Announcements
The Committee on Rules will meet on Thursday, October 1, 2020 at 1:00 PM EDT via Cisco Webex on the following:
- Members' Day Hearing on Proposed Rules Changes for the 117th Congress [Original Jurisdiction Hearing]
- Dear Colleague (dated September 24, 2020)
**PLEASE NOTE:
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This proceeding will be streamed live on rules.house.gov. Information will be provided separately to Members on how to join via the Cisco Webex platform.
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Members intending to testify during this meeting should notify the Rules Committee of their interest in order to receive instructions on how to participate.
September 24, 2020
Members' Day Hearing on Proposed Rules Changes for the 117th Congress
Dear Colleague:
As the Committee on Rules prepares for the 117th Congress, I write to announce our Members Day hearing at 1:00 PM EDT on Thursday, October 1, 2020, to hear from Members on their proposed changes to the standing rules of the House. Pursuant to House Resolution 965 and the covered period designated by the Speaker on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, the proceeding will be conducted virtually and streamed live on rules.house.gov.
This hearing will provide the Committee an opportunity to receive ideas from Members about possible improvements to the rules of the House for the 117th Congress. I welcome your input and want to ensure that all Members are provided an opportunity to participate in this process.
Any Member wishing to testify virtually at the hearing should complete this form by 5pm on Tuesday, September 29, 2020. Please make one submission per idea. Instructions on how to participate will be provided separately. Please note that staff must be on the House network, either physically or remotely via virtual private network (VPN), in order to access the online submission form. If you have any questions, please contact the Committee at (202) 225-9091.
Thank you very much and we look forward to hearing your ideas!
Sincerely,
James P. McGovern
Chairman
Committee on Rules
The Committee on Rules will meet on Monday, September 21, 2020 at 1:00 PM EDT via Cisco Webex on the following measures:
- H.R. ____—Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act
- H.R. 4447—Expanding Access to Sustainable Energy Act of 2019 [Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act]
- H.R. 6210—Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act
- H.R. 6270—Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act of 2020
**PLEASE NOTE:
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This proceeding will be streamed live on rules.house.gov. Information will be provided separately to Members on how to join via the Cisco Webex platform.
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Members intending to testify during this meeting should notify the Rules Committee of their interest in order to receive instructions on how to participate.
September 15, 2020
AMENDMENT PROCESS FOR
H.R. 4447—Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act
Dear Colleague:
The Committee on Rules is likely to meet the week of September 21 to grant a rule that may provide a structured amendment process for floor consideration of H.R. 4447 - Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act. Additionally, the Committee on Rules has temporarily modified its process for accepting amendment submissions in order to accommodate fully remote work.
Any Member wishing to offer an amendment must submit a searchable electronic copy of the amendment, which should be provided by the Office of Legislative Counsel, via the Rules Committee’s website by 10:00 a.m. on Friday, September 18, 2020. After submitting the amendment via the linked form, please follow the instructions in the automated confirmation email to finalize your submission. Amendments will only be considered submitted upon Committee receipt of the follow-up e-mail confirmation reply—please do not bring physical copies of amendments to the Rules Committee in person. Please note that staff must be on the House network, either physically or remotely via virtual private network (VPN), in order to access the online submission form.
Members should draft their amendments to the text of Rules Committee Print 116-63, showing the text of the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act, and which is available on the Rules Committee website.
Members should use the Office of Legislative Counsel to ensure that their amendments are drafted in the most appropriate format. Members should also check with the Congressional Budget Office for a preliminary assessment of their amendments’ budgetary effects. Finally, Members should check with the Office of the Parliamentarian and the Committee on the Budget to be certain their amendments comply with the rules of the House and the Congressional Budget Act. If you have any questions, please contact Rose Laughlin of the Committee staff at 202-225-9091.
Sincerely,
James P. McGovern
Chairman
Committee on Rules
The Committee on Rules will meet on Monday, September 14, 2020 at 1:00 PM EDT via Cisco Webex on the following measures:
- H. Res. 908—Condemning all forms of anti-Asian sentiment as related to COVID-19.
- H.R. 2574—Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act of 2019
- H.R. 2639—Strength in Diversity Act of 2019 [Strength in Diversity Act of 2020]
- H.R. 2694—Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
**PLEASE NOTE:
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This proceeding will be streamed live on rules.house.gov. Information will be provided separately to Members on how to join via the Cisco Webex platform.
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Members intending to testify during this meeting should notify the Rules Committee of their interest in order to receive instructions on how to participate.
September 8, 2020
AMENDMENT PROCESS FOR
H.R. 2639—Strength in Diversity Act of 2020
Dear Colleague:
The Committee on Rules is likely to meet the week of September 14 to grant a rule that may provide a structured amendment process for floor consideration of H.R. 2639 - Strength in Diversity Act of 2020. Additionally, the Committee on Rules has temporarily modified its process for accepting amendment submissions in order to accommodate fully remote work.
Any Member wishing to offer an amendment must submit a searchable electronic copy of the amendment, which should be provided by the Office of Legislative Counsel, via the Rules Committee’s website by 10:00 a.m. on Friday, September 11, 2020. After submitting the amendment via the linked form, please follow the instructions in the automated confirmation email to finalize your submission. Amendments will only be considered submitted upon Committee receipt of the follow-up e-mail confirmation reply—please do not bring physical copies of amendments to the Rules Committee in person. Please note that staff must be on the House network, either physically or remotely via virtual private network (VPN), in order to access the online submission form.
Members should draft their amendments to the text of Rules Committee Print 116-62, showing the text of H.R. 2639, as ordered reported by the Committee on Education and Labor, with modification, and which is available on the Rules Committee website.
Members should use the Office of Legislative Counsel to ensure that their amendments are drafted in the most appropriate format. Members should also check with the Congressional Budget Office for a preliminary assessment of their amendments’ budgetary effects. Finally, Members should check with the Office of the Parliamentarian and the Committee on the Budget to be certain their amendments comply with the rules of the House and the Congressional Budget Act. If you have any questions, please contact Lori Ismail of the Committee staff at 202-225-9091.
Sincerely,
James P. McGovern
Chairman
Committee on Rules
The Committee on Rules will meet on Friday, August 21, 2020 at 11:00 AM EDT via Cisco Webex on the following measure:
- H.R. 8015—Delivering for America Act
**PLEASE NOTE:
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This proceeding will be streamed live on rules.house.gov. Information will be provided separately to Members on how to join via the Cisco Webex platform.
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Members intending to testify during this meeting should notify the Rules Committee of their interest in order to receive instructions on how to participate.
The Committee on Rules will now meet on the below measure on Tuesday, July 28, 2020 at 11:00 AM EDT (still via Cisco Webex):
The Committee on Rules will meet on Monday, July 27, 2020 at 2:00 PM EDT via Cisco Webex on the following measure:
- H.R. 7617—Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2021 [Defense, Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2021]
**PLEASE NOTE:
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This proceeding will be streamed live on rules.house.gov. Information will be provided separately to Members on how to join via the Cisco Webex platform.
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Members intending to testify during this meeting should notify the Rules Committee of their interest in order to receive instructions on how to participate.
July 20, 2020
AMENDMENT PROCESS FOR
H.R. 7617 – Defense, Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2021
Dear Colleague:
The Committee on Rules is likely to meet the week of July 27 to grant a rule that may provide a structured amendment process for floor consideration of H.R. 7617 – Defense, Commerce, Justice, Science, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2021. Additionally, the Committee on Rules has temporarily modified its process for accepting amendment submissions in order to accommodate fully remote work. To help ensure Members draft their amendments properly and promptly, please see the following guidance:
- Members must draft their amendments to Rules Committee Print 116-60, which contains the text of H.R. 7617 (Defense), H.R. 7667 (Commerce, Justice, Science), H.R. 7613 (Energy and Water Development), H.R. 7668 (Financial Services and General Government), H.R. 7669 (Homeland Security), H.R. 7614 (Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education), and H.R. 7616 (Transportation, Housing and Urban Development), as reported by the Committee on Appropriations with modifications, and which is available on the Rules Committee website.
- When submitting an amendment, Members must identify which division the amendment modifies.
- Any Member wishing to offer an amendment must submit a searchable electronic copy of the amendment, which should be provided by the Office of Legislative Counsel, via the Rules Committee’s website by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 23, 2020.
- After submitting the amendment via the linked form, please follow the instructions in the automated confirmation email to finalize your submission. Amendments will only be considered submitted upon Committee receipt of the follow-up e-mail confirmation reply—please do not bring physical copies of amendments to the Rules Committee in person.
- Please note that staff must be on the House network, either physically or remotely via virtual private network (VPN), in order to access the online submission form.
- The rule will follow the prior practice of preventing amendments, offsets, or transfers between divisions. It is the Committee’s intent that amendments affecting more than one division of the bill will not be made in order. For example, amendments may not transfer funds from an account in the Defense division to an account in the Homeland Security division.
- Limitation, “reach-back,” and across-the-board cut amendments intended to affect multiple divisions, must be submitted as separate amendments to each division. Any amendment that would traditionally come at the end of a bill should be drafted to the end of the relevant division.
- Members should use the Office of Legislative Counsel to ensure that their amendments are drafted in the most appropriate format. To help expedite drafting requests, drafting templates can be found on the Rules Committee website. If the Office of Legislative Counsel is unable to provide their drafting services before the submission deadline, Members may submit amendments written using the posted templates. Members are urged to re-submit any such amendment as a revision upon receipt of a formal draft from the Office of Legislative Counsel.
- Members should also check with the Committee on Appropriations for technical and subject matter expertise and the Congressional Budget Office for a preliminary assessment of their amendment’s budgetary effect. Additionally, Members should consult with the Office of the Parliamentarian and the Committee on the Budget to be certain their amendments comply with the rules of the House and the Congressional Budget Act. At times of particularly high-volume amendment drafting, these offices may not be able to provide guidance before the submission deadline—Members may submit unreviewed amendments to the Committee.
- The Rules Committee does not intend to make in order amendments that are in violation of House rules or budget rules and would require a waiver.
If you have any questions, please contact the Committee staff at 225-9091.
Sincerely,
James P. McGovern
The Committee on Rules will meet on Wednesday, July 22, 2020 at 2:00 PM EDT via Cisco Webex on the following measure:
- H.R. 7608—Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2021 [State, Foreign Operations, Agriculture, Rural Development, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2021]
**PLEASE NOTE:
-
This proceeding will be streamed live on rules.house.gov. Information will be provided separately to Members on how to join via the Cisco Webex platform.
-
Members intending to testify during this meeting should notify the Rules Committee of their interest in order to receive instructions on how to participate.