TITLE I-CHANGES IN RULES OF SENATE AND

HOUSE

RULE-MAKING POWER OF THE SENATE AND HOUSE

SEC. 101. ***

SEC. 133. (a) **

COMMITTEE PROCEDURE

(2 U.S.C. 190a)

(b) [Meetings for the transaction of business of each standing committee of the Senate, other than for the conduct of hearings, shall be open to the public except during executive sessions for marking up bills or for voting or when the committee by majority vote orders an executive session.] Each such committee 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 such standing committee of the Senate 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.

SENATE COMMITTEE RULES

(2 U.S.C. 190a-2)

SEC. 133B. **

OPEN SENATE COMMITTEE MEETINGS

SEC. 133C. Each meeting of a standing, select, or special committee of the Senate, or any subcommittee thereof, shall be open to the public, except that a portion or portions of any such meeting may be closed to the public if the committee or subcommittee, as the case may be, determines by record vote of a majority of the members of the committee or subcommittee present that the matters to be discussed at such portion or portions—

(1) will disclose matters necessary to be kept secret in the interests of national defense or the foreign policy of the United States;

(2) will relate solely to matters of committee staff personnel or internal staff management or procedure;

(3) 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;

(4) will disclose the identity of any informer or law enforcement agent or will disclose any information relating to the investigation or prosecution of any violation of law that is required to be kept secret in the interests of effective law enforcement; or (5) will disclose information relating to the trade secrets or financial or commercial information pertaining specifically to a given person if—

(A) an Act of Congress requires the information to be kept confidential by Government officers and employees; or (B) the information has been obtained by the Government on a confidential basis, and is required to be kept secret in order to prevent undue injury to the competitive position of such person.

This section shall not apply to meetings to conduct hearings.

OPEN CONFERENCE COMMITTEE MEETINGS

SEC. 133D. Each conference committee between the Senate and the House of Representatives shall be open to a clearly unwarranted invasion of the privacy of an individual;

(D) will disclose the identity of any informer or law enforcement agent or will disclose any information relating to the investigation or prosecution of any violation of law that is required to be kept secret in the interests of effective law enforcement; or

(E) will disclose information relating to the trade secrets or financial or commercial information pertaining specifically to a given person if

(i) an Act of Congress requires the information to be kept confidential by Government officers and employees; or

(ii) the information has been obtained by the Government on a confidential basis, and is required to be kept secret in order to prevent undue injury to the competitive position of such person. This clause shall not apply to meetings to conduct hearings.

OPEN JOINT COMMITTEE MEETINGS

SEC. 133E. Each meeting of a joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives, or any subcommittee thereof, shall be open to the public, except that a portion or portions of any such meeting may be closed to the public if the committee or subcommittee, as the case may be, determines by record vote of a majority of the members of the committee or subcommittee present that the matters to be discussed or the testimony to be taken at such portion or portions—

(1) will disclose matters necessary to be kept secret in the interests of national defense or the foreign policy of the United States:

(2) will relate solely to matters of committee staff personnel or internal staff management or procedure;

(3) 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;

(4) will disclose the identity of any informer or law enforcement agent or will disclose any information relating to the investigation or prosecution of any violation of law that is required to be kept secret in the interests of effective law enforcement; or (5) will disclose information relating to the trade secrets or financial or commercial information pertaining specifically to a given person if—

(A) an Act of Congress requires the information to be kept confidential by Government officers and employees; or

(B) the information has been obtained by the Government on a confidential basis, and is required to be kept secret in order to prevent undue injury to the competitive position of such person.

This section shall not apply to meetings to conduct hearings.

CHAPTER 5, TITLE 5, U.S. CODE

§ 551. Definitions.

For the purpose of this subchapter—

(1)

***

(12) "agency proceeding" means an agency process as defined by paragraphs (5), (7), and (9) of this section; [and]

(13) "agency action" includes the whole or a part of an agency rule, order, license, sanction, relief, or the equivalent or denial thereof, or failure to [act.] act; and

(14) "ex parte communication" means an oral or written communication not on the public record with respect to which reasonable prior notice to all parties is not given.

§ 554. Adjudications. (a) **

(d) The employee who presides at the reception of evidence pursuant to section 556 of this title shall make the recommended decision or initial decision required by section 557 of this title, unless he becomes unavailable to the agency. [Except to the extent required for the disposition of ex parte matters as authorized by law, such an employee may not

[(1) consult a person or party on a fact in issue, unless on notice and opportunity for all parties to participate; or

[(2) be responsible to or subject to the supervision or direction of an employee or agent engaged in the performance of investigative or prosecuting functions for an agency.]

Such employee may not be responsible to or subject to the supervision or direction of an employee or agent engaged in the performance of investigative or prosecuting functions for an agency.

§ 556. Hearings; presiding employees; powers and duties; burden of proof; evidence; record as basis of decision.

(d) Except as otherwise provided by statute, the proponent of a rule or order has the burden of proof. Any oral or documentary evidence may be received, but the agency as a matter of policy shall provide for the exclusion of irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence. A sanction may not be imposed or rule or order issued except on consideration of the whole record or those parts thereof cited by a party and supported by and in accordance with the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence. The agency may, to the extent consistent with the interests of justice and the policy of the underlying statutes administered by the agency, consider a violation of section 557 (d) of this title sufficient grounds for a decision adverse to a party who has knowingly committed such violation or knowingly caused such violation to occur. A party is entitled to present his case or defense by oral or documentary evidence, to submit rebuttal evidence, and to conduct such cross-examination as may be required for a full and true disclosure of the facts. In rule making or determining claims for money or benefits or applications for initial licenses an agency may, when a party will not be prejudiced thereby, adopt procedures for the submission of all or part of the evidence in written form.

§ 557. Initial decisions; conclusiveness; review by agency; submissions by parties; contents of decisions; record.

(d) In any agency proceeding which is subject to subsection (a) of this section, except to the extent required for the disposition of ex parte matters as authorized by law

(1) no interested person outside the agency shall make or knowingly cause to be made to any member of the body comprising the agency, administrative law judge, or other employee who is or may reasonably be expected to be involved in the decisional process of the proceeding, an ex parte communication relevant to the merits of the proceeding;

(2) no member of the body comprising an agency, administrative law judge, or other employee who is or may reasonably be expected to be involved in the decisional process of the proceeding, shall make or knowingly cause to be made to an interested person outside the agency an ex parte communication relevant to the merits of the proceeding;

(3) a member of the body comprising the agency, administrative law judge, or other employee who is or may reasonably be expected to be involved in the decisional process of such proceeding who receives, or who makes, a communication in violation of this subsection, shall place on the public record of the proceeding: (A) written communications transmitted in violation of this subsection;

(B) memorandums stating the substance of all oral communications occurring in violation of this subsection; and

(C) responses to the materials described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this subsection;

(4) upon receipt of a communication knowingly made by a party, or which was knowingly caused to be made by a party in violation of this subsection; the agency, administrative law judge, or other employee presiding at the hearing many, to the extent consistent with the interests of justice and the policy of the underlying statutes, require the person or party to show cause why his claim or interest in the proceeding should not be dismissed, denied, disregarded, or otherwise adversely affected by virtue of such violation;

(5) the prohibitions of this subsection shall apply at such time as the agency may designate, but in no case shall they apply later than the time at which a proceeding is noticed for hearing unless the person responsible for the communication has knowledge that it will be noticed, in which case the prohibitions shall apply at the time of his acquisition of such knowledge.

STANDING RULES FOR CONDUCTING BUSINESS IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

RULE XXV

STANDING COMMITTEES

7(a) **

[(b) Meetings for the transaction of business of each standing committee of the Senate, other than for the conduct of hearings (which are provided for in section 112 (a) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970), shall be open to the public except during closed sessions for marketing up bills or for voting or when the committee by majority vote orders a closed session: Provided, That any such closed session may be open to the public if the committee by rule or by majority vote so determines.]

RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FIRST SESSION, NINETY-FOURTH CONGRESS

RULE XI

RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR COMMITTEES