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committee meetings were closed, a slight decrease from the "prereform" year of 1970, but exactly the same percentage as in 1969. More importantly, the number of closed meetings last year was in no way significantly different from an average of 37 percent of closed sessions over the last 20 years. Another revealing statistic in the Congressional Quarterly survey was that 97 percent of those Senate committee meetings specifically designated as "business sessions"-organizing, marking up, voting, briefing sessions were closed to the public.

If the final decision and amendment process is conducted in such an atmosphere, is there any wonder that questioning of our legislators' motives results? Even if hanky-panky is not present in such proceedings, the cloak of secrecy heavily implies its possibility. We all recognize that sound reasons exist for closed or executive sessions, and my earlier remarks identify some, but how is the public to know whether a closed meeting is held at the personal convenience of the legislator or for his personal gain?

I ask unanimous consent to have the full text of the February 8, 1972, Congressional Quarterly report on "Committee Secrecy" printed at this point in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the text was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

COMMITTEE SECRECY: MINOR IMPACT OF REFORM ACT

Congressional committees conducted more than a third of their 1971 meetings in secret during the year in which the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970aimed, in part, at opening proceedings to the public-went into effect.

Thirty-six percent of all congressional committee hearings and meetings were held behind closed doors in 1971. This marked a decrease from the 41 percent recorded in 1970. but matched the secrecy score for 1969. The pattern of the past few Congresses has been to hold more open meetings in the first session than in the second. (1970 Almanac p. 1117)

The House, as in the past, had the higher percentage of closed meetings. It barred the public from 41 percent of its committee sessions in 1971. This was down from the 48 percent of 1970 but comparable to the 42 percent closed meetings in 1969.

Senate committees had an over-all secrecy score of 30 percent-less than the 33 percent of 1970, yet greater than the 28 percent recorded in 1969. Joint committees continued to report a low number of executive meetings: 20 out of a total of 126.

Since 1953, when Congressional Quarterly began its annual study of open and closed committee meetings, 23,720 or 37 percent-of the 64,231 meetings reported have been closed to the public. Statistics on committee meetings are given below. (Standards used in compiling the study, box this page.)

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1 Meetings of the House Appropriations Committee, all reported closed until 1971, were not included in the study until 1965.

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House Appropriations: One of the noteworthy developments in 1971 was the opening of selected House Appropriations Committee hearings. Although only 8 percent of its sessions-36 of a total of 455-were open to the public, this was a contrast to the zero percent recorded in the past. (Committee staff members reported several open meetings in 1970; however, since these were carried as executive sessions in the daily digest, they were listed as closed in Congressional Quarterly's tabulations.)

The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 stipulated that House appropriations budget hearings are to be held in open session, except when the committee determines that the testimony may affect national security. (1970 Almanac p. 447)

Other House Committees: Ways and Means was the only other House committee, besides Appropriations, to meet more than 100 times and close its doors more often than not. It closed 69 of its 111 sessions for a secrecy score of 62 percent.

The House Judiciary Committee closed 47 percent of its 150 meetings. The number of closed sessions held by the House Armed Services Committee continued to decline in 1971. The committee secluded itself 41 percent of the time, as compared to 57 percent in 1970 and 64 percent in 1969.

The Education and Labor Committee remained at the top of the list of committees which met more than 100 times and most often in open session. The committee closed only six of its 199 meetings for a secrecy score of 3 percent. Other committees which met more than 100 times with comparatively few closed sessions were Interior and Insular Affairs, 20 percent closed sessions; Government Operations, 22 percent; Interstate and Foreign Commerce, 24 percent; Foreign Affairs, 28 percent; Public Works and Merchant Marine and Fisheries, both with 31 percent.

Senate Committees: Only one of the Senate committees which met more than 100 times held the majority of its meetings in executive session. The Armed Services Committee closed 118 of its 150 meetings, or 79 percent. Public Works barred outsiders from 50 percent of its sessions. Foreign Relations closed its doors 43 percent of the time.

Senate Judiciary was the leader of committees which met more than 100 times and often in open session. It closed only 15 percent of its 167 meetings. Both Interior and Insular Affairs and Labor and Public Welfare closed 20 percent of their meetings; Commerce, 21 percent; Appropriations, 30 percent. Joint Committees: Few executive sessions were held by joint congressional committees. Of the 126 meetings reported in the daily digest, only 20, or 16 percent, were closed. The Joint Economic Committee, which met the most frequently, barred the public from only two of its 76 meetings.

Legislative Reform: In 1970, Congress passed its first reform act in 24 years. The Legislative Reorganization Act contained a number of provisions affecting the conduct of congressional committee meetings. A main thrust was to bring committee proceedings under public security. The reform legislation provided for making public the outcome of committee roll-call votes.

It stipulated that Senate committee business meetings are to be open except for markup (when a committee revises, amends and decides on the final language of a bill) and voting sessions. Senate committees also could close their business meetings by majority vote.

Ninety-seven percent of those Senate committee meetings specifically designated in the daily digest as business sessions-organizing, marking-up, voting, briefing sessions-were closed to the public.

The Reorganization Act also stated that House committee business meetings were to be open, except when the committee closed it by majority vote. Excluding the House Appropriations Committee, 79 percent of the sessions listed as business were held behind closed door. (House Appropriations meetings were not included in these tabulations because subcommittee mark-up sessions were not reported to the Record.)

Public mark-up sessions are rare. Most committees prefer to write legislation in private for a variety of reasons. Some members believe that open meetings tend to encourage greater posturing and longer speeches for public consumption. Others think committee action is hindered by the necessity of observing formal procedures. One committee, which held open mark-up sessions in the past but not in 1971, found that the open meetings usually attracted more lobbyists than public.

Open mark-up sessions: The House Education and Labor Committee, which had the lowest over-all secrecy score of House committees holding more than 100

meetings, also led in the open business meeting category. Of those specified as business sessions, the committee closed its doors six out of 60 times.

The House Education and Labor Committee's practice of opening mark-up sessions to the public began during heated debate over anti-poverty legislation in 1967, the year Rep. Carl D. Perkins (D-Ky.) became chairman. Perkins opened the sessions when Republican committee members prevented action by boycotting meetings, while keeping someone in attendance to protest that a quorum was not present.

At that time Perkins stated: "If they (the Republicans) want to kill this bill then they're going to have to do it on the floor, out in the open and for the record. We're not going to let them do it behind closed doors." (1967 Weekly Report p. 2121)

Donald M. Baker, chief clerk of the House Education and Labor Committee, told Congressional Quarterly that he did not think open meetings had hampered committee proceedings and called it "a very good rule."

House Interior and Insular Affairs opened 30 of its 55 mark-up sessions. The Subcommittee on Territorial and Insular Affairs began marking up in open session in 1971 under the direction of its new chairman, Rep. Phillip Burton (D Calif.). Burton also serves on the Education and Labor Committee.

Another committee to mark up in open session in 1971 was House Post Office and Civil Service. The committee voted to open these sessions as a result of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970.

Committee Hearings: The 1970 Legislative Reorganization Act contained provisions concerning hearings. It required that House and Senate committees, with the exceptions of the Senate Appropriations and House Rules Committees, announce the date, place and subject of hearings at least one week in advance, unless the committee finds good cause for beginning them earlier. Provision for radio and television coverage of open committee meetings was contained in the legislation. Prior to the passage of the act, such coverage was permitted in the Senate but not in the House.

The reorganization law provided for the opening of more hearings. It stipulated that Senate hearings would be open except when the committee determines that testimony may relate to national security, may tend to reflect adversely on the character or reputation of an individual or may divulge matters deemed confidential under other provisions of law or government regulation.

GROUND RULES

Statistics in Congressional Quarterly's open-closed committee study were derived primarily from information published in the daily digest section of the Congressional Record, the official journal of Senate and House proceedings. Section 221 of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (now Section 905, Title 44, United States Code) required:

"The Joint Committee on Printing shall provide for printing in the daily Record the legislative program for the day together with a list of congressional committee meetings and hearings and the place of meetings and subject matter. It shall cause a brief résumé of congressional activities for the previous day to be incorporated in the Record...."

In practice, however, not all committee meetings were listed in the Record. Committees used different criteria as to what constituted a meeting. Some did not report their meetings regularly to the Record; some said they reported their meetings but they were not carried in the Record.

Open meetings followed by closed meetings are counted twice-once in each category. Joint meetings of separate committees or subcommittees are counted as one meeting for each. A meeting of a subcommittee is counted as a meeting of the full committee.

The tabulations exclude meetings when Congress was not in regular session; meetings outside of Washington, D.C.; meetings of conference committees to reconcile conflicting Senate and House versions of bills; informal meetings of the House Rules Committee to consider sending legislation to the floor (but Rules Committee meetings for other purposes are included).

Meetings held by the House Appropriations Committee were not always reported to the Record. The CQ tally for the Appropriations Committee was made from a Record list of meetings scheduled. The Senate Select Committee on Standards and Conduct did not report its meetings, all closed, to the Record nor state the number of times it met.

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1 Formerly Banking and Currency Committee; renamed by the Legislative Reorganization Act of

1970.

2 Created Feb. 19, 1970, by S. Res. 359.

3 Created Jan. 28, 1971, S. Res. 16.

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• Committee staff members reported one open meeting on the District of Columbia appropriations and 8 open meetings on public works in 1970. However, since these were reported as closed in the Daily Digest, they were carried as executive sessions in tabulations.

7 Created May 1, 1969, by H. Res. 17.

8 In 1969 includes Joint Committees on Internal Revenue Taxation, Library, Printing, Reduction of Nonessential Federal Expenditures; in 1970 includes Printing; in 1971 includes Library, Printing.

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