[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2635 Introduced in House (IH)]
104th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2635
To establish a temporary commission to recommend reforms in the laws
relating to elections for Congress.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 14, 1995
Mr. White introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Oversight, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a temporary commission to recommend reforms in the laws
relating to elections for Congress.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Elections Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) for Congress to address the existing problems in the
Federal election laws, Congress must act in a nonpartisan
manner and engage in a debate based on academic studies and
empirical findings instead of partisan rhetoric;
(2) when addressing Federal election laws, Congress must be
cognizant of the freedoms of speech and association protected
under the Constitution; and
(3) the current Federal election laws unduly favor
incumbent Members of Congress, and, in previous years, Congress
has not been able to eliminate this bias when addressing the
reform of the Federal election laws.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE OF COMMISSION.
There is established a commission to be known as the ``Fair
Elections Commission'' (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the
``Commission''). The purposes of the Commission are to study the laws
relating to elections for Congress and to report and recommend
legislation to reform those laws.
SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.
(a) Appointment.--The Commission shall be composed of 12 members
appointed within 15 days after the date of the enactment of this Act by
the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from
among individuals who are not incumbent Members of Congress and who are
specially qualified to serve on the Commission by reason of education,
training, or experience. In making appointments, the President shall
consult--
(1) the Speaker of the House of Representatives with
respect to the appointment of 3 members, one of whom is not
affiliated with either the Republican Party or the Democratic
Party;
(2) the majority leader of the Senate with respect to the
appointment of 3 members, one of whom is not affiliated with
either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party;
(3) the minority leader of the House of Representatives
with respect to the appointment of 2 members, one of whom is
not affiliated with either the Republican Party or the
Democratic Party; and
(4) the minority leader of the Senate with respect to the
appointment of 2 members, one of whom is not affiliated with
either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party.
(b) Chairman.--At the time of the appointment, the President shall
designate one member of the Commission as Chairman of the Commission.
The Chairman may not be affiliated with either the Republican Party or
the Democratic Party.
(c) Terms.--The members of the Commission shall serve for the life
of the Commission.
(d) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled in the
manner in which the original appointment was made.
(e) Political Affiliation.--Not more than 4 members of the
Commission may be of the same political party.
SEC. 5. POWERS OF COMMISSION.
(a) Hearings.--The Commission may, for the purpose of carrying out
this Act, hold hearings, sit and act at times and places, take
testimony, and receive evidence as the Commission considers
appropriate.
(b) Quorum.--Seven members of the Commission shall constitute a
quorum, but a lesser number may hold hearings. A majority of the full
Commission is required when approving all or a portion of the
recommended legislation. Any member of the Commission may, if
authorized by the Commission, take any action which the Commission is
authorized to take under this section.
SEC. 6. REPORT AND RECOMMENDED LEGISLATION.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Commission shall submit to the Congress a report of the activities
of the Commission, together with a draft of legislation (including
technical and conforming provisions) recommended by the Commission to
reform the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.)
and any other laws relating to elections for Congress.
SEC. 7. PRIMARY OBJECTIVES OF THE COMMISSION.
In formulating its draft of legislation under section 6, the
Commission shall consider the following to be its primary objectives:
(1) Encouraging fair and open Congressional elections that
provide voters with meaningful information about candidates and
issues.
(2) Eliminating the disproportionate influence of special
interest financing of Congressional elections.
(3) Creating a system in which incumbent Members of
Congress do not possess an inherent advantage over challengers.
SEC. 8. FAST-TRACK PROCEDURES.
(a) Rules of House of Representatives and Senate.--This section is
enacted by the Congress--
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of
Representatives and the Senate, respectively, and as such they
shall be considered as part of the rules of each House,
respectively, or of that House to which they specifically
apply, and such rules shall supersede other rules only to the
extent that they are inconsistent therewith; and
(2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of
either House to change the rules (so far as relating to such
House) at any time, in the same manner and to the same extent
as in the case of any other rule of that House.
(b) Definitions.--As used in this section, the term ``Federal
election bill'' means only a bill of either House of Congress which is
introduced as provided in subsection (c) to carry out the
recommendations of the Commission as set forth in the draft of
legislation referred to in section 6.
(c) Introduction and Referral.--Within 3 days after the Commission
submits its draft legislation under section 6, a Federal election bill
shall be introduced (by request) in the House by the majority leader of
the House and shall be introduced (by request) in the Senate by the
majority leader of the Senate. Such bills shall be referred to the
appropriate committees.
(d) Amendments Prohibited.--No amendment to a Federal election bill
shall be in order in either the House of Representatives or the Senate;
and no motion to suspend the application of this subsection shall be in
order in either House; nor shall it be in order in either House to
entertain a request to suspend the application of this subsection by
unanimous consent.
(e) Period for Committee and Floor Consideration.--
(1) If the committee of either House to which a Federal
election bill has been referred has not reported it at the
close of the 20th day after its introduction, such committee
shall be automatically discharged from further consideration of
the bill and it shall be placed on the appropriate calendar. If
prior to the passage by one House of a Federal election bill of
that House, that House receives the same Federal election bill
from the other House, then--
(A) the procedure in that House shall be the same
as if no Federal election bill had been received from
the other House; but
(B) the vote on final passage shall be on the
Federal election bill of the other House.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), in computing a number of
days in either House, there shall be excluded the days on which
that House is not in session because of an adjournment of more
than 3 days to a day certain or an adjournment of the Congress
sine die.
(f) Floor Consideration in the House.--
(1) A motion in the House of Representatives to proceed to
the consideration of a Federal election bill shall be highly
privileged except that a motion to proceed to consider may only
be made on the second legislative day after the calendar day on
which the Member making the motion announces to the House his
intention to do so. The motion to proceed to consider is not
debatable. An amendment to the motion shall not be in order,
nor shall it be in order to move to reconsider the vote by
which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to.
(2) Consideration of a Federal election bill in the House
of Representatives shall be in the House with debate limited to
not more than 10 hours, which shall be divided equally between
those favoring and those opposing the bill. The previous
question on the Federal election bill shall be considered as
ordered to final passage without intervening motion. It shall
not be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which a
Federal election bill is agreed to or disagreed to.
(3) All appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to
the application of the Rules of the House of Representatives to
the procedure relating to a Federal election bill shall be
decided without debate.
(g) Floor Consideration in the Senate.--
(1) A motion in the Senate to proceed to the consideration
of a Federal election bill shall be privileged and not
debatable. An amendment to the motion shall not be in order,
nor shall it be in order to move to reconsider the vote by
which the motion is agreed to or disagreed to.
(2) Debate in the Senate on a Federal election bill, and
all debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith,
shall be limited to not more than 10 hours. The time shall be
equally divided between, and controlled by, the majority leader
and the minority leader or their designees.
(3) Debate in the Senate on any debatable motion or appeal
in connection with a Federal election bill shall be limited to
not more than 1 hour, to be equally divided between, and
controlled by, the mover and the manager of the bill, except
that in the event the manager of the bill is in favor of any
such motion or appeal, the time in opposition thereto, shall be
controlled by the minority leader or his designee. Such
leaders, or either of them, may, from time under their control
on the passage of a Federal election bill, allot additional
time to any Senator during the consideration of any debatable
motion or appeal.
(4) A motion in the Senate to further limit debate is not
debatable. A motion to recommit a Federal election bill is not
in order.
SEC. 9. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.
(a) Pay and Travel Expenses of Members.--(1) Each member of the
Commission, other than the Chairman, shall be paid at a rate equal to
the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay payable for level
IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United
States Code, for each day (including travel time) during which the
member is engaged in the actual performance of duties vested in the
Commission. The Chairman shall be paid for each day referred to in the
preceding sentence at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the
annual rate of basic pay payable for level III of the Executive
Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, United States Code.
(2) Members of the Commission shall receive travel expenses,
including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections
5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code.
(b) Staff Director.--The Commission shall, without regard to
section 5311(b) of title 5, United States Code, appoint a staff
director, who shall be paid at the rate of basic pay payable for level
IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United
States Code.
(c) Staff.--(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Director, with the
approval of the Commission, may appoint and fix the pay of additional
personnel.
(2) The Director may make such appointments without regard to the
provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in
the competitive service, and any personnel so appointed may be paid
without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of
chapter 53 of that title relating to classification and General
Schedule pay rates, except that an individual so appointed may not
receive pay in excess of the maximum annual rate of basic pay payable
for grade GS-15 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5,
United States Code.
(d) Details.--Upon request of the Director, the head of any Federal
department or agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the
personnel of that department or agency to the Commission to assist the
Commission in carrying out its duties under this Act.
(e) Experts and Consultants.--The Commission may procure by
contract the temporary or intermittent services of experts or
consultants pursuant to section 3109 of title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 10. TERMINATION.
The Commission shall cease to exist 90 days after the date of the
submission of its report under section 6.
SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission such sums
as are necessary to carry out its duties under this Act.
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