studying the intergovernmental relationships between the United States and the States and municipalities, and between the United States and international organizations of which the United States is a member.
(1) Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects:
Measures relating to education, labor, health, and public welfare.
Aging.
Agricultural colleges.
Arts and humanities.
Biomedical research and development.
Child labor.
Convict labor and the entry of goods made by convicts into interstate commerce.
Domestic activities of the American National Red Cross.
Equal employment opportunity.
Gallaudet College, Howard University, and Saint Elizabeths Hospital.
Individuals with disabilities.15
Labor standards and labor statistics.
Mediation and arbitration of labor disputes.
Occupational safety and health, including the welfare of miners.
Private pension plans.
Public health.
Railway labor and retirement.
Regulation of foreign laborers.
Student loans.
Wages and hours of labor.
(2) Such committee shall also study and review, on a comprehensive basis, matters relating to health, education and training, and public welfare, and report thereon from time to time.
(1) Committee on the Judiciary, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects:
Apportionment of Representatives.
Bankruptcy, mutiny, espionage, and counterfeiting.
Civil liberties.
Constitutional amendments.
Federal courts and judges.
Government information.
Holidays and celebrations.
Immigration and naturalization.
Interstate compacts generally.
Judicial proceedings, civil and criminal, generally.
Local courts in the territories and possessions.
Measures relating to claims against the United States.
National penitentiaries.
Patent Office.
Patents, copyrights, and trademarks.
Protection of trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and monopolies
Revision and codification of the statutes of the United States.
State and territorial boundary lines.
(1) Committee on Rules and Administration, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects:
Administration of the Senate Office Buildings and the Senate wing of the Capitol, including the assignment of office space.
Congressional organization relative to rules and procedures, and Senate rules and regulations, including floor and gallery rules.
Corrupt practices.
Credentials and qualifications of Members of the Senate, contested elections, and acceptance of incompatible offices.
Federal elections generally, including the election of the President, Vice President, and Members of the Congress.
Government Printing Office, and the printing and correction of the Congressional Record, as well as those matters provided for under rule XI.
Meetings of the Congress and attendance of Members.
Payment of money out of the contingent fund of the Senate or creating a charge upon the same (except that any resolution relating to substantive matter within the jurisdiction of any other standing committee of the Senate shall be first referred to such committee).
Presidential succession.
Purchase of books and manuscripts and erection of monuments to the memory of individuals.
Senate Library and statuary, art, and pictures in the Capitol and Senate Office Buildings.
Services to the Senate, including the Senate restaurant.
United States Capitol and congressional office buildings, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution (and the incorporation of similar institutions), and the Botanic Gardens.
(2) Such committees shall also-
make a continuing study of the organization and operation of the Congress of the United States and shall recommend improvements in such organization and operation with a view toward strengthening the Congress, simplifying its operations, improving its relationships with other branches of the United States Government, and enabling it better to meet its responsibilities under the Constitution of the United States;
identify any court proceeding or action which, in the opinion of the Committee, is of vital interest to the Congress as a constitutionally established institution of the Federal Government and call such proceeding or action to the attention of the Senate; and
develop, implement, and update as necessary a strategy planning process and a strategic plan for the functional and technical infrastructure support of the Senate and provide oversight over plans developed by Senate officers and others in accordance with the strategic planning process.
(1) Committee on Small Business, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the Small Business Administration.
(2) Any proposed legislation reported by such committee which relates to matters other than the functions of the Small Business Administration shall, at the request of the chairman of any standing committee having jurisdiction over the subject matter extraneous to the functions of the Small Business Administration, be considered and reported by such standing committee prior to its consideration by the Senate; and likewise measures reported by other committees directly relating to the Small Business Administration shall, at the request of the chairman of the Committee on Small Business, be referred to the Committee on Small Business for its consideration of any portions of the measure dealing with the Small Business Administration, and be reported by this committee prior to its consideration by the Senate.
(3) Such committee shall also study and survey by means of research and investigation all problems of American small business enterprises, and report thereon from time to time.
(1)Committee on Veterans' Affairs, to which committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the following subjects:
Compensation of veterans.
Life insurance issued by the Government on account of service in the Armed Forces.
National cemeteries.
Pensions of all wars of the United States, general and special.
Readjustment of servicemen to civil life.
Soldiers' and sailors' civil relief.
Veterans' hospitals, medical care and treatment of veterans.
Veterans' measures generally.
Vocational rehabilitation and education of veterans.
(2) Except as otherwise provided by paragraph 4 of this rule, each of the following standing committees shall consist of the number of Senators set forth in the following table on the line on which the name of that committee appears:
Committee / Members
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry / 18
Appropriations / 28
Armed Services / 18
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs / 18
Commerce, Science, and Transportation / 20
Energy and Natural Resources / 20
Environment and Public Works / 18
Finance / 20
Foreign Relations / 18
Governmental Affairs / 16
Judiciary / 18
H.E.L.P. / 18
(3)(a) Except as otherwise provided by paragraph 4 of this rule, each of the following standing committees shall consist of the number of Senators set forth in the following table on the line on which the name of that committee appears:
Committee / Members:
Budget / 22
Rules and Administration / 16
Veterans' Affairs / 12
Small Business / 18
(3)(b) Each of the following committees and joint committees shall consist of the number of Senators (or Senate members, in the case of a joint committee) set forth in the following table on the line on which the name of that committee appears:
Committee/ Members:
Aging / 18
Intelligence / 19
Joint Economic Committee / 10
(3)(c) Each of the following committees and joint committees shall consist of the number of Senators (or Senate members, in the case of a joint committee) set forth in the following table on the line on which the name of that committee appears:
Committee / Members:
Ethics / 6
Indian Affairs / 14
Joint Committee on Taxation / 5
(4)(a) Each of the following committees and joint committees shall consist of the number of Senators (or Senate members, in the case of a joint committee) set forth in the following table on the line on which the name of that committee appears:
each Senator shall serve on two and no more committees listed in paragraph 2; and
each Senator may serve on only one committee listed in paragraph 3 (a) or (b).
(4)(b)(1) Each Senator may serve on not more than three subcommittees of each committee (other than the Committee on Appropriations) listed in paragraph 2 of which he is a member.
(4)(b)(2) Each Senator may serve on not more than two subcommittees of a committee listed in paragraph 3 (a) or (b) of which he is a member.
(4)(b)(3) Notwithstanding subparagraphs (1) and (2), a Senator serving as chairman or ranking minority member of a standing, select, or special committee of the Senate or joint committee of the Congress may serve ex officio, without vote, as a member of any subcommittee of such committee or joint committee.
(4)(b)(4) No committee of the Senate may establish any sub-unit of that committee other than a subcommittee, unless the Senate by resolution has given permission therefor. For purposes of this subparagraph, any subunit of a joint committee shall be treated as a subcommittee.
(4)(c) By agreement entered into by the majority leader and the minority leader, the membership of one or more standing committees may be increased temporarily from time to time by such number or numbers as may be required to accord to the majority party a majority of the membership of all standing committees. When any such temporary increase is necessary to accord to the majority party a majority of the membership of all standing committees, members of the majority party in such number as may be required for that purpose may serve as members of three standing committees listed in paragraph 2. No such temporary increase in the membership of any standing committee under this subparagraph shall be continued in effect after the need therefor has ended. No standing committee may be increased in membership under this subparagraph by more than two members in excess of the number prescribed for that committee by paragraph 2 or 3(a).
(4)(d) A Senator may serve as a member of any joint committee of the Congress the Senate members of which are required by law to be appointed from a standing committee of the Senate of which he is a member, and service as a member of any such joint committee shall not be taken into account for purposes of subparagraph (a)(2).
(4)(e)(1) No Senator shall serve at any time as chairman of more than one standing, select, or special committee of the Senate or joint committee of the Congress, except that a Senator may serve as chairman of any joint committee of the Congress having jurisdiction with respect to a subject matter which is directly related to the jurisdiction of a standing committee of which he is chairman.
(4)(e)(2) No Senator shall serve at any time as chairman of more than one subcommittee of each standing, select, or special committee of the Senate or joint committee of the Congress of which he is a member.
(4)(e)(3) A Senator who is serving as the chairman of a committee listed in paragraph 2 may serve at any time as the chairman of only one subcommittee of all committees listed in paragraph 2 of which he is a member and may serve at any time as the chairman of only one subcommittee of each committee listed in paragraph 3 (a) or (b) of which he is a member. A Senator who is serving as the chairman of a committee listed in paragraph 3 (a) or (b) may not serve as the chairman of any subcommittee of that committee, and may serve at any time as the chairman of only one subcommittee of each committee listed in paragraph 2 of which he is a member. Any other Senator may serve as the chairman of only one subcommittee of each committee listed in paragraph 2, 3(a), or 3(b) of which he is a member.
(4)(f) A Senator serving on the Committee on Rules and Administration may not serve on any joint committee of the Congress unless the Senate members thereof are required by law to be appointed from the Committee on Rules and Administration, or unless such Senator served on the Committee on Rules and Administration and the Joint Committee on Taxation on the last day of the Ninety-eighth Congress.
(4)(g) A Senator who on the day preceding the effective date of Title I of the Committee System Reorganization Amendments of 1977 was serving as the chairman or ranking minority member of the Committee on the District of Columbia or the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service may serve on the Committee on Governmental Affairs in addition to serving on two other standing committees listed in paragraph 2. At the request of any such Senator, he shall be appointed to serve on such committee but, while serving on such committee and two other standing committees listed in paragraph 2, he may not serve on any committee listed in paragraph 3 (a) or (b) other than the Committee on Rules and Administration. The preceding provisions of this subparagraph shall apply with respect to any Senator only so long as his service as a member of the Committee on Governmental Affairs is continuous after the date on which the appointment of the majority and minority members of the Committee on Governmental Affairs is initially completed.
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Each standing committee, including any subcommittee of any such committee, is authorized to hold such hearings, to sit and act at such times and places during the sessions, recesses, and adjourned periods of the Senate, to require by subpena or otherwise the attendance of such witnesses and the production of such correspondence, books, papers, and documents, to take such testimony and to make such expenditures out of the contingent fund of the Senate as may be authorized by resolutions of the Senate. Each such committee may make investigations into any matter within its jurisdiction, may report such hearings as may be had by it, and may employ stenographic assistance at a cost not exceeding the amount prescribed by the Committee on Rules and Administration. The expenses of the committee shall be paid from the contingent fund of the Senate upon vouchers approved by the chairman.
Each committee shall adopt rules (not inconsistent with the Rules of the Senate) governing the procedure of such committee. The rules of each committee shall be published in the Congressional Record not later than March 1 of the first year of each Congress, except that if any such committee is established on or after February 1 of a year, the rules of that committee during the year of establishment shall be published in the Congressional Record not later than sixty days after such establishment. Any amendment to the rules of a committee shall not take effect until the amendment is published in the Congressional Record.
Each standing committee (except the Committee on Appropriations) shall fix regular weekly, biweekly, or monthly meeting days for the transaction of business before the committee and additional meetings may be called by the chairman as he may deem necessary. If at least three members of any such committee desire that a special meeting of the committee be called by the chairman, those members may file in the offices of the committee their written request to the chairman for that special meeting. Immediately upon the filing of the request, the clerk of the committee shall notify the chairman of the filing of the request. If, within three calendar days after the filing of the request, the chairman does not call the requested special meeting, to be held within seven calendar days after the filing of the request, a majority of the members of the committee may file in the offices of the committee their written notice that a special meeting of the committee will be held, specifying the date and hour of that special meeting. The committee shall meet on that date and hour. Immediately upon the filing of the notice, the clerk of the committee shall notify all members of the committee that such special meeting will be held and inform them of its date and hour. If the chairman of any such committee is not present at any regular, additional, or special meeting of the committee, the ranking member of the majority party on the committee who is present shall preside at that meeting.
(a) Each committee (except the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on the Budget) shall make public announcement of the date, place, and subject matter of any hearing to be conducted by the committee on any measure or matter at least one week before the commencement of that hearing unless the committee determines that there is good cause to begin such hearing at an earlier date.
(b) Each committee (except the Committee on Appropriations) shall require each witness who is to appear before the committee in any hearing to file with the clerk of the committee, at least one day before the date of the appearance of that witness, a written statement of his proposed testimony unless the committee chairman and the ranking minority member determine that there is good cause for noncompliance. If so requested by any committee, the staff of the committee shall prepare for the use of the members of the committee before each day of hearing before the committee a digest of the statements which have been so filed by witnesses who are to appear before the committee on that day.
(c) After the conclusion of each day of hearing, if so requested by any committee, the staff shall prepare for the use of the members of the committee a summary of the testimony given before the committee on that day. After approval by the chairman and the ranking minority member of the committee, each such summary may be printed as a part of the committee hearings if such hearings are ordered by the committee to be printed.
(d) Whenever any hearing is conducted by a committee (except the Committee on Appropriations) upon any measure or matter, the minority on the committee shall be entitled, upon request made by a majority of the minority members to the chairman before the completion of such hearing, to call witnesses selected by the minority to testify with respect to the measure or matter during at least one day of hearing thereon.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the rules, when the Senate is in session, no committee of the Senate or any subcommittee thereof may meet, without special leave, after the conclusion of the first two hours after the meeting of the Senate commenced and in no case after two o'clock postmeridian unless consent therefor has been obtained from the majority leader and the minority leader (or in the event of the absence of either of such leaders, from his designee). The prohibition contained in the preceding sentence shall not apply to the Committee on Appropriations or the Committee on the Budget. The majority leader or his designee shall announce to the Senate whenever consent has been given under this subparagraph and shall state the time and place of such meeting. The right to make such announcement of consent shall have the same priority as the filing of a cloture motion.
(b) Each meeting of a committee, or any subcommittee thereof, including meetings to conduct hearings, shall be open to the public, except that a meeting or series of meetings by a committee or a subcommittee thereof on the same subject for a period of no more than fourteen calendar days may be closed to the public on a motion made and seconded to go into closed session to discuss only whether the matters enumerated in clauses (1) through (6) would require the meeting to be closed, followed immediately by a record vote in open session by a majority of the members of the committee or subcommittee when it is determined that the matters to be discussed or the testimony to be taken at such meeting or meetings
will disclose matters necessary to be kept secret in the interests of national defense or the confidential conduct of the foreign relations of the United States;
will relate solely to matters of committee staff personnel or internal staff management or procedure;
will tend to charge an individual with crime or misconduct, to disgrace or injure the professional standing of an individual, or otherwise to expose an individual to public contempt or obloquy, or will represent a clearly unwarranted invasion of the privacy of an individual;
will disclose the identity of any informer or law enforcement agent or will disclose any information relating to the investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense that is required to be kept secret in the interests of effective law enforcement;
will disclose information relating to the trade secrets of financial or commercial information pertaining specifically to a given person if
an Act of Congress requires the information to be kept confidential by Government officers and employees; or
the information has been obtained by the Government on a confidential basis, other than through an application by such person for a specific Government financial or other benefit, and is required to be kept secret in order to prevent undue injury to the competitive position of such person; or
may divulge matters required to be kept confidential under other provisions of law or Government regulations.
(c) Whenever any hearing conducted by any such committee or subcommittee is open to the public, that hearing may be broadcast by radio or television, or both, under such rules as the committee or subcommittee may adopt.
(d) Whenever disorder arises during a committee meeting that is open to the public, or any demonstration of approval or disapproval is indulged in by any person in attendance at any such meeting, it shall be the duty of the Chair to enforce order on his own initiative and without any point of order being made by a Senator. When the Chair finds it necessary to maintain order, he shall have the power to clear the room, and the committee may act in closed session for so long as there is doubt of the assurance of order.
(e)(1)31 Each committee shall prepare and keep a complete transcript or electronic recording adequate to fully record the proceeding of each meeting or conference whether or not such meeting or any part thereof is closed under this paragraph, unless a majority of its members vote to forgo such a record.
(e)(2)(A)32 Except with respect to meetings closed in accordance with this rule, each committee and subcommittee shall make publiclyavailable through the internet a video recording, audio recording, or transcript of any meeting not later than 21 business days after the meeting occurs.
(e)(2)(B) information required by subclause (A) shall be available until the end of the Congress following the date of the meeting.
(e)(2)(C) The Committee on Rules and Administration may waive this clause upon request based on the inability of a committee or subcommittee to comply with this clause due to technical or logistical reasons.
Morning meetings of committees and subcommittees thereof shall be scheduled for one or both of the periods prescribed in this paragraph. The first period shall end at eleven o'clock antemeridian. The second period shall begin at eleven o'clock antemeridian and end at two o'clock postmeridian.
(a)(1) Except as provided in this paragraph, each committee, and each subcommittee thereof is authorized to fix the number of its members (but not less than one-third of its entire membership) who shall constitute a quorum thereof for the transaction of such business as may be considered by said committee, except that no measure or matter or recommendation shall be reported from any committee unless a majority of the committee were physically present.
(a)(2) Each such committee, or subcommittee, is authorized to fix a lesser number than one-third of its entire membership who shall constitute a quorum thereof for the purpose of taking sworn testimony.
(a)(3) The vote of any committee to report a measure or matter shall require the concurrence of a majority of the members of the committee who are present. No vote of any member of any committee to report a measure or matter may be cast by proxy if rules adopted by such committee forbid the casting of votes for that purpose by proxy; however, proxies may not be voted when the absent committee member has not been informed of the matter on which he is being recorded and has not affirmatively requested that he be so recorded. Action by any committee in reporting any measure or matter in accordance with the requirements of this subparagraph shall constitute the ratification by the committee of all action theretofore taken by the committee with respect to that measure or matter, including votes taken upon the measure or matter or any amendment thereto, and no point of order shall lie with respect to that measure or matter on the ground that such previous action with respect thereto by such committee was not taken in compliance with such requirements.
(b) Each committee (except the Committee on Appropriations) shall keep a complete record of all committee action. Such record shall include a record of the votes on any question on which a record vote is demanded. The results of rollcall votes taken in any meeting of any committee upon any measure, or any amendment thereto, shall be announced in the committee report on that measure unless previously announced by the committee, and such announcement shall include a tabulation of the votes cast in favor of and the votes cast in opposition to each such measure and amendment by each member of the committee who was present at that meeting.
(c) Whenever any committee by rollcall vote reports any measure or matter, the report of the committee upon such measure or matter shall include a tabulation of the votes cast by each member of the committee in favor of and in opposition to such measure or matter. Nothing contained in this subparagraph shall abrogate the power of any committee to adopt rules
providing for proxy voting on all matters other than the reporting of a measure of matter, or
providing in accordance with subparagraph (a) for a lesser number as a quorum for any action other than the reporting of a measure or matter.
(a) In order to assist the Senate in --
its analysis, appraisal, and evaluation of the application, administration, and execution of the laws enacted by the Congress, and
its formulation, consideration, and enactment of such modifications of or changes in those laws, and of such additional legislation, as may be necessary or appropriate, each standing committee (except the Committees on Appropriations and the Budget), shall review and study, on a continuing basis the application, administration, and execution of those laws, or parts of laws, the subject matter of which is within the legislative jurisdiction of that committee. Such committees may carry out the required analysis, appraisal, and evaluation themselves, or by contract, or may require a Government agency to do so and furnish a report thereon to the Senate. Such committees may rely on such techniques as pilot testing, analysis of costs in comparison with benefits, or provision for evaluation after a defined period of time.
(b) In each odd-numbered year, each such committee shall submit, not later than March 31, to the Senate, a report on the activities of that committee under this paragraph during the Congress ending at noon on January 3 of such year.
33 (a) Except as provided in subparagraph (b), each committee shall report one authorization resolution each year authorizing the committee to make expenditures out of the contingent fund of the Senate to defray its expenses, including the compensation of members of its staff and agency contributions related to such compensation, during the period beginning on March 1 of such year and ending on the last day of February of the following year. Such annual authorization resolution shall be reported not later than January 31 of each year, except that, whenever the designation of members of standing committees of the Senate occurs during the first session of a Congress at a date later than January 20, such resolution may be reported at any time within thirty days after the date on which the designation of such members is completed. After the annual authorization resolution of a committee for a year has been agreed to, such committee may procure authorization to make additional expenditures out of the contingent fund of the Senate during that year only by reporting a supplemental authorization resolution. Each supplemental authorization resolution reportedby a committee shall amend the annual authorization resolution of such committee for that year and shall be accompanied by a report specifying with particularity the purpose for which such authorization is sought and the reason why such authorization could not have been sought at the time of the submission by such committee of its annual authorization resolution for that year.
(b) In lieu of the procedure provided in subparagraph (a), the Committee on Rules and Administration may
direct each committee to report an authorization resolution for a twoyear budget period beginning on March 1 of the first session of a Congress; and
report one authorization resolution containing more than one committee authorization resolution for a oneyear or twoyear budget period.
(a) All committee hearings, records, data, charts, and files shall be kept separate and distinct from the congressional office records of the Member serving as chairman of the committee; and such records shall be the property of the Senate and all members of the committee and the Senate shall have access to such records. Each committee is authorized to have printed and bound such testimony and other data presented at hearings held by the committee.
(b) It shall be the duty of the chairman of each committee to report or cause to be reported promptly to the Senate any measure approved by his committee and to take or cause to be taken necessary steps to bring the matter to a vote. In any event, the report of any committee upon a measure which has been approved by the committee shall be filed within seven calendar days (exclusive of days on which the Senate is not in session) after the day on which there has been filed with the clerk of the committee a written and signed request of a majority of the committee for the reporting of that measure. Upon the filing of any such request, the clerk of the committee shall transmit immediately to the chairman of the committee notice of the filing of that request. This subparagraph does not apply to the Committee on Appropriations.
(c) If at the time of approval of a measure or matter by any committee (except for the Committee on Appropriations), any member of the committee gives notice of intention to file supplemental, minority, or additional views, that member shall be entitled to not less than three calendar days in which to file such views, in writing, with the clerk of the committee. All such views so filed by one or more members of the committee shall be included within, and shall be a part of, the report filed by the committee with respect to that measure or matter. The report of the committee upon that measure or matter shall be printed in a single volume which
shall include all supplemental, minority, or additional views which have been submitted by the time of the filing of the report, and
shall bear upon its cover a recital that supplemental, minority, or additional views are included as part of the report.
This subparagraph does not preclude
the immediate filing and printing of a committee report unless timely request for the opportunity to file supplemental, minority, or additional views has been made as provided by this subparagraph; or
the filing by any such committee of any supplemental report upon any measure or matter which may be required for the correction of any technical error in a previous report made by that committee upon that measure or matter.
(a) The report accompanying each bill or joint resolution of a public character reported by any committee (except the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on the Budget) shall contain
an estimate, made by such committee, of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out such bill or joint resolution in the fiscal year in which it is reported and in each of the five fiscal years following such fiscal year (or for the authorized duration of any program authorized by such bill or joint resolution, if less than five years), except that, in the case of measures affecting the revenues, such reports shall require only an estimate of the gain or loss in revenues for a oneyear period; and
a comparison of the estimate of costs described in subparagraph (1) made by such committee with any estimate of costs made by any Federal agency; or
in lieu of such estimate or comparison, or both, a statement of the reasons why compliance by the committee with the requirements of subparagraph (1) or (2), or both, is impracticable.
(b) Each such report (except those by the Committee on Appropriations) shall also contain
an evaluation, made by such committee, of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out the bill or joint resolution. The evaluation shall include (A) an estimate of the numbers of individuals and businesses who would be regulated and a determination of the groups and classes of such individuals and businesses, (B) a determination of the economic impact of such regulation on the individuals, consumers, and businesses affected, (C) a determination of the impact on the personal privacy of the individuals affected, and (D) a determination of the amount of additional paperwork that will result from the regulations to be promulgated pursuant to the bill or joint resolution, which determination may include, but need not be limited to, estimates of the amount of time and financial costs required of affected parties, showing whether the effects of the bill or joint resolution could be substantial, as well as reasonable estimates of the recordkeeping requirements that may be associated with the bill or joint resolution; or
in lieu of such evaluation, a statement of the reasons why compliance by the committee with the requirements of clause (1) is impracticable.
(c) It shall not be in order for the Senate to consider any such bill or joint resolution if the report of the committee on such bill or joint resolution does not comply with the provisions of subparagraphs (a) and (b) on the objection of any Senator.
Whenever a committee reports a bill or a joint resolution repealing or amending any statute or part thereof it shall make a report thereon and shall include in such report or in an accompanying document (to be prepared by the staff of such committee) (a) the text of the statute or part thereof which is proposed to be repealed; and (b) a comparative print of that part of the bill or joint resolution making the amendment and of the statute or part thereof proposed to be amended, showing by strickenthrough type and italics, parallel columns, or other appropriate typographical devices the omissions and insertions which would be made by the bill or joint resolution if enacted in the form recommended by the committee. This paragraph shall not apply to any such report in which it is stated that, in the opinion of the committee, it is necessary to dispense with the requirements of this subsection to expedite the business of the Senate.
(a) Each committee (except the Committee on Appropriations) which has legislative jurisdiction shall, in its consideration of all bills and joint resolutions of a public character within its jurisdiction, endeavor to insure that
all continuing programs of the Federal Government and of the government of the District of Columbia, within the jurisdiction of such committee or joint committee, are designed; and
all continuing activities of Federal agencies, within the jurisdiction of such committee or joint committee, are carried on; so that, to the extent consistent with the nature, requirements, and objectives of those programs and activities, appropriations therefor will be made annually.
(b) Each committee (except the Committee on Appropriations) shall with respect to any continuing program within its jurisdiction for which appropriations are not made annually, review such program, from time to time, in order to ascertain whether such program could be modified so that appropriations therefore would be made annually.
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Staff members appointed to assist minority members of committees pursuant to authority of a resolution described in paragraph 9 of rule XXVI or other Senate resolution shall be accorded equitable treatment with respect to the fixing of salary rates, the assignment of facilities, and the accessibility of committee records.
The minority shall receive fair consideration in the appointment of staff personnel pursuant to authority of a resolution described in paragraph 9 of rule XXVI.
The staffs of committees (including personnel appointed pursuant to authority of a resolution described in paragraph 9 of rule XXVI or other Senate resolution) should reflect the relative number of majority and minority members of committees. A majority of the minority members of any committee may, by resolution, request that at least one-third of all funds of the committee for personnel (other than those funds determined by the chairman and ranking minority member to be allocated for the administrative and clerical functions of the committee as a whole) be allocated to the minority members of such committee for compensation of minority staff as the minority members may decide. The committee shall thereafter adjust its budget to comply with such resolution. Such adjustment shall be equitably made over a four-year period, commencing July 1, 1977, with not less than one-half being made in two years. Upon request by a majority of the minority members of any committee by resolution, proportionate space, equipment, and facilities shall be provided for such minority staff.
No committee shall appoint to its staff any experts or other personnel detailed or assigned from any department or agency of the Government, except with the written permission of the Committee on Rules and Administration.
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The presentation of reports of committees of conference shall always be in order when available on each Senator's desk, except when the Journal is being read or a question of order or a motion to adjourn is pending, or while the Senate is voting or ascertaining the presence of a quorum; and when received the question of proceeding to the consideration of the report, if raised, shall be immediately put, and shall be determined without debate.
(a) When a message from the House of Representatives is laid before the Senate, it shall be in order for a single, non-divisible motion to be made that includes-
a motion to disagree to a House amendment or insist upon a Senate amendment;
a motion to request a committee of conference with the House or to agree to a request by the House for a committee of conference; and
a motion to authorize the Presiding Officer to appoint conferees (or a motion to appoint conferees).
(b) If a cloture motion is presented on a motion made pursuant to subparagraph (a), the motion shall be debatable for no more than 2 hours, equally divided in the usual form, after which the Presiding Officer, or the clerk at the direction of the Presiding Officer, shall lay the motion before the Senate. If cloture is then invoked on the motion, the question shall be on the motion, without further debate.
(a) Conferees shall not insert in their report matter not committed to them by either House, nor shall they strike from the bill matter agreed to by both Houses.
(b) If matter which was agreed to by both Houses is stricken from the bill a point of order may be made against the report, and if the point of order is sustained, the report is rejected or shall be recommitted to the committee of conference if the House of Representatives has not already acted thereon.
(c) If new matter is inserted in the report, a point of order may be made against the conference report and it shall be disposed of as provided under paragraph 5.
(a) In any case in which a disagreement to an amendment in the nature of a substitute has been referred to conferees-
it shall be in order for the conferees to report a substitute on the same subject matter;
the conferees may not include in the report matter not committed to them by either House; and
the conferees may include in their report in any such case matter which is a germane modification of subjects in disagreement.
(b) In any case in which the conferees violate subparagraph (a), a point of order may be made against the conference report and it shall be disposed of as provided under paragraph 5.
(a) A Senator may raise a point of order that one or more provisions of a conference report violates paragraph 3 or paragraph 4, as the case may be. The Presiding Officer may sustain the point of order as to some or all of the provisions against which the Senator raised the point of order.
(b) If the Presiding Officer sustains the point of order as to any of the provisions against which the Senator raised the point of order, then those provisions against which the Presiding Officer sustains the point of order shall be stricken. After all other points of order under this paragraph have been disposed of-
the Senate shall proceed to consider the question of whether the Senate should recede from its amendment to the House bill, or its disagreement to the amendment of the House, and concur with a further amendment, which further amendment shall consist of only that portion of the conference report that has not been stricken;
the question in clause (1) shall be decided under the same debate limitation as the conference report; and
no further amendment shall be in order.
(a) Any Senator may move to waive any or all points of order under paragraph 3 or 4 with respect to the pending conference report by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. All motions to waive under this paragraph shall be debatable collectively for not to exceed 1 hour equally divided between the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader or their designees. A motion to waive all points of order under this paragraph shall not be amendable.
(b) All appeals from rulings of the Chair under paragraph 5 shall be debatable collectively for not to exceed 1 hour, equally divided between the Majority and the Minority Leader or their designees. An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members of the Senate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required in the Senate to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair under paragraph 5.
Each report made by a committee of conference to the Senate shall be printed as a report of the Senate. As so printed, such report shall be accompanied by an explanatory statement prepared jointly by the conferees on the part of the House and the conferees on the part of the Senate. Such statement shall be sufficiently detailed and explicit to inform the Senate as to the effect which the amendments or propositions contained in such report will have upon the measure to which those amendments or propositions relate.
If time for debate in the consideration of any report of a committee of conference upon the floor of the Senate islimited, the time allotted for debate shall be equally divided between the majority party and the minority party.
Each conference committee between the Senate and the House of Representatives shall be open to the public except when managers of either the Senate or the House of Representatives in open session determine by a rollcall vote of a majority of those managers present, that all or part of the remainder of the meeting on the day of the vote shall be closed to the public.
(a)(1) It shall not be in order to vote on the adoption of a report of a committee of conference unless such report has been available to Members and to the general public for at least 48 hours before such vote. If a point of order is sustained under this paragraph, then the conference report shall be set aside.
(a)(2) For purposes of this paragraph, a report of a committee of conference is made available to the general public as of the time it is posted on a publicly accessible website controlled by a Member, committee, Library of Congress, or other office of Congress, or the Government Printing Office, as reported to the Presiding Officer by the Secretary of the Senate.
(b)(1) This paragraph may be waived in the Senate with respect to the pending conference report by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. A motion to waive this paragraph shall be debatable for not to exceed 1 hour equally divided between the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader or their designees.
(b)(2) An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order raised under this paragraph. An appeal of the ruling of the Chair shall be debatable for not to exceed 1 hour equally divided between the Majority and the Minority Leader or their designees.
(c) This paragraph may be waived by joint agreement of the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of the Senate, upon their certification that such waiver is necessary as a result of a significant disruption to Senate facilities or to the availability of the Internet.
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When the President of the United States shall meet the Senate in the Senate Chamber for the consideration of Executive business, he shall have a seat on the right of the Presiding Officer. When the Senate shall be convened by the President of the United States to any other place, the Presiding Officer of the Senate and the Senators shall attend at the place appointed, with the necessary officers of the Senate.
When acting upon confidential or Executive business, unless the same shall be considered in open Executive session, the Senate Chamber shall be cleared of all persons except the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary, the Principal Legislative Clerk, the Parliamentarian, the Executive Clerk, the Minute and Journal Clerk, the Sergeant at Arms, the Secretaries to the Majority and the Minority, and such other officers as the Presiding Officer shall think necessary; and all such officers shall be sworn to secrecy.
All confidential communications made by the President of the United States to the Senate shall be by the Senators and the officers of the Senate kept secret; and all treaties which may be laid before the Senate, and all remarks, votes, and proceedings thereon shall also be kept secret, until the Senate shall, by their resolution, take off the injunction of secrecy.
Whenever the injunction of secrecy shall be removed from any part of the proceedings of the Senate in closed Executive or legislative session, the order of the Senate removing the same shall be entered in the Legislative Journal as well as in the Executive Journal, and shall be published in the Congressional Record under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate.
Any Senator, officer, or employee of the Senate who shall disclose the secret or confidential business or proceedings of the Senate, including the business and proceedings of the committees, subcommittees, and offices of the Senate, shall be liable, if a Senator, to suffer expulsion from the body; and if an officer or employee, to dismissal from the service of the Senate, and to punishment for contempt.
Whenever, by the request of the Senate or any committee thereof, any documents or papers shall be communicated to the Senate by the President or the head of any department relating to any matter pending in the Senate, the proceedings in regard to which are secret or confidential under the rules, said documents and papers shall be considered as confidential, and shall not be disclosed without leave of the Senate.
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(a) When a treaty shall be laid before the Senate for ratification, it shall be read a first time; and no motion in respect to it shall be in order, except to refer it to a committee, to print it in confidence for the use of the Senate, or to remove the injunction of secrecy.
(b) When a treaty is reported from a committee with or without amendment, it shall, unless the Senate unanimously otherwise directs, lie over one day for consideration; after which it may be read a second time, after which amendments may be proposed. At any stage of such proceedings the Senate may remove the injunction of secrecy from the treaty.
(c) The decisions thus made shall be reduced to the form of a resolution of ratification, with or without amendments, as the case may be, which shall be proposed on a subsequent day, unless, by unanimous consent, the Senate determine otherwise, at which stage no amendment to the treaty shall be received unless by unanimous consent; but the resolution of ratification when pending shall be open to amendment in the form of reservations, declarations, statements, or understandings.
(d) On the final question to advise and consent to the ratification in the form agreed to, the concurrence of twothirds of the Senators present shall be necessary to determine it in the affirmative; but all other motions and questions upon a treaty shall be decided by a majority vote, except a motion to postpone indefinitely, which shall be decided by a vote of twothirds.
Treaties transmitted by the President to the Senate for ratification shall be resumed at the second or any subsequent session of the same Congress at the stage in which they were left at the final adjournment of the session at which they were transmitted; but all proceedings on treaties shall terminate with the Congress, and they shall be resumed at the commencement of the next Congress as if no proceedings had previously been had thereon.
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When nominations shall be made by the President of the United States to the Senate, they shall, unless otherwise ordered, be referred to appropriate committees; and the final question on every nomination shall be, "Will the Senate advise and consent to this nomination?" which question shall not be put on the same day on which the nomination is received, nor on the day on which it may be reported by a committee, unless by unanimous consent.
All business in the Senate shall be transacted in open session, unless the Senate as provided in rule XXI by a majority vote shall determine that a particular nomination, treaty, or other matter shall be considered in closed executive session, in which case all subsequent proceedings with respect to said nomination, treaty, or other matter shall be kept secret: Provided, That the injunction of secrecy as to the whole or any part of proceedings in closed executive session may be removed on motion adopted by a majority vote of the Senate in closed executive session: Provided further, That any Senator may make public his vote in closed executive session.
When a nomination is confirmed or rejected, any Senator voting in the majority may move for a reconsideration on the same day on which the vote was taken, or on either of the next two days of actual executive session of the Senate; but if a notification of the confirmation or rejection of a nomination shall have been sent to the President before the expiration of the time within which a motion to reconsider may be made, the motion to reconsider shall be accompanied by a motion to request the President to return such notification to the Senate. Any motion to reconsider the vote on a nomination may be laid on the table without prejudice to the nomination, and shall be a final disposition of such motion.
Nominations confirmed or rejected by the Senate shall not be returned by the Secretary to the President until the expiration of the time limited for making a motion to reconsider the same, or while a motion to reconsider is pending unless otherwise ordered by the Senate.
When the Senate shall adjourn or take a recess for more than thirty days, all motions to reconsider a vote upon a nomination which has been confirmed or rejected by the Senate, which shall be pending at the time of taking such adjournment or recess, shall fall; and the Secretary shall return all such nominations to the President as confirmed or rejected by the Senate, as the case may be.
Nominations neither confirmed nor rejected during the session at which they are made shall not be acted upon at any succeeding session without being again made to the Senate by the President; and if the Senate shall adjourn or take a recess for more than thirty days, all nominations pending and not finally acted upon at the time of taking such adjournment or recess shall be returned by the Secretary to the President, and shall not again be considered unless they shall again be made to the Senate by the President.
(a) The Official Reporters shall be furnished with a list of nominations to office after the proceedings of the day on which they are received, and a like list of all confirmations and rejections.
(b) All nominations to office shall be prepared for the printer by the Official Reporter, and printed in the Congressional Record, after the proceedings of the day in which they are received, also nominations recalled, and confirmed.
(c) The Secretary shall furnish to the press, and to the public upon request, the names of nominees confirmed or rejected on the day on which a final vote shall be had, except when otherwise ordered by the Senate.
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The President of the United States shall, from time to time, be furnished with an authenticated transcript of the public executive records of the Senate, but no further extract from the Executive Journal shall be furnished by the Secretary, except by special order of the Senate; and no paper, except original treaties transmitted to the Senate by the President of the United States, and finally acted upon by the Senate, shall be delivered from the office of the Secretary without an order of the Senate for that purpose.
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The Senate Chamber shall not be granted for any other purpose than for the use of the Senate; no smoking shall be permitted at any time on the floor of the Senate, or lighted cigars, cigarettes, or pipes be brought into the Chamber.
It shall be the duty of the Committee on Rules and Administration to make all rules and regulations respecting such parts of the Capitol, its passages and galleries, including the restaurant and the Senate Office Buildings, as are or may be set apart for the use of the Senate and its officers, to be enforced under the direction of the Presiding Officer. The Committee shall make such regulations respecting the reporters' galleries of the Senate, together with the adjoining rooms and facilities, as will confine their occupancy and use to bona fide reporters of newspapers and periodicals, and of news or press associations for daily news dissemination through radio, television, wires, and cables, and similar media of transmission. These regulations shall so provide for the use of such space and facilities as fairly to distribute their use to all such media of news dissemination.
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For purposes of this rule, the provisions of title I of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95521) shall be deemed to be a rule of the Senate as it pertains to Members, officers, and employees of the Senate.
(a) The Select Committee on Ethics shall transmit a copy of each report filed with it under title I of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (other than a report filed by a Member of Congress) to the head of the employing office of the individual filing the report.
(b) For purposes of this rule, the head of the employing office shall be
in the case of an employee of a Member, the Member by whom that person is employed;
in the case of an employee of a Committee, the chairman and ranking minority member of such Committee;
in the case of an employee on the leadership staff, the Member of the leadership on whose staff such person serves; and
in the case of any other employee of the legislative branch, the head of the office in which such individual serves.
In addition to the requirements of paragraph 1, Members, officers, and employees of the Senate shall include in each report filed under paragraph 1 the following additional information:
(a) For purposes of section 102(a)(1)(B) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 additional categories of income as follows:
greater than $1,000,000 but not more than $5,000,000, or
(2) greater than $5,000,000.
(b) for purposes of section 102(d)(1) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 additional categories of value as follows:
greater than $1,000,000 but not more than $5,000,000;
greater than $5,000,000 but not more than $25,000,000;
greater than $25,000,000 but not more than $50,000,000; and
greater than $50,000,000.
(c) For purposes of this paragraph and section 102 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, additional categories with amounts or values greater than $1,000,000 set forth in section 102(a)(1)(B) and 102(d)(1) shall apply to the income, assets, or liabilities of spouses and dependent children only if the income, assets, or liabilities are held jointly with the reporting individual. All other income, assets, or liabilities of the spouse or dependent children required to be reported under section 102 and this paragraph in an amount or value greater than $1,000,000 shall be categorized only as an amount or value greater than $1,000,000.
In addition to the requirements of paragraph 1, Members, officers, and employees of the Senate shall include in each report filed under paragraph 1 an additional statement under section 102(a) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 listing the category of the total cash value of any interest of the reporting individual in a qualified blind trust as provided in section 102(d)(1) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, unless the trust instrument was executed prior to July 24, 1995 and precludes the beneficiary from receiving information on the total cash value of any interest in the qualified blind trust.
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(a)(1) No Member, officer, or employee of the Senate shall knowingly accept a gift except as provided in this rule.
(a)(2)(A) A Member, officer, or employee may accept a gift (other than cash or cash equivalent) which the Member, officer, or employee reasonably and in good faith believes to have a value of less than $50, and a cumulative value from one source during a calendar year of less than $100. No gift with a value below $10 shall count toward the $100 annual limit. No formal record keeping is required by this paragraph, but a Member, officer, or employee shall make a good faith effort to comply with this paragraph.
(a)(2)(B) A Member, officer, or employee may not knowingly accept a gift from a registered lobbyist, an agent of a foreign principal, or a private entity that retains or employs a registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal, except as provided in subparagraphs (c) and (d).
(b)(1) For the purpose of this rule, the term "gift" means any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other item having monetary value. The term includes gifts of services, training, transportation, lodging, and meals, whether provided in kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in advance, or reimbursement after the expense has been incurred.
(b)(2)(A) A gift to a family member of a Member, officer, or employee, or a gift to any other individual based on that individual's relationship with the Member, officer, or employee, shall be considered a gift to the Member, officer, or employee if it is given with the knowledge and acquiescence of the Member, officer, or employee and the Member, officer, or employee has reason to believe the gift was given because of the official position of the Member, officer, or employee.
(b)(2)(B) If food or refreshment is provided at the same time and place to both a Member, officer, or employee and the spouse or dependent thereof, only the food or refreshment provided to the Member, officer, or employee shall be treated as a gift for purposes of this rule.
(c) The restrictions in subparagraph (a) shall not apply to the following:
(A) Anything for which the Member, officer, or employee pays the market value, or does not use and promptly returns to the donor.
(B) The market value of a ticket to an entertainment or sporting event shall be the face value of the ticket or, in the case of a ticket without a face value, the value of the ticket with the highest face value for the event, except that if a ticket holder can establish in advance of the event to the Select Committee on Ethics that the ticket at issue is equivalent to another ticket with a face value, then the market value shall be set at the face value of the equivalent ticket. In establishing equivalency, the ticket holder shall provide written and independently verifiable information related to the primary features of the ticket, including, at a minimum, the seat location, access to parking, availability of food and refreshments, and access to venue areas not open to the public. The Select Committee on Ethics may make a determination of equivalency only if such information is provided in advance of the event.
(C)(i) Fair market value for a flight on an aircraft described in item (ii) shall be the pro rata share of the fair market value of the normal and usual charter fare or rental charge for a comparable plane of comparable size, as determined by dividing such cost by the number of Members, officers, or employees of Congress on the flight.
(C)(ii) A flight on an aircraft described in this item is any flight on an aircraft that is not-
operated or paid for by an air carrier or commercial operator certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration and required to be conducted under air carrier safety rules; or
in the case of travel which is abroad, an air carrier or commercial operator certificated by an appropriate foreign civil aviation authority and the flight is required to be conducted under air carrier safety rules.
(C)(iii) This subclause shall not apply to an aircraft owned or leased by a governmental entity or by a Member of Congress or a Member's immediate family member (including an aircraft owned by an entity that is not a public corporation in which the Member or Member's immediate family member has an ownership interest), provided that the Member does not use the aircraft anymore than the Member's or immediate family member's proportionate share of ownership allows.
A contribution, as defined in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) that is lawfully made under that Act, or attendance at a fundraising event sponsored by a political organization described in section 527(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
A gift from a relative as described in section 109(16) of title I of the Ethics Reform of 1989 (5 U.S.C. App. 6).
(A) Anything, including personal hospitality, provided by an individual on the basis of a personal friendship unless the Member, officer, or employee has reason to believe that, under the circumstances, the gift was provided because of the official position of the Member, officer, or employee and not because of the personal friendship.
(B) In determining whether a gift is provided on the basis of personal friendship, the Member, officer, or employee shall consider the circumstances under which the gift was offered, such as:
The history of the relationship between the individual giving the gift and the recipient of the gift, including any previous exchange of gifts between such individuals.
Whether to the actual knowledge of the Member, officer, or employee the individual who gave the gift personally paid for the gift or sought a tax deduction or business reimbursement for the gift.
Whether to the actual knowledge of the Member, officer, or employee the individual who gave the gift also at the same time gave the same or similar gifts to other Members, officers, or employees.
A contribution or other payment to a legal expense fund established for the benefit of a Member, officer, or employee, that is otherwise lawfully made, subject to the disclosure requirements of the Select Committee on Ethics, except as provided in paragraph 3(c).
Any gift from another Member, officer, or employee of the Senate or the House of Representatives.
Food, refreshments, lodging, and other benefits
resulting from the outside business or employment activities (or other outside activities that are not connected to the duties of the Member, officer, or employee as an officeholder) of the Member, officer, or employee, or the spouse of the Member, officer, or employee, if such benefits have not been offered or enhanced because of the official position of the Member, officer, or employee and are customarily provided to others in similar circumstances;
customarily provided by a prospective employer in connection with bona fide employment discussions; or
provided by a political organization described in section 527(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 in connection with a fundraising or campaign event sponsored by such an organization.
Pension and other benefits resulting from continued participation in an employee welfare and benefits plan maintained by a former employer.
Informational materials that are sent to the office of the Member, officer, or employee in the form of books, articles, periodicals, other written materials, audiotapes, videotapes, or other forms of communication.
Awards or prizes which are given to competitors in contests or events open to the public, including random drawings.
Honorary degrees (and associated travel, food, refreshments, and entertainment) and other bona fide, nonmonetary awards presented in recognition of public service (and associated food, refreshments, and entertainment provided in the presentation of such degrees and awards).
Donations of products from the State that the Member represents that are intended primarily for promotional purposes, such as display or free distribution, and are of minimal value to any individual recipient.
Training (including food and refreshments furnished to all attendees as an integral part of the training) provided to a Member, officer, or employee, if such training is in the interest of the Senate.
Bequests, inheritances, and other transfers at death.
Any item, the receipt of which is authorized by the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act, the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act, or any other statute.
Anything which is paid for by the Federal Government, by a State or local government, or secured by the Government under a Government contract.
A gift of personal hospitality (as defined in section 109(14) of the Ethics in Government Act) of an individual other than a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal.
Free attendance at a widely attended event permitted pursuant to subparagraph (d).
Opportunities and benefits which are
available to the public or to a class consisting of all Federal employees, whether or not restricted on the basis of geographic consideration;
offered to members of a group or class in which membership is unrelated to congressional employment;
offered to members of an organization, such as an employees' association or congressional credit union, in which membership is related to congressional employment and similar opportunities are available to large segments of the public through organizations of similar size;
offered to any group or class that is not defined in a manner that specifically discriminates among Government employees on the basis of branch of Government or type of responsibility, or on a basis that favors those of higher rank or rate of pay;
in the form of loans from banks and other financial institutions on terms generally available to the public; or
in the form of reduced membership or other fees for participation in organization activities offered to all Government employees by professional organizations if the only restrictions on membership relate to professional qualifications.
A plaque, trophy, or other item that is substantially commemorative in nature and which is intended solely for presentation.
Anything for which, in an unusual case, a waiver is granted by the Select Committee on Ethics.
Food or refreshments of a nominal value offered other than as a part of a meal.
An item of little intrinsic value such as a greeting card, baseball cap, or a T-shirt.
Subject to the restrictions in subparagraph (a)(2)(A), free attendance at a constituent event permitted pursuant to subparagraph (g).
(d)(1) A Member, officer, or employee may accept an offer of free attendance at a widely attended convention, conference, symposium, forum, panel discussion, dinner, viewing, reception, or similar event, provided by the sponsor of the event, if
the Member, officer, or employee participates in the event as a speaker or a panel participant, by presenting information related to Congress or matters before Congress, or by performing a ceremonial function appropriate to the Member's, officer's, or employee's official position; or
attendance at the event is appropriate to the performance of the official duties or representative function of the Member, officer, or employee.
(d)(2) A Member, officer, or employee who attends an event described in clause (1) may accept a sponsor's unsolicited offer of free attendance at the event for an accompanying individual if others in attendance will generally be similarly accompanied or if such attendance is appropriate to assist in the representation of the Senate.
(d)(3) A Member, officer, or employee, or the spouse or dependent thereof, may accept a sponsor's unsolicited offer of free attendance at a charity event, except that reimbursement for transportation and lodging may not be accepted in connection with an event that does not meet the standards provided in paragraph 2.
(d)(4) For purposes of this paragraph, the term `free attendance' may include waiver of all or part of a conference or other fee, the provision of local transportation, or the provision of food, refreshments, entertainment, and instructional materials furnished to all attendees as an integral part of the event. The term does not include entertainment collateral to the event, nor does it include food or refreshments taken other than in a group setting with all or substantially all other attendees.
(d)(5) During the dates of the national party convention for the political party to which a Member belongs, a Member may not participate in an event honoring that Member, other than in his or her capacity as the party's presidential or vice presidential nominee or presumptive nominee, if such event is directly paid for by a registered lobbyist or a private entity that retains or employs a registered lobbyist.
(e) No Member, officer, or employee may accept a gift the value of which exceeds $250 on the basis of the personal friendship exception in subparagraph (c)(4) unless the Select Committee on Ethics issues a written determination that such exception applies. No determination under this subparagraph is required for gifts given on the basis of the family relationship exception.
(f) When it is not practicable to return a tangible item because it is perishable, the item may, at the discretion of the recipient, be given to an appropriate charity or destroyed.
(g)(1) A Member, officer, or employee may accept an offer of free attendance in the Member's home State at a conference, symposium, forum, panel discussion, dinner event, site visit, viewing, reception, or similar event, provided by a sponsor of the event, if--
the cost of meals provided the Member, officer, or employee is less than $50;
(i) the event is sponsored by constituents of, or a group that consists primarily of constituents of, the Member (or the Member by whom the officer or employee is employed); and
(ii) the event will be attended primarily by a group of at least 5 constituents of the Member (or the Member by whom the officer or employee is employed) provided that a registered lobbyist shall not attend the event; and
(i) the Member, officer, or employee participates in the event as a speaker or a panel participant, by presenting information related to Congress or matters before Congress, or by performing a ceremonial function appropriate to the Member's, officer's, or employee's official position; or
(ii) attendance at the event is appropriate to the performance of the official duties or representative function of the Member, officer, or employee.
(g)(2) A Member, officer, or employee who attends an event described in clause (1) may accept a sponsor’s unsolicited offer of free attendance at the event for an accompanying individual if others in attendance will generally be similarly accompanied or if such attendance is appropriate to assist in the representation of the Senate.
(g)(3) For purposes of this subparagraph, the term ‘free attendance’ has the same meaning given such term in subparagraph (d).
(a)(1) A reimbursement (including payment in kind) to a Member, officer, or employee from an individual other than a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal or a private entity that retains or employs 1 or more registered lobbyists or agents of a foreign principal for necessary transportation, lodging and related expenses for travel to a meeting, speaking engagement, factfinding trip or similar event in connection with the duties of the Member, officer, or employee as an officeholder shall be deemed to be a reimbursement to the Senate and not a gift prohibited by this rule, if the Member, officer, or employee complies with the requirements of this paragraph.
(a)(2)(A) Notwithstanding clause (1), a reimbursement (including payment in kind) to a Member, officer, or employee of the Senate from an individual, other than a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal, that is a private entity that retains or employs 1 or more registered lobbyists or agents of a foreign principal shall be deemed to be a reimbursement to the Senate under clause (1) if-
the reimbursement is for necessary transportation, lodging, and related expenses for travel to a meeting, speaking engagement, factfinding trip, or similar event described in clause (1) in connection with the duties of the Member, officer, or employee and the reimbursement is provided only for attendance at or participation for 1 day (exclusive of travel time and an overnight stay) at an event described in clause (1); or
the reimbursement is for necessary transportation, lodging, and related expenses for travel to a meeting, speaking engagement, factfinding trip, or similar event described in clause (1) in connection with the duties of the Member, officer, or employee and the reimbursement is from an organization designated under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(a)(2)(B) When deciding whether to preapprove a trip under this clause, the Select Committee on Ethics shall make a determination consistent with regulations issued pursuant to section 544(b) of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007. The committee through regulations to implement subclause (A)(i) may permit a longer stay when determined by the committee to be practically required to participate in the event, but in no event may the stay exceed 2 nights.
(a)(3) For purposes of clauses (1) and (2), events, the activities of which are substantially recreational in nature, shall not be considered to be in connection with duties of a Member, officer, or employee as an officeholder.
(b) Before an employee may accept reimbursement pursuant to subparagraph (a), the employee shall receive advance written authorization from the Member or officer under whose direct supervision the employee works. Each advance authorization to accept reimbursement shall be signed by the Member or officer under whose direct supervision the employee works and shall include--
the name of the employee;
the name of the person who will make the reimbursement;
the time, place, and purpose of the travel; and
a determination that the travel is in connection with the duties of the employee as an officeholder and would not create the appearance that the employee is using public office for private gain.
(c) Each Member, officer, or employee that receives reimbursement under this paragraph shall disclose the expenses reimbursed or to be reimbursed, the authorization under subparagraph (b) (for an employee), and a copy of the certification in subparagraph (e)(1) to the Secretary of the Senate not later than 30 days after the travel is completed. Each disclosure made under this subparagraph of expenses reimbursed or to be reimbursed shall be signed by the Member or officer (in the case of travel by that Member or officer) or by the Member or officer under whose direct supervision the employee works (in the case of travel by an employee) and shall include--
a good faith estimate of total transportation expenses reimbursed or to be reimbursed;
a good faith estimate of total lodging expenses reimbursed or to be reimbursed;
a good faith estimate of total meal expenses reimbursed or to be reimbursed;
a good faith estimate of the total of other expenses reimbursed or to be reimbursed;
a determination that all such expenses are necessary transportation, lodging, and related expenses as defined in this paragraph; and
a description of meetings and events attended; and
in the case of a reimbursement to a Member or officer, a determination that the travel was in connection with the duties of the Member or officer as an officeholder and would not create the appearance that the Member or officer is using public office for private gain.
(d)(1) A Member, officer, or employee of the Senate may not accept a reimbursement (including payment in kind) for transportation, lodging, or related expenses under subparagraph (a) for a trip that was-
planned, organized, or arranged by or at the request of a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal; or
(i) for trips described under subparagraph (a)(2)(A)(i) on which a registered lobbyist accompanies the Member, officer, or employee on any segment of the trip; or
(ii) for all other trips allowed under this paragraph, on which a registered lobbyist accompanies the Member, officer, or employee at any point throughout the trip.
(d)(2) The Select Committee on Ethics shall issue regulations identifying de minimis activities by registered lobbyists or foreign agents that would not violate this subparagraph.
(e) A Member, officer, or employee shall, before accepting travel otherwise permissible under this paragraph from any source-
provide to the Select Committee on Ethics a written certification from such source that-
the trip will not be financed in any part by a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal;
the source either-
does not retain or employ registered lobbyists or agents of a foreign principal and is not itself a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal; or
certifies that the trip meets the requirements of subclause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (a)(2)(A);
the source will not accept from a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal or a private entity that retains or employs 1 or more registered lobbyists or agents of a foreign principal, funds earmarked directly or indirectly for the purpose of financing the specific trip; and
the trip will not in any part be planned, organized, requested, or arranged by a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal and the traveler will not be accompanied on the trip consistent with the applicable requirements of subparagraph (d)(1)(B) by a registered lobbyist or agent of a foreign principal, except as permitted by regulations issued under subparagraph (d)(2); and
after the Select Committee on Ethics has promulgated regulations pursuant to section 544(b) of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007, obtain the prior approval of the committee for such reimbursement.
(f) For the purposes of this paragraph, the term `necessary transportation, lodging, and related expenses'
includes reasonable expenses that are necessary for travel for a period not exceeding 3 days exclusive of travel time within the United States or 7 days exclusive of travel time outside of the United States unless approved in advance by the Select Committee on Ethics;
is limited to reasonable expenditures for transportation, lodging, conference fees and materials, and food and refreshments, including reimbursement for necessary transportation, whether or not such transportation occurs within the periods described in clause (1);
does not include expenditures for recreational activities, not does it include entertainment other than that provided to all attendees as an integral part of the event, except for activities or entertainment otherwise permissible under this rule; and
may include travel expenses incurred on behalf of either the spouse or a child of the Member, officer, or employee, subject to a determination signed by the Member or officer (or in the case of an employee, the Member or officer under whose direct supervision the employee works) that the attendance of the spouse or child is appropriate to assist in the representation of the Senate.
(g) The Secretary of the Senate shall make all advance authorizations, certifications, and disclosures filed pursuant to this paragraph available for public inspection as soon as possible after they are received, but in no event prior to the completion of the relevant travel.
A gift prohibited by paragraph 1(a) includes the following:
Anything provided by a registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal to an entity that is maintained or controlled by a Member, officer, or employee.
A charitable contribution (as defined in section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) made by a registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal on the basis of a designation, recommendation, or other specification of a Member, officer, or employee (not including a mass mailing or other solicitation directed to a broad category of persons or entities), other than a charitable contribution permitted by paragraph 4.
A contribution or other payment by a registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal to a legal expense fund established for the benefit of a Member, officer, or employee.
A financial contribution or expenditure made by a registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal relating to a conference, retreat, or similar event, sponsored by or affiliated with an official congressional organization, for or on behalf of Members, officers, or employees.
(a) A charitable contribution (as defined in section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) made by a registered lobbyist or an agent of a foreign principal in lieu of an honorarium to a Member, officer, or employee shall not be considered a gift under this rule if it is reported as provided in subparagraph (b).
(b) A Member, officer, or employee who designates or recommends a contribution to a charitable organization in lieu of honoraria described in subparagraph (a) shall report within 30 days after such designation or recommendation to the Secretary of the Senate
the name and address of the registered lobbyist who is making the contribution in lieu of honoraria;
the date and amount of the contribution; and
the name and address of the charitable organization designated or recommended by the Member.
The Secretary of the Senate shall make public information received pursuant to this subparagraph as soon as possible after it is received.
For purposes of this rule
the term `registered lobbyist' means a lobbyist registered under the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act or any successor statute; and
the term `agent of a foreign principal' means an agent of a foreign principal registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act
All the provisions of this rule shall be interpreted and enforced solely by the Select Committee on Ethics. The Select Committee on Ethics is authorized to issue guidance on any matter contained in this rule.
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For purposes of this rule, the provisions of section 501 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App. 7 501) shall be deemed to be a rule of the Senate as it pertains to Members, officers, and employees of the Senate.
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A Member, officer, or employee of the Senate shall not receive any compensation, nor shall he permit any compensation to accrue to his beneficial interest from any source, the receipt or accrual of which would occur by virtue of influence improperly exerted from his position as a Member, Officer, or employee.
No Member, officer, or employee shall engage in any outside business or professional activity or employment for compensation which is inconsistent or in conflict with the conscientious performance of official duties.
No officer or employee shall engage in any outside business or professional activity or employment for compensation unless he has reported in writing when such activity or employment commences and on May 15 of each year thereafter so long as such activity or employment continues, the nature of such activity or employment to his supervisor. The supervisor shall then, in the discharge of his duties, take such action as he considers necessary for the avoidance of conflict of interest or interference with duties to the Senate.
No Member, officer, or employee shall knowingly use his official position to introduce or aid the progress or passage of legislation, a principal purpose of which is to further only his pecuniary interest, only the pecuniary interest of his immediate family, or only the pecuniary interest of a limited class of persons or enterprises, when he, or his immediate family, or enterprises controlled by them, are members of the affected class.
(a) No Member, officer, or employee of the Senate compensated at a rate in excess of $25,000 per annum and employed for more than ninety days in a calendar year shall (1) affiliate with a firm, partnership, association, or corporation for the purpose of providing professional services for compensation; (2) permit that individual's name to be used by such a firm, partnership, association or corporation; or (3) practice a profession for compensation to any extent during regular office hours of the Senate office in which employed. For the purposes of this paragraph, ``professional services'' shall include but not be limited to those which involve a fiduciary relationship.
(b) A Member or an officer or employee whose rate of basic pay is equal to or greater than 120 percent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for grade GS-15 of the General Schedule shall not—
receive compensation for affiliating with or being employed by a firm, partnership, association, corporation, or other entity which provides professional services involving a fiduciary relationship;
permit that Member's, officer's, or employee's name to be used by any such firm, partnership, association, corporation, or other entity;
receive compensation for practicing a profession which involves a fiduciary relationship; or
receive compensation for teaching, without the prior notification and approval of the Select Committee on Ethics.
(a) No Member, officer, or employee of the Senate compensated at a rate in excess of $25,000 per annum and employed for more than ninety days in a calendar year shall serve as an officer or member of the board of any publicly held or publicly regulated corporation, financial institution, or business entity. The preceding sentence shall not apply to service of a Member, officer, or employee as--
an officer or member of the board of an organization which is exempt from taxation under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, if such service is performed without compensation;
an officer or member of the board of an institution or organization which is principally available to Members, officers, or employees of the Senate, or their families, if such service is performed without compensation; or
a member of the board of a corporation, institution, or other business entity, if (A) the Member, officer, or employee had served continuously as a member of the board thereof for at least two years prior to his election or appointment as a Member, officer, or employee of the Senate, (B) the amount of time required to perform such service is minimal, and (C) the Member, officer, or employee is not a member of, or a member of the staff of any Senate committee which has legislative jurisdiction over any agency of the Government charged with regulating the activities of the corporation, institution, or other business entity.
(b) A Member or an officer or employee whose rate of basic pay is equal to or greater than 120 percent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for grade GS-15 of the General Schedule shall not serve for compensation as an officer or member of the board of any association, corporation, or other entity.
An employee on the staff of a committee who is compensated at a rate in excess of $25,000 per annum and employed for more than ninety days in a calendar year shall divest himself of any substantial holdings which may be directly affected by the actions of the committee for which he works, unless the Select Committee, after consultation with the employee's supervisor, grants permission in writing to retain such holdings or the employee makes other arrangements acceptable to the Select Committee and the employee's supervisor to avoid participation in committee actions where there is a conflict of interest, or the appearance thereof.
If a Member, upon leaving office, becomes a registered lobbyist under the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946 or any successor statute, or is employed or retained by such a registered lobbyist or an entity that employs or retains a registered lobbyist for the purpose of influencing legislation, he shall not lobby Members, officers, or employees of the Senate for a period of two years after leaving office.
(a) If an employee on the staff of a Member, upon leaving that position, becomes a registered lobbyist under the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946 or any successor statute, or is employed or retained by such a registered lobbyist or an entity that employs or retains a registered lobbyist for the purpose of influencing legislation, such employee may not lobby the Member for whom he worked or that Member's staff for a period of one year after leaving that position.
(b) If an employee on the staff of a committee, upon leaving his position, becomes such a registered lobbyist or is employed or retained by such a registered lobbyist or an entity that employs or retains a registered lobbyist for the purpose of influencing legislation, such employee may not lobby the members of the committee for which he worked, or the staff of that committee, for a period of one year after leaving his position.
(c) If an officer of the Senate or an employee on the staff of a Member or on the staff of a committee whose rate of pay is equal to or greater than 75 percent of the rate of pay of a Member and employed at such rate for more than 60 days in a calendar year, upon leaving that position, becomes a registered lobbyist, or is employed or retained by such a registered lobbyist or an entity that employs or retains a registered lobbyist for the purpose of influencing legislation, such employee may not lobby any Member, officer, or employee of the Senate for a period of 1 year after leaving that position.
Paragraphs 8 and 9 shall not apply to contacts with the staff of the Secretary of the Senate regarding compliance with the lobbying disclosure requirements of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.
(a) If a Member's spouse or immediate family member is a registered lobbyist, or is employed or retained by such a registered lobbyist or an entity that hires or retains a registered lobbyist for the purpose of influencing legislation, the Member shall prohibit all staff employed or supervised bythat Member (including staff in personal, committee, and leadership offices) from having any contact with the Member's spouse or immediate family member that constitutes a lobbying contact as defined by section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 by such person.
(b) Members and employees on the staff of a Member (including staff in personal, committee, and leadership offices) shall be prohibited from having any contact that constitutes a lobbying contact as defined by section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 by any spouse of a Member who is a registered lobbyist, or is employed or retained by such a registered lobbyist.
(c) The prohibition in subparagraph (b) shall not apply to the spouse of a Member who was serving as a registered lobbyist at least 1 year prior to the most recent election of that Member to office or at least 1 year prior to his or her marriage to that Member.
(a) Except as provided by subparagraph (b), any employee of the Senate who is required to file a report pursuant to rule XXXIV shall refrain from participating personally and substantially as an employee of the Senate in any contact with any agency of the executive or judicial branch of Government with respect to non-legislative matters affecting any non-governmental person in which the employee has a significant financial interest.
(b) Subparagraph (a) shall not apply if an employee first advises his supervising authority of his significant financial interest and obtains from his employing authority a written waiver stating that the participation of the employee is necessary. A copy of each such waiver shall be filed with the Select Committee.
For purposes of this rule--
"employee of the Senate" includes an employee or individual described in paragraphs 2, 3, and 4(c) of rule XLI;
an individual who is an employee on the staff of a subcommittee of a committee shall be treated as an employee on the staff of such committee; and
the term "lobbying" means any oral or written communication to influence the content or disposition of any issue before Congress, including any pending or future bill, resolution, treaty, nomination, hearing, report, or investigation; but does not include--
a communication (i) made in the form of testimony given before a committee or office of the Congress, or (ii) submitted for inclusion in the public record, public docket, or public file of a hearing; or
a communication by an individual, acting solely on his own behalf, for redress of personal grievances, or to express his personal opinion.
(a) A Member shall not negotiate or have any arrangement concerning prospective private employment until after his or her successor has been elected, unless such Member files a signed statement with the Secretary of the Senate, for public disclosure, regarding such negotiations or arrangements not later than 3 business days after the commencement of such negotiation or arrangement, including the name of the private entity or entities involved in such negotiations or arrangements, and the date such negotiations or arrangements commenced.
(b) A Member shall not negotiate or have any arrangement concerning prospective employment for a job involving lobbying activities as defined by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 until after his or her successor has been elected.
(c)(1) An employee of the Senate earning in excess of 75 percent of the salary paid to a Senator shall notify the Select Committee on Ethics that he or she is negotiating or has any arrangement concerning prospective private employment.
(c)(2) The notification under this subparagraph shall be made not later than 3 business days after the commencement of such negotiation or arrangement.
(c)(3) An employee to whom this subparagraph applies shall--
recuse himself or herself from--
any contact or communication with the prospective employer on issues of legislative interest to the prospective employer; and
any legislative matter in which there is a conflict of interest or an appearance of a conflict for that employee under this subparagraph; and
notify the Select Committee on Ethics of such recusal.
For purposes of this rule--
a Senator or the Vice President is the supervisor of his administrative, clerical, or other assistants;
a Senator who is the chairman of a committee is the supervisor of the professional, clerical, or other assistants to the committee except that minority staff members shall be under the supervision of the ranking minority Senator on the committee;
a Senator who is a chairman of a subcommittee which has its own staff and financial authorization is the supervisor of the professional, clerical, or other assistants to the subcommittee except that minority staff members shall be under the supervision of the ranking minority Senator on the subcommittee;
the President pro tempore is the supervisor of the Secretary of the Senate, Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper, the Chaplain, the Legislative Counsel, and the employees of the Office of the Legislative Counsel;
the Secretary of the Senate is the supervisor of the employees of his office;
the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper is the supervisor of the employees of his office;
the Majority and Minority Leaders and the Majority and Minority Whips are the supervisors of the research, clerical, or other assistants assigned to their respective offices;
the Majority Leader is the supervisor of the Secretary for the Majority and the Secretary for the Majority is the supervisor of the employees of his office; and
the Minority Leader is the supervisor of the Secretary for the Minority and the Secretary for the Minority is the supervisor of the employees of his office.
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(a) No Member may maintain or have maintained for his use an unofficial office account. The term "unofficial office account" means an account or repository into which funds are received for the purpose, at least in part, of defraying otherwise unreimbursed expenses allowable in connection with the operation of a Member's office. An unofficial office account does not include, and expenses incurred by a Member in connection with his official duties shall be defrayed only from
personal funds of the Member;
official funds specifically appropriated for that purpose;
funds derived from a political committee (as defined in section 301(d) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431)); and
funds received as reasonable reimbursements for expenses incurred by a Member in connection with personal services provided by the Member to the organization making the reimbursement.
(b) Notwithstanding subparagraph (a), official expenses may be defrayed only as provided by subsections (d) and (i) of section 311 of the Legislative Appropriations Act, 1991 (Pub. L. 101-520).
(c) For purposes of reimbursement under this rule, fair market value of a flight on an aircraft shall be determined as provided in paragraph 1(c)(1)(C) of rule XXXV.
No contribution (as defined in section 301(e) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431)) shall be converted to the personal use of any Member or any former Member. For the purposes of this rule "personal use" does not include reimbursement of expenses incurred by a Member in connection with his official duties.
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(a) Unless authorized by the Senate (or by the President of the United States after an adjournment sine die), no funds from the United States Government (including foreign currencies made available under section 502(b) of the Mutual Security Act of 1954 (22 U.S.C. 1754(b)) shall be received for the purpose of travel outside the United States by any Member of the Senate whose term will expire at the end of a Congress after
the date of the general election in which his successor is elected; or
in the case of a Member who is not a candidate in such general election, the earlier of the date of such general election or the adjournment sine die of the second regular session of that Congress.
(b) The travel restrictions provided by subparagraph (a) with respect to a Member of the Senate whose term will expire at the end of a Congress shall apply to travel by
any employee of the Member;
any elected officer of the Senate whose employment will terminate at the end of a Congress; and
any employee of a committee whose employment will terminate at the end of a Congress.
No Member, officer, or employee engaged in foreign travel may claim payment or accept funds from the United States Government (including foreign currencies made available under section 502(b) of the Mutual Security Act of 1954 (22 U.S.C. 1754(b)) for any expense for which the individual has received reimbursement from any other source; nor may such Member, officer, or employee receive reimbursement for the same expense more than once from the United States Government. No Member, officer, or employee shall use any funds furnished to him to defray ordinary and necessary expenses of foreign travel for any purpose other than the purpose or purposes for which such funds were furnished.
A per diem allowance provided a Member, officer, or employee in connection with foreign travel shall be used solely for lodging, food, and related expenses and it is the responsibility of the Member, officer, or employee receiving such an allowance to return to the United States Government that portion of the allowance received which is not actually used for necessary lodging, food, and related expenses.
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A Senator or an individual who is a candidate for nomination for election, or election, to the Senate may not use the frank for any mass mailing (as defined in section 3210(a)(6)(E)84of title 39, United States Code) if such mass mailing is mailed at or delivered to any postal facility less than sixty days immediately before the date of any primary or general election (whether regular, special, or runoff) in which the Senator is a candidate for public office or the individual is a candidate for Senator, unless the candidacy of the Senator in such election is uncontested.
A Senator shall use only official funds of the Senate, including his official Senate allowances, to purchase paper, to print, or to prepare any mass mailing material which is to be sent out under the frank.
(a) When a Senator disseminates information under the frank by a mass mailing (as defined in section 3210(a)(6)(E) of title 39, United States Code), the Senator shall register quarterly with the Secretary of the Senate such mass mailings. Such registration shall be made by filing with the Secretary a copy of the matter mailed and providing, on a form supplied by the Secretary, a description of the group or groups of persons to whom the mass mailing was mailed.
(b) The Secretary of the Senate shall promptly make available for public inspection and copying a copy of the mail matter registered, and a description of the group or groups of persons to whom the mass mailing was mailed.
Nothing in this rule shall apply to any mailing under the frank which is (a) in direct response to inquiries or requests from persons to whom the matter is mailed; (b) addressed to colleagues in Congress or to government officials (whether Federal, State, or local); or (c) consists entirely of news releases to the communications media.
The Senate computer facilities shall not be used (a) to store, maintain, or otherwise process any lists or categories of lists of names and addresses identifying the individuals included in such lists as campaign workers or contributors, as members of a political party, or by any other partisan political designation, (b) to produce computer printouts except as authorized by user guides approved by the Committee on Rules and Administration, or (c) to produce mailing labels for mass mailings, or computer tapes and discs, for use other than in service facilities maintained and operated by the Senate or under contract to the Senate. The Committee on Rules and Administration shall prescribe such regulations not inconsistent with the purposes of this paragraph as it determines necessary to carry out such purposes.
(a) The radio and television studios provided by the Senate or by the House of Representatives may not be used by a Senator or an individual who is a candidate for nomination for election, or election, to the Senate less than sixty days immediately before the date of any primary or general election (whether regular, special, or runoff) in which that Senator is a candidate for public office or that individual is a candidate for Senator, unless the candidacy of the Senator in such election is uncontested.
(b) This paragraph shall not apply if the facilities are to be used at the request of, and at the expense of, a licensed broadcast organization or an organization exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
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No officer or employee of the Senate may receive, solicit, be a custodian of, or distribute any funds in connection with any campaign for the nomination for election, or the election, of any individual to be a Member of the Senate or to any other Federal office. This prohibition does not apply to three assistants to a Senator, at least one of whom is in Washington, District of Columbia, who have been designated by that Senator to perform any of the functions described in the first sentence of this paragraph and who are compensated at an annual rate in excess of $10,000 if such designation has been made in writing and filed with the Secretary of the Senate and if each such assistant files a financial statement in the form provided under rule XXXIV for each year during which he is designated under this rule. The Majority Leader and the Minority Leader may each designate an employee of their respective leadership office staff as one of the 3 designees referred to in the second sentence. The Secretary of the Senate shall make the designation available for public inspection.
For purposes of the Senate Code of Official Conduct -
an employee of the Senate includes any employee whose salary is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate; and
the compensation of an officer or employee of the Senate who is a reemployed annuitant shall include amounts received by such officer or employee as an annuity, and such amounts shall be treated as disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate.
Before approving the utilization by any committee of the Senate of the services of an officer or employee of the Government in accordance with paragraph 4 of rule XXVII or with an authorization provided by Senate resolution, the Committee on Rules and Administration shall require such officer or employee to agree in writing to comply with the Senate Code of Official Conduct in the same manner and to the same extent as an employee of the Senate. Any such officer or employee shall, for purposes of such Code, be treated as an employee of the Senate receiving compensation disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate in an amount equal to the amount of compensation he is receiving as an officer or employee of the Government.
No Member, officer, or employee of the Senate shall utilize the fulltime services of an individual for more than ninety days in a calendar year in the conduct of official duties of any committee or office of the Senate (including a Member's office) unless such individual
is an officer or employee of the Senate,
is an officer or employee of the Government (other than the Senate), or
agrees in writing to comply with the Senate Code of Official Conduct in the same manner and to the same extent as an employee of the Senate.
Any individual to whom subparagraph (c) applies shall, for purposes of such Code, be treated as an employee of the Senate receiving compensation disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate in an amount equal to the amount of compensation which such individual is receiving from any source for performing such services.
In exceptional circumstances for good cause shown, the Select Committee on Ethics may waive the applicability of any provision of the Senate Code of Official Conduct to an employee hired on a per diem basis.
(a) The supervisor of an individual who performs services for any Member, committee, or office of the Senate for a period in excess of four weeks and who receives compensation therefor from any source other than the United States Government shall report to the Select Committee on Ethics with respect to the utilization of the services of such individual.
(b) A report under subparagraph (a) shall be made with respect to an individual
when such individual begins performing services described in such subparagraph;
at the close of each calendar quarter while such individual is performing such services; and
when such individual ceases to perform such services. Each such report shall include the identity of the source of the compensation received by such individual and the amount or rate of compensation paid by such source.
(c) No report shall be required under subparagraph (a) with respect to an individual who normally performs services for a Member, committee, or office for less than eight hours a week.
(d) For purposes of this paragraph, the supervisor of an individual shall be determined under paragraph 12 of rule XXXVII.
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No Member, officer, or employee of the Senate shall, with respect to employment by the Senate or any office thereof
fail or refuse to hire an individual;
discharge an individual; or
The travel restrictions provided by subparagraph (a) with respect to a Member of the Senate whose term will expire at the end of a Congress shall apply to travel by
otherwise discriminate against an individual with respect to promotion, compensation, or terms, conditions, or privileges of employment on the basis of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or state of physical handicap.
For purposes of this rule, the provisions of section 509(a) of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 shall be deemed to be a rule of the Senate as it pertains to Members, officers, and employees of the Senate.
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In responding to petitions for assistance, a Member of the Senate, acting directly or through employees, has the right to assist petitioners before executive and independent government officials and agencies.
At the request of a petitioner, a Member of the Senate, or a Senate employee, may communicate with an executive or independent government official or agency on any matter to-
request information or a status report;
urge prompt consideration;
arrange for interviews or appointments;
express judgments;
call for reconsideration of an administrative response which the Member believes is not reasonable supported by statutes, regulations or considerations of equity or public policy; or
perform any other service of a similar nature consistent with the provisions of this rule.
The decision to provide assistance to petitioners may not be made on the basis of contributions or services, or promises of contributions or services, to the Member's political campaigns or to other organizations in which the Member has a political, personal, or financial interest.
A Member shall make a reasonable effort to assure that representations made in the Member's name by any Senate employee are accurate and conform to the Member's instructions and to this rule.
Nothing in this rule shall be construed to limit the authority of Members, and Senate employees, to perform legislative, including committee, responsibilities.
No Member, with the intent to influence solely on the basis of partisan political affiliation an employment decision or employment practice of any private entity, shall-
take or withhold, or offer or threaten to take or withhold, an official act; or
influence, or offer or threaten to influence the official act of another.
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(a) It shall not be in order to vote on a motion to proceed to consider a bill or joint resolution reported by any committee unless the chairman of the committee of jurisdiction or the Majority Leader or his or her designee certifies-
that each congressionally directed spending item, limited tax benefit, and limited tariff benefit, if any, in the bill or joint resolution, or in the committee report accompanying the bill or joint resolution, has been identified through lists, charts, or other similar means including the name of each Senator who submitted a request to the committee for each item so identified; and
that the information in clause (1) has been available on a publicly accessible congressional website in a searchable format at least 48 hours before such vote.
(b) If a point of order is sustained under this paragraph, the motion to proceed shall be suspended until the sponsor of the motion or his or her designee has requested resumption and compliance with this paragraph has been achieved.
(a) It shall not be in order to vote on a motion to proceed to consider a Senate bill or joint resolution not reported by committee unless the chairman of the committee of jurisdiction or the Majority Leader or his or her designee certifies-
that each congressionally directed spending item, limited tax benefit, and limited tariff benefit, if any, in the bill or joint resolution, has been identified through lists, charts, or other similar means, including the name of each Senator who submitted a request to the sponsor of the bill or joint resolution for each item so identified; and
that the information in clause (1) has been available on a publicly accessible congressional website in a searchable format at least 48 hours before such vote.
(b) If a point of order is sustained under this paragraph, the motion to proceed shall be suspended until the sponsor of the motion or his or her designee has requested resumption and compliance with this paragraph has been achieved.
(a) It shall not be in order to vote on the adoption of a report of a committee of conference unless the chairman of the committee of jurisdiction or the Majority Leader or his or her designee certifies-
that each congressionally directed spending item, limited tax benefit, and limited tariff benefit, if any, in the conference report, or in the joint statement of managers accompanying the conference report, has been identified through lists, charts, or other means, including the name of each Senator who submitted a request to the committee of jurisdiction for each item so identified; and
that the information in clause (1) has been available on a publicly accessible congressional website at least 48 hours before such vote.
(b) If a point of order is sustained under this paragraph, then the conference report shall be set aside.
(a) If during consideration of a bill or joint resolution, a Senator proposes an amendment containing a congressionally directed spending item, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit which was not included in the bill or joint resolution as placed on the calendar or as reported by any committee, in a committee report on such bill or joint resolution, or a committee report of the Senate on a companion measure, then as soon as practicable, the Senator shall ensure that a list of such items (and the name of any Senator who submitted a request to the Senator for each respective item included in the list) is printed in the Congressional Record.
(b) If a committee reports a bill or joint resolution that includes congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits in the bill or joint resolution, or in the committee report accompanying the bill or joint resolution, the committee shall as soon as practicable identify on a publicly accessible congressional website each such item through lists, charts, or other similar means, including the name of each Senator who submitted a request to the committee for each item so identified. Availability on the Internet of a committee report that contains the information described in this subparagraph shall satisfy the requirements of this subparagraph.
(c) To the extent technically feasible, information made available on publicly accessible congressional websites under paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be provided in a searchable format.
For the purpose of this rule-
the term "congressionally directed spending item" means a provision or report language included primarily at the request of a Senator providing, authorizing, or recommending a specific amount of discretionary budget authority, credit authority, or other spending authority for a contract, loan, loan guarantee, grant, loan authority, or other expenditure with or to an entity, or targeted to a specific State, locality or Congressional district, other than through a statutory or administrative formula-driven or competitive award process;
the term "limited tax benefit" means-
any revenue provision that-
provides a Federal tax deduction, credit, exclusion, or preference to a particular beneficiary or limited group of beneficiaries under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
contains eligibility criteria that are not uniform in application with respect to potential beneficiaries of such provision;
the term "limited tariff benefit" means a provision modifying the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States in a manner that benefits 10 or fewer entities; and
except as used in subparagraph 8(e), the term "item" when not preceded by "congressionally directed spending" means any provision that is a congressionally directed spending item, a limited tax benefit, or a limited tariff benefit.
(a) A Senator who requests a congressionally directed spending item, a limited tax benefit, or a limited tariff benefit in any bill or joint resolution (or an accompanying report) or in any conference report (or an accompanying joint statement of managers) shall provide a written statement to the chairman and ranking member of the committee of jurisdiction, including-
the name of the Senator;
in the case of a congressionally directed spending item, the name and location of the intended recipient or, if there is no specifically intended recipient, the intended location of the activity;
in the case of a limited tax or tariff benefit, identification of the individual or entities reasonably anticipated to benefit, to the extent known to the Senator;
the purpose of such congressionally directed spending item or limited tax or tariff benefit; and
a certification that neither the Senator nor the Senator's immediate family has a pecuniary interest in the item, consistent with the requirements of paragraph 9.
(b) With respect to each item included in a Senate bill or joint resolution (or accompanying report) reported by committee or considered by the Senate, or included in a conference report (or joint statement of managers accompanying the conference report) considered by the Senate, each committee of jurisdiction shall make available for public inspection on the Internet the certifications under subparagraph (a)(5) as soon as practicable.
In the case of a bill, joint resolution, or conference report that contains congressionally directed spending items in any classified portion of a report accompanying the measure, the committee of jurisdiction shall, to the greatest extent practicable, consistent with the need to protect national security (including intelligence sources and methods), include on the list required by paragraph 1, 2, or 3 as the case may be, a general program description in unclassified language, funding level, and the name of the sponsor of that congressionally directed spending item.
(a) A Senator may raise a point of order against one or more provisions of a conference report if they constitute new directed spending provisions. The Presiding Officer may sustain the point of order as to some or all of the provisions against which the Senator raised the point of order.
(b) If the Presiding Officer sustains the point of order as to any of the provisions against which the Senator raised the point of order, then those provisions against which the Presiding Officer sustains the point of order shall be stricken. After all other points of order under this paragraph have been disposed of-
the Senate shall proceed to consider the question of whether the Senate should recede from its amendment to the House bill, or its disagreement to the amendment of the House, and concur with a further amendment, which further amendment shall consist of only that portion of the conference report that has not been stricken; and
the question in clause (1) shall be decided under the same debate limitation as the conference report and no further amendment shall be in order.
(c) Any Senator may move to waive any or all points of order under this paragraph with respect to the pending conference report by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. All motions to waive under this paragraph shall be debatable collectively for not to exceed 1 hour equally divided between the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader or their designees. A motion to waive all points of order under this paragraph shall not be amendable.
(d) All appeals from rulings of the Chair under this paragraph shall be debatable collectively for not to exceed 1 hour, equally divided between the Majority and the Minority Leader or their designees. An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members of the Senate, duly chosen and sworn, shall be required in the Senate to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair under this paragraph.
(e) The term 'new directed spending provision' as used in this paragraph means any item that consists of a specific provision containing a specific level of funding for any specific account, specific program, specific project, or specific activity, when no specific funding was provided for such specific account, specific program, specific project, or specific activity in the measure originally committed to the conferees by either House.
No Member, officer, or employee of the Senate shall knowingly use his official position to introduce, request, or otherwise aid the progress or passage of congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits a principal purpose of which is to further only his pecuniary interest, only the pecuniary interest of his immediate family, or only the pecuniary interest of a limited class of persons or enterprises, when he or his immediate family, or enterprises controlled by them, are members of the affected class.
Any Senator may move to waive application of paragraph 1, 2, or 3 with respect to a measure by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. A motion to waive under this paragraph with respect to a measure shall be debatable for not to exceed 1 hour equally divided between the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader or their designees. With respect to points of order raised under paragraphs 1, 2, or 3, only one appeal from a ruling of the Chair shall be in order, and debate on such an appeal from a ruling of the Chair on such point of order shall be limited to one hour.
Any Senator may move to waive all points of order under this rule with respect to the pending measure or motion by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. All motions to waive all points of order with respect to a measure or motion as provided by this paragraph shall be debatable collectively for not to exceed 1 hour equally divided between the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader or their designees. A motion to waive all points of order with respect to a measure or motion as provided by this paragraph shall not be amendable.
Paragraph 1, 2, or 3 of this rule may be waived by joint agreement of the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of the Senate upon their certification that such waiver is necessary as a result of a significant disruption to Senate facilities or to the availability of the Internet.