Announcements 114th Congress
The Committee on Rules will meet tomorrow Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at 3:00 PM in H-313 The Capitol on the following emergency measure:
Dear Colleague:
The Committee on Rules may meet the week of March 23rd to grant a rule that could limit the amendment process for floor consideration of H. CON. RES. __, the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2016. As in past years, the Rules Committee intends to give priority to amendments offered as complete substitutes.
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. Members must also submit 30 hard copies of the amendment, one copy of a brief explanation of the amendment, and an amendment login form to the Rules Committee in room H-312 of the Capitol by 12:00 p.m. on Monday, March 23, 2015. Both electronic and hard copies must be received by the date and time specified. The text of the resolution as ordered reported by the Committee on the Budget is available on the Rules Committee website. As a reminder, please review my letter of March 17th to ensure that you comply with the requirement related to estimates of direct spending adopted as part of H. Res. 5 (the opening day Rules Package).
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 myself or Steve Cote of the Committee staff at 225-9191.
Sincerely,
PETE SESSIONS
Dear Colleague:
As you begin to contemplate possible amendments to the House Budget Resolution, I want to remind all Members of a continuing requirement that was adopted as part of the opening day Rules Package. As in past years, the Rules Committee intends to give priority to amendments offered as complete substitutes, but the new requirement is applicable to all amendments.
Section 3(h) of H. Res. 5 (114th Congress) prohibits the consideration of a concurrent resolution on the budget, or any proposed amendment to or conference report thereon, unless it includes specified information and estimates related to direct spending, including means-tested direct spending and nonmeans-tested direct spending. Specifically, the subsection requires the inclusion of: (1) the average rate of growth for each category in the total amount of outlays during the 10-year period preceding the budget year; (2) estimates for each such category under current law for the period covered by the concurrent resolution; and (3) information on proposed reforms in such categories.
This section also requires the chair of the Committee on the Budget to publish a description in the Congressional Record of each category. The description of each category was submitted for printing by Chairman Price on March 17, 2015 and is available on the Rules Committee website. Title VI of H. Con. Res. ___, posted by Chairman Price on March 17, 2015, provides an example of how to comply with this requirement.
All Members are reminded to work with the Congressional Budget Office and the Committee on the Budget to ensure that accurate estimates for each category, as well as any information on proposed reforms, are included in their amendment. If you have any questions, please contact Stephen Cote of the Committee staff or myself at 225-9191.
Sincerely,
PETE SESSIONS