RULES OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION 118TH CONGRESS
RULE I—MEETINGS OF THE COMMITTEE
1. IN GENERAL.—The regular meeting dates of the Committee shall be the first and third Wednesdays of each month. Additional meetings may be called by the Chair as the Chair may deem necessary, or pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 3 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.
2. OPEN MEETINGS.—Meetings of the Committee, or any subcommittee, including meetings to conduct hearings, shall be open to the public, except that a meeting or series of meetings by the Committee, or any subcommittee, on the same subject for a period of no more than 14 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 subparagraphs (A) through (F) would require the meeting to be closed, followed immediately by a record vote inopensession by a majority of the members of the Committee, or any subcommittee, when it is determined that the matter to be discussed or the testimony to be taken at such meeting or meetings—
(A) 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;
(B) will relate solely to matters of Committee staff personnel or internal staff management or procedure;
(C) 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 individualtopublic contempt or obloquy,orwill represent a clearly unwarranted invasion of the privacy of anindividual;
(D) 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 interest of effective law enforcement;
(E) will disclose information relating to the trade secrets of, or financial or commercial informationpertaining specifically to, a givenperson if—
(1) an Act of Congress requires the information to be kept confidential by Government officers and employees; or
(2) the information has been obtained by the Government on a confidential basis, other than through an application by such person for a specificGovernmentfinancial or otherbenefit, and is required to be kept secret in order to prevent undue injury to the competitive position of such person; or
(F) may divulge matters required to be kept confidential under other provisions of law or Government regulations.
3. STATEMENTS.—Each witness who is to appear before the Committee or any subcommittee shall file with the Committee, at least 24 hours in advance of the hearing, a written statement of the witness’s testimony in as many copies as the Chair of the Committee or subcommittee prescribes. In the event a witness fails to file a timely written statement in accordance with this rule, the Chair of the Committee or subcommittee, as applicable, may permit the witness to testify, or deny the witness the privilege of testifying before the Committee, or permit the witness to testify in response to questions from members without the benefit of giving an opening statement.
4. FIELD HEARINGS.—Field hearings of the full Committee, and any subcommittee thereof, shall be scheduled only when authorized by the Chair and ranking minority member of the full Committee.
RULE II—QUORUMS
1. BILLS, RESOLUTIONS, AND NOMINATIONS.—A majority of the members, which includes at least 1 minority member, shall constitute a quorum for official action of the Committee when reporting a bill, resolution, or nomination. Proxies may not be counted in making a quorumforpurposes ofthisparagraph.
2. OTHER BUSINESS.—One-third of the entire membership of the Committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business as may be considered by the Committee, except for the reporting of a bill, resolution, or nomination or authorizing a subpoena. Proxies may not be counted in making a quorum for purposes of this paragraph.
3. TAKING TESTIMONY.—For the purpose of taking sworn testimony a quorum of the Committee and each subcommittee thereof, now or hereafter appointed, shall consist of 1 member ofthe Committee.
RULE III—PROXIES
When a record vote is taken in the Committee on any bill, resolution, amendment, or any other question, the required quorum being present, a member who is un- able to attend the meeting may submit his or her vote byproxy,inwritingor throughpersonalinstructions.
RULE IV—CONSIDERATION OF BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS
It shall not be in order during a meeting of the Committee tomove to proceedto the considerationof any bill or resolution unless the bill or resolution has been filed with the Clerk of the Committee not less than 48 hours in advance of the Committee meeting, in as many copies as the Chair ofthe Committee prescribes. This rule may be waived with the concurrence ofthe Chair and the ranking minority member of the full Committee.
RULE V—SUBPOENAS; COUNSEL; RECORD
1. SUBPOENAS.—The Chair, with the approval of the ranking minority member of the Committee, may subpoena the attendance of witnesses for hearings and the production of memoranda, documents, records, or any other materials. The Chair may subpoena such attendance ofwitnesses or production of materials without the approval of the ranking minority member if the Chair or a member of the Committee staff designated by the Chair has not received notification from the ranking minority member or a member of the Committee staff designated by the ranking minority member of disapproval of the subpoena within 72 hours, excluding Saturdays and Sundays, of being notified of the subpoena. If a subpoena is disapproved by the ranking minority member as provided in this paragraph, the subpoena may be authorized by vote of the Members of the Committee, the quorum required by paragraph 1 of rule II being present. When the Committee or Chair authorizes a subpoena, it shall be issued upon the signature of the Chair or any other Member of the Committee designated by the Chair. At the direction of the Chair, with notification to the ranking minority member of not less than 72 hours, the staff is authorized to take depositions from witnesses. The ranking minority member, or a member of the Committee staff designated by the ranking minority member, shall be given the opportunity to attend and participate in the taking of any deposition. Witnesses at depositions shall be examined upon oath administered by an individual authorized by law to administer oaths, or administered by any member of the Committee if one is present.
2. COUNSEL.—Witnesses may be accompanied at a public or executive hearing, or the taking of a deposition, by counsel to advise them of their rights. Counsel retained by any witness and accompanying such witness shall be permitted to be present during the testimony of the witness at any public or executive hearing, or the tak- ing of a deposition, to advise the witness, while the witness is testifying, of the witness’s legal rights. In the case of any witness who is an officer or employee of the government, or of a corporation or association, the Chair may rule that representation by counselfrom the government, corporation, or association or by counsel rep- resenting other witnesses, creates a conflict of interest, and thatthe witness may only be represented during testimony before the Committee by personal counsel not from the government, corporation, or association or by personal counsel not representing other witnesses. This paragraph shall not be construed to excuse a witness from testifying in the event the witness’s counsel is ejected for conducting himself or herself in such manner as to prevent, impede, disrupt, obstruct, or interfere with the orderly administration of a hearing or the taking of a deposition. This paragraph may not be construed as authorizing counsel to coach the witness or to answer for the witness. The failure of any witness to secure counsel shall not excuse the witness from complying with a subpoena.
3. RECORD.—An accurate electronic or stenographic record shall be kept of the testimony of all witnesses in executive and public hearings and depositions. If testimony given by deposition is transcribed, the individual administering the oath shall certify on the transcript that the witness was duly sworn in his or her presence and the transcriber shall certify that the transcript is a true record of the testimony. The transcript with these certifications shall be filed with the chief clerk of the Committee. The record of a witness’s testimony, whether in public or executive session or in a deposition, shall be made available for inspection by the witness or the witness’s counselunderCommitteesupervision.Acopyof any testimony given in public session, or that part of the testimony given by the witness in executive session or deposition and subsequently quoted or made part of the record in a public session, shall be provided to that witness at the witness’s expense if so requested. Upon inspecting the transcript, within a time limit set by the Clerk of the Committee, a witness may request changes in the transcript to correct errors of transcription and grammatical errors. The witness may also bring to the attention of the Committee errors of fact in the witness’s testimony by submitting a sworn statement about those facts with a request that it be attached to the transcript. The Chair or a member of the Committee staff designated by the Chair shall rule on such requests.
RULE VI—BROADCASTING OF HEARINGS
Public hearings of the full Committee, or any subcommittee thereof, shall be televised or broadcast only when authorized by the Chair and the ranking minority member of the full Committee.
RULE VII—SUBCOMMITTEES
1. HEARINGS.—Any member of the Committee may sitwith any subcommitteeduring itshearings.
2. CHANGE OF CHAIR.—Subcommittees shall be considered de novo whenever there is a change in the Chair, and seniority on the particular subcommittee shall not necessarily apply.
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