July
25, 2001
UNITED
STATES SENATE
COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
JIM JEFFORDS, Vermont, Chairman
MAX BAUCUS, Montana
HARRY REID, Nevada
BOB GRAHAM, Florida
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut
BARBARA BOXER, California
RON WYDEN, Oregon
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, New York
JON S. CORZINE, New Jersey
BOB SMITH, New Hampshire
JOHN W. WARNER, Virginia
JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma
CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri
GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio
MICHAEL D. CRAPO, Idaho
LINCOLN CHAFEE, Rhode Island
ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania
BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado
COMMITTEE
ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
Jurisdiction
Rule XXV, Standing Rules of the Senate
1. The following standing committees shall be appointed at the
commencement of each to act until their successors are appointed,
with leave to report by bill or otherwise on matters within their
respective jurisdictions:
1. Air pollution.
2. Construction and maintenance of highways.
3. Environmental aspects of Outer Continental Shelf lands.
4. Environmental effects of toxic substances, other than pesticides.
5. Environmental policy.
6. Environmental research and development.
7. Fisheries and wildlife.
8. Flood control and improvements of rivers and harbors, including
environmental aspects of deepwater ports.
9. Noise pollution.
10. Nonmilitary environmental regulation and control of nuclear
energy.
11. Ocean dumping.
12. Public buildings and improved grounds of the United States
generally,including Federal buildings in the District of Columbia.
13. Public works, bridges, and dams.
14. Regional economic development.
15. Solid waste disposal and recycling.
16. Water pollution.
17. Water resources.
(2) Such committee shall also study and review, on a comprehensive
basis, matters relating to environmental protection and resource
utilization and conservation, and report thereon from time to
time.
RULES
OF PROCEDURE
Rule 1. Committee Meetings in General
(a) Regular Meeting Days : For purposes of complying with paragraph
3 of Senate Rule XXVI, the regular meeting day of the committee
is the first and third Thursday of each month at 10:00 A.M. If
there is no business before the committee, the regular meeting
shall be omitted.
(b) Additional Meetings : The chair may call additional meetings,
after consulting with the ranking minority member. Subcommittee
chairs may call meetings, with the concurrence of the chair, after
consulting with the ranking minority members of the subcommittee
and the committee.
(c) Presiding Officer :
(1)
The chair shall preside at all meetings of the committee. If
the chair is not present, the ranking majority member shall
preside.
(2)
Subcommittee chairs shall preside at all meetings of their subcommittees.
If the subcommittee chair is not present, the ranking majority
member of the subcommittee shall preside.
(3)
Notwithstanding the rule prescribed by paragraphs (1) and (2),
any member of the committee may preside at a hearing.
(d) Open Meetings: Meetings of the committee and subcommittees,
including hearings and business meetings, are open to the public.
A portion of a meeting may be closed to the public if the committee
determines by roll call vote of a majority of the members present
that the matters to be discussed or the testimony to be taken
(1)
will disclose matters necessary to be kept secret in the interests
of national defense or the confidential conduct of the foreign
relations of the United States;
(2)
relate solely to matters of committee staff personnel or internal
staff management or procedure; or
(3)
constitute any other grounds for closure under paragraph 5(b)
of Senate Rule XXVI.
(e) Broadcasting:
(1)
Public meetings of the committee or a subcommittee may be televised,
broadcast, or recorded by a member of the Senate press gallery
or an employee of the Senate.
(2)
Any member of the Senate Press Gallery or employee of the Senate
wishing to televise, broadcast, or record a committee meeting
must notify the staff director or the staff director's designee
by 5:00 p.m. the day before the meeting.
(3)
During public meetings, any person using a camera, microphone,
or other electronic equipment may not position or use the equipment
in a way that interferes with the seating, vision, or hearing
of committee members or staff on the dais, or with the orderly
process of the meeting.
Rule
2. Quorums
(a) Business Meetings: At committee business meetings, and for
the purpose of approving the issuance of a subpoena or approving
a committee resolution, six members, at least two of whom are
members of the minority party, constitute a quorum, except as
provided in subsection (d).
(b) Subcommittee Meetings: At subcommittee business meetings,
a majority of the subcommittee members, at least one of whom is
a member of the minority party, constitutes a quorum for conducting
business.
(c) Continuing Quorum: Once a quorum as prescribed in subsections
(a) and (b) has been established, the committee or subcommittee
may continue to conduct business.
(d) Reporting: No measure or matter may be reported to the Senate
by the committee unless a majority of committee members cast votes
in person.
(e) Hearings: One member constitutes a quorum for conducting a
hearing.
Rule
3. Hearings
(a) Announcements: Before the committee or a subcommittee holds
a hearing, the chair of the committee or subcommittee shall make
a public announcement and provide notice to members of the date,
place, time, and subject matter of the hearing. The announcement
and notice shall be issued at least one week in advance of the
hearing, unless the chair of the committee or subcommittee, with
the concurrence of the ranking minority member of the committee
or subcommittee, determines that there is good cause to provide
a shorter period, in which event the announcement and notice shall
be issued at least twenty-four hours in advance of the hearing.
(b) Statements of Witnesses:
(1)
A witness who is scheduled to testify at a hearing of the committee
or a subcommittee shall file 100 copies of the written testimony
at least 48 hours before the hearing. If a witness fails to
comply with this requirement, the presiding officer may preclude
the witness' testimony. This rule may be waived for field hearings,
except for witnesses from the Federal Government.
(2)
Any witness planning to use at a hearing any exhibit such as
a chart, graph, diagram, photo, map, slide, or model must submit
one identical copy of the exhibit (or representation of the
exhibit in the case of a model) and 100 copies reduced to letter
or legal paper size at least 48 hours before the hearing. Any
exhibit described above that is not provided to the committee
at least 48 hours prior to the hearing cannot be used for purpose
of presenting testimony to the committee and will not be included
in the hearing record.
(3)
The presiding officer at a hearing may have a witness confine
the oral presentation to a summary of the written testimony.
(4)
Notwithstanding a request that a document be embargoed, any
document that is to be discussed at a hearing, including, but
not limited to, those produced by the General Accounting Office,
Congressional Budget Office, Congressional Research Service,
a Federal agency, an Inspector General, or a nongovernmental
entity, shall be provided to all members of the committee at
least 72 hours before the hearing.
Rule
4. Business Meetings: Notice and Filing Requirements
(a) Notice: The chair of the committee or the subcommittee shall
provide notice, the agenda of business to be discussed, and the
text of agenda items to members of the committee or subcommittee
at least 72 hours before a business meeting. If the 72 hours falls
over a weekend, all materials will be provided by close of business
on Friday.
(b) Amendments: First-degree amendments must be filed with the
chair of the committee or the subcommittee at least 24 hours before
a business meeting. After the filing deadline, the chair shall
promptly distribute all filed amendments to the members of the
committee or subcommittee.
(c) Modifications: The chair of the committee or the subcommittee
may modify the notice and filing requirements to meet special
circumstances, with the concurrence of the ranking member of the
committee or subcommittee.
Rule
5. Business Meetings: Voting
(a) Proxy Voting:
(1)
Proxy voting is allowed on all measures, amendments, resolutions,
or other matters before the committee or a subcommittee.
(2)
A member who is unable to attend a business meeting may submit
a proxy vote on any matter, in writing, orally, or through personal
instructions.
(3)
A proxy given in writing is valid until revoked. A proxy given
orally or by personal instructions is valid only on the day
given.
(b) Subsequent Voting: Members who were not present at a business
meeting and were unable to cast their votes by proxy may record
their votes later, so long as they do so that same business day
and their vote does not change the outcome.
(c) Public Announcement:
(1)
Whenever the committee conducts a rollcall vote, the chair shall
announce the results of the vote, including a tabulation of
the votes cast in favor and the votes cast against the proposition
by each member of the committee.
(2)
Whenever the committee reports any measure or matter by rollcall
vote, the report shall include a tabulation of the votes cast
in favor of and the votes cast in opposition to the measure
or matter by each member of the committee.
Rule
6. Subcommittees
(a) Regularly Established Subcommittees: The committee has four
subcommittees: Clean Air, Wetlands, and Climate Change: Transportation,
Infrastructure, and Nuclear Safety; Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water;
and Superfund, Toxics, Risk and Waste Management.
(b) Membership: The committee chair, after consulting with the
ranking minority member, shall select members of the subcommittees.
Rule
7. Statutory Responsibilities and Other Matters
(a) Environmental Impact Statements: No project or legislation
proposed by any executive branch agency may be approved or otherwise
acted upon unless the committee has received a final environmental
impact statement relative to it, in accordance with section 102(2)(C)
of the National Environmental Policy Act, and the written comments
of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in
accordance with section 309 of the Clean Air Act. This rule is
not intended to broaden, narrow, or otherwise modify the class
of projects or legislative proposals for which environmental impact
statements are required under section 102(2)(C).
(b) Project Approvals:
(1)
Whenever the committee authorizes a project under Public Law
89-298, the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1965; Public Law 83-566,
the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act; or Public
Law 86-249, the Public Buildings Act of 1959, as amended; the
chairman shall submit for printing in the Congressional Record,
and the committee shall publish periodically as a committee
print, a report that describes the project and the reasons for
its approval, together with any dissenting or individual views.
(2)
Proponents of a committee resolution shall submit appropriate
evidence in favor of the resolution.
(c) Building Prospectuses:
(1)
When the General Services Administration submits a prospectus,
pursuant to section 7(a) of the Public Buildings Act of 1959,
as amended, for construction (including construction of buildings
for lease by the government), alteration and repair, or acquisition,
the committee shall act with respect to the prospectus during
the same session in which the prospectus is submitted.
A
prospectus rejected by majority vote of the committee or not
reported to the Senate during the session in which it was submitted
shall be returned to the GSA and must then be resubmitted in
order to be considered by the committee during the next session
of the Congress.
(2)
A report of a building project survey submitted by the General
Services Administration to the committee under section 11(b)
of the Public Buildings Act of 1959, as amended, may not be
considered by the committee as being a prospectus subject to
approval by committee resolution in accordance with section
7(a) of that Act. A project described in the report may be considered
for committee action only if it is submitted as a prospectus
in accordance with section 7(a) and is subject to the provisions
of paragraph (1) of this rule.
(d) Naming Public Facilities: The committee may not name a building,
structure or facility for any living person, except former Presidents
or former Vice Presidents of the United States, former Members
of Congress over 70 years of age, or former Justices of the United
States Supreme Court over 70 years of age.
Rule
8. Amending the Rules
The rules may be added to, modified, amended, or suspended by
vote of a majority of committee members at a business meeting
if a quorum is present.