increase in professional staffs of house standing committees; house minority professional and clerical staffs; fair treatment for house minority staffs

increase in professional staffs of house standing committees; house minority professional and clerical staffs; fair treatment for house minority staffs Sec. 302. (a) This section is enacted as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of Representatives, subject to and with full recognition of the power of the House of Representatives to enact or change any Rule of the House at any time in its exercise of its constitutional right to determine the rules of its proceedings. (b) Paragraphs (a) and (b) of clause 29 of Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives are amended to read as follows: “(a) (1) Subject to subparagraph (2) of this paragraph and paragraph (f) of this clause, each standing committee may appoint, by majority vote of the committee, not more than six professional staff members. Each professional staff member appointed under this subparagraph shall be assigned to the chairman and the ranking minority party member of such committee, as the committee consider advisable. “(2) Subject to paragraph (f) of this clause, whenever a majority of the minority party members of a standing committee (except the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct) so request, not more than two persons may be selected, by majority vote of the minority party members, for appointment by the committee as professional staff members from among the number authorized by subparagraph (1) of this paragraph. The committee shall appoint any persons so selected whose character and qualifications are acceptable to a majority of the committee. If the committee determines that the character and qualifications of any person so selected are unacceptable to the committee, a majoriy of the minority party members may select other persons for appointment by the committee to the professional staff until such appointment is made. Each professional staff member appointed under this subparagraph shall be assigned to such committee business as the minority party members of the committee consider advisable. “(3) The professional staff members of each standing committee— “(A) shall be appointed on a permanent basis, without regard to political affiliation, and solely on the basis of fitness to perform the duties of their respective positions; “(B) shall not engage in any work other than committee business; and 84 Stat. 1178 “(C) shall not be assigned any duties other than those pertaining to committee business. “(4) Services of the professional staff members of each standing committee may be terminated by majority vote of the committee. “(5) The foregoing provisions of this paragraph do not apply to the Committee on Appropriations. “(b) (1) The clerical staff of each standing committee shall consist of not more than six clerks, to be attached to the office of the chairman, to the ranking minority party member, and to the professional staff, as the committee considers advisable. Subject to subparagraph (2) of this paragraph and paragraph (f) of this clause, the clerical staff shall be appointed by majority vote of the committee. Except as provided by subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, the clerical staff snail handle committee correspondence and stenographic work both for the committee staff and for the chairman and the ranking minority party member on matters related to committee work. “(2) Subject to paragraph (f) of this clause, whenever a majority of the minority party members of a standing committee (except the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct) so request, one person may be selected, by majority vote of the minority party members, for appointment by the committee to a position on the clerical staff from among the number of clerks authorized by subparagraph (1) of this paragraph. The committee shall appoint to that position any person so selected whose character and qualifications are acceptable to a majority of the committee. If the committee determines that the character and qualifications of any person so selected are unacceptable to the committee, a majority of the minority party members may select other persons for appointment by the committee to that position on the clerical staff until such appointment is made. Each clerk appointed under this subparagraph shall handle committee correspondence and stenographic work for the minority party members of the committee and for any members of the professional staff appointed under subparagraph (2) of paragraph (a) of this clause on matters related to committee work. “(3) Services of the clerical staff members of each standing committee may be terminated by majority vote of the committee. “(4) The foregoing provisions of this paragraph do not apply to the Committee on Appropriations.”. (c) Clause 29 of Rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, as amended by this Act, is further amended by adding at the end of such clause the following new paragraphs: “(f) If a request for the appointment of a minority professional staff member under paragraph (a), or a minority clerical staff member under paragraph (b), of this clause, is made when no vacancy exists to which that appointment may be made, the committee nevertheless shall appoint, under paragraph (a) or paragraph (b), as applicable, the person selected by the minority and acceptable to the committee, The person so appointed shall serve as an additional member of the professional staff or the clerical staff, as the case may be, of the committee, and shall be paid from the contingent fund, until such time as such a vacancy (other than a vacancy in the position of head of the professional staff, by whatever title designated) occurs, at which time that person shall be deemed to have been appointed to that vacancy. If such vacancy occurs on the professional staff when two persons have been so appointed who are eligible to fill that vacancy, a majority of the minority party members shall designate which of those persons shall fill that vacancy. 84 Stat. 1179 “(g) Each staff member appointed pursuant to a request by minority party members under paragraph (a) or (b) of this clause, and each staff member appointed to assist minority party members of a committee pursuant to House resolution, shall be accorded equitable treatment with respect to the fixing of his rate of pay, the assignment to him of work facilities, and the accessibility to him of committee records. “(h) Paragraphs (a) and (b) of this clause shall not be construed to authorize the appointment of additional professional or clerical staff members of a committee pursuant to request under either of such paragraphs by the minority party members of that committee if two or more professional staff members or one or more clerical staff members, provided for in paragraph (a)(1) or paragraph (b)(1) of this clause, as the case may be, who are satisfactory to a majority of the minority party members, are otherwise assigned to assist the minority party members.”. (d) Nothing in the amendments made by this section shall be construed to require a reduction in— (1) the number of staff members otherwise authorized prior to January 1, 1971, to be employed by any committee of the House of Representatives by statute or by annual or permanent resolution, or (2) the number of such staff members on such date assigned to, or authorized to be selected for appointment by or with the approval of, the minority members of any such committee. (e) The additional professional staff members authorized to be employed by a committee by the amendment made by subsection (a) of this section shall be in addition to any other additional staff members otherwise authorized, prior to January 1, 1971, to be employed by any such committee.