[Congressional Record: February 26, 2001 (Senate)]
[Page S1566-S1570]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr26fe01-52]
RULES OF THE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE
Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 2
of Senate rule XXVI, I ask to have printed in the Record the rules of
the Committee on Foreign Relations for the 107th Congress adopted by
the committee on February 7, 2001.
Rules of the Committee on Foreign Relations
(Adopted February 7, 2001)
rule 1--jurisdiction
(a) Substantive.--In accordance with Senate Rule XXV.1(j),
the jurisdiction of the Committee shall extend to all
proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and
other matters relating to the following subjects:
1. Acquisition of land and buildings for embassies and
legations in foreign countries.
2. Boundaries of the United States.
3. Diplomatic service.
4. Foreign economic, military, technical, and humanitarian
assistance.
5. Foreign loans.
6. International activities of the American National Red
Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
7. International aspects of nuclear energy, including
nuclear transfer policy.
8. International conferences and congresses.
9. International law as it relates to foreign policy.
10. International Monetary Fund and other international
organizations established primarily for international
monetary purposes (except that, at the request of the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, any
proposed legislation relating to such subjects reported by
the Committee on Foreign Relations shall be referred to the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs).
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11. Intervention abroad and declarations of war.
12. Measures to foster commercial intercourse with foreign
nations and to safeguard American business interests abroad.
13. National security and international aspects of
trusteeships of the United States.
14. Ocean and international environmental and scientific
affairs as they relate to foreign policy.
15. Protection of United States citizens abroad and
expatriation.
16. Relations of the United States with foreign nations
generally.
17. Treaties and executive agreements, except reciprocal
trade agreements.
18. United Nations and its affiliated organizations.
19. World Bank group, the regional development banks, and
other international organizations established primarily for
development assistance purposes.
The Committee is also mandated by Senate Rule XXV.1(j) to
study and review, on a comprehensive basis, matters relating
to the national security policy, foreign policy, and
international economic policy as it relates to foreign policy
of the United States, and matters relating to food, hunger,
and nutrition in foreign countries, and report thereon from
time to time.
(b) Oversight.--The Committee also has a responsibility
under Senate Rule XXVI.8, which provides that ``. . . each
standing Committee . . . shall review and study, on a
continuing basis, the application, administration, and
execution of those laws or parts of laws, the subject matter
of which is within the jurisdiction of the Committee.''
(c) ``Advice and Consent'' Clauses.--The Committee has a
special responsibility to assist the Senate in its
constitutional function of providing ``advice and consent''
to all treaties entered into by the United States and all
nominations to the principal executive branch positions in
the field of foreign policy and diplomacy.
rule 2--subcommittees
(a) Creation.--Unless otherwise authorized by law or Senate
resolution, subcommittees shall be created by majority vote
of the Committee and shall deal with such legislation and
oversight of programs and policies as the Committee directs.
Legislative measures or other matters may be referred to a
subcommittee for consideration in the discretion of the
Chairman or by vote of a majority of the Committee. If the
principal subject matter of a measure or matter to be
referred falls within the jurisdiction of more than one
subcommittee, the Chairman or the Committee may refer the
matter to two or more subcommittees for joint consideration.
(b) Assignments.--Assignments of members to subcommittees
shall be made in an equitable fashion. No member of the
Committee may receive assignment to a second subcommittee
until, in order of seniority, all members of the Committee
have chosen assignments to one subcommittee, and no member
shall receive assignments to a third subcommittee until, in
order of seniority, all members have chosen assignments to
two subcommittees.
No member of the Committee may serve on more than four
subcommittees at any one time.
The Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee shall be
ex officio members, without vote, of each subcommittee.
(c) Meetings.--Except when funds have been specifically
made available by the Senate for a subcommittee purpose, no
subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Relations shall hold
hearings involving expenses without prior approval of the
Chairman of the full Committee or by decision of the full
Committee. Meetings of subcommittees shall be scheduled after
consultation with the Chairman of the Committee with a view
toward avoiding conflicts with meetings of other
subcommittees insofar as possible. Meetings of subcommittees
shall not be scheduled to conflict with meetings of the full
Committee.
The proceedings of each subcommittee shall be governed by
the rules of the full Committee, subject to such
authorizations or limitations as the Committee may from time
to time prescribe.
rule 3--meetings
(a) Regular Meeting Day.--The regular meeting day of the
Committee on Foreign Relations for the transaction of
Committee business shall be on Tuesday of each week, unless
otherwise directed by the Chairman.
(b) Additional Meetings.--Additional meetings and hearings
of the Committee may be called by the Chairman as he may deem
necessary. If at least three members of the Committee desire
that a special meeting of the Committee be called by the
Chairman, those members may file in the offices of the
Committee their written request to the Chairman for that
special meeting. Immediately upon filing of the request, the
Chief Clerk of the Committee shall notify the Chairman of the
filing of the request. If, within three calendar days after
the filing of the request, the Chairman does not call the
requested special meeting, to be held within seven calendar
days after the filing of the request, a majority of the
members of the Committee may file in the offices of the
Committee their written notice that a special meeting of the
Committee will be held, specifying the date and hour of that
special meeting. The Committee shall meet on that date and
hour. Immediately upon the filing of the notice, the Clerk
shall notify all members of the Committee that such special
meeting will be held and inform them of its date and hour.
(c) Hearings, selection of witnesses.--To ensure that the
issue which is the subject of the hearing is presented as
fully and fairly as possible, whenever a hearing is conducted
by the Committee or a subcommittee upon any measure or
matter, the Ranking Member of the Committee or subcommittee
may request that an equal number of public witnesses selected
by the Ranking Member be called to testify at that hearing.
(d) Public Announcement.--The Committee, or any
subcommittee thereof, shall make public announcement of the
date, place, time, and subject matter of any meeting or
hearing to be conducted on any measure or matter at least one
week in advance of such meetings or hearings, unless the
Chairman of the Committee, or subcommittee, in consultation
with the Ranking Member, determines that there is good cause
to begin such meeting or hearing at an earlier date.
(e) Procedure.--Insofar as possible, proceedings of the
Committee will be conducted without resort to the formalities
of parliamentary procedure and with due regard for the views
of all members. Issues of procedure which may arise from time
to time shall be resolved by decision of the Chairman, in
consultation with the Ranking Member. The Chairman, in
consultation with the Ranking Member, may also propose
special procedures to govern the consideration of particular
matters by the Committee.
(f) Closed Sessions.--Each meeting of the Committee on
Foreign Relations, or any subcommittee thereof, including
meetings to conduct hearings, shall be open to the public,
except that a meeting or series of meetings by the Committee
or a subcommittee on the same subject for a period of no more
than fourteen calendar days may be closed to the public on a
motion made and seconded to go into closed session to discuss
only whether the matters enumerated in paragraphs (1) through
(6) would require the meeting to be closed followed
immediately by a record vote in open session by a majority of
the members of the Committee or subcommittee when it is
determined that the matters to be discussed or the testimony
to be taken at such meeting or meetings--
(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) will relate solely to matters of Committee staff
personnel or internal staff management or procedure;
(3) 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;
(4) will disclose the identity of any informer or 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;
(5) will disclose information relating to the trade secrets
or financial or commercial information pertaining
specifically to a given person if--
(A) an Act of Congress requires the information to be kept
confidential by Government officers and employees; or
(B) 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, or
(6) may divulge matters required to be kept confidential
under other provisions of law or Government regulations.
A closed meeting may be opened by a majority vote of the
Committee.
(g) Staff Attendance.--A member of the Committee may have
one member of his or her personal staff, for whom that member
assumes personal responsibility, accompany and be seated
nearby at Committee meetings.
Each member of the Committee may designate members of his
or her personal staff, who hold a Top Secret security
clearance, for the purpose of their eligibility to attend
closed sessions of the Committee, subject to the same
conditions set forth for Committee staff under Rules 12, 13,
and 14.
In addition, the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of
the Senate, if they are not otherwise members of the
Committee, may designate one member of their staff with a Top
Secret security clearance to attend closed sessions of the
Committee, subject to the same conditions set forth for
Committee staff under Rules 12, 13, and 14. Staff of other
Senators who are not members of the Committee may not attend
closed sessions of the Committee.
Attendance of Committee staff at meetings shall be limited
to those designated by the Staff Director or the Minority
Staff Director.
The Committee, by majority vote, or the Chairman, with the
concurrence of the Ranking Member, may limit staff attendance
at specified meetings.
rule 4--quorums
(a) Testimony.--For the purpose of taking sworn or unsworn
testimony at any duly scheduled meeting a quorum of the
Committee and each subcommittee thereof shall consist of one
member.
(b) Business.--A quorum for the transaction of Committee or
subcommittee business, other than for reporting a measure or
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recommendation to the Senate or the taking of testimony,
shall consist of one-third of the members of the Committee or
subcommittee, including at least one member from each party.
(c) Reporting.--A majority of the membership of the
Committee shall constitute a quorum for reporting any measure
or recommendation to the Senate. No measure or recommendation
shall be ordered reported from the Committee unless a
majority of the Committee members are physically present. The
vote of the Committee to report a measure or matter shall
require the concurrence of a majority of those members who
are physically present at the time the vote is taken.
rule 5--proxies
Proxies must be in writing with the signature of the absent
member. Subject to the requirements of Rule 4 for the
physical presence of a quorum to report a matter, proxy
voting shall be allowed on all measures and matters before
the Committee. However, proxies shall not be voted on a
measure or matter except when the absent member has been
informed of the matter on which he is being recorded and has
affirmatively requested that he or she be so recorded.
rule 6--witnesses
(a) General.--The Committee on Foreign Relations will
consider requests to testify on any matter or measure pending
before the Committee.
(b) Presentation.--If the Chairman so determines, the oral
presentation of witnesses shall be limited to 10 minutes.
However, written statements of reasonable length may be
submitted by witnesses and other interested persons who are
unable to testify in person.
(c) Filing of Statements.--A witness appearing before the
Committee, or any subcommittee thereof, shall file a written
statement of his proposed testimony at least 48 hours prior
to his appearance, unless this requirement is waived by the
Chairman and the Ranking Member following their determination
that there is good cause for failure to file such a
statement.
(d) Expenses.--Only the Chairman may authorize expenditures
of funds for the expenses of witnesses appearing before the
Committee or its subcommittees.
(e) Requests.--Any witness called for a hearing may submit
a written request to the Chairman no later than 24 hours in
advance for his testimony to be in closed or open session, or
for any other unusual procedure. The Chairman shall determine
whether to grant any such request and shall notify the
Committee members of the request and of his decision.
rule 7--subpoenas
(a) Authorization.--The Chairman or any other member of the
Committee, when authorized by a majority vote of the
Committee at a meeting or by proxies, shall have authority to
subpoena the attendance of witnesses or the production of
memoranda, documents, records, or any other materials. At the
request of any Member of the Committee, the Committee shall
authorize the issuance of a subpoena only at a meeting of the
Committee. When the Committee authorizes a subpoena, it may
be issued upon the signature of the Chairman or any other
member designated by the Committee.
(b) Return.--A subpoena, or a request to an agency, for
documents may be issued whose return shall occur at a time
and place other than that of a scheduled Committee meeting. A
return on such a subpoena or request which is incomplete or
accompanied by an objection constitutes good cause for a
hearing on shortened notice. Upon such a return, the Chairman
or any other member designated by him may convene a hearing
by giving 2 hours notice by telephone to all other members.
One member shall constitute a quorum for such a hearing. The
sole purpose of such a hearing shall be to elucidate further
information about the return and to rule on the objection.
(c) Depositions.--At the direction of the Committee, staff
is authorized to take depositions from witnesses.
rule 8--reports
(a) Filing.--When the Committee has ordered a measure or
recommendation reported, the report thereon shall be filed in
the Senate at the earliest practicable time.
(b) Supplemental, Minority and Additional Views.--A member
of the Committee who gives notice of his intentions 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, with the 3 days to begin at 11:00 p.m. on the same
day that the Committee has ordered a measure or matter
reported. Such views shall then be included in the Committee
report and printed in the same volume, as a part thereof, and
their inclusion 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.
(c) Rollcall Votes.--The results of all rollcall votes
taken in any meeting of the Committee on any measure, or
amendment thereto, shall be announced in the Committee
report. The announcement shall include a tabulation of the
votes cast in favor and votes cast in opposition to each such
measure and amendment by each member of the Committee.
rule 9--treaties
(a) The Committee is the only Committee of the Senate with
jurisdiction to review and report to the Senate on treaties
submitted by the President for Senate advice and consent.
Because the House of Representatives has no role in the
approval of treaties, the Committee is therefore the only
congressional committee with responsibility for treaties.
(b) Once submitted by the President for advice and consent,
each treaty is referred to the Committee and remains on its
calendar from Congress to Congress until the Committee takes
action to report it to the Senate or recommend its return to
the President, or until the Committee is discharged of the
treaty by the Senate.
(c) In accordance with Senate Rule XXX.2, treaties which
have been reported to the Senate but not acted on before the
end of a Congress ``shall be resumed at the commencement of
the next Congress as if no proceedings had previously been
had thereon.''
(d) Insofar as possible, the Committee should conduct a
public hearing on each treaty as soon as possible after its
submission by the President. Except in extraordinary
circumstances, treaties reported to the Senate shall be
accompanied by a written report.
rule 10--nominations
(a) Waiting Requirement.--Unless otherwise directed by the
Chairman and the Ranking Member, the Committee on Foreign
Relations shall not consider any nomination until 6 calendar
days after it has been formally submitted to the Senate.
(b) Public Consideration.--Nominees for any post who are
invited to appear before the Committee shall be heard in
public session, unless a majority of the Committee decrees
otherwise.
(c) Required Data.--No nomination shall be reported to the
Senate unless (1) the nominee has been accorded a security
clearance on the basis of a thorough investigation by
executive branch agencies; (2) in appropriate cases, the
nominee has filed a financial disclosure report and a
confidential statement with the Committee; (3) the Committee
has been assured that the nominee does not have any interests
which could conflict with the interests of the government in
the exercise of the nominee's proposed responsibilities; (4)
for persons nominated to be chief of mission, ambassador-at-
large, or minister, the Committee has received a complete
list of any contributions made by the nominee or members of
his immediate family to any Federal election campaign during
the year of his or her nomination and for the 4 preceding
years; and (5) for persons nominated to be chiefs of mission,
a report on the demonstrated competence of that nominee to
perform the duties of the position to which he or she has
been nominated.
rule 11--travel
(a) Foreign Travel.--No member of the Committee on Foreign
Relations or its staff shall travel abroad on Committee
business unless specifically authorized by the Chairman, who
is required by law to approve vouchers and report
expenditures of foreign currencies, and the Ranking Member.
Requests for authorization of such travel shall state the
purpose and, when completed, a full substantive and financial
report shall be filed with the Committee within 30 days. This
report shall be furnished to all members of the Committee and
shall not be otherwise disseminated without the express
authorization of the Committee. Except in extraordinary
circumstances, staff travel shall not be approved unless the
reporting requirements have been fulfilled for all prior
trips. Except for travel that is strictly personal, travel
funded by non-U.S. Government sources is subject to the same
approval and substantive reporting requirements as U.S.
Government-funded travel. In addition, members and staff are
reminded of Senate Rule XXXV.4 requiring a determination by
the Senate Ethics Committee in the case of foreign-sponsored
travel.
Any proposed travel by Committee staff for a subcommittee
purpose must be approved by the subcommittee chairman and
ranking member prior to submission of the request to the
Chairman and Ranking Member of the full Committee.
When the Chairman and the Ranking Member approve the
foreign travel of a member of the staff of the committee not
accompanying a member of the Committee, all members of the
Committee shall be advised, prior to the commencement of such
travel of its extent, nature, and purpose.
(b) Domestic Travel.--All official travel in the United
States by the Committee staff shall be approved in advance by
the Staff Director, or in the case of minority staff, by the
Minority Staff Director.
(c) Personal Staff.--As a general rule, no more than one
member of the personal staff of a member of the Committee may
travel with that member with the approval of the Chairman and
the Ranking Member of the Committee. During such travel, the
personal staff member shall be considered to be an employee
of the Committee.
(d) Personal Representatives of the Member (PRM).--For the
purposes of Rule 11 as regards staff foreign travel, the
officially-designated personal representative of the member
(PRM) shall be deemed to have the same rights, duties, and
responsibilities as members of the staff of the Committee on
Foreign Relations. Furthermore, for the purposes of this
section, each Member of the Committee
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may designate one personal staff member as the ``Personal
Representative of the Member.''
rule 12--transcripts
(a) General.--The Committee on Foreign Relations shall keep
verbatim transcripts of all Committee and subcommittee
meetings and such transcripts shall remain in the custody of
the Committee, unless a majority of the Committee decides
otherwise. Transcripts of public hearings by the Committee
shall be published unless the Chairman, with the concurrence
of the Ranking Member, determines otherwise.
(b) Classified or Restricted Transcripts.--
(1) The Chief Clerk of the Committee shall have
responsibility for the maintenance and security of classified
or restricted transcripts.
(2) A record shall be maintained of each use of classified
or restricted transcripts.
(3) Classified or restricted transcripts shall be kept in
locked combination safes in the Committee offices except when
in active use by authorized persons for a period not to
exceed 2 weeks. Extensions of this period may be granted as
necessary by the Chief Clerk. They must never be left
unattended and shall be returned to the Chief Clerk promptly
when no longer needed.
(4) Except as provided in paragraph 7 below, transcripts
classified secret or higher may not leave the Committee
offices except for the purpose of declassification.
(5) Classified transcripts other than those classified
secret or higher may leave the Committee offices in the
possession of authorized persons with the approval of the
Chairman. Delivery and return shall be made only by
authorized persons. Such transcripts may not leave
Washington, DC, unless adequate assurances for their security
are made to the Chairman.
(6) Extreme care shall be exercised to avoid taking notes
or quotes from classified transcripts. Their contents may not
be divulged to any unauthorized person.
(7) Subject to any additional restrictions imposed by the
Chairman with the concurrence of the Ranking Member, only the
following persons are authorized to have access to classified
or restricted transcripts.
(i) Members and staff of the Committee in the Committee
rooms;
(ii) Designated personal representatives of members of the
Committee, and of the Majority and Minority Leaders, with
appropriate security clearances, in the Committee's Capitol
office;
(iii) Senators not members of the Committee, by permission
of the Chairman in the Committee rooms; and
(iv) Members of the executive departments involved in the
meeting, in the Committee's Capitol office, or, with the
permission of the Chairman, in the offices of the officials
who took part in the meeting, but in either case, only for a
specified and limited period of time, and only after reliable
assurances against further reproduction or dissemination have
been given.
(8) Any restrictions imposed upon access to a meeting of
the Committee shall also apply to the transcript of such
meeting, except by special permission of the Chairman and
notice to the other members of the Committee. Each transcript
of a closed session of the Committee shall include on its
cover a description of the restrictions imposed upon access,
as well as any applicable restrictions upon photocopying,
note-taking or other dissemination.
(9) In addition to restrictions resulting from the
inclusion of any classified information in the transcript of
a Committee meeting, members and staff shall not discuss with
anyone the proceedings of the Committee in closed session or
reveal information conveyed or discussed in such a session
unless that person would have been permitted to attend the
session itself, or unless such communication is specifically
authorized by the Chairman, the Ranking Member, or in the
case of staff, by the Staff Director or Minority Staff
Director. A record shall be kept of all such authorizations.
(c) Declassification.--
(1) All restricted transcripts and classified Committee
reports shall be declassified on a date twelve years after
their origination unless the Committee by majority vote
decides against such declassification, and provided that the
executive departments involved and all former Committee
members who participated directly in the sessions or reports
concerned have been consulted in advance and given a
reasonable opportunity to raise objections to such
declassification.
(2) Any transcript or classified Committee report, or any
portion thereof, may be declassified fewer than twelve years
after their origination if:
(i) the Chairman originates such action or receives a
written request for such action, and notifies the other
members of the Committee;
(ii) the Chairman, Ranking Member, and each member or
former member who participated directly in such meeting or
report give their approval, except that the Committee by
majority vote may overrule any objections thereby raised to
early declassification; and
(iii) the executive departments and all former Committee
members are consulted in advance and have a reasonable
opportunity to object to early declassification.
rule 13--classified material
(a) All classified material received or originated by the
Committee shall be logged in at the Committee's offices in
the Dirksen Senate Office Building, and except for material
classified as ``Top Secret'' shall be filed in the Dirksen
Senate Building offices for Committee use and safekeeping.
(b) Each such piece of classified material received or
originated shall be card indexed and serially numbered, and
where requiring onward distribution shall be distributed by
means of an attached indexed form approved by the Chairman.
If such material is to be distributed outside the Committee
offices, it shall, in addition to the attached form, be
accompanied also by an approved signature sheet to show
onward receipt.
(c) Distribution of classified material among offices shall
be by Committee members or authorized staff only. All
classified material sent to members' offices, and that
distributed within the working offices of the Committee,
shall be returned to the offices designated by the Chief
Clerk. No classified material is to be removed from the
offices of the members or of the Committee without permission
of the Chairman. Such classified material will be afforded
safe handling and safe storage at all times.
(d) Material classified ``Top Secret,'' after being indexed
and numbered shall be sent to the Committee's Capitol office
for use by the members and authorized staff in that office
only or in such other secure Committee offices as may be
authorized by the Chairman or Staff Director.
(e) In general, members and staff undertake to confine
their access to classified information on the basis of a
``need to know'' such information related to their Committee
responsibilities.
(f) The Staff Director is authorized to make such
administrative regulations as may be necessary to carry out
the provisions of these regulations.
rule 14--staff
(a) Responsibilities.--
(1) The staff works for the Committee as a whole, under the
general supervision of the Chairman of the Committee, and the
immediate direction of the Staff Director; provided, however,
that such part of the staff as is designated Minority Staff,
shall be under the general supervision of the Ranking Member
and under the immediate direction of the Minority Staff
Director.
(2) Any member of the Committee should feel free to call
upon the staff at any time for assistance in connection with
Committee business. Members of the Senate not members of the
Committee who call upon the staff for assistance from time to
time should be given assistance subject to the overriding
responsibility of the staff to the Committee.
(3) The staff's primary responsibility is with respect to
bills, resolutions, treaties, and nominations.
In addition to carrying out assignments from the Committee
and its individual members, the staff has a responsibility to
originate suggestions for Committee or subcommittee
consideration. The staff also has a responsibility to make
suggestions to individual members regarding matters of
special interest to such members.
(4) It is part of the staff's duty to keep itself as well
informed as possible in regard to developments affecting
foreign relations and in regard to the administration of
foreign programs of the United States. Significant trends or
developments which might otherwise escape notice should be
called to the attention of the Committee, or of individual
Senators with particular interests.
(5) The staff shall pay due regard to the constitutional
separation of powers between the Senate and the executive
branch. It therefore has a responsibility to help the
Committee bring to bear an independent, objective judgment of
proposals by the executive branch and when appropriate to
originate sound proposals of its own. At the same time, the
staff shall avoid impinging upon the day-to-day conduct of
foreign affairs.
(6) In those instances when Committee action requires the
expression of minority views, the staff shall assist the
minority as fully as the majority to the end that all points
of view may be fully considered by members of the Committee
and of the Senate. The staff shall bear in mind that under
our constitutional system it is the responsibility of the
elected Members of the Senate to determine legislative issues
in the light of as full and fair a presentation of the facts
as the staff may be able to obtain.
(b) Restrictions.--
(1) The staff shall regard its relationship to the
Committee as a privileged one, in the nature of the
relationship of a lawyer to a client. In order to protect
this relationship and the mutual confidence which must
prevail if the Committee-staff relationship is to be a
satisfactory and fruitful one, the following criteria shall
apply:
(i) members of the staff shall not be identified with any
special interest group in the field of foreign relations or
allow their names to be used by any such group;
(ii) members of the staff shall not accept public speaking
engagements or write for publication in the field of foreign
relations without specific advance permission from the Staff
Director, or, in the case of minority staff, from the
Minority Staff Director. In the case of the Staff Director
and the Minority Staff Director, such advance permission
shall be obtained from the Chairman or the Ranking Member, as
appropriate. In any event, such public statements should
avoid the expression of personal views and should not contain
predictions of future, or interpretations of past, Committee
action; and
(iii) staff shall not discuss their private conversations
with members of the Committee without specific advance
permission from the Senator or Senators concerned.
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(2) The staff shall not discuss with anyone the proceedings
of the Committee in closed session or reveal information
conveyed or discussed in such a session unless that person
would have been permitted to attend the session itself, or
unless such communication is specifically authorized by the
Staff Director or Minority Staff Director. Unauthorized
disclosure of information from a closed session or of
classified information shall be cause for immediate dismissal
and may, in the case of some kinds of information, be grounds
for criminal prosecution.
rule 15--status and amendment of rules
(a) Status.--In addition to the foregoing, the Committee on
Foreign Relations is governed by the Standing Rules of the
Senate which shall take precedence in the event of a clear
inconsistency. In addition, the jurisdiction and
responsibilities of the Committee with respect to certain
matters, as well as the timing and procedure for their
consideration in Committee, may be governed by statute.
(b) Amendment.--These Rules may be modified, amended, or
repealed by a majority of the Committee, provided that a
notice in writing of the proposed change has been given to
each member at least 48 hours prior to the meeting at which
action thereon is to be taken. However, Rules of the
Committee which are based upon Senate Rules may not be
superseded by Committee vote alone.
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