[House Report 111-408]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
111th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 111-408
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RESOLUTION OF INQUIRY REQUESTING THE PRESIDENT, AND DIRECTING THE
SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, TO TRANSMIT TO THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES COPIES OF DOCUMENTS, RECORDS, AND COMMUNICATIONS IN
THEIR POSSESSION RELATING TO CERTAIN AGREEMENTS REGARDING HEALTH CARE
REFORM
_______
January 29, 2010.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. Waxman, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H. Res. 983]
The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred
the resolution (H. Res. 983) requesting the President, and
directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to
transmit to the House of Representatives copies of documents,
records, and communications in their possession relating to
certain agreements regarding health care reform, having
considered the same, report thereon without amendment and
without recommendation.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Committee Hearings............................................... 3
Committee Consideration.......................................... 3
Committee Votes.................................................. 3
Applicability of Law to the Legislative Branch................... 3
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the
Committee...................................................... 3
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 3
Constitutional Authority Statement............................... 3
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 3
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 4
Earmarks and Tax and Tariff Benefits............................. 4
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 4
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority and Tax Expenditures. 4
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 4
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 5
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
H. Res. 983 requests the President, and directs the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, to transmit to the
House of Representatives, not later than 14 days after the date
of the adoption of the resolution, certain records relating to
any written or verbal agreements that relate to any of the
following bills in the 111th Congress (or any proposed change
thereto): H.R. 3200, H.R. 3590, H.R. 3961, H.R. 3962, S. 1679,
or S. 1796; and that are entered into on or after January 20,
2009, between an individual serving in an office or position in
the White House or the Department of Health and Human Services
and any other person.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H. Res. 983 is a resolution of inquiry introduced on
December 16, 2009, and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce. Under clause 7 of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Committee must act on such a resolution
within 14 legislative days or a privileged motion to discharge
the Committee is in order.
Under the rules and precedents of the House, a resolution
of inquiry is one of the methods used by the House to obtain
information from the executive branch. According to volume 7,
chapter 24, section 8 of Deschler's Procedure, it is a ``simple
resolution making a direct request or demand of the President
or the head of an executive department to furnish the House of
Representatives with specific factual information in the
possession of the executive branch.''
During the 111th Congress, Congress has been considering
legislation to reform the nation's health care system. The
Committee on Energy and Commerce reported such legislation,
H.R. 3200, on October 14, 2009. On September 30, 2009, Rep.
Michael C. Burgess (R-TX), the author of H. Res. 983, wrote the
President requesting information similar to that requested by
H. Res. 983. Specifically, he asked for (1) a list of all
agreements entered into between any individuals associated with
the White House and any health care reform stakeholders, as
well as the substance of the agreements; (2) the names of
individuals associated with the White House who participated in
the decision-making process during negotiations over such
agreements and the names, dates, and titles of meetings in
which they participated relating to such agreements; and (3)
the names of individuals or entities who requested and were
denied a White House meeting on health care reform.
The White House responded to the letter from Rep. Burgess
on January 26, 2010. This response included a summary of White
House visitor records relating to 575 individual health care-
related appointments and/or visits to the White House, and
additional documents concerning White House discussions and
meetings with stakeholders on health care reform. The White
House also offered to work with Rep. Burgess to identify any
particular groups or individuals that he or other Members of
Congress believe were unable to communicate their views to the
White House.
In addition, on January 27, 2010, Committee Chairman
Waxman, Ranking Member Barton, and Rep. Burgess committed to
work together to pursue elements of the information request by
Rep. Burgess. This understanding includes an agreement to issue
a bipartisan letter seeking written agreements between the
White House and outside groups regarding health care reform
legislation; information regarding the identity of individuals
who participated in meetings at the White House during which
any such agreements were negotiated, including the identity of
the White House officials involved; and paper or electronic
communications between the Department of Health and Human
Services and the health care industry on health reform
negotiations or White House agreements. Given these facts, the
Committee approved filing this report on H. Res. 983 in the
House with no recommendation.
COMMITTEE HEARINGS
The Committee held no hearings on H. Res. 983.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The Committee on Energy and Commerce met in open session on
Wednesday, January 27, 2010, and ordered H. Res. 983 reported
to the House with no recommendation. No amendments were offered
to the resolution.
COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes
on the motion to report legislation and amendments thereto. A
motion by Mr. Waxman to order H. Res. 983 reported to the House
with no recommendation was agreed to by a voice vote. There
were no record votes during consideration of the resolution.
APPLICABILITY OF LAW TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that H. Res. 983 does not relate to the
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services
or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of
the Congressional Accountability Act of 1985.
STATEMENT OF OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF
THE COMMITTEE
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the findings and
recommendations of the Committee are reflected in the
descriptive portions of this report.
STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
H. Res. 983 is intended to request the President and direct
the Secretary of Health and Human Services to furnish certain
documents relating to health care reform agreements.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
The Committee finds that the clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of
the Rules of the House of Representatives, requiring a
statement of constitutional authority for laws proposed by
bills or joint resolutions, does not apply because H. Res. 983
is not a bill or joint resolution that may be enacted into law.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by H. Res.
983.
FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
H. Res. 983 contains no unfunded mandates.
EARMARKS AND TAX AND TARIFF BENEFITS
H. Res. 983 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(d) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee is unable to estimate
the costs of implementing the resolution. The Congressional
Budget Office did not provide a cost estimate for the
resolution.
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that H. Res. 983
would result in no new budget authority, entitlement authority,
or tax expenditures or revenues.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
H. Res. 983 requests the President, and directs the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, to transmit to the
House of Representatives, not later than 14 days after the date
of the adoption of this resolution, copies of each portion of
any document, record, or communication (including telephone and
electronic mail records, logs and calendars, and records of
internal discussions) in the possession of the President or
Secretary, respectively, referring or relating to--
(1) any written or verbal agreement that--
(A) relates to any of the following bills in
the 111th Congress (or any proposed change
thereto): H.R. 3200, H.R. 3590, H.R. 3961, H.R.
3962, S. 1679, or S. 1796; and
(B) is entered into on or after January 20,
2009, between an individual serving in an
office or position in the White House or the
Department of Health and Human Services and any
other person;
(2) negotiations relating to an agreement described
in paragraph (1), the name or title of any individual
described in paragraph (1)(B) who participated in
decisionmaking during such negotiations, the date of
any meeting held as part of such negotiations, or the
identity of any participant in any such meeting;
(3) any such negotiations with the Advanced Medical
Technology Association, the American Medical
Association, America's Health Insurance Plans, the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America,
the American Hospital Association, or the Service
Employees International Union regarding decreasing by
1.5 percentage points the annual health care spending
growth rate or policy proposals to accomplish this
goal; or
(4) implementation of an agreement described in
paragraph (1).
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee states that this
resolution does not change any existing federal statute.