Establishing the Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans.

IV ★ 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 54 Establishing the Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 24, 2019 Mr. STEIL submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Rules CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Establishing the Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans. Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 1 concurring), 2 SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this Act— 4 (1) the term ‘‘joint committee’’ means the Joint 5 Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pen- 6 sion Plans established under section 2(a); and 7 (2) the term ‘‘joint committee bill’’ means a bill 8 consisting of the proposed legislative language of the 9 joint committee recommended in accordance with 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC54.IH HC54 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HCON 54 IH1S section 2(b)(2)(B)(ii) and introduced under section 1 4(a). 2 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE. 3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT SELECT COM- 4 MITTEE.—There is established a joint select committee of 5 Congress to be known as the ‘‘Joint Select Committee on 6 Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans’’. 7 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.— 8 (1) GOAL.—The goal of the joint committee is 9 to improve the solvency of multiemployer pension 10 plans and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corpora- 11 tion. 12 (2) DUTIES.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The joint committee 14 shall provide recommendations and legislative 15 language that will significantly improve the sol- 16 vency of multiemployer pension plans and the 17 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. 18 (B) REPORT, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND 19 LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.— 20 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 21 April 30, 2020, the joint committee shall 22 vote on— 23 (I) a report that contains a de- 24 tailed statement of the findings, con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC54.IH HC54 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HCON 54 IH1S clusions, and recommendations of the 1 joint committee; and 2 (II) proposed legislative language 3 to carry out the recommendations de- 4 scribed in subclause (I). 5 (ii) APPROVAL OF REPORT AND LEG- 6 ISLATIVE LANGUAGE.— 7 (I) IN GENERAL.—The report of 8 the joint committee and the proposed 9 legislative language described in 10 clause (i) shall only be approved upon 11 receiving the votes of— 12 (aa) a majority of joint com- 13 mittee members appointed by the 14 Speaker of the House of Rep- 15 resentatives and the majority 16 leader of the Senate; and 17 (bb) a majority of joint com- 18 mittee members appointed by the 19 minority leader of the House of 20 Representatives and the minority 21 leader of the Senate. 22 (II) AVAILABILITY.—The text of 23 any report and proposed legislative 24 language shall be publicly available in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC54.IH HC54 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HCON 54 IH1S electronic form at least 24 hours prior 1 to its consideration. 2 (iii) ADDITIONAL VIEWS.—A member 3 of the joint committee who gives notice of 4 an intention to file supplemental, minority, 5 or additional views at the time of the final 6 joint committee vote on the approval of the 7 report and legislative language under 8 clause (ii) shall be entitled to 2 calendar 9 days after the day of such notice in which 10 to file such views in writing with the co- 11 chairs. Such views shall then be included 12 in the joint committee report and printed 13 in the same volume, or part thereof, and 14 their inclusion shall be noted on the cover 15 of the report. In the absence of timely no- 16 tice, the joint committee report may be 17 printed and transmitted immediately with- 18 out such views. 19 (iv) TRANSMISSION OF REPORT AND 20 LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE.—If the report 21 and legislative language are approved by 22 the joint committee pursuant to clause (ii), 23 the joint committee shall submit the joint 24 committee report and legislative language 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC54.IH HC54 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HCON 54 IH1S described in clause (i) to the President, the 1 Vice President, the Speaker of the House 2 of Representatives, and the majority and 3 minority leaders of each House of Con- 4 gress not later than 15 calendar days after 5 such approval. 6 (v) REPORT AND LEGISLATIVE LAN- 7 GUAGE TO BE MADE PUBLIC.—Upon the 8 approval of the joint committee report and 9 legislative language pursuant to clause (ii), 10 the joint committee shall promptly make 11 the full report and legislative language, 12 and a record of any vote, available to the 13 public. 14 (3) MEMBERSHIP.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The joint committee 16 shall be composed of 16 members appointed 17 pursuant to subparagraph (B). 18 (B) APPOINTMENT.—Members of the joint 19 committee shall be appointed as follows: 20 (i) The Speaker of the House of Rep- 21 resentatives shall appoint 4 members from 22 among Members of the House of Rep- 23 resentatives. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC54.IH HC54 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HCON 54 IH1S (ii) The minority leader of the House 1 of Representatives shall appoint 4 mem- 2 bers from among Members of the House of 3 Representatives. 4 (iii) The majority leader of the Senate 5 shall appoint 4 members from among 6 Members of the Senate. 7 (iv) The minority leader of the Senate 8 shall appoint 4 members from among 9 Members of the Senate. 10 (C) CO-CHAIRS.—Two of the appointed 11 members of the joint committee will serve as co- 12 chairs. The Speaker of the House of Represent- 13 atives and the majority leader of the Senate 14 shall jointly appoint one co-chair, and the mi- 15 nority leader of the House of Representatives 16 and the minority leader of the Senate shall 17 jointly appoint the second co-chair. The co- 18 chairs shall be appointed not later than 14 cal- 19 endar days after the date of enactment of this 20 Act. 21 (D) DATE.—Members of the joint com- 22 mittee shall be appointed not later than 14 cal- 23 endar days after the date of enactment of this 24 Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC54.IH HC54 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HCON 54 IH1S (E) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—Members 1 shall be appointed for the life of the joint com- 2 mittee. Any vacancy in the joint committee 3 shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled 4 not later than 14 calendar days after the date 5 on which the vacancy occurs, in the same man- 6 ner as the original appointment was made. If a 7 member of the joint committee ceases to be a 8 Member of the House of Representatives or the 9 Senate, as the case may be, the member is no 10 longer a member of the joint committee and a 11 vacancy shall exist. 12 (4) ADMINISTRATION.— 13 (A) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—For purposes 14 of enabling the joint committee to exercise its 15 powers, functions, and duties under this Act, 16 and consistent with the Standing Rules of the 17 Senate, there is authorized from the date of en- 18 actment of this Act through June 30, 2020, 19 $500,000 to be allocated— 20 (i) in total during the period March 1, 21 2019 through September 30, 2019; and 22 (ii) any remaining amounts shall be 23 carried forward for the period October 1, 24 2019 through September 30, 2020. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC54.IH HC54 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HCON 54 IH1S (B) EXPENSES.—Expenses of the joint 1 committee shall be paid from the contingent 2 fund of the Senate upon vouchers approved by 3 the co-chairs, subject to the rules and regula- 4 tions of the Senate. 5 (C) QUORUM.—Nine members of the joint 6 committee shall constitute a quorum for pur- 7 poses of voting and meeting, and 5 members of 8 the joint committee shall constitute a quorum 9 for holding hearings. 10 (D) VOTING.—No proxy voting shall be al- 11 lowed on behalf of the members of the joint 12 committee. 13 (E) MEETINGS.— 14 (i) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 15 30 calendar days after the date of enact- 16 ment of this Act, the joint committee shall 17 hold its first meeting. 18 (ii) AGENDA.—The co-chairs of the 19 joint committee shall provide an agenda to 20 the joint committee members not less than 21 48 hours in advance of any meeting. 22 (F) HEARINGS.— 23 (i) IN GENERAL.—The joint com- 24 mittee may, for the purpose of carrying 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC54.IH HC54 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HCON 54 IH1S out this section, hold such hearings, sit 1 and act at such times and places, require 2 attendance of witnesses and production of 3 books, papers, and documents, take such 4 testimony, receive such evidence, and ad- 5 minister such oaths as the joint committee 6 considers advisable. 7 (ii) HEARING PROCEDURES AND RE- 8 SPONSIBILITIES OF CO-CHAIRS.— 9 (I) ANNOUNCEMENT.—The co- 10 chairs of the joint committee shall 11 make a public announcement of the 12 date, place, time, and subject matter 13 of any hearing to be conducted, not 14 less than 7 days in advance of such 15 hearing, unless the co-chairs deter- 16 mine that there is good cause to begin 17 such hearing at an earlier date. 18 (II) EQUAL REPRESENTATION OF 19 WITNESSES.—Each co-chair shall be 20 entitled to select an equal number of 21 witnesses for each hearing held by the 22 joint committee. 23 (III) WRITTEN STATEMENT.—A 24 witness appearing before the joint 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC54.IH HC54 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 HCON 54 IH1S committee shall file a written state- 1 ment of proposed testimony at least 2 2 calendar days before the appearance 3 of the witness, unless the requirement 4 is waived by the co-chairs, following 5 their determination that there is good 6 cause for failure to comply with such 7 requirement. 8 (G) MINIMUM NUMBER OF PUBLIC MEET- 9 INGS AND HEARINGS.—The joint committee 10 shall hold— 11 (i) not less than a total of 5 public 12 meetings or public hearings; and 13 (ii) not less than 3 public hearings, 14 which may include field hearings. 15 (H) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Upon writ- 16 ten request of the co-chairs, a Federal agency, 17 including legislative branch agencies, shall pro- 18 vide technical assistance to the joint committee 19 in order for the joint committee to carry out its 20 duties. 21 (I) STAFFING.— 22 (i) DETAILS.—Employees of the legis- 23 lative branch may be detailed to the joint 24 committee on a nonreimbursable basis, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC54.IH HC54 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 HCON 54 IH1S consistent with the rules and regulations of 1 the Senate. 2 (ii) STAFF DIRECTOR.—The co-chairs, 3 acting jointly, may designate one such em- 4 ployee as staff director of the joint com- 5 mittee. 6 (c) ETHICAL STANDARDS.—Members on the joint 7 committee who serve in the House of Representatives shall 8 be governed by the ethics rules and requirements of the 9 House. Members of the Senate who serve on the joint com- 10 mittee shall comply with the ethics rules of the Senate. 11 (d) TERMINATION.—The joint committee shall termi- 12 nate on April 30, 2020, or 30 days after submission of 13 its report and legislative recommendations pursuant to 14 this section whichever occurs first. 15 SEC. 3. FUNDING. 16 (a) SPECIAL RESERVE.—To enable the joint com- 17 mittee to exercise its powers, functions, and duties under 18 this Act, within the funds in the account for ‘‘Expenses 19 of Inquiries and Investigations’’ of the Senate, not more 20 than $500,000 shall be allocated from the special reserve 21 established in S. Res. 70, agreed to February 27, 2019 22 (116th Congress), for use by the joint committee. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC54.IH HC54 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 HCON 54 IH1S (b) EXPIRATION.—None of the funds made available 1 by this section may be available for obligation by the joint 2 committee after July 2, 2020. 3 (c) AVAILABILITY REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of 4 the joint committee, section 20(b) of S. Res. 70, agreed 5 to February 27, 2019 (116th Congress), shall not apply. 6 SEC. 4. CONSIDERATION OF JOINT COMMITTEE BILL IN 7 THE SENATE. 8 (a) INTRODUCTION.—Upon receipt of proposed legis- 9 lative language approved in accordance with section 10 2(b)(2)(B)(ii), the language shall be introduced in the 11 Senate (by request) on the next day on which the Senate 12 is in session by the majority leader of the Senate or by 13 a Member of the Senate designated by the majority leader 14 of the Senate. 15 (b) COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION.—A joint com- 16 mittee bill introduced in the Senate under subsection (a) 17 shall be jointly referred to the Committee on Finance and 18 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- 19 sions, which committees shall report the bill without any 20 revision and with a favorable recommendation, an unfavor- 21 able recommendation, or without recommendation, no 22 later than 7 session days after introduction of the bill. If 23 either committee fails to report the bill within that period, 24 that committee shall be automatically discharged from 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:27 Sep 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC54.IH HC54 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 HCON 54 IH1S consideration of the bill, and the bill shall be placed on 1 the appropriate calendar. 2 (c) MOTION TO PROCEED TO CONSIDERATION.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding rule XXII 4 of the Standing Rules of the Senate, it is in order, 5 not later than 2 days of session after the date on 6 which a joint committee bill is reported or dis- 7 charged from the Committee on Finance and the 8 Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen- 9 sions, for the majority leader of the Senate or the 10 majority leader’s designee to move to proceed to the 11 consideration of the joint committee bill. It shall also 12 be in order for any Member of the Senate to move 13 to proceed to the consideration of the joint com- 14 mittee bill at any time after the conclusion of such 15 2-day period. 16 (2) C [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]