Congressional Evidence-Based Policymaking Resolution

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 49 Establishing the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking to review, ana- lyze, and make recommendations to Congress to promote the use of Federal data for evidence-building and evidence-based policymaking, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 24, 2023 Mr. KILMER (for himself, Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. MORELLE, and Mr. PHILLIPS) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Establishing the Commission on Evidence-Based Policy- making to review, analyze, and make recommendations to Congress to promote the use of Federal data for evidence-building and evidence-based policymaking, and for other purposes. Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 1 concurring), 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This concurrent resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Con- 4 gressional Evidence-Based Policymaking Resolution’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC49.IH HC49 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HCON 49 IH SEC. 2. COMMISSION ON EVIDENCE-BASED POLICYMAKING. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 2 legislative branch the Commission on Evidence-Based Pol- 3 icymaking (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Commis- 4 sion’’) to review, analyze, and make recommendations with 5 respect to promoting the use of Federal data for evidence- 6 building and evidence-based policymaking. 7 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com- 8 posed of 12 members, appointed not later than 45 days 9 after the date of the adoption of this resolution, as follows: 10 (1) Three shall be appointed by the Speaker of 11 the House of Representatives, of whom— 12 (A) one shall be an academic researcher 13 specializing in Congress, social science, or data 14 science; 15 (B) one shall be a former Member or sen- 16 ior staffer of the House; and 17 (C) one shall be an employee of an office 18 that participates in the Congressional Data 19 Task Force or other legislative branch support 20 agency as appropriate for the purposes of 21 studying and developing the recommendations 22 under subsection (g). 23 (2) Three shall be appointed by the minority 24 leader of the House of Representatives, of whom— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC49.IH HC49 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HCON 49 IH (A) one shall be an academic researcher 1 specializing in Congress, social science, or data 2 science; 3 (B) one shall be a former Member or sen- 4 ior staffer of the House; and 5 (C) one shall be an employee of an office 6 that participates in the Congressional Data 7 Task Force or other legislative branch support 8 agency as appropriate for the purposes of 9 studying and developing the recommendations 10 under subsection (g). 11 (3) Three shall be appointed by the majority 12 leader of the Senate, of whom— 13 (A) one shall be an academic researcher 14 specializing in Congress, social science, or data 15 science; 16 (B) one shall be a former Member or sen- 17 ior staffer of the Senate; and 18 (C) one shall be an employee of an office 19 that participates in the Congressional Data 20 Task Force or other legislative branch support 21 agency as appropriate for the purposes of 22 studying and developing the recommendations 23 under subsection (g). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC49.IH HC49 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HCON 49 IH (4) Three shall be appointed by the minority 1 leader of the Senate, of whom— 2 (A) one shall be an academic researcher 3 specializing in Congress, social science, or data 4 science; 5 (B) one shall be a former Member or sen- 6 ior staffer of the Senate; and 7 (C) one shall be an employee of an office 8 that participates in the Congressional Data 9 Task Force or other legislative branch support 10 agency as appropriate for the purposes of 11 studying and developing the recommendations 12 under subsection (g). 13 (c) PROHIBITION AGAINST SERVICE BY CURRENT 14 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—An individual is not eligible to 15 serve on the Commission if the individual is a current 16 Member of Congress (including a Delegate or Resident 17 Commissioner to the Congress). 18 (d) CO-CHAIRS.—The Speaker of the House of Rep- 19 resentatives and the majority leader of the Senate shall 20 each select one member of the Commission to serve as co- 21 chairs. 22 (e) TERMS; VACANCIES.—Each member shall be ap- 23 pointed for the duration of the Commission. Any vacancy 24 in the Commission shall not affect its powers, and shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC49.IH HC49 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HCON 49 IH be filled in the manner in which the original appointment 1 was made. 2 (f) STAFF.— 3 (1) DIRECTOR.—The Commission shall have a 4 Director who shall be appointed jointly by the co- 5 chairs. The Director shall be paid at a rate of pay 6 established by the co-chairs, not to exceed the an- 7 nual rate of basic pay payable for level V of the Ex- 8 ecutive Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, 9 United States Code. 10 (2) OTHER STAFF.—The Director may appoint 11 and fix the pay of not more than 8 full-time equiva- 12 lent employees and 4 part-time employees. 13 (3) COVERAGE UNDER CONGRESSIONAL AC- 14 COUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.—For purposes of the 15 Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 16 1301 et seq.)— 17 (A) the Commission shall be treated as an 18 employing office under the Act; and 19 (B) an employee of the Commission shall 20 be treated as a covered employee under the Act. 21 (4) DETAIL OF EMPLOYEES.—At the request of 22 the Commission, an employee of an office of the 23 House of Representatives or Senate may be detailed 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC49.IH HC49 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HCON 49 IH to the Commission to assist the Commission with 1 carrying out its duties. 2 (g) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall study 4 and consider approval of applicable recommenda- 5 tions with respect to evidence-based policymaking 6 within the Federal Government, including— 7 (A) how Congress may encourage Federal 8 agencies to produce and prioritize evidence on 9 effectiveness for major new programs and reau- 10 thorizations, consistent with the Foundations 11 for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 12 (Public Law 115–435) and the amendments 13 made by such Act; 14 (B) how Congress may encourage Federal 15 agencies to support States in making data more 16 open and accessible, in a manner similar to that 17 provided under the Foundations for Evidence- 18 Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Public Law 19 115–435) and the amendments made by such 20 Act; 21 (C) how Congress can revise existing laws 22 or enact new laws to improve access to adminis- 23 trative and survey data for evidence building; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC49.IH HC49 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HCON 49 IH (D) how to incorporate evidence such as 1 outcomes measurement, rigorous impact anal- 2 ysis, and implementation-aligned language into 3 the lawmaking process; 4 (E) how Congress can access and incor- 5 porate real-time, structured, integrated, and 6 machine-readable data into the lawmaking proc- 7 ess; 8 (F) the potential need for and duties of a 9 congressional Chief Data Officer, including 10 whether the officer should be located in a 11 stand-alone office or housed within another ex- 12 isting agency and how such an office would 13 function with existing data and transformation 14 units in Congress; and 15 (G) ways to increase data and data privacy 16 expertise in Congress through the incorporation 17 of technologists, data scientists, data analysts, 18 privacy experts, social scientists, and engineers 19 to assist in policy evaluation and legislative 20 drafting. 21 (2) ADOPTION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—Any 22 recommendation considered by the Commission shall 23 only be considered adopted by the Commission upon 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC49.IH HC49 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HCON 49 IH receiving the votes of at least two-thirds of the mem- 1 bers of the Commission. 2 (h) REPORTS.— 3 (1) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission may 4 submit to the Speaker of the House and the major- 5 ity leader of the Senate interim reports containing 6 such findings, conclusions, and recommendations as 7 have been agreed to by at least two-thirds of the 8 members of the Commission. 9 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than the final 10 day of the One Hundred Eighteenth Congress, the 11 Commission shall submit a report to the Speaker of 12 the House and the majority leader of the Senate on 13 the activities and findings of the Commission. 14 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 15 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 16 necessary to carry out this section, of which— 17 (1) 50 percent shall be derived from the appli- 18 cable accounts of the House of Representatives; and 19 (2) 50 percent shall be derived from the contin- 20 gent fund of the Senate. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 May 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HC49.IH HC49 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB