From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[Extracted from Senate Document 106-6, Authority and Rules of
Senate Committees, 1999-2000]
COMMITTEE ON THE BUDGET
Rules of Procedure
145 Cong. Rec. S1831 (daily ed. Feb. 23, 1999)
I. Meetings
(1) The committee shall hold its regular meeting on the first
Thursday of each month. Additional meetings may be called by the chair
as the chair deems necessary to expedite committee business.
(2) Each meeting of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate,
including meetings to conduct hearings, shall be open to the public,
except that a portion or portions of any such meeting may be closed to
the public if the committee determines by record vote in open session of
a majority of the members of the committee present that the matters to
be discussed or the testimony to be taken at such portion or portions--
(a) 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;
(b) will relate solely to matters of the committee staff
personnel or internal staff management or procedure;
(c) will tend to charge an individual with crime or
misconduct, to disgrace or injure the professional standing of
an individual, or otherwise to expose an individual to public
contempt or obloquy, or will represent a clearly unwarranted
invasion of the privacy of an individual;
(d) will disclose the identity of any informer law enforcement
agent or will disclose any information relating to the
investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense that is
required to be kept secret in the interests of effective law
enforcement;
(e) will disclose information relating to the trade secrets or
financial or commercial information pertaining specifically to a
given person if--
(i) an act of Congress requires the information to be
kept confidential by Government officers and employees;
or
(ii) the information has been obtained by the
Government on a confidential basis, other than through
an application by such person for a specific Government
financial or other benefit, and is required to be kept
secret in order to prevent undue injury to the
competitive position of such person.
(f) may divulge matters required to be kept confidential under
other provisions of law or Government regulations.
II. Quorums and Voting
(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this section, a
quorum for the transaction of committee business shall consist of not
less than one-third of the Membership of the entire committee: Provided,
that proxies shall not be counted in making a quorum.
(2) A majority of the committee shall constitute a quorum for
reporting budget resolutions, legislative measures or recommendations:
Provided, that proxies shall not be counted in making a quorum.
(3) For the purpose of taking sworn or unsworn testimony, a quorum
of the committee shall consist of one Senator.
(4)(a) The Committee may poll--
(i) internal Committee matters including those concerning the
Committee's staff, records, and budget;
(ii) steps in an investigation, including issuance of
subpoenas, applications for immunity orders, and requests for
documents from agencies; and
(iii) other Committee business that the Committee has
designated for polling at a meeting, except that the Committee
may not vote by poll on reporting to the Senate any measure,
matter, or recommendation, and may not vote by poll on closing a
meeting or hearing to the public.
(b) To conduct a poll, the Chair shall circulate polling sheets to
each Member specifying the matter being polled and the time limit for
completion of the poll. If any Member requests, the matter shall be held
for a meeting rather than being polled. The chief clerk shall keep a
record of polls; if the committee determines by record vote in open
session of a majority of the members of the committee present that the
polled matter is one of those enumerated in rule I(2)(a)-(f), then the
record of the poll shall be confidential. Any Member may move at the
Committee meeting following a poll for a vote on the polled decision.
III. Proxies
When a record vote is taken in the committee on any bill,
resolution, amendment, or any other question, a quorum being present, a
Member who is unable to attend the meeting may vote by proxy if the
absent Member has been informed of the matter on which the vote is being
recorded and has affirmatively requested to be so recorded; except that
no Member may vote by proxy during the deliberations on Budget
Resolutions.
IV. Hearings and Hearing Procedures
(1) The committee shall make public announcement of the date, place,
time, and subject matter of any hearing to be conducted on any measure
or matter at least 1 week in advance of such hearing, unless the Chair
and Ranking Minority Member determine that there is good cause to begin
such hearing at an earlier date.
(2) A witness appearing before the committee shall file a written
statement of proposed testimony at least 1 day prior to appearance,
unless the requirement is waived by the Chair and the Ranking Minority
Member, following their determination that there is good cause for the
failure of compliance.
V. Committee Reports
(1) When the committee has ordered a measure or recommendation
reported, following final action, the report thereon shall be filed in
the Senate at the earliest practicable time.
(2) A Member of the committee who gives notice of an intention to
file supplemental, minority, or additional views at the time of final
committee approval of a measure or matter, shall be entitled to not less
than 3 calendar days in which to file such views, in writing, with the
chief clerk of the committee. Such views shall then be included in the
committee report and printed in the same volume, as a part thereof, and
their inclusions shall be noted on the cover of the report. In the
absence of timely notice, the committee report may be filed and printed
immediately without such views.
VI. Use of Display Materials in Committee
(1) Graphic displays used during any meeting or hearing of the
committee are limited to the following:
Charts, photographs, or renderings:
Size: no larger than 36 inches by 48 inches.
Where: on an easel stand next to the Senator's seat or at the rear
of the committee room.
When: only at the time the Senator is speaking.
Number: no more than two may be displayed at a time.