[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 32 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 32
Establishing the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking to review,
analyze, and make recommendations to Congress to promote the use of
Federal data for evidence-building and evidence-based policymaking, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 13, 2025
Mr. Timmons (for himself, Mr. Landsman, Ms. Pettersen, and Mr. Bacon)
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee
on Oversight and Government Reform, 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
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Establishing the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking to review,
analyze, and make recommendations to Congress to promote the use of
Federal data for evidence-building and evidence-based policymaking, and
for other purposes.
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This concurrent resolution may be cited as the ``Congressional
Evidence-Based Policymaking Resolution''.
SEC. 2. COMMISSION ON EVIDENCE-BASED POLICYMAKING.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in the legislative branch
the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking (in this section referred
to as the ``Commission'') to review, analyze, and make recommendations
with respect to promoting the use of Federal data for evidence-building
and evidence-based policymaking.
(b) Membership.--The Commission shall be composed of 12 members,
appointed not later than 45 days after the date of the adoption of this
resolution, as follows:
(1) Three shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, of whom--
(A) one shall be an academic researcher
specializing in Congress, social science, or data
science;
(B) one shall be a former Member or senior staffer
of the House; and
(C) one shall be an employee of an office that
participates in the Congressional Data Task Force or
other legislative branch support agency as appropriate
for the purposes of studying and developing the
recommendations under subsection (g).
(2) Three shall be appointed by the minority leader of the
House of Representatives, of whom--
(A) one shall be an academic researcher
specializing in Congress, social science, or data
science;
(B) one shall be a former Member or senior staffer
of the House; and
(C) one shall be an employee of an office that
participates in the Congressional Data Task Force or
other legislative branch support agency as appropriate
for the purposes of studying and developing the
recommendations under subsection (g).
(3) Three shall be appointed by the majority leader of the
Senate, of whom--
(A) one shall be an academic researcher
specializing in Congress, social science, or data
science;
(B) one shall be a former Member or senior staffer
of the Senate; and
(C) one shall be an employee of an office that
participates in the Congressional Data Task Force or
other legislative branch support agency as appropriate
for the purposes of studying and developing the
recommendations under subsection (g).
(4) Three shall be appointed by the minority leader of the
Senate, of whom--
(A) one shall be an academic researcher
specializing in Congress, social science, or data
science;
(B) one shall be a former Member or senior staffer
of the Senate; and
(C) one shall be an employee of an office that
participates in the Congressional Data Task Force or
other legislative branch support agency as appropriate
for the purposes of studying and developing the
recommendations under subsection (g).
(c) Prohibition Against Service by Current Members of Congress.--An
individual is not eligible to serve on the Commission if the individual
is a current Member of Congress (including a Delegate or Resident
Commissioner to the Congress).
(d) Co-Chairs.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
majority leader of the Senate shall each select one member of the
Commission to serve as co-chairs.
(e) Terms; Vacancies.--Each member shall be appointed for the
duration of the Commission. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not
affect its powers, and shall be filled in the manner in which the
original appointment was made.
(f) Staff.--
(1) Director.--The Commission shall have a Director who
shall be appointed jointly by the co-chairs. The Director shall
be paid at a rate of pay established by the co-chairs, not to
exceed the annual rate of basic pay payable for level V of the
Executive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States
Code.
(2) Other staff.--The Director may appoint and fix the pay
of not more than 8 full-time equivalent employees and 4 part-
time employees.
(3) Coverage under congressional accountability act of
1995.--For purposes of the Congressional Accountability Act of
1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.)--
(A) the Commission shall be treated as an employing
office under the Act; and
(B) an employee of the Commission shall be treated
as a covered employee under the Act.
(4) Detail of employees.--At the request of the Commission,
an employee of an office of the House of Representatives or
Senate may be detailed to the Commission to assist the
Commission with carrying out its duties.
(g) Recommendations.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall study and consider
approval of applicable recommendations with respect to
evidence-based policymaking within the Federal Government,
including--
(A) how Congress may encourage Federal agencies to
produce and prioritize evidence on effectiveness for
major new programs and reauthorizations, consistent
with the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking
Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-435) and the amendments
made by such Act;
(B) how Congress may encourage Federal agencies to
support States in making data more open and accessible,
in a manner similar to that provided under the
Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018
(Public Law 115-435) and the amendments made by such
Act;
(C) how Congress can revise existing laws or enact
new laws to improve access to administrative and survey
data for evidence building;
(D) how to incorporate evidence such as outcomes
measurement, rigorous impact analysis, and
implementation-aligned language into the lawmaking
process;
(E) how Congress can access and incorporate real-
time, structured, integrated, and machine-readable data
into the lawmaking process;
(F) the potential need for and duties of a
congressional Chief Data Officer, including whether the
officer should be located in a stand-alone office or
housed within another existing agency and how such an
office would function with existing data and
transformation units in Congress; and
(G) ways to increase data and data privacy
expertise in Congress through the incorporation of
technologists, data scientists, data analysts, privacy
experts, social scientists, and engineers to assist in
policy evaluation and legislative drafting.
(2) Adoption of recommendations.--Any recommendation
considered by the Commission shall only be considered adopted
by the Commission upon receiving the votes of at least two-
thirds of the members of the Commission.
(h) Reports.--
(1) Interim reports.--The Commission may submit to the
Speaker of the House and the majority leader of the Senate
interim reports containing such findings, conclusions, and
recommendations as have been agreed to by at least two-thirds
of the members of the Commission.
(2) Final report.--Not later than the final day of the One
Hundred Nineteenth Congress, the Commission shall submit a
report to the Speaker of the House and the majority leader of
the Senate on the activities and findings of the Commission.
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section,
of which--
(1) 50 percent shall be derived from the applicable
accounts of the House of Representatives; and
(2) 50 percent shall be derived from the contingent fund of
the Senate.
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