I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8587 To establish a commission to make recommendations on the appropriate size of membership of the House of Representatives and the method by which Members are elected. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 13, 2020 Mr. HASTINGS (for himself, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. PHILLIPS, and Mr. CARSON of Indiana) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To establish a commission to make recommendations on the appropriate size of membership of the House of Rep- resentatives and the method by which Members are elect- ed. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Congress Commission 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT. 6 There is established a commission to be known as the 7 ‘‘Congressional Commission to Strengthen Representative 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8587.IH H8587 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8587 IH Democracy’’ (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 1 ‘‘Commission’’). 2 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. 3 The Commission shall— 4 (1) analyze the current size of the membership 5 of the House of Representatives considering the re- 6 quirement for the institution to carry out its respon- 7 sibilities in an effective manner; 8 (2) examine alternatives to the current method 9 by which Representatives are elected (including 10 ranked choice voting, cumulative voting, and other 11 forms of proportional representation) to determine if 12 such alternatives would make the House of Rep- 13 resentatives a more representative body and include 14 more citizens in the electoral process; 15 (3) examine the use of gerrymandering in the 16 creation of single-member districts; 17 (4) to the extent necessary, formulate proposals 18 for changes in the size of the membership of, and 19 the method of electing Representatives to, the House 20 of Representatives; and 21 (5) not later than the end of the One Hundred 22 Seventeenth Congress, submit to the President and 23 the Congress a report of the work of the Commis- 24 sion, together with a draft of legislation (including 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8587.IH H8587 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8587 IH technical and conforming provisions) to implement 1 the proposals referred to in paragraph (5). 2 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP. 3 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 4 shall be composed of 15 members as follows: 5 (1) Five members appointed by the Speaker of 6 the House of Representatives. 7 (2) Five members appointed by the minority 8 leader of the House of Representatives. 9 (3) Two members appointed by the majority 10 leader of the Senate. 11 (4) Two members appointed by the minority 12 leader of the Senate. 13 (5) One member appointed by the other 14 14 members to serve as Chairman of the Commission, 15 by a vote in which at least 9 members approve of 16 the appointment, including at least 1 member ap- 17 pointed by the Speaker of the House of Representa- 18 tives, 1 member appointed by the minority leader of 19 the House of Representatives, 1 member appointed 20 by the majority leader of the Senate, and 1 member 21 appointed by the minority leader of the Senate. 22 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—In making appointments 23 under this section, the appointing authorities shall make 24 a special effort to appoint individuals who are particularly 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8587.IH H8587 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8587 IH qualified to perform the functions of the Commission, by 1 reason of either practical experience or academic expertise 2 in politics or government. 3 (c) TERMS AND VACANCIES.—Each member shall be 4 appointed for the life of the Commission. A vacancy in 5 the Commission shall be filled in the manner in which the 6 original appointment was made. 7 (d) PAY AND TRAVEL.—Each member of the Com- 8 mission, other than a full-time officer or employee of the 9 United States— 10 (1) shall be paid the daily equivalent of the an- 11 nual rate of basic pay payable for level V of the Ex- 12 ecutive Schedule for each day (including travel time) 13 during which the member is engaged in the actual 14 performance of duties vested in the Commission; and 15 (2) shall receive travel expenses, including per 16 diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with appli- 17 cable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of 18 title 5, United States Code. 19 (e) QUORUM.—Eight members of the Commission 20 shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold 21 hearings. 22 (f) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 23 call of the Chairman or a majority of its members. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8587.IH H8587 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8587 IH SEC. 5. STAFF. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—With the approval of the Commis- 2 sion, the Chairman may appoint and fix the pay of not 3 more than six individuals for the staff of the Commission. 4 Such individuals may be appointed without regard to the 5 provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing ap- 6 pointments in the competitive service, and may be paid 7 without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub- 8 chapter III of chapter 53 of that title relating to classifica- 9 tion and General Schedule pay rates, except that an indi- 10 vidual so appointed may not receive pay in excess of the 11 maximum annual rate of basic pay payable for grade GS– 12 15 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 13 5, United States Code. 14 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap- 15 proval of the Commission, the Chairman may procure tem- 16 porary and intermittent services in the manner prescribed 17 in section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at 18 rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of 19 the maximum annual rate of basic pay payable for grade 20 GS–15 of the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 21 5, United States Code. 22 (c) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request 23 of the Commission, the head of any Federal department 24 or agency may detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8587.IH H8587 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8587 IH personnel of that department or agency to the Commission 1 to assist it in carrying out its duties under this Act. 2 SEC. 6. POWERS OF COMMISSION. 3 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may, for the pur- 4 pose of carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act 5 at times and places, take testimony, and receive evidence 6 as the Commission considers appropriate. 7 (b) SUBPOENA POWER.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may issue 9 subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of 10 witnesses and the production of any evidence relat- 11 ing to any matter considered by the Commission in 12 carrying out this Act. The attendance of witnesses 13 and the production of evidence may be required from 14 any place within the United States at any des- 15 ignated place of hearing within the United States. 16 (2) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a per- 17 son refuses to obey a subpoena issued under para- 18 graph (1), the Commission may apply to a United 19 States district court for an order requiring that per- 20 son to appear before the Commission to give testi- 21 mony, produce evidence, or both, relating to the 22 matter involved. The application may be made with- 23 in the judicial district where the hearing is con- 24 ducted or where that person is found, resides, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8587.IH H8587 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8587 IH transacts business. Any failure to obey the order of 1 the court may be punished by the court as civil con- 2 tempt. 3 (3) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The subpoenas 4 of the Commission shall be served in the manner 5 provided for subpoenas issued by a United States 6 district court under the Federal Rules of Civil Pro- 7 cedure for the United States district courts. 8 (4) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of any 9 court to which application is made under paragraph 10 (2) may be served in the judicial district in which 11 the person required to be served resides or may be 12 found. 13 (c) MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any member or agent 14 of the Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, 15 take any action which the Commission is authorized to 16 take by this section. 17 (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 18 States mails in the same manner and under the same con- 19 ditions as departments and agencies of the United States. 20 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon 21 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of Gen- 22 eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim- 23 bursable basis, the administrative support services nec- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8587.IH H8587 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8587 IH essary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities 1 under this Act. 2 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 3 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 4 this Act $5,000,000, to remain available until expended. 5 SEC. 8. TERMINATION. 6 The Commission shall terminate on the last day of 7 the month in which the Commission submits the report 8 required under section 3. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:13 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8587.IH H8587 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS