Declares that the House of Representatives views with disapproval the failure of the Democratic Members of the Franking Commission to ensure that the Commission's Democratic staff carries out its important responsibilities in a professional, fair, and impartial manner.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 690 Laid on Table in House (LTH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 690
Raising a question of the privileges of the House.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 29, 2009
Mr. Boehner submitted the following resolution; which was laid on the
table
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Raising a question of the privileges of the House.
Whereas page 5 of the ``Regulations on the Use of the CONGRESSIONAL FRANK By
Members of the House of Representatives'' states, ``It is the policy of
the Congress that the privilege of sending mail as franked mail shall be
established under this section in order to assist and expedite the
conduct of the official business, activities and duties of the Congress
of the United States. It is the intent of the Congress that such
official business, activities and duties cover all matters which
directly or indirectly pertain to the legislative process or to any
congressional representative functions generally, or to the functioning,
working, or operating of the Congress and the performance of official
duties in connection therewith, and shall include, but not be limited
to, the conveying of information to the public, the requesting of the
views of the public, or the views and information of other authority of
government, as a guide or a means of assistance in the performance of
those functions.'';
Whereas clause 5 of rule XXIV of the Rules of the House of Representatives
provides, ``Before making a mass mailing, a Member, Delegate, or
Resident Commissioner shall submit a sample or description of the mail
matter involved to the House Commission on Congressional Mailing
Standards for an advisory opinion as to whether the proposed mailing is
in compliance with applicable provisions of law, rule, or regulation.'';
Whereas the House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards, authorized in
Public Law 91-191, is commonly referred to as the ``Franking
Commission'';
Whereas the Democratic staff director and Republican staff director of the
Franking Commission have served in their respective positions for more
than a decade and report to the Democratic and Republican members of the
Franking Commission, respectively;
Whereas during the 111th Congress the members of the Franking Commission are
Representatives Susan Davis (D-CA), chairwoman; Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA),
ranking Republican member; Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), Rep. Kevin
McCarthy (R-CA), Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Rep. Tom Price (R-GA);
Whereas the aforementioned Franking Commission advisory opinions required for
Members seeking approval to send mass mailings, or their electronic
equivalents, are routinely signed on behalf of the Commission by its
Democratic and Republican staff directors or their designees;
Whereas no Member may receive Franking Commission approval without signatures
from both majority and minority staff;
Whereas the Commission's Democratic staff director has been permitted by the
Commission's Democratic Members to abuse her position during the current
Congress by willfully and knowingly applying different standards to
material submitted for Franking Commission approval by Republican
Members than she applies to material submitted by Democratic Members;
Whereas, on July 27, 2009, the Commission's Democratic staff director refused to
approve a mailing proposed by Representative Joe Barton of Texas which
included the words ``Democrat majority'', but indicated she would
approve the mailing if Representative Barton instead substituted the
words ``congressional majority'', yet on August 3, 2006, the same
Democratic staff director signed a Franking Commission approval document
for a mailing issued by then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi that included
the following sentence, ``But too many here and across our nation are
paying the price for the Republican Congressional majority's special
interest agenda . . .''
Whereas the Democratic staff director has refused to grant permission to
Republican Members wishing to provide their constituents with copies of
a chart intended to illustrate in graphic form many of the provisions of
the Democrats' proposed health care legislation;
Whereas charts similar in form and general purpose have for many years been
approved routinely by the Commission's Democratic staff director in
mailings produced by Members on both sides of the aisle;
Whereas, on December 12, 1993, the Franking Commission granted approval to Rep.
David Levy of New York to disseminate a similar chart, intended to
illustrate graphically the provisions of comprehensive health care
legislation proposed by the Clinton Administration;
Whereas the Commission's Democratic staff director has refused to approve
requests by Republican Members to informally characterize certain
features of the Democrats' pending health care proposal as ``government
run health care'' but has approved requests by Democratic Members to
informally characterize the same aspects of the bill as ``the public
option'';
Whereas the Commission's Democratic staff director has refused to approve more
than twenty requests by Republican Members to use the phrase ``cap and
tax'' to describe a Democratic proposal to reduce carbon emissions by
imposing new fees, taxes and higher costs on American consumers and
businesses;
Whereas a search for the term ``cap and tax'' on the Google internet search
engine yielded at least 4,478,000 appearances of this commonly used
phrase;
Whereas an article in the April 27, 2009, edition of ``Politico'' newspaper
quoted the most senior Member of the House, Democratic Representative
John Dingell of Michigan, the former chairman of the House Committee on
Energy and Commerce, as saying, ``Nobody in this country realizes that
cap and trade is a tax, and it's a great big one.'';
Whereas the Commission's Democratic staff director has dismissed the proposed
descriptive term, ``cap and tax'' as an informal and inappropriate
characterization of the legislation, while at the same time granting
approval to Democratic Members seeking to use the phrase ``cap and
trade'' to informally and inappropriately characterize the same bill;
Whereas the Commission's Democratic staff director has refused to approve
material submitted by Republican Members seeking to convey to the public
those Members' concern about substantial job losses expected to result
if the Democrats' proposed national energy tax is enacted, while at the
same time approving mailings submitted by Democratic Members informing
the public about large numbers of new jobs the Democrats claim will be
created by the same legislation;
Whereas the Democratic staff director's actions have prompted a steady stream of
media reports describing a climate of partisan censorship imposed on the
House by the Democratic majority;
Whereas an article in the July 23, 2009, edition of Roll Call newspaper stated,
``A dispute over the right of House Republicans to use the chamber's
official franking service to send a mailer critical of Democratic health
care plans has escalated beyond the Franking Commission to `high levels
on the Democratic side,' Franking Commission member Rep. Dan Lungren (R-
CA) said at a Thursday press conference. Asked whether he believed the
matter had been referred to Rep. Pelosis (D-CA) office, Lungren, the
ranking member of the House Administration Committee, said, `All I've
been told is that its above the Franking Commission and that it appears
to be above our committee, so I don't know where you go after that'.'';
Whereas by permitting the Commission's Democratic staff director to carry out
her duties in a partisan and unfair manner, the Democratic Members of
the Franking Commission have brought discredit on the House; and
Whereas clause 1 of rule XXXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives,
also known as the Code of Official Conduct, provides ``A Member,
Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House shall
behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the
House'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House views with disapproval the failure of the
Democratic Members of the Franking Commission to ensure that the
Commission's Democratic staff carries out its important
responsibilities in a professional, fair, and impartial manner.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Considered as privileged matter. (consideration: CR H8986-8988; text of measure as introduced: CR H8986-8987)
QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE - Mr. Boehner rose to a question of the privileges of the House and offered a resolution. The Chair directed the Clerk to report the resolution and announced that the resolution qualified as privileged.
Mr. Hoyer moved to table the measure.
On motion to table the measure Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 244 - 173, 11 Present (Roll no. 656).
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