Field Hearings: Fact Sheet on Purposes, Rules, Regulations, and Guidelines

Field Hearings: Fact Sheet on Purposes, Rules, Regulations, and Guidelines Valerie Heitshusen Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process December 8, 2009 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RS20928 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Field Hearings: Fact Sheet on Purposes, Rules, Regulations, and Guidelines F ield Regulations, and Guidelines

August 4, 2014 (RS20928)

Field hearings are congressional hearings held outside Washington, DC. They date at least to the Civil War, when committees sometimes traveled to the front lines to observe conditions and war preparedness. Purposes of Field Hearings Members and committees hold field hearings for a variety of reasons. A field hearing brings may bring Congress directly to the scene of an important national issue. For example, in the 111th113^th Congress, a Senate committee held a field hearing in El Paso, TX, on violence along the U.S.-Mexico borderSioux Falls, SD, on transportation options in rural states and tribal areas, and a House subcommittee held a field hearing in Los Angeles, CA, on the effects of high housing foreclosure rates in the regionat a community college in Monroe, MI, on the role of higher education in job growth. A field hearing can serve other purposes. It can • raise public visibility of an issue; • provide an opportunity to evaluate a government program “"on site”; • "; reinforce a Member’'s relationship with his or her constituents; and • attract local, and sometimes national, media attention. Chamber Rules The formal authority for field hearings is found implicitly in chamber rules. House Rule XI, clause 2, states in part that a committee is authorized “"to sit and act at such times and places within the United States, whether the House is in session, has recessed, or has adjourned, and to hold such hearings as it considers necessary.”" Similarly, Senate Rule XXVI, paragraph 1, states that a committee “"is authorized to hold such hearings, to sit and act at such times and places during the sessions, recesses, and adjourned periods of the Senate”" as it sees fit. Otherwise, chamber rules do not distinguish field hearings from those held in Washington. Committee Rules Committee Rules House and Senate committee rules are generally silent on field hearings specifically, but, in the rules for the 111th113^th Congress, some committees included related provisions. For example, the rules of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence both require that members be notified 48 hours prior to a field hearing. (For hearings held in Washington, DC, the notice requirement is 24 hours.) Rules of the House Committee on Education and Labor provide another example, specifying that field hearings (including those of subcommittees) may only be scheduled only when authorized by the chairman of the full committee. Regulations and Guidelines Funding for committee travel and other administrative issues raised by field hearings are covered by regulations established by the House Administration Committee and the Senate Rules and Administration Committee. In the House, regulations printed in the House Administration Committee’s Committees’ CongressionalCommittee on House Administration's Committee Handbook cover matters specific to field hearings. The Congressional Research Service 1 Field Hearings: Fact Sheet on Purposes, Rules, Regulations, and Guidelines handbook is available from the committee and can be viewed online at ; the handbook is available at http://cha.house.gov/ committee_handbook.aspxhandbooks/committee-handbook. In the Senate, committeeofficial travel in general is governed by regulations compiled in the U.S. Senate Handbook. Print and online versions of the handbook are available— to Senate offices only—from the Senate statute¹ and regulations issued by the Committee on Rules and Administration. It is common for committees to prepare guidelines or informal checklists for field hearings based on chamber and committee rules and practices as well as the respective travel regulations of the House Administration Committee and the Senate Rules and Administration Committee. Expenses incurred by a Representative, Senator, or staff aidetheir staff attending a field hearing—including transportation, lodging, meals, and incidentals—are reimbursable by the committee holding the hearing. When a field hearing involves oversight of a federal agency, it may be possible, under a committee’s oversight authority, to request that the agency provide transportation for committee members and staff. Usually, such requests require a letter from the committee chair to the agency head. hearing. Although field hearings involve some administrative matters different from hearings held in Washington, most of the procedural requirements are the same: scheduling, notice, subpoena authority, quorum requirements, broadcasting, and the like. Notably, field hearings cannot be explicitly employed for political or electoral purposes. House Rule XXV and associated regulations forbid official travel for any political or campaign purposes, and Senate regulations forbid reimbursement for per diem expenses associated with official travel during the 60 days before a Senator’'s name appears on a ballot.12 Members and staff shouldmay consult with the relevant committee (Senate Committee on Ethics or House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct) chamber ethics committee for additional guidance on permissible and nonpermissible reimbursements for Member’sMembers' official and other travel; additional details are also provided in the Senate Ethics Manual, the House House Ethics Manual, and other publications of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.2 Venue Ethics.³ Venue No rule or regulation determines a field hearing’'s location. Committee or subcommittee leadership usually choosechooses the location, including the specific site, such as a federal building, public school, or private facility. House committees are authorized to procure commercial space when federal, state, municipal, or other public space is not available or not suitable.⁴ It may be necessary for staff to travel to the field location a day or more before the hearing to make certain administrative arrangements—including layout of tables and chairs for Members, witnesses, and the public, as well as setup of a sound system. Other advancedvideo or audio systems. Other advance preparations may include arrangements for security personnel and sound system technicians. 1 audio visual technicians.

Acknowledgments

This report was originally written by [author name scrubbed], formerly an Analyst in American National Government at CRS. The listed authors have updated this report and are available to respond to inquiries on the subject.

Footnotes

1.

2 U.S.C. 58(e).

2. The Senate regulations provide some exceptions for airfare and in cases when a Senator whose election is not contested. Campaign funds are allowed to cover per diem in some circumstances. See Senate Ethics Manual, S.Pub. 108-1, p. 120, available online at at http://www.ethics.senate.gov/downloads/pdffiles/manual.pdf. 2 public/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=f2eb14e3-1123-48eb-9334-8c4717102a6e. 3. The Senate document is available at http://www.ethics.senate.gov/downloads/pdffiles/manual.pdfpublic/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=f2eb14e3-1123-48eb-9334-8c4717102a6e. The House publication is available at http://ethics.house.gov/sites/ethics.house.gov/files/documents/2008_House_Ethics_Manual.pdf. 4.

U.S. Congress, House Committee on House Administration, Committee Handbook, http://cha.house.gov/handbooks/committee-handbook#field.

http://ethics.house.gov/Media/PDF/2008_House_Ethics_Manual.pdf. (Additional travel guidelines that may affect travel taken for official business can be found at http://ethics.house.gov/Subjects/List.aspx?subid=3.) In the 110th Congress, the House adopted new regulations governing gifts and travel (through changes to House Rule XXV). The new guidelines do not apply to committee-funded travel, or that paid for by federal, state, or local government entities. See “New Travel Rules for Officially-Connected Travel Paid for by a Private Source,” Memorandum to All Members, Officers, and Employees, House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, Mar. 14, 2007, available at http://ethics.house.gov/Media/PDF/pink_sheet_paid_by_private_source_2007.pdf. Congressional Research Service 2 Field Hearings: Fact Sheet on Purposes, Rules, Regulations, and Guidelines Author Contact Information Valerie Heitshusen Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process vheitshusen@crs.loc.gov, 7-8635 Acknowledgments This report was originally written by Thomas P. Carr, formerly an Analyst in American National Government at CRS. The listed author has updated this report and is available to respond to inquiries on the subject. Congressional Research Service 3