Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to require open committee meetings and to allow the broadcasting and still photography of any committee meetings or hearings that are open to the public.

Amends rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives to allow meetings of standing committees and subcommittees to be closed to the public only if approved by a majority of the committee or subcommittee's total membership because disclosure of matters to be considered would endanger national security, tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person, jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation, or compromise a confidential source of any criminal investigation.

Repeals provisions making the coverage of committee hearings and meetings by television broadcast, radio broadcast, or still photography a privilege made available by the House.

Requires proceedings of open committee hearings or meetings to be open to television broadcast, radio broadcast, and still photography, or by any of such method of coverage. Prohibits a committee or subcommittee chairman from limiting the number of television or still cameras below two representatives from each medium.

[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H. Res. 237 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 237

  Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to require open 
committee meetings and to allow the broadcasting and still photography 
   of any committee meetings or hearings that are open to the public.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 4, 1993

   Ms. Dunn (for herself, Mr. Bacchus of Florida, Mr. Pombo, and Mr. 
 Zimmer) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                           Committee on Rules

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to require open 
committee meetings and to allow the broadcasting and still photography 
   of any committee meetings or hearings that are open to the public.

    Resolved, That (a) the first sentence of clause 2(g)(1) of rule XI 
of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and with a majority present'' and by 
        inserting ``, approved by a majority of its total membership,'' 
        after ``rollcall vote''; and
            (2) by inserting ``because disclosure of matters to be 
        considered would endanger the national security, tend to 
        defame, degrade, or incriminate any person, jeopardize an 
        ongoing criminal investigation, or compromise a confidential 
        source of any criminal investigation'' after ``public'' the 
        second place it appears.
    (b) Clause 3(d) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives is amended by striking ``is a privilege made available 
by the House and''.
    (c) Clause 3(e) of rule XI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives is amended to read as follows:
    ``(e) Whenever a hearing or meeting conducted by any committee of 
the House is open to the public, those proceedings shall be open to 
television broadcast, radio broadcast, and still photography, or by any 
of such methods of coverage. No committee or subcommittee chairman may 
limit the number of television or still cameras below 2 representatives 
from each medium.''.

                                 <all>